For a while there Monday night, it looked like the University of Michigan Wolverines were cruising to a NCAA basketball national championship. Then Louisville's Luke Hancock scored 14 straight points and the game kind of got away from Michigan.
What happened?
The Detroit Free Press jinxed it, that's what happened.
Like referencing a no-hitter in the middle of a no-hitter, the Freep clearly angered the universe by producing a book about the Wolverines tournament run that must have been titled before Monday's game was over. There simply isn't any other explanation for the existence of "Blue Heaven: The A-Maize-Ing Story of the Michigan Wolverines' Return to Glory -- and Their Second NCAA Title!," now available for preorder on Amazon.
Probably they let Mitch Albom name the book and he just assumed they'd win when he turned in the title last Thursday afternoon.
Too soon? Maybe but you'd think after the unpleasantness of 2005, the Free Press would be especially careful with all college basketball tournament-related ventures.
Hometown hubris and a desire to facilitate commerce above all else has been the undoing of many would-be champions. Clearly, we can add the Michigan Wolverines to that list. Thanks, Free Press!
UPDATE: According to USA Today (a Gannett-owned paper like the Free Press): The Free Press issued statement that the listing of the book was an error: “We're very sorry for this mistake,” the statement reads. “The Free Press had been preparing a fantastic book to publish should Michigan win the national title, and an error with our book publisher caused the promotion for the book to be displayed on Amazon. The book was never finished and never published. Our publisher is working with Amazon to make sure it gets removed. Hopefully at this time next year, however, we WILL be publishing either a book on Michigan or Michigan State winning the 2014 national title.
USA Today also raised an important ethical point similar to an issue Darrell Dawsey recently discussed: While the Free Press could have profited from a potential Michigan national championship, and countless others are currently profiting from Louisville's title, the players on the court Monday night cannot.
The Free Press, of course, should be free to profit from their work covering college sports or anything else. The difference here is that, unlike participants in "everything else," college athletes are not allowed to publish their own books or otherwise profit from public interest.
As (ahem) student-athletes, the players aren't even eligible for worker's compensation or university-provided health insurance from the university they represent on a national stage. In fact, most athletic scholarships can be pulled for any reason and without cause.
As American Literature's greatest pitcher Henry "Author" Wiggen once famously wrote across his contract: "I was taught in school where slavery went out when Lincoln was shot."
