NCAA’s Goodfellas Handling ‘Family’ Business
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By DERON SNYDER
The future looks grim for Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State and Kansas, on the verge of being abandoned in a shell of the Big 12 Conference. But hold the pity and save your sympathy. They have no right to complain.
Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, they should recite the line from “Road to Perdition,” when Paul Newman’s character sums up existence in organized crime, a not-so-distant cousin of big-time college sports:
“This is the life we choose, the life we lead. And there is only one guarantee: none of us will see heaven.”
The folks running Division I’s money-making ventures aren’t much different than the Tony Sopranos and Don Coreleones running their assorted enterprises. Both groups play hard, fast and for keeps, with a liberal use of muscle when necessary.
What we’ve witnessed lately in the swirling landscape of college sports is simply the latest change in “The Organization.”
