No matter your area of interest, you can probably find a major that suits your taste. Whether it is teaching, medicine or music, you can go to college and learn how you can turn that interest into a career. Unless you want to be a professional athlete.

The number of athletes that go pro in their respective sport is small, yet there is nothing available to them in the classroom when it comes to getting them ready to live their unique life as a professional athlete.

What good does taking an average general-education course do for a college basketball player who knows he is only going to spend one year in college? How is that going to help him when he gets to the NBA?

“With the one-and-done, if they are going to be there, let’s teach them about what their future will actually be about,” said John Kilbourne, a professor of movement science at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.

“Let’s teach them about some of the issues and special needs they’ll have in terms of dealing with the media, taking care of themselves and history, philosophy and ethics. That’s what we should be about as a college or university.”

“These athletes need to know and understand their role in society.”

New York Times writer Joe Nocera mentions in a column that all the freshman football players at the University of North Carolina take Swahili as their language requirement because the athletic department tutors are strong in Swahili.

These players are not interested in Swahili. They take it because of its likelihood to produce a good grade instead of the likelihood that the player will find themselves in a situation in which Swahili will be useful. This doesn’t do anyone any good and it makes a mockery of the educational process.

So what is the solution?

“I propose that they start simple with a three-course series that all athletes would be required to take,” Kilbourne said. “It would satisfy part of their [general education]. It would be a history/philosophy, a social psychology course and maybe a special issues course. Start small and move towards a bona fide major that they would take over time.”

“I teach history and philosophy of games and sport at Grand Valley State. I have a lot of athletes in class and they do well because they are studying something they are interested in. When you ask them to read books about Jackie Robinson or athletes or games, they enjoy that. This is what they are interested in.”

Kilbourne, who served as graduate assistant at UCLA, when Larry Brown was head coach, became the first full-time conditioning coach in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1982 and was a part of their 1983 NBA championship team, has been lobbying for this type of system since the early 90s.

“Deep down, I think one reason it hasn’t happened is because if you empower an athlete, you enlighten them about what they are actually doing. It’s the power.”

In the billion-dollar industry of college athletes, the power lies in the money. The long-lasting, never-ending debate in college athletics continues to be whether the players should be given additional compensation on top of the scholarships they receive. While students not in the athletic program can go out and promote themselves to make money, college athletes can do no such thing. Instead, the schools are in the always-difficult spot where they make all the money and have to give none of it back to the people that actually generate it in the first place.

“As a dancer going through college and working in sports, you take classes in dance history, dance philosophy and dance injury prevention,” Kilbourne explained. “You get credit for practice and performance. You are free to go out and earn money, doing shows on the side or television work. I don’t see athletics as being very different from that. It’s performance. Like dance, it’s a form of physical performance. It just always struck me as odd that if you are an athlete you can’t do this, but if you are a really good dancer you can.”

As with most things in college athletics, change is a slow-moving process — especially when that change involves athletic departments giving up money.

“I think the winds are shifting a bit,” Kilbourne said. “I think they are shifting in a good direction.”

Everyone was shocked to see the selling price of the Los Angeles Dodgers last week; $2.15 billion. It was over $500 million more than the second highest bid and the most for any sports franchise ever. The most money previously paid for a franchise in the U.S. was $1.1 billion for the Miami Dolphins in 2009. Worldwide, it was $1.47 billion for Manchester United in England in 2005. The Chicago Cubs were bought for an MLB record $845 million in 2009. To say that the new ownership group overpaid is an understatement.

Former Los Angeles Laker great Magic Johnson is the big name involved because he is the most recognized. His role in this transaction, outside of the small percentage that he owns, is that of pitchman. The details of the deal will be revealed in court filings on April 6, so that’s when we will know the specifics of how much of a stake Magic will actually have. It may be similar to the 1 percent, or $25 million, stake of the Lakers that he used to own. Don’t be fooled by what you have seen on TV. Magic is little more than a talking mannequin put outside a store dressed in Dodgers gear.

Mark Walter, the CEO of Guggenheim Financial, is the controlling partner. Guggenheim Financial, a financial services firm based in Chicago with $125 billion in assets, is heavily involved, along with the CEO of Mandalay Entertainment, which runs a movie and television picture company and some minor league baseball properties. These are the actual people putting up the majority of the money.

This has to come as a great delight to former owner Frank McCourt. He paid $430 million in 2004 to buy the team and as of January, the Dodgers have a debt of $579 million, according to court records. McCourt stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars even after a $131 million divorce payment to former wife Jamie, along with taxes and legal and banking fees.

The biggest question is, “How do you make money after spending over $2 billion?” The winning bid isn’t so much about purchasing the Dodgers as it is the lucrative TV deal that is on the horizon.

“This deal is all about the likely TV rights,” said Brian Goff, distinguished university professor of economics at Western Kentucky University and contributor to The Sports Economist.

MLB local TV rights are a big deal. For example, the Padres signed a 20-year deal worth $75 million per year. The Rangers and Angels both recently signed 20-year deals with FOX worth a reported $3 billion. The Dodgers deal, which the new owners can sign in 2014 and beyond, will likely be in this neighborhood or maybe a little more.

McCourt had a similar deal in the works worth a lot less money, but he was desperate in his attempt to keep the Dodgers this past year. MLB did not approve McCourt’s TV deal because they suspected that he would use some of those funds in his divorce proceedings.

“In essence, the likely TV deal is worth the price paid,” Goff explained. “The owners then stand to profit, in the long run, from the value of the team at the gate/concessions and from their share of MLB TV revenues. There are also side deals with McCourt on developing the land around the stadium.”

So, in theory, the new ownership paid $2.15 billion to receive a $3 billion TV deal over a 20-year period starting in 2014.

That is still a couple years away, so what will and can the Dodgers do in the mean time?

“It would seem they can very likely turn a profit in the long run,” Goff said. “The issue will be in the shorter term. Are they going to have enough cash to fund baseball operations over the next few years in a way to make the team better?”

A lot of it will come down to the details of the TV deal, because they will. Reportedly, McCourt had $400 million of his TV deal coming in up front, which would have allowed him to pay down part of his debt, to the team and his wife, along with keeping the Dodgers a viable product on the field. The new TV deal and the money that will be given to the new owners up front will be a huge factor when it comes down to the financial future of the team.

Just know that when you see Magic on TV playing his role as celebrity pitchman talking about restoring the winning tradition of the Dodgers, it’s all a charade. They buy teams for the purpose of making money, not making history.

“We thought that they were hitting Brett (Favre) kind of late but you never want to think that other players are out there with the specific intent to cause injury,” Kluwe said. “Unfortunately, it appears some of the Saints players were.”

Hits high, hits low, hits high and low at the same time. Whatever punishment New Orleans tried to dole out, it wouldn’t be enough for someone to claim the $10,000 that linebacker Jonathan Vilma put up of his own money if any of his teammates delivered the blow that would knock Vikings quarterback Brett Favre out of the game, even if Favre’s ankle resembled the color of his helmet in the following days.

If you watched the game, you know that Minnesota did enough to lose the game themselves with five turnovers and six fumbles. However, it makes you wonder whether or not Favre would have covered the spacious five yards in front of him on the final Vikings play of regulation instead of throwing across the field resulting in an interception if the now infamous Saints bounty program was not in effect.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell laid down the stiffest penalties in league history last week after finding that the Saints, at the behest of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, orchestrated a bounty system to knockout opposing players from the game during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons, a practice that Williams also initiated during his time with the Washington Redskins.

The result was this: A $500,000 fine for the organization, an eight game suspension and $500,000 fine for general manager Mickey Loomis, a year long suspension with no pay (at a loss of over $5 million) for head coach Sean Payton, an indefinite suspension for now St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, a six game suspension for assistant Joe Vitt and the loss of their second round draft pick in 2012 and 2013.

The 22 to 27 players that reportedly took part are still waiting their fates, likely to be dozens of games missed and millions of dollars in fines.

“I think any player that took money for a hit that caused injury should be suspended for a year,” said Kluwe, one of the more opinionated players in the NFL. “There’s no place for anything like that in the game of football. To those that think the punishment was too much, try putting yourself in an injured player’s shoes. You’re talking about a person’s ability to put food on the table for their family. To try to deliberately ruin someone else’s livelihood is the essence of criminal behavior. I think they’ll be lucky if they avoid jail time.”

The Saints became America’s team after Hurricane Katrina. It became as common as a sunrise that when you watched a Saints game, New Orleans and their recovery would be brought up. This was as prevalent as ever during their 2009 season and run to the Super Bowl.

The leader and face of the recovery, the team and the city became quarterback Drew Brees. He has led New Orleans to relevancy in the football world, but his comments following the NFL’s fines and suspensions made him seem as ignorant about the situation as the team ball boy.

“I am speechless,” Brees lamented on Twitter. “Sean Payton is a great man, coach, and mentor. The best there is. I need to hear an explanation for this punishment.”

Here is your explanation. Sean Payton let a head-hunting operation knowingly go on. The goal was to target the opponent in such a way that they would no longer be able to continue. He knew about it and didn’t try to stop it.

“It’s possible he (Brees) didn’t know,” Kluwe said. “I wasn’t in the locker room so I don’t know how often he hung around the defensive guys. I think it’s unlikely, considering how much of a leader of the team he is, but I don’t think he’s the type of guy that would have had an active hand in the bounty system. Again though, I wasn’t there so I don’t know.”

Some might be saying, “Why even bring up the hurricane? It is not relevant to this situation.” After watching interviews from the people of New Orleans, they have a different view. They bring up the hurricane as an example of how tough the city is and how this Saints thing is just another obstacle they have to overcome.

To say that is ignorant. The damage of a hurricane, that ruined the lives of so many and forced one of the country’s great cities to rebuild is not comparable to a group of high-priced athletes who broke the rules. It blurs the line that is commonly toed between a city or a state and its fans. The supporters may feel important and the players and coaches may tell the fans that they are but the Saints could and would play without fans if they stopped showing up. No matter how loud they scream or how imposing they may appear, the fans will never score a touchdown or make an interception. Fans don’t win games. They don’t make decisions.

New Orleans: you are turning into the old man that still talks about his athletic glory days in high school whose life peaked at the age of 18. In the NFL, time is continuously fleeting. No one cares anymore. The longer you talk about it, the sadder you become.

It should come as no surprise that Louisiana is one of the least educated and poorest states in the country. The two go hand in hand. Only 20 percent have a bachelor’s degree and it has an 18 percent poverty rate, fourth highest in the country. I haven’t seen anyone with any common sense come out and disagree with the penalties levied from the NFL, except for Saints fans. Even if you are a fan of the team, you have to come to the realization that what the Saints did was wrong and under no circumstances should they be celebrated.

As much as people were proud of being from New Orleans and the joy that the Saints gave them, they should be equally ashamed of their football team now.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Saints fans routinely wore paper bags over their heads to mask their identities at the Superdome. It might be time to pull those back out again.

To the right school, a berth in the NCAA Tournament can change how they operate for years to come. More specifically, winning games in the tournament can change the way the entire university is viewed.

The most successful Cinderella teams over the past few years have achieved more than just busting your bracket.

For example, the total value of the three games that Northern Iowa played in 2009, based on standard rates for a one-minute TV commercial, was estimated at $72 million.

Fellow Iowa school Drake made it to the tournament in 2008 for the first time since 1971. They lost to Western Kentucky on a last-second three in overtime.

Tom Delahunt, Drake’s vice president for admissions and financial aid, said the school was already at capacity, enrolling its largest class in 30 years after the Bulldogs NCAA Tournament game. He voiced his expectations of increased interest in an interview shortly after the game.

“We’ll see an increase in high school sophomores and juniors that are now putting Drake on their list where they wouldn’t have before, and they’ll come and visit,” Delahunt said. “We know if we can get them to come visit we have a better chance for them to enroll.”

Gonzaga is the poster child for how the tournament can take a small school with a name that people can’t pronounce and turn it into a household fixture.

“Over these past 14 years of NCAA tournaments, we have seen increases in enrollment, fund-raising, season ticket sales, building projects, sponsorships and TV exposure,” said Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth. “I cannot think of an area in athletics and the university as a whole that has not been positively impacted by our ongoing success.”

Valparaiso, a former Summit League/Mid-Continent school, had its first unexpected NCAA basketball tournament run in 1998. Interest in the school surged after the tournament, but then fell back a bit from the highs. Reggie Syrcle, the school’s executive director of university relations, said years ago that he didn’t necessarily agree with Roth.

“We find it difficult to directly link enrollment and fund-raising results with our success in the NCAA basketball tournament.”

The difference is that Gonzaga sustained its success while Valparaiso experienced a flash in the pan by comparison.

“Getting to the NCAA’s is one thing, but winning games and doing it year after year is the key to having positive long-term outcomes,” Roth said.

The Jacks find themselves in the NCAA tournament for the first time in the four years they have been eligible at Division I. And with SDSU a lock to be the pre-season favorite to repeat in the Summit League next season, they will certainly have an opportunity to do it year after year and have long-term outcomes.

Along with Butler, Virginia Commonwealth was the darling of last year’s Big Dance. A team much maligned for getting into the tournament in the first place as an at-large pick, the Rams won five games on their way to the Final Four. VCU used that success and were one of only five schools this year that sold out every home basketball game at just over 7,600 per game.

David Benedict, Executive Associate Athletic Director at VCU, said that even though VCU is in the tournament again this year, success is not a given.

“You hate to say it’s a once in a lifetime thing, but you just never know. Whether it’s a VCU or a South Dakota State, you just never know when you are going to have that opportunity to get back to a Sweet 16, Elite Eight or Final Four.” VCU knows what it’s all about and they get a chance to try to repeat what they did last year after earning the Colonial Athletic Association’s automatic bid earlier this month.

“We are very, very happy that we were able to capitalize and get back to the NCAA Tournament, because all the momentum that we built up that past 12 months will only continue to get strong because we’ve made the NCAA Tournament again,” Benedict said.

And what can the SDSU athletic department expect if the men make a run in this year’s tournament?

“I would tell them to be ready for a lot of long nights and to really expect to have to work very hard to service all of the different constituencies on campus because people will come out of the woodwork to get involved,” explained Benedict. “It might not happen right away, but the further you go, the more people will come out and want to be a part of what’s taking place and that goes from athletic staff to ticket holders to donors. Then you get to the rest of your community, faculty, board members, politicians. There are just a lot of people that will want to take part in it, which is great, but it just takes a lot of effort and coordination with people to make sure you try to meet all of the needs from everyone that wants to be involved.”

“We only lose one guy off this team, so the expectation is that we are going to go back next year and we certainly have the opportunity to get back again. Hopefully, we are just on the precipice of a run that keeps going,” he said.

A team that loses only one senior, has expectations to get back to the tournament next year and keeps their momentum going?

Sounds like a team from Brookings.

Frost Arena was abuzz, or so I was told, two weeks ago when the ESPN trucks pulled into campus to broadcast “The First Nationally Televised Game from Frost Arena” (that phrase almost got as old as Linsanity) for ESPNU’s BracketBusters.

The Jacks were fortunate enough to earn one of 11 games on TV, albeit ESPNU, against the Buffalo Bulls – a testament to the type of season the SDSU men are having.

It was a historic day in the athletic history of the school and would bring with it unprecedented national exposure. This was the big time. This was ESPN(U). But how many people actually watched the game?

The SDSU vs. Buffalo game on Saturday, Feb. 18 averaged 38,000 homes and 41,000 viewers. It was the lowest rated BracketBuster game, behind only Columbia at Princeton on Friday night in overall viewers on the ESPN networks for the weekend.

The Buffalo market drew the highest metered market rating for the game followed by Cleveland, Austin, Raleigh- Durham and Chicago. South Dakota is not a metered market, which obviously affects that viewership numbers a little, and the closest Nielsen market is Minneapolis.

To put it into better perspective, lets say that the 5,378 people that were at Frost Arena that day represented all the homes that ESPNU was in, in the country. If you picked out 2.8 of those people, that would represent how many of those with access to ESPNU watched the game.

For a comparison of how games have done on ESPNU thus far this season, there have been 33 games on Saturday afternoons this season. Those games have averaged 123,000 homes and 155,000 viewers. Games in that early Saturday afternoon time slot were higher than the average overall. ESPNU has aired 231 games this season thus far.

The fact that South Dakota is not part of the rating may concern some, but not me. The point of getting a game on an ESPN channel was to broaden the scope of SDSU. The fans in the region are going to watch SDSU regardless of if they are on ESPNU or Midco Sports Network. The hype around the game was high because SDSU was on the national stage, not a regional one like the rest of their games. It’s actually easier to figure out just how many “new” eyes the game had without the South Dakota viewers figured in.

Looking at the network’s six BracketBusters games on ESPN and ESPN 2 (two on Feb. 17 and four on the 18th) they averaged a 0.1 rating.

A 1.0 rating for ESPNU would be an average of 725,000 homes. For ESPN and ESPN2, it would be 990,000 homes. A 1.0 rating means that it is 1% of a network’s “universe” (total number of homes that receive it). Therefore, a 0.1 rating would equate to about 99,000 viewers, which is where the Oral Roberts vs. Akron game fell.

The top five markets for the ORU games was Tulsa, Cleveland, Austin, Las Vegas and Oklahoma City. It was up against Marquette/ Connecticut and Missouri/ Texas A&M on ESPN.

The original idea that I had for this story was to compare the ESPNU ratings to the ratings that SDSU gets when they are on Midco Sports Network, especially against a team like South Dakota or North Dakota State.

While I could not get specific numbers when it came to games broadcast on Midco when exchanging emails with Midco Sports Network General Manager Barry Buetel, he did say that college basketball on the network has been very successful.

“Because Midco Sports Network is still in our early stages of development, we have just recently received some information with regard to viewership. Although I can’t deliver specific numbers with regard to SDSU coverage, I can tell you that our Division I basketball coverage as a whole has done extremely well.”

Buetel continued, “ESPN’s national coverage is difficult depending on the match ups, but we also consistently outnumber ESPN2 and Big 10 Network.”

“The focus of Midco Sports Network is to provide “hometown” coverage and we are seeing our viewership numbers increase month by month. We are definitely excited about the direction we’re heading, and our relationship with SDSU has definitely been a factor, so we are hoping to continue what we hope will be a mutually-beneficial relationship,” Buetel said.

People were making such a big deal with the ESPN name attached that everyone just assumed it was the greatest thing ever. I think that the difference between the ESPNU game and an SDSU vs. USD or NDSU game on Midco Sports (especially with the Fargo market) would be less than most people would think.

“It is safe to say that the SDSU vs. USD basketball game was among our highest rated programs,” said Buetel. “The Dakota Marker game between SDSU and NDSU also is among the highest. Again, the rivalries create attention and interest from everyone.”

Having their first home game on an ESPN channel was a nice moment for SDSU and something that they will no doubt not forget for a while, but when it comes right down to it, it remains to be seen what kind of an impact it will have, if any.

6:30 a.m. – My alarm goes off after about six hours of off and on sleep. My body tells me that it would like to sleep in, but more important things are in store.

Editors’ Note: Sports columnist Travis Kriens hosts a TV show, The Sports Lounge on SDSU channel 2, which airs numerous times during the week. He also co-hosts a radio show on KSDJ on Tuesdays from 6-9 p.m.

7:03 a.m. – Drue picks me up in front of my house with Marcus in tow. After a quick stop to fuel up, we are in route to Mall of America Field at the Metrodome.

7:33 a.m. – It is unexpectedly rainy out with weather ranging from a light drizzle to a steady rain. Marcus makes the requisite crack that it’s good that they play inside a dome. Perhaps a good omen for the game.

9:45 a.m. – We stop at a gas station where they have an external bathroom. You need a key to get in. I never really understood the reason behind this. Just put it inside like every other gas station. It’s not like you are cutting down on the bathroom usage but only people in the convenience store, since you have to go into the store to get the key. The key is attached to a big, silver piece of metal that someone in Hansen Hall might find handy for a belt buckle.

11:02 a.m. – We roll into the Mall of America parking ramp and proceed to wait for the light rail. It takes close to 40 minutes to reach the Metrodome so we are going to be cutting it close in order to see kickoff.

11:39 a.m. – The light rail is less crowded than I expected, which is a good thing. As I am sitting, I see a guy walking on the street with a Washington Nationals hat and a Michigan Wolverines shirt – as rare and unusual a combination as toothpaste and orange juice. I don’t know what that means either. The more I think about it, I realize that I see more Nationals hats than I should on a regular basis.

12:03 p.m. – We go to section 227 and the absolute first thing I see is the kickoff. We make it with no time to spare. I am almost up to row 27 when I see Jared Allen sack Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman on the first play.

-      With two seconds left in the first quarter, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson sets the franchise record for rushing touchdowns with his 53^rd career score to put Minnesota up 7-0.

-      Ryan Longwell adds a field goal and Peterson adds another touchdown in the final minute of the half to give the purple a nice 17-0 halftime lead. This would be the high water mark of the game for the majority of the crowd.

-      The Vikings start the second half with a three-and-out followed by Bucs RB LaGarrette Blount getting Tampa on the board with a 27-yard touchdown run.

-      After a Tampa Bay score in the second half, Bucs kicker Michael Koenen struggles putting the ball on the tee to kick off in the dome stadium about as much as someone trying to eat peas with a knife. The ball falls off the tee three times.

-      To make a long story short, the Vikings pull a Plaxico Burress and shoot themselves. Not in the leg, but in the proverbial foot. Tampa Bay pulls to within three with 6:39 left and wins the game on a four-yard Blount touchdown run to come back from 17 points down and, 24-20. It was like watching a squirrel getting run over on the road. The Vikings didn’t know whether to go left or right, so they just closed their eyes.

3:20 p.m. – As we make out way out of the Metrodome, I do my best Donovan McNabb impersonation and nearly fall down the stairs on the way down. The line down the aisle and later near the light rail moves about as quickly as the Minnesota offense in the second half. The light drizzle outside is the perfect weather to symbolize the game for Vikings fans. These poor people. It’s like a trail of tears on the light rail except the people feel numb to the fact that their favorite team just blew another game. One lady behind me says that she quit being surprised by Vikings collapses 20 years ago. I am pretty much at that point now. It’s like a sixth sense for me now that I can sense when a collapse will happen.

3:40 p.m. – An interesting part of the game was the amount and variety of football jerseys that were worn. I went out of the box with a 1975 Alan Page jersey. Marcus went with Percy Harvin, who along with Adrian Peterson were the top two jerseys that I saw. I compare looking at the different jerseys to the license plate game that you may have played on vacation where you see how many different states you can pick out based on the license plates you see. The winner for most obscure jersey was a green number 60 Gene Makowsky CFL (Canadian Football League) jersey for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Yes, I looked him up. Some notables are former Vikings punter Mitch Berger, an orange Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall jersey, a green Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan jersey and a couple of Aaron Rodgers jerseys. Seems to me if I was a Packers fan and they were playing, the last place that I would be at is the Metrodome.

4:05 p.m. – We head up to Buffalo Wild Wings to get a bite to eat. Among the three dozen or so televisions, two have the Twins vs. Indians game on from Target Field. The rest are on the NFL games. No love for the hometown nine who are trying to avoid losing 100 games for only the second time in team history (1982) when they lost 102. We take a seat at the busy bar where there just happens to be three seats open. I sit next one guy who asks if I could move because he is saving a seat for his “buddy.” If I was 50 years younger, I would have kicked his ass. We move to a table.

5:09 p.m. – We are back in the car ready to head back to Brookings.

6:15 p.m. – Drue’s 2000 Oldsmobile just reached the 125,000 mile mark. A milestone that he takes a picture of just before it turns to 125,001. His grandchildren, as well as mine, will hear about this some day. The moment goes something like this:

Marcus: Dude, look – 125,000.

Drue: Holy (cow)! He then quickly grabs his iPod from his pocket and takes a photo.

7:23 p.m. – A strange commercial comes on the radio as it is scanning to find a station. “I took my kids’ temperature while they were sleeping.” Not sure if that guy was sent to prison. The radio quickly scans to another station.

9:15 p.m. – I am dropped off back home a mere 14 hours after we left. All in all, a good trip with a good game even if my team lost.

I like to look at sports as a metaphor for life. All the situations that happen on the field of play can be translated to life and vice versa.

Editors’ Note: Sports columnist Travis Kriens hosts a TV show, The Sports Lounge on SDSU channel 2, which airs numerous times during the week. He also co-hosts a radio show on KSDJ on Tuesdays from 6-9 p.m.

Look at the Notre Dame vs. Michigan game this past weekend. The Irish dominate the first three quarters before Michigan comes back and wins the game by outscoring Notre Dame 28-7 in the fourth quarter, including two touchdowns in the final 1:20, to win 35-31.

This represents the ups and downs that not only a game can have, but life as well. Once you think you have things figured out, something unexpected can happen and change everything.

It also shows how one play in a game can make the difference between a win and a loss. Notre Dame is a 0-2 team that has lost its two games by a total of seven points. Are they a better team if they don’t let Michigan gain 80 yards in the final 30 seconds? Record wise and stats wise, yes. And in sports at that level, wins and losses are all that counts.

Just like one play can decide a game, one decision can change your life or how people look at you. Are you a worse person because you made one mistake or said something to someone that you wish you could take back?

To be considered among the all-time greats in your sport, a prerequisite is that you have to win a championship. Even if you get there, it is not enough. You have to win. Dan Marino would be considered a greater quarterback than he already is if he had won even one Super Bowl. In just his second season, Marino took Miami to the Super Bowl during the 1984 season, but lost to San Francisco and Joe Montana 38-16. Marino has Montana beat in all statistical categories, but nine times out of 10 people will say that Montana is better than Marino. If that ONE game is different, how different would these two players be persevered?

I think how we view others comes down to just a few moments over years of knowing a person. You can be best friends with someone, but one small comment or lapse of judgment can take away all the good will that you have built up over the years.

It is the same thing in sports with people like Bill Buckner or Scott Norwood or if you mention Gary Anderson to Vikings fans. One play in these guys’ careers define them.

Casual fans don’t view sports as life or death because the outcome of a game is never that important, even to the most die hard of fans. However, what happens during the game can be a life or death situation.

This past weekend, University of Minnesota head football coach Jerry Kill had a seizure on the sidelines late on Saturday afternoon. It is not life threatening and it has happened to Kill twice before on the sidelines, but it also goes to show that the outcome of the game is not as important as you might think once something like this happens.

You may be having a bad day for whatever reason, but it is usually has to do with trivial things that don’t really matter all that much. Remember, it’s not like it is life or death.

By all accounts SDSU was embarrassed Saturday when they lost to Illinois 56-3. We have all been embarrassed before and maybe in front of a crowd of people, but the Jacks played in front of over 40,000 people at Illinois and thousands more watching on TV. If you dwell on that moment and don’t move past it, you are doomed. It is how you respond to these embarrassing moments that show what type of person you are. There is nothing SDSU can do to change the way they played, but they can try to make people forget that game by being successful in the future in situations that they can control.

Sports may not mean anything to you, but if you look past the game itself and take a deeper look, maybe you can see something more than adults playing a kids game.

Editors’ Note: Sports columnist Travis Kriens hosts a TV show, The Sports Lounge on SDSU channel 2, which airs numerous times during the week. He also co-hosts a radio show on KSDJ on Tuesdays from 6-9 p.m.

Former Texas Tech head football coach Mike Leach recently released a book called Swing Your Sword, which Feldman helped him write.

Feldman checked with ESPN before he took on the project and they gave him permission. This is where the story takes an ugly turn.
Texas Tech was looking for a way to get rid of Leach because after an 11-1 season, he was in line to make more money that the university wasn’t willing to pay. A large part of the “reason” why Leach was fired from Texas Tech was because of allegations of mistreating player Adam James by forcing him to play before he was recovered from a concussion and by having James spend three hours in an electrical closet during practice, which have gone unfounded and considered made up.

The twist in the story is that the father of Adam is ESPN college football analyst Craig James. As honest and forthcoming as they come, you may know Craig if you know about college football history or saw the 30 for 30 documentary on the Southern Methodist football program during the 1980’s. The same SMU program that was famously given the “death penalty”  from the NCAA after paying numerous players and other wrong-doings that makes the current Miami situation look like a night out at the county fair.
One of the biggest players in SMU’s demise was booster Sherwood Blunt who set up a slush fund to pay players.

He just happened to end up as the agent for Craig James when James went to the NFL.
Going back to the Mike Leach situation, Craig James was all over TV bad-mouthing Leach about what he supposedly did to his son. Because of this, Leach filed a defamation suit against ESPN.
This all somehow leads back to Bruce Feldman. Even though he had received the ok to write the book with Leach and told ESPN months in

advance that Leach was going to sue them, ESPN found it necessary to suspended Feldman once the book was released in mid-July. Yet somehow, Craig James keeps his job after hiring a PR firm to run a campaign to get Leach fired in such a slimy way that it would make Richard Nixon proud.
Feldman was one of the best writers that ESPN had and they kept him from doing his job because a coach he helped write a book with is suing ESPN for falsely reporting on a story involving the son of one of their employees. The only ones that look bad in this case are Craig James and

mainly ESPN because they suspended one of their writers for reasons yet to be determined.
Integrity, honesty and dignity are some of the traits that come to mind with this story and ESPN has lost all of them.
On a smaller scale, the student paper at the University of Kentucky was banned from an event in which media members would meet with the basketball players and interview them for the upcoming season.
The controversy stems from sports writer Aaron Smith asking Brian Long and Sam Malone if they were going to walk-on to the basketball team

this season after seeing a post on a website and another player’s Twitter account alluded to that fact. When both players said yes, Smith asked if they would be willing to talk about it.  Both declined and that was the end of it, but not according to DeWayne Peevy, the media relations director for Kentucky men’s basketball.
He stated that the second question went over the line since the media has to ask for permission to talk to players through the media relations office and that Smith broke the rule.

According to Kentuckysports.com, the Associated Press Sports Editors, a national organization that represents most of the country’s sports sections, wrote to Peevy and the university that “the decision to talk to the media rests with the athlete, and if you don’t want your players to talk to the media without the (athletics) office interceding, then you have to get that message to the athletes. And, we believe you did as the athletes in question chose not to talk.”
Again, Kentucky and Peevy are the only ones that look bad in this situation.

Feldman was used as a scapegoat when things did not go well for his employer and Smith was used so that Peevy could flex his muscles and make a mountain out of a molehill. Both situations didn’t need to happen and yet Feldman and Smith come out on top looking better than before.

It brings up the argument of paying players on top of their full ride scholarships that they already receive. It looks like since the NCAA is a total reactionary entity that can’t seem to keep dibs on who’s doing wrong until way after the fact, schools should just pay them anyway.

I like to compare it to prohibition in the U.S. when they banned alcohol in the 1920’s. Even though it was illegal, people who wanted to drink found a way to get their alcohol one way or another. While prohibition worked in reducing the amount of liquor consumed, it stirred up the growth of underground, organized and widespread crime when it came to getting alcohol. Similar to the NCAA and their underground, organized and possibly widespread crime when it comes to giving players benefits that are not legal.

Why not pay the players since it is already happening under the table anyway? Because it’s against the law of the NCAA. Instead of doing that, why don’t you cut down on these illegal activities in the first place.

When they follow up on a scandal and hand out penalties, it seems like they do it when it is convenient for them. Case in point, Ohio State.

Last year, five Ohio State players were suspended five games for selling memorabilia in the form of championship rings and uniforms and selling their autographs for tattoos. Basically, they profited off selling their own belongings and the non-profit NCAA had a problem with that. That’s not even the worst part of the story. Even though the NCAA handed down their suspensions before the Buckeyes’ Sugar Bowl game vs. Arkansas, the suspended players were somehow eligible for the game.

NCAA spokesman Kevin Lennon disputed the suggestion that they players were not suspended because it didn’t want to dilute a big time bowl game.
“The notion that the NCAA is selective with its rules enforcement is a tired myth rooted in bias and personal perception,” he said in a statement.
“Money is not a motivator or factor as to why one school would get a particular decision versus another,” he added. “Any insinuation that revenue from bowl games in particular would influence NCAA decisions is laughable because schools and conferences receive that revenue, not the (NCAA).”
I did find that according to a December 23rd, 2010 column on Sports Illustrated’s website by Stewart Mandel, that even though the Sugar Bowl is a BCS property, the NCAA still receives $12,000 of the proceeds.
That’s fine, but the laughable part is that these players were allowed the play in a game when suspensions were already levied and they were found to break NCAA rules. That’s like a parent saying to their kid, “we know you got caught with drugs and we are going to ground you for six months, but you can go out with your friends for the next week because there is a big party that we know you don’t want to miss on Saturday night. But as soon as that party is over, you’re grounded.”
“This policy (not suspending players for bowl games) was developed and implemented by the Division I membership in 2004,” a statement from the NCAA said. “It allows for suspending a reinstatement condition in specific instances involving NCAA championships or bowl games. It recognizes the unique opportunity these events provide at the end of a season, and they are evaluated differently from a withholding perspective for student-athlete reinstatement. In the Ohio State situation, the facts are consistent with the established policy.”
Also, Sugar Bowl CEO Paul Hoolahan appealed to Ohio State to try to push the NCAA suspensions back to 2011 in order to “preserve the integrity” of his game. College football; where suspended players need to play in order to “preserve the integrity” of the game.
Ohio State has since vacated all wins during the 2010 season.
I question the NCAA saying they are not selective with its rules enforcement. During the same time that the Ohio State situation is going on, LSU running back Stevan Ridley was suspended for the Cotton Bowl by the NCAA after an academic violation. LSU appealed the decision and actually won so Ridley played in the game anyway. What makes Ridley’s situation different than Ohio State’s and why was Ridley originally suspended for his bowl game, but the Ohio State players were not?
All I ask for is consistency with your decisions.
Yahoo! Sports did a tremendous job on uncovering the Miami story. 11 months of work led to one of the most thorough investigations you will see.
Apparently the NCAA had been on Miami’s trail for the past five months doing their own work. However, the public first learned about this story because Yahoo! broke the story, not from the NCAA. Usually it takes six to seven months for the NCAA to finish their work. My question is if it wasn’t for Charles Robinson and his reporting, when would we have known about Miami’s transgressions?
The strange thing is that the sport has never been more popular. Kind of like steroids in baseball. There were whispers about Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, but we all turn our backs to it and enjoyed the ride. This is a little different since getting these extra benefits don’t make you a better player on the field unlike performance enhancing drugs.

Just like every baseball player of the steroid era is presumed guilty until they are proven innocent, the same can be said about college athletics at big-time schools. How far does it go and how much money is exchanging hands? Just in the past 18 months, USC, Ohio State, North Carolina, Miami, Alabama, Auburn, Oregon, Michigan, LSU and Georgia Tech have been investigated or sanctioned.

If players are getting under the table benefits, then we have an NFL or NBA-lite with a diluted skill level.

The true amateurism of college athletics is crumbling. But can you call them true amateurs if they are getting compensated with scholarships in the first place?

And with a week’s time for the announcement to soak in, the decision brings up some question marks.

If you have been to a game at Coughlin Alumni Stadium in recent years, you can obviously see that the place needs an upgrade. Parts of the grandstand are crumbling. Tacky wooden bleachers are used on the visitor’s side, which are not the quality a FCS football program should have. The press box shakes when the band jumps up and down. Not only would it be nice to have a new stadium, but more importantly, it is needed. Coughlin is on its last legs.

The first question is when fans expect a stadium to be completed. SDSU president David Chicoine said that stadium projects are often a six-year project from initial design work. He expects SDSU’s new-stadium undertaking to fall under the same timeline.

But where will the millions come from? SDSU is not walking on a pile of money. Hundreds of SDSU employees were laid off last year. The athletic department is still working on finding assistant coaches for programs other than football.

The planning for these facilities will take nearly $1 million alone, with the actual stadium expected to be in excess of $20 million.

Plus, how full will a 22,000-seat stadium get on Saturday? The current stadium record for a game is 16,345 against NDSU on the final week of the regular season in 2007.

Whether they want to admit it or not, SDSU sometimes has fair weather fans. The lack of attendance after Hobo Day is embarrassing. Only four times since 1978 has SDSU drawn more than 6,200 fans for a post-Hobo Day game, including the ’07 finale.

The athletic department has high hopes for season tickets sales, as well as attendance overall, evidenced with the 22,000 capacity of this new place. SDSU had their best football season attendance-wise two years ago, averaging over 13,000 a game for a stadium with 10,000 seats. Coincidentally, that attendance record came during a season the Jacks made the playoffs for the first time in decades. Just like we have seen with new stadiums across the country, people will come in the first few years just to see the stadium and I have no doubt that will be the case with SDSU. But once the weather turns cold, that new stadium smell has worn off. Will a mostly-empty 22,000-seat stadium look so pretty then?

On the other hand, with a new indoor practice facility for football, maybe there won’t be many meaningless November games and maybe they can even pack the new stadium for a home playoff game in the future. A new indoor facility will help all outdoor sports at SDSU, but it could have the biggest impact on football. Instead of having a walk-through in Frost Arena because of poor weather like SDSU had to do before facing Nebraska last season, they can go inside to a near-regulation sized football field.

I also find it ironic that baseball is playing at a not-yet completed Erv Huether Field. SDSU hosted the baseball and track and field championships for the Summit League back in May. These events were not held on campus or even in Brookings because of a lack of suitable facilities. Instead, both were in Sioux Falls. The track and field tournament was at USF’s home track, an NAIA school. The baseball tournament was at the Birdcage, about the quality of facility as at NDSU and Oral Roberts. Is a few thousands dollars for a press box at softball or baseball too much to ask if a new $20 million football stadium is being constructed across the street?

Here’s the most interesting part: With all of the success in recent years with the increase in season ticket holders for football, more money and members coming from the Jackrabbit Club and the “It Starts with State” campaign, the university had to cut numerous employees and majors this past spring due to budget cuts.

With non-stop construction over the past five plus years on this campus, with millions of dollars of donations coming from different companies and philanthropists and with game changing athletic facilities now getting their process started, you wouldn’t think the school would have had to cut as many programs and employees as they did.

Hopefully the worst is over.