Bodog Beat

When college football coach Rich Rodriguez left West Virginia to take over at Michigan, his contract stipulated that he had to pay a $4 million buyout penalty. Now, his lawyers are saying that he shouldn't have to pay it, and they're saying it in a rather stupid way.

"It's like back before the Civil War when slaves had the right to buy their freedom," said Marv Robon, one of Rodriguez's lawyers. "A penalty of $4 million is almost like a slave from Africa trying to buy his freedom in America. I think it's an outrageous amount. It's just not fair and it's not related to any damages the university is suffering."

No hyperbole there. Not at all.

As A.J. Daulerio over at Deadspin writes, "This is exactly the type of oppressive behavior Dr. King devoted his life to eliminating."

Football futures