Brandon McCarthy and Darren Rovell arguing over NCAA pay-for-play

[soxhop411]

@kvossmer: If you aren't already, you should be following @BMcCarthy32's exchange w/Darren Rovell on NCAA pay-for-play debate. Even @keithlaw chimed in

https://twitter.com/bmccarthy32/

https://twitter.com/darrenrovell/
C

 

[soxhop411]

Full exchange-

 

[AbbyNoho]

I didn't know I liked Brandon McCarthy. 

 

[Marciano490]

Rovell is terrible. Every time I think perhaps athletes aren't the best sports journalists, I think or him and Shank.

 

[TFP]

I didn't know I liked Brandon McCarthy. 

Brandon McCarthy is awesome. He's basically Ken Tremendous as a baseball player, and I say that as the highest compliment.

His wife is fun to follow too, mainly because she just tweets about getting drunk and making fun of her husband, and she is quite entertaining at doing both.

 

[TSC]

I knew I liked McCarthy when after getting hit in the head with a line drive, he has this exchange on Twitter.

11 Sep
Brandon McCarthy @BMcCarthy32
WELL IF BEING DISCHARGED FROM THE HOSPITAL ISNT THE BEST TIME TO ASK ABOUT A THREESOME THEN IM FRESH OUT OF IDEAS
Amanda McCarthy @Mrs_McCarthy32
Follow
@BMcCarthy32 I WILL strike someone with a brain injury
3:25 PM - 11 Sep 2012
235 RETWEETS 178 FAVORITES ReplyRetweetFavorite

 

[Turrable]

Have we ever had a Rovell thread? He's a treasure. If I ever found out he was in on the joke that is his life it would break me.  

 

[MentalDisabldLst]

McCarthy is on the whitelist

 

[Corsi]

Have we ever had a Rovell thread? He's a treasure. If I ever found out he was in on the joke that is his life it would break me.  

 
http://sonsofsamhorn.net/topic/86301-darren-rovell-massive-tool/

 

[mcpickl]

Highly recommend following Brandon, and his wife, on twitter. Both are smart, funny, thoughtful and willing to exchange with nitwits.
 
Enjoyed Brandons' takedown on Ryan Theriot here.
 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/06/ryan-theriot-brandom-mccarthy-twitter_n_6114800.html

 

[nattysez]

This is my favorite-ever Brandon McCarthy exchange:
 

1. 
   robneyer ‏@robneyer  4 Aug 2011
   Is LOUIE the best show on TV? I don't know. It's the show I'm most excited to see every week, though.
    
   

Brandon McCarthyVerified account‏@BMcCarthy32



@robneyer 30 Rock- Louie is in the upper echelon though.
 


11:33 PM - 4 Aug 2011







 
 
 


Ken TremendousVerified account‏@KenTremendous

@B__McCarthy Dude. I'm RIGHT here.

 

[moondog80]

I feel like it's obvious the players should be paid, but there is something to the notion that it's the schools themselves that draw the viewers.  I mean, if the guys from UNC and Duke were playing each other as just 12 guys vs 12 guys (without the trappings of UNC and Duke), nobody would watch.  Talent matters, but your typical NBA D-League game has way more talent than just about any NCAA game, and how much money does that generate?

 

[Alcohol&Overcalls]

I feel like it's obvious the players should be paid, but there is something to the notion that it's the schools themselves that draw the viewers.  I mean, if the guys from UNC and Duke were playing each other as just 12 guys vs 12 guys (without the trappings of UNC and Duke), nobody would watch.  Talent matters, but your typical NBA D-League game has way more talent than just about any NCAA game, and how much money does that generate?

 
But there's still enough competition among the 'haves' for casual and front-runner fans that success still has trump, which is inextricably connected to talent ... if the players were truly fungible, then in a hypothetical scenario where Duke, UNC and Kentucky were the only three allowed to bid for him, none would. Do you think that would happen? 
 
Part of why people root for the name on the front is regional/historical/alumni involvement - but a massive part is also success, and paying to put your specific name on the front into the national mix would be priority #1 for, say, Iowa, Colorado, Arkansas, and similar schools.  

 

[Average Reds]

I feel like it's obvious the players should be paid, but there is something to the notion that it's the schools themselves that draw the viewers.  I mean, if the guys from UNC and Duke were playing each other as just 12 guys vs 12 guys (without the trappings of UNC and Duke), nobody would watch.  Talent matters, but your typical NBA D-League game has way more talent than just about any NCAA game, and how much money does that generate?

 
This is true, but also incomplete.
 
Using Kentucky as an example:

• No one comes to see the specific players.  They come to see those players represent a school they care about competing at a high level.
• No one comes to see John Calipari coach.  They come to see the players he recruits/coaches representing the school that they care about.
• No one comes to see Kentucky if they don't win.  They win because of the skill of the players combined with the training/strategic acumen of the coach

The point is that NCAA basketball is a compelling "product" not because of any one of the elements that makes it up.  It's the collective product that makes it special.
 
This compelling product generates billions in revenue every year.  But only the universities and the coach are getting paid. 

 

[JohntheBaptist]

My favorite McCarthy tweet, from just after being traded to NYY:
 








 

Brandon McCarthyVerified account‏@BMcCarthy32Jul 8

*Kramer's moviefone voice* "well why don't you just tell me what number isn't retired"