John Woolard is a veteran journalist and sports radio talk show host based in Los Angeles. He spent much of his childhood in West Virginia and is a contributor to West Virginia Illustrated. He wrote this column on the late Bill Stewart.
They say Bill Stewart died of a heart attack on Monday, but I find that hard to believe.
From my observation, Bill Stewart had one of the biggest and strongest hearts around. It's hard to imagine it failing.
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Bill Stewart put his heart into all he did — in his personal life and professionally as a football coach — which is why the Mountaineer Nation is in mourning.
On a personal level he was by all accounts I have heard a soft-hearted, genuinely good man who showed kindness and care without motive, one who would be among the first to offer support or solace.
The Wiz's 2011 study of bowl game expense reports is cited in the May 14 edition of ESPN Magazine, which is titled "The Money Issue" and features Floyd Mayweather on the cover.
ESPN examined the most undervalued and overvalued assets in sports. In citing our study, ESPN determined that going to a bowl game ranked No. 6 on the overvalued list. The item appears on page 84.
The Wiz determined that the 70 teams in the 2010 postseason spent an average of $1.31 million on a bowl trip, with nearly 25% going toward required ticket purchases the teams did not recover. Read our report at this link.
How is the betting public viewing Brian Kelly's third season at Notre Dame? If early wagering on win totals is a judge, bettors think Kelly and his Fighting Irish will be in for a long 2012.
The offshore sportsbook 5Dimes has put an over/under win total of 8.5 on Notre Dame, with heavy juice (minus-210) applied to the under. Each of Kelly's first two teams finished 8-5.
The excellent site Beyond The Bets notes that 5Dimes' policy is to adjust the juice instead of win totals as bets are made.
Two lessons learned in the past week. Realignment is far from over and bigger is not always better.
First, realignment. The latest scuttlebutt has Florida State of the Atlantic Coast Conference taking an interest in joining the Big 12. As usual, the Seminoles' curiosity starts and ends with money.
Chip Brown of Orangebloods first reported on possible benefits to Florida State last Wednesday after the ACC announced it had reached a new 15-year, $3.6 billion TV deal with ESPN. That pact will last until 2027 and was said to be worth $240 annually to the conference, or $17.14 million per school. At first glance, it sounds like a terrific score, up from the approximate $13 million each school was receiving in the current TV deal.
But Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports! reported that the agreement is actually backloaded and the initial bump in revenue is around $1 million per school. The additional $4 million wouldn't be realized until 2021.
No athletic department could match what Kansas State did in 2010-11, according to an ESPN report.
The department was the most profitable of 99 public schools that field Division I-A football teams, pulling in a net income of nearly $23 million, according to open records requests for audited financial reports that schools submit each year to the NCAA. The 2010-11 fiscal year is most recent data available.
As for the methodology for defining net income, that is up for debate.
New York might not be considered a hotbed of college football, but on Tuesday night it was the place to be.
Writers Buzz Bissinger, featured in the video above, and Malcolm Gladwell debated broadcaster/author Tim Green and columnist Jason Whitlock on whether college football should be banned. Bissinger and Gladwell argued for abolishment, and by the end of the night had won over the packed house at New York University's Skirball Center.
The audience was polled beforehand and only 16% supported a ban and 53% opposed it. By the end of the debate, 53% favored a ban and 39% opposed it. The undecided vote, which was 31% beforehand, was only 8% at the end.
