You’ve probably heard this before, but the NCAA is awful. If you’re reading this, you’re probably tied to Penn State in one way or another, so you already know this. You have also probably called for more people to be critical of the NCAA, and if you read or watched ESPN yesterday on the one year anniversary of the NCAA sanctions, you saw a four-piece package from Outside the Lines that was quite tough on NCAA President Mark Emmert. For those who didn’t check out ESPN, well, here you go:

“Poll: Should NCAA modify PSU sanctions?“

This is hardly a new topic: people have been bickering over the length of the sanctions every since Mark Emmert said that the NCAA may make the penalties against Penn State harsher if they don’t comply, but made no mention of shortening them if PSU was compliant. Today, ESPN’s Big Ten blog polled readers, asking if they believed the sanctions should be “modified or reduced,” and 75 percent of voters voted in favor of potentially modifying the sanctions.

Of course, this poll is hardly scientific, and the comment section features gems like “Guilty guilty Psu can burn,” but it’s still an encouraging sign, especially when you consider a national audience voted.

“Selective enforcement?”

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the NCAA isn’t exactly the most consistent governing body when it comes to punishing universities for rules violations (see: North Carolina, Oregon). This Outside the Lines piece on Concordia University shows just that.

It’s impossible to completely sum up the entire article, but here’s a Cliffnotes version: former Concordia University-Chicago baseball coach Spiro Lempesis was fired for having a relationship and filming himself having intercourse with player, who says he was told if he did the videos, Lempesis would ensure pro scouts notice him as a player. Lempesis then sent those videos to a “friend in the porn business” in exchange for money. Those videos helped pay for the player’s equipment and travel.

Concordia passed the findings of their investigation on to the NCAA in November of 2010. The NCAA proceeded to do nothing, although there is an “ongoing investigation” according to Emmert. Take that however you like.

Penn State also gets a section at the bottom, where ESPN cites “at least seven former enforcement directors or staffers” who  believe there was “no violation of NCAA rules” at Penn State.

“NCAA’s Emmert at crossroads”

People are calling out the NCAA, Emmert, and its governance structure. Not people like you and me, but BCS Commissioners. Even people within the NCAA are upset with how the NCAA has run under Emmert’s watch, saying things like, “it’s been one misstep after another.”

Of course, Emmert is undeterred — when asked if he wanted a mulligan on any decision in the last three years, he said, “I can’t think of one decision, no — if that is what you are asking” — and the NCAA Executive Committee has his back. Regardless, Emmert is coming under fire, and lots of it.

Hey, speaking of Mark Emmert…

“Mark Emmert on Penn State, NCAA”

Mike Fish of Outside the Lines sat down with the NCAA president for a Q&A on the sanctions against Penn State and the overall structure of the NCAA. It features a lot of Emmert throwing the NCAA Executive Committee/Board of Directors under the bus, along with Emmert constantly looking bad. He is also asked whether or not he thinks the sanctions against the school may be revisited. His response sucks.