Tuesday Skull Session

Salutations, everyone. Wasn't that Home Run Derby last night thrilling? Ha, just kidding.

The Home Run Derby's tediousness is an open secret. Cool moments like Yoenis Cespedes's bat flip and 480 foot homers are too few and far between to justify the time: most of the broadcast is spent watching balls land in swarms of hellion children or waiting for the ball to be thrown. Worst of all, Chris Berman's siren song lures listeners backbackbackback to the event year after year. 

And yet, in spite of all that, the Home Run Derby obliterates quality fare like Sharknado in ratings. Part of it is the tradition of the MLB All-Star Game week; more importantly there, were literally no other major sporting events going on, discounting wrestling¹.

The closest college football game is 44 days away. We are parched desert travelers, and the Home Run Derby appears as an oasis. Only when we reach it do we discover it is a cruel mirage and that we have another two hundred miles to stagger before we reach civilization (also known as the Buffalo game). Stumble on, brave traveler.

 OHIO-MICHIGAN BORDER CLASSIC DETAILS FINALIZED. Ever since Pennsylvania decided it couldn't hang with Ohio in the Big 33 series, the Ohio High School Athletic Association had been searching for a game with a bordering state to show off Ohio's all-star football players. Enter Michigan, and the Ohio-Michigan Border Classic.

The Ohio-Michigan Border Classic had been announced for a couple of weeks, but its date and location were up in the air. It appears that those have been recently resolved:

The big news is that the game will take place in Findlay, Ohio, rather than Toledo as expected. The location change moves the series about fifty miles closer to Columbus and adds to the home-field advantage for Ohio.  With both teams selecting forty players for the game, the Ohio team should have a significant talent advantage; as Ohio seems likely to walk all over Michigan, a twenty point handicap may liven the game up.

The new series may not live up to the old one, but cross-state rivalries are always good to promote. Even in lesser known rivalries, like Indiana-Ohio or Kentucky-Ohio in the NHSBCA Rising Seniors event, the series raises the profile of both sides. Hopefully, this event will have more staying power than the Big 33.

 TREY JOHNSON'S TORTUOUS PATH TO OSU. Anybody experienced in football recruiting will tell you how cutthroat the business is. When Urban Meyer is involved, it's even nastier.

This engaging article at ESPN.com on the progression of four players' recruitment features Trey Johnson. Johnson, who before becoming a member of Ohio State's 2013 recruiting class was an Auburn commit, was better known than many other prospects. Once Gene Chizik was fired, he received messages from all comers, much of them negative recruiting against the coach whose school was the favorite to win him over:

But as Trey Johnson's decision drew near, Wofford said, the recruiting progressed from intense to ugly. He heard accusations from recruiters that coaches at rival schools don't look after black kids or that a program would soon land itself on probation or that a head coach was set to leave.

Many of the shots were directed at Meyer.

"The thing that surprised me the most is that I know some of these coaches are friends," Wofford said, "yet they still went for the jugular against each other. It's a dog-eat-dog world."

Further details about Trey Johnson's recruitment – like an eleventh hour visit to Tennessee and conflict with his high school coach over communicating with media and recruiters –show the hectic environment in which recruits make decisions that affect the rest of their lives. As the threads of the players' narratives are woven together, it's clear how even the recruits in the feature with lower expectations are crushed by rejection. Maybe it's time to stop hating on high school kids who are unsure what they want for their future and decommit and recommit as a result of that pressure.

Personal foul, #44 on the defense. (via @SEC_Tammy)

 THE SEC MEDIA GALA BEGINS. The teams are unbeatable, the swagger is unbearable, and the hype is inescapable. SEC Media Days begin today, and common topics will include:

• Johnny Manziel's guilty plea to misdemeanor Failure to Identify.
• Vanderbilt naming the players dismissed owing to a sexual assault investigation.
• Johnny Manziel's apology for "dehydration" at the Manning Camp.
• Alabama pursuing its 40th consecutive football title, ROLL TIDE.
• How Butch Jones feels about leaving the puny Big East for the mighty, proud SEC.
• How Bret Bielema feels about leaving the feeble Big Ten for the majestic, paradisiacal SEC.
• Seriously, Johnny Football out the wazoo. Southeastern media will question half of the coaches (and maybe all of them) about Manziel; expect nothing less than Tebowfest 2.0.

At some point, some reporter will ask inappropriate questions about sex, Steve Spurrier will spout zingers at the expense of other championship contenders, and some shlub will insinuate that Les Miles is on the hot seat in 2014 if LSU underachieves this year. No matter the specifics, the narrative of the SEC dominating all will be reinforced by stories of how expansive and densely covered the media days were, which can only be because the SEC is so dominating. Circular logic is great for that sort of thing.

On another subject, the SEC remade its championship trophy over the summer. The wood and understated design are attractive, but isn't the defender tackling the runner in, er, the jockstrap region? You ought to recognize an Unsportsmanlike Conduct and/or Spearing penalty when it happens, refs.

 DOES A TV SPORTS BUBBLE EXIST? Much of the debate regarding the unsustainable challenge of cable sports payments operates under the assumption that there is a market bubble that will pop once cable subscribers get angry enough over being charged so much for sports in their monthly bills. But what if there is no bubble?

Frank the Tank's Slant has been a crucial site for understanding the 2010-present conference realignment cycle from a business perspective, and it is currently useful for understanding sports media finances. So when its author argues that a la carte pricing will not be the deflationary force that some observers believe it to be, I take heed.

For one thing, the price networks pay for sports contracts has never declined, so prices for sports rising now don't necessarily predict an upcoming backlash. The trend towards mobile video and TV could make subscribers pay more for services like BTN2Go.

But the gulf between the unwilling paying subscribers currently funding sports and the willing paying subscribers who would pay more for the same sports appears to result a net loss of income; unless leagues and conferences become far thriftier, there will be a shortage of money in a system more reliant on a la carte choice. Considering the premium price of the sports channels, blaming other, cheaper channels for the expense of bundling does not follow.

Whatever the end result on the issue of cable bundling and expensive sports channels, it is likely to inform the next round of conference realignment, whenever that may be; most likely 2025 when the Big 12's Grant of Rights expires, but predicting events twelve years in the future is a fool's errand.

 GAMING: COMING SOON TO THE OCHO. Video games may not have enough physical activity to be "real sports", but for the purposes of immigration competitive gaming is now a recognized sport in the United States. Essentially, temporary visas are now much easier for video game tournament participants to apply for and acquire. As for the newly minted sport's growth:

"This is a watershed moment," said Riot Games vice president of eSports Dustin Beck. "It validates eSports as a sport. Now we have the same designation as the NBA or NHL or other professional sports leagues. This opens the gates for other professional League of Legends players to make the transfer to U.S. teams. It's like David Beckham coming to LA Galaxy."

If Ohio State is looking to add a 37th scholarship sport, why not video gaming? Top players can earn six-figure salaries, it's a coed sport, and OSU already has the culture in place to be a powerhouse. Make it happen, Mr. Smith.

 LINKS AHOY. Kudos to the Indians fan who caught four foul balls... Ron Zook is a bank employee now... Fat Urkel is a hypocrite... Ultramarathons are tough, but Badwater 135 is no mere ultramarathon... Juuust a bit outside, Carly Rae... Wouldn't you love to find millions in the attic too?... Female athletes' own breasts are an overlooked hindrance... A Florida cheerleader riding an alligator... Don't lock your kid in the car, especially while frequenting a strip club...The Stone Cold Stunner Anthology is a great use of 23 minutes... and Pitt football gets no virtual respect.

• ¹ Did You Know: a 1985 WWF show at the Ohio State Fair drew over 50,000 spectators? ↑