i post the tom crean photo again

merry Burkemas [Bryan Fuller]

End of the road for amateurism? Blasting the NCAA has been one of the rare bipartisan activities over the past few years, and judging from the things said at the Supreme Court's hearing for the Alston case it sounds like they're about to drop a bomb on the organization:

Justice Amy Coney Barrett later questioned why the NCAA should get to decide how to define what it means for an athlete to be paid.

Several justices also expressed skepticism about the NCAA's "high-minded" claims about the importance of preserving amateurism.

Justice Elena Kagan asked why the court shouldn't see the NCAA as an organization that has undisputed power over its market and uses the idea of amateurism to fix the price of labor. Kagan said that while amateurism may have been created more than a century ago to protect an institution that provides social value, that doesn't mean that is its function today.

The above might not capture the spirit of the hearing, which is being unanimously described as a bloodbath for the NCAA.

Hard to disagree with that when even the court's most conservative members are saying stuff like this:

Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh said that “the antitrust laws should not be a cover for exploitation of the student-athletes,” adding that he doubted that college sports fans understood amateurism to require it.

“To pay no salaries to the workers who are making the schools billions of dollars on the theory that consumers want the schools to pay their workers nothing,” he said, seems “entirely circular and even somewhat disturbing.”

Justice Clarence Thomas noted that other participants in college sports are paid enormous sums. “It just strikes me as odd that the coaches’ salaries have ballooned,” he said, “and they’re in the amateur ranks, as are the players.”

I'm not entirely clear on what the court could do in this instance. This is the case where the previous judge said the NCAA had violated antitrust and proposed some disappointing half-measures as a remedy. I don't know if the Supreme Court can expand that to a generalized free-for-all.

[After THE JUMP: pants are featured]

[Bryan Fuller]

Essentials

WHAT Michigan at Indiana

WHERE Memorial Stadium

Bloomington, IN
WHEN Noon ET

Saturday, Nov. 7
THE LINE Michigan -3 (Vegas)

Michigan -2 (Bill C.)
TELEVISION FS1

PBP: Joe Davis

Analyst: Brock Huard
TICKETS not this year
WEATHER

~70 degrees, sunny

Overview

Oh, c'mon.

We won't get the usual pregame analysis but at least these games are aesthetically pleasin--oh C'MON.

The troops deserve better.

Anyway, the Wolverines limp into Bloomington to take on 13th-ranked Indiana, which has started the season with an improbable overtime upset of Penn State and exceedingly probable win over Rutgers. While they haven't always looked great, the Hoosier have found a way, and they already have an iconic moment this season.

Both Vegas and SP+ favor Michigan by 2-3 points. The bad news is it's harder to play the underdog card for motivation/jokes. The good news is Michigan has sucked as an underdog anyway. They also haven't lost to IU in my lifetime.

[Hit THE JUMP for who knows, honestly]

[Bryan Fuller]

THE ESSENTIALS

WHAT #20 Michigan (15-9) vs

#39 Indiana (16-8)



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"booooooooo" –these guys [JD Scott]

WHERE Crisler Arena

Ann Arbor MI
WHEN 1PM Sunday
THE LINE Michigan –6,  Michigan W 72% (KenPom)

Michigan –6.9, Michigan W 76% (Torvik)
TELEVISION CBS

THE US

Seth's graphic:

image (13)

click for big

I think we can say Michigan is rolling? Four of the last five are wins, the sole loss came after a game-changing flagrant that I bet DJ Carstensen got chewed out for, the defense is tightening up, and Livers is throwing down one-handed tomahawks. Hordes of people are feverishly slicing out sections of the season on Bart Torvik Dot Com. It all feels somehow familiar.

Is this… a trademark Beilein surge?

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the preview.]