While most 73-year-old men prefer hitting the links and grabbing an early bird dinner at 3:30 p.m., Ken Mink decided to go a different route. Mink, a resident of Farragut, Tennessee, left his 38-year career in newspapers behind and decided to focus on basketball. And no, he isn’t sitting in his rocker reading stats or grumbling about the “good-ol’-days”, he is suiting up as a shooting guard for Roane State Community College.

That’s right - Ken Mink has officially become the oldest college basketball player in the country at a mere 73. For someone who hasn’t played competitively in 52 years, it certainly seems like a stretch, but I love the idea. Just because a guy is really old doesn’t mean he’s lost all competitive spirit and gusto, just ask John McCain. I think the age thing means Mink should be praised and admired, not ridiculed and mocked. Again, see McCain.

Over a half-century after being dismissed from the 1955-56 Lees Junior College men’s basketball team, Mink decided to get back onto the court. Now I don’t know if you realize the kind of commitment and dedication that takes - especially for an old man. It’s not like we’re talking about Michael Jordan making a comeback a couple of years past his prime - this is like Elvis Presley moving back to Graceland and making 10 more hit albums tomorrow.

So, last summer, Mink got back into the gym and started running sprints, practicing free-throws and completing dribbling drills. When his skills seemed close to where they were in the fifties, he began sending out letters to dozens of local community colleges, hoping for a chance to try out for the squad. Even though this sounds more like the tactics of an overlooked college recruit, Mink proved it can work for someone quadruple that age.

“I just thought the guy was overly unrealistic,” Head Coach Randy Nesbit said when he read Mink’s letter. “But I’m a project kind of coach. I like taking on projects to prove something. I was willing to give him a shot and his letter resonated with me.”

Nesbit wasn’t the only one with something to prove though. At tryouts, Mink drained shot after shot, made pass after pass and at the end of the day, he was good enough to be a part of the Roane State Raiders. And because he is playing for a college team, Mink had to enroll in classes in order to obtain eligibility.

Can you imagine that scene? Picture your grandfather sitting next to you in history class, pulling up his pant leg and saying “Here’s where the damn bullet got me in ‘Nam!”

For fellow students, I’m sure that it’s a little strange but his teammates seem to really like Mink. “They’ve taken to me very nicely, like a grandfather figure.” He said. “When the team travels together, a lot of them don’t know where we’re going, so I’m like a travel guide.”

At 73, Mink has likely seen more than everyone else on the team combined. He’s watched the game that he loves transform completely throughout the decades into the high-flying, long-range sport that it is today. And even though he can’t dunk the ball, a 1950s style one-handed running three-pointer works just fine - and its worth more too.

So with John McCain in a race for the White House and Ken Mink in a race with time, there are very apparent similarities between the two. One huge difference though, is the fact that come January, at least Mink will still be a player, the oldest one in America too.

From harmless pranks to unprintable ones, hazing has always had a place in the realm of college athletics. Usually, it’s the big-time football, basketball, and cheerleading squads getting busted for their treatment of freshmen, but this time it was the members of the University of Wisconsin marching band.
    
The renowned Badgers’ marching band was placed on probation by UW’s chancellor John Wiley after a band member came forward about being pressured into shaving his head.  This report brought forth more accusations and allegations regarding hazing within the band. 

What kind of behavior, you ask?  Well, reports from those close to the situation claim that there was inappropriate acts going on inside the band’s buses during a recent road trip, such as females being forced to kiss other female band members before entering the bus’ bathroom and other musicians’ semi-nude, suggestive dancing that made bandmates feel uncomfortable and unsafe. 

This isn’t the first time that the band has been in hot water, either.  In 2007, the band’s assistant director resigned his position after reports surfaced that criticized his conduct with a female colleague during a band trip to Michigan in 2006.  The university said in a statement that the latest allegations were consistent with the 2006 troublesome behavior. 

“From reports we have received, it has become increasingly clear that certain types of sexualized and hazing behavior are an ingrained part of the band’s culture,” Chancellor Wiley said in a statement posted on the university’s website. “We will not provide an ongoing venue for this inappropriate and demeaning behavior. There is no reason to pretend that this is simply high-spirited fun.”

What do you think—harmless hijinks or horrendous hazing? Post a comment and let us know!

I remember the day during my freshman year at Wagner College when my roommate and I bypassed the crowded dorm elevator to sprint up nine flights of steps to our room in order to catch the live airing of the O.J. Simpson verdict on TV.

More than a decade later, O.J. Simpson is heading to court yet again in a highly publicized trial, this time to face robbery and kidnapping charges.

One would think that after getting acquitted from double murder charges, “The Juice” would have gone to live on some obscure little island somewhere and stay out of the news. Instead, it seems that the Heisman Trophy® winner of 1968 just can’t stay out of trouble.

While USC has undoubtedly by now disowned the former running back as one of its star alums, it has six other Heisman winners of whom to be proud. No wonder USC remains a top choice for NFL hopefuls.

1965  Mike Garrett
1979 Charles White
1981 Marcus Allen
2002 Carson Palmer
2004 Matt Leinart
2005 Reggie Bush

Don’t forget about Ohio State, Florida, and Florida State; they have each had multiple Heisman winners during the past 20 years.