The argument that this Rome trip is a positive experience for the players is fine, but it doesn't address the "they're spending so much money" complaint.  Thing is, the money for this is coming from the players, from the revenue they generate.  The football team brings in so much money, this is one way Harbaugh can actually spend that money for their benefit without outright paying them.  They really ought to get the cash, but this is at least putting the money where it belongs.  So yeah, they should spend spend spend because it's not like the other options are better.

As for paying the players directly though, Brian feels the way he does because he lives in the world of Michigan.  Michigan's players are revenue generators, but most players technically have a net (keyword there, net) negative value.  Most programs aren't Michigan; even with amateurism they operate in the red.  Yes that's their fault (if you can't afford an FBS program you shouldn't have one), but the NCAA (for all its lauding of "student athletes") ain't even trying to stop that, so if you end amateurism, they'll pay their own players to keep up. . . and do it with tuition money.  Ain't saying it's right, but that's what they'll do.  Whatever the hell issues you have with amateurism, having students pay players is worse when student loan debt is already at epic levels.  You're making a bad problem worse to prop up a sports team that's an exception in that it's swimming in money.

That's NOT to say I'm inherently against ending amateurism.  This is where the absolutists get confused and try to push the argument in one corner or other.  I'm not against it.  However, the problems the haves have (more money than they're allowed to spend on players) and the have-nots have (funneling money from other sources to keep up) are very different, and these issues need to be solved at the same time.  You can't ignore one to argue the other.  You can't JUST end amateurism.  You can't JUST address the inequality.  You can't JUST blame the NCAA or the NFL or athletic departments.  It's not like one solution (ending amateurism for example, or an NFL minor league) fixes everything.  I'm for it in principle, but if only one solution is implemented, or if they're implemented one at a time, they'll initially break more things than they'll fix.  Which is why this is so tough to change, and why the NCAA is able to maintain a terrible status quo.  But ignoring other issues to argue one isn't going to help; that just gets people talking past each other.

This was my thought from a few years back. Still seems viable to me:

http://roadgames07.blogspot.com/2010/12/proposal-to-solve-student-athle…

tl;dr version:

Pay the players for marketing by which they are currently exploiting them. Give them a commission for every ad, promo, feature, mention of games for TV in which their name or likeness is used. That's where the biggest portion of the money pie comes from and can solve most of the issue on its own. (And do the same for jerseys as this is the most obvious thing in the world.) Would be unfair to the more successful programs, but so is every aspect of recruiting already.

I still can't seem to subscribe on iTunes :/

Yeah, please fix the iTunes thing. No podcasts showing up in the feed since 1/6.

Why would they be celebraiting the closing of summer on June 30th? Or maybe the restaurant is closed in July.  Those Italians and their crazy vacations.

The episodes are for whatever reason showing that they're uploading 12/31/2000, search it in the store and they'll be there to download then show up on the bottom of your unplayed list.

Hope that helps!