“Mic Drop with Jared Rosenthal” Episode #32
Last week on Tuesday, September 10, 2019, Jonathan Lidskin joined me in an action packed podcast which was not able to be recorded due to technical issues with the “skimmer” (courtesy of the Glenbrook North High School studio). Because the episode was executed magnificently, I feel that it is only right that you all read about what we discussed.
- Athlete Culture:
Each sport has a different breed of athletes; certain leagues have more responsible and commendable athletes than others. There is a reason why specific leagues are more player dominated and less management dominant (and vice versa) — it falls under the categories of accountability and maturity. The hot topics of the world while the podcast was being produced include A) Sam Darnold having mono, B) Antonio Brown beeing newly accused of sexual assault, and C) Odell Beckham Jr. whining about a fine for wearing a flashy watch during a game. The NFL has solidified itself in a state of pure chaos, and it is need of a superhero to revive its brand.
2. College Football Frenzy:
A) To begin this segment, Liddy and I put college football coaches on a “hot seat”.
The first coach that we discussed was Michigan’s very own, Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh arrived in Ann Arbor in 2015 and has a 40–14 record — not too shabby. The problem is that he has only won one of the four bowl games he has been in with Michigan, and has coached an extensive list of talented players (i.e. Jabrill Peppers, Karan Higdon, and this year Zach Charbonnet) yet has not brought Michigan to a playoff. Furthermore, Michigan has been ranked within the top ten the last four years and still has not been able to dethrone THE Ohio State! Additionally, when you consider Harbaugh’s influence in the transfer portal, you need to wonder why he has not taken advantage of the college football guidelines to bring his team to an elite level.
The second coach discussed was Chip Kelly. Kelly has only won three of his last 15 games at UCLA! This early and concerning record is super contradicting to his successful work in Eugene where he won 46 of the 53 games he coached — this includes a victorious Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl. The world needs to understand that Chip Kelly only works well with talent (i.e. Marcus Mariota, Lamichael James, Kenjon Barner) and tends to struggle while in the face of dysfunctionality. This instance in Kelly’s coaching career seems to be as low of a point as when he coached the 49ers and only won 2 games! Let’s not disregard his two 10 win seasons in Philadelphia, but he is definitely under scrutiny.
The third coach discussed was Ed Orgeron at LSU. The last time the Tigers won a championship was 2007 against the Buckeyes during the BCS era under coach Les Miles. Orgeron has been at LSU the last four years and has won two of three bowl games, but it is time for LSU to rise from the SEC and enter a playoff. After going into Austin and grinding out an impressive win, the momentum must continue. Though it will be tough for this team to keep their firepower rolling due to consecutive blow-off games, they better be ready on October 12 against Florida. If coach Orgeron does not keep his players in check, his coaching career may terminate very shortly.
Watch out! The fourth coached examined was Nick Saban. Saban has done an incredible job during his time in Tuscaloosa going eleven for sixteen in bowl games (including five national title wins) and earning six conference titles in an ultra-competitive conference — numbers will never lie about his success. Some may look at Saban as the Mike Krzyzewski of college football because of his ability to recruit top quality players including Amari Cooper, Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, and Eddie Lacy. The difference between these coaches is their strength in conference; there are more consistently strong teams in SEC football than ACC basketball! Though Saban gets backlash for playing less competent teams, throughout his career at Alabama he has coached against stars including AJ Green, Cam Newton, Alshon Jeffery, and many more. This is why Saban is on the hot seat: his last two games against Clemson in national championships have been eye-opening losses. Hypothetically, if Alabama went to another championship against Clemson and lost, is it time for eyebrows to be raised towards Nick Saban? The question is, would a Clemson dynasty start to override Alabama’s, and would Alabama dare fire a coach that is an integral part of college football history?
The fifth coach analyzed was Clay Helton, USC’s head coach. Helton has coached in Southern California for six years, five of which have been consecutive. He helped earn the school a Rose Bowl during the Darnold era, but last year USC had a losing record and that just cannot happen at an established football school like this one. Because Lynn Swan resigned, the next athletic director could potentially “clean shop” if Helton cannot generate success this year. Furthermore, Helton is putting an immense amount of pressure in true freshman quarterback, Kedon Slovis, who is filling Daniels’ spot as he recovers from an ACL injury. The Trojans have to play at Washington and at Notre Dame in the next few weeks so the road to success will be a challenge (especially after losing to BYU).
B) The second section of this frenzy dealt with college athletes being paid.
Jonathan and I discussed the “Fair Pay to Play Act”, an act which would enable college athletes to receive money. The NCAA has made it clear that it is extremely against this piece of legislation and view it as unconstitutional. There have been two governmental gatherings that have both unanimously decided in favor of enabling the law to be put in place, but Governor Gavin Newsom will have the final say. Ultimately, the NCAA is not going to allow California schools to compete for championships and postseason awards which could potentially lead to the creation of another collegiate organization. Other sports (professionally) have experienced a split in associations, and this might appear to be the case here. Also, if this piece of legislation is ratified, college athletes will need to commit to schools based on whatever they deem to be more valuable to them: the money or the heritage and history of college football. Evidently, schools will most definitely lose recruits to the state of California from this.
C) The third section to this podcast dealt with dream matchups between the SEC and Big Ten, as well as Notre Dame’s non-conference approach.
It was decided that Georgia would blow out everyone in the Big Ten, therefore they were not included in these matchups. Watching games this season such as Ohio State against LSU, Auburn and Penn State, and Wisconsin versus Alabama would be truly remarkable!
The consensus from the podcast was that Notre Dame feels compelled to schedule tougher games because they know their worth. This team — almost every year — plays the “spoiler” card for each conference (with the exception of their 2016 year with four wins). Generally, Notre Dame can win 10–12 games each year and Brian Kelly is someone that is reliable. I would not put Kelly in a hot seat yet, but if the Fighting Irish do not win a championship by the end of this decade, then he might be a candidate for the hot seat.
3) The Sports Illustrated 100 Best NBA Players
Of course we talked about Giannis being the best player undoubtedly! Of course we talked about LeBron and the new-look Lakers! Of course we talked about the new-look Clippers! Of course talked about Dame and CJ, Westbrook and Harden, and Embiid and Simmons! We will be talking about the NBA very soon…don’t worry!
Thank you all for reading the first podcast article of “Mic Drop with Jared Rosenthal”, and stay tuned for more information!
