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Defending the NCAA
Outside the Lines (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, ESPN)
ESPN.com
The Sporting Life with Jeremy Schaap (Friday, 10 p.m., ESPN Radio)
 

This profile of NCAA President Mark Emmert looks at the 58-year-old former University of Washington president and political science professor, the issues facing the NCAA, and his personal campaign to improve its image. One issue examined is the paying of student athletes. Tom Farrey reports.

“People believe that every university plays sports because they make money at it. Well, 14 schools out of the 1,100 last year actually had positive cash flow out of intercollegiate athletics. It’s anything but a money-making proposition for universities and colleges.” – Mark Emmert, NCAA president

“I personally think that it’s the greatest injustice in American sports, that we have these people that everyone loves to watch on TV and in person, and that we adore them and adulate them, but we do not let them benefit from all of the money that they generate in any way near the way that we would if there was a market system in place.” – Andrew Schwarz, anti-trust economist

“I can only imagine what it must feel like to look up there and see thousands of people wearing your jersey, and you’re realizing, ‘Well, that’s nice, but you know what? My mom still needs a ride to work.’ The NCAA can attempt for as long as it manages to hold the line here, but I think at some point there’s just going to be too much pressure. I think even NCAA leaders are going to say, ‘How many zeroes do we have this time around for this tournament? Did you say billion with a B?’ And, ‘Can we in good conscience continue to do this?’” – Mike Gilleran, sports law professor and former West Coast Conference commissioner and NCAA investigator

Showing Rare Faith in Face of Rare Injury
ESPN.com

Jake Peavy’s long road back from a major injury began in a Chicago hospital with a surgeon who had never performed the surgery he needed. Amy Nelson reports on the surgery on Peavy, who tore his right latissimus dorsi tendon completely off the bone.

Greivis Vasquez: From Venezuela to the NBA
ESPN Deportes SportsCenter (Sunday, 11 p.m.)
Reportajes Especiales piece (ESPNDeportes.com)

Halfway through a tough NBA rookie season, Greivis Vasquez identifies the traits and values that have carried him throughout his career. His journey began in his native Venezuela where he dreamed of making buzzer beaters. It continued through a successful college career at the University of Maryland and led him to becoming a first round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.

The lesson of Wes Leonard
ESPN.com

Michigan’s Fennville High Blackhawks won a Class C divisional playoff game Monday night. On Tuesday afternoon, they will bury their friend and teammate, Wes Leonard. As LZ Granderson writes, it just doesn’t seem fair.

Buckets and Bells
College GameDay (Saturday,  noon, ESPN)

Men’s basketball coach Kirk Hanson has 711 wins at Central Bible College, leading the Spartans to 30 national tournaments and three NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) National Championships. What’s his secret?  Coach Hanson would tell you, “handbells.” Three years ago, he took a set of the school’s handbells out of storage, seeing it as an opportunity to get his players to challenge themselves in a new way. They learned to discipline themselves differently, by reading music and counting rhythms. College Gameday has the story of a team — once reluctant – now enthusiastically playing handbells at Sunday morning church services to crowds of more than 1,000 people.