John Wall accepts a role at Howard as head of basketball operations and Duke signs a deal with Amazon Sports to broadcast 3 of its marquee out of conference games. KY falling farther behind makes me sick.
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I don't mind Wall going to Howard and getting his reps in. People have been saying Pope didn't have the resume to coach at UK, and the only reason he got the job is because he played at UK. That would be the exact thing with Wall. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I do not believe Wall has ever coached or held a back office job in basketball. Let him get his feet wet at Howard, and if he shows he got the stuff then bring him home.
The duke-Amazon thing is annoying, a rich get richer type of thing.Last edited by WeWant9; 20 hours ago. -
Streaming seems to be the way teams are going after more NIL> Heck look how much NBA games are streamed this year, NFL and others. Smart move by dook. But wait till contracts are renegotiated again. It will be in the next 5 years or so, do not care how long the contracts are currently running. Soon there will be SEC TV streaming or NCAA TV Streaming. IT will model MLB TV and cost for each sport, Football and basketball anyways. Get ready for it. ESPN and SEC+ for some games already. I have ESPN so I get the SEC + games. Pretty much only way to watch UK Baseball (except the few that actually are on SEC channel), same for Womens VBall or BBALL.Proverbs 25:24Comment
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Bingo!
Thank you for pointing that out. Hypocrisy is a pet peeve of mine. I see repeatedly people saying that Pope wasn't qualified, despite being a head coach for about a decade, and that he was hired simply because of the UK connection. Yet, these same people call for Rondo and Wall and Derek Anderson and others to become part of the coaching staff or the General Manager despite having no coaching experience or management experience. It's crazy!Comment
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I get the appeal of keeping it in house, but it's never been a high priority for me. Howard seems like a perfect place for Wall to gain some knowledge and see if he has the chops for it. We are watching in real time that UK isn't the place to get on the job training.
Now if a former guy like Prince, who has the resume from being the current VP of Basketball Affairs with the Grizzles, went somewhere like Tenn or UNC... then I'd be pretty ticked off. Wall going to Howard, not so much but I hope he kills it.Last edited by WeWant9; 20 hours ago.Comment
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Can you imagine the whining, complaining, gnashing of teeth, pulling of hair, etc. if UK had been the first school to actually agree to Amazon-Only streaming for 3 of our games??? Big Blue Nation would come unglued.
But let Duke do it and the narrative is the UK is falling further behind. None of our fans want our games on Amazon. None of them.Comment
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It's most definitely the money factor.
I asked Google:
"Is Duke receiving money from Amazon for televising 3 of their basketball games in the future?", and it responded:
+4 Yes, Duke University is entering a multiyear, groundbreaking agreement with Amazon (Prime Video) to televise three marquee men’s basketball games in the 2026-27 season. The partnership brings significant financial benefits, including extensive Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities for players, likely generating millions annually, sources told CBS Sports.
So if Kentucky could receive NIL money for having a few games televised, why wouldn't it? I've got Amazon Prime, I think we pay $10 a month for it....so I've got no problem with that. I'd rather watch UK play than Duke, that's for sure.Comment
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Totally agree. If 3 of our biggest non-conference games would have been moved to a streaming, all we would have heard was "Kentucky doesn't care about the common fan...all they care about is making money". Now that Duke did it, some of those same fans are like, "Kentucky basketball, always a step behind"Comment
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While an exact dollar amount was not specified, according to Google they will "likely (be) generating millions annually":
Question:
"Is Duke receiving money from Amazon for televising 3 of their basketball games in the future?"
Answer:
"Yes, Duke University is entering a multiyear, groundbreaking agreement with Amazon (Prime Video) to televise three marquee men’s basketball games in the 2026-27 season. The partnership brings significant financial benefits, including extensive Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities for players, likely generating millions annually, sources told CBS Sports."
Since not every Kentucky game is televised by ESPN or CBS, I don't see the harm in 3 games being televised. I'm sure ESPN and CBS will want to preserve the rights for the really marquee matchups, although there may be a little compromise. But if it means more money to the university and promotes Kentucky as a premier brand that people should take notice of (especially to younger recruits), then why be upset about it? I see it as a positive. Would you rather the next school to sign on be Kansas? And then UCONN?Comment
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