To my readers, who think I've dropped off of the edge of the world: My heartfelt apologies for being away so long. I can't honestly add anything to what's been a year that was by turns horrific, depressing, hopeful--hell, the whole range of human emotion.
Not so long ago, people referred to certain sports records as needing an asterisk, as if they lacked legitimacy, as if they weren't accomplished with integrity. The home run battle in baseball between Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds, Floyd Landis' vacated Tour de France victory spring to mind, and , The pandemic has been that way in every corner of our lives, and indeed is leaving its own asterisk on the world of sports for 2020 and 2021 (and no doubt will in the future).
But I think what's going to leave the most impressive mark on the sports world (I'm not going to pretend and call them amateur sports) is the collateral (fill in your own noun, NSFW or otherwise) left by the recent Supreme Court decision in NCAA vs. Alston, whereby collegiate student-athletes (yes, even those majoring in "sports science") can be compensated for use of their name, image, and likeness by whoever wants to use them--the university (and I guess, the athletic conference to which their school belongs), people and entities in the private sector, whoever. I'm not so astonished to hear that many of the Division I schools are jumping into the pool with both feet and establishing, in effect, representative agencies for their students, where people paid by the UIQ (University in Question) will sort thru offers and advise their clients--sorry, student-athletes--on which offers are good and which aren't. I was never part of the college athletic program machine, but I know they have something called "compliance officers" that track the activities of all involved with their school's program and are supposed to flag illegal, immoral or unethical behavior on the part of coaches, athletes, and others inside or outside of the program. I can imagine the consternation of those involved in those jobs, having all this dumped into their lap. I can't imagine that this was something that they remotely thought they'd signed up for.
I've got more to say, but I can't couch it in terms in which I can communicate clearly. More later.
Onward.
PS: I hope it goes well for you, Tammy. This not-so-dyed-in-the-Wolverine is praying for you.
*--composed by members of Japanese group Orange Range--Yamato Ganeko, Naoto Hiroyama, Hiroki Hokama, Ryou Murayama, Yoh Murayama--2005.
