Well, it's a start

New online application allows you to see the devastation of an atomic/nuclear device or asteroid strike.

So, of course....

You expected something else?

Racial Divide

Couple of articles over the past few weeks that discuss one of our favorite topics

First, The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports gives college athletics a C+ in terms of racial and gender hiring practices. They gave the FBS (Division 1) football programs an F for hiring- and that don't stand for "Fantastic".

Also, the first African American head football coach to win a Super Bowl opined in the New York Times Op-Ed pages on this topic as well. Tony Dungy gives his insight on why it's so difficult to make any progress at the college level-

At a seminar last spring in Indianapolis with other N.F.L. and college head coaches and university athletic directors, I asked that very question, and was enlightened by the responses of those directors. The biggest factor, they said, was the involvement of other people associated with the universities. It was not just the president and the athletic director who made the hiring decisions — alumni and boosters were involved, and the presidents often felt pressure to hire coaches the boosters would support.

So, it comes down to money (as always). In the NFL, there's a league wide initiative regarding interview processes. But there aren't any areas where all Universities have common incentives that could be leveraged to help encourage this process.

That is, except for their tax exempt status.

Well, sure.

This week, Abilene Christian received NCAA probation for various violations, including violation of victories and a two year probationary status for their football program.

Of course, some people would say that this is karma for running up the score in the playoffs.

Others would point out that many of the "transgressions" are actually misadvised Christian charity. And, since I trust Mike, I think there's some truth to this.

I'll just point out that it's a typical response by the No Clue At All- Reggie Bush's investigation still flounders. As I said in the comment's of Mike's blog- If ACU was Division 1 and generated television revenue via the BC$ or March Madne$$, there would merely be a slap on the wrist for "secondary violations"

Signs O' The Times

Nope, not channeling the purple one here, just finishing up the recruiting series.

Since we last talked, the NCAA has decided that it's important to indicate that 7th graders are now officially potential student athletes in basketball. That means that some idiot is pursuing kids who are 12-13 years old to help his program in the future. Wonder who that could be...

Today is National Signing Day- the day that high school athletes sign the letters of intent that will bind them to their colleges of choice (unlike their coaches, who can go where ever they want when ever they want).

This is the day that coaches know for sure who will be joining their team- who was being honest with their verbal commitments, and who has chosen to go elsewhere.

But as Scout, Rivals, and others celebrate this day that legitimizes their existence, let me offer a cold bucket of reality. First, a reminder: These are kids who are choosing to go to college to (allegedly) get their education.

Although, the standards by which they are admitted are different than everyone else. While more and more schools brag about their "selectivity" (how high the scores/GPAs of their incoming classes are), NCAA Football powers continually bring people to the academic community whose scores are much lower than the rest of their cohort. Often, there are even attempts to get around the NCAA minimum standard for admittance- yup, there are 3.9 GPA students who don't receive the fat envelope while kids with 820 SATs are given full rides.

Well, once there they still have to make the grades, right? Sure, sort of. Often times, athletes are funneled to specific majors in order to help them maintain eligibility. Sure, there are some exceptions, but it seems that a student's development outside of the field/court is not as important as it could be.

And, to top it all off, the graduation rates (while improving) are still no where near the level that they should be, especially for programs that pride themselves on academic excellence. Sure would make the BCS more interesting if the classroom would factor into the equation...

There will be a lot of celebration today, and rightfully so. For some of these young men, this is the chance of a lifetime.

My hope is that they will find ways to make the most of it, in spite of of some overwhelming odds- potentially being unprepared for academic life, having people invest in them only due to sports, living in a culture who won't celebrate just as much when/if they get their degree.

But those are the times we live in.

According to my calendar...

Today is African American Coaches Day.

So, to celebrate, let's remember all of the Head Coaches in Division 1 who are of African American descent:

Eastern Michigan: Ron English
Miami of Ohio: Mike Haywood
New Mexico State: DeWayne Walker
New Mexico: Mike Locksley
University of Miami: Randy Shannon
Univeristy of Buffalo: Turner Gill
University of Houston: Kevin Sumlin
Yale: Tom Williams

Oh, and in the NFL? Two of the last three Super Bowls have been won by African American coaches.