Monday Happy Hour is wondering if the punishment fits the crime

One of those tried and true cliches we like to pride college football on is the one where the sport helps mold hulking teenaged boys into men of character and class. We simultaneously deride our rivals while raising up our own alma maters achievements to the level of some elaborate charm school for these overgrown kids where they not only learn to play football, but to hold doors open for old ladies and do their taxes in a timely fashion.

Don't get me wrong, a lot of these schools are effective in one of a fragmented many desires -- that of teaching these kids to do things the right way -- but there are all too often cases that run contrary to this.

And so we get to Urban Meyer's latest punishment, the removal of two athletic scholarships from Jake Stoneburner and Jack Mewhort after an obstruction charge saw the two end up entangled in the legal system.

Now don't get me wrong, what these two did was stupid and against the law, and the carelessness that they showed shouldn't be rewarded. However, aren't there better punishments out there than withholding money from two student athletes for educational expenses? Isn't the point of the whole system to help these kids get degrees while they play sports for the university? Isn't that athletic scholarship and the opportunity it opens up the real payment? How can cutting off two student athletes stand in unison with the idea of education first?

I don't know if Stoneburner or Mewhort come from families that can handle this financial burden, but I don't think it matters. Urban Meyer has removed them from the team but by leaving the door open he simply looks to be stashing the two away from the heart of the program.

That is wrong.

Meyer should have never taken athletic scholarships he might give back just as something to hold over a kid's head. There are better ways to handle team discipline than shifting that financial burden to the kids to prove a point. If Meyer wanted to hand out a punishment, he should have done it to both outside of revoking a scholarship. If a coach wants to wash his hands of a player for good, then take his scholarship. Otherwise, keep him and teach him a lesson in the context of the team environment.

Links:

Brady Hoke's Michigan football recruiting pitch? All team, all the time

He doesn't quote Bo Schembechler's "The team, the team, the team," speech -- but then again, he doesn't have to. The chairs are full, postures are upright and every pair of feet are planted firmly on the floor. The building filled with 450 strangers minutes earlier, now suddenly looks like a team. Exactly the way Hoke likes it.

Hoke spoke to the SMSB camp last week -- I still don't know how this camp is legal, but there is no way they don't look to close that loophole -- and as you can imagine, he left a good impression.

Sound Mind/Sound Body 2012: Interviews - Speaking of SMSB, Ace from mgoblog caught up with three of Michigan's commits for the 2013 class -- Shane Morris, David Dawson, and Logan Tuley-Tillman -- to talk about about their plans for the summer, the camp, and the coaches.

Michigan Pointspreads: Early Action on Wolverines in Opener, Against Them in Finale - JamieMac of the Just Cover Blog stops by Mgoblog for a long 2012 gambling preview that is, as true of all of JamieMac's stuff, informative and potentially lucrative.

Penn State Trustee Accuses Spanier, Top Penn State Officials of Sandusky "Coverup"

Covering up a problem normally exacerbates it. Things will get worse, not better for Penn State after the initial Sandusky verdict. Schultz and Curley have yet to go to trial for perjury. The recent evidence could lead to further charges. The school is also facing a potentially massive civil liability and a battle to have its insurance company cover it.

I agree that the media circus that is Penn State football isn't likely to get more reasonable and football focused, but now the University looks to be in even worse shape.

Clemson reeled in the biggest fish in the 2013 recruiting class. What are the odds it keeps him?

To be clear, this has nothing to do with Clemson, specifically, and everything to do with the relentless nature of the beast. To the extent that there is some sort of "gentlemen's agreement"in recruiting, it certainly does not apply to 6-foot-5, 260-pound specimens who have just given the not-so-gentlemanly competition a bright orange target to aim for. To seasoned hunters like Nick Saban, Mark Richt, Mack Brown, Les Miles, Urban Meyer, Jimbo Fisher, Gene Chizik, Will Muschamp, et al., a verbal commitment to a rival school in June is like catching a faint whiff of blood. It's open season, and it's only beginning.

Have I mentioned how happy I am that Matt Hinton is writing again?

A 1,000-Word Letter To My HS Advisor Who Told Me Not To Apply To Northwestern Because My Grades Were Too Low - Take that advice and shove it.

OFF-TOPIC: LET'S TALK ABOUT REALLY USEFUL MALE ENHANCEMENT

We're also uninterested in whether she's got domestic or imported parts. This is usually the point where the writer takes the opportunity to tell you their preferences for these things, and nothing is more boring than someone telling you what they find attractive because the answers are by and large similar or depressing. Wow, they like boobs! And [default socially desirable size not correlating to poverty and lack of power]-sized women! And that thing everyone else does! How novel! Tell me more, you Crowley-esque sexual bandito!

Spencer Hall, both hilarious and poignant. Same as always.

Cardboard Gods: Harold

Back when I was a kid I used to fantasize about being discovered. It started modestly, when my older brother was in little league. As I watched his games I imagined that a foul ball would bound my way, and I’d scoop it up and fire it back onto the field, wowing everyone with the strength and accuracy of my arm. (I hadn’t yet seen The Bad News Bears, where Kelly Leak’s superpowers as a baseball player are first announced in just this way.) As the years went on, this fantasy of being discovered got more preposterous, until eventually it involved a limousine pulling up at the edge of our driveway as I was throwing a tennis ball at the duct tape strike zone on the garage door.The backseat window would come down, revealing Carl Yastrzemski’s melancholy features creased into a smile.

"Quite an arm, son," he would say. He’d produce a major league contract, holding it out the window toward me. "It’s just what we need."

This is a deep American dream: to be discovered. To be seen, truly, and to be told with certainty, beyond any guesswork, that at our core we are aglow. That we have a great gift.

Father’s Day

Eventually, after the time with the tow truck and the drive back to our house, we got home in late afternoon. If there is a day that stands out as to what being a father is about, it's hard to beat having to spend four hours of your day getting your 21-year old son out of trouble on Father's Day.

It's been exactly six months since my dad passed away unexpectedly. No days are easy, but some are worse than others. Memorial Day, that was a tough one, knowing that I was going to go back to the graveside. The frequent nights where my six year old tells me that she misses her Papa, those are tough too, bringing up emotions at the end of a day crammed with activity to keep the mind occupied. Today is another of those days.