and this...is Auburn on the really good drugs

I usually dismiss this sort of carp out of hand. When some black guy claims racism because a non-black person gets selected for something they believe a black person should be getting, they throw down that card. This happens a lot in sports when it comes to jobs, and in particular, black football coaches, either in college or the NFL. It used to be big when deciding on starting quarterbacks in the NFL, but that argument's been pretty much squashed.

I usually ignore it because I find it hard to believe someone would do that on purpose. Why on earth would an organization cheat itself of a better chance to win based on skin color? The concept is ridiculous to me. I have to admit though, on the surface it looks like Chuck Barkley has a point. Now, I have to step back a little, because this is Auburn we're talking about. This is the same school that fired Tommy Tuberville, one of the best coaches in college football, because he had a bad year, and because some football booster with money doesn't like him.

Still, they replaced Tommy with Gene Chizik, the coach at Iowa State. Chizik's record there is an unimpressive 5-19. He's not exactly a winner. Turner Gill, who Barkley thinks should get the job, took a losing program and turned it around, making it a conference champion. Chiziki's white. Gill is black. So far, like I said, it looks like Barkley has a point. Then, however, you have to factor in the firing that created the whole opportunity for Chizik or Gill to get this job. Remember that Auburn fired Tuberville, who is head and shoulders above both of these guys and white. From there, you can only come to one conclusion. None of this has much to do with skin color. None of it has much to do with any kind of logic at all. Someone at Auburn just got ahold of the really good drugs, and they're on one helluva month long high.