You know what grinds my gears???

There have been many recent 'scandals', especially at USC. Mayo, accused of receiving a possible 30k over the past 18 months dating back to high school and Bush, accused of receiving considerably more during his time at USC. But lets look at the underlying theme here: Should these athletes, mostly basketball and football stars, get paid or is the "scholarship of free education" compensation enough?

Here are the rules by the major sports:
NBA - Under the current rules, implemented in 2006, players must be 19 years old to be eligible for the NBA draft.

NFL - Rules state that a player cannot enter the draft until his high school graduating class is at least three years removed, which is after their junior year or after a redshirt sophomore season.

NHL - Players who turn 18 by September 15 and are not older than 20 by December 31 are eligible for selection. In addition, non-North American players over the age of 20 are eligible. A North American player who is not drafted by the age of 20 is an unrestricted free agent. All non-North Americans must be drafted before being signed, regardless of age.

MLB - All the ins and outs of transactions are covered, sometimes in excruciating detail, in a large loose-leaf binder titled, "The Official Professional Baseball Rules Book," something completely separate from the "Official Baseball Rules" (which cover only the game on the field). Unfortunately, Major League Baseball doesn't make that loose-leaf binder available to the public.

Tennis/Golf - No age limits but highly selective and equity barriers to entry.

The two areas with the most strict regulations are the two that covet the highest minority participation, and ironically the most room for error. Some college football teams carry up to 85 athletes, basketball another 15. Coincidence, probably not. But the problem lies with the flip side of the argument. Who benefits from the athlete or coaches that do the right thing? What happens to the coach that blows the whistle on the program for wrong-doings? Check here and see Bruce Pearl. What about the athlete that blows out there knee trying to improve their position in the draft? What about the athletes that are just trying to do the right thing for their country?

My thing is the regulation is not accessing the true problem. Colleges are benefiting from these players in more situations than not. It is a farm system with strict regulations and sanctions on players, but not on coaches whom can jump schools with only a monetary fine. Players in most cases aren't going to major in Biology as top tier prospects, especially in the case of basketball. There aren't any Manhood 101 classes taught either. Sure, the average athlete does not play professional sports, but the common sense classes are not their either. People are going to chase their dreams (or the dreams that others have forced upon them) no matter what the cost. How is that different from a young entrepreneur who bypasses college and creates the next Facebook/Myspace/Napster? The difference is that these people were already equipped with the skill sets that made them famous before they stepped foot on the college campus. GM's and CEO's are always looking for that next big thing. They are looking so hard and drafting and scouting on 'potential' that they may miss out on the true gem of the draft. Potential, as described in physics, is a field defined in space, from which many important physical properties may be derived. This sort of effort exists only in relevance to other matters in space. The one problem that usually derives from this, money changes all people. Like Deion Sanders said, it can change my car, my zip code, and my wardrobe. But can money change the hunger to reach potential? Only the individual can answer that.