In The Wrong Hands, They're Like Drugs

(Note: I published that one below a day or two ago on ArmchairGM.com and forgot to put it on here. I decided to post it today so we'd have a frame of reference for this next story.)

In a sure sign that the NCAA might want to take a page from the David Stern School of Rulemaking, the N-(was blind but now I) C-A-A is investigating the University of Alabama's football team after the startling revelation that several members of the football team have been taking . . . wait for it . . . extra textbooks.

Who lets these criminals on campus? We are not safe. Now, none of the articles I found went further than to say that, but the logical conclusion as to why the NCAA cares is that they are allegedly selling the textbooks to students. Yes, if a player is somehow benefiting from his or her athletic prowess in any way other than what NCAA says, then no sport for you! Coach Nick Saban says we'll find out the results of the investigation when he does, which means the NCAA is doing all the legwork on this one.

Seriously, come on. The program at Alabama has been struggling to get clean from past "indiscretions" - ones that there is no doubt in my mind the NCAA is ignoring right this minute. And here they come like Debbie Downer to "save" the day. Has anyone seen the price of textbooks lately? Apparently this came just a day after a similar issue at Ball State University, and while the NCAA just so happened to be on Alabama's campus. Apparently the players didn't have enough time to flush the textbooks down the toilet before their arrival.

Of course, whoever gave them multiple textbooks has likely been fired, but you won't hear much else about those people because it's the players who are doing wrong, right?

So they're using their textbooks as currency to get some money since they can't have jobs during the season, and the NCAA won't give the players a dime of all the money they make off of them, even though sports (including moneys for bowl games, post-season wins, etc.) generate a lot of the revenues for big sports schools. Nothing beats free labor!