A Quick Congrats

Lost last week in the ugly Sixers/Piston Brawl with the odious behavior of Ron Artest and crew was the equally ugly brawl at the end of the game between South Carolina and Clemson. The fight was turly frightening, and was an absolutely disgusting display of poor sportsmanship.

However, as a diehard sports fan, I feel obligated to send a deep and heartfelt thank you to the administrations of of the University of Soutgh Carolina and Clemson University, who have voluntarily decided to not accept any bowl bids this year:

Clemson and South Carolina will not accept bowl bids, punishment for players who brawled toward the end of Saturday’s game.

Athletic director Mike McGee said Monday that the Gamecocks’ actions on the field were not consistent with the values and ethics of the school.

“This decision will have a significant financial impact on USC athletics. We will also lose a month of prebowl practice,” McGee said. “It was a decision that had to be made.”
Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive and Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John D. Swofford both said that their respective conferences support the decision by the universities.

“The decision by the University of South Carolina not go to a bowl game sends the important message to student-athletes, not only at South Carolina and in the Southeastern Conference, but thoughout the nation that intercollegiate ahtletics will not tolerate the kind of behavior we saw in the South Carolina-Clemson game last Saturday,” Slive said.

The commissioners also added that their conferences continues to review game films to determine if additional penalties are merited.

Absolutely the right decision, and hopefully it sends the right message to future thugs masquerading as student athletes. This will not be tolerated.

Well done.