The End of The Dirt Road, Part Two: How the NFL Can End Corruption In College Football

***Click here for Part 1***

The NFL needs a minor league system where they can cultivate their talent minus the obvious corruption and outside influence the college game brings. An NFL minor league would also weed out the kids who simply are not cut out for handling both an athletic and scholastic schedule simultaneously.

However, a minor league must be handled responsibly in both respect to profit and players' personal development, both as a football player and a person. College football should be doing that but have failed egregiously for all of the outlined reasons. Furthermore, Roger Goddell and the NFL has enough clout at this point to advise the NCAA of the following:

"The president is looking at you. Congress is looking at you. State attorney generals are looking at you. You can follow this path and face investigations. Or you can work with us. It's your choice. But know this. The President is not looking at us."

Therefore the NFL could propose the following rough outline to the NCAA as a joint pact in the development of a true football minor league system.

• Every NFL team has one minor league affiliate.
• The drafting of high school players begins the weekend between the Conference Championship games and the Super Bowl. The traditional NFL draft would remain on the same dates in April.
• The minor league is for players straight out of high school or players that have been demoted from the NFL due to developmental reasons
• The NFL minor league schedule begins two weeks after the Super Bowl and ends with the Minor League Super Bowl on the 4th of July.
• A player may be called up during the season for any reason the club deems necessary, including injury or just because the club feels that the individual is ready to play in the NFL.

These would seem like fairly agreeable terms thus far. However, if the NFL wants this to be a truly remarkable venture, it won't be enough to simply draw up a minor league and call it a success. The reality is that the NFL would be employing 18-year-old men who still need guidance. Guidance that some of them may never had gotten at home, and many more still are not getting in the ranks of college football. Therefore a social contract between the NFL and NCAA must be of paramount importance in the league's and players' development.

• If a high schooler elects to forgo college to play in the NFL minor league, he cannot be convicted of a felony while employed by the League. If a player is convicted of a felony, the penalty is automatic termination of his contract and a permanent ban from playing in the NFL or any having any employment in the League itself.
• However, through a joint effort with the NFL and NCAA, any player that is convicted of a felony can still attend college and play college football once a player has served his sentence to completion. Although a player is no longer eligible for employment with the NFL, an opportunity is still provided to the young man to gain his college degree after time served.
• Any player that must "retire" in the minor leagues due to a career-ending injury may still attend an NCAA university at no cost, but cannot play football for that school under any circumstance.
  
• No school may be permitted more than two NFL expulsions due to felonies or injury.
• Any felony conviction while playing college football will result in a permanent ban from the NCAA as well. Any re-enrollment after time served would be for academics exclusively and at the university's discretion.

The above mentioned proposal is admittedly controversial, and openly advocates socially engineering due a certain extent. No doubt this will generate a fair number of questions such as the following:

Q: Wait a second, how is it fair that someone convicted of a felony can still attend college football and PLAY college football while they're at it?

A: Sports Karma never advocated that it was fair. In many ways, it's not fair at all especially to the students that bust their tails, get good grades, work jobs and participate in extracurricular activities. To those people who state that the most controversial piece of this proposal isn't fair, they are 100 percent correct. It's not fair.

However, I would urge others to consider the cases of both former Ohio State RB Maurice Clarett and former Texas RB Ramonce Taylor.

Clarett was just a freshman when Ohio State upset Miami to win the 2002 National Championship, but was kicked off the team in 2003 after filing false police reports. After losing a landmark case against the NFL where Clarett challenged the NFL's age requirements, he was released on waivers on August 28, 2005 by the Denver Broncos.

Not even six months later, on February 10, 2006, Clarett was indicted on two counts of aggravated robbery with gun specifications. Less than a year after he was cut by the Broncos, Clarett was arrested again this time charged with driving with an open container of Grey Goose vodka while carrying loaded handguns and AK-47s. Clarett could not be tased in the incident because he was wearing body armor.

In April 2010, Clarett was granted early release. He is now playing for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League.

Taylor's story, although nowhere near as dramatic, is much the same as Clarett's. Taylor was the starting RB on the Longhorns 2005 National Championship team. Coach Mack Brown kicked Taylor off the team in May 2006 after he was accused of felony drug charges. Taylor was sentenced to 60 days in jail in September 2006, and was sentenced to jail again in 2008 for a probation violation.

Taylor was cut from the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League in June 2010. He's now playing the Rio Grande Valley Dorados of the Arena Football League.

Both men won national championships. Both men were convicted of felonies. Neither man played in the NFL nor is it likely that they will ever play in the NFL. Both men were involved in criminal activity while at their respective universities, but both got into further trouble once football was removed completely from their lives. Both men have returned to football, but are playing at a level that would be considered minor league at best.

What both men do once football is officially over remains anyone's guess.

Is it fair that we give convicted felons a second opportunity at playing football and getting a free college education? Perhaps not, but consider the alternative presented when football as structure is removed completely from a young man's life. Forget about Clarett and Taylor as football players for a moment, and what these felony convictions cost them. Instead, how much did it cost society to have to prosecute and house Clarett and Taylor? How much will it continue to cost society when their football careers are done and they really don't have much to show for it?

Furthermore, Clarett and Taylor were both star players. Both were starting in their respective national championship games. The reality, however, is that many players regardless of skill level aren't graduating, and it's not because all of them are making the leap to the NFL. Texas, for example, graduated only 49 percent of its players according to a November 2009 report by the NCAA.

The question isn't about what happens to guys like Clarett and Taylor. The bigger question has to be how many of these guys don't we hear about in the news? How many of these players never graduate from institutions like Texas and have nothing to show for it?

The plain truth is that for too long, our schools both on a public and university level, have valued exceptional athletes for their endeavors on the field and cut them excessive slack in the classroom. This benefits no one--not the schools, the athletes or society as a whole--when athletics have been taken away entirely, and the athletes have little to fall back as a result.

This proposal takes this into account and allows the athlete turned felon to have other options in life besides football.

Q. Wait a sec, it's still not fair though! Why shouldn't other felons be offered the same opportunities? Why should football players be singled out for special treatment?

A. Sports Karma never advocated full social rehabilitation for every criminal. Some criminals, frankly, don't deserve social rehabilitation. The proposal is meant as a way to restructure both the NFL and the NCAA. If other states or the federal government would like to try new methods of rehabilitation for other criminals regardless of athletic achievement, that's ultimately at their discretion.

Furthermore, college is not the answer for everyone. Sports Karma fully recognizes that not all people, regardless of criminal history, will necessarily be cut out for the rigors of collegiate studies. However, under the guise of football, college is the most appropriate place for this social contract to occur.

Q. A permanent employment ban in the NFL? Doesn't that seem harsh?

A. Not really. As Clarett and Taylor demonstrated, 18-year-olds have a tendency to get in trouble especially if there's not a great deal of structure provided to them. A draconian policy would be needed as a mechanism to curtail and discourage such activities.

Q. OK, you've really managed to piss me off with this social contract of yours, but so be it. Moving on to other things, how are you really going to sell a kid on joining an NFL minor league? Doesn't the idea of college girls and football sound way more appealing to an 18-year-old than living in a traditional minor league city like Albuquerque?

A. Simple. Being in the NFL minor leagues makes the individual a better football player. Period. Consider that a player in the minor leagues sole devotion would be to football. They would have no outside classes to attend to or anything of that nature. Consequently, a player devoted to the game of football will ultimately be better than the player who goes to college and has to devote time to additional studies. It just boils down to a matter of more practice.

Therefore a high schooler who is drafted by the NFL minor leagues will have a greater earning potential than his collegiate counterpart and achieve that earning potential in a quicker time frame. The college player will have to compete against someone who has spent every day engrossed in nothing but football, and has received tutelage and coaching by NFL employees who know exactly what the League wants to see in a player. The NFL minor leaguer would actually be at a competitive advantage for NFL jobs and NFL millions, not the college player.

Q. What about players that commit a felony in college? Will they still be allowed in the NFL draft? And what about players that commit felonies while in the NFL, but didn't go through the minor leagues?

A. The NFL minor league is a special system set up for those that truly want to focus on football, and be the absolute best. There are different rules that apply for the minor leagues because the players are on a fast track to the NFL. What players did while they were in college will be examined on a case-by-case basis as it currently is now. Furthermore, players that commit felonies while in the NFL regardless of whether they participated in the minor league system, will be reviewed by the Commissioner and handled on a case-by-case basis.

Q. Wouldn't a minor league of this magnitude severely damage college football's drawing power?

A. Doubtful. In much of the United States, especially in Texas and in SEC country, college football is such an ingrained part of life that it would be unfathomable to imagine all of the tailgating and pageantry to suddenly shut down just because the prized five-star recruits decided to play in minor leagues instead. Besides, as mentioned previously, college football turned a $1 billion profit in 2010. It would be unthinkable that college football would fall apart just because the talent level might drop off to a certain extent. It might not turn a $1 billion profit if there's an NFL minor league in place, but the stadiums will still fill up on Saturday afternoons in the fall up to capacity, no doubt. Furthermore, the NFL minor league schedule wouldn't interfere with either the college or the pro game so conflict could occur.

Q. The NFL is a for-profit business. How does the NFL make money off this minor league?

A. Ticket sales obviously, but that's just the beginning. If the NFL branches out to other cities and stadiums, this opens up a whole new avenue of licensing and merchandise. Minor league jersey sales won't do as well as they would in the NFL due to the temporal nature of the players, but everything else that sells on NFL.com could be sold as merchandise.

This would also be a fantastic marketing opportunity for the NFL. Currently, after the Super Bowl, the NFL isn't heard from again until the April Draft, and then it's not heard from until the start of training camp in July. With a minor league schedule staring in mid-February and ending on Independence Day, the NFL can literally be in the news year-round. This keeps brand awareness alive at all times and allows various cross-selling opportunities between the NFL franchises and their minor league affiliates.

Moreover, finding stadiums to play in shouldn't be an issue. As a part of the joint agreement between the NFL and NCAA, the minor league teams can play games in college stadiums, if available, and the schools can receive a 15% cut of all revenue at the game. Fifteen percent may not seem like a great deal, but it's considerably more than what they were making with the stadium empty for a vast portion of the year.

If the NCAA finds this agreement objectionable, there's nothing to suggest that the teams can't already use the stadiums in place that NFL teams play in or find other municipal stadiums that don't have contractual agreements to a local university. Examples could include places like the Alamodome or even baseball stadiums reconfigured for football.


You don't know who this person is yet.

That man is Mark Emmert and he is the president of the NCAA. I don't envy him one bit. Emmert will have some very difficult decisions to make in the next few years, especially in President Obama wins a re-election. You may not recognize him now, but if President Obama wins in 2012, rest assured he may become the face of a Congressional investigation as to how an alleged non-profit can rack up a $1 billion profit. How his industry repeatedly aligns itself with felons. How some of his alleged student-athletes become felons.

And perhaps most importantly, he might become the face of a government investigation that calls for closing of corporate tax loopholes. He's going to have an awful lot of questions to answer. But so will university presidents. So will "boosters" like Nevin Shapiro. So will former players. So will coaches. So will current NFL players.

Mark Emmert may not want to answer these questions. He may not have a choice. What he has is a choice now to either clean up college football's mess or have someone do it for him. The question is: Who cleans it up? The feds or Roger Goddell?

Regardless of who cleans up college football, change must happen. The NFL can benefit from this more than anyone, but what will it come down to is President Emmert and the path he chooses for the NCAA.

It might be change we can believe in. But if Mark Emmert doesn't act, it will be change the NCAA will believe in.

So help them God.

The End of The Dirt Road, Part One: How the NFL Can End Corruption In College Football

It reads more like a laundry list at this point.

Reggie Bush accepting $290,000 in gifts while at USC. Bush having to vacate the Heisman Trophy as a result. Cam Newton's father claiming that it would take "anywhere between $100,000 and $180,000" to get his son to play at Mississippi State.

Newton didn't go to Starkville, but chose Auburn after being kicked out of the University of Florida because he stole a laptop and was caught three times for academic cheating.

That's just the minor stuff, really. Compared to Ohio State and Miami, the acceptance of speakeasy-style money seems downright quaint.

Ohio State players, most notably new Oakland quarterback Terrelle Pryor, were selling Buckeye merchandise to a known Columbus drug dealer in exchange for discounted tattoos. Tattoo artist Edward Rife plead guilty to charges of money laundering and drug trafficking on June 28. He could face up to 60 years in federal prison between the two offenses.

These dalliances lead to the dismissals of Pryor and national championship winning coach Jim Tressel from Ohio State. It should be noted that Tressel knew of this scandal in April 2010, but never disclosed this information per contractual requirements and NCAA compliance regulations.

Furthermore, Tressel once wrote a book called The Winners Manual. The Winners Manual habitually cites Scripture. In fact, the beginning of the first chapter uses a passage from the Book of Romans:

Rejoice in our confident hope.
Be patient in trouble,
And keep on praying.
--Romans 12:12

It would appear that Tressel was quite confident that all he would need to beat his troubles would be the patience of a deaf-mute as he sat on his hands and did nothing. All the while his athletes cavorted with felons and cost him his job.

Never mind the unemployment line. Tressel should just rejoice that he didn't land in jail alongside the felons. That would be more than enough reason to keep on praying.

And then there's the University of Miami which may face the NCAA's Death Penalty for the latest accusations published by Yahoo! Sports in August 2011. At least 72 Miami football and basketball players were readily involved with convicted Ponzi scheme artist and Miami graduate Nevin Shapiro. Shapiro allegedly provided $2 million in under-the-table benefits that includes sex parties on his yacht with prostitutes, cash and in one instance, the money to front an abortion.

Some of the biggest names and best players in the NFL are all linked to the scandal and involvement with Shapiro. Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork, Carolina LB Jon Beason, Giants safety Antrel Rolle and Chicago's electrifying all-purpose return man Devin Hester are amongst the alleged beneficiaries of Shapiro's sleazy and criminal acts.

Make no mistake of how bad this looks for all parties, including the NFL. The four aforementioned players have appeared in eleven combined Pro Bowls. These aren't exactly stiffs on the bench we're talking about here. Furthermore, Wilfork and Hester are bordering on household names, and Hester might be a shoo-in for the Pro Football Hall of Fame just for his special teams play alone.

To that end, everyone looks bad. Potentially criminal, in fact. In the past, the NCAA and university presidents might shrug their shoulders, promise reform but then look the other way as the scandals ensue. This time, though, reform may be imminent but it won't be due to shame as a result of the depravities at college football's biggest institutions.

It might happen because someone living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue tells the NCAA that they must fix college football. Or else.



Here's three things we know offhand:

1. President Obama is a huge sports fan.

2. President Obama has openly stated that he wants reform in college football, starting with a playoff. To that end, we also know that Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is still working on an antitrust lawsuit against the Bowl Championship Series that decides how college football determines a national championship.

3. America is about 9 bazillion dollars in the hole.

Regarding the third point, Congress and the President are debating, sometimes cantankerously, if at all, on how to solve the debt crisis. One of the biggest talking points includes taxation reform, or more accurately, closing loopholes that inhibit revenue enhancement. If taxes can't go up, the money has to come from somewhere to cover the costs incurred. The main focus in the debate has been on companies like GE's tax avoidance methods and also increasing the taxation of luxury items like corporate jets.

However, it would be naive to suggest that other entities both large and small wouldn't be affected by the debt discussions in Washington. It is certainly not inconceivable to suggest that many tax loopholes may be closing in the next few years in an attempt to generate revenue and balance the federal budget.

This is central to both college football and the NFL for one simple reason. Take a look again at the money being thrown around in the clandestine world of college football. Look at the numbers already discussed here. Reggie Bush's $290,000 "gifts" that he received as a student/athlete at USC. The brazen six-figure sums thrown about by Cam Newton's father. The untold piles of cash derived from Columbus money launderers. The $2 million spent on Miami football players.

It doesn't just beg the question of where the money is coming from. For political purposes, there's a greater question to be asked.

Is it being taxed?

Consider the sources. Money launderers, drug dealers and Ponzi scheme architects amongst others. Given that the money paid out to college football's elite came by sketchy, if not illegal means, then it would take an incredible leap of faith to suggest that this money was properly reported and taxed accordingly.

Furthermore, college football's profit topped $1 billion for the first time in 2010. For Americans that protest Congressional involvement in sports scandals as a way of political grandstanding and a waste of time, Sports Karma asks this. How many American or multinational corporations can post profits of $1 billion while they repeatedly and publicly align themselves with felons? How is it possible that they don't they receive federal subpoenas? If this were an oil company or an accounting firm, wouldn't every American call for an investigation, at the least? Why then does the NCAA get a pass from Congressional questioning? Just because it's football?

Moreover, if we're speaking of public institutions, aren't they supposed to be non-profit? How can a public institution "profit?"

What the business is is irrelevant for the purposes of tax reform. What the business is doing is cause for significant alarm, regardless of what line of work they are in. Don't kid yourself. What college football is doing may be criminal, and the NCAA seems powerless to stop itself.

Keep in mind that scandals are really old hat to the NCAA and to college football as a whole. Miami has been down this road before as evidenced by ESPN's 30 For 30 documentary series, The U. Oklahoma State graduated the illiterate Dexter Manley from its university. SMU was the first and only Death Penalty casualty of the NCAA. SMU had to shut down the program for two years during the 1980s as a result of repeated NCAA transgressions. It should be noted that Oklahoma State and SMU were involved in two of college football's biggest scandals of yesteryear, and they were hardly considered amongst the blue-bloods of the game.

Miami, Ohio State and USC, on the other hand, have combined for an astonishing twenty-four national championships, sixteen Heisman Trophy winners and three of the biggest scandals in sports history, the latter three all accounted for within the last 6 years.

Given all the evidence, would it really be a huge surprise to see NCAA officials, university presidents and NFL players all testifying on Capitol Hill within the next 3-5 years? Would it really be a huge surprise to see Congress demanding these individuals cough up their "fair share?" The NCAA has already proven they have no shame so that's not really the issue here. However, the NFL would probably like to avoid the ignoble limelight in this instance.

Many believe that the NFL can do no wrong and that's probably true in this day and age. That said, there's no question how awful it would look to see millionaire football players being grilled by Congress on the subject of questionable alliances and the prospects of tax evasion. In a day and age where more and more Americans are having a tough time simply putting food on the table, the sight of seeing some of the NFL's marquee names being questioned in Washington would be a PR nightmare akin to Major League Baseball's recent visit to Congress.

Given the possible scenarios in play, it seems that college football's path is an endless dirt road of investigations, scandals and possible criminal conduct with a Congressional roadblock in sight.

That is, unless, the NFL can provide a permanent detour.


In a way, NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell already has intervened in NCAA matters. Terrelle Pryor was drafted by Oakland in the NFL supplemental draft, but was immediately suspended five games for violating the "integrity of the eligibility rules for the NFL draft."

Pryor was supposed to be suspended by Ohio State for the first five games, but he left the university entirely to pursue an NFL career. ESPN's Tim Keown suggests:

"this is another example of a professional sports league engaging in a little quid pro quo with the allegedly amateur organization that provides it with talent. Goodell's decision to 'honor' Pryor's five-game Ohio State suspension by transferring it to the NFL is eerily similar to the NBA/NCAA collusion on NBA age limits."

Keown uses an interesting word here and it typically has a negative connotation.

Collusion.

Normally, the idea of collusion sounds conspiratorial, but in this case, the NCAA may not have much of a choice but to play along with the NFL. While the NFL may certainly have some problematic characters (Re: Michael Vick, Ben Roethlisberger, Cedric Benson, etc), there's no questioning its for-profit status or the legitimacy of the NFL's profits. The NCAA obviously cannot say the same.

Given that point, could the NFL potentially risk a future where some of their future employers are under constant financial scrutiny from the federal government? Can the NFL seriously trust college coaches and university presidents with their potential employees considering some of the unscrupulous behavior already exhibited, not just by the players, but by the coaches and presidents themselves?

What the NFL ultimately needs isn't for college football to be its minor league system. What the NFL needs is a minor league system.

Click here for Part 2

The World Needs An Antihero: Why Dennis Rodman Still Matters

Some days I think about me at 16 years old. Some days it still hurts to consider how painfully awkward and shy I was. I knew that I didn't fit in at Clear Lake High School in Houston, TX. I didn't make friends easily mainly because I saw a lot of people who simply followed whatever trend was put in front of them.

I wasn't that kid that followed the hottest gossip or listened to most popular bands. I proudly listened to Styx, possibly the most uncool band in the world. I was listening to John Coltrane's Blue Train album, countered with Pantera's Far Beyond Driven, and would swear up and down that Appetite For Destruction was the greatest hard rock album ever recorded much to the chagrin of every Nirvana fan I knew. (And it is too. This realization still makes every Cobain Fan Boy crazy, no matter how much they try to fight it.)

I paid attention in English class and I could recite full sonnets and poems by Shakespeare and Longfellow, respectively, off the top of my head.

Looking back on it, I recognize I wasn't like most people, and have come to accept the fact that I've always been a little different. Just rereading the above sentences makes me realize, yeah, that's definitely a tad abnormal.

As an adult, I moved to Albuquerque. Then to Hartford. Lots of people graduate college and dream of moving to New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco in the pursuit of the big city and bigger careers.

I felt strangely guilty that I had no desire to do this. Hell, I liked New Mexico and Connecticut. I didn't understand at the time why no else did.

I've grown older now, and I've grown into my acceptance that I've always been a little different, and will continue to be a little different. But accepting this fact is far different when you're 32 than it is when you're 16. If you're a little different when you're 16, you don't really have a voice or a way to communicate how you feel yet. That voice hasn't truly matured, and that voice doesn't even really know how to eloquently state the confusion of what you're feeling.

So when you're 16, you need a voice to speak for you.

While everyone else at Clear Lake High School rooted for Michael Jordan or the home team hero, Hakeem Olajuwon, I found the voice I needed. He dyed his hair crazy colors, said wildly inappropriate things during interviews, rarely, if ever, scored during the game, and won rebounding title after rebounding title, championship after championship

He was the best defender on the greatest team of all-time, and now Dennis Rodman is just like Jordan, Olajuwon and every other guy that so many other people rooted for.

He's a Hall of Famer.


He won seven consecutive rebounding titles, the most in NBA history. He is perhaps the greatest defensive power forward ever, notoriously shutting down a young Shaq in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals, tangling with Karl Malone in the 1997 and 1998 Finals and slowing down Olajuwon in his prime when David Robinson couldn't.

He won five rings in his career. Two with Detroit and three more with Chicago.

That's why Dennis Rodman was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday. But that's not why Dennis Rodman was famous. And that's certainly not why so many people rallied around him during his career.

Rodman was wildly successful, but completely on his own terms, and in his own way. Everyone wants to be the scorer in basketball. Everyone wants to root for the guy who scores. Rodman rarely scored, averaging just 7.3 points per game for his entire career. Rodman once remarked, "I can score 20 points if I want to, but that's not my desire."

He also shot less than 60 percent from the free throw line during his career. "I can't begin to describe the amount of crap I've taken for being a lousy free-throw shooter," Rodman lamented.
That said, Rodman focused his efforts primarily on rebounding and defense, and was inducted into Springfield as a result of approaching the game a little bit differently.

Michael Jordan wore suits after every game, regardless of the game's outcome. He was not only the world's greatest player, but commercially branded himself as a corporate icon, something every right-leaning suburbanite would appreciate.


Rodman famously cross-dressed to promote books and generally wore whatever the hell he damned well wanted to wear regardless of the game's outcome. "If I want to wear a dress, I'll wear a dress," Rodman boasted. And he did. Repeatedly.



He still sports multiple piercings, outrageous hair colors, an absurd amount of tattoos and a fashion style that make Liberace look downright reserved.


While others discreetly fooled around, Rodman had famous dalliances with Madonna and Carmen Electra. "With me," Rodman said. "Everything's right on the table."

Rodman was, in every sense of the word, unique. He was different than his peers, and in many ways, better than them as his now-Hall of Fame resume proves. Much like some kid huddled in his bedroom, playing bass and listening to uncool bands, Rodman approached everything differently and just didn't give a damn about what others thought. He rarely scored, he looked funny and he was hardly quiet about anything from his love life to his criticisms of NBA commissioner David Stern.

"The NBA's chosen ones think I'm setting a bad example?" Rodman once rhetorically asked. "I think they need to look around and stop taking themselves so seriously...The NBA believes if you play for a team and get paid by a team, you're the property of that team for 24 hours a day."

Dennis Rodman didn't just go the other way regarding so many different things. Dennis Rodman was the other way. He lived it. He personified it. And because of this, he gave every person who was a little different, looked a little different, behaved a little different, Dennis Rodman gave them hope. Perhaps more importantly, he gave them courage and acceptance to embrace who they were, and to live their life on their terms.

Not on Michael Jordan's terms. Not on David Stern's either. Nor the cool kids in the class or on the basketball court who were really just following along with what everyone else was doing. Dennis Rodman made it to Springfield by no other way but his own, and The Worm's enshrinement couldn't have come at a more prophetic time for me personally.

Recently at work, there have been some major philosophical shifts within our department. Amongst those shifts is a concerted effort for everyone to continue their formal education. Since I already have a Bachelors degree, the next step would be for me to gain my MBA.

Most people would probably pursue their MBA if their employer advised them to do so. Maybe I will someday, but I recently told my boss that probably isn't a wise idea for me right now. Frankly, I don't like the idea of sinking further into debt without the promise of gaining a better job from the MBA. Furthermore, I told them that I wanted to spend my free time working on a new website tentatively titled sportsbeerandrock.com.

The idea originally began as a documentary series that I dreamed up while I was working for ESPN. This website would allow me to write, and potentially, employ others as it relates to the subject of sports, beer and rock music. I have begun work, in earnest, on a business plan for this website.

It ain't easy, and maybe I will need my MBA just to figure out what the hell I'm going to do in certain aspects. If that's the case, I will do it because I want to do it, not because I'm property of my team for 24 hours a day.

I'm sure most people would have a hard time looking their boss in the eye and telling him that they were going to go a different way, but still somehow remain productive in the workplace. It wasn't easy, I can tell you that.

But Dennis Rodman reminded me at his Hall of Fame speech that those of us who are a little different, we are the Ones less traveled by.

I have to try.

Perhaps that will make all the difference.