Was anyone else as annoyed as I was by Kevin Blackistone's column this morning? He actually suggested the NCAA should again lay down the death penalty. It would be one thing coming from a guy who isn't in Dallas, but Blackistone has seen first-hand the effects of the DP at SMU -- not just on the football program, but on the athletic department in general, and even on the image and stature of the university. SMU has worked hard to escape that image, and it's getting better -- certainly Coach Bennett must be given a great deal of credit for getting quality players to see the future, rather than the past, and sign with SMU. But you can't escape the fact that the DP was the single-most severe penalty ever handed down to an athletic department -- and Blackistone is suggesting they do it again at other schools. Obviously my first priority is seeing SMU get back to where it was, but I also don't want to see any other school go through what we went through.
Blackistone isn't like some of the Ticket guys who spout off opinions without ever going to a game. I've seen him at many SMU games over the years. He should know better than to recommend the use of the DP again by the NCAA. If he has ideas for another viable punishment, great. But to write what he did today was lazy cop-out journallism.