Sam Mellinger

This is not a complete defense of the NCAA because a complete defense of the NCAA would be absurd. The NCAA needs fixing, needs it yesterday, and this is that rare stance that most everyone in and around universities or athletics can agree on.

The head coach of the New York Jets said he would forfeit, quit, get fired, whatever -- but he sure as hell wouldn't coach that game. Couldn't do it. Not yet. Derek Jeter felt uncomfortable, irrelevant, and an entire country could relate -- because what did baseball really mean as the World Trade Center and the people inside burned?

Nobody felt much like studying a pitcher's tendencies or a defense's blitz packages because, really, how could they?

Ten years ago this weekend, terrorists hijacked and flew commercial airliners into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. Sept. 11, 2001 was the first attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, and America's worst day in at least a generation, a scene so horrifying that news networks restrained from broadcasting the most gruesome images.

KANSAS CITY, MO. -- The idea is always at the surface, has been since the story of an NFL star dying in an Afghanistan firefight captured America's attention, and strikes especially hard on this holiday weekend 10 years after the September 11 attacks.

You remember Pat Tillman, the NFL star who sacrificed a dream career and millions of dollars for the front line of the fight against terrorism, driven by the kind of values the rest of us admire but can't always match. He died for it, killed by friendly fire and then disrespected by a government cover-up, so how could we not want to honor him as best we possibly can?

Dan Beebe wants this to be a victory parade, and he's entitled to it. The Big 12 has gone from the brink of extinction to having one of the strongest television contracts in the country, all within a year, all on his watch as league commissioner.

Good on him.

Now we get to see what it all means.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Right now, as you read this, Scott Pioli is obsessing about the Chiefs' roster. This is the job description of the general manager, of course, so he thinks about his constantly, never stopping, during his 20-minute drive to the office and 16-hour workday once he gets there and, if he's honest, a bigger chunk of his time with family than he'd like to admit.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kauffman Stadium will be full. Full of fun, full of screaming, and not only because Zack Greinke is pitching. This happens every year when the Cardinals come to town.

The hero is 7 feet 7 inches when he's standing but for now lies on his back, crammed into a standard hospital bed in Virginia. His name is Manute Bol. You might remember him as the tallest player in NBA history during his 10 seasons.