Let’s take a knee and not talk about the NFL (No Flag League) this week, although there’s more to talk about there than a convention of Bill Clinton’s girlfriends!
Instead let’s shift our attention to the college world of athletics.
They’ve got more problems than a dog that just found a porcupine! Last week the FBI announced that 10 people, including four assistant coaches at big-time programs, were charged as part of a wide-ranging federal investigation into corruption in college basketball. Who’d ‘a thunk it?
Of course, many in college sports rushed to declare their shock and dismay, saying it must be an isolated case or two.
It isn’t.
Count me outside of the group that believes head coaches when they say, “I didn’t know anything about it,” when a finger is pointed at them.
Head coaches know EVERYTHING that goes on in their programs. They are control freaks. That’s why they make good coaches!
A basketball coach who is “The Cat With Nine Lives,” — Rick Pitino of Louisville — probably just used his ninth life!
Pfftt! Finished! Blanco!
The only question that remains is how much will Louisville have to pay him, the $11,500 they say they will pay or the $44 million that Pitino and his attorneys say he has coming.
Pitino has used up all of his “I didn’t know anything about it,” cards. Pitino once bragged to his boosters, “If one of my players has a beer in Louisville, I know about it.”
Don’t look at this as just a college basketball scandal.
College football is just as deep in this muck as their basketball cohorts and, probably deeper given that there is more money in the football game than basketball.
This all goes on, of course, because the rewards outweigh the risks. Pay some players and you win and make big bucks.
If you get caught, usually you can blame it on an assistant and say, “I didn’t know anything about it.”
That has been mostly the track record of the NCAA and their enforcement, with the exception of when they catch one of the “non-glamour” schools and then they take them to the woodshed!
The big difference this time is that it IS NOT the NCAA that has uncovered the mess, it is the FBI.
People go to jail with these folks. Believe me, there’s a lot of trembling going on at a lot of athletic offices around the country!
CHALK TALK
• One of the most disappointing things about modern day professional sports is the free agency thing.
• The Royals just finished a season and all of the talk is about who WILL NOT be back next year because they are free agents and the Royals won’t be able to sign all of them. Hard to root for teams when the rosters turn over so much, season to season.
• Big battle in the CKL this week is Hoisington (3-2) at No. 4 ranked-Div. 2 Nickerson (4-1). If a game was ever a toss-up on paper, this is! Hard to bet against the Cardinals.
• Will K-State’s Dean Wade become the “go to” man this year? Cats need a big year out of him.
• George Will says, “Football has got to be a mistake. It combines the two worst elements of American life — violence and committee meetings!”
• No. 3 state-ranked 3A Phillipsburg visits Larned Friday as heavy favorites. But remember, last year the Panthers barely escaped the Indians 14-7 after delivering a 50-0 thrashing earlier in the season.
• Another Wichita school visits Memorial Stadium in Great Bend this week. West or East, it doesn’t matter. Black Panthers on a roll!
• Will the Longhorns end the Bill Snyder hex this year? Tough to win in Austin —Texas 27-24.
• KU getting better but not with pass defense and that spells problems as Texas Tech comes to Lawrence. Lots of scoring but another loss — Red Raiders 44-33.
• Don’t spend your life answering a question nobody is asking!
Buddy Tabler is a guest columnist for the Great Bend Tribune and his views don’t necessarily reflect those of the paper. He can be reached at budtabler@gmail.com.
