On a day in which Vince Young had little to say about his allegedly lower-than-low Wonderlic score, The Onion has managed to put the whole mess into proper perspective.

Texans scouts observing the Wonderlic test said Young obviously struggled throughout, often fixating on his primary answer, “A,” and never checking down to the other options on any given question unless pressured, when he would almost always throw it up to “all of the above.” Moreover, Young’s awkward mechanics during the exam drew criticism from onlookers, as he instinctually reverted to a sidearm-style delivery that often resulted in the incomplete filling-in of circles.

According to Casserly, many quarterbacks have struggled to adjust to the complicated offenses in the National Football League. He referred to the struggles of Chad Pennington, a Rhodes Scholar finalist at Marshall University who has underperformed in his six years in the NFL.

“The Jets couldn’t get an actual Rhodes Scholar, and now they’re paying the price for settling for a mere finalist,” Casserly said. “We’re glad that we can still avoid making that same mistake.

In what would have to be considered a slightly related story, University of Texas classics professor Thomas Palaima, an outspoken critic of UT’s massive spending on athletics (including a $2.6 million salary for Mack Brown), is profiled in Friday’s Austin American-Statesman.

Among Palaima’s beefs are the following:

The low graduation rates of some athletes. About 61 percent of freshman student athletes entering UT in the 1998-99 school year graduated, according to NCAA statistics; 74 percent of UT freshmen overall graduated.

The practice of charging fans up to $75,000 for a stadium suite, with 80 percent of that amount considered a charitable donation for income tax purposes. The free seats given to regents and other VIPs at a value of more than $1 million a year. The policy allowing athletic programs to retain the vast majority of more than $80 million in annual revenue instead of contributing more for academic purposes.

That a lawyer, rather than an academic, oversees athletics. A culture that insists upon first-rate performance in athletics but seems satisfied with a No. 52 ranking among national universities by U.S. News & World Report.

Palaima doesn’t buy the explanation that athletics pays its own way without consuming any taxes or tuition money. “I’m a sports fan. I played baseball all my life,” Palaima said. “But the athletic programs have grown into a monster.”