Ridiculous

The cost of hiring a coach.

New Kentucky hoops coach John Calipari's eight-year, $31.65-million deal is the richest in college basketball.

Ok, well ... Kentucky is a basketball school ... so what?

College football coaches should feel the blessings, too. There's a good chance Calipari's deal will push the salaries of college football coaches even higher. Why? Football is a much bigger revenue-producer on college campuses than basketball, so it stands to reason the football coach almost always will be higher paid.

You know, I was an athlete in college. I didn't partake in any of the popular sports ... I ran Cross-Country, and both Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field. I was good, enough to be on scholarship, and unlike our popular teams, we were actually successful (I captained and led our team to a Division I Conference championship in XC my senior year). So, while I know about the tough work that goes into being a student athlete, I am dead set against athletes receiving pay for their athletic prowess. Why? Because only basketball and football players will benefit, and that doesn't seem fair to the rest of the athletic program. Of course, that comes tougher to defend when the colleges milk these athletes and bestow multi-million dollar packages to their coaches.

Things have gotten out of hand, just like they have in every other corner of the country. I just hope things don't blow up like I feel they're going to though.