Maybe it’s time to call for an NIL mulligan

It has been warned that the Name Image Likeness situation is going to get more confusing, and it has.

Tuesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette had a story about how 24 states have approved paying players, but none seem to have real regulations or the desire to investigate how much players are being paid or if they are in violation of NCAA regulations that forbid pay for play and recruiting inducements.

This is just a thought, but maybe it is time to ask for a mulligan or a do-over.

All the Power 5 schools would have to agree to stop what they are doing and start over with rules, regulations and a salary cap like the professional teams have.

It is outrageous to think an 18-year-old who is blessed to be athletic can make more money than his parents or others who have worked years at a job.

Certainly those who have made big, big money have enough to tide them over until the NCAA or the conferences can get a grip on the situation that has quickly grown out of control.

The Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick has expressed concern that the path college athletics and NIL deals are headed that eventually the athletic departments will be totally separate entities from their colleges and universities.

If nothing else, NIL has created even more separation between the Power 5 and the mid-major programs that are just as important in their communities.

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Over the years, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s All Arkansas Preps awards banquet has featured some great speakers. starting with Peyton Manning, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Hunter Henry and Dick Vitale, and the list goes on.

This year’s may be the best as former major leaguer and Pine Bluff native Torii Hunter will be the main speaker.

The banquet is June 11 at 6 p.m. in the Wally Allen Ballroom of the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.

More than 400 athletes and coaches will be honored.

Hunter was a first-round pick in the 1993 major league draft when he was just out of high school. In 1999, he became a starting outfielder for the Minnesota Twins and spent 19 seasons in the majors, finishing his career with the Los Angeles Angels.

He has a foundation that provides college scholarships and in partnership with MLB maintains baseball fields all over the country.

He is married to Katrina, who he met in high school. They have been together for more than 30 years.

For more information on the All Arkansas Preps banquet, go to allarkansaspreps.com.

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Our man Bob Holt has never mentioned it, but he has been named Sportswriter of the Year in Arkansas by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

Holt has been with the Democrat-Gazette since 1981 and was featured in the Birmingham News as the most conscientious sportswriter in the SEC.

Holt is well-known and respected among his peers in Arkansas and the SEC and is known for always having questions during a news conference. Usually several questions.

Coaches like Nick Saban have remarked from the podium at the SEC media days that he would open it up to questions and then say. “Go ahead, Bob.”

Holt covers all Arkansas Razorback sports, backing up Tom Murphy on football and baseball. He is the primary reporter for men’s basketball and track and field.

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While on the subject of sportswriters, our thoughts and prayers are with Nate Allen and his wife Nancy as he battles cancer.

Allen has been covering the Razorbacks for a variety of news outlets since the early 1970s and he, too, is much-respected and liked by his peers.

Read Wally Hall’s SPORTS BLOG Wallylikeitis.com