Larry Brown

 I was probably as excited as Clare when the letters and phone calls started right before her senior year of high school.  It meant that coaches thought she could play in college.  It also meant I hadn’t screwed things up, too much, and that was a relief.

We visited Elmhurst College on a recruiting trip and had dinner in the cafeteria.  That was it for perks; there were no parties, hookers or Escalades.  There never are for Division III athletes.  If power corrupts, NCAA D-I corrupts absolutely.  Take Larry Brown.

Brown has coached at three schools—UCLA, Kansas and SMU.  With sanctions announced against SMU earlier this week, the NCAA has punished Brown-coached teams three times; the man seems to have a problem with recruiting and eligibility rules.  Three strikes and you’re out in baseball.  Why not college basketball, too?