Letters to the Editor
Eric Samuelsen
Published Letters: 32 Editor's Choice: 6
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What's not being said
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]1) Kelvin Sampson may be a fine coach, but he's also got to be dumb as a post. He may not be completely aware of all NCAA recruiting limitations, but he sure as hell knew about limits on phone calls. If you're determined to gain a recruiting edge, and indifferent to following the rules, wouldn't you look for some completely different way to cheat than the one you'd already been caught at?
2) The university acted quickly and appropriately once Sampson got caught again, but come on, where was their compliance office? When they hired him, why didn't someone take out his office phone, give him a cell phone, and, every week, check on who he was calling? I teach at a university, and from time to time, I've known colleagues who have done things that hurt students. That's why we're so careful, when we serve on hiring committees, to carefully vet candidates-we don't want someone likely to act harmfully. IU blew it with Sampson, and yes, they should have known better.
3) Interesting that they picked Dan Dakich to replace Sampson. Dakich was new to Sampson's staff, but he played four years for Bob Knight, and was on Knight's staff for twelve years, before getting the head coach job at Bowling Green. Dick Vitale, with typical exuberant cluelessness, wondered on air if IU would hire Knight back to replace Sampson. Mike McRobbie, IU's President, obviously wasn't about to do that, but with Dakich, they did the next best thing. Kind of a smart choice, actually, if you're trying to please your fans, though not so great for those players who preferred Ray McCallum.
4) And so Dan Dakich gets his dream job, the job he always wanted. Under circumstances that couldn't possibly suck worse. I do kinda feel for the guy.
5) And somehow, for so many letter writers, it's still about Knight. He's still polarizing, even now, even after he's retired and hasn't coached at IU for years.
6) And of course this mess hurts the players. And of course they should be allowed to transfer without penalty, just like those kids who signed letters of intent should be able to back out of them now. And of course college basketball players should be paid; beyond a Cadillac scholarship and a degree from a top university, yes, they should also get a cut of the money the university makes from them.
7) But Eric Gordon's going to be an NBA lottery pick. DJ White will certainly have an NBA career. Jordan Crawford will, DeAndre Thomas could, Jamarcus Ellis has a shot, at least in Europe. And I know Bloomington. There will always be people who will give an old IU player a job.
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Great preview
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]But let me say, as a lifelong Giants fan, I'm actually more optimistic about this season than any season in the last five years. Could they lose 100 games? They could lose 110, and 120's not out of reach, if Lincecum gets hurt. Will they struggle to score runs? Bengie Molina is their clean-up hitter, and should be. No, they'll be plenty terrible. But this needed to happen. They have some talent in the low minors--had a good draft and man-child Angel Villalona ready to explode onto the scene in 2013. Meanwhile, they need to be bad enough to force themselves to rebuild. Randy Winn, Ray Durham, Omar Vizquel have some value, and some contending team is going to have injuries where they'll need a veteran right fielder, or second baseman or shortstop. Maybe even--I'm reaching here--Barry Zito will pitch well and the Red Sox or Yankees will decide they need a lefty starter and we'll flush that contract out of the system. Well, probably not. But I even like the strategy of playing guys like Winn. Will he help the Giants win? Of course not. But he'll look more valuable when someone needs a lefty pinch-hitter, and we might cash him in for a C prospect.
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OK, but in all fairness, seriously
[Read the article: Cokie Roberts speaks out on the war on behalf of the American people]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Cokie's comments were on the roundtable part of This Week with George Stephanopoulous, where the idea is to editorialize. Cokie Roberts wasn't on as a reporter, but as an editorializer. It's actually not a bad show. George S is a pretty good interviewer, tough and fair. George W is on as The Conservative, to provide balance for George S., and he's usually balanced in turn by someone on the left, often Paul Krugman--sometimes Will is badly outnumbered 3 to 1. And Will's pretty consistently interesting, even when wrong. Last Sunday's show struck me as anomalous. Cokie isn't on much anymore, and yes, she's pretty awful. Katrina Vandenheuvel is generally much worse; self-righteous and strident, can't get her off her talking points. As a liberal, I have to avert my eyes every time she's on--she's exactly the kind of liberal that gives the rest of us a bad name.