The Hundred Yard Lie: The Corruption of College Football

``Bad things are happening'' to college football, according to former Sports Illustrated writer Telander ( Heaven Is a Playground ), and he explains here why the sport has reached such a lamentable pass. The crux of the problem, he argues, is hypocrisy--on the part of colleges, which claim they are producing ``student athletes,'' when they are cheating players academically; coaches, who assert they are building character when, instead, they care only about winning; boosters, who help colleges ``buy'' the best talent; and the NCAA, which produces little but sanctimonious platitudes in defense of a corrupt system. Telander's plans to remedy matters include establishing professional teams of 18-to-22-year-old non-students, headquartered at colleges, with no undergraduates allowed on the teams. His righteous indignation is infectious and potent. (Oct.)