Vote on it. Should college practices be closed? Right now, Double-A Zone readers are in a dead heat with 42 percent of respondents answering yes and another 42 percent no. The remaining respondents have said practices should be closed just to the media. Cast your vote now to let us know what you think about this issue.

Scandal in Tallahassee. Nearly two dozen Florida State student-athletes across nine sports have been implicated in a cheating scandal involving online exams. Apparently, one athletics department employee directed a student-athlete to complete an online quiz for another student-athlete, and there are also allegations that the same employee provided typing services for five student-athletes. Two athletics department employees have resigned and the university is reeling with the charges of academic fraud. These are some ugly allegations, as academic fraud runs contradictory to everything intercollegiate athletics and higher education are about. Obviously, there are a lot of student-athletes at Florida State, and it’s not fair to insinuate that most of them aren’t doing the right things in the classroom and on the field, because most surely are.

Hockey program cancelled at Wayne State. This season will be the last for the Wayne State men’s ice hockey program, as the university decided to discontinue sponsorship after nine years. Director of Athletics Rob Fournier cited state and institutional financial constraints as the main reason for the program’s cancellation. Of the 17 programs sponsored by Wayne State, men’s ice hockey is the most expensive. Because Division II doesn’t sponsor ice hockey, the men’s and women’s teams compete in Division I while the rest of school’s teams participate in Division II. It’s always devastating when programs get cancelled, and while it’s not much consolation to players who want to be out on the ice, Wayne State will honor the scholarships of its hockey student-athletes through graduation if they elect to stay on campus. The women’s ice hockey program will not be affected by the university’s decision to eliminate the men’s program.

Heavy hitter. I always thought Hartford President Walter Harrison was a cool guy, but now I’m sure of it. Dr. Harrison spent some time with the university’s baseball team during a recent fall practice and even got in the batting cage to take some hacks. Dr. Harrison is the former chair of the NCAA Executive Committee, which is comprised of chancellors and presidents from across the country and is the Association’s most influential governance body. Currently the chair of the Committee on Academic Performance, Dr. Harrison has a profound love for baseball: his doctoral dissertation, “Out of Play: Baseball Fiction from Pulp to Art,” looks at the role baseball plays in American culture.