Clay Travis does the art of rationalization proud with his piece on the NCAA’s interest in Tennessee’s recruiting practices. He asks some good questions, but he veers into in-the-tank-land with arguments like this one:

And how about using “nearly 200 miles” as the distance instead of writing, “three hours in a car.” Is it really that surprising that a college student would take a road trip of three hours? Especially in the South, for a football game? Is it even that uncommon for someone to drive three hours to watch a sporting event? Nearly 200 miles makes the trip sound much further, especially to east coast readers.

Sure – I mean what college student hasn’t taken a nearly 200-mile (178-mile, sorry) road trip to watch an otherwise meaningless high school game whose only redeeming value is that it features a couple of kids who have committed to play for the college you attend and represent? Though I was one of the rare college students who chose to, you know, remain in a vibrant college town on a Friday night in the fall, I have to admit that it was tempting to pack up and – completely unprompted – head a few hours deep into South Freaking Carolina to show my school spirit.

A deeper look at Travis’s column over at TSK.