re: 30 for 30 "Benji" thread...

I agree with you about the U, at least when it came to the ending. At the end, Corben essentially blames the decline of the school's program on Butch Davis, which is idiotic. The teams that Davis put together in the late 90s and early 00s were among the best squads in the history of the sport and gave Larry Coker the opportunity to be the most undeserved national championship winning coach in the history of sports.

As for Benji, I thought it was very good. Definitely one of the top 10 of the 30 for 30 series. I was surprised by the murderer's version of the story. He didn't throw the second guy under the bus at all (really, just the opposite), so I wonder why he agreed to the original plea since it totally screwed over a guy he claims was innocent.

His version of the story doesn't make Benji look any worse in the eyes of most people. I mean, he was a dick to a stranger in a tense moment and talked too much shite. Stop the presses, an elite athlete is kind arrogant at times.

And any rational jury would have found him guilty of second degree murder on his story alone.

The situation is tragic, and while it's great to see a guy like Derrick Rose come from the inner city in worse conditions than Ben Wilson and thrive so immediately, it's interesting to look at the Chicago music scene and see just how little has changed (and probably gotten worse) in the ensuing three decades.

I vaguely recall one of the people on last night's show saying Benji's death was about the 650th murder in Chicago in 1984. I believe the town has about 420 murders so far this year, and while that's obviously not going to reach 1984 levels, there has been a dramatic increase in the past few years.

Also, I agree with everyone who was impressed with the determination and composure of Benji's mom.