I dropped the ball, but at least I admit it

Hudson and Cook would be fools to sign deals with a label without consulting with a professional agent. It's even more necessary for a big-time basketball recruit. When John Calipari walks out on a Memphis contract to accept a fatter Kentucky contract, that could have potentially devastating impact on an 18-year-old kid's professional future. We know this. The people running the NCAA know this. Rather than adjust to this reality, the NCAA continues to publish a rulebook that forbids young human beings from doing what is irrefutably in their best interest. That's what I didn't like about the Jim Calhoun-UConn-impermissible contact story that circulated Sweet Sixteen weekend. I despise the NCAA and its rulebook. But I went too far. I unfairly blasted the writers of the Yahoo! Sports story. I'm friends with Dan Wetzel, one of the top sports journalists/columnists working today. Dan wrote me an appropriately angry e-mail objecting to my characterization of the intent and content of the Yahoo! Sports story. In his e-mail, Wetzel clearly articulated the big-picture point of the series of agent stories he and Adrian Wojnarowski are publishing for Yahoo! Sports. I read and reacted to the Calhoun story, the one sensationalized and boiled down to its lowest-common denominator (NCAA recruiting violations) by ESPN. I did not read or even see the story about UCLA's Kevin Love, a wealthy AAU coach and Duke's Jay Williams. Wetzel is actually singing my song! "We do it to show that the problem is everywhere," he wrote me. "That no one is immune. That the NCAA is doing nothing, and that the media are lazy by characterizing it any other way ... "Despite clearly trying to break all stereotypes of lazy media (the subject you rail about), you compare me to a newspaper showing pictures of runaway slaves. Seriously?" Wetzel also pointed out that I was lazy and unprofessional for not calling him and discussing the series before popping off a column. In this new era of personal responsibility, I have no choice but to enter a plea of guilty. I screwed up in an indefensible manner. I let my hatred of the NCAA and its rulebook severely cloud my judgment. I've known and liked Wetzel and his work for years. It was stupid for me not to call him and debate this issue. I could've saved myself a lot of embarrassment. All right, I'm done flogging myself. Mistakes happen. You see how easy it is to cop to an obvious error? That's all I want the people running the NCAA to do. Everyone seriously (and not so seriously) involved in college athletics realizes NCAA rules no longer make any sense. We all know that a significant number of basketball and football recruits arrive on campus unprepared to take advantage of the currency (education) the schools/NCAA offer in exchange for their athletic participation. The NCAA needs to take responsibility for the college preparation of the kids who fuel CBS's billion-dollar contract. That's why I believe in NCAA/NBA/NFL-financed academies for elite prep athletes. If the NCAA has a sincere interest in the academic evolution of its athletes and a decrease in recruiting corruption, then the NCAA needs to provide academic and professional counseling services to the athletes long before they reach college campuses. The athletes and their families can't fend for themselves. They're too young, naïve, valuable and, in many cases, vulnerable to be left un-chaperoned. I'd like to see the sports media push for a total overhaul of the NCAA rulebook. It's a more important battle than fighting for a football playoff system. Sounds like Wetzel is down for the fight as long as idiots don't kill him with friendly fire. You can e-mail Jason Whitlock at ballstate0@aol.com