Todd Graham (R) of the Arizona State Sun Devil poses with Vice President for Athletics Lisa Love (L) at a press conference introducing him as the new head football coach at Sun Devil Stadium on December 14, 2011 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

I feel for the football players at the University of Pittsburgh. After being jerked around for the past year with instability at the coaching helm, their former head coach Todd Graham sucker-punched Pitt players with a shocking announcement that he�d accepted the Arizona State coaching through, wait for it�.a text message.

Even Kim Kardashian has delivered better break-up messages.

As Andrea Adelson, a ESPN college football blogger and former Orlando Sentinel columnist, astutely pointed out, Graham gutted the essence of Pittsburgh�s football philosophy, delivered big promises only to underwhelm with a 6-6 record and then bolted at the first opportunity of advancement after just one listless season.

Sure, Graham is totally within his rights to leave. But something feels wrong about how the NCAA allows coaches to career hop, but has rules in place which discourage athletes for transferring, even if they�ve been dumped by coaches and administrators.

You can sense the pain and frustration in the tweets from Pittsburgh players Devin Street and Brandon Lindsey when reading their tweets.

Devin Street, a wide receiver, said he felt �like dirt� and �literally sick.�

�That man pulled me in his office one on one and lied to me�

�If y�all say we can�t get mad..Y�all are crazy you grown men out there how would you feel if you been lied to and used.�

Brandon Lindsey, a defensive end added, �For someone who said they read the bible everyday, he must�ve missed the pg that said �thou shall not lie�.�

Generally, I�d prefer athletes keep their thoughts to a minimum on social media, particularly the 140-character, career-killing twitter. But they were justified in voicing their opinions here because Graham left them with no better options of communication.

It�s a shame the NCAA allows 20-something-year old �amateur� athletes to be held to a higher standard of accountability than the adults who are making millions off of their talent.

Perhaps, the NCAA could enforce a rule that demands a head coach give some type of time commitment, possibly a minimum three-years, from a head coach to their respective school barring fireable offenses and circumstances. Considering the fact that these rule committees are largely made up of college presidents, one would think it would be in their favor to move for this action.

In college sports, particularly football and basketball, the head coaches are the stars, not the athletes. So what�s wrong with demanding a little more integrity from these people?

Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry, speaks debate at the Sioux City Convention Center on December 15, 2011 in Sioux City, Iowa. Getty Images

To phrase a played out television series, the �Tim Tebow� show has officially jumped the shark.

Texas Gov. and Presidential hopeful Rick Perry pulled the Tim Tebow card during a Republican debate in Sioux City, Iowa Thursday night sparking a round of animated applause from the audience. Perry was asked if he�d be able to handle debating President Barack Obama especially given his standing in the polls and the Texas Gov. responded, �I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses.�

�There are a lot of folks that said Tim Tebow wasn�t going to be a very good NFL quarterback. There are people that stood up and said well, he doesn�t have the right throwing mechanisms, or he doesn�t � you know, he is not playing the game right. You know, he won two national championships, and that looked pretty good.

We�re the national champions in job creation back in Texas. But am i ready for the next level? Let me tell you � I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses.�

I can�t decide if Perry�s Tebow reference was funny or just lame. What do you think?

A way with words. The always-talkative Charles Barkley (right) has an outlet for his talent. Also pictured with TNT host Ernie Johnson.

Everyone�s favorite NBA personalities chatted on a TNT hosted conference call Thursday afternoon and the guys engaged in a very interesting dialogue about the future of Dwight Howard and the handling of the Orlando Magic�s superstar by general manager Otis Smith.

In summary, TNT�s Charles Barkley thinks Magic GM Otis Smith isn�t getting enough credit for his attempts to keep Dwight Howard while Shaquille O�Neal and Kenny Smith believe the Otis Smith hasn�t done enough to keep Howard involved in trade talks.

You�ll recall Dwight Howard called out Otis Smith Saturday for not involving him enough in previous trade decisions, which Otis Smith later denied. I wrote a column about this topic Tuesday after the Magic�s media day this Monday.

Check out highlights from today�s lively conversation after me and Sentinel Magic writer Josh Robbins posed questions about the Magic�s Dwight dilemma.

Charles Barkley � I think everybody is being unfair to Otis Smith to a certain degree. He don�t want Dwight to leave and it ain�t like they ain�t trying to get him some help. They made a bunch of trades that just didn�t work, but they�re trying. Great players don�t grow on trees.

In fairness to Otis, Dwight should have went to him privately. I don�t think Dwight should have gone on TV and said they need to run these trades by me. I don�t think any player, I played against Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, I don�t ever remember any of those guys saying well I want the team to [run this by me]. Should they do it? Yeah, they probably should do it, he�s earned that. But Dwight actually did come out first. He could have did that to Otis privately.

Kenny Smith � I don�t think players should have that right, but it�s always happened in the history of the game. I remember Magic Johnson saying he doesn�t want to play for certain coaches. I remember Michael Jordan saying he doesn�t want to play for certain coaches that were there and that�s how Phil Jackson got the job. I remember Hakeem Olajuwon asking to be traded, I remember Kobe Bryant asking to be traded so this is not unfamiliar territory in NBA history, it�s just how it�s handled to make it familiar. You have to understand the temperament of today�s athlete and the ability that they have to do that and to send move when they�re a free agent. If I don�t want my free agent to move, I have to swallow my pride and say you know what maybe he�s right. C�mon in here Dwight, let�s go talk.

Ernie Johnson � How much damage has been done to that relationship right now?

Shaquille O�Neal � I think a lot. I�m watching these interviews and he doesn�t look happy. Otis doesn�t look happy. Everybody�s thinking about what the next move is. Business wise, Chuck is right. You have to meet with Dwight and say what are you gonna do. You can�t string us along. If you want to leave, we have to get some pieces for you. Because if you let this guy leave and don�t get anything in return, I think it�ll be�(Barkley cuts off)

Charles Barkley � Dwight has to be honest Ernie. If he�s going to leave, just tell them and then it won�t be a bad relationship.

Shaq also posed the question if Dwight Howard is mature enough to be included in those conversations concerning Magic trade moves, but had this to say earlier in response to what the Orlando Magic should do regarding Dwight Howard.

�One, I think they should show him a little bit more respect and two they should really get another dominant player in there. If you look at the history of the league especially in the last 10 years, you have had a definite 1-2 punch and right now Orlando you only have a one punch,� Shaq said. �No one can really do it by themselves, but you have Otis getting on TV and saying we�re not going to do what he wants to do, we�re gonna do this and do that, you�re just giving a guy ammunition  to say I want to go somewhere else.�

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow (15) makes a pass attempt during the fourth quarter of the game against the Chicago Bears at Sports Authority Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

Tim Tebow mania has been around for at least four years, but hit fever pitch in the 2011 NFL season.

From the Denver Broncos quarterback controversy with Kyle Orton, to the unexpected win streak with his electrifying fourth quarter finishes, to the bromance with ESPN�s Skip Bayless, to the debate out his Christian faith and now yet another Sports Illustrated cover, Tim Tebow chatter has completely dominated media coverage of the NFL season.

Tim Tebow graced the Dec. 19th issue of Sports Illustrated making it his eighth SI cover since his college days at the University of Florida.

But one has to wonder if this gets under the skin of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers a little. Rodgers is the reigning Super Bowl MVP and is leading an impressive campaign to the first undefeated NFL season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. And let�s not forget he�s trying to accomplish this in the face of some pretty elite quarterback competition with the likes of Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Eli Manning (yes, I�m adding him to the list of elite quarterbacks).

Fans still consider Aaron Rodgers the favorite as he still has the top selling jersey while Tim Tebow�s jersey jumped back into the top 10 last month after an impressive undefeated streak.

Should Aaron Rodgers be a little salty at the media for letting Tim Tebow take some of his shine? Or does this all just add to the hype of an exciting NFL season?