Indiana University

Well, it was another red letter weekend for the IU athletic department. Both the football and basketball teams managed to make the news for the wrong reasons and by Sunday night it wasn't clear whether either teams coach would be employed by the university much longer. As a former rabid fan of both programs I can only say I am dismayed at the crap that continues to go on down there. To paraphrase Strother Martin in Up In Smoke, "When IU, when are you gonna get your act together?"

I guess I can only be glad the football team has had a couple of setbacks this season and especially the one Saturday night in East Lansing. With the emergence of the Illinois football team the lone Hoosier loss was looking a lot more palatable. So palatable that I thought they might pull the trigger on a new contract for interim head coach Bill Lynch. Lynch ain't the answer. With the debacle Saturday I hope AD Greenspan has figured that out and will at least wait until the end of the season to do anything.

What was looking like a sure bowl berth season took a turn for the ugly Saturday night. Now games against Wisconsin and Penn State that may have looked winnable a week ago now loom as sure losses. Sure the Hoosiers should be able to beat Northwestern and Ball State, but we all know the Hoosiers penchant for losing to a mid-major team like Ball U. Then there is the Bucket game which looks like will determine nothing. At best the Hoosiers are looking at some low budget bowl in some cold weather city.

Across the parking lot the basketball team opened practice Friday night to a decent crowd and a shitload of anticipation. There was a buzz around the basketball team last year that hadn't been felt in some time. Kelvin Sampson had the team playing defense and they were a joy compared to the POC teams Mike Davis had put out there the previous years. Unfortunately Sampson is an unpleasant, defensive and arrogant man who can bring them a championship and I won't be able to embrace him. I'll root for the team, but I just don't like Sampson. Probably never will. And before you think I was against his hiring I wasn't. I heard some interviews with him after he was hired and it was clear he wasn't a quality person.

Well all of the goodwill and anticipation came crashing down yesterday as reports surfaced that Sampson had violated recruiting rules by making more phone calls than are allowed by the NCAA. The rules are stupid, but they are the rules. Sampson, who had been run out of Oklahoma for doing the same thing was at it again. How does this knucklehead not get it? For fucks sake Sampson, are you that stupid? Is your arrogance so profound that you just think you are above the rules? Are you too damn dumb to change up your shtick a little? And AD Greenspan, why aren't you watching this prick? You put a clause in his contract that he is gone if he steps out of line. Why is he still coach as of this writing?

IU has taken the first step and docked Sampson, with his blessing $500,000. A tidy sum to be sure, but if this clown was in trouble with the NCAA before for the same infractions then do you honestly think a monetary penalty is going to keep them from throwing the book at him this time? How many scholarships will be lost for this one?

I know Sampson won't get fired by the university at this point. It is too close to the season and lets not forget, the team has some highly touted recruits and expectations are high as IU has been ranked as high as 10th in preseason polls. Sampson will continue to run roughshod over the rules and be unable to distinguish right from wrong. He recruited some guy in KY who was promptly busted for selling dope. Nice. The whole Eric Gordon recruitment smelled funny. The IU hardcore's will tell you all is fair in recruiting and that the "gentleman's agreements" are BS, but they exist and I just think there is more to Gordon being at IU than meets the eye.

I don't like what is going on down there these days and until someone is willing to watch the program a little closer this shit will continue to happen. It's a shame that a major university's athletic department needs to be babysat, but that is what they need down there.