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		THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT WACO Jeff Edwards As an alumnus of Baylor University who enjoys the occasional vitriol-spew about various subjects, what better target than my alma-mater?İ I took to this task some weeks ago, but quickly found that events were moving too rapidly for my poison pen to keep up.İThe dust has settled a bit, although questions remain concerning the viability of the Uni's leadership, but perhaps now is the time to draw a line in the sand and vent. What is it about the little patch of land 100 miles to the south of Dallas that invites such lunacy, fanaticism and outright weird behavior?İI feel qualified to speak upon these matters, having spent four very long and semi-coherent years in Waco, TX attending the largest Sunday School in the southwest.İYes, we make jokes about it, but remember that jokes usually contain an element of truth.İ In this case, that is akin to saying that Lake Waco contains an element of water. Let us forget for a moment that a man named Koresh once lived just outside Waco and captured headlines all across the country whilst flame-broiling in his little fortress.İ I was there - in Waco.İLet us put aside for just a moment Kenneth McDuff, the latest and most bloody of the murderous lunatics that seem to gravitate to central Texas.İ I was there - in Waco.İForget about the rest of Waco for a moment, focus on Baylor itself.İ The previous Baylor basketball scandal involved the staff of coach Darrell Johnson and violations that led to the firing/resignation of said coach.İI was there - in Waco.İ (As a sidenote to that - let this serve as a lesson - good basketball teams in Waco tend to denote red flags that even communist China would think are too large.) Perhaps the remainder of the country outside of the Republic of Texas is not privy to the same sports-talk radio discussion that we enjoy here.İ Since the very breaking of the Dennehy disappearance and murder saga, not an hour goes by that one can avoid hearing of this.İ For us Baylor alums, this leads to the unpleasant consequence of being told continually that our school really screwed up and is in trouble now. Did I miss something here?İ I do not remember ever playing basketball for the little mission on the shores of the Brazos.İI went to Baylor simply because they hung a full-tuition scholarship in front of me for academic prowess.İThe fact that it was a Baptist University, was located in Waco, had/lacked an athletic program or had buildings built with red bricks mattered to me exactly zero. Half of my time at Baylor, I was too busy studying.İThe other half, I was too busy drinking.İThe fact that there was a basketball team surfaced from time to time if there was absolutely nothing else to do on a Tuesday night - often the case in Waco. They won a game?İ Cool!İ Let's go get some beer. They lost?İ Bummer.İ Let's grab some bourbon instead. This is the big point that needs to be printed in the alumni newsletter, Waco Tribune Herald, sports page of the Dallas Morning News and every other appropriate forum - basketball is so far off the radar for Baylor alums like me as to be insignificant.İIn answer to all those who tell me that we might need to drop out of the Big 12 now to avoid the immense pressure of winning, let me share something with you : I DON'T CARE AND NEVER WILL. Look, a life has been lost in all this and led to a big investigation of the athletic program at Baylor.İThis is tragic and sad.İTo the NCAA I simply say this - please go ahead and give the basketball program the stiffest penalty possible.İ When you're done there, go take a look at football.İ I, for one, would like nothing better than to vacate the Big 12.İSure, the money is nice and supports my vaunted academic programs, but just for once I would like to look in the paper and see that Baylor is once again beating Rice 72-7 in football once each season.İEnough of the big pond - find us a nice kiddie pool where we can gulp down a few guppies every once in a while. Quit scheduling Notre Dame as a pre-season football opponent for the sake of exposure.İThere is indeed such a thing as bad press. Just ask J-Lo and Ben how the publicity storm about "Gigli" worked out for them. One figure in all this who initially appeared to be most tragic, but is less and less tragic and more and more sleazy as time passes, is the coach - Dave Bliss.İFor what it's worth, I admired Bliss.İHe seemed like the type of guy who could bring a good moral, Christian character to the team while turning them around from the cellar to.well.not the cellar.İThe team wasn't great.İThey weren't going to the tournament. They were no longer sitting at the bottom of the standings year after year, though.İThat alone is something, one would think.İ Regardless, Bliss wore his religion and his supposed commitment to morality on the same sleeve that now wipes away the tears of regret.İBliss hurt his team, the school and even the religion he espouses so regularly. As soon as the disappearance and murder case began, Bliss held some responsibility.İNo, he probably could not have saved the man's life, but he knew these young men better than most.İThe fact that there is now evidence - which he does not dispute - that he attempted to cover up facts during a murder investigation is so unspeakably contrary to his previous public persona that is makes one hope that he has either a split personality or some sort of demon possession.İThese would at least account for the 180 degree shifts in ethics based on which audience he is addressing.İThe saddest fact of all remains intact.İBliss is a free-agent now after his resignation and will likely be signed someday in the future by another desperate program.İMy personal hope is that he will be unavailable due to a contractual obligation to the Texas Penal League. As President Sloan makes his way across the country to push the "Baylor İ2012" program of academic and spiritual excellence, he now must deal with questions about basketball.İNot funding, not religious tolerance, not research grants - none of the items that matter and should be asked about. Basketball.İAdditionally, his fitness to govern the school is now called into question after the resignation of both Bliss and the AD.İI am far from a Sloan fan, but I am willing to believe that he was focused on the academic side of the equation.İHis harshest critics, however, are using this opportunity to oust the man for lack of action. Hey Dr. Sloan, don't let it get you down.İLook at Harvard and Yale.İHardly basketball and football powerhouses, are they?İ But where would you rather send your budding lawyer of an offspring - Harvard or Kansas?İNothing against the Jayhawks, but that's like asking Jerry Springer if he would rather do a show starring physicists or lesbian strippers. So again I appeal to the NCAA.İPlease take down the program. Dismantle it. Give us alumni nothing to apologize for and nothing to hide.İLet us get on with creating an institution that actually encourages scholars - not one that pretends to compete.İWe are in a conference that is too big for us simply because a certain ex-governor and ex-Baylorite decided that the Waco bastion of limited free-thought (as long as you pray like we do) needed inclusion.İPlease, to all involved - faculty, staff, NCAA, athletic mavens, boosters, other alums - clean the house with a high-powered fire-hose so that I can take my Baylor U t-shirts out of storage and wear them in public again without fear of strangers asking me about basketball, murder and subversion of justice. ----- A Texan, Jeff is known to grace us with his charming wit every so often. Visit him on the web at www.cultofjeff.com



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