Okay, let’s see if I have this correct.  The NCAA Clearinghouse took a look at a standardized test of a basketball recruit and validated the score.  The player was allowed to enroll in school, participate for the team and take them to the Final Four, all with the blessing of the NCAA.  Now, after the team’s success the NCAA is now ruling the player was ineligible because ACT invalidated the score well after the fact.  Um, NCAA?  Who’s keeping tabs on you?

It is reported that Derek Rose of the Chicago Bulls is the player mentioned.  Questions arose because the test was taken in Detroit?  What the hell does that have to do with it?  Did anybody check on why it was taken in Detroit instead of just ASSUMING that because the player did not take the test in their hometown?  Hardly.  The reason the score was disallowed was due to the individual not cooperating.  How’s that?  He didn’t respond to messages left for him while he was in the NCAA Tournament and on the road for the Final Four?  It’s not like the NCAA didn’t know where he was.  One has to ask if this was done intentionally because if I’m on vacation or on the road for work you bet I’m not going to check messages at home.

What a bunch of morons.  True, there is a substantial amount of cheating that goes on in college sports.  Hell, it’s pretty prevalent.  But for the NCAA to make this type of ruling smacks of ineptitude and incompetence.  The basis for their decision is not from fact.  Somebody who is participating in a tournament that is making the organization millions of dollars doesn’t have the time to stop and check messages at home.  The NCAA is whoring out Derek Rose and thousands of other athletes and yet decides to penalize others who are completely innocent because they can’t get their heads out of their asses.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not insinuating that Derek Rose either did or didn’t take the test himself.  There’s not enough evidence that’s been presented to show me one way or the other.  John Calipari may or may not have known about all this.  I can’t say for certain.  Obviously he’s not the cleanest of all characters since this is the second of his teams that has been ordered to vacate their Final Four appearance (UMass 1996).  Now he’s blown out of town, again, and taken up residence at another school.  Will the same happen there?  We’ll just have to wait to find out.

In June, the NCAA infractions committee asked Memphis why they didn’t bench the player in question to avoid any problems.  Hello, McFly?  You’re organization were the turds that cleared him to play in the first place.  What exactly were they asking? “Um, why didn’t you bench him even though we gave you no indication then to think anything was wrong or could be wrong because we cleared him to enroll and play?  Why didn’t you, Memphis, know that we wouldn’t be able to find our asses with both hands?”

I think The Boz had it correct when he wore that shirt to the 1987 Orange Bowl: National Communists Against Athletes.  Memphis has vowed to fight the NCAA on this ruling.  I hope this gets the attention that it deserves.  The NCAA should have to prove that Derek Rose, or the player in question, did not take the test himself.  There can be no supposition here.  Prove it or shut the hell up!