NCAA Double-A Zone: Classroom success, lowering drinking age and hurdles heartbreak August 20, 2008

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Classroom success, lowering drinking age and hurdles heartbreak - Aug 20, 2008

posted by: Howard Smith

While the Miami (Florida) football program hasn't been as dominant on the field in recent years as it was in the 1980s and 90s, it is good to see that the student-athletes are taking care of business in the classroom. This is reflected in the team's Academic Progress Rate (APR) score of 969 - ranking them eighth out of all 119 Division I FBS football teams.

Current Olympic wrestler and Minnesota recruit Jake Deitchler announced that he will not attend the university this fall despite his existing commitment. Deitchler's apparent reasoning for this decision is his desire to become a dominant wrestler in the 2012 Olympics, and he feels that he needs to train full-time to accomplish his goals. What are your thoughts on Deitchler forgoing a college wrestling opportunity to solely focus on events like the Olympics?

More than a year ago, John M. McCardell Jr., Middlebury's former president, started a campaign to lower the drinking age from 21, an age that he argues is unrealistic and prevents honest discussions about alcohol use on campuses. While some college presidents might have initially been hesitant to support the initiative, dozens have now signed a statement backing the discussion McCardell is seeking. Do you agree that the legal drinking age should be lowered?

Becky Hammon, the widely discussed American-born basketball player who is currently playing for Russia in the Olympics, led her team to a semifinal berth after a 84-65 win over Spain in the quarterfinals. Hammon scored 17 points and was a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range. Hammon's Russia squad will tip off against the undefeated Americans in the semifinals on Thursday. Now that we are in the post-Phelps stage of the Olympics, this heated matchup could end up being one of the marquee events of the second week.

You had to feel terrible for American Lolo Jones in the finals of the women's 100-meter hurdles yesterday. The former LSU student-athlete and 11-time all-American had the lead going into the second-to-last hurdle before she clipped it, and she stumbled home to a seventh-place finish. Unfortunately, this misstep is similar to what occurred with Jones at the 2004 at the U.S. Olympic trials, and you hope that she gets another chance to redeem herself in 2012.

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Clustering...allows you and teammates to create a bond since you took the same classes and went through the same struggles on the athletic venue.

- Cole

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