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And while the NBA is calling the change a success, the world of college basketball as an amateur sport has taken yet another step backward. The rule change has led to a posse of players opting for college without the slightest intent to earning a degree, a move that further makes a mockery of the NCAA's position that these individuals are somehow to be described as student-athletes.

A Disaster

The problem with the rule has been on full display in two high profile situations, that of now NBA guards O.J. Mayo and Derrick Rose. Both previously would have opted for the NBA directly out of high school but could not under the 2006 rule.

So they went to school, sort of, for the one year they were required to do so before bolting. In the meantime, reports have it that about $30,000 in cash and benefits went to Mayo so that he would make his one and done choice the University of Southern California while Rose may have found some other person to take his SAT test to gain entry to Memphis.

Clearly these young men had little to gain from attending any respective school. The concept makes a mockery of the term but unfortunately the money and the publicity that goes with even one year of tournament prowess will continue to reek havoc on college athletic departments.

Alan Hauser, president of the Faculty Athletics Representative Association says it best:

"A university is a place for education, not for merely showing off athletic wares and then leaving. That makes it like a minor league sport where a (player) reads a book now and then."

In true terms, these athletes are committing to just one semester, the fall, then bolting before earning a single spring credit. Because there is no real reason for a young man to develop a tie to a school or institution, there is no real investment by the student. And without investment, there is far less reason to abide the rules set forth by the NCAA.

Of one and done, Arizona's athletic director Jim Livengood had this to say.

"It becomes disruptive for the individual. It becomes disruptive for the team. And the biggest thing, in my opinion, is it really becomes disruptive for the institution, for your faculty, for your administration. We're really doing a disservice to our institutions, to our programs and to the young person. I'm not smart enough to figure it out, but there's got to be a better way."

NBA Wanted Two Years

At the time the rule was enacted, the NBA wanted a two-years-out-of-high-school rule. But they could not get it past the players' association.

So they settled for what they could get, one year. There is little doubt the NBA stills see the step as a positive one even if two years had been better.

But had the NBA some interest in how the rule would impact colleges, they would have sought to match baseball's rule. Baseball players, once in college, are committing to playing at that level for three years before being eligible to be drafted.

At least those athletes have to develop some academic track record to be eligible to play ball for their school. Instead the NBA only asked for two years and settled for one.

The unwillingness of the NBA to seek to do what is best for both parties' interest is particularly troubling given that the NCAA has become the real farm system for professional basketball.Meanwhile, the NCAA, under the guise that it promotes amateur athletics, is now caught in the crosshairs of yet another bow and quiver that further splits the terms student and athlete.

Yet, in an amazing perspective, NCAA President Myles Brand sees great benefit in the rule.

Of the notion that kids must now attend college first before opting for the NBA, Brand states: "hundreds, maybe even thousands, of young men each year who are now taking their high school studies more seriously rather than thinking, 'I can blow off high school and go right into the NBA.' That's going to put them in good stead for their lives."

Of the negatives of one and done, Brand goes on to add:

"I think it misses the point about what's really important: the value of the education that (other) young men (are getting) even if a few game the system."

Sorry Perspective

Brand is clearly deluding himself if he thinks the rule is having such an impact on that number of high school kids. And the idea that athletes are getting any real educational value from one partial semester of college goes beyond being simply an enormous stretch.

But given that the NCAA is now a big business and big money, there is no other position that Brand could take. Otherwise, we would see more Brandon Jennings, those athletes who say to hell with giving some school a year of their potential earnings and opt to play overseas.

One has to wonder what such actions might do in the long run to the billion dollar industry that was once the home of amateur athletes.

So we continue forward with one and done and the absurd notion that the NCAA is about promoting academics as well as athletics.

Flickr photo courtesy of shundaroni.

7:51 AM 1 comments

Coming Out Party for a Southern Gentleman
Monday, June 22, 2009

The storyline was set for Lefty but by the time the mud settled at Bethpage Black journeyman and Southern gentleman Lucas Glover stepped in to grab the U.S. Open title.

The great players execute at crunch time and for the South Carolinian his performance over the final three holes was something to behold. A gorgeous iron into 16 then rolling it dead center for birdie gave Glover a two stroke advantage with two to play.

The winner of just one tournament would then close the door by hitting each shot where he had to, closing with two final pars to earn the title over fellow journeyman Ricky Barnes, the resurgent David Duval, and fan-favorite Mickelson.

Lefty would make a charge, his incredible eagle at 13 drawing him even with Glover at four under. Mickelson was all over the flag with his approach from about 230 yards out.

Later, when Glover missed a birdie putt on the 12th hole you had a sense it just might be Phil's for the taking. But just as he did at Augusta, after making his run, Lefty stubbed his toes, a bogey at 15 and another at 17 his undoing.

For Mickelson it was his fifth second place finish without a title at the U.S. Open.

Like Phil, Tiger Woods also had to be disappointed. For the game's best, it was a frustrating week with the putter, a total of 120 strokes in all.

And though he managed to tie for sixth, Woods never really got into contention after his uncharacteristic stumble in round one when he finished double-bogey, bogey, par, and bogey. Four over on the last four holes only to lose by four, well the math is easy to do.

For Duval, the 882nd ranked player in the world, it was his best finish since winning the British in 2001. Once the game's topped ranked player, Duval has been insisting his game is getting close to old form and he proved it with a solid performance over five long days at Bethpage.

With his win, Glover also took home a five-year exemption on the PGA TOUR. The presentation of the trophy by the USGA revealed why so many call Glover one of the classiest of Tour players, his incredible humility a breath of fresh air.

Foreign Noises: Rory McIlroy shot 68 in the final round to finish at 2 over in his U.S. Open debut. By finishing tenth the young Irishman qualified for next year's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. With five top tens now on the year McIlroy has he sights on the British Open next month. And 28-year-old Englishman Ross Fisher demonstrated why he is currently ranked fourth on the European Tour. He finished alone in fifth at Bethpage after posting four steady rounds, 70-68-69-72, becoming the only other player in red figures over the five days.

The PGA news this week focused on the sad news that Amy Mickelson was battling breast cancer. Less than six months after the return of the game's number one player Tiger Woods, the world's second best player, Phil Mickelson, announced he would put his competitive schedule on hold to be with his ailing wife.

While Rory Sabbatini was offering some stellar play to earn his fifth career title on the PGA Tour, across the pond Englishman Paul Casey quietly continued his run up the world ladder. A remarkable up and down from the bunker on the eighteenth and final hole helped Casey win one of "The European Tour's" flagship events last weekend, the BMW PGA Championship held at the storied Wentworth Club.

With the win, a one stroke victory over yet another emerging star, fellow Englishman Ross Fisher, Casey slipped past Geoff Ogilvy to the top of the European Order of Merit, The Race To Dubai. The win also helped Casey continue his phenomenal climb up the world rankings.

The win was his third of the season. Casey previously had one on each tour, the Shell Houston Open on the PGA and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship on the European.

Just as importantly for the Peter Kostis' pupil is his performance relative to number of starts. He has played in only six events on American soil, but a win, a second (at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship) and three other top twenty finishes (11th at the Verizon Heritage, 14th at The Players Championship, and 20th at the Masters) has him in 8th in both Fed Ex Cup points and in earnings on the PGA Tour. remarkably, both numbers top that of Woods who has played the same number of events.

In ranking first in Europe, Casey is now given credit for nine starts (the Masters and the two WGC events count for both tours). He owns seven top twenty performances overall though he ranks first ahead of Ogilvy, in large part, due to the Aussie's having only four credited starts across the pond.

Still, while most are unfamiliar with Casey, his string of strong play has actually been going on for quite some time now. In 2007 he was one of only seven players to make the cut in all four majors and in 2008 he had eight top tens world wide. Those performances come on the heels of finishing second on the European Order of Merit in 2006, the year he would win The European Tour Golfer of the Year award.

And heading back just a wee bit further, while Casey was honing his skills at Arizona State University, he demonstrated his potential for stardom while still in college. He became the first player to win three successive Pac-10 Championships and in the 2000 Pac-10 Championship he broke the scoring record held by none other than Tiger Woods.

As the world found out a year ago with one Kenny Perry, when a golfer gets hot he can ride the flame for many a week. Casey right now is about as hot as it can get.

When the year began, the thought was that Lefty might be the one to knock Woods from the number one slot.

Now, folks may want to turn their attention to this 31-year-old from Esher, England.

Photo courtesy of PocketWiley.

As with the Cavaliers, everyone had the Lakers in the Western Finals. In fact, most had them winning the whole shebang, at least until the Rockets took them to seven games.

A depleted Rockets team no less. Is LA not quite so good?

Actually, in the key, game seven of the Rockets series, it was all Lakers from the get go. This team does in fact have another gear when it decides to reach for it. The question is whether they will reach for that gear consistently over the next few weeks.

Depending on your viewpoint, the Lakers weaknesses were either prominently exploited by the Rockets or the seven game series was necessary foil to remind the West's most talented team that they did have to come to play. It could be that the Lakers take from this early challenge the necessary toughness to win it all, much as the Celtics seemed to do last year when they were extended by Atlanta in round one and Cleveland in round two.

Being from the Northeast, I remember the warnings from the Boston writers last year. Tampa Bay was vastly improved and they could be ready to make some noise in the American League East.

Now, to be fair, those writers didn't have the Rays topping either the Sox or the Yankees in 2008, but at least they had them on the radar.

Now, one year after the Yanks went on another spending bender and the Sox did their fair share of throwing money around, the same writers were tossing out the name of another team.

The Blue Jays.

Those same writers that noted Tampa was on to better things in 2008 said the Jays would be vastly improved in 2009 and could be ready to make some noise (though they were likely still a year or two away from being legitimate contenders).

The New Rays

Instead, the Blue Jays appear to be the 2009 version of Tampa, young, hungry and wanting to prove themselves. Those attributes go a long way especially when you don't have to face those dreaded expectations that come with winning every year.

And it starts with a great story, that of Cito Gaston. Despite having won two World Series titles, he could not seem to get anyone interested in giving him another managerial position.

After being fired in 1997 by the same organization, Gaston was rehired by the Jays where he had served in various capacities: hitting coach, scout and ambassador. He apparently would get interviews for managerial positions with other teams, after all he is black and there is the need to appear to be interested in minority candidates.

But no one would give him a chance to prove that he really could manage. Others would try Jim Leyland and Lou Piniella, and the Braves continued with Bobby Cox.

The insiders thought: black got him interviews. But those same insiders whispered it may have been his color that kept him from getting an offer.

Whatever the case, even though Gaston owned more World Series rings than Leyland, Piniella and Cox, he could not get the head bench job until the Jays brought him back in June last year.

While most folks paid little attention, the insiders noted that over the final 3½ months of last season the Jays had the sixth best record in baseball. It was the fact that it was only the sixth best that helped them stay under the radar coming into 2009.

But taking over in mid-season is tough and Gaston clearly had the team turned around by year's end.

Kind Schedule

Today, they are probably the best hitting team in baseball. They have a legitimate stud in Roy Halliday, a true losing streak preventing starter.

And they have the best record in the American League. Not just in the East, but in the League.

The critics note that the early schedule has been kind.

No games with the Sox.

None with the Yanks.

And none with the Rays.

After Phil Mickelson's maiden World Golf tournament win at Doral, he was asked about the fact that he was now knocking on the door, point-wise, to becoming the number-one ranked player in the world. Lefty earned an indelible amount of respect by brushing off the question as essentially irrelevant. The fact was, and Lefty knew it all too well, that he was in his current position not because of his play. He was in the position because the world's number one ranked player simply has been injured and unable to play for nearly a full year.

His exact words:

"He's greatest player of all time. I don't want to go there with the world ranking. What I'm excited about is I'm playing some of my best golf."

Close, Yes

After his win at Doral, Mickelson was in fact knocking on the door. At the time, Woods rating of 8.855 was less than two-tenths of a point above the point rating of the CA Champion who then totaled 8.657.

As the questioner alluded, if Woods were to come up short at Arnie's tourney and Mickelson were to take home the Shell Houston Open the following week, Lefty would in fact assume the number one position for the first time in his career.

Of course, those what ifs went completely the other way: Woods winning with another amazing putt on the 72^nd hole at Bay Hill and Mickelson posting a dismal nine over tally and a missed cut in Texas this past week.

Just like that, the margin now stands at 10.095 to 8.514 as the two head to the Masters. But still, compared to other years, the numbers remain remarkably close.

Close, But

To get a sense of why those numbers are so close, one has to understand the rankings and how they come about. Here, Mickelson did every one a favor by noting the only reason Woods was now in Lefty's sights was that Woods had been unable to compete for eight months. He simply hasn't played enough tournaments to maintain his point tally.

In fact, here are the comparative performances of the two golfers. In just his third event since returning from injury, Woods winning at Bay Hill gave him one win and two top tens in three starts in 2009. In the nine events he has played in since the beginning of the 2008 season, Woods now has five wins (including one major). And going back to 2006, Woods has won 15 of his last 28 official PGA events and four majors.

On the other hand, Phil Mickelson has won two of the seven PGA events this season. Most importantly, since the beginning of 2008, Lefty has played in 28 sanctioned PGA tournaments and posted a total of four wins.

That's 15 wins for Woods - 4 for Lefty.

So the number is just that, a number - there is no comparison when it comes to true performance.

Masters Excitement

Still, everyone is hopeful that Mickelson is indeed ready to give Tiger a go this week in Augusta. Prior to Houston, Mickelson appeared to be ready to rumble and a battle royal would be great for the Tour.

And if somehow Lefty could overtake Tiger over the next couple of weeks, it would mark the first time since June 12, 2005 that someone other than Woods was ranked first. That would certainly be great for the competitive side of the game of golf.

But if it does not happen real soon, during this period where the number of tournaments played is holding Woods back, then look out. Because there is nothing in the other numbers that would indicate anyone but Tiger will sit atop of the World Golf Rankings.