Thursday

It seems like we were commemorating D-Day not that long ago.  Where has the last year gone?

I note that my wall calendar here at the office does not carry any recognition of D-Day for today.  (There was a small-print notation that yesterday was "World Environment Day".)  59 years is a long time to keep remembering, I guess.  We'll keep the torch lit here at 4000 Days.

A relatively small item in the sports pages this week has been the reneging of an ND football recruit from a previously signed National Letter of Intent (NLI).  The kid is a 300+ pound, 5-Star lineman from California who was/is one of the top seniors in this year's class and he had all the big schools after him.  He had vacillated several times before making his ND choice.  Now he has backed-out of the ND commitment and is headed to UCLA.

ND's Coach Brian Kelly has refused to release the kid from his NLI which means that he loses a year of eligibility at UCLA.  Critics suggest that ND (and Kelly in particular) are treating the player unfairly by digging in their heals on the NLI clearance.  Don't coaches leave schools in the lurch all the time for other coaching gigs at other schools for their own benefit?  It does seem like a double standard. 

On the other hand, schools shape their recruiting classes based on needs, and there's always the reality that one kid might not choose a school if it seems like a school already have other recruits slotted in for his position.  Plus, if it seems like a big rival (USC?) is in the mix, schools (and coaches) don't like to be unnecessarily cooperative in this kind of a change.  Welcome to the dark world of the NCAA.

I probably won't get back here until at least Saturday evening.  Lots of golf in the Geneva Member-Guest event between now and then.  In looking back, my golf history started my senior year of high school when I joined our golf team for the Spring season.  1967.  I had to borrow clubs from my girlfriend's dad, and it wasn't pretty.  I remember hitting practice balls in the field by the house on the farm.  The cows were not impressed.  Given the length of time that it takes to play 18 holes, the 6000 yards or so of average course length, and the many courses that I have played over the years, there's probably some scary numbers that you could compute on how much of my life has been spent chasing a little white ball.  Hmmm.

Finally, the 24 team and Hendrick Motor Sports have announced a further extension with a primary sponsor..Axalta Coating Systems (formerly DuPont Automotive Finishes).  Dupont sold off this division and it has been rebranded under the Axalta name.  The new paint-scheme looks a lot like the old one...with just a different name.  Gordon was on CNBC this AM, being interviewed by Carl Quintanilla on the floor of the exchange.  A confluence of one of my favorite sports with my business.  Very cool.

Make it a Good Thursday.

BCOT