Underworld

A fascinating piece by Dana O'Neil at ESPN, she interviewed 20 high-profile college basketball coaches, under the promise of absolute anonymity, about the state of college recruiting and what takes place in the shady shadows. Yes, that's an oxymoron, I know, but I liked it.

And the thing is, while a terrific read, it's not all that "enlightening" to most fans of college sport. And that's sad. Most fans don't know, and don't want to know what it takes to produce a winning product to prop up our own fan identity. Perhaps the NCAA has been mandated a fool's errand; trying to police young citizens, that are the age of majority, that may be worth millions of dollars. Especially when the "victims" don't even care.

The occassional hypocrisy of the NCAA isn't lost on me. But it was said best by Nick Nolte in Blue Chips: "The rules don't make much sense some times. But I believe in the rules."

And let's not kid ourselves, it's the subject of daily debate in the Commonwealth because of one word: Calipari.

Without accusation, Cal is the posterboy, the vanguard for those that embrace the mogul culture of young athletes rather than resist. Whether he's a con-man or a visionary remains to be be seen.

The rules don't make sense sometimes, but I believe in the rules. I hope all fans of college basketball in the Commonwealth can maintain some intellectual honesty in this landscape, and be willing to call out our own colors when impropriety is spotted.

I will.