I get so pissy about athletics

There has been a lot of press lately about athletic programs being cut at college and universities. A wave of men's programs were cut for Title IX compliance, and now prgorams are being cut for financial reasons.

The criteria for cutting in this latter wave seem to be few participants, no revenue, no winning record.

But let's look at what co-curricular programs like intercollegiate sports are supposed to be about. I know it's hard to say with a straight face, but we still like to maintain the fiction that sports enhance the academic experience. Sports teach students lessons about teamwork, self-reliance, competitiveness, blah blah blah.

If you ask me, a "successful" program is therefore one that doesn't interfere with the academic performance and achievement of its participants.

The first sports to be on the chopping block ought to be the ones with the lowest graduation rates.

Previously, some have justified these big-money programs because they enable the institution to also fund the no-revenue sports. If they're cutting them anyway, then that argument sails out the window.

I almost forgot the fact of the day

It takes the average sheep 10 days to double its birth weight. It takes a horse 60 days.