Hugh Freeze has nothing on Rick Pitino.
Running off at the typewriter …
Anybody want to answer the question of why Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze lost his job for calling an escort service while Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino still has a job even though the ’Ville was running a brothel out of its athletic dormitory for years?
This is literally a case of a university — an institution of higher earning, er, learning — prostituting its ethics and morality.
Seriously, what’s worse: Freeze, an individual coach who allegedly hired prostitutes for his own personal pleasure? Or Pitino running an entire program that hired a harem of hookers to have sex with a bunch of teenage basketball recruits in hopes those recruits would sign with your school?
Honestly, I don’t even know if Ole Miss should have fired
Freeze for being a horndog. They should have fired him for running a dirty program and violating NCAA rules, not for calling hookers and violating his marriage vows. Do you agree or disagree?
SHORT STUFF: Everybody I talk to keeps saying that if Blake Bortles struggles again this season, he will be done as the quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars. In other words, I guess you could say that this is a Make-or-Blake season. … UCF coach Scott Frost says his team is “bigger, stronger and faster” this season because of the job done by strength and conditioning guru
Zach Duval and his staff. I’m sure Frost is being genuine, but just once wouldn’t you like to hear a coach come out on the first day of practice and say his team is “smaller, weaker and slower” than it was a year ago? … Hundreds of Orlando City fans greeted Dom Dwyer at the airport earlier this week and chanted that their new hero “scores whenever he wants.” My buddy
Brandon Kravitz, afternoon radio host on FM 96.9, says that Dwyer has only scored five goals this year and City fans should change the chant to say, “He scores every once in a while.” … Speaking of Dwyer, I had to snicker a little bit when shock waves reverberated throughout MLS because Orlando City paid a record $1.6 million in allocation money to acquire their newest star. You know what they call $1.6 million in the NBA? Minimum wage. … And speaking of minimum wage, Odell Beckham Jr. doesn’t just want to be the highest paid player at his position in the NFL, he wants to be the highest paid player — period. Of course right now, considering he is still on his rookie deal and will make the laughably low salary of just $1.8 million this season, his goal should be to become one of the top 50 highest-paid wide receivers. Sadly, NFL players are obscenely underpaid when compared to their NBA and MLB brethren. These guys literally put their necks — not to mention their brains — on the line every week and yet their contracts aren’t guaranteed. Pathetic. …
Derrick Rose was a nice signing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but Rose or no Rose, the Cavs are facing a thorny issue if Kyrie Irving leaves. … By the way, Stephen A. Smith quoted anonymous sources as saying LeBron James wants to “kick Kyrie Irving’s [butt].” In related news, millions of ESPN viewers every day want to kick Stephen A.’s butt. … And while we’re talking about Kyrie, my Sentinel colleague
David Whitley recently compared him to Ethel Mertz — the old character in “I Love Lucy.” As long as we’re talking about dusty sitcoms, I believe the reason Kyrie wants out of Cleveland is because he doesn’t want to be stranded on Gilbert’s, er, Gilligan’s Island once LeBron leaves. …
Yet another long-time NASCAR sponsor, Target, is leaving the sport to focus more of its marketing resources on soccer. I hate to say it, but NASCAR is withering away right before our very eyes. Will the last NASCAR sponsor to leave the sport please clean up the oil stains and lock the gates? … Did you see where a Boston sports radio host was suspended by his station for criticizing the Red Sox? In Orlando, radio hosts are more likely to get suspended for complimenting the Magic. … Can you believe Jack Nicklaus was on Twitter last week during the British Open, tweeting out superlatives about Jordan Spieth? I guess I’m OK with that, but if the Golden Bear starts posting selfies on Instagram we may need take away his cellphone. … Redshirt freshman quarterback Feleipe
Franks hasn’t even started a game yet for the University of Florida and already Gator Nation has anointed hotshot recruit Matt Corral, who orally committed earlier this week, as his replacement. I guess you could say UF fans have put their Ballpark Franks on the back burner in favor of their Golden Corral.
LAST WORD: I see where retiring Dale Earnhardt Jr. is headed to the NBC broadcast booth next year. The way he’s been driving this season, he better leave now if he wants to get there on time.
Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on Twitter @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on FM 96.9 and AM 740.