Southpaw Report

Dear readers, Over the course of our 166 (!) issues, there’s been no issue that has preoccupied us more than the relationship between the NCAA and its athletes. This week, the organization reached an historic, $2.8 billion settlement that, if approved by a judge, will pave the way for schools to begin to pay their athletes directly. That’s the topic of our Southpaw Memorial Day edition this week. Before we get to it, though, we’d like to send a quick note about the newsletter in general.

Dear readers, For the main event today, Ian has a dispatch on how sports media is actually doing something right — for once. He’ll use the first person in that piece. But before we get into that I (Calder) — the other author of this newsletter — want to talk quickly about a remarkable sports experience that I had since we were last in your inbox. I was fortunate enough to score tickets to attend Dwight (Doc) Gooden’s retirement ceremony at Citi Field with my parents.

Dear readers, The two sports that typically bring us the most joy — baseball and basketball — both left us feeling a bit disappointed this week. The Mets and the Nationals got off to uninspiring starts in the new MLB season, and the Knicks’ long-shot title hopes evaporated on Thursday after Julius Randle had season-ending surgery. It’s tough going out here, but at least we got to watch some great hoops at the college level — most notably the LSU-Iowa women’s Elite 8 matchup on Monday.

Dear readers, We hope the basketball fans among you are enjoying the latest edition of March Madness, which, depending on how things shake out for the NCAA, could also be the last. (We’re kidding, mostly . . . ) With MLB’s Opening Day just around the corner, though, our eyes are squarely fixed on baseball — and thanks to a brewing gambling scandal, so are everyone else’s. Let’s get to it. -Calder and Ian It’s been about 35 years since Major League Baseball had an honest-to-God betting scandal.

Dear readers, It’s official: the members of Dartmouth’s men’s basketball team have chosen to unionize with SEIU Local 560 by a vote of 13-2. (We can’t lie — we’re a little curious about the two holdouts.) While it might not seem like a big deal that a bunch of Ivy Leaguers have joined a union, the implications of the team’s decision could be far-reaching.

Dear readers, Major League Baseball’s Spring Training officially kicked off this week — praise be to the Baseball Gods — which means that, after four long, cold months of inactivity, the baseball media is circling the wagon for juicy scoops and buzzy gossip. This week, they sunk their teeth into Los Angeles Angels’ third baseman Anthony Rendon, who broke the cardinal rule of sports media: he said something interesting. Let’s get to it.

Dear readers, Happy Super Bowl Sunday. In a break from Southpaw tradition, we won’t be bashing on the NFL or the Super Bowl today. Instead, in keeping with some of our recent reporting about the NCAA, we’re discussing a fascinating development in the world of college sports. Last issue, we reported on the NCAA’s refusal to acknowledge the plain fact that its athletes are employees, even as the conference devises increasingly hair-brained schemes to allow athletes to earn money.

Dear readers, Since we started the newsletter back in 2020, we’ve been following the complex legal and political controversy over the NCAA’s “amateurism” model, which prohibits athletes from being paid for their labor. Well, there’s been a major development in the NCAA’s response to the controversy, so for this week’s newsletter, we’re diving deep into that story. We hope you enjoy it.

Dear readers, In our final edition of 2023, we asked if sports are still political, as leagues and athletes crawl back into their apolitical holes. Well, the first weeks of 2024 have seen some high-profile clashes between sports and politics — though they’re not necessarily the kind that we were hoping for. Our piece this week is about one particular clash at ESPN. Happy reading. -Ian and Calder The Worldwide Leader in Sports is having a rough couple of weeks.

Dear readers, Happy New Year’s Eve! We hope you all had a restful holiday season and that you’re ready to ring in 2024 in your preferred style. The New Year is a perfect opportunity to take a step back and think critically about the things you take for granted the rest of the year, so for the last edition of 2023, we’re reexaming one of Southpaw’s key premise in light of the events of the past few years. We hope you enjoy. -Calder and Ian How political are sports in 2023?