As George Vecsey of the NY Times points out, it’s about more than just skirting academic eligibility requirements. We have a full-blown epidemic on our hands.

King Football is not about just academic scandals and recruiting scandals and now the growing shadow of concussion scandals. (What, you thought aging players now coming down with dementia arrived in the N.F.L. with their brain pans totally intact?)

Just the other day, Jeré Longman wrote in The New York Times about his beloved home state, where L.S.U. has downsized its foreign language program with minimal public reaction, but managed to maintain an undefeated football program.

Lots of Happy Valleys out there. Occasionally a critic like Taylor Branch or a panel calls for reform. At Penn State, it was even worse than prostituting education for the sake of a football powerhouse. The entire old-boy system in that university managed to overlook the possibility that children’s lives were being ruined, within the dangerous cocoon of King Football. We need to look beyond the alleged abuses. We need to look at the system that encouraged people to look the other way.

Really, we need to do something about big-time college sports.

We really do.

via BI

Hank Gathers

20 years ago today, Hank Gathers took his last dunk, his last shot, and collapsed on the court against Portland.  There have been many articles written about Hank, and even a movie.  I was only 10 years old at the time, and it didn’t quite sit in what had happened.  Why such a great athlete in great shape passed out and died right there on the court.  One of the most memorable scenes for me was when LMU made the NCAA tournament and Bo Kimble, with a heavy heart, shot every one of his first free throws left handed as tribute.  To this day that image sticks with me.

NCAA Tournament- Long Beach, CA. Bo Kimble in action, shooting a free throw with his left hand in honor of Hank Gathers, 3/16/90.

Hank’s death gives us one of the ultimate “what if’s”.  Think for a second the ramifications of his passing and let’s play “what if Hank did not die”:

• Would the LMU vs UNLV game be one of the most exciting, highest scoring games ever?!
• Would LMU win the NCAA tournament, knock off eventual Champ UNLV and then take care of Duke? (or would Duke win and carry a dynasty forward with 3 straight wins -they already won in ’91 and ’92)
• Does Hank go first overall and change the destiny of the NJ Nets? (no more Derrick Coleman)
• Was Hank a product of Westhead’s “System”, or was he really that dominant?  Personally I think he was that dominant.  In ’88-’89 he averaged 32.7 pts and 13.7 rebs a game, leading the nation.  In 1990 before he passed away he put up 48pts and 13rebs against LSU’s Shaquille O’Neal.
• Does Len Bias and then Hank Gather’s death (only 4 years apart) change the NBA landscape? Does Jordan win all those rings?  Do we have 2 torches to carry us through the 90′s to the Kobe, LBJ, Wade era?

I did not know Hank Gathers, but from all accounts he sounded like a great kid.  Anytime someone is taken away from us too early it is tragic.  For anyone under the age of 25 that probably doesn’t remember, this is a good article to read and realize how special Hank really was and how the game of basketball lost a great, special player.

I’ve never thought the word “select” can hit me with such anticipation as it does when I hear it used in that sentence. I’m like a little kid waiting to get off the school bus on the last day before summer vacation. Those were the days.

…Tim Tebow, Quarterback, University of Florida.
The crowd erupts with a mixture of boos and cheers.
Mel Kiper Jr. gels up to ream me out and Chris Berman does another Applebee’s commercial.

But before you mock my mock, throw crimson colored markers at me or tout other young field generals such as McCoy, Bradford and Clausen as better “pro” style QB’s, you really need to hear me out. This time the Hoff uses facts. Now if you don’t like people that use themselves in the third person, now you can mercifully pummel me. If you like Tebow’s superman pecs, keep reading.

Tim Tebow is on my list of top 10 greatest college football players of all time. Can you argue that? Three time Heisman Finalist, Two National Championships and One Heisman trophy. A college record of 47-7, with one game withstanding. He holds the All-time mark in rushing touchdowns in the SEC, mind you that is the same conference as college great Herschel Walker. Tebow had ½ an additional year but still, I’d take that company for Christmas dinner.

Now have a few facts *cough*opinions*cough* when it comes to making him my man crush of choice. Here are two nuggets of fun I dug up over the last 10 NFL drafts of QB’s only.

1. From 1999-2008, 10 years of drafting, there have been 132 quarterbacks taken in the draft.
From #1 overall to #250, Mr. Bradlee Van Pelt. Additional rule, never draft a guy name Bradlee. The first notion of his parents being unable to spell should be a clue to you.

- There are about 6 top notch QBs out of those drafts.
Eli, McNabb, Brady, Big Ben, Rivers, Brees.

- There are 6 others that I count as almost there (or were almost there)
Rogers, Pennington, Bulger, Palmer, Schaub, Cutler.

I can count about 12 additional that are decent and still in the league with some playing time.
So if you add all those up you have about a 18-20% chance at a QB that will be on your roster as useful. Here’s the kicker, there’s just about a 5% chance that you’ll find a franchise QB and 3 of those were in the same draft!?

Why all the pressure on drafting the right guy? On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily so I think drafting the wrong guy isn’t that bad when you think about it.

2. The second part to this is looking at half of the top 12 I pointed out.
McNabb, Ben, Rivers, Brees, Rogers, Cutler. They all will and can run. Tebow loves to run. He loves to get hit and get up yelling at the guy to hit him harder. Kinda disturbing, but that’s a football player.

In the off-season Tebow powerlifts lineman

Now before I give you my #1 fact and reasoning here for Tebow being my #1 stud, this point is just of my stricken hatred of what Mel “the Godfather” Kiper Jr. said about Mr. Tebow.

Mel Kiper said “…he’ll be the same as Pat White.”

First off Tim Tebow is white, so he’ll never really be the same (never pulled the white race card before), but in athletic relations the dude runs his 250lbs. frame at a 4.6 speed. Last time I checked Pat White was on the Subway diet at below 200, had no Heisman and never won a national championship. Both great college QB’s but how is that a comparison of just being a college QB. So was Bradlee.

To me that’s not the point though.
It comes down to my #1 reasoning and fact. Yes fact.

Work Ethic.

I could have also included his hardcore Pantera-like team mentality and mega-millions lottery chance in hell that the guy will be caught with a mistress or drunk in a Matt Leinart hot tub. It’s all about work ethic. Tebow will work harder than most QB’s, not because he’s as talented, but because everyone says he’s not an NFL style QB and also that’s just him being him. Stick it to da man!…

Also all coaches and GM’s in the NFL have egos. They’re eyes light up with the thought of a guy who will bust his rump day in and day out and they can mold him into a great NFL player. Then they get all the credit for it.

Back to his ability, he isn’t a bad QB. Look at the credentials. I honestly think with his work ethic and having a premiere QB coach he’d do whatever he could to be the best. That’s what he’s done in his career in college and in life.

Now in closing if he does fail, he’ll still be the teammate, player and workhorse than coaches would love to have as a minor role player. Plus most GM’s fail anyway at the draft so who cares really? Who does care actually? Probably only the 4 drunks dressed in Jets uniforms booing Goodell because they haven’t won anything in four decades. Read away guys and see you in April 22nd where your shenanigans make it tolerable. Why did I write this?

Note: This is a guest post by Kevin Tyburski, aka “The Hoff”. You can read more from The Hoff at Sports With The Hoff.

My rationale for Duke’s success over the past 15 years comes down to one simple formula.  great coaching + 3-point baskets + good players.  Well, no duh you say.  But lets take a look at this formula a bit deeper so we can see the real genius behind this strategy for building a successful basketball program.

Great Coaching - this is the consistent through out a really good program, great coaching.  Players come and go, but a trusted system with emphasis on help-side defense and the 3 point shot stays the same.  All the haters in the world can argue as much as they want, but the fact remains, Coach K is a very, very good coach.

3point baskets - Now this is another no brainer, but combined with the last part of the equation, it becomes magnified a bit more.  Duke relies heavily on the 3 point shot.  Since 2002, Duke has averaged just over 20 3point shots per game (20.26).  Wow, that is a lot of shots, about 1 per 2 minutes.  The inception of a standardized 3point line in 1986 has changed the game of college basketball completely.  Gone are the days of dominant post play, and emphasis on getting to the paint to score.  A team can shoot from outside and get more points than a team that drives to the hoop.  Duke will happily trade 3 point baskets for 2 point baskets during a game.  The 3 point shot will allow a hot team to stay in games where they are physically and athletically out matched.

Good players - What do i mean by good players? I mean talented basketball players who know how to play, and hustle.  I don’t mean “great” players.  Think about it for a bit.  Coach K recruits all of these good basketball players, why? Because a good player, will stick around school for 4 years, while a great player in this day and age will stay maybe 2 years tops.  Being able to have a team that grows and the turnover is only every 4 years is a huge advantage over a team that is constantly changing their players.  Communication on defense, knowing how your teammates play, knowing all of the offensive plays and how a defense reacts to those plays, trusting your teammates.  Those are all huge things that can only be built over time.

So, the next time you watch a college basketball game and see a not-as-talented Duke team beating an over-hyped , athletically gifted team, don’t immediately assume it is because the officials were hypnotized by Dick Vitale.  Maybe, just maybe, it is because they play as a team, one who may not be able to take you one-on-one every time down the floor, but a team that will score 3 points to your 2, and will slide over to take help-side charges.

Just expand the damn Big 11 already.

A few weeks back, Joe Paterno got cranky, just like old men typically do, and challenged the Big 10 leadership to correct a perceived deficiency in his coaching ability. Paterno, sick of constantly being physically manhandled in the Rose Bowl, requested that his minor conference expand to include a twelfth member. Paterno’s excuse for consistent bowl loses is simply put, the additional two week lay off from the end of the Big XI season to bowl season leaves the B11 rusty and therefore unable to compete with the likes of any other BCS conference.

For those that don’t know, the NCAA requires any conference seeking to add a championship game to have at least 12 members. The purpose of the championship game has little to do with competing to find the best team in a conference and more to do with lucrative TV contracts and ticket sales (assuming you host the CG in your geographic base…ACC). Case in point, F$U won the ACC in 2005 after limping into the conference championship game after a winless November…Hardly a method of choosing the best team over a 15 week season.

JoePa has USC in his sights, but it's from a long-range sniper rifle

Paterno’s flawed concept is that the big 11 can’t compete without a CCG. Last I saw, the 38-24 drubbing (which was worse than the score indicates) was to a team that does not play a conference championship game either. Perhaps someone should inform JoePa that USC is just plain better than PSU year in year out. While State Penn has been much improved since Michael Robinson’s miracle season in 2005, they have still been an afterthought in the national conscious for much of the last decade while the Trojans have been hyped as a professional caliber team.

Furthermore, if the concern is that the little 10 needs to extend their season to keep their focus, they could just as easily look at the Big East’s scheduling practices. The Big East solves this “issue” by continuing to play their conference games into the championship week of the season. As a matter of fact, I would argue more national attention is on the Big East’s final week of competition as its games are often the only thing on TV. I would have never watched a matchup between Hawaii and the ‘Nati Bearcats had it not been the only game on after the other conference championships were decided. And who can forget the final week classic upset in the Backyard Brawl two seasons back as Patricia White’s Mountaineers fell to Pitt?

The true problem with State Penn football is the same as the rest of their conference, they just aren’t that good. Big 10 football is the antithesis of speed. Remember just how pathetic OSU looked against LSU and Florida the previous two Mythical National Championship Games? I won’t buy any argument that it’s just because the SEC is that good (although they are). I’m pretty confident any conference champion from the past two seasons could have defeated tOSU in the last two MNCs. For example, had the Mountaineers advanced over Pitt two years ago, imagine tOSU dealing with the best dual threat QB since Michael Vick along with a future rookie pro bowl pitchman? I haven’t even mentioned the 4′-10” Noel Devine. The speed in WVU’s backfield would have slaughtered tOSU.

Ignorance is bliss for JoePa

It appears that someone has taught JoePa arithmetic in the past few weeks because he has now reversed course. My main issue with CCGs is that it forces the best teams in the SEC, ACC, and Big XII to beat one additional top 10 opponent to reach the MNCG than the other three conferences. With the BCS’s system of dropping teams that lose regardless of actual ability, this creates a major disadvantage for those conferences. All of the sudden, either your best team has to defeat an extra top 10 team compared to the other three conferences or your supposed 2nd best team has a loss in the final week of the season, vacating an at-large bid to an idle PSU (who would likely lose to tOSU in a CCG).

Joe Paterno looking spryer than ever

That being said, I believe if we are going to allow CCGs to decide conference champions, all BCS conferences should expand and include a CCG to level the playing field. The B11 should add a 12th member and become the B12 #2. Some universities that have been named as possibilities for expansion include: wvu (not classy or intelligent enough), Pitt/Syracuse (too good in basketball to leave the Big East), and Nebraska (yea right!). Alternately, Rutgers, Missouri or Iowa State would make sense. My dream scenario would involve Notre Dame joining and being forced to actually win a conference to make a BCS game as opposed to beating 8 service academies prior to losing to 4 teams with a pulse. Neuter Lame’s location, rivalries and tradition make it the perfect match for McChicken and tOSU.

So I repeat again, just expand the damn Big 11 already.

Brett Farve makes Sean Glennon (and his girl) want to vomit

As if Tarvaris Jackson wasn’t bad enough.

Undrafted free agent rookie quarterback Sean Glennon recently entered the Viking’s spring rookie camp looking for a charitable roster spot donation by his former Virginia Tech college quarterbacks coach, current Viking assistant Kevin Rodgers. Rodgers was last seen around perennial backup Glennon in 2005 when he abruptly left Blacksburg, VA immediately after his star quarterback stomped Elvis Dummervil’s leg into submission and ended his college statutory rape, drug arrest, dogfighting, playing career. Upon realizing Sean Glennon would be his starter the following season, Rodgers bolted for anything paying.

Marcus' new dance, the Hokie Stomp

For those that do not know Sean, his trademark play, the “Sean Glennon Special,” involves standing like a statue in the pocket for 10 seconds locked onto a single receiver lined up in the flat, holding onto the ball while 3rd round draft pick Michael Johnson from the University of Georgia (Tech) blasts his blind side and returns the inevitable fumble for a touchdown. Glennon’s pocket awareness was so poor as a junior that he could not guide an offense with 3 senior future NFL wide receivers to an offensive ranking higher than 100. And wonder why you hadn’t heard Eddie Royal’s name before his breakout rookie season with Denver? It’s because Sean Glennon had been his quarterback for the previous 7 seasons (including high school).

The most ineffective tandem in NCAA football

Don’t believe for a second that playing for a team that’s never won a Super Bowl was the top of Sean Glennon’s list, I’m sure Sean’s wondering why the New England Patriots didn’t give him a look. After all, they love guys that weren’t good enough to start their senior season.

In his junior season, Glennon was unseated by true freshman Tyrod Taylor after a stunningly bad 48-7 loss at LSU. Glennon’s successor was such a raw QB that he finished the 2008 season with a 2:5 TD/INT ratio and Glennon still rode the pine for the entire season. And if losing your job to a kid that doesn’t understand the concept of a progression isn’t bad enough, Glennon will likely lose his chance at a practice squad spot to the NFL’s all-time leader in INTs (310), one Brett Fav-rah.

Why is Brett still crying, everyone stopped crying for him after the first six times he retired

The less talented Michael Jordan of the NFL, Brett Farve’s story has more twists than an episode of 24. Just when you thought that John Madden would retire, unable to talk about Bretty for 4 preseason, 17 regular season games, and 4 weeks of payoffs, Farve-rah decides he would really like to prove once again that that a 40 year old quarterback can’t win a Super Bowl and Madden returns with the Outback tour bus. I really believe he only retires to receive attention crying in front of the camera. Listening to a Brett Farve interview is akin to hearing an upper middle class suburbanite emo kid sing about the horrors of having everything handed to him.

And come on Brett, wasn’t the 3 INT playoff missing failure against the Dolphins to end the season enough? Do we really have to sit through another 80 QB rating season by a former MVP?

And if either of these two options don’t work, perhaps someone could inform Brad Childress that Percy Harvin had a 76 THP QB Rating in NCAA 09 on 360? Gimmicky college formations were all the rage last year, and I’m sure Harvin and Purple Jesus could run a little Gator Heavy read option. It could be the fall’s new fashion!

"Brett Farve + John Madden = Sexy Time!"

The Minnesota Vikings have assured themselves 8 in the box on every play this fall by looking at washed up and untalented quarterbacks. There’s no denying Glennon got his chance through connections (note: Graham Harrell is still available). Farve is only in the picture so that the Vikings can try to embarrass their conference rivals with their own Hall of Famer. He’ll be around for one mediocre season max and then it’s back to having no one that can carry the title “QB of the Future.” Adrian Peterson will once again have to carry the Vikings on his shoulders this season (and for the foreseeable future). Their only hope can be to keep QB play poor and pray that Purp. He-Zeus doesn’t lead the Vikes right out of the Sam Bradford lottery and into the Ryan Leaf Tim Tebow sweepstakes.

1. On the Clock since sometime in February, the Detroit Lions select – Matt Stafford - QB – Georgia.  This leaves the 0-16 Lions no better than where they were the previous year.  I am not a real big fan on this year’s QB class, and would wait it out till next year’s stellar class.  I would have gone with sure thing, LB Aaron Curry.

2. The St. Louis Rams select – Jason Smith - T – Baylor.  The Big fella will help the Rams sure up their swiss cheese line so their QB’s don’t turn into Trent Green.

3. The Kansas City Chiefs select – Aaron Curry - LB – Wake Forest.  The best player and the most sure thing in the draft, easy pick.  (Why don’t teams take sure things in drafts? In the NBA Brandon Roy and Danny Granger were sure things, but passed for players with higher potential.  It may not initially bring the fans to the stadium, with a lack of name recognition but after they shine, things change.)

4. The Seattle Seahawks select -Mark Sanchez - QB – USC.  They really need a QB, and after seeing a kid with a great system, more offensive weapons than any other school in the country, of course he looks good.  But will he be Carson Palmer or Matt Leinert? I think the latter.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Redskins traded away all their picks to get this spot and grab Sanchez.

5. The Cleveland Browns select -Brian Orakpo - DE – Texas.  Outside of drafting a set of hands for Braylon Edwards, i think this is the best pick for a team always in need of defense.

6. The Cincinnati Bengals select -Eugene Monroe - OT – Virginia.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bengals either traded this pick or took Michael Crabtree to replace TJ WhoseYourMama.  Lord only knows what Marvin and Co. are thinking.

7. The Oakland Raiders select -Michael Crabtree - WR – Texas Tech.  Personally, the Raiders should draft an OT like Andre Smith, but Al has been burned by O-lineman in the past, and will stick with the more popular name, so he can continue to build an offense around a line that cannot protect, or block.

8. The Jacksonville Jaguars select – B.J. Raji – DT – Boston College.  Good Defensive Tackles are hard to come by in the NFL, and the Jags like to build around defense.  I also would not be shocked if they choose WR Jeremy Maclin here.

9. The Green Bay Packers select – Aaron Maybin - DE – Penn St.  The Pack take the very talented defensive end to help a defense that could not slow down a flag football team.

10. The San Francisco 49ers select – Andre Smith - OT – Alabama.  This ‘bama came all sorts of out of shape to the combine which killed his stock, but i hear he has a good upbringing which should endear him to Coach Singletary’s crazy family oriented football team.

11. The Buffalo Bills select – Jeremy Maclin - WR – Missouri.  This is a steal at this pick, and Maclin will replace T.O. about 10 games into the season when the bills are 3-7 and T.O. is throwing his QB under the bus for not helping his stats so he can cash in big during the upcoming Free Agency period.

12. The Denver Broncos select – Tyson Jackson - DE – LSU.  The Broncos made the Packers defense look like the Steel Curtain.  This is a no brainer and must pick at defensive end.

13. The Washington Redskins select – Michael Oher - OT – Ole Miss.  The subject of the book “The Blind Side” is the perfect fit to help a struggling and overrated offensive line.  I do think the Skins will trade this pick to try and get Sanchez.

14. The New Orleans Saints select – Robert Ayers - DE – Tennessee.  Nothing improves a defensive backfield more than a good pass rush.

15. The Houston Texans select – Malcolm Jenkins - CB – OSU.  The Texans need help at both CB and Safety, and if Jenkins is not fast enough for CB, a natural change would work well.

16. The San Diego Chargers select – Brian Cushing - LB – USC.  The Chargers can use some depth at the LB position, and Cushing helps them right away.

17. The New York Jets select – Rey Maualuga - LB – USC.  Rex Ryan is defense-minded, and this is the best defender on the board.  The Jets should take a RB like Wells or Moreno to replace 31 year old Thomas Jones.

18. The Denver Broncos (from Chicago) select – Knowshon Moreno - RB – Georgia.  We saw what happened to the Denver backfield last year, and while they added much needed defensive help with their first pick, this should help fill the RB chart for the Broncos.  This is also a prime spot for a trade as a team in the upper half may want to get back into the 1st round, or a team may want to move up.  Paying 2 1st round players is a huge hit on a team’s salary cap.

19. The Tampa Bay Bucs select – Josh Freeman - QB – Kansas St.  If the Bucs can’t trade up to take one of the top 2 QBs, they will settle for Freeman.  New coach plus a poo-poo platter of QB’s on the depth chart means its time for a new face of the franchise.

20. The Detroit Lions (from Dallas) select – Brandon Pettigrew - TE – Oklahoma St.  Now that the Lions (stupidly) picked their franchise QB, its time to add weapons around him to compliment Calvin Johnson.

21. The Philadelphia Eagles select – Chris Wells - RB – TOSU. Beanie Wells from THE Ohio State University will add much needed depth behind the inevitable injury to Brian Westbrook.

22. The Minnesota Vikings select – Percy Harvin - WR – Florida.  This isn’t the first time the Vikings have drafted a WR who likes to smoke the ganja.

23. The New England Patriots select – Everette Brown - DE – Florida St.  I think Brown can transition to OLB for the Pats which will help them get more depth at that position.  I think the Patriots should draft Louis Delmas from Western Michigan to fulfill their Safety needs.

24. The Atlanta Falcons select – Peria Jerry - DT – Ole Miss.  Running the 4-3, Atlanta needs some help to stop the run, and Jerry is a large, large dude.

25. The Miami Dolphins select – Darrius Haywood-Bey - WR – Maryland.  Adding more options to a creative offensive attack, the Dolphins badly need some play makers to allow them to compete on the offensive side of the ball athletically.

26. The Baltimore Ravens select – Vontae Davis - CB – Illinois.  With the loss of a few CB’s to age and free agency, the Ravens need to stock up on Defensive backs.  I could also see them drafting LB Clay Mathews at this point as well.

27. The Indianapolis Colts select – Louis Delmas - S – Western Michigan.  This guy is a hard hitter, and with Bob Sanders’s over/under on games to be played this year at 9, the Colts could use some DB help.

28. The Buffalo Bills (From Carolina via Phili) select – Ebden Britton - OL – Arizona.  The Bills have lost 2 O-linemen this year and need to address that in the draft.

29. The New York Giants select – Ronald Brown - RB – UConn.  While i think this pick will be traded to the Cleveland Browns for Braylon Scissorhands- Edwards, i think either team can use a backup RB to help their teams.

30. The Tennessee Titans select – Hakeen Nicks - WR – NC St.  The Titans, as we saw last year, struggled when teams stopped the run.  Hopefully Hicks can help a sub-par receiving corp.

31. The Arizona Cardinals select – Clay Matthews - LB – USC.  The Cards, so close to SB victory, still need help on their defense.  Mathews should help add depth to a shaky group.

32. The Pittsburgh Steelers select – Alex Mack - C – Cal.  The reigning SB champs need to protect their QB better, or he will be not-remembering games with Troy Aikman in a few years.

There it is.  You don’t even have to watch all 4 hours of the Draft just pring this out and mark it done.  Sit back and watch the Red Sox vs the Yankees, the Cards vs the Cubs or the Spurs vs the Mavs.

Meet Jim Boeheim, winner of the 2003 National Championship.

Meet Paul Harris. Boeheim once called him the best freshman that he recruited since Carmelo Anthony. (Thanks for that Jim, since Paul started all of three years after Melo).

Paul Harris didn’t declare for the NBA Draft but someone declared for him. Syracuse University issued a press release stating that Harris declared for the Draft. Concerning his entrance of the NBA Draft, Harris told the Post Standard “I didn’t know a thing about it, I didn’t do that. I don’t have a clue who actually did it.”

Boeheim just watched his best chance at a title since Melo enter the draft

Boeheim’s response was that he had not talked to Paul Harris in two weeks and that “he told me that the week before the Oklahoma game.” Way to check your facts before throwing unconfirmed speculation out in the public domain Coach.

These are the facts: The Syracuse University Coach (who is in the Hall of Fame) decided that he would declare on behalf of Paul Harris that Paul Harris had entered the Draft. Paul Harris had not actually planned to enter the Draft. Boeheim didn’t bother asking Paul Harris whether he intended to enter the Draft. Boeheim decided that it would be more prudent to just go ahead and enter Paul’s name without speaking to Harris for two weeks. Boeheim’s excuse—Paul didn’t return my calls.

Perhaps Harris didn’t return those calls because he was justifiably despondent. After all, Coach Boeheim wouldn’t play him even though he is a superior rebounder, defender, and athlete. Nonetheless, a failure to return a phone call doesn’t sound like an invitation to send out a press release that one of your players has declared for the Draft.

It’s time someone called out Boeheim on this. This is a Coach pushing his own agenda; an agenda that doesn’t include Paul Harris. Jim Boeheim should be ashamed of himself. The Basketball Hall of Fame should give Boeheim his plaque back. Don’t tell me that the NCAA is where caring happens.

Where do you find ties this long?

Just when we thought we’d heard the last out of Isiah Thomas. He’s back. Now as the head coach of the Florida International men’s basketball team. In charge of teaching young men how to be better basketball players, and better citizens of the world. Perfect.

As a gesture of goodwill, he’s voiced his intent to donate his first year salary back to the athletic department at Florida International. The terms of his contract have not been released, but I’m sure he’ll really miss whatever they’re paying him. John Calipari had just become the highest-paid coach in college basketball with his 8-year, $31.65 million deal, paying out around $4 million a year. And no sooner did Isiah swoop in and take the crown. Even without his FIU salary, Thomas still has two years left on his contract with the Knicks and is slated to pull in about $12 million in that time span. Amounting to $6 million a year.

Laughing all the way to the bank

So what is FIU getting out of their highest-paid coach in college basketball? A man that has lost a sexual harassment suit and allegedly blamed his daughter when he was taken to the hospital after overdosing on sleeping pills. He ran the Knicks into the ground and made them arguably the worst team in the history of sports because of their bloated payroll and miniscule win total. All while he was the General Manager, and at times the head coach as well. During his five years as an NBA head coach (three in Indiana that Pacers fans are still trying to forget) he amassed a 187 and 223 record, winning 45.6% of his games.

And when posed with the question, “Will you go on the record as saying that the overdose [on sleeping pills that you admitted to earlier] was not a suicide attempt?” Instead of a simple yes or no, he responds with a cryptic, “I love living… I don’t know what else I can say.” Let me answer that. How about “Yes, I will go on the record. It was not a suicide attempt.” Or “No, I tried to kill myself and but it didn’t work. I’ve sought counseling and I very much want to live now.” Is it that hard to pick one of those?

How many games till FIU students will be holding up signs like this?

Of the hiring, FIU’s president said “This is bigger than basketball and bigger than athletics.” Yes, hiring a womanizer to run a group of young men usually is. He went on to say, “Having a nationally recognized coach like Isiah at FIU will have a positive impact on our university as a whole, helping us achieve additional national exposure.” Well if all you’re looking for is a nationally recognized coach like Isiah and expect that to have a positive impact on your university, why didn’t you just hire Dave Bliss. Or how about Jim Harrick, I don’t think he’s busy. Maybe Kelvin Sampson, he’s pretty well known.

And if it couldn’t get any better, it’s been reported that Tim Hardaway, yes, that Tim Hardaway, is being considered for an assistant coaching position. Other candidates for the staff include Shawn Kemp, Lonny Baxter, Don Imus and Tim Donaghey.