Goldie's Clown Car

"Keep in mind many of these children (including those who could not keep it in the pants) are playing on scholarships. They are the privileged few. And now they are also acting like the spoiled few as well."

Just when you thought things could not get any wackier, along comes this hot mess. Yes, our very expensive University, which often times are the door mat of the Big Ten, finally gets invited to a bowl game on the west coast. They had a record good enough to earn that honor. Was it from knocking off some contending teams? Not hardly. It was because somebody in scheduling had mercy on them, and lined them up with mostly cupcakes to play. In any event, they are (or were) scheduled to play in the Holiday Bowl.

However, they way we recruit these days is different than the past. The term "student athlete" is now as common as driving a car with a "three on the tree" standard transmission. It seems that after the first game this season, some of our finest young lads decided to party down and then have their way (allegedly) with a young lady. Well, the University finally got wind of this (as have the police), and the University decided to drop the hammer. 10 of these fine lads are now suspended from the team.

Hold the phone please! The rest of the team did not agree with that decision! Not on the verge of their biggest bowl game in just about forever! So they told the university brass they were not going to practice until the suspended players were reinstated. Maybe even skip the Holiday Bowl. Keep in mind many of these children (including those who could not keep it in the pants) are playing under scholarships. They are the privileged few. And now they are also acting like the spoiled few as well.

As Rush always says, "we will now talk about Realville". At every company I worked for, I was an "at will" employee. In other words, I could be let go at any time, cause or no cause. If some lady launched a complaint against me for any kind of sexual indiscretion, and if there appeared to be even a hint of truth, I would have been gone - fired. It should be the same way at the University. Forget "due process" - if these ten young men did something sexual to a female without consent, they should be gone from the football team as well as the University.

If I were the AD at the University, this is how I would have handled it. Coach Claeys would have been the point person to throw these 10 guys off the team. If the rest of the team then boycotted, I would have instructed Claeys to give them an ultimatum. Get back to work, or be kicked off the team and lose your scholarship. If he balked and said something stupid like, "I am so proud of these guys. I am siding with them", I would have fired him on the spot.

Somebody wrote a letter to the editor this morning and said the University should get rid of them all, ask the NCAA for a waiver, and then recruit football players with CHARACTER from around the country to come and play here. I don't give a rat's ass if we have to drop down a division. I want kids playing (under scholarship) who are GOOD STUDENTS, and have high character. 

One final thing. Eric Kaler needs to go. I am tired of academics being in charge of institutions of higher learning. Most don't know their butt from a can of beer on how to manage costs. Kaler also, has his fingerprints on this football mess.

Note to the Minnesota taxpayers. Is this what you want done with your hard earned tax dollars? This is a hot mess of the highest degree. And it should not have to be like this. You have probably guessed it by now - this too is a part of the Minnesota swamp which begs to be drained. We do all of us, deserve so much better.