Ride on, Man of La Mancha.

THE STORY EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT
Windmill Tilting Never Goes Out of Style

‘Round these parts, we appreciate anyone willing to take on the impossible opponent - the higher seed when it is loser-go-home, the 7′2″ center when the ball comes off the glass, or our mother-in-law when it’s time to leave for any event. (We kid, MM.) In the sports world, there are two great mountains that cannot be challenged - the NCAA, and Ticketmaster, both relying on the other to extort the greatest rents out of you, humble fan.

Which is why it’s all the more impressive that a group of fans, led by Tom George of Arizona, is taking on both dragons in the same lawsuit, claiming that the NCAA and Ticketmaster are illegally operating a gambling operation (!!) through their lottery ticket distribution system.

“Defendants’ scheme requires Plantiff and putative class members to purchase one or more entries for the chance to win the right to purchase tickets to a particular tournament game(s). This scheme satisfies all three elements of a lottery: (1) a prize, (2) an element of chance, and (3) consideration for the chance to win the prize. The consideration is the entry fee and the free use of applicants’ capital, and the prize is the right to purchase game tickets at face value. An element of chance exists because the winning entries are chosen by an (allegedly) random drawing, and not all entries can win,” the lawsuit states.

Full complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, available here. We would comment more thoroughly on the merits of the action, but our bar review course hasn’t gotten to any of the relevant substantive topics yet. All we can say now is that the suit was filed properly in this particular court. It’s going to be a long summer.

FOUR STORIES WORTH ONE LINE APIECE

The Waters Just Got Testy in Chapel Thrill - Yeah, that whole theory that Ellington, Lawson, and Green would dabble in the draft but return to school? Don’t count on it. Pardon us while we dance a jig. (More on at least one of those players later.)

Might We Suggest Conference Branding That Doesn’t Invoke Shots With Lime Juice? - The presidents and athletics directors of the SoCon - that which contains Appalachian State, your three-time defending I-AA football champs, and Davidson, your not-really-Cinderella Elite Eight participants from last year - have no idea what to do with the money (direct via NCAA payouts and indirect via exposure) their recent success will garner.

This is a Reality We’re Unprepared For - In a move that can only be described as conscious-shocking, the University of Rule Violations Oklahoma now says that local businesses can employ no more than five Sooner athletes at a time. From the school that defined “if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’”, this counts as a Category 5 crackdown.

Right, That’s Why We’re Doing This - To round out an overly lawyaly-roundup, we present the following sad fact - Indiana spent more than $200k on legal fees dealing with Kelvin Sampson’s employment this year alone. That figure is incredibly disheartening - it took $200k to fire a guy everyone knew needed to be fired - but, ya know, don’t bite the hand that feeds.