Aug. 2, 2013
Quick Slant is an array of brief insights and occasionally opinionated overviews of collegiate athletics in general and the Vanderbilt Commodores in particular.
Does anyone doubt for a minute that James Franklin wouldn’t be extremely good as the CEO of a large company? As the CEO of Vanderbilt football, his ability to see the big picture, communicate with the public, motivate and teach his team and still manage to pay attention to the little things has few peers.
Dore Jam Presented by Gary Force Acura is coming August 11 (3-5 p.m.); it’s always a hit for kids of all ages and this year it leads into our women’s soccer game with Louisville, which is a free event that starts when Dore Jam ends.
The latest report from Collegiate Licensing Company says royalties for officially licensed Vanderbilt merchandise rose 11% over the past fiscal year.
I don’t know what gets me more enthused about our women’s and men’s golf programs – the increasingly stronger rosters, the fantastic recruiting going on or the tremendous new facilities at the Vanderbilt Legends Club that will open later this month. You should have bought stock in Vanderbilt golf a year or two ago – a lot of golf insiders are very bullish looking ahead a few years.
I consider myself a journalist by training and practice and will defend our nation’s media to any and all but there are moments when I find myself hoping that the journalists covering the big stories that affect our nation have a more steady touch than some of those who cover sports, where I have more insight. I’m an NPR listener and the other day the famous Frank DeFord was whining about the foolish people who volunteer to work at professional sporting events, apparently forgetting that some folks actually enjoy being inside the ropes. He dislikes the NCAA and seemingly darn near every else unless his goal is to just be provocative. He’s not the only pundit that occasionally makes me wonder if they actually believe what they write or say.