With March madness at its peak right now this topic probably doesn’t seem like all that much of a stretch to you, but you might be surprised by the direction this topic is going in…

Should student athletes be paid?

Jalen Rose, ESPN/ABC studio analyst, member of University of Michigan’s Fab Five, and  the writer of this piece seems to think so. And while my first response to that question was an undignified snort, I have to say that after reading his points, I might be reconsidering my stance.

My immediate reaction was absolutely not. Sports are an extracurricular activity that students choose to take part in. Just like the school paper or honors societies or student government. They do is because they enjoy it. Or if they don’t have a love of the game, they’re often very good at the game, and they do it because they get a scholarship for playing that game. Full tuition paid? A free education? That was their payment. What more could they possibly need?

But Rose offers some good points.  He argues that being a student athlete is a full time job. (CollegeCandy reader and student athlete, Chelsea, agrees.) Rigorous training schedules, practices, and games take up the majority of these students’ time, far more time than most other extracurricular activities take up.  And the free time they do have is often spent in class or studying for classes. They do have to maintain a respectable GPA, after all. Rose points out something we all know but never seem to truly grasp: student athletes don’t have much free time.  And as the sister of someone who played high school football for four years, I have to agree. If high school football left my brother without much time to do anything but eat, sleep, and breathe football, then I can’t even imagine the demands that come along with being on a college team.

As a result, these students are left without time for a part time job, and have no means of making any money in college, all while colleges everywhere make lots and lots of money off of them. (Just look at all the money spent and earned during March Madness.) Granted, not every college student works, but some need to. While universities often provide their student athletes with full scholarships, if a student’s family cannot afford to give the athlete spending money, he or she is left without any means of paying for those necessary living expenses that always come up. Laundry. Food that doesn’t come from the cafeteria. School supplies. New clothes. Books. These are expenses that need to be taken care of, and Rose proposes that a $2000-per-semester stipend will do just that.

But what do you propose, ladies? Is the stipend a good idea? Should student athletes be paid at all? Or is getting out of college loan-free enough of a payoff?  Is being a student athlete a full time job? Should there be some sort of need-base system? Or should it be skill-based? And do you think it’s fair that universities, and networks, and brands, and basically everyone but the athletes themselves, are making a profit off of this?

Leave a comment and let us know!

This has been, by far, the craziest NCAA tournament I can ever remember. Every single game so far has increased my blood pressure, spiked my heart rate and probably shaved a few years off my life. If your bracket has survived the madness, props to you; I’m already down a two Final Four teams (I guess that’s what you get for ever having faith in a team from Pittsburgh or Notre Dame). Woof.

After a much needed break to get our heart rates back to normal, the next round of the tournament, the Sweet 16, kicks off this Thursday. Here’s a rundown of everything you need to know before you grab that bucket of wings/anti-anxiety medication and park yourself in front of the TV.

Some of the biggest upsets so far:

Butler over Pitt – I usually wouldn’t give a rat’s *** about anything that came out of Pittsburgh, but when an eight-seeded Butler team knocks out the first number one seed of the tournament, it’s a BFD. Especially since I probably lost a couple hundred dollars thanks to those fools. This was probably one of the weirdest game endings, ever. It came down to foul shots.

VCU over Purdue – I had never even HEARD of VCU before this tournament. The Virginia Commonwealth Rams may be the 2011 Cinderella Story. One of their own players (Jamie Skeen) even said if he was a regular person, he probably wouldn’t have picked VCU to make it to the Sweet 16.

Marquette over ‘Cuse – If you saw Marquette’s reaction at the final buzz, you’d agree with me on this one… I don’t think anyone has ever been more excited to find out they are going to New Jersey.

Games to watch:

Butler/ Wisconsin – Butler is a very, very strong 8-seed. I wouldn’t be surprised if they upset Wisconsin and made it to the Elite 8.

Florida / BYU – The Jimmer isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Going to be a great fast-paced game that you won’t want to miss.

March Madness has nothing to do with the preparations for spring break, daylong drinking holidays like Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day, or studying for midterms. It is about the best three weeks of any sport — the NCAA Tournament. The best of college basketball. Even if you’ve never watched a single minute of any game all season, you can still enjoy the Big Dance. It may be the only thing your friends are talking about the next few weeks so it may be a good idea to learn some important terms.

• Sweet 16/ Elite 8 / Final Four – These are the names of different rounds of the tournament. Throw out these phrases and you may be able to impress some of the testosterone-driven so much they may remove themselves from their TV screens. It’s a long shot, but it couldn’t hurt.

• Bracket – Bracket, bracket, bracket. You’ve definitely heard this word A LOT this week. March Madness is a huge gambling event. People pick their choices to win every game. There is absolutely no science behind this. (I know people who make their picks based on school name, mascot and the uniform colors.) It may be too late to input an official bracket, but you can print one at ESPN or Yahoo Sports and make your own picks for the rest of the games.

• Bracket Buster – The upset game that ruins everyone’s brackets and their chances at a large pool of money. This may mean nothing to you now but Morehead State beating Louisville made a lot of people really, really angry. Think about it as the higher number seed (the worse team) beating the better team (the lower seed). After a really big upset you can say that your bracket is “busted.”

• Kemba Walker – One of the star players on the UConn team and sometimes referred to as King Kemba. Think, Michael Jordan. He is gorgeous to watch on the court as he blows up the boards (scores lots of points) and not bad too look at during his post-game interviews. Mmm.

• Buzzer Beater – The shot taken right before the clock runs out, when the buzzer would sound. It literally beats the buzzer. This mostly refers to the baskets that win or tie a game.

• Cinderella Story – The underdog team that should have lost in the early rounds of the tournament but managed to beat a big name team to advance. And just like Cinderella (and every other Disney princess), you can’t help but root for them.

• Buckeye – As a Penn Stater, I am ingrained to hate everything Ohio State. Ohio State received the overall number 1 seed for the tournament and many think they are favored to win the whole thing. The Buckeye is their mascot… and it’s a nut. SMH.

• The Ship – No, this is not a reference to that large cruise ship you just got off of. The Ship, or the Championship Game, will be held on April 4.

You can check out any of the games on TruTV, CBS, TNT and TBS. This is the first year that every single game is being televised so grab some popcorn, open up a cold beer, and make yourself comfortable on your couch. Or take your new-found knowledge to the bar to impress some sports fans! Either way… let the madness begin.

Meet Disney’s newest child star

One woman’s scavenger hunt to meet Bradley Cooper

Our red carpet faves from the 2011 Woodie Awards

Fashion challenge: boots with shorts!

I have post-traumatic dating disorder

Oh it’s cool to like Tiger Woods now…ooookay

This is the best thing to come out of St. Patrick’s Day

The funniest March Madness thing I’ve ever read

Should guns be allowed on campus?

Household health dangers that are prob in your apt.

After the being struck by the biggest earthquake in recorded history, Japan attempts to clean up. The biggest hurdle right now? The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. The plant was hit hard by the earthquake and has since experienced two explosions, leaving many people worried about a nuclear meltdown that could kill over 10,000 people. People are being evacuated from the power plants, as well as coastlines. And this is only one of the many problems Japan is facing. Not only are thousands stranded without power or water, but with the state of emergency many survivors have over-stocked on food, leaving thousands of others without anything and still waiting for relief.

Apple had a successful weekend with the launch of the new iPad. The iPad2 sold out within hours of being released to the public. Analysts are estimating 400,000 to 600,000 were sold over the past three days, many of which were bought by new users. The iPad 2 is said to be thinner, lighter and much more powerful than it’s predecessor. It also features a camera that is located on the front and back, which is designed to take pictures as well as video conference. Many experts are saying that the iPad2 will continue to fly off the shelves with the price and technology it offers. Once again, Apple products dominate the market.

On Sunday pro-Gadaffi forces took control of more rebel territory. Within a week the government was able to take over two oil ports once controlled by rebels. They plan to continue moving eastward in hopes of claiming more rebel territory, and pledging to retake the rebel capital of Benghazi. Reports of the takeover followed France’s announcement of calling for a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent air strikes by Gadaffi forces. Many are sure that is the right tactic and could spare the lives of many Libyan citizens, but others question if it’s too late. Where does America stand on this? Fearful of more backlash from the Middle East, America hasn’t said much. But Secretary of State Clinton is heading to Paris to meet with opposition leaders today to discuss their options.

It’s that time of year again, college basketball fans! March Madness, the 3-week productivity sucker, is finally here. And there’s a reason this month accounts for $1.8 billion in unproductive wages, what with the hype of this years picks and snubs. Some of the top contenders are: North Carolina, Duke, Kansas and BYU. And some surprising snubs: Colorado, Virgina Tech, Boston College and Alabama. I don’t know about you, but I just can’t wait for all the Cinderella stories. Watch your back, UNC! Make sure to stay up to date with the scores to find out who is in and who is out.

Photo of the week:

The tsunami wave, caused by the 8.6 earthquake off the coast of Japan, hurdles its way through the Japanese coastline. According to experts, the massive earthquake not only completely devastated large parts of Japan but also tilted the earth’s axis, pushed Japan 13 feet closer to the U.S., and shortened the day by a couple millionths of a second.

If you want to help the earthquake/tsunami victims in Japan, it’s never been easier. Click here for a full guide of organizations that need our support. For many, it takes nothing more than a quick text message.

It might be 2010, but here at CollegeCandy we’re still stuck in the ’90s. All you have to do is say Chumbawhumba and we’re off and running on a ’90s nostalgia debate that lasts the entire day. We know we’re not the only people out there that still rock out to N’Sync and still remember the desperation you felt when you lost your favorite Pogs slammer. So instead of constantly arguing amongst the CollegeCandy team, we decided to throw the question out to our readers and choose, once and for all, what is the best thing to come from the ’90s (besides our many devoted readers, of course). And we got some (unexpected) answers back!

Over the past month, we’ve been narrowing down the best of the best of our favorite decade and we’ve had the tough job of saying goodbye to some of our personal favorites: Skip-its, Dunkaroos, Super Nintendo, The Fresh Prince, the Olsen Twins, and every blogger’s original writing tool, the gel pen.

And now, we’re down to the FINAL TWO: Cory and Topanga VS. The Spice Girls. Or more accurately put, the couple that defines the decade and taught us what college marriage really meant vs. the music that had us all yelling GIRL POWER.

This vote will be difficult, it will be challenging, and it will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about yourself. It’s safe to say that it will make Rose’s decision on the Titanic look like child’s play. But that’s why we’re here – to figure out what is the best thing to come from the ’90s.

So vote now, make your voice heard, and check back Thursday for results, as well as a super ’90s interview with one of our bracket finalists!

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It might be 2010, but here at CollegeCandy we’re still stuck in the ’90s. All you have to do is say Chumbawhumba and we’re off and running on a ’90s nostalgia debate that lasts the entire day. We know we’re not the only people out there that still rock out to N’Sync and still remember the desperation you felt when you lost your favorite Pogs slammer. So instead of constantly arguing amongst the CollegeCandy team, we decided to throw the question out to our readers and choose, once and for all, what is the best thing to come from the ’90s (besides our many devoted readers, of course).

So, in the fashion of every guy’s wet dream, March Madness, we’ve created an “I Love the ’90s” bracket. We’ve narrowed down the best of the best of our favorite decade for the past few weeks and now that we’re at the final four, it is starting to get pretty crazy. Like Are You Afraid of the Dark plot line CRAZY. Cory and Topanaga are somehow beating all the odds and climbing their way to the top. The Spice Girls are going against one of the greatest scientific advances of our time…THE TAMAGOTCHI. It’s absolute madness in the CollegeCandy offices as we try to figure out how the gel pen got so far in the game/draw butterflies on each other’s hands with the milky pink one.

But that’s the whole reason we’re doing this and we’re excited to narrow it down even further today. We’re focused on the Final Four, baby. Who’s gonna make it to the LAST ROUND? Anything’s possible (clearly, based on the Cory and Topanga bizness) and we’re just waiting on your vote to see what happens. So vote now and then come back Monday to see who made it to the final round.

See the whole shebang right here.

Ready to vote? Pick your favorite from each match-up below. We’ll tally the scores and let you know who won when we gear up for the next round of votes on Thursday! And don’t forget to take a trip down memory lane and sound off in the comments!

It might be 2010, but here at CollegeCandy we’re still stuck in the ’90s. All you have to do is say Chumbawhumba and we’re off and running on a ’90s nostalgia debate that lasts the entire day. We know we’re not the only people out there that still rock out to N’Sync and still remember the desperation you felt when you lost your favorite Pogs slammer. So instead of constantly arguing amongst the CollegeCandy team, we decided to throw the question out to our readers and choose, once and for all, what is the best thing to come from the ’90s (besides our many devoted readers, of course).

So, in the fashion of every guy’s wet dream, March Madness, we’ve created an “I Love the ’90s” bracket. We’ve been narrowing down the best of the best of our favorite decade for awhile now and it’s getting INTENSE. Zack Morris is OUT. Spice Girls are IN. Clinton and Lewisky CREAMED Pam Anderson’s sex tape. (OK, bad choice of words….)

And somehow, Cory and Topanga are still in the game? WTF?

But that’s the whole reason we’re doing this (it’s a good thing the Olsen twins still have that clothing line….) and we’re excited to narrow it down even further today. We’re focused on the Elite 8 today. Who’s gonna make it to round 6? Will Cory and Topanga be able to take down TGIF? Can the Tamagatchi woop Super Nintendo’s ass? We won’t know until you cast your vote.

So vote now and then come back Thursday you can keep letting us know what is the best thing to ever come from the 1990 and beyond.

Take a closer look at today’s match ups right here.

Ready to vote? Pick your favorite from each match-up below. We’ll tally the scores and let you know who won when we gear up for the next round of votes on Thursday! And don’t forget to take a trip down memory lane and sound off in the comments!

It might be 2010, but here at CollegeCandy we’re still stuck in the ’90s. All you have to do is say Chumbawhumba and we’re off and running on a ’90s nostalgia debate that lasts the entire day. We know we’re not the only people out there that still rock out to N’Sync and still remember the desperation you felt when you lost your favorite Pogs slammer. So instead of constantly arguing amongst the CollegeCandy team, we decided to throw the question out to our readers and choose, once and for all, what is the best thing to come from the ’90s (besides our many devoted readers, of course).

So, in the fashion of every guy’s wet dream, March Madness, we’ve created an “I Love the ’90s” bracket. We’ve been narrowing down the best of the best of our favorite decade for over a week now and things are getting serious. I mean, who knew people loved Cory and Topanga more than N*SYNC? I’m sure I’m not the only one who didn’t see that coming (but I am now wondering when we’ll get a Boy Meets World reunion up in herrrre). And gel pens SMOKING the Bedazzler? I guess milky colors beat out rhinestone studded jackets any day. And maybe that’s a good thing.

But that’s the whole reason we’re doing this (sorry, Doug Funny!) and we’re excited to narrow it down even further today. We’re looking at top 16 choices from all 4 sections. Who’s gonna make it to round 5? Will America’s fave couple (Cory and Topanga) be able to stand up against everyone’s favorite twins? Can the Tamagatchi creep past Skip-it? We won’t know until you cast your vote.

So vote now and then come back every Monday and Thursday this month so you can keep letting us know what is the best thing to ever come from the 1990 and beyond.

Get a closer look at the competition: Entertainment. Trends. Recreation. Events.

Ready to vote? Pick your favorite from each match-up below. We’ll tally the scores and let you know who won when we gear up for the next round of votes on Thursday! And don’t forget to take a trip down memory lane and sound off in the comments!

Voting is closed for round 2. Check out round 3 to sound off on your favorites from the ’90s!

It might be 2010, but here at CollegeCandy we’re still stuck in the ’90s. All you have to do is say Chumbawhumba and we’re off and running on a ’90s nostalgia debate that lasts the entire day. We know we’re not the only people out there that still rock out to N’Sync and still remember the desperation you felt when you lost your favorite Pogs slammer. So instead of constantly arguing amongst the CollegeCandy team, we decided to throw the question out to our readers and choose, once and for all, what is the best thing to come from the ’90s (besides our many devoted readers, of course).

So, in the fashion of every guy’s wet dream, March Madness, we’ve created an “I Love the ’90s” bracket. Thursday we left it up to you to vote on the best recreational things and events from our favorite decade. While we weren’t surprised to see Pogs beat out Devil Sticks, we were mouths-on-the-floor shocked to see Monica Lewinsky beat O.J Simpson by a landslide. Guess presidential sex (or whatever Bill called it) outweighs murder these days.

But that’s the whole reason we’re doing this (sorry, Titanic!) and we’re excited to narrow it down even further today. On this momentous Monday, we’re looking at top 32 choices from all 4 sections. Will AOL Chatrooms beat out Super Nintendo? ‘Can Salute Your Shorts’ possibly win out over TGIF? (Things to consider: Donkey Lips vs. Uncle Joey.) We won’t know until you cast your vote.

So vote now and then come back every Monday and Thursday this month so you can keep letting us know what is the best thing to ever come from the 1990 and beyond.

Get a closer look at the competition: Entertainment. Trends. Recreation. Events.

Ready to vote? Pick your favorite from each match-up below. We’ll tally the scores and let you know who won when we gear up for the next round of votes on Thursday! And don’t forget to take a trip down memory lane and sound off in the comments!

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