Have we talked about the Directors’ Cup and Iowa State yet? I think we haven’t, but I’m experiencing this strange sensation that we have. Well. At the risk of redundancy:
Iowa State has the best athletic department in the state of Iowa.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup is an annual leaderboard which scores each athletic department in the country on their teams’ performance throughout the academic year. There are little semi-exceptions to this, but it mostly weights the sports equally. Here’s where Iowa State finished, as well as where other programs of interest to Iowa State finished (other programs of interest includes current and future Big 12 members, possible impending Big 12 members, major programs in close geographic proximity, and the schools on either immediate side of Iowa State in the rankings):
1. Texas (1,449.50 points)
2. Stanford (1,352.25)
10. Oklahoma (968.50)
23. Oklahoma State (802.75)
24. Wisconsin (795.00)
26. Arizona State (788.25)
27. Cal (780.75)
28. Minnesota (746.75)
29. BYU (738.75)
30. Washington (730.25)
31. Oregon (707.00)
35. Arizona (639.50)
38. Texas Tech (627.00)
40. TCU (564.50)
41. Michigan State (544.75)
42. Iowa State (540.50)
43. Penn State (535.00)
44. Utah (532.50)
47. Baylor (522.00)
49. Nebraska (516.50)
52. Illinois (500.00)
53. Purdue (476.76)
55. Iowa (450.25)
57. Missouri (429.25)
58. Colorado (418.75)
61. Kansas (384.50)
62. West Virginia (375.00)
69. UCF (350.50)
79. Kansas State (253.50)
99. Houston (189.00)
139. Cincinnati (124.00)
169. Northern Iowa (96.50)
It’s a big list, but it’s a good measuring stick, and with Iowa State smack dab in the middle of it, the Cyclones are measuring up just fine. There are, of course, three issues: Iowa State hasn’t beaten Iowa in football since 2014, Iowa State hasn’t beaten Iowa in wrestling since 2004, and Iowa State’s futures as a power conference program remains uncertain. Those aren’t insignificant problems, but having just three of them? That’s not a bad place to be.
A few more thoughts with this:
- For those wondering if Iowa State is at its natural peak: Arkansas finished seventh in these rankings this year. Notre Dame finished eighth. Schools like Iowa State and Arkansas can develop athletic departments on par, wins-wise, with those of the Notre Dames of the world.
- Iowa State was very nearly the fourth-best program in the current Big 12, and the third-best program in the new Big 12. That’s a good thing.
- The Big 12 did not add comprehensive heavyweights in Cincinnati and Houston, but being in the Big 12 might help that.
- If the Big 12 can woo any Pac-12 schools who are seemingly possibilities, it’ll step competition up a notch across the board, at least relatively to the post-Texas/Oklahoma version of the conference.
- The Big 12’s strength in baseball could be a strong rising tide should Iowa State ever try to bring it back. Baseball returning, with a women’s wrestling program paired with it? The success should be there if the money is.
The Mariners Just Keep Doing It
The Mariners won again last night (for those already wondering, the Orioles were idle), taking down the Rangers in Texas to stretch the win streak to eleven. They trailed 5-1 entering the 7th, but then they kind of just stopped making outs. It’s pretty easy to score when you don’t make outs.
Around the league:
- The Reds beat the Yankees in a back-and-forth affair in which the Reds scored three in both the eighth and the tenth. In the eight, the Yankees scored three right back, but in the tenth, only two. That’s a series win for Cincinnati in the Bronx.
- The Royals beat the Blue Jays despite playing more than a few guys down, stealing the opener in Toronto by a score of 3-1. Angel Zerpa grabbed the win, keeping the damage to one in five innings in just the second start of his career.
- The Rays beat the Red Sox again, erupting for five in the seventh to erase what had been a 3-0 Boston lead. All of this, plus the Mariners result, leaves Boston and Toronto as the two tied for the final American League playoff slot heading into tonight.
- The White Sox smoked the Twins, starting a series that isn’t life or death but sure feels that way with a 12-2 victory. Triston McKenzie shut down the Tigers over eight scoreless to keep the Guardians half a game up on second place.
- Corbin Burnes outdueled Carlos Rodón and the Brewers got a win over the Giants after the Padres fell to the Rockies yet again and the Dodgers blanked the Cardinals. With the Phillies idle, the Cardinals’ lead on the final NL slot is down to half a game over Philadelphia and still sits at a game over San Francisco. They trail the Padres by two and a half.
- Atlanta won in our nation’s capital.
On the news side:
- Luis Severino is going on the IL with a lat strain. It doesn’t sound terribly serious at the moment.
- Shane Baz is going on the IL and being shut down for four weeks with an elbow sprain. Another health blow for the Rays.
- Ozzie Albies finally has a timeline, and it’s long but not too long: He should be back by September.
- The Marlins are calling up Max Meyer to start tomorrow. He’s one of their best prospects, and on a lot of top 100 lists if not all of them.
- Corey Seager will be the eighth Home Run Derby contestant.
- The Cubs got Frank Schwindel back from the IL, with Andrelton Simmons now going onto it with a shoulder strain.
Gaudreau to Columbus
We’ll catch up more broadly on NHL free agency next week, but the biggest news of the last two days was, as many of you have heard, that Johnny Gaudreau signed with the Blue Jackets. Reportedly, he took a pay cut to do it and gave up a year on the contract, though the flip side of this is that depending how hockey markets progress this next half-decade or so, he could potentially earn more in that eighth year this way, in the end (and as we often say around here—at some point, the difference between a few million dollars really is not that much).
A lot’s being made about Gaudreau going to Columbus, specifically, and one angle that’s being hit a bit by journalists is the idea that it’s great that he’s going to a small market team. Is it? I don’t know, but the way it’s portrayed by some makes me feel like I’m looking at an Instagram post of some “mission trip” centered around taking pictures with non-white kids.
If there’s something to be celebrated about Gaudreau’s decision, it’s that he made the smart economic choice of trying to go somewhere he thinks he’ll be happiest. He maximized his own utility function for personal satisfaction, and that’s a good lesson for professional athletes. And we should say the same about them if they want to take a pay cut to play in New York, or Toronto, or Los Angeles.
Deandre Ayton Remains a Sun
The Pacers signed Deandre Ayton to a max offer sheet, and the Suns matched it, so Ayton is now under contract for four more years with the Suns and can’t be traded for six months.
The Suns, then, are running it back, and what made a lot of sense before the playoff collapse is still probably what makes the most sense. It’s definitely what makes the most sense to the Suns. That’s what they’re doing.
As for the Pacers: They cleared a lot of space to make salary cap room for Ayton, waiving Duane Washington, Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan, and Nik Stauskas. I assume those moves stand?
This does probably take Phoenix out of the running for Kevin Durant, which might leave nobody actually in the running for Kevin Durant (the price is too high), which might leave Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving together in Brooklyn again this year, as we’ve increasingly suspected.
In other news: The Timberwolves signed Austin Rivers.
That Atlanta Restart, One More Time
We’ll have bets for IndyCar and NASCAR on Sunday—nothing too noteworthy about those two at the moment—but as we try to let go of last weekend’s near miss, thought this was an interesting video from Corey LaJoie, especially for those who don’t follow NASCAR that closely but are interested:
12 Days ‘Til Training Camp
The Packers open training camp in less than two weeks, for those itching for that. It’s close.
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Viewing schedule for the weekend, second screen rotation in italics (British Open on both screens a lot, but excluded because golf feels like one of those things that doesn’t have a start time and end time):
Friday
- 6:40 PM EDT: Philadelphia @ Miami, Gibson vs. Alcantara (MLB TV)
- 7:05 PM EDT: Boston @ New York (AL), Eovaldi vs. Montgomery (MLB TV)
- 7:10 PM EDT: Baltimore @ Tampa Bay, Wells vs. Patino (MLB TV)
- 8:05 PM EDT: Seattle @ Texas, Ray vs. Bush (MLB TV)
- 8:10 PM EDT: Chicago (AL) @ Minnesota, Kopech vs. Smeltzer (MLB TV)
- 10:15 PM EDT: Milwaukee @ San Francisco, Woodruff vs. Wood (MLB TV)
Saturday
- 2:10 PM EDT: Chicago (AL) @ Minnesota, Lynn vs. Bundy (MLB TV)
- 2:20 PM EDT: New York (NL) @ Cubs – Game 1, Scherzer vs. Stroman (MLB TV)
- 4:05 PM EDT: Seattle @ Texas, Gilbert vs. Howard (MLB TV)
- 4:10 PM EDT: Baltimore @ Tampa Bay, Kremer vs. TBD (MLB TV)
- 7:00 PM EDT: MLB Futures Game (Peacock)
- 7:15 PM EDT: Boston @ New York (AL), Pivetta vs. Taillon (FOX)
- 7:15 PM EDT: Milwaukee @ San Francisco, Lauer vs. Cobb (FOX)
- 8:05 PM EDT: New York (NL) @ Cubs – Game 2, TBD vs. Smyly (MLB TV)
Sunday
- 1:35 PM EDT: Boston @ New York (AL), Sale vs. Cole (MLB TV)
- 1:40 PM EDT: Baltimore @ Tampa Bay, Lyles vs. Kluber (MLB TV)
- 2:10 PM EDT: Chicago (AL) @ Minnesota, Cease vs. TBD (MLB TV)
- 2:20 PM EDT: New York (NL) @ Cubs, Peterson vs. Sampson (MLB TV)
- 2:35 PM EDT: Seattle @ Texas, Flexen vs. Otto (MLB TV)
- 3:00 PM EDT: Honda Indy Toronto (Peacock)
- 3:00 PM EDT: Ambetter 301 – NASCAR Cup Series at New Hampshire (USA)
- 4:05 PM EDT: Milwaukee @ San Francisco, Alexander vs. Webb (MLB TV)
