BTP The Offseason, Day 82: In search of some June

Hey, it’s June, which means a time for optimistic NC State sports takes! It might be slightly more of a challenge to find said optimism this year but hopefully we’ll get at least a little does of the typical good football recruiting developments. We must trust in the June!

In other news, the power conferences recently sent a letter to Congress urging action on name-image-likeness legislation—obviously they would like to craft the direction of any legislation in a way that best benefits themselves. It tough not to see this as completely cynical.

Jeff Gravley spoke with Nick Swiney over Zoom last week, and just based on this interview, I’m guessing Swiney has been impressing teams during his discussion with them. And Swiney says he’s talked to more than half of MLB’s teams in one way or another. It seems a near-certainty that he’ll go in the five-round draft on June 10, though clearly his fate is less certain than Patrick Bailey’s.

After the draft, we’ll get more clarity about NC State’s roster situation heading into 2021, since at that point the seniors and other draft-eligible kids will know where they stand. Undrafted players this year will receive, at best, a $20,000 bonus if they opt to sign with a team. That’s ludicrous, but MLB has always approached the amateur draft by doing things on the cheap. I’d expect a ton of juniors and seniors across the country to stay in school as many of them will be in line to make more money in 2021, when the draft is back to its regular 40-round length.

.......................

Some anti-steam-power propaganda from Big Horse-Drawn Coach:

Coloured etching by Henry Thomas Alken, published by S & J Fuller of London, satirising steam-powered transport. It shows a dandified gentleman driving a steam-powered three-wheeled contraption which is covering two flamboyantly dressed women in exhaust fumes. At this time steam-powered travel still remained an unreliable fad to most people. When Sir Goldsworthy Gurney introduced steam-powered passenger coaching services in the 1820s, it was very much in the interests of the powerful horse-drawn coach operators to encourage this negative view of steam propulsion. By placing physical obstructions on the roads and persuading the government to impose heavy tolls they drove the steam coach operators out of business.

Perhaps these tactics were effective, but I have to admit, I’m not optimistic about the future of the horse-drawn carriage industry.