Some random, loosely connected thoughts to get you through your day:

• Kudos to Clement.

I have to admit I was skeptical about Matt Clement taking over the Butler boys basketball job.

I was against the hiring of the former major league baseball pitcher.

I thought the Butler School Board whiffed.

The reason I balked at the move was because it seemed like he was cutting to the front of the coaching line. He paid no dues, yet made it clear he would settle for nothing less than the head coaching job.

I called foul.

But now, after a win over North Allegheny and a perfect 11-0 start, it's apparent Clement knows what he's doing.

It's hard to argue with perfect. It's also hard to argue with the way his team is playing on the court.

If he keeps this up, he will have a 20-win season after all.

• No high school coach should be fired (whoops, have his or her position opened — school boards don't like to use the word "fired") based on wins and losses.

In college? Sure. Pros? Definitely. In high school, though, I'm not so sure the be-all and end-all of a coach's success should be how many ticks are in the W column.

High school coaches are educators and extensions of the classroom. As long as they're not locking their players in a shed during practice or grabbing them around the throat when they inevitably make a mistake, then coaches should keep their jobs as long as they want.

• Who would want a high school coaching job?

Between parents, school boards and other outside pressures, I'm not sure it's worth it.

And that's sad. A lot of good people who should be coaching probably aren't because of the eroding culture of high school sports.

I guess it beats pitching to Mark McGwire who ...

• ... (finally) announced he used steroids.

In related news, astronomers announced the sun rises in the East, Lady Gaga announced she is weird and Jose Canseco announced, "I told you so."

It was the worst-kept secret since Peyton Manning's Christmas gift to Jeff Saturday in the MasterCard commercial.

"It's a football."

It's time to move on, people. We already knew McGwire was juiced. One need only look at him during his rookie year, then look at him in the 1990s to see his neck had disappeared under a layer of synthetic muscle.

Nothing should shock us anymore. Everyone cheated.

• The Green Bay Packers got cheated.

Aaron Rodgers' face mask obviously was grabbed and tugged by Arizona's Michael Adams, leading to a fumble that Karlos Dansby scooped up for the winning score in overtime for the Cardinals.

It was a penalty.

Besides that, did anyone else think the dreaded tuck rule could have been called as well?

• The Packers will be back. They are good. The tuck rule shouldn't be. That rule is bad.

To recap: Clement good. School boards bad. Mark McGwire cheated (duh). Packers got cheated.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.