NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 23: Commissioner of the National Football League (NFL), Roger Goodell, speaks at a press conference announcing the 16 winners of the first round of the $20M Head Health Challenge, a research grant created by the NFL and General Electric to better study and treat traumatic brain injuries, on January 23, 2014 in New York City. Each winner will receive $300,000, with a possible $500,000 more available for six winners of the second round of the challenge, which will be announced in 2015. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
The Cheat SheetBy David Lauterbach on

The week started off with a ton of news coming from all corners of the sporting world. NFL owners made it clear they were unhappy with the concussion payout, Houston Baptist is better at recruiting than Baylor, Tiger Woods switches golf balls, Mark Cuban thinks the Mavericks should maybe tank, an MLB CBA update, and so much else happened.

NFL Owners Are Unhappy With Concussion Payout

Miami Dolphins v Philadelphia Eagles

According to a report by Pro Football Talk, NFL owners aren’t happy they’re the only ones sued and paying out over concussions in football. It’s a fair point to make as the NFL’s league office should probably pay too. Houston Texans owner Bob McNair made that clear in an interview with Sports Business Journal.

Owners are not happy that [because] the NFL was the one with the deep pockets, so that’s who the plaintiffs’ lawyers went after. They have not sued any of the colleges and the reason is simple: You sue the University of Alabama and go into Tuscaloosa, do you think a jury is going to give you an award against the University of Alabama? Forget it.

According to McNair, the league and its owners didn’t know anything about concussions and their long term affects…but neither did anyone else associated with the sport of football.

The public is coming to realize the NFL is leading the way. We are not hiding anything. Plaintiffs’ lawyers would like to build this case, and that is what they were relying on, [that] we were hiding information. We haven’t hid any information, we didn’t have information, no one did. We are developing information, and we are learning from it, and we are taking steps.

This has been an issue with owners for a while. At the same time, fans haven’t been buying the owner’s complaints in regards to concussions for a while.

Baylor University is Behind Houston Baptist in Recruiting Rankings

Baylor's McLane Stadium
WACO, TX – OCTOBER 24: The swollen Brazos River runs just behind the playing field before the Iowa State Cyclones take on the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium on October 24, 2015 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

There are probably people out there who think Baylor University’s football program should cease to exist after everything that has transpired over the last couple years. While that will never happen, the lack of recruits the school is able to bring in could force the program to sit in the basement of the BIG 12 for years to come.

Baylor’s Class of 2017 is down to just one recruit committed to play for the Bears when National Signing Day comes around in February, but there are no guarantees even he will remain. As noted by Yahoo Sports, it is pretty much expected an FBS program would have at least 10 verbal commitments at this point in time.

It’s that bad.

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Houston Baptist who is one spot ahead of Baylor is a member of the Southland Conference and went 4-7 this year. Here are the teams they played in 2016: Central Arkansas, Texas Southern, Abilene Christian, Sam Houston State, Western Kentucky, Nicholls, Southeastern Louisiana, Lamar, UTEP, Stephen F. Austin, and Incarnate Word.

The future of Baylor Bears football looks bad, but they may deserve that.

Tiger Woods is Switching Golf Balls

13 Apr 1997: Tiger Woods of the USA celebrates after sinking a 4 feet putt to win the US Masters at Augusta, Georgia. Woods won the tournament with a record low score of 18 under par. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Munday /Allsport
13 Apr 1997: Tiger Woods of the USA celebrates after sinking a 4 feet putt to win the US Masters at Augusta, Georgia. Woods won the tournament with a record low score of 18 under par. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Munday /Allsport

When Tiger Woods sunk an incredible chip shot during the 2005 Masters, Nike’s golf ball business exploded. The swoosh already sold its golf balls well due to Woods using them, but when his ball froze on the edge of the hole and exposed the famous Nike logo, millions of people immediately thought they needed more Nike golf balls.

11 years later, Bridgestone hopes it will capitalize like Nike once did.

Nike announced back in August a full closure of their golf brand. As a result, Woods was forced to find a new golf equipment supplier. Sadly, that meant less commercials like this one.

As Woods prepares for his next tournament, he surprisingly revealed to ESPN.com his new ball of choice is a Bridgestone golf ball.

“The most important thing is the ball,” he said. “Once you find a ball, then you can work around everything else. The ball is No. 1. The most important club in the bag is the ball.”

Woods still however will likely be wearing Nike golf apparel.

Does Mark Cuban Think the Mavericks Should Tank?

cuban

The short answer? Yes, kind of.

“Haters gonna hate. We think that you always compete,” Cuban told ESPN. “If you’re competing when the league is better, like it is this year, if you don’t do well, you’ll be in a position to get a good pick. Which, remember, even if you have the worst record in the NBA, there’s a 75 percent chance you’re not going to get the top pick.”

Our own Liam McGuire dissected the quote and the Mavs’ position perfectly:

“Cuban will never admit to actively tanking, he’s too proud. But, considering how the Mavericks season has already gone way off the tracks, the team can tank without actively acknowledging it. Dallas is unhealthy and mediocre. Keeping on the same path, publicly claiming to compete while privately understanding that’s impossible to do is the best course of action. The Mavs are bad and should be tanking. Maybe, they already are. Ending up with a lottery pick should be Dallas’ number one priority. How low? That all depends on Cuban.”

Is a New MLB CBA on the Horizon?

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 22: Major League Baseball Executive Vice President Rob Manfred speaks at a news conference at MLB headquarters on November 22, 2011 in New York City. Commissioner Bud Selig announced a new five-year labor agreement between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 22: Major League Baseball Executive Vice President Rob Manfred speaks at a news conference at MLB headquarters on November 22, 2011 in New York City. Commissioner Bud Selig announced a new five-year labor agreement between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

MLB’s current CBA is set to expire on Thursday December 1st, but that doesn’t necessarily mean if the league and MLBPA don’t agree on a new CBA there will be a lockout.

Regardless of that odd point, it looks like the two sides are progressing towards an agreement.

As Rosenthal mentions, the International Draft was a major sticking point for the MLBPA. Jeff Passan from Yahoo Sports detailed why and how they were planning to fight it.

The next couple days should be interesting.

Quick Hits

Freezing Cold Takes

– We made a big announcement! Well, our new partner website Freezing Cold Takes did!

– The 2017 NHL All Star Game will be the first to air on free TV since 2004.

“As the NHL celebrates its Centennial, we’re excited to bring the pace and energy of the NHL All-Star Game to a network-television audience for the first time in more than a decade,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer, NBC Sports and NBCSN. “This move, combined with the addition of games featuring rising young stars like Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid, as well as our upcoming ‘Star Sunday’ matchups, continues to illustrate our commitment to showcase the best talent in the NHL and grow the game of hockey in America.”

– A Bryant University player thought his team was ahead and dribbled out the clock.

Well, he was wrong. Instead, Bryant was down by one point and lost.

About David Lauterbach

David is a writer for The Comeback. He enjoyed two Men's Basketball Final Four trips for Syracuse before graduating in 2016. If The Office or Game of Thrones is on TV, David will be watching.

View all posts by David Lauterbach