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Big time college sports have always been pretty divorced from big time colleges as academic institutions. But at least the TV deals and massive attendance numbers drove much needed money from sports back into learning. Well, sort of. Times are changing. Clemson just became the latest university to adopt an "athletics fee" for students. All students will see their tuition hiked $300 to be directed to sports programs because "athletics is a key component to delivering the No. 1 student experience." If anything, Clemson is probably late to this party and it's true that sports can drive a lot of student enjoyment and school spirit. But it's notable when colleges increase academic fees to pay for sports as opposed to using sports to raise money for academics. Of course, a few hundred bucks here and there is a drop in the bucket compared to the real shift in college sports, where Name Image Likeness (NIL) deals have basically turned some college athletes into pros. It beats the former system where student/athletes were fully exploited by universities, but it begs the question of what college sports are becoming, and just how much connection they have with colleges at all. Exactly how much athletes are making and who is getting paid is somewhat of a mystery because of the lack of transparency in the industry (it is the NCAA after all). But WaPo (Gift Article) has managed to collect some data from the million dollar plus deals scored by top players to ten dollar appearance fees earned by those in less popular sports. Maybe the most interesting (though predictable) part of the story is how hesitant most universities were to share the data. The hidden NIL economy of college sports. "The secrecy veiling NIL collective deals, which sometimes include language barring athletes from sharing financial details, leaves players at the whims of boosters, often with no contracts to enforce their promises." (This all just makes me feel even virtuous about being a Cal alumnus and lifelong Cal football fan. We're definitely not a pro team and the only added fees go to our psychotherapists.)
2
Knock Knock Joke
The relentless text messages. The anxiety-inducing polls. The increasing number of television commercials. Living through a closely contested presidential election is a nightmare. And that's how it feels in Northern California. I really can't even imagine how bad it is in a swing state. The NYT (Gift Article): Door-Knocks, Texts, and Ads, Ads, Ads: Life on the Swing-State Battlefield. "'I’m a Pennsylvania native and have been through many election cycles in a state that is no stranger to high-profile competitive campaigns, but I haven’t seen anything like what is playing out here this fall,' said Christopher Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa. 'I share a laugh with my mailman when he drops off our mail because of the size of the pile of mailers he brings each day, and I’m getting used to evenings and weekends full of knocks on my door.'" (This is one more reason to get rid of the antiquated electoral college. All 50 states should suffer this hell equally.)
3
Oligarch Enemies
Elon Musk, who has arguably become the most dangerous person in America, "is giving away $1 million to a Pennsylvanian each day until Nov. 5. Two people have already won the prize money after signing Musk's America PAC petition backing the Constitution." The move is certainly unethical and disturbing, and it probably breaks sweepstakes laws, but it's hardly the worst trick Musk is pulling. He's the conspiracy theory spreader in chief on his own social network and he basically runs Trump's ground campaign. From 404 Media, here's a look at how his PAC is microtargeting Muslims and Jews with opposing messages. It gets darker. Elon Musk’s Fake Sites and Fake Texts Impersonating the Harris Campaign.
+ What's in it for Musk (and a handful of other billionaires funding the entire Trump operation)? Well, let's narrow the answer down to this: Everything. Franklin Foer in The Atlantic(Gift Article): What Elon Musk Really Wants. "Many other titans of Silicon Valley have tethered themselves to Trump. But Musk is the one poised to live out the ultimate techno-authoritarian fantasy. With his influence, he stands to capture the state, not just to enrich himself. His entanglement with Trump will be an Ayn Rand novel sprung to life, because Trump has explicitly invited Musk into the government to play the role of the master engineer, who redesigns the American state—and therefore American life—in his own image." (On the positive side, if the turnout is good for Dems, they can beat Trump and Musk in one election.)
+ NYT (Gift Article): U.S. Agencies Fund, and Fight With, Elon Musk. A Trump Presidency Could Give Him Power Over Them. "Given Mr. Musk’s immense business footprint, he will be a major player no matter who wins the election. But he has thrown his fortune and power behind former President Donald J. Trump and, in return, Mr. Trump has vowed to make Mr. Musk head of a new 'government efficiency commission' with the power to recommend wide-ranging cuts at federal agencies and changes to federal rules. That would essentially give the world’s richest man and a major government contractor the power to regulate the regulators who hold sway over his companies." And from WaPo(Gift Article): "In essence, Musk is running a real-time experiment on American democracy. "Can a billionaire change the results of a close election by buying a communications platform, stretching legal limits by throwing millions around in swing states, and funding organizations that run deceptive ads?"
+ "'They see Trump as their instrument. This is an investment for them to take power.' Wilentz noted that, unlike the 'traditional corporate conservative élite' dating back to the Gilded Age, this new 'class of the super-rich' appears both more numerous and less civic-minded. 'The other guys might have been robber barons,' Wilentz said. 'These guys are oligarchs.'" Susan Glasser in The New Yorker: How Republican Billionaires Learned to Love Trump Again.
+ Our politics has increasingly become billionaire v billionaire. And that trend will continue. Mark Cuban says ‘It’s the Harris campaign vs. Elon,’ not Trump.
4
Potus Envy
I guess this AP headline gives new meaning to ordering a large Arnold Palmer. Trump kicks off a Pennsylvania rally by talking about Arnold Palmer’s genitalia. "When he took the showers with other pros, they came out of there. They said, ‘Oh my God. That’s unbelievable.'" Look, I don't want to spend any time on a Freudian analysis of a guy who dances to YMCA, spends most of his campaign money on ads obsessing over prisons paying for transition surgeries, and publicly reflects on the size of another guy's junk, so let's focus on the two important points here. Trump (who is known more for his short game) is not fit to be president. And Arnold Palmer didn't like Trump and would completely hate him now. In short (or long, I guess), Arnold Palmer thought Trump was a dick. Arnold Palmer's daughter, whose name is Peg (because of course it is), reflected on what her dad thought of Trump. "Arnold Palmer’s daughter once said her late father was 'appalled' by Donald Trump’s 'lack of civility' and character years before the GOP nominee crudely remarked on the golf legend’s penis size at a Pennsylvania rally over the weekend ... She recalled her father’s 'sound of disgust' while watching Trump speak on television prior to that year’s election. 'Like he couldn’t believe the arrogance and crudeness of this man who was the nominee of the political party that he believed in ... Then he said, 'He’s not as smart as we thought he was,' and walked out of the room. What would my dad think of Donald Trump today? I think he’d cringe.'"
+ Is this really major political news? Not really. But at least it can take my mind off the stress that yet another major poll finds the race neck and neck.
5
Extra, Extra
Health Careless: "The problems at Steward began long before the bankruptcy. Over the years, the company has closed some half a dozen hospitals, leaving patients without health care and providers without jobs. As chronicled in Markey’s report, patients at Steward hospitals were left without care at 'vastly' higher rates than the national average; death rates for conditions like heart failure at Steward-owned hospitals increased even as they decreased nationwide. Then, there were the bat infestations, the sewage seeping from broken pipes, the lack of essential supplies like linens and IV tubing, and the barrage of lawsuits from vendors over unpaid bills."WaPo (Gift Article): Senate report: How private equity ‘gutted’ dozens of U.S. hospitals. "Thanks to modern tricks of financial engineering, investors can prosper even when the underlying business is failing."
+ Kim Jong Undeterred: "About 1,500 North Korean soldiers, including those from the special forces, have already arrived in Russia, according to Seoul's spy agency." Seoul wants N Korean troops to leave Russia immediately.
+ Mid Grid: "Cuba's electrical grid collapsed again on Sunday, the fourth such failure in 48 hours, raising fresh doubts about a quick fix on an island already suffering from severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine."
+ Diddy Issues: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs named in five new lawsuits alleging rape and sexual assault. There were six others last week. The biggest question of this story will be how a crime so widespread could have gone on so long when so many people had to know about it.
+ Liberty Time: "They’ve been dying for a championship here and to know that we were the first to do it in the WNBA here for the New York Liberty, like … I can’t put it into words." After many times coming in second, the NY Liberty finally take home the WNBA Championship.
+ NY, LA, F Me: "Broadway vs. Hollywood. Subway vs. Freeway. Judge vs. Ohtani. New York neighbors who became cross-country rivals, the Yankees and Dodgers renew their starry struggle in the World Series for the first time in 43 years." Yankees and Dodgers meet in World Series for 12th time. (Yankees v Dodgers is a perfect World Series for our era. There’s something for everyone to hate.)
6
Bottom of the News
"This month sees the release of two biographies, one devoted to Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges, and the other to Zeppo Marx of the Marx Brothers. The casual observer may be forgiven if they are moved to ask if this is some kind of joke." A neglected Marx Brother and an unsung Stooge finally get their due. I'm trying to think of a joke here, but nothin' happens.