A few thoughts before Thursday night

First off:

Today Myles Brand, the NCAA president who did a few really awesome things, died of cancer at age 67.

One of the cool things he did before he took over the NCAA, that probably surprised a lot of people, was that he tried to make Bobby Knight stop being an asshole. When it became clear that no one could keep Bobby Knight from being an asshole, he fired him.

Then he went to the NCAA and made valiant attempts to remind schools that their NCAA players were "student-athletes."

You can read his full obit here: Myles Brand

A few things I would really like to see from the next NCAA president: a push to actually enforce Title IX, and to really knock the shit out of schools that use kids who are great athletes but not bright students, then throw them away without graduating. That bothers me a lot.

Okay, now for some football...

First off: In a shocking twist, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez tells everyone (without tears this time) that he didn't see his players being jerks. Which is hard to believe, since he apparently sees his players for 10 hours each day. Ha! I slay me!

In other news: Jim Tressel, oh he of the sweater vest and continuous losses to Top 10 teams, is under some fire because he apparently isn't so hot at calling plays but insists on doing so. I'm a big believer in accepting what you're good at and knowing your weaknesses. And Tressel's greatest strength is, say it with me, wearing sweater vests.

Lastly, I really didn't enjoy the entire preseason being about Tim Tebow and how spectacular he was and how much every male sportswriter wanted to be him or be with him. I mean, the kid's still at Florida but they've already enshrined his "speech" that he gave after the Gators' loss to last fall on the entrance of the football stadium. That, in my opinion, is like retiring someone's jersey when they're still in school.

The speech, by the way, indicates to me that while I'm sure he's both sweet and bright, he's not a communications major.

Now, Florida is currently 2-0, but they haven't played anyone yet. I think they'll be spectacular again this year. But I'd like everyone to stop freaking out about Tim Tebow. Like, you know, NFL teams already talking to him before the Gators have even seen an SEC opponent this year. Yes, he's likely to be a great pro quarterback (like Matt Ryan!). But let's just wait it out, huh?

Also, and this is for Jess, I do accept nominations for No Helmets.