The NCAA passed new rules which will make universities and athletes more responsible in the class room. Starting in 2006-2007, universities will have to graduate a still-undetermined percent of athletes or it will be reprimanded. Also, athletes will have to complete at least 20 percent of their degree each year or they will not be eligible. There was some news that will make almost all of the basketball coaches happy–the rule which prevented them from giving away more than five scholarships in any one year or eight over two years is gone. The NCAA also decided to prohibit men’s basketball teams from playing pre-season exhibition games against non-college teams like Athletes in Action and foreign squads.

On Thursday, Katie Wolfmeyer pleaded innocent to helping Blues center Mike Danton set up a murder-for-hire plot. Wolfmeyer allegedly contacted a friend about the possibility of killing Danton’s agent, David Frost. Her friend, Justin Levi Jones, works as a dispatcher for the Columbia, Illinois Police Department and contacted authorities. He worked with the FBI, helping them to record conversations with Wolfmeyer. Danton, who was arrested in San Jose, California after the Blues were knocked out of the playoffs, is heading back to the St. Louis area.

Representatives in the House debate the cost of freedom – the freedom to ride a motorcyle without a helmet. It has approved a bill that would allow motorcyclists to ride without helmets. Some oppose the bill, saying it will raise medical costs because of the head injuries that will result. But Representative Mark Wright of Springfield points out several motorcyle clubs have shunned Missouri, because of the state’s helmet law. In the mid-1970s, Congress removed highway funding sanctions against states that didn’t have helmet laws. Supporters point out many states did lift the requirement, with Nebraska being the only neighbor of Missouri that has kept it in place. The bill now moves to the Senate.