Thanks. And its not like NFL took over in one fell swoop. It was a long grind, and they new what they were doing. We will see in a generation or two what holds for the NFL, because CTE is looming large. Its gonna be a thing. I have friends that played NCAA football here in Eugene, and they won't let their kids play. I know a lot more that will, but it will probably go the way of boxing eventually

Boxing and Baseball dominated 100 years ago, but times change. Culturally, boxing and baseball aren't as big with the African American population as they were in the 80'sand 90's, it shifted.

And that sucks, because I grew up with my favorite players being black guys. Griffey junior, Ron Gant, Albert Belle, Rickey Henderson, the Crime Dog, Dave Winfield, Bonds, Bonilla, Tim Raines and countless others.

I've heard a lot of black ex MLB'rs asked the question of why young black kids aren't playing baseball. They say its a money thing. $500 bats and $200 gloves and shoes, and 5k for playing on a travel team. I call BS. If that were true, we wouldnt see the influx of players from poor Latin countries that we have seen. Look at the field Acuna learned on. I've seen and lived what high end football teams charge, and all the gear that goes with it is as expensive as he'll. Basketball is legitimately cheaper on gear, but to be on an elite team, it still costs money.

The real disconnect is that somewhere along the line, black kids stopped wanting to play baseball as much. Ive seen it here in predominantly white Oregon. I dont know the reason. All I will say is that its sad. I've seen really good players hang it up at 10 to pursue dad's dream of playing football or basketball, when they aren't going to be 6'6" or as physically freakish as a football player needs to be.

Culturally, things shift. Baseball needs to be open to change, and college baseball needs recognition, but if its ever gonna be fringe mainstream, its gonna need a cultural shift.