Eaaaaarrttthquake!, Congress Investigates BCS, Kevin Love Says Adieu - Apr 18, 2008
- We need extra coffee this morning in central Indiana. Many people at the NCAA National Office had a rude wake-up call at 5:37. The bed shook, the windows rattled, we had ourselves a genuine Midwestern earthquake. Josh Centor, however, slept soundly in New York.
- Earthquakes happen about once every 15 years in Indiana. Strangely, so do 22-inning baseball games. Even stranger, technically they both happened on the same day! (The Colorado and San Diego game ended after 1 a.m.)
- We're at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The economy is tanking. Food prices have reached an all-time high around the world and three members of Congress want the Justice Department to investigate the BCS. When issues like this surface, there always seems to be some confusion over the NCAA's role. Just to clarify, the NCAA has nothing at all to do with the BCS.
- Earlier this week we asked if blue-chip recruits are worth it to programs if they only play for one year. Kevin Love announced he's leaving for the draft. What do you think?
- The Northern Illinois and Notre Dame baseball teams played Wednesday in White Sox stadium to raise money for a memorial scholarship fund. About 4,600 fans showed up for the game.
- The Olympic stadium opened in China and there's an interesting debate going on at the BBC Web site. Most of the debate surrounds the design and not the politics. One commenter said, "It looks like a giant pile of grey spaghetti, ready and waiting just in case Gulliver decides to drop by for lunch."
- In other Olympic news, a mom from Washington, D.C. could qualify for the triathlon team this Saturday. Unlike most athletes of her caliber, she's decided to train at home to stay with her family, rather than moving to a more conducive environment. What a great example for her kids!
- Barack Obama discussed the impact basketball made on his life with Bryant Gumbel. In the interview Obama said the game helped him identify with his race. "Here was a sport in which we were dominant. All those things, I think, contributed to the idea that there's something special about this."
