It’s happening. Athletes at one SEC school already cashing in on NIL deal.
Random notes:
▪ The name, image and likeness deals are already happening. According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Onward Reserve men’s apparel has already struck a deal with five University of Georgia athletes. One is incoming five-star freshman quarterback Brock Vandagriff.
▪ One possible byproduct of NIL opportunities: College athletes holding their own summer camps for money.
▪ Another possible byproduct of the NIL opps: Collegenathletes doing Cameo appearances where they wish kids “Happy Birthday” or “Good job” or “Happy graduation” for a fee.
▪ As my colleague Mark Story pointed out on our latest podcast, Louisville women’s basketball player Hailey Van Lith has over 720,000 followers on Instagram. Under the new rules, I’m guessing that could be monetized in some way.
▪ Sayre quarterback Cole Pennington has committed to Marshall. His father, Chad, was a star quarterback for the Herd before moving on to the NFL. Chad Pennington is the head coach at Sayre.
▪ Pro Football Focus sets Kentucky football’s win total over/under at 7.3.
▪ Nick Saban has coached 188 games at Alabama, the most of any SEC football coach at his current school. Second on the list? Kentucky’s Mark Stoops at 99. LSU’s Ed Orgeron is third at 59.
▪ The Cincinnati Reds entered Wednesday night’s game against San Diego at 39-39. That’s the 12th time the Reds have been at .500 this season, and the fifth time since June 20.
▪ Knoxville News-Sentinel sports columnist John Adams reports that Tennessee fans so far like new athletic director Danny White. Why? One fan praised White “for not doing anything stupid yet.”
▪ UK freshman wide receiver Christian Lewis was named Birmingham Male Athlete of the Year by AL.com.
▪ I wish Hubie Brown was doing the television analysis on the NBA conference finals.
▪ The fans counting the time as the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo stands at the foul line is just one more reason to love the fact that the fans are back.
▪ On the one hand, I sort of hope college basketball coaches stick with the casual attire sideline look displayed during the pandemic season of 2020-21. On the other hand, I can’t wait to see what sort of suit the sartorially splendid Chin Coleman will wear in his first game as an assistant coach at UK.
▪ In three starts at Louisville, Reds No. 1 prospect Hunter Greene has struck out 21 batters in 13 1/3 innings. He’s also allowed seven earned runs.
▪ If you’re already tired of hearing about Kentucky high school basketball phenom Reed Sheppard, sorry, you’re out of luck.
▪ More than one reader has told me I should have included Bob Burrow on my list of the 10 best basketball players to transfer to Kentucky. The Radcliff native transferred to UK from Lon Morris Junior College in Texas in 1954. He was an All-American in 1955 and is a member of the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame. He passed away in 2019.
▪ You could not have seen anything more delightful than new Kentucky basketball center Oscar Tshiebwe playing with kids at John Calipari’s basketball camp on Tuesday. Oscar met with the media afterward and charmed us, as well.
▪ Louisville Male basketball star Kaleb Glenn is a crucial recruit for U of L Coach Chris Mack. Glenn’s father played football for the Cardinals. Losing the class of 2023 prospect to another school would not be a good look.
▪ Another factor in Davion Mintz’s decision about whether to return to the UK basketball team for next season? With the influx of talent John Calpari has brought into the program, Mintz’s role may not be as prominent as last season. He has until July 7 to decide.
▪ The fan who held up the sign that caused the massive crash at the Tour de France would seem to be a perfect candidate for one of those old Southwest Airlines “Wanna Get Away” commercials.
▪ Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow says second-year wide receiver Tee Higgins “is going to be a problem for defenses.”
▪ Tubby Smith turned 70 on Wednesday. Doesn’t seem possible, does it?
