The more I read, the worse I feel...

IU released its report to the NCAA regarding its investigation of the basketball program's violations. NCAA Report I was hoping I would feel a little better about the situation. Instead I feel worse. In no particular order, here are my thoughts:

• I was wrong about Rob Senderoff being made a scapegoat. He should have been fired immediately, along with Sampson and fellow assistant Jeff Meyer. Both Senderoff and Meyer made calls from their home phones without logging them. They say it indicates “sloppiness.” I say it indicates either an intentional effort to evade the NCAA sanctions or an attitude that following NCAA rules and the sanctions are NOT a top priority. Either one is unacceptable.

• Someone is lying – either 2 recruits or Sampson & Senderoff. On the 3-way calls in which Sampson claims he did not know that Senderoff was on the line, 2 different recruits said that Sampson & Senderoff both spoke. Perhaps both recruits want to hurt IU but I somehow doubt that they would think through it in that much detail.

• The sanctions IU is proposing are more stringent than initially reported but I still don’t think they’ll work. It’s like after grounding a kid for a week, he or she doing the same thing, and then grounding them for a month. I don’t think “more of the same” punishment is the right way to correct the problem. I think you have to take away what is most precious to that person. In this case it is their job. Since the NCAA can't fire Sampson I think they will either suspend him for the NCAA tournament or ban IU from the tournament altogether. If that happens, I couldn't disagree with it.

Apparently many alums and donors have complained to IU about the situation and want Sampson out. Hopefully the pressure will continue to build and we can get this program cleaned up.