The money's not just for admission to their showcase tournaments, either. College coaches are often forced to shell out extra for packets of information that sometimes don't even include the recruits' jersey numbers, writes The New York Times' Pete Thamel. It's a surcharge of, oh, $300. Just an average day at the local gymnasium.

Some coaches — Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings and Yale's James Jones, notably — went on the record to decry the shady entrepreneurs. The ones with clout — Mike Krzyzewski, Ben Howland, Thad Matta and Tom Izzo, among them — declined to comment. Which is a shame, because while they lobby behind closed doors, they could also take a more public stand. It's not like the NCAA will. After all, this is a bureaucracy that requires four years to potentially paint a 24-inch arc on a basketball court.

"That's exactly what's wrong with our business," Stallings said. "There's a mentality where coaches want to cover themselves and not get out there and say what's right and call out the people that are wrong.

"That's precisely why things are the way they are. That's why we have culture issues in our game. It's a darn shame. The people who could have influence and do have a voice, they choose not to use it because it doesn't help them. They don't want anything unsettling their smooth little boat ride."

Good thing they're surrounded by water. There's plenty of slime to wash off.

Who's That On The Court? [New York Times]
Yet another way AAU types scam coaches [The Dagger]
Another Prerequisite For Referees [Deadspin]

• During testimony, the two women claimed that Frost had a Sven Gali-like hold over their boyfriends, and in fact controlled all aspects of their lives. Such assertions are nothing new when it comes to Frost (see Danton, Mike, below).

• On that note, the two players testified as witnesses...for Frost. Frost's lawyer also insinuated that one of the women imagined the whole thing, and that the women colluded on their testimony (the latter charge apparently held some sway with the judge).

• Frost did not testify at trial. But after the verdict was read, he had this pleasant little exchange with the sister of one of the women: Sister: Scumball! Frost: Go fuck yourself.

• During argument, the defence conceded that hockey players are no strangers to group sex. In his verdict, the judge stated that the trial, "exposed a dark and very unhealthy side of hockey."

• You may remember Frost from the whole insane Mike Danton story. You remember Mike Danton, don't you? He was the St. Louis Blues player who hired a hitman to kill Frost, his former agent and junior hockey coach, a crime for which he is currently incarcerated. I'm not even going to get into the layers of insanity in that story, but there's a nice account here.

• The trial took place in Napanee, Ontario, which is the hometown of...you guessed it...Avril Lavigne.

Essentially, the judge found that the Crown Attorney failed to meet the requisite burden of proof for a conviction on any of the charges. So Frost is now free to keep doing...whatever the hell Frost does in his day-to-day life. Frankly, I'd just as soon not know.

Frost acquitted on all sexual exploitation charges [CBC]
David Frost acquitted of sexual exploitation charges [Toronto Star]
The Bizarre World of Mike Danton [Art Voice]