Yesterday the University of Maine announced that Mike Latendresse, UM's
leading scorer last season will not be eligible for this season.
Mike was a "Prop 48" player, his SAT's were not high enough for NC$$
standards when he enrolled at UM, plus he played a season of Junior A
hockey in Montreal and lost another season of eligibility.
Shawn Walsh said in an interview yesterday with WCSH-TV Portland (and I
would guess WLBZ-TV in Bangor) that he "assumed" that Mike served both
seasons of ineligibility concurrently when he sat out in 1991-92.
(Since when does the NC$$ allow athletes to serve time concurrently?)
He says that he should have known Mike only had two seasons of
eligibility, but apparently it never dawned on him to ask anyone.
 
Last season Mike had 20 goals and 19 assists in 33 games, and wasUM's
leading scorer.  Mike looked very confused and disappointed when he was
interviewed by WCSH yesterday.  He said that he didn't know what he could
do now, because it is too late to try to catch on with a pro team in
Europe or here in the states.  I believe Mike is a scholarship athlete,
which means he'll have to give back the money, and still be left holding
the bill for this semester, and since it is now mid-October, has no chance
 
at getting a dime in financial aid.  I feel badly for Mike because he
definitely deserved better than this.
 
In another story yesterday, Doug Woolard, one of three finalists for
the vacant AD position at UM, accepted that position at Saint Louis
University.  That leaves James MacDonald and "Butch" Worthley as the
only candidates (Note to Butch: guys named Butch don't have a good track
record in New England recently  [See Dan Douquette] ;-) )
 
A few notes on this whole mess.
 
Is it just me, or are people at UM using the "I assumed" line with as
much frequency as the Germans used "I was only following orders" at
Nuremburg?  Maybe if people stopped assuming and decided to ASK questions
this wouldn't keep happening.  As a local DJ said this morning, "Its no
longer a feeling of 'will' something happen, but 'when' is the next
catastrophe going to happen?"  I am certain that the NC$$ would be more
than happy to answer questions a coach might have concerning the
eligibility status of an athlete.  And seeing as how the department is
under the microscope of the NC$$ investigators, it might look a little
better than releasing a statement to the press.  If someone had asked
the question two years ago, Mike wouldn't be in this predicament.
 
But speaking of the NC$$, why is it that they never informed Mike that
he only had two seasons of eligibility to begin with?  A letter
two or three years ago saying that Mike had only two years left
would have been helpful, and certainly a letter last spring informing
him that he had no more eligibility could have been sent.  I was
under the impression that the NC$$ was supposed to monitor the progress
of student-athletes, and I think that if they see something wrong, it
would be better for them to notify schools and players in time for the
problem to be fixed than to wait until the school has committed an
infraction, and the athlete is caught in the middle.
 
As far as the search for an AD, Doug Wollard is probably giving out a
great sigh of relief that he doesn't have to come up here and deal with
this mess.  I recall Jack MacDonald saying that the "eligibility problem
is now behind them, its time to move on" (those may not be his exact
words, but they're close).  I wonder how Jack and Butch feel about this
latest development.
 
And I must say that I feel bad for Grant Standbrook, a wonderful and
intelligent gentleman who now has the unenviable task of trying to
recruit kids and convince them that the mistakes that have plagued the
school for the past three seasons are not going to be repeated.
Recruiters have to hope that the athletes don't hear about how Mike
gets stuck with a college bill or how athletes show up at the gym,
only to be told that they can't practice and to see their coach for an
explanation, which is what happened last February.
 
Only 9 more days until the season opener in Fairbanks.  Why am I not
overcome with excitement?
 
John Forsyth
 
"Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it"
"Assume is an ugly word.  It makes an A** out of u and me"