The NCAA’s no good, very bad week

Realignment commanded all sorts of negative attention. For once, the NCAA could exhale. But nope, it had to make ridiculous eligibility decisions. And poke the bear that is Jim Harbaugh, too.

Jim Harbaugh and Michigan must be amused by the NCAA’s recent approach.

What’s that old saying? The only you can (bleep) this up is by (bleeping) up.

The NCAA just (bleeped) it up.

Again and again.

When it was finally out of the negative spotlight.

All of the national attention this month had been on conference realignment. All of the public’s anger had been directed toward league commissioners and school presidents who recently threw away hundreds of years of traditions for the almighty dollar, jeopardizing plenty of rivalries and trivializing student-athlete welfare in the process.

The NCAA, for once, had nothing to do with this.

For all of the arrows thrown the governing body’s way, the association could sit back this month, enjoy a brief period out of the crosshairs and count down the days till the fall sports season kicked off — a four-month distraction, if you will, from all of the issues facing college sports.

But nope. The NCAA had to step in it, in ways both big and small, and certainly in ways that were avoidable.