[The Poet]

Two stories of note, one sad and one sadly shockingly unsurprising:

Sixteen-year-old Indiana high school star Austin Hatch, a recent recruit accepted by the University of Michigan, is in a drug-induced coma while he attempts to recover from brain swelling following an airplane crash on Friday. His father, Stephen Hatch, was the pilot, and both he and Austin's stepmother Kim were killed in the crash. The elder Hatch was also the pilot in a 2003 crash which Austin survived, but which killed his mother and two siblings. Although there are some encouraging signs that Austin's condition is improving, it is still too early to state that he will recover, or even survive.

Meanwhile, in Lexington KY, the University of Kentucky has announced it has given John Calipari a new 8-year contract worth $36.5 million, plus incentives. This announcement follows Calipari's proposal made last week that UK should champion a drive to persuade 63 other teams to flee the NCAA and form their own multi-division league, thus freeing them of the restrictive rules and regulations of that governing body, which would allow them (for instance) to award their athletes a stipend of $3,000 - $5,000 per annum in spending money . . . which Cal likely has on him at any given moment.