* Just when big-time college athletics thought it couldn’t get more challenging than recruiting scandals, “one-and-done” fallout and high-profile, criminal investigations, along comes the Supreme Court. It has signed off on legalized sports betting. Not just in Las Vegas. But everywhere. Easily.
“There’s a lot of touch points,” concedes SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. As in myriad opportunities for gamblers to get some inside info–as in links to players. As in integrity under further siege. From ever-ratcheting insider access to point spreads to point shaving: hardly a quantum leap.
As we know, the Supreme Court doesn’t always get it right, from Plessy v. Ferguson to Citizens United v. FEC. In fact, bet on it.
* So President Trump formally canceled the White House visit of the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a face-saving gesture, because most players were going to be no-shows anyhow. It’s also a reminder that when it comes to White House invitations to athletes, they should only apply to those on Olympic or World Cup teams. For those who actually represented their country–not their employers.
* Brittany Lincicome, the local veteran of the LPGA circuit, made headlines recently when she was invited to play a PGA Tour event. She will become the fifth female pro golfer–going back to Babe Zaharias–to play in a men’s tournament. She’ll receive a sponsor’s exemption and compete next month in the Barbasol Championship in Nicholasville, Ky. It’s a big deal, but likely nothing that shocks anyone who recalls her golfing days at Seminole High School. She was the star player–on the boys’ team.