I am sure I'm not the only person in Bloomington who circled Oct. 25 on their calendar. On that afternoon, the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes come to Bloomington to take on our Hoosiers. Not many will give IU a chance in the game, and while the chance for a monumental upset will draw some to Memorial Stadium (which looks really nice with the new turf and the new state logo at the 50 yard line), the main draw was to be Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett. \nAs a true freshman, Clarett was a key component to the Buckeyes' national championship and one of the most exciting players in the NCAA last year. This year was set up to be a breakout year for Clarett. As an early Heisman candidate, Clarett was in line to decimate Big Ten defenses and keep the Buckeyes in the national championship picture. \nHowever, recent developments have thrown the possibility of seeing Clarett at Memorial Stadium the weekend before Halloween into doubt. In the last month, there have been two allegations raised against Clarett. The first involved the possibility of academic impropriety, and the giving of an oral exam in place of a written one. This might not be a serious problem, as it is an accommodation that many professors will make for students, no matter if they are athletes or not. The second situation, however, could doom his career in the NCAA.\nRecently, a car driven by Clarett was stolen. In the police report Clarett inflated the value of the items located in the car. If this proves to be a breach of NCAA rules then Clarett would, in all likelihood, be declared ineligible for some length of time, perhaps permanently. I do not really want to get into whether Clarett had poor judgment; I do not know if he is guilty or not; however, the possible ineligibility of Clarett would cause larger problems.\nIf the NCAA took such a step it would open up a whole new can of worms. Clarett, already talked about as being ready for the NFL, might try to follow his friend LeBron James into the professional arena. The big difference is that the NFL, unlike the NBA, has a minimum age requirement. However, Clarett might choose to challenge the age restriction in court. What other option would he have? The CFL? Arena Ball? Any move would, in all likelihood, take longer than the 18 months before Clarett would be eligible for the draft. \nHowever, if the courts ruled on Clarett's side it would leave the door open for high school graduates to enter the NFL at a time when they are not truly physically ready for the league. The problems of high schoolers in the NBA would be multiplied. At least basketball has more than one league; a player can go play in Europe if he fails in the NBA at 18. There really is no fallback for football.\nIt is clear that all involved would like to see this matter go away; however, if Clarett is guilty of NCAA infractions, he needs to be punished like any other student athlete, despite the potential consequences for the Buckeye Nation, the NCAA and the NFL.
QUICK HITS\n• Is it me or does no one want to win the AL Central? It looks that neither the White Sox nor the Royals actually want to be in first place. While the Sox have made a great run since the All-Star break, they have not been willing to make the final step to taking control of that division.\n• The annual adidas/IU Credit Union Classic soccer tournament is scheduled for Aug. 29 and 30 in Bloomington and features three of the nation's top 30 teams, including our No. 10 ranked Hoosiers. It is always a great tournament featuring some of the nation's best talent, and marks the beginning of Coach Jerry Yeagley's final season.\n• I would like to finish by thanking all of you who have read my column this summer. I hope you enjoyed them.
