Easy grades. How many points is a 3-point field goal worth?
Sounds like a bad joke. Except that was one of the actual questions on the final exam for a 2001 course titled "Coaching Principles and Strategies of Basketball" offered at the University of Georgia, according to documents released last week. They came to light in connection with an NCAA probe of improper favors provided to athletes by the school's basketball staff.

The other 19 multiple-choice questions were equally obvious, such as, "How many halves are in a college basketball game?" Not surprisingly, everyone taking the course got an "A." That was the point — cheating to ensure that star athletes met minimum academic standards to keep playing.

The basketball staff that devised the test was fired in 2003. But the lengths to which some coaches go to win on the court still is worth considering — especially with the approach of college basketball tournaments and all of the March Madness they entail.

Giving athletes an "A" to gain a competitive edge cheapens all students' education and sends the message that cheating is OK if the stakes are big enough.

Easy tests. In Major League Baseball, players limbering up in pre-season games know a lot about acing easy exams. In spite of mounting reports about these athletes' use of illegal steroids to improve their performances, baseball has the loosest testing program of any major professional sport.

Last week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that federal investigators have been told that six prominent major leaguers received steroids illegally from a California supplements lab. One of its customers is Barry Bonds, who hit a record 73 home runs in 2001. Bonds denies using steroids, but previous home-run king Mark McGwire acknowledges he took a steroid-like substance during his record 1998 season.

A sample of drug tests administered last year indicated at least 5% of players took steroids. And that was after players got advance warning the tests were coming. This season, they face unannounced testing, though first offenses won't be punished.

Shortcuts for athletes, in classes or locker rooms, betray the basic appeal of sports. Fans are cheated of an honest competition. And winners are cheated of all claims that their accomplishments are deserved.