Man in the Hat media

Texas is back in the news. It seems the state can't get out of the news actually. This time, it is about books in schools. State representative Matt Krause, a Republican from Fort Worth and chair of the General Investigating Committee, is at the center of controversy after announcing the committe will investigate school library book collections. The focus on books that feature human sexuality and systemic racism.  LINK: Texas looks into 850 books In an October 25 letter, Krause, penned, “the committee may initiate inquiries concerning any ‘matter the committee considers necessary for the information of the legislature or for the welfare and protection of state citizens." On first reading, this edict gives a wide range of power to this panel, and comes off as unchecked with an air of "we know what is best for you," a sentiment that seems to fly in the face of conservative ideology, which has long stated individuals know what is best for them.  Not to mention the hypoc...

The Big 12 is back at the center of college football news.  Before I move on, :cough: sorry, choked on a feather there from my heaping helping of crow when I wrote that Texas and Oklahoma weren't going to the SEC, and were just using it as a business ploy to gain more influence. If you want a laugh, read this frosty cold take from yours truly. LINK: Boy was I wrong about Texas, Oklahoma and the SEC But dreams of the Big 12 going the way of the dodo were over exaggerated.  In a release this morning (September 10) the league extended invitations to Brigham Young, Cincinnati, Central Florida and Houston. The four schools submitted applications roughly a week ago. Assuming no other schools leave, this gets the league back to its namesake of 12 teams after sitting at an annoying 10 teams the past few years. Now if we can just get the Big 10 to rename itself the Big 14 all will be right with the world. But I digress. College athletics transactional, so who are the winners and loser...

  The Southeastern Conference is set to become the first super conference in the NCAA, if a recent report from the Houston Chronicle   is to be believed. Brent Zwernaman   penned the exclusive report about the potential move of Big 12 heavyweights Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC. As expected with such reporting,  Oklahoma, Texas and the SEC peddled the usual public relations, political "we can neither confirm nor deny your report" line. Reports claim both schools are set to inform the Big 12 of intent to leave. This move would be a landmark move in NCAA football, but it leaves a multitude of questions. From a brand standpoint, it gives the SEC two more historical blue bloods, further expands the TV market into Texas and Oklahoma and adds two of the more profitable properties.  For the two schools, it is a smart business move for them to get in on the SEC profit sharing.  For the purists, this also reignites the Texas vs. Texas A&M rivarly.  But,...

The term "landmark decision" has been overused to the point it has lost all meaning in regard to Supreme Court decisions.  Granted, every decision the court makes could be considered landmark because it sets precedent for future legal discussions. On June 21, SCOTUS announced a major decision that will likely effect the relationship between the NCAA and the athletes competing under the banner. In a unanimous decision of NCAA v. Alston , the court ruled student-athletes could receive education-related payment.  LINK: SCOTUS rules against NCAA In short, the justices rejected the NCAA’s argument that its players’ amateur status would be impossible to maintain if they could receive pay, even for education-related expenses. The courst also cited anti-trust law, or more eloquently put by Justice Neil Gursuch, who wrote the majority opinion. “Put simply, this suit involves admitted horizontal price fixing in a market where the defendants exercise monopoly control." He added, “t...

If you are a politician in Florida, get ready to be able to post whatever you want on social media and face nearly zero consequences. According The Sun-Sentinel, the Florida legislative body, controlled by the Republican party, passed a bill that would make it illegal for social media companies to ban politicians, with threat of hefty fines. LINK: Florida passes bill to limit social media companies I The Hill Companies would still be able to suspend accounts for two weeks, according to the legislation. The bill is pending the signature of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign.  Everyone should fully expect this law to be challenged in court, and opponents have many avenues to go. I could argue the hypocrisy of the party that has long-touted itself against regulations now looking to impose regulations on a private business. You could also question how and if the state of Florida can enforce a regulation on companies based in California, namely Facebook and Twitte...

  The cancel culture has reached its apex of lunacy. Organizations are now canceling themselves. Major League Baseball has canceled...Major League Baseball. Recently, MLB pulled its annual All-Star game from Atlanta in protest of an election law passed by the state of Georgia's general assembly and signed by its governor, Brian Kemp.  The 95-page bill in question does, among other things, gives state officials authority to remove county and local level election officials with a non-partisan, state legislature appointed board, limits drop box locations, drastically effects absentee voting among other things you can read about. LINK: What is in the bill LINK: Georgia SB 202 Quite possibly the biggest change is the food and drink restrictions. Simply put, food and drink cannot be provided by anyone within a certain distance of a polling place. People will have to lug their own coolers or have Bitesquad on the ready when they stand in a long line because a polling place is crowded...

Frank Martin is coming back for his 10th year as South Carolina men's basketball head coach. The news comes after two weeks of conflicting reports. LINK: Beamer hire has more questions LINK: Gamecock coaching staff young, unproven Martin is coming off the worst season under his leadership, going 6-15 and marred by arguably the worst defense of the era.  The bad year can be attributed to COVID 19, which Martin contracted twice, and the start-stop-start protocoals in place. Martin has earned one more year. Historically, Martin is one of the best coaches to march the sidelines. He is third in all-time wins with 153 (behind Frank Johnson and all-time wins leader Frank McGuire). He was also the third longest tenured coach in school history, again behind Johnson and McGuire.  Under Martin, this has been one of the best eras for Gamecock basketball. You could argue the Eddie Fogler era, with a pair of NCAA tournament appearances and a regular season conference title, or the Dave Odom...