The Sad State of Big Time Amateur Athletics

I heard this morning that Jim Tr*ssel has resigned from THE. I gave that news a hearty shoulder shrug.

They cheat like every other bigtime program in the nation. Whether it is turning a blind eye to PED's, booster gifts (cough, Auburn, cough) or whatever - there is not one program with any measureable amount of success that doesn't cheat.

Did my beloved Illini cheat on their way to the Rose Bowl a half decade ago? Probably. But the funny (or sad) part is that USC cheated MORE to get there. WAY MORE. And of course, rather than fall on the sword and take his punishment as head coach of Trojanus Maximus, Pete C*rroll takes the pro job in Seattle. Biggest display of cowardly behavior I may ever see in all my life of watching kollej football.

And that is why I am not exactly dancing in the streets over THE's current pickle. Sure, I hate them as much as the next guy, and wish their athletic program nothing but failure. But my Illini could be next. Or pretty much any program exept perhaps Northwestern. For some reason I trust that they run their program the right way. I could be wrong.

I am sure Tr*ssel will get a nice job eventually. Where he will talk all high and mighty, then cheat like everyone else. It is pretty lame that he preached about doing everything right, and now the evidence says all that Christian faith he had talked and preached about while wearing that dumb vest was just plain 'ol bullshit. He was a cheater just like all the rest and apparently knew exactly what was going on the whole time. I am not surprised.

So what to do about bigtime amateur athletics? Hard to say. The NCAA is probably one of the most corrupt organizations this side of FIFA. The rules are randomly enforced and there seems to be a wink and a nod to the big money programs. Anyone remember Maurice Clarett? Talk about sweeping some sh1t under the rug.

I sort of like what Auburn did last year when they came under investigation. Rather than circling the wagons and suspending players, they just pushed all of their chips in and told the NCAA to get f*cked. It has apparently worked! Sure, they can take back their trophy, but you can't take back those parties.

We will see if all of these new allegations about THE's football program are true. If they are, they should get the death penalty, plain and simple. But the truth is that money talks, and violations walk. Over and over and over.