Jack’s Blog

A 5′5″ jock sniffer, Nevin Shapiro, is wallowing in his “15 minutes of fame” while the University of Miami worries about how long they’re going to spend in NCAA purgatory.

Fpr the next few blogs, I’ll be giving some random observations:

The talking heads and people who call in radio talk shows are incensed that college football players would accept something outside the limits of the NCAA rules.  Full disclosure - when I was a freshman in college, I made a field goal late in our homecoming football game that was the difference in our winning.  The next day, I walked into a sub shop we frequented on Sundays when we didn’t feel like having dorm food.  I ordered my sandwich and when I went to pay, the owner said, “Nice kick.  It’s on the house.”

This was at a Division III school.  Technically, it was a violation of NCAA rules.  Not only did I not refuse the freebie, I never even considered it.  To me, it was an honor.  At that time, I didn’t feel entitled; I didn’t have a lot of extra cash and was thrilled I was a few bucks to the good.

As absurd as this sounds, it’s similar to many of today’s infractions.  Schools all claim their boosters are the best.  Do you think they mean the best as far as staying within the NCAA rules?  I’ve worked at nine Division I schools and can tell you that most fans love knowing the colleges’ athletes - and having the kids know them.  If they’re out at the mall and an athlete recognizes them by name, it’s as proud a moment as they can experience.  Having one or more to their house for dinner - especially so their children can be with them - is nirvana.

That happens to be legal now.  I remember when it wasn’t.  Our (coaches association) Recruiting Committee recommended to the NCAA Recruiting Committee that, as long as boosters weren’t providing weekly catered meals, why not allow athletes the same courtesy as other students if they knew someone in town?  The NCAA agreed and added to the rule book “an occasional meal” was acceptable.  When we pressed them to define “occasional” they wouldn’t commit.

Therein lies the answer to “Why can’t the NCAA cut their rule book?”  “Eliminate the gray areas?”  “Use more common sense?”  It’s because if you give coaches an inch, they’ll take a mile.  Everybody is looking for an edge.  Is an occasional meal once a week?  Once a month?  Besides, the NCAA isn’t concerned about a booster giving a student-athlete a meal; they’re worried about what else the kid gets while he’s there.  How is that monitored?  People with a great deal money feel they can buy things they want.  If that means recognition from a top, or even second string player, hey, it’s only money.

It’s interesting to hear ESPN’s Mark May pontificate about how the NCAA might be right in assessing the death penalty to the “U.”  I was an assistant at Robert Morris College in 1976, the year Pitt won the national championship in football.  Maybe their star running back Tony Dorsett didn’t receive any more than room, board, books tuition and fees.  But I’d love to ask May what his guess is - and while we’re at it, would he put his hand on a Bible and swear he didn’t get anything beyond the rules when he matriculated?  Pittsburgh is one of the biggest football cities in the country and the people who live there are as rabid fans as there are.  If a student-athlete goes out after a big win, don’t for a minute think he’s paying for his food or beers.  And if there’s one player who would stand up and say, “Sorry, this is against NCAA rules, I’ll pay,” let him come forth and be anointed with holy water. Ditto for Kirk Herbstreit, Craig James, Keyshawn Johnson, Robert Smith, etc.

It’s not greed; it’s human nature.  The NCAA’s problem is, “Where do we draw the line?”  Excoriating the NCAA is easy.  They do make themselves into an easy target, but:

“If someone is going to expose a problem - without proposing a viable solution - all they’re doing is complaining.”

As far as Dustin Johnson’s two-stroke penalty in last weekend’s PGA tourney at Whistling Straits, there is plenty of fault to be spread around.  First and foremost, Johnson and his caddy should have read the rules.  After all, it is a major and how embarrassing would it be to get DQ’d (or assessed a two-stroke penalty) for not knowing what was and was not legal?

That’s a given.  Similar to when you don’t read the small print and the company sticks it to you on a formality.  What happened in Wisconsin reminded me of that commercial where the obnoxious guy screws over little kids on technicalities.  Now, Johnson’s (and his caddy’s - having been an assistant, which is basically what a caddie is, I know it’s one of your responsibilities to make sure these kinds of situations don’t happen) oversights are much worse than not reading the fine print - since his job performance depended on it.  Golf, however, prides itself on being a gentleman’s game, one that oozes dignity.  What transpired on Sunday was as close to a “gotcha” as what the GOP claimed Katie Couric did to Sarah Palin.

During the broadcast, the fact there were a ridiculous number of bunkers (1300 is the number that pops into my mind) was mentioned (bragged about?) numerous times.  Every shot from Snoopy’s blimp reminded those with short attention spans.  Seeing the players avoid them, for the most part, displayed the incredible skill they possessed.

In most sports, fouls or illegalities are called based on “advantage/disadvantage.”  Did what Johnson do give him an advantage or cause one of his opponents a disadvantage?   Granted, had the officials looked the other way, fans would have been shown replays of a player “obviously breaking a rule” and the officials would have had to answer a slew of difficult questions.  Uh, kinda like they’re doing now.

I’m not sure what shocks me more - the fact that a woman was actually sitting on the edge of the bunker while Johnson hit his (illegal) shot or the fact that the PGA officials remain so adamant and inflexible in their reaction to the ruling (”The rules are clearly stated and posted”).  This guy played 72 holes and grounded his club once.  Do you really think he was trying to pull a fast one?

The only way this situation could have been more embarrassing to golf is what Johnson himself said - if he’d made the subsequent par putt, giving him the apparent victory.  Golf, a sport in which the word “class” is so revered should pay attention to a comment by one of its tour pros (for the life of me, I can’t recall which one, nor have research attempts yielded which player made the profound statement).  When everyone was talking about how fans trampled bunkers throughout play during the four days of the tournament, the pro said:

“Imagine this happening at Augusta.”