10-2-2019 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this version of the show by talking about the possibility of College Athletes getting paid for their namesake. The Governor of California passed a law allowing athletes to be compensated for their namesake, for jersey sales, and even for giving lessons within the confines of the college or university. We tend to look at students and athletes as one and the same. Unfortunately, they are not. The reason colleges and universities exist is for one thing and one thing only, for the students to get an education. Sports are nothing but an extracurricular activity. This makes compensating the athletes a difficult concept. Especially when the top athletes are making the school so much money. John talks about the record sales of Chris Webber's number four Michigan jersey and states that is borderline criminal that he did not receive any royalties for the likeness of his name, though it was not on the back of the jersey. The NCAA should remove its mandates that basketball players have to play a year in college to be eligible for the NBA draft. Why force somebody to go to college that may not want to? John then talks about the recent MLB managers that have lost their job, a little bit about how the job description has changed and whether or not experienced MLB managers would even want to take another job with the changed role. A MLB manager is nothing more than a guidance counselor. His job is to implement the game plan set forth by above. The manager in baseball has nowhere near the amount of control of a game plan as any other coach in any other sport. John then gives his MLB postseason predictions and talks about why teams with the better bullpens may actually be in trouble. He finishes off by giving his weekly NFL picks and a tiny preview of the upcoming NHL season.
