• Last week, the NCAA convened its annual meeting and addressed many pressing items -- including the obliging concern over whether players should, in fact, be able to spread cream cheese on their bagels. If you'll remember, in 2008, the Atlantic Coast Conference offered up a proposal seeking to permit schools to make available "fruits, nuts and bagels to student-athletes at any time." (Schools are otherwise only allowed to serve athletes three meals a day.) The problem? Spreads were prohibited, in order to prevent snacks from becoming a meal (bagel pizzas, anyone?) and sadly, that specification spread to cream cheese, butter or anything else with which one might like to top their bagel.
But as John Infante of the Bylaw Blog explains, the Legislative Council decided at this year's convention to delete that interpretation, allowing for bagels everywhere to be loxed, cheesed, and peanut buttered, until, he says, "some football staff decides to set out lunch meats, pizza bagels or grill steaks and serve them to players on half a bagel."
• With Rutgers and Maryland joining the Big Ten in 2014, there's been plenty of early discussion about scheduling and whether divisions should be created. On Monday's Big Ten conference call, Wisconsin's Bo Ryan said he liked the idea of playing all the league teams. "The way the nonconference schedule is, If we had a couple more conference games, I think it would be better for us," he said.
• If you need further proof that the NCAA's enforcement staff is struggling to, you know, enforce in a logical, ethical and expedient way, look no further than the situation going on at Miami, where the NCAA is now "investigating its own investigation," as ESPN's Dana O'Neil puts it. That's a loud statement about the enforcement staff.
