The last (hopefully) word on Tony Nelson

Here's a longer run-down of the saga of Tony Nelson, a former Clemson recruit from Maryland who is either the victim of a deceitful Tommy Bowden or a young man who failed to do the things he needed to do to assure himself a football scholarship somewhere. Things like making good grades, or keeping his options open with other schools instead of putting all of his eggs in one bright-orange basket with a Tiger Rag bow. (If I remember correctly, one of our signees this year had made verbal commitments to a couple of programs before finally settling on Clemson.)

The story linked above, which is from a newspaper near where Nelson lives, obviously has some big holes in it. There's an awful lot of hearsay that's presented as truth, and it definitely takes a "homer" angle. But read it for yourself and decide.

As for myself, I think the truth, as usual, falls somewhere in the middle. The recruiting process is indeed a bit deceitful. Big-time colleges often make promises they don't keep. But high school players need good advice, too. They need to do their homework -- and not just the kind their biology teachers are assigning. They need to keep their options open. They need to go on as many official visits to as many schools as possible, and they should avoid making firm plans to accept a scholarship until they are certain that they are going to get it.

OK, that is all.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Here goes:

1) Would you rather live in a world with or without technology such as computers, cars, airplanes, bombs?
I like technology, especially cars. And bombs. Car bombs? Car bombs are my favorite. And computers. Because without computers, I would be unable to answer insipid Friday Five questions out there on Internets.
2) If you had to live without either heating in your house or air conditioning, which one would you keep?
Where I live, I think I'd keep the heat. But it's a close call, because it can get pretty hot in the D.C. area in the summer.
3) If you had to own five dogs, what kind would you get?
Hmmm. Tough call. I'd probably get Shelties. My sister has about 10 (she shows them competitively), so I'm familiar with them. They are very cute and very friendly. After that, probably a Lab of some sort.
4) If the world had a front porch, what would you do on it?
I'd push a ratty old sofa out on it and sit there waving at traffic. Also, I'd pile old, rusty, broken-down bits of "technology" all over it, just to piss off the neighbors.
5) Would you rather live in a neighborhood where you know all of your neighbors by name, or where everyone sticks to their own business?
Sticks to their own business. Though I would like to know some of my neighbors.