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10 Tuesday, December 7, aoio | The Red a Black College football buried beneath financial kickbacks We sports fans have known for a long time that college football has gone green and become a mon ey-driven industry. It is now clear that greed is exploding out of control and ruining amateur sports for fans that once appreciated it for the competition. On one hand, we have head coaches and administrators cashing big paychecks outside of their already ridiculously high contracts Georgia’s Mark Richt with his Ford truck com mercials, Oregon’s Chip Kelly with his $4.3 million in bonuses and future contract guarantees while players and fans endure endless scandal. On the other, we have allega tions that Auburn quarterback Cam Newton’s father attempted to auction his commitment for a sum of SIBO,OOO. And though the NCAA gave no indication that its decision to allow Newton to retain his eligi bility was about money, any dis cerning fan must wonder wheth er the decision was at least in part driven by the desire for a Coming to Campus for the second time: In conjunction with UGA Housing | • The Grand Hall in Tate 11, sth floor • Entertainment and Food provided • Chance to win door prizes! • No need to drive all over Athens - save time and see all of your off-campus options at once! • Over 50 Exhibitors to visit: UGA Housing, apartments, property managers, campus services • RSVP to our Facebook event to win a chance at one of our prizes i efore the Fair \\\ \ \ \ \\\ \ \ \ /■fi \\ \ \ \ \ \ Vs ■ /JHBF j l \ \ \ \ \ \ v u l£\ pc rrmi Jz zz :; iZSEIf 4 PARKER | (^AMOCT ATM n Pl 1 1 111,11,1 % HIVI RC l IJR Jj’l IIIVI R WAIK 'SISt MITCHELL more high-profile team in the national title game. I must have missed some thing. Isn’t football supposed to be about football? The fact is, this sport hasn’t really been about football for a long time. It’s about TV con tracts, bowl payouts and what ever else can increase the bot tom line. If that means ignoring its own bylaws to allow the eligibility of the top-athlete on the country’s top-team, then so be it. You’re a top-notch team with a smaller national market? Tough luck. Whatever makes the most money. Personally, I’m getting sick of it. If I want to watch old men and women quibble over politics, I’ll flip it to C-SPAN. It’s time for a change. It’s time we started focusing Lam I || ■ < IjmCMMMtCM flJUiif '*n*n 9 Cttrgia AS m. SfecvMM !* * ! i'iu r Mill J MkOetmy ii JSE*" - \ ' mi — Whkttebwy i- —M “ i n ir~i -dAfelL J • campus apartments community SPORTS on the competition again. College football is loved for the rivalries and the underdogs, the tailgating and the upsets. It’s loved for the classic match ups as well as the new. We love it so much that we are willing to spend ungodly amounts of money to participate in the events. In return, we are repaid with scandal over some of the nation’s top players and annual controversy over the BCS. Of course, saying that each season is an expensive undertak ing is like saying A. J. Green may have a future in football. But there is a point when public ser vice becomes excessive greed. We passed that point a while ago. If we ever want this sport to provide the entertaining compe tition on the field without the baggage off, those with the power in this sport need to take off their green spectacles and focus on what this sport should really be about football. David Mitchell is a sports writer for The Red & Black Farmer's 111 J^k JOINER ' MANAGEMENT F' IM ;V; ' |g|, •'%? ill Jp IW vi f jjftt v jif Is Hr. mm j Wg jjtK wmb ? *St jL f, * ” WES BLANKENSHIP ! Th Rio • Buck ▲ Head coach Mark Richt’s salary, valued at more than $3 million per year, is evidence off just how dedicated athletic programs are to finding success on the gridiron. [c lU i;lll IAKISI '*I © i\ TV.. Ud n < •tAUtcH* —: i xA SPORTS NOTEBOOK Dismissed Dogs’ QB commits toLSU By NICK PARKER The Red & Black When Georgia heads to Baton Rouge to face LSU in 2013, a familiar face will be donning the purple and gold former Georgia quarterback Zach Mettenberger. Mettenberger, now a quarterback at Butler Community College in Butler, Kan., committed to LSU over offers from Alabama, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Arizona after throwing for 2,678 yards and 32 touchdowns this season for Butler. Mettenberger and his Butler teammates recently won the junior college national champion ship. He was the talk of the G-Day game for Georgia last spring, but was kicked off the team following a guilty plea METTENBERGER on two misdemeanor counts of sexual battery on a female. From there, he explored transferring to another Division I school but wound up at Butler, where he became one of the most highly sought after junior college prospects in the country. The Watkinsville native went to nearby Oconee County High School and was seen on the Georgia sidelines against Georgia Tech two weeks ago as a spectator. His mother, Tammy, is a long-time administrative assistant in the Georgia football office. Mettenberger will enroll at LSU in January and will compete right away for the starting quarterback job with seniors Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee. He will have three years remaining eligibility with the Tigers. Houston named to AII-SEC first team Georgia outside line backer Justin Houston was named to the Associated Press All-Southeastern Conference first team Monday after finishing sec ond in the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss. Wide receiver A. J. Green, left tackle Clint Boling, place kicker Blair Walsh and linebacker Akeem Dent were all named second team All- SEC. Georgia-Eastern Kentucky game time changed The Georgia vs. Eastern Kentucky basketball game has been moved up an hour from a 2:00 p.m. tipoff to a 1:00 p.m. tipoff on Dec. 31. The switch was made to avoid conflict with the Georgia football team’s participation in the Autozone Liberty Bowl at 3:30.