When a big time high school athlete gets in trouble, it always seems there's a school out there waiting to pick them up. 

Take, for instance, former Scott County Cardinal Bud Mackey.  You may remember him as the superstar player that led Scott to its second state boys basketball title in 2007, and was all set to sign with Indiana.  Well, at least until he was arrested for trafficking in cocaine within 1000 feet of school grounds.  This is what's called in the high school basketball arena a "problem".

So Mackey quietly beat a hasty retreat from Scott, and after a brief respite at a high school in Atlanta, he's enrolled in Harmony Community School in Cincinnati (because really, who hasn't been in three separate high schools in four months?).

What, you may ask, is Harmony Community School?  Well, that's a good question.  I've been through their website, and for the life of me I'm not quite sure what it is.  It seems to be a prep school of some sort that caters to students with special needs.  And it's not affiliated with the OHSAA.  Nothing wrong with that.  In fact, it might just be a wonderful place for Bud to go.

In it's mission statement, Harmony says that it will "develop a reliable ethical code within each student which generates morally and socially responsible behavior as well as developing a healthy self-esteem".  Yeah, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's a good idea here.  However, this is somewhat conflicted by the rules and regulations listed on the school's athletic website.  Apparently, "...use, sale or possession of drugs and/or related drug paraphernalia..." is grounds for athletic discipline, athletic probation, or athletic expulsion.  Notice that it doesn't say anything about expulsion from the school, just the athletic teams.  Hmmm...

But it's not all about the athletics, you know, and athletic director Deland McCullough (quite the athlete in his own rite) wants you to remember that.

"He's here," McCullough said. "Most importantly, he's in school."

Of course, he'll be ready to dress for this Saturday's game against St. Catherine (Ky).  So it's not all about the game, but if we can jam him in there this weekend, all the better.

It's just one man's opinion, but if my child were going to Harmony, and I found out that they just brought in a student who's been charged with drug trafficking, and those charges stemmed from him having cocaine in his possession, I think I'd be pulling my child out of there pronto.

With the college football season coming to a close last night, the final rankings were relelased today. The Cincinnati Bearcats moved up to 17th in the AP poll and 20th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. This would mark the highest the Bearcats have ever finished in the polls in their 120 years of existence. It was a great season for the Cats as they finished with a 10-3 record, marking only the second time in school history that they would finish with 10 wins in a season. They finished with a perfect record of 6-0 against teams outside the Big East. Their three losses were to Pittsburgh, Louisville and West Virginia. They came within a win over West Virginia of winning the Big East and playing in a BCS bowl game.

This season for the Cats was one that put them in the national spotlight on many occassions and will have them receiving national recognition going into next season as well. They will lose some key players on the defense going into next season. Gone will be the emotional leader and fan favorite, DB Haruki Nakamura. The Cats will also miss DE Anthony Hoke next season. He finished the season with 13 sacks which established a new school record and made him sixth in the country.

What's still up in the air is whether or not QB Ben Mauk will return next season. There is a chance that he could receive another year of eligibility due to medical reasons. If he gets that extra year of eligibility the Cats will have their emotional leader on offense coming back. Mauk finished the season with 31 TD passes, a school record. With his 3,121 passing yards, he became only the third QB in UC history to finish with over 3,000 yards. Should he not be allowed to return next season the team could go back to Dustin Grutza as their signal caller, but that's not a definite either.

UC will return 16 starters next season. Included in that 16 are All-Americans Mike Mickens, Terrill Byrd, and the nation's leading punter, Kevin Huber. Mickens and Byrd will return as leaders of one of the Big East's best defensive squads, and one of the best in the nation. They finished the season tied in the country in takeaways with 42 and they ranked 13th in scoring defense (18.8 ppg). The Bearcats also finished 16th in scoring offense.

A sensational season in UC football ended with a PapaJohns.com bowl win against Southern Mississippi. As a fan of the program as well as an alum of the university, I am pleased and proud of what Brian Kelly was able to accomplish in just his first season as the head coach. He has helped to bring the team national recognition. He got them in the top 25 after just six games and kept them there for most of the rest of the season. A lot will be expected of Kelly and the football team next season. Their road schedule will be a tough one as they have to play at West Virginia, Louisville and UCONN in Big East action. The biggest road test for the Bearcats will come outside of conference play when they play Oklahoma in Norman, OK. I, for one, am looking forward to that game. The home schedule will see out of conference games against Miami (OH) and Eastern Kentucky and Big East action against Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Florida and Syracuse. Spring practices start in just a couple months...I can't wait!