Grab my two handguns and assault rifle. I'd better down half a bottle of vodka for the trip. Hi, my name is Maurice Clarett and I'm an example of what can go wrong. Jesus.
Michael Wilbon wrote a nice article in the Post about the latest bizarre turn in the horror show that is Maurice Clarett. Check it: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/09/AR2006080902074.html
The NCAA is about as bad as it gets in terms of governing bodies for athletics. The number of stupid regulations and obstacles it places on universities and student athletes is a constant reminder of its ineptitude and how out of touch the school presidents are with the everyday situations of campus life. That said, the NCAA is capable of some good. They need to find a way to reach kids like Maurice Clarett. I don't know exactly how you could pull this off, but there has to be a way to separate kids from their 'entourages' and people that are constantly in their ears giving them bad advice.
At GW, we had a similar case that you won't ever hear about because he wasn't nearly this high profile. There was a dude named (seriously) Sir Valiant Brown. As a freshman, he led the nation in scoring (basketball). He was a really good player but he rolled with idiot thugs who told him how great he was everyday. He believed it. This resulted in his entourage getting in a gun fight outside of our dorms with another player's entourage and him always f_ing around and never taking any work seriously because he just assumed he would make the NBA. He didn't (got released from an NBDL team in '02). There are probably dozens of cases like this every year. Its hard to entirely blame a kid for this. Maybe a university can step in or maybe a coach; who knows?
The point is, there has got to be a way to get some better advisors for these kids who come from difficult backgrounds. Hopefully, this Maurice Clarett debacle will serve as a catalyst.
I'm going back to the old school a little bit this weekend. I am making a triumphant return to coaching baseball this weekend in Richmond, VA. I'm rolling down there to make a hopefully lasting impression on some high school upperclassmen at Headfirst Baseball's Honor Roll Camp. The biggest drawback to the pursuit of my comedic career is that I had to give up coaching. I love coaching kids and its something I miss quite a bit. This weekend is going to be a blasty blast.
That was sensitive.
Thanks to the apathetic crowd at Dremos last night. Making you laugh was a challenge and it felt good to conquer that room. Apologies to Chris White who followed me because I think I might have done 30 minutes...I was determined to get the crowd going though despite the fact that its a complete dick move to go over your allotted time. My bad.
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