The Huskies' Story, cont'd

SPORTING GOODS

What's striking to me at this point of the investigation is that the university knew something was coming down from the NCAA and still jumped the gun and gave St. Jim a five-year extension on his contract.

I know it's still way too early to assume anything in the case, but it sure looks as if it would have been a lot easier for everyone if St. Jim had retired in 2003 when he was first diagnosed with cancer. If, in fact, "Calhoun and athletic director Jeff Hathaway, as the leaders, did not adequately monitor the program," it's certainly possible that the lack of monitoring might have been due to the coach's concerns about other, health-related, problems.

I know this analogy is probably too far fetched, but the situation is kind of like the Iran-Contra affair. When it all hit the fan, the addled Gipper wasn't censured because of his involvement in the shadow government; he was censured because, in his early-onset Alzheimer's condition, he never knew what his subordinates were up to. Perhaps St. Jim's concerns about his health created a situation where he couldn't pay adequate attention to the doings of his staff.

If that scenario is accurate, it makes the contract extension all the more foolish.