(Not) Following the Rules....

There are some difficult things to understand in this world....tax forms, advanced physics, and the whole script of the movie Snatch (seriously, does anyone know what they're saying?). But nothing, and I mean NOTHING, compares to the NCAA rule book. There are more pages in that thing than most athletes (and to be fair, most students in general) will read throughout their entire college career. And it seems that with every rule comes four or five different interpretations, all depending on how the folks in Indianapolis seem to be feeling on a particular day.

Take for instance the NCAA rule concerning eligibility as it relates to unethical conduct and recruiting violations (insert Cam Newton story here). While most of us might think that one's father shopping an athlete around to the highest SEC bidder would be grounds for some sort of reprimand to the athlete, we'd apparently be wrong. Because, in the strictest interpretation of the rules, the athlete in question had no knowledge of the transactions, clearing him of any unethical conduct violations, and was never an athlete at the institution accused of improper recruiting, which clears him of that. So the star football player gets to continue on with life while daddy gets a slap on the wrist.

Ok, I'll buy that. But let's take a look at another rule. This one concerning eligibility as it relates to amateur status. Clearly you'd think there would be some wiggle room if a football player whose dad pimped him out is still considered to be an amateur. But in the case of WVU basketball player Denis Kilicli, who the NCAA determined to be in violation of this rule due to playing on an Turkish team that included a professional player, the NCAA was not quite as lenient. Kilicli was suspended for the first 20 games during the 2009-10 season. Hmmm....



My favorite (unemployed) Rule Breaker Rich Rodriguez

 And the NCAA rulings in the Jim Tressel and Ohio State Football Yard Sale that apparently has been going on for a few years? Yeah, I don't even have enough energy to know where to begin with that. The point is, there is no point. It seems that the NCAA rule book and those that enforce its compliance are just free spirits granting clemency or penalty upon whim.

They say rules are meant to be broken. I guess it's just a matter of knowing which are the right ones to break.

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In lighter news, I've got a heads up to all my fellow WVU Mountaineer fans out there. On Friday, April 29, Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium will be the site of the Old Timer's game, which will be played before the annual Blue-Gold spring game. Over 150 of the who's who of Mountaineer football will be involved, including Bobby, Tommy and Terry Bowden, Don Nehlen, Frank Cignetti, Quincy Wilson, Major Harris, Oliver Luck, Jeff Hostetler, Amos Zereoue, Mike Logan, Aaron Beasley, Pat White, Rasheed Marshall, Owen Schmitt, Pat McAfee, Reed Williams, Marc Magro, and Grant Wiley. If you're in the Morgantown area, make sure to attend and send me pictures! I'll be jealous of you forever.