Hypotheticals

What kind of father am I?  It snowed another four inches last night, Clare had back-to-back three-hour practices this weekend, and I’m shooting hypotheticals at her over the phone.  But, hey, don’t say you’re going to graduate school in sports administration without expecting to be challenged by the old man once or twice.

To wit: This week, Curie High School in Chicago was stripped of its city boys’ basketball crown for having seven academically ineligible players on its roster.  (Note in passing: This would never happen with a girls’ team.)  Officials were tipped off to the situation before game time, but, with ESPN on board to broadcast the contest, the show had to go on.

 The question here involves responsibility.  What about the Curie parents, the coach, the athletic director and/or the principal?  Who do you blame, Ms. Bukowski?  The one thing Clare knew for sure was that, at her little-regarded high school (where she helped the assistant A.D.), there were weekly eligibility updates.  And, as a sophomore, Clare sometimes went from DH to second base depending on the starting senior’s eligibility that day.

Clare tends to be a stickler for the rules, so I may have to get a “Not on My Watch” button to give her when she lands her first job in the real world.  Beware, potential cheats.