Dear Seth Greenberg,

Really?

You're still asking questions about why your team got left out of the NCAA Tournament, huh?

You've even gone so far as to hire a statistician to crunch some numbers about last four in and last four out over the past decade to see what you can do to schedule better.

I can admire that on some level.

But if you want to know why you were left out this year, here's what you need to look at:

Brown 11-20
UNC Greensboro 8-23
@ Campbell 19-11
Temple 29-5 (loss)
Delaware 7-24
@ Iowa 10-22
Georgia 14-17
VMI 10-19
@ Penn State 11-20
Charleston Southern 13-17
UMBC 4-26
Longwood 12-19
(N) Seton Hall 19-12
North Carolina Central 7-22

Look at that list of teams. You played three sorry BCS programs, two Division 1 independents and a whole lot of subpar low major squads. Your best non-conference wins were Campbell and Seton Hall. You played one tournament team (Temple) and lost by 11 at home.

That's not going to get it done, Seth. That's how you wind up with a non-conference strength of schedule of 339 out of 347.

Now, let's look at Wake Forest. Wake got in. You beat Wake head to head in your one meeting this season on your home court by 4 points. Wake finished one game back of you in fifth place in the ACC and had 4 less wins than you overall.

Wake played:
Oral Roberts 20-13
East Carolina 10-21
High Point 15-15
Winston-Salem 12-17
William & Mary 22-10 (loss)
@ Purdue 27-5 (loss)
@ Gonzaga 26-6
Elon 9-23
@ North Carolina-Wilmington 9-22
@ UNC Greensboro 8-23
Richmond 26-8
Xavier 24-8

Wake played better opponents and actually beat teams that are in the NCAA tournament (Richmond, Xavier, Gonzaga).

I don't want to hear anymore about why you didn't get into the tournament. It seems simple to me, and I think that the research will bear it out:

You need to play better teams than you did this year. The schedule you crafted will not cut it. Maybe a Syracuse or a Duke could pull off that kind of schedule and be given the benefit of the doubt.

But if you're a Virginia Tech, you need to go out and play people. They don't all have to be power conference schools.

They can't be transitional D-1 members and the dregs of single bid conferences, either.

The cynicism of some folks is why I don't read comments

There is a very nice story by ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss about New England Patriots defensive end Ty Warren forgoing a $250,000 bonus by skipping out on the voluntary offseason workout program so he can stay home in Bryan, Texas.

He's staying home so that he can finish is degree from Texas A&M University in agriculture leadership and development.

One of the reasons Warren wants the degree?

"I try to put the kids in the best educational system possible and I think there is something to be said for their father, who has been blessed to play in the NFL and do something he's loved to do, going back and finishing what he started," Warren said from the campus of Texas A&M. "In the big picture, I think it's important for me to do what I'm doing. I can sacrifice that bonus for that."

Yep. He feels it is important to be a role model for his kids, and it is important to him to have his degree and finish what he started.

I found it refreshing. It's a great story, and he is scheduled to walk this spring. Congratulations to Mr. Warren.

What happened, though, is that I clicked on the comments for this story. I normally don't read comments on articles because usually they add absolutely nothing to the debate.

But for a heartwarming story such as this, I figured why not? I assumed that people would respond positively to this story.

Boy, was I wrong.

Sure, there were people who were encouraging to Warren for going back to school and working towards bettering himself and getting ready for life after his playing days are over.

However, I was stunned by the negative comments I read as well.

The very first comment that was posted:

You have a job and a commitment to the team to be there. Get to work.

Um, it's the voluntary offseason program. That's V-O-L-U-N-T-A-R-Y. It means not required. Which is why Warren would have gotten the bonus if he had decided to show up. It was incentive to go, but he declined the financial incentive to focus on his degree.

Other negative comments, to me:

he should workout, collect his 250,000 and then go back to school if there actually is a lockout.

Haha..maybe he can take a class in finance and know that this is a bad financial decision. You can always take classes online or structure them around the offseason program. He could have his degree and get the bonus.

Maybe someone needs to tell this mental midget that its no longer 1990 and degrees aren't worth the paper they are written on. MBA's are barely worth anything these days b/c of the scores and score of people with them that are out of work. This is a fact.

Life after football requires money, not a Bachelor's degree. he can wait on his degree, and if he gets cut, then he has an additional $250,000 to take care of bills while he gets his degree.

If he wanted to teach his kids the value of education, that is fine and extremely important, but he should also teach his kids about reality, the economy, and the value of good and logical decision making.

Passing up $250,000, regardless of how big your signing bonus is, to put working on your degree off a year is ridiculous and the furthest thing from a smart choice.

Sad that we live in a world like this, but it is what it is. Just look at how many athletes are bankrupt within 10 years of their last professional play. Look at how many lose their fortunes on failed investments or chasing the rush of being an athlete through business. The story has been written countless times.

I would say the guy who is giving up $250,000 and who is one hit away from not being able to spell 'degree' let alone earning one is probably the mental midget.

I think that's enough.

When did we become this cynical?

How can anyone view an education as something that should be scoffed at?

How can anyone say that there is no value in better oneself and fulfilling a personal goal?

That he should take the $250,000 bonus (which will be eviscerated by taxes anyway) instead of pursuing his degree so that he can do community work?

Ty Warren received a healthy signing bonus with his last contract, and I have a feeling that he's not the type that is blowing it on parties and buying liquor for the entire club on a regular basis. Not if he's living in Bryan, Texas in the offseason.

From the quotes in Reiss's story, Warren seems to have a plan for his life after football, and he thinks a degree is the best route to get him there.

Kudos to him.

And shame on those cynical observers who think that this is a dumb move.