Most of the time these things are a pretty easy watch.  Usually a video or picture of some chick.  But I have more than an issue on what Pat Forde had to say regarding UCONN head coach Jim Calhoun’s recent suspension for next season:

ESPN – We are gradually, incrementally chipping away at the Cult of the Head Coach in college sports.

The progress might seem slow at times, like poking an ivory tower with a pocket knife. But it’s better than idly watching it being built thicker and higher and making no effort at all.

Putting Calhoun’s Hall of Fame behind on the couch for one-sixth of conference play is tangible proof that the age-old way of doing business in college sports — protect the head coach at all costs — is no longer acceptable. Pleading ignorance while your assistants are running roughshod over the rulebook won’t fly anymore. Letting everyone around the head coach take the fall, while the boss stands tall, is becoming an outdated dodge.

Sorry Pat, this is simply a slap on the wrist.  Moreso, we don’t even know what the suspension should be.  If he was/is running a program out of compliance, his program should pay the necessary penalty.

So what the hell is it, NCAA?  No need to keep it a secret.  If they were out of compliance then penalize them.  And if it’s 3 games, suspend him for the next 3 games.  UCONN plays 4 more Big East games, the Big East tournament, and the NCAA tournament.

Tough shit if it’s at the end of the season.

Rick Pitino, his white suit, and perfect hair are currently trying to fight off sex and rape allegations to piece together his crumbling reputation.  You can find the whole Yahoo story here, but I took the liberty to read through and find the highlights.  Check these gems from the court room:

“Some unfortunate things happened,” Pitino said. “She opened up my pants.”

“Did you have sex that night?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Ford asked. 

“Yes, very briefly,” Pitino answered.

Oh Rick, bangin’ a waitress after hours must be a rough life.  How unfortunate that a former model ‘opened your pants.’  If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1,000 times – if you’re famous, going to cheat, and going to do so in public, the least you can do is get your monies worth.  ‘Very briefly’ had sex?  Rick, let me introduce you to fellow legendary coach, with legendary hair, and now enough stamina to go all night, Jimmy Johnson: 

This is a list of the alleged violations found by the NCAA during its 15-month investigation of the University of Connecticut men’s basketball program:

— Members of the men’s basketball staff exchanged at least 160 impermissible telephone calls and at least 191 impermissible text messages with recruits.

— Former student manager turned sports agent Josh Nockimson provided impermissible benefits to a recruit.

Rest of the Story

Yeah, a little too much legal jargon for my liking but you get the picture: Jim Calhoun and Co. have been caught cheating.  Period. 

Whether it’s prominent throughout college or not, whether all or part turns out true or not, the NCAA should come down pretty hard on these guys.  They might take away some wins, maybe a final 4 and/or title, but that won’t mean diddly poo.  If the recruiting and the providing benefits business that governs college basketball is to come to a stop, or at least be tamed, UCONN needs to get a handful of years suspension from post season play.  

To completely stop all the rule bending and cheating that goes on in college recruiting would take, well, the end of the world.  But the most fear that can be put into a program is suspension from post season play.  That immediately eliminates most, if not all, top recruits from signing.  It also renders your season virtually pointless, especially in the eyes of the the world outside the team’s city. 

I’m not for the death penalty – not for any school, in any situation.  As much as the NCAA promotes its sports for being for the ‘student athletes’, it should realize the players are recycled much too quickly to warrant the death penalty.  I’d rather see them force a coach or AD out of his position before banning a team forever.

But if they want to take a stand and make a point, then this is a platform to do so.  A major player in the most popular conference with a legendary coach.  Or they could take the easy way out like they do with most recruiting violations.  Who knows WTF they’re doing…

Get out the tissues … it’s the last Big Monday for 2010 … but that does mean Championship week is right around the corner.

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4pm – #19 Georgetown @ #10 West Virginia

A #2 seed could be on the line in Morgantown for the Mountaineers.  With Purdue and Villanova both losing over the weekend, there is a chance WVU could steal a top seed in the big dance by selection Sunday.  Bob Huggins will have to beat a tough Hoya squad tonight, followed by Nova on Saturday.  Meanwhile, Georgetown is now hoping to hold onto a #5 seed after dropping three of their last four games.

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6pm – Oklahoma @ Texas

Longhorns have dropped off the Top 25 chart completely.  Once ranked the #1 team in the land, Texas has been the team everyone overrated in November.  And with two games left, dropping one or both would certainly mean no dancing in the tournament.  It’s all about survival for Rick Barnes crew.  Sitting at 13-15, the Sooners are merely spoilers at this juncture.  Okla’s Jeff Capel will have his boys ready to ruin the hopes of his Red River rival.

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Two stud BIG EAST schools clash this day in the Carrier Dome on ESPN!

This is a can’t miss game … so unfortunately (kinda), I will be consuming many beverages at a festival down on the Oregon coast.  But forget about my poor timing, YOU can’t miss this game.

The Wildcats relentless attack of the hoop will be an interesting clash against the penetration proof 2-3 zone of the Orangemen.  Nova PG Scottie Reynolds better bring his action-hero game to this round-ball melee.  Why?  Because there ain’t no room for sissies in a Big East battle the size of this one.

syracuse.com

Syracuse is still lookin like a team I will have to pencil into the championship game when it comes bracket time.  Shutting down Nova’s Reynolds and Fisher will certainly lock in my confidence for Syracuse.  And could prove Nova is a team that might fizzle towards the end of the season because of potential guard fatigue.

Or maybe Villanova’s superior guard play will prove to be the Achilles’s heel for the dudes in bright orange.  It’s a great match-up.  One I am kicking myself for not being able to watch.  Oh well, I shall drown my sorrows with alcoholic beverages.

Nova vs Cuse, watch — or be a douche! (or somebody like me that drinks at a festival)

4pm PST – West Virginia @ UCONN

After taking a horrific, most-likely-tournament-busting-ride, on the L train … the Huskies slapped the Wildcats in PA and showed some serious potential.  UCONN, with coach Calhoun back, now looks like a tournament team.  But, another loss will give the committee no choice other than to leave them on the sidelines in mid-March.  So the Huskies must run the table to punch their dance ticket.  Who are you UCONN?  Are you the erratic, turnover-prone, struggle-to-score team?  Or this new-and-improved feisty Calhoun led team that many experts expected from day 1?

The Mountaineers, on the other hand, have the luxury of improving their tourney seed by beating UCONN on the road.  A Huggins led-squad will not back down to this rejuvenated and hungry Connecticut team.  An intense game is sure to be had, no shocker there.

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6pm PST – Oklahoma @ Kansas

What was always a game to circle on the calendar, does not seem so much this season.  Oklahoma is average.  And right now, they won’t be dancing.  A win in Kansas would be a huge feather in the cap of the Sooners.  Jeff Capel better have his boys ready to play in Phog Allen Fieldhouse because the Jayhawks will be ready to throw-down and thrash the kids in crimson.  Kansas has not lost since 1/10 on the road against a scrappy Volunteers squad and are now the experts’ favorite to win it all.  Though it’s likley Okla will take the L tonight, it is important that they, at worst, have a good showing to keep their postseason hopes alive.

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Football season is officially over.  Those of you that don’t get into hoops until after the Super Bowl, well, jump in feet first right now.  Time to quickly shift gears and embrace the 2 months that give you the most bang for your buck –> the final 60 days of the NCAA hoops season.  This Big Monday is the best yet … with 4 teams in the top 14 squaring off against each other.

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4pm PST – #5 Villanova @ #4 West Virginia

After getting snowed under a flurry of Hoya 3-pointers on Saturday, the Wildcats have to follow that tough loss up with a road game in Morgantown.  This game will be no picnic for either squad today.  I expect a physical bruiser, most likely with Nova driving the lane all night long followed by some no-blood-no-foul hacks via the Mountaineer interior to deny the easy baskets.  Let’s hope the rough-potential of this game doesn’t turn vicious like how it did Wedneday night when a few idiot WVU fans tossed some objects onto the court in dispute of some calls.  I like Nova to bounce back and harass the Mountaineer guards into numerous turnover-to-transition-points.

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6pm PST – #1 Kansas @ #14 Texas

The Jayhawks have a comfortable 2 1/2 game cushion between them and the 2nd place KSU Wildcats.  So a loss in Texas would not be so bad.  On the other hand, the Longhorns are dropping fast.  A Saturday loss to their Red River rivals Oklahoma designates this home game against Kansas as a very much needed win to a team that was highly ranked just a couple weeks ago.  No doubt the Erwin Center will be rocking tonight when this game tips off, even if many of the students have a Super Bowl hangover.  Texas really needs this self-esteem boost because back-to-back losses right now will be brutal on the ego.  I believe the Longhorns will rally behind their raucous fans, play inspired ball, and pluck off the Jayhawks who are due for an L.

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This week’s Big Monday games have all four squads rallying after losses.

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4pm PST — UCONN @ Louisville

Back-to-back losses for the Huskies means a big drop off the Top 25 board.  Coach Calhoun is still not gonna be on the sidelines for Connecticut for another week of action.  That could make this home game for Louisville a little easier since they just absorbed a tough loss in Morgantown.  Pitino will have his kids ready to kick a dog when it’s down.  A Monday win for Louisville could get them on a roll with beatable teams like Rutgers & St. Johns on the horizon.  And I just can’t see UCONN solving their turnover issues while visiting the press-happy Cardinals.

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6pm PST — #10 Texas @ Oklahoma State

Longhorns are stumbling badly losing 3 outta their last 4 games.  Texas coach Barnes better rally the troops because Oklahoma & Kansas are coming up quickly on the sked.   The Cowboys have the opp to deliver a serious body blow to the Longhorns and send them down to BIG 12 mediocrity.  OSU is coming off a loss in Missouri, so this battle should come down to the last-scrappin-minute.  Because both squads really need this win to have any hope of pacing the Jayhawks in the conference standings.

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UPDATED 10:22am PST

ESPN/USA Today Poll