Unless you have been living under a rock, you may have heard that Caleb Campbell was selected by the Detroit Lions in last week’s NFL draft. At his selection, the crowd chanted USA, he was in uniform, and everyone in attendance (including the talking heads) agreed that this was great for the country.

However, these people are COMPLETE IDIOTS AND ABSOLUTELY WRONG.

Caleb Campbell attends the United States Military Academy (aka West Point). As you know, West Point prides itself on producing fine leaders for the military and the nation in general. Most people have heard of West Point’s motto, “Duty, Honor, Country.” This mantra is supposed to remind cadets of their loyalties.

Just recently, it was revealed that West Point is allowing certain students to forgo active duty if they are selected for professional sports. There are, of course, some problems with this “policy.” First, it is not in accordance with a Department of Defense directive requiring active duty for military academy graduates. Second, both Navy and Air Force require two years of active duty prior to applying for a reserve duty which would allow an individual to pursue professional sports. Third, the policy is written in a way that anyone could attempt to benefit, but it is only applied to professional sports. If a cadet is accepted by Johns Hopkins medical school, I would hope that West Point allows that person to pursue their medical degree.

So, Caleb Campbell, a seventh round pick for a shitty NFL team, will have more advantages than some other guys you may have heard of (Roger Staubach and David Robinson). He will serve his country by being a recruiter on Tuesdays in the Detroit area while his classmates are serving their country in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. Keep in mind that no one forced Cadet Campbell to go to West Point. In fact, he may have taken the spot of someone that would have actually honored his commitment to serve in the armed forces and, thus, not cheated taxpayers out of a free education. This misguided and irreparably harmful policy lends further credence to the idea that West Point has lost its way and no longer produces the type of individual worthy of being considered a leader.

So, when the Turk comes calling and you are cut, Caleb, I hope you are finally forced to serve the country.

APR not a BCS strength

The NCAA released its annual Academic Progress Report for colleges and recognized certain schools for outstanding performance. You can find the full list of nominees here.

Lets take a quick look at the football teams. See if anything surprises you:
Brown University
Bucknell University
Colgate University
College of the Holy Cross
College of William and Mary
Columbia University-Barnard College
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Davidson College
Duke University
Furman University
Harvard University
Princeton University
Rice University
Rutgers, State Univ of New Jersey, New Brunswick
Stanford University
U.S. Air Force Academy
U.S. Naval Academy
University of Dayton
University of New Hampshire
University of Pennsylvania
University of Richmond
Villanova University
Wofford College
Yale University
and we're back. Anything surprise you? Of course a few things surprised you.

First, New Hampshire has a football team! That's surprising.

Second, the Ivy league is well represented. If I actually cared about non FBS teams, I would find out if an Ivy team is doing the equivalent of the walk of shame right now. Unfortunately for you, I don't care.

Third, where the hell is West Point? Shouldn't they be ashamed?

Fourth, what an outstanding showing by the BCS schools. Duke and Rutgers and Stanford. . . and . . . and ... whoops, no one else (Rice isn't a BCS school). Everyone knows that Duke sucks because they get a bunch of smart kids, but why is Rutgers there? Must be an easy school. Obviously, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt should no longer be considered academically superior since they were trounced by Wofford and Dayton in the classroom.

Continuing with the BCS and academic themes, can everyone stop pretending that Vince Young took the same classes as Sarah Miller, UT's latest Rhodes Scholar. Vince Young is stupid, Reggie Bush was paid more at USC than in New Orleans, and Michigan players take easy classes. Everyone is OUTRAGED, when these same transgressions are advanced every 18 months against different teams. Listen, Tim Tebow isn't going to Yale Law School, he is prepping for his next career (ostensibly the NFL) by staying eligible. Once you understand this fact, you will enjoy college football. Until then, keep believing that your NY Jets will not suck.

It's Draft Day

It's Draft Day!!! After many long days living in the shadows of NHL (who cares), WNBA (who cares), and MLS (who cares), football is back on center stage. While on the professional level, the NFL provides the opportunity for our favorite college stars to showcase their talent and skillz (with a z).

Today is a culmanation of many years of hard work, tireless dedication on the college gridiron. The draft. Who will go #1? Oh wait, we already know that. Well how bout who will go #2? Nice, good question. St. Louis....you are on the clock.

Gotta run to the bathroom.

Out.

REQUIRED READING

Stewart Mandel (whose book Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls is one of the greatest literary achievements since Homer was writing) has another outstanding article here.

Essentially, Mandel argues that NFL scouts are idiots. The NFL consistently ignores college production for "measurables" (i.e. 40-yard dash, cone drill, bench press, etc.). The NFL takes so much time picking apart a college player's film that they forgot to take the 30,000 foot view. For instance, if a player was solid in college, had good stats, and consistently outperformed his opponent, that is only a minor factor in the NFL's eyes. On the other hand, if a guy started one year and had good stats (Akili Smith), he will be drafted higher than he should be. Similarly, if someone is fast and strong, his impact on ACTUAL FOOTBALL GAMES will be ignored (Vernon Gholston). While I have some disagreements with Mandel's list (Chad Henne still makes crappy decisions despite being a four year starter for the Wolverines), his overall point is well taken. In summary, don't get too excited when your favorite NFL team gets a really fast cornerback because he probably can't catch the ball and gets burned deep on a regular basis.

OSU and USC both undefeated...impossible

As you see below, the Commish may not have thoroughly researched his post.  In fact, I guarantee that there is absolutely no way, barring an Act of God, that both Ohio State and USC go undefeated.  

Hey Commish, you might want to check out who plays in L.A. on September 13, 2008.

William Outstanding has learned a lot

William, not of the Billy Shakespeare variety, Outstanding...not great...but Outstanding....has learned many things in this offseason. But with the beauty of "College Football Experts" and ESPN Classic highlights of any Notre Dame football game (how bout them Navy Midshipmen!), does the college football season really ever end???

Yes. It does. And it hurts. Really bad. Like watching all those Tressel-sucking blowhards cry when Tebow and Urband rolled in the BCS Championship. Or like watching all those Tressel-sucking blowhards cry when Dorsey and Co. rolled in the BCS Championship.

Do you see a trend?

I'll keep this short and sweet. Much to talk about this offseason. But 3 things I did learn this offseason during Spring practices...

1) SEC is clearly the most dominant conference. Period.

2) Pac-10 and Big-10 (11) are horribly week. USC and Ohio State will go undefeated barring Al Gore and his global warming cronies are right and we are really on our last days on Earth. (Better get ready for a big party them....I'm going out in style...no doubt).

3) Any idiot can create a blog about the beauty, passion, love of college football. Join the fun, waste some time, piss off your wife, and we will most likely end up where we started. Ain't that the fun?!

Navy/Ohio State

In keeping with Ohio State's tradition of scheduling one extremely difficult opponent per season, Ohio State has agreed to a two-game series with the United States Naval Academy.

Coach Jim Tressel hopes that the excitement and test provided by Navy's 230 pound linemen and 5'6" running backs will prepare the Buckeyes for yet another defeat in the BCS Championship game in 2009. After the eagerly anticipated Navy game, Ohio State's 2009 schedule is considerably smoother than the difficult 2007 schedule. For instance, rather than facing a low-tier away game against a PAC-10 team (Washington) like 2007, OSU plays a team called the University of Southern California at the cozy confines of Ohio Stadium in 2009. It goes without saying that the speed and athleticism displayed by Navy will readily prepare Navy for a comparatively easy game against the Trojans.

What did you learn from Spring Football?

Because I didn't learn a damn thing.

I learned that Chris Rainey doesn't understand that when someone says "Go" as in "Ready, Set, Go", you are supposed to move.

I learned that Joe Schad thinks that a 10-25 performance by Jimmy Clausen makes him the best quarterback in the country.

I learned that Todd Boeckman still thinks he can throw up rainbows and have his receivers catch them.

I learned that Rich Rodriguez likes to yell NASCAR when running UM's practices.

I learned that Mike Gundy may be a bigger dick than I thought.

I learned that Army is going to run the wishbone...not the spread...not the flexbone...but the honest to God wishbone.

I learned that I will watch spring football practices instead of working in the yard on a beautiful day.

I learned that Nebraska fans have too much money since they will pay $95 for tickets to a spring game. Seriously, a secondary market for spring football tickets? AS-I-NINE

I learned that Jevan Snead will finally have his own team this season. Unfortunately, that team is still Ole Miss.

I learned that Penn State is going to suck balls...again.

I learned that ESPN's non-BCS correspondent believes that non-BCS=Notre Dame and only Notre Dame.

I learned that Charlie Weis is still fat.

I learned that Curtis Painter is coming back to Purdue for his 84th consecutive season as starting quarterback.

Finally, I learned that any group of idiots can start a college football blog.