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Boy, this whole mess with college football really has me bummed.
Not so much for what is actually happening, but in trying to think of what the best way out of this predicament is.
Specifically, this is all going on because of another instance of the American court system meddling with NCAA Division I college football.
I could live with -- or let me say more accurately -- I'm starting to get used to "name, likeness and image" known as the NIL system and the open movement of players.
I will say, though, the NIL system feels like a bait-and-switch scam. There was the idea touted for quite a number of years that players should be able to trade off on their faces, or looks, or reputations, or talents, or whatever has monetary value, and not have to be destitute as they live like prisoners on bread crumbs and tables scraps while in college.
But this has turned into, "Can I afford to pay this top-of-the-line quarterback $20 million this year? Will we have enough money left to pay everyone else?"
What, what's this paying thing? That's what the pros are for.
And going to class has become a joke -- literally. I heard a couple TV sports pundits over the past week saying how there was a reporter they knew who asked a player at a press conference a question about going to class.
Apparently that in and of itself got a laugh, and at least one of the pundits thought he was asking it just to try to provoke a reaction, not as a real question. As it was, the player answered that he doesn't go to class. "I graduated two years ago!" he said. Another laugh.
What?!?! Why do we have college sports, then? Why don't we turn all these guys loose and form minor-league teams and conferences, similar to what is done in baseball and hockey.
Those sports still have college leagues, but those are for players who are actually INTERESTED in attending college and getting an education, or at least the paper certificate signifying they've received a degree.
Why don't football and basketball do this? Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot. It's the big green monster. No, not envy. MONEY.
Money for the colleges, money for the players, money for agents, yadda, yadda, yadda.
What caught a nerve for me was this whole process of certain courts ordering players who have been in the NFL draft, have actually been drafted, have attended an NFL team's training camp, and have even played in NFL preseason games being allowed back onto the college field.
No. NO. NO! NO!!!!!
The root of the problem as far as I can see it is courts meddling in the governance of college athletics. Part of it is that the NCAA is so stupid to invite this in. Why did it set new eligibility rules so that one class, those guys unfortunate enough to have graduated from high school in 2022, get screwed out of one year to play in college.
Don't they have people that check their legislation to see how it affects each year? There's only, at absolute most, six years to need to check on, and really, probably four or five.
But consider that there is one thing that all these changes have in common, and the one thing that wasn't going on 20 or 30 or 50 years ago -- the courts ordering these changes.
So it really pains me to say this, but the one way to rein in what the courts -- a branch of government -- are doing is having another branch regulate this.
Yes, as sucky as its sounds, Congress has to get involved. Just enough to say that the NCAA -- with some kind of quasi-government oversight, since the NCAA can't stop tripping over its own feet -- gets to set its rules WITHOUT court interference. Or at least quite limited interference.
I don't like the idea, but just letting things go the way they are seems pretty untenable.
If they continue down this path, we'll all think of college sports as minor league teams like the Lansing Lugnuts or the Macon Whoopee (say it out loud ... and yes, an actual team name from that Georgia city).
Ever notice how little we pay attention to minor league hockey and baseball teams? That's because they're simply less-talented versions of Major League Baseball or National Hockey League teams. There's no charm in thinking these are "amateurs" (that's long gone out the door) who are playing for the love of the game while they're getting their educations.
Think about which sports get attention that you never hear about for 47 of the 48 months between Olympics? Sports where amateurs are toiling away in obscurity and not getting a cent, or very few of them, for doing what they love.
College football and basketball are getting further and further away from that ideal.
OK, I bet you weren't expecting that tirade to open the NFL season. I wasn't either until the last few days.
Now, I feel so refreshed I almost feel like making bad predictions. ON PURPOSE.
Don't worry, though, I don't have to do that, I make bad predictions when my brow is furrowed and I'm closing one eye to look at the data. And doing everything else I can think of that also doesn't work.
So without further ado ...
Today, 8:20 p.m.
New England at Seattle -- I was ready to say that the Patriots should be the more motivated team, what with the way they were manhandled in the Super Bowl. But as I think about it, I don't really remember the Seahawks being touted as the best thing since sliced bread after much more than the end of February. Somebody's still looking for respect, Rodney Dangerfield. Seahawks, 27-19.
Thursday, 8:35 p.m.
San Francisco vs. L.A. Rams, in Melbourne, Australia -- I'm hoping that the starting time they're giving is OUR time, not Australia's, otherwise this game will have something like a 10:30 a.m. start here.
One of the big storylines is how each team is approaching the game, the 49ers arriving in Australia in the middle of last week, while the Rams are flying in maybe 12 hours before kickoff.
I'm sensing that while the 49ers' approach may be preferable for the game itself, what happens when they fly back to San Fran and need another six days to reacquaint themselves to home again? I know the 49ers don't have a Week 2 bye.
So going on some speculation, and the fact that all the injuries San Fran suffers are the least debilitating in Week 1, give me the 49ers, 28-23.
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Atlanta at Pittsburgh -- What's the movie where two people of radically different ages switch bodies? I say that because it looks like the Falcons' Tua Tagovailoa plays like he's the 42 years old, and Pittsburgh's Aaron Rodgers like he's 28 (that's Tua's real age I found by looking it up). Just that's enough to get me to take the Steelers, 20-13.
Baltimore at Indianapolis -- Two teams, and particularly two QBs with something to prove after injury-plagued seasons a year ago. Baltimore's Lamar Jackson had nagging injuries that kept his from playing at his previous MVP level, while the Colts' Daniel Jones actually had an MVP-level season going until an injury knocked him out after about eight games. Looking at each one's potential, I'll take the Ravens, 30-22.
Buffalo at Houston -- Both perennially underachieve in the playoffs, but we're only talking Week 1 now. Buffalo's as good as it gets in the regular season, so give me the Bills, 33-26.
Chicago at Carolina -- I don't see Chicago head coach Ben Johnson being unprepared just because it's opening week on the road. Bears, 35-29.
Cleveland at Jacksonville -- The Browns, on the other hand, I can see being totally unprepared no matter the circumstance. And that's if the Deshaun Watson-as-starting-QB experiment doesn't blow up in their faces. Jaguars, 23-15.
New York Jets at Tennessee -- No matter what Northern Michigan University grad Robert Saleh says, the new Tennessee head coach will have his troops fired up to exact some revenge on the franchise that made Saleh looks foolish for ever taking the Jets' job. Titans, 33-12.
New Orleans at Detroit -- This is an interesting matchup. The Saints are an up-and-coming team trying to break into the elite ranks, while Detroit was humbled last year despite an OK 9-8 record but last place in the NFC North and looking to return to those same elite ranks. Give me the home team in a dome. Lions, 31-27.
Tampa Bay at Cincinnati -- The Bucs are like their QB, Baker Mayfield, the little engine that could. But I've heard about some real leaks in parts of that engine, like their defense. Not a good prescription against one of the most high-powered offenses in the league, and playing at home to boot. Bengals, 39-31.
Sunday, 4:25 p.m.
Arizona at Los Angeles Chargers -- Week 1 is a good week for upsets, but I already picked mine with the 49ers over Rams. The Cardinals should have the inside track all season to taking Arch Manning as overall No. 1 in next year's draft. Chargers, 33-19.
Green Bay at Minnesota -- Geez, I hadn't noticed this was a Week 1 matchup. I kinda like Minnesota QB Kyler Murray early in the season, when defenses and probably his own offense aren't truly "buttoned up." That means Murray can just go on wild scrambles and either gain tons of rushing yards or make his typical acrobatic throws to receivers who suddenly become wide open after the QB has been scrambling around for 15 or 20 seconds. Vikings, 27-23.
Miami at Las Vegas -- If the Cardinals take a big stumble and actually win five or six games, these teams could be frontrunners for Arch Manning, though the Raiders will probably trade an overall No. 1 pick away with Fernando Mendoza already in the fold. Though it probably means less in Week 1 than any other time, give me the home team. Raiders, 29-25.
Washington at Philadelphia -- I would really like to see Jayden Daniels back in action before I'm ready to commit on the Commanders. Eagles, 33-22.
Sunday, 8:20 p.m.
Dallas at New York Giants -- Ditto with the Giants. A sea change with John Harbaugh as head coach should mean at least a few games to get adjusted, if this is really a sea change. Cowboys, 41-28.
Monday, 8:15 p.m.
Denver at Kansas City -- Again, I think the Chiefs need some adjustment time for Patrick Mahomes returning after his catastrophic injury late last season. Though I wouldn't see myself picking against them at home any other time, I'll take the Broncos, 26-20.
Last season's playoffs -- 9-4 (I took Seattle in the Super Bowl!), 69 percent.
Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.