For those of us who believe the NC$$ errs when it punishes the teams (meaning the players) with forfeitures and disqualifications, rather than the "grown-ups" (coach, athletic director, university president, etc.), Deron's question is an easy one: Of course those of us who have held a negative view of the Maine program since its "troubles" came to light would see it differently with one of the perceived causes of the problems gone. But let's be fair to Walsh (I can't believe I wrote that). I confess to knowing few facts, and most of them come from my friends at BU, who are even less objective than I am. Nonetheless, it is safe to say that whatever happened was not the work of one man. I doubt the infractions could have occurred without the Coach's knowledge, or his affirmatively looking the other way and ignoring his responsibility to his players as an educator (yes, college coaches have responsibilities different from those of professional coaches). But others above and below him on the University food chain had to have done the same. (OK, Wayne, even though you may not care about the opinion, I guess we agree on at least that point.) Deron's question is really closely connected to the debate about scholarships, and the comment I saw this morning about "winning at all costs." The operative word in "intercollegiate athletics" is "intercollegiate." I love to see the Terriers win, and have since I was a BU undergraduate. But I would hate to see them win if it meant that the players came away with nothing from the experience other than improved hockey skills, because that isn't what a university is about. Even students who major in engineering (and look for jobs in engineering) take courses in other areas and gain cultural and maturing experiences that, we all hope, make them better adults. Athletes who hope to be pros, or coaches, or phys. ed. teachers (as opposed to those who want to do something completely unconnected to their athletic experience in college) need the same breadth. Jack Parker is a great coach because he appreciates this fact, not because his teams win games (in my view, he was a great coach even when they had losing seasons). There are others (Berenson comes to mind, from what I have read): I don't know Shawn Walsh -- never met him -- for all I know, he may be, too). But the coach can only be great in this way if the people he works for let him (or insist on it). But I ramble . . . . Saul Morgenstern, BU'74 Go BU - 1995 Top Dogs of College Hockey (with apologies to The Boston Globe) "Sooner or later you have to separate what is right from what is merely legal." - Tom Robbins, Still Life With Woodpecker