Have we all gone nuts?

The economy is in the ditch, unemployment at a high, homes and jobs  lost every day, the cost of education going up and up. And........

The University of Kentucky a few days ago made a deal to pay Coach John Calipari $31 million to charge the Wildcats.

What if he is not in the final four next year, how much will we pay for the next coach?

We are aware how much emphasis is put on basketball in Kentucky but is it truly that important  that we have a title called NCAA champs?

To the hard nosed sports fan, certainly it is worth it. To other sport fans, well maybe not that much, and to the academic person, it certainly is not worth it.

According to reports the $31 million will come from the revenue gathered by and through the program. It is hard to place an argument against such a salary when all the fans are paying the bills, plus bringing all the attention to the state and to the university.

The same pressure and the same line of thoughts factor through all our communities, even all of our high schools.

Matters not what high school and what county, a losing sports program will certainly soon bring about new leadership and new directions.

The pressure may not be as obvious but it is there and recognized.

It certainly is a misfortune that academics do not demand such attention. Most educators certainly do administer equal attention, but the general public certainly obviously does not.

We have always been a big sports hound and we certainly  enjoy March madness as much as anyone.

But, is it still beyond our thinking to realize how much pressure is applied in the name of basketball.

Half of the students at UK could have failed this past semester and we probably would have never known about it.

But lose a couple of basketball games and the losing coach was photographed actually running from the building and the cameras.