Exactly the angle I was playing there.

@Black Butter- You are lucky George laid down the law on penis jokes, otherwise I would be jumping all over the phrase "milking it". @Gundy- Penis.

It is impossible to have a broken finger for two years. That's called milking it....

@George @Long Ball Larry Hey, the only body part I mentioned was a thumb. I really wish Jackson would sit Kobe for a few weeks to heal up so I wouldn't have to hear the announcers go on and on every damn game about how he's "playing through the pain". Just a side note: King James would own Kobe in a one-on-one.

@Austin/George- Gundy started it.

Sounds like you boys have things covered on this end. Enjoy reading the articles and look forward to hearing more about college athletes getting paid or compensated for their efforts. @Clint- I know the subject of Kobe Bryant is a passionate one for you, but there seems to be a little bit to much talk of penises as of late.

@Austin- I will be writing an entire post on why college players should be allowed to receive payment for their services. If the NCAA can make money off of their likeness, aka: video games, promotions for ticket sales, etc..., than why can't these players have a nice laptop, or drive a new car? I hope to go into some pretty serious detail on this issue soon, but for now, just know I do not believe every college player should be paid the same, in the same way every NBA, MLB, or NFL player is not paid the same. I am not advocating anything crazy. I am just simply pointing out the current system is ridiculous. Cam Newton's father asks Mississippi State for $100,000, without Cam Newton's knowledge (allegedly), and somehow this should make him ineligible to play any more games, or disqualify him from consideration for the Heisman Trophy? That is what is crazy.

@Gundy- First: It is his right index finger, the most important finger when it comes to shooting a basketball, it controls follow through, it is the last finger to touch the ball when it leaves a shooters hand, and it happens to be the finger shooter's needs to be able to feel (Kobe's is taped up) more than any other. Kobe's right index finger is broken. BROKEN! I have never seen him doubled over mid-court clenching his finger in agony, unless someone just inadvertently smacked it, but even if he did consistently buckle over in pain I wouldn't care, the damn thing is broken! Second: It is miraculous how he is able to cope with a broken finger, and still annihilate everyone in the league. Every player in the league would give their right nut to be able to play the game of basketball with the precision Kobe brings night in and night out. There is no one in the game more fundamentally sound than Kobe "Bean" Bryant. He has won 2 consecutive NBA Championships with a broken finger. I do not think excuses are necessary at this point, especially when he is bringing home the Larry O'Brien every summer. I mean, what does he need to make excuses for anyway? "Hey, Kobe! What's your excuse for winning back to back championships in the last two years?" Kobe's reply, in a Michael Jordan tone, "Honestly? I think it has to do with my broken finger more than anything." Third: As I am sure you learned in the above post, I am the biggest Kobe Bryant apologist on the planet. If he were an actual homosexual, I am sure I would be able to justify his passion for penis as just another example of his ability to swallow the biggest load on the team, especially if such an act was crucial to the team's overall success. I have no doubt Kobe would suck Gasol's small foreign dick if it meant a sixth championship for the Los Angeles Lakers. That is the type of player I want on my team. Someone who is willing to get on his knees, and do all of the dirty work no one else wants to do in order for his team to be successful.

@Long Ball Larry says: "He plays through injuries that keep most players out for months." I'm so sick of watching Kobe double over mid-court clenching his thumb in agony... begging for sympathy if he played poor, or mega praise if he (miraculously) performed through the pain. Such a fag.

That's just it, it wouldn't be all that rational in practice since so many teams are already paying players. It would be like when the swimming council or whatever allows different bathing suits for competitive meets. The only difference is that commoners like us would hear about it because football/basketball are legitimate sports that people actually care about. I think a cap would be necessary. I don't know how soccer does things, because I'm not a filthy European, but I know what baseball does. I think a strict cap which allows the athletes to get endorsement deals, etc. would be fair. It wouldn't matter what position they play, only what the university deems their value to be. Players could sign contracts, get agents, form a union, etc., just like professionals. Keep in mind pro sports used to center around owners making money and players getting the short end, but it's evened out in recent years due to collective bargaining and the players unions. By banning any payment whatsoever, such unions are shot down before they take off.

That would be interesting to see. I admit that I don't know very much about "pay-for-play". Under the current way we think about sports, it seems like it would be a very radical move indeed. Would not everyone in Division I Football, for example, need to be payed the same, no matter what school you play for or at what position? Would the nation break up into leagues where a salary cap is enforced, or would schools be able to roam free like they do in baseball and soccer? Just to throw my opinion out there, I hate no-cap or soft-cap systems.

So you're saying Utah State would not be able to compete at the high level that they do now? The truth is, colleges already pay players, that's why Utah State can't compete with SEC schools, and it's why successful schools--like USC's football team or Kentucky' basketball--keep getting busted for shady business with high-caliber athletes. To me, it seems like some schools are not willing to stake their university's reputation on paying for athletes, so they are not able to recruit as effectively. If pay-for-play were allowed, but monitored, we may see better distribution of money and, therefore, a better distribution of expensive-type athletes. Then again: I'm a radical, so add a grain of salt to that.

I'm fine with Colleges/NCAA not paying Athletes, because of the benefits the nation, and sometimes the world, gets from them. Football, for example, funds a big part of universities around the country and those universities, in turn, are then able to conduct research and fund other programs that benefit the world. I also look at it as a good opportunity for athletes to give a little back before most of the college superstars move on to bigger things and make their millions. I realize that all schools are not equal, but it would be almost impossible for small division I schools, like Utah State, to pay their athletes as much as the bigger schools.