Some 'Splaining To Do...

Oh, yeah. It's on.

Not only does this story on the Reggie Bu$h situation (remember?) explain a bit, it also talks about what looks to be the end of these shenanigans.

On Friday, one of the two partners in the sports marketing agency meets with the NCAA to discuss these allegations. While some believe that this is only an attempt to get Bush to pay up and settle, there are those that see this as bing a crucial part of the lawsuit- publicity on the entire situation.

In another article, we also get some answers about what's taking so freaking long. Other institutions have had allegations turn into sanctions relatively quickly; this has gone on for about a year. Part of this is because Bush and his agents settled earlier with the other partner of New Era Sports- a settlement that included prohibition to speak with the NCAA. Remember, the NCAA has no official power to subpoena witnesses in these types of "internal" matters, but they can access documents and statements from other legal proceedings.

So, unless Bush (and/or U$C- don't think that they don't have an investment in this process) finds a way to settle this financially by Friday, we're going to hear an awful lot more about it.

Not that I have any vested interest in seeing the Trojans on probation.

Mississippi Miracle

Here's a better angle of that amazing play:

If you're interested in a chart of all 15 laterals, go here: Trinity Laterals

Did I catch a niner in there???

If you haven't already seen this... Here's both the Video and Division Three highlight of the week:

Yup, it was that type of week... When I looked at the schedule on Tuesday, I was certain that this would be the week that no home teams won. Man, was I wrong.

• Vandy held off the "Other Miami".
• Nebraska looked like the Huskers of old for three quarters (well, except for the passing), until Jamaal Charles woke up.
• Emily and Jake saw some real SEC Football as Auburn defeated Ol' Miss- I'll bet they even helped roll Toomer's Corner.
• Oklahoma, Oklahoma State did a little bye action. Too bad Anderson couldn't do the same.
• Speaking of byes- In spite of the predictions...Notre Dame didn't lose! Hooray!
• And you know who did lose? U$C... To Oregon. See further comments below.
  
• Coach Tye? Having him some problems.
• The Manginos and the Javorskies met. It wasn't pretty.
  
• BC (not that one) survived the #2 jinx and won at Va Tech.
• The State College Of New Jersey got destroyed by West Virginia. Nothing to see here.
  
• Kentucky dropped an easy one against Mississippi State. At least they're not alone.
• The Gators got chomped by some amazing plays and some sketchy play calling on their own (a reverse on fourth and one?).
  
• Arkansas did stuff against somebody... I really wasn't looking.
• Mich1gAAn's backups did pretty well against M1nnesotAA.
• Sun Devils? Still undefeated.
• The Old Ball Coach wasted a great comeback effort, and choked in overtime.
• The Fire met the Forest... and the Forest won.
  
• And Ohio State prevailed against Joe Pa and the Zombies.
  

This week's random thoughts:

• What is going on in the SEC East? LSU beats Florida beats Kentucky beats LSU, and UK loses to South Carolina, who loses to Tennessee and Vandy. Yeek. Oh, and while we're here: So when Iowa beats Illinois and Michigan State, and Minnesota is up on Michigan it proves that the Big T1e1n sucks. But when Vandy beats TOBC, and Croom beats Kentucky and Auburn, it proves that the SEC is fifteen flavors of awesomeness from top to bottom.
• What has happened with basketball schools? Since "midnight madness" officially began college basketball season, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Indiana have all stopped winning.
• Last week, everyone said that we would find out about Ohio State when they visited "Happy" Valley and Penn State. 37 points, 450 yards (including 200 rushing against the #9 defense in the nation), and NO punts later, and we now have "Well, maybe the Nittany Lions weren't that good after all..." What about "Ohio State actually played well enough to dominate a game?" Just asking...
• This Guy's Top 5: 1 LSU, 2 tOSU, 3 Oregon/Oklahoma (won't that be fun), 4 Boston College, 5 Arizona State. And don't think I'm not already sweating the trip to Ann Arbor- Oregon is a fumbled ball through the endzone away from being the #1 team in the country- Michigan's loss to them is looking more and more like the Wolverines got outplayed rather than being indicative of their suckitude.
  

In to the realm of our picks league... It's almost as if someone said "Who wants to be 7-3? Run to the endzone..."

At least, that what I think happened... How else can you explain this?
Let the record show that Terry had some computer issues and had his tOSU pick register as a Penn State pick. Because he let me know about it early, we're giving him the pick but not the points. If you remember, we've done this before...Our SEC friends were on both sides this week- Emily had a great week of points (and her team won), and Brian brings up the bottom (after his team lost). Feels familiar, in a way.
As I type this, the Red Sox have swept the Rockies, and A-Rod is seeking to leave the Yankees. And I still don't care.No big changes in the overall picks ranking this week, since we all went 7-3 (well, all of us but Brian and Mihret's mom...)But the "glitch" cost Terry 8 points, and Aaron moves up to be the unified leader in both categories. We haven't seen that for a while... I think it was when Michelle was still playing.

Coming up-

• Anderson tries to right the ship on Senior Day against Hanover (maybe we'll get an alumni fight!)
• Ohio State hosts Wisconsin for a game that carries a lot of significance for the future
• Nebraska travels to Lawrence as an underdog for the first time in forever
• The Hawgs get Cocky
  
• Vandy and the Gators hook up in Gainesville
• Auburn hosts (the horrors!!!) Tennessee Tech
• Game of the week : Oregon and Arizona State. Now we'll see what's what in the Pac 10.
• TBPU hosts Texas, and there's Battle for Michigan in Lansing

Our "What? They play football?" Game of the week- Southwestern Assemblies of God University at Peru State (no, not there). Located instead in lovely Peru Nebraska, the Bobcats initially were a part of a teachers' institution (as reflected in their mission statement " We value free-inquiry, professional development, research enhancing our educational role, and public service related to and supportive of instruction.") Peru celebrated a national championship in 1990. The SAGU purple Lions hail from one of the greatest Scrabble towns in America: Waxahachie Texas. Although we joked about it earlier, SAGU definitely wins this weeks' alumni wars, with both a Healer and a Killer.

Whaaaaat A Rush!!!

Talked about this earlier, posting it now. Best "introduction" that ABC has done for a televised game (yes, better than Larry the Cable Guy).

En Fuego!

Shorter post this week... Sorry, but I've been a bit busy lately.

• Kudos to Vandy... nice work, there. #6 BCS indeed...
• South Florida? We have some lovely parting gifts for you... You know what the curse is? Not being #2, but her. (Her presence was so helpful for FSU).
  
• Emily and Jake were { this } close to having an amazing evening, until LSU worked a miracle. For the reconrd { this } is also the space that was needed to complete the final pass.
  
• tOSU shut down the number 8 rushing team in the country, holding them to under 80 yards total. Still not enough, though... We'll know more 'next week'.
  
• Kentucky... well, they're Kentucky.
• Dear Illini- thanks for finally waking up.
• TBPU won, as did Anderson. Good times, all around.
• Nebraska lost the "Buyout bowl" between them and the Aggies- meaning that they'll have to keep Callahan for one more year (but not if he doesn't keep his mouth shut).
• Notre Lame looked ridiculous, and not just because of the scoreboard.
• The Swedes beat the Scots. Lutefisk instead of haggis. Hooray

Video link of the week- Michael and I were at the Rose Bowl when this happened:

Our group got back to normal, with the good scores that we've come to expect.Nice turn around by Mom, and we lost Joe and Scott. That's what happens when you prepare for overtime games, I guess.
Paula, will your points improve once Mitch starts playing for U$C?
Jake fell off a bit, and the return of Tom Osborne has inspired Terp, it seems.
Michael wanted me to be sure to point out that he's "creeping up". You know, like a cheap pair of underwear.

This week, the #2 jinx hits Boston College in their trip to Va Tech, and #1 tries to stay that way in the cleanest stadium in America. The Zooks host the Ball State cheating cheaters who cheat (by trying to learn), and Mich1gAAn and M1nesotAA square off. U$C faces ugly green and gold uniforms for the second straight week, this time at Oregon, while the YooHoos host Arizona. Bill Callahan's farewell tour goes to Texas, and no one from Oklahoma wants to play the fooseball this week. The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party sounds like fun, no matter what they call it. Vandy plays the other Miami, Arkansas goes to Florida International (isn't that an airport?) and Kentucky and Auburn try to damage Mississippi. Two large individuals will be at odds in College Station. And the Ravens host the Rose-Hulman Engineers. Slide rules not included.

Small schools: In sticking with our theme, we're highlighting the Prairie Fire of Knox College as they travel to Lake Forest College. (Unfortunately, the University of Illinois Chicago and Southeastern University don't have football). As you know, John Knox was the center of the Scottish reformation, and the college was key in the Underground Railroad. Their season will conclude against Monmouth in the "Bronze Turkey" game.

OK, this is ridiculous...

There's an old joke about the NCAA finding that a major program (for giggles, let's say "Alabama") has committed various violations of their draconian rules. As a punishment, they sanction Ohio Northern.

Ha, ha, ha.

Today, we discover that humor is based in reality, as Ball State University receives a 2 year probation for providing $26,944 in textbooks to 89 student athletes, a rate of $302.74 per.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Reggie Bu$h is alleged to have received $280,000 while he was a scholar athlete for the Trojans. And the investigation is "ongoing"... for two years.

Yup... No Clue At All.

Well, that didn't take long.

Ding, dong... the witch is dead:

ESPN: Nebraska fires AD, citing lack of football progress

NCAA? No Clue At All

Usually when I refer to the NC2A in this manner, I'm reflecting on their inability to make consistent decisions that are good for the game or the athletes.

This time, though, it's an honest reflection of this season- I have no clue at all what is going on. Nine of the top ten lose over the course of four weeks? Wowzers... However, there are a couple of observations that can be made from this past week-

The best usage of the state song goes to UK, where "The sun shines bright" after the huge upset of LSU. Huh. I could have swore that Kentucky was a basketball school... Here's the clip of the week:

This would be the place where I would talk about where LSU's coach comes from, until I remember that the guy whose defense allowed UK to come back has a great pedigree. So, never mind. Oh, and you don't want Lou Holtz giving you a pep talk- only USF won when he 'spoke' to them. Maybe it's a case of "pep-a-titus"...

The other thing that we learned is that you don't want to play Oregon State when you're number one in the nation. Remember last year? Cal didn't... and was the top ranked team for only about 45 minutes after the UK win. It's one thing to lose, another to lose at home, and something else altogether to lose to a team with some of the ugliest uniforms in their own state (which is saying something...).

So- BCS rankings aside, here's this week's "One Guy's Take" on the top 5 teams. I use the scientific "who would beat who on a neutral field" argument, in case you were wondering:

1. LSU- UK had extra time to prepare, and they still needed three OTs to pull it off.
2. Oklahoma- Just too good on both sides of the ball (And they're young... scary)
3. USC/Cal/Oregon/tOSU- all are good, but have a hole in their games (injuries, no defense, no defense, no offense)
4. USF- Can't argue with winning
5. Boston College- Ditto
   

My guess for the end of the year? tOSU will drop one (maybe even the last one), and we'll have a USF and BC "National Championship Game" (unless someone monkeys with the "computers" and gives OU or LSU more "quality win points" for their conference championship games). People will scream for a playoff, television ratings will be abysmal for the USF/BC game, and we'll have a split NC.

And nothing will change. Even after the BCS ends, change will only happen when the revenue that's currently produced is protected- Bowls generate lots of cash for schools, conferences, and the NCAA.

OK, enough of that...

• Anderson can't get it together, losing to Defiance. Hopefully Joe will drop an email and give us some 411.
• tOSU smacked Kent State. Happiness all around.
• Vandy lost to Georgia at Homecoming... But you've got to see this catch. Amazing.
• Arkansas and Auburn got into a slugfest, where the Tigers/WarEagles didn't let their lack of offense keep them from a 9-7 win.
• aTm opened up an early lead, but couldn't hold on and dropped one to Texas Tech
• The Jesuits beat the Holy Cross folks, who need to remember that (on the off chance that they score) they should act like they've been there before.
  
• Stanford's magic couldn't continue, and the Horned Frogs leave the Bay with a win.
• Coach Ty needs more chocolate milk.
• Kansas continues to roll- What's going on with the basketball schools?
• Remember us talking about Sul Ross' Mike Flynt? Well, he's baaaaaack!
• The Zooks? Still Zooks, I'm afraid...
• And the Wisconsin Lutherans were 45 points better than their Chicago brethren.
  

Nebraska fans, feel free to scroll down to the next section. I tried to avoid writing about the TBPU/Huskers game, but it is a part of our weekend. I can't address the game any better than the folks in Lincoln did, so I won't try. I will point out, though, that the natives are restless... VERY restless. I read a quote somewhere this weekend that said "Steve Pederson said we would not surrender the Big XII to Oklahoma and Texas. Instead, we've surrendered to Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, and Colorado". Hard times to be a member of Husker Nation... Carrie has even started to refer to the Husker D as the "pink shirts".

In another note- listening to the broadcast over the internet was disconcerting, for a couple of reasons. First, obviously the score. Second, the commercials touting the yield for soybean fertilizer. Third, though, was the play by play commentary talking about how well "OSU" was doing. I could have swore it was the end of the world- or our marriage.

Husker fans- You can come back now. Let's talk Points and Picks.
Yup, the Dawgs prevailed this weekend, as Dan and Michael led the way with 33 points. Before we get too excited- that's 22 less than the max. Yup, we're at the point where losing only 22 is reason to celebrate. It's that kind of year.
This week's "Pickin' and Grinin'" award goes to Dan (the only one who knew that Illannoys would Zook themselves) and Cat (Go Beavers!!). Nice work, peeps.
Terry is still running away with this thing, but it's anyone's race. This was Scott's week off... Paula, it's your turn to 'forget' next week.
Jake is still in front... too bad Auburn can't have a game with that type of score, huh? Huge jam at number 11... Not that there's anything wrong with the number 11.

Great games on Thursday- #2 USF travels to Rutgers, and TCU faces the Utes. Not too shabby.

Next week's big game is in Lexington again- this time the Gators travel to see what they can do against the 'Cats. Texas Tech squares off against Mizzou, and U$C gets their turn at making Weis cry. A Florida State and Miami game happens, but I'm not sure that anyone will care. Auburn faces off against a LSU team looking for payback, and UW hosts Oregon in the battle for NorthWet supremacy. The Zooks will get yet another test, as the resurgent Wolverines come to Champaign. KSU and TBPU meet in Stillwater, and the Aggies travel to Lincoln for Big 12 matchups. Anderson tries to right the ship against the Bluffton Beavers.

Ohio State hosts Michigan State and their former defensive coordinator, Mark Dantonio, as well as Sweatervest's nephew. The last time #1 tOSU welcomed the Spartans to the 'Shoe, it was an epic upset. Defensive coordinator for MSU? Mark Dantonio. Given how this season has gone, don't be surprised...

Our visit to the world of Division Three football finds MacCalester at Gustavus Adolphus College, for an exciting MIAC contest. The Scots of MacCalester (speaking of ugly uniforms) are looking to break a four game skid and represent their 1895 students well. Founded as a "Presbyterian but non-sectarian" institution, their investment in multicultural initiatives has helped their number of students of color rise 55% in the past ten years. They also boast one of the top pipe bands in the country, and hosted Al Franken's bid for the Minnesota Senate.

Their hosts, the "Golden Gusties" (seriously. stupid helmets...) are looking to stop a three game losing streak of their own. Another Lutheran school, this one named for the former king of Sweden, who led the Swedish army in the Thirty Years war, where they joined against the Catholic forces for economic and religious reasons. Perhaps this is why they host the "Nobel Conference", which is sanctioned by the international group that brings us the Peace Prize (congrats, Al!).

Let's hope this next weekend of football is more peaceful, huh?

Apologies to Ty

So we had a little fun here with UW's decision to trade Gatorade for chocolate milk.

Seems, though, that it might have been a good idea- research from Indiana University indicates that the carbs and such are just as viable for post- workout consumption as are the traditional sports drinks.

Coach Ty = Super Genius. Why didn't someone else see that??

A little something for visitors from South Bend

As you may know, I have a tracking cookie that let's me know where folks are logging in from, and how they got here. That's it, though... nothing more personal or Orwellian.

So, every now and then I get a hit from someone searching for "Notre Dame", "Charlie Weis," or "Jimmy Clausen" and I wanted to make sure they're welcomed hereabouts.

More on Bu$h and U$C

Waaaay back in January, we were covering the "Reggie Bush Situation", where allegations were made regarding the former USC star and Heisman Trophy winner received (or his family received) benefits while he was in college.

Let me be clear- this is not "financial aid", but money and other things based solely on his athletic ability; particularly with the hopes that Reggie would return the favor once he went pro.

ESPN has another update today, stating that Bush (and family) received $280k while he was a student.

Here's my take (for what it's worth):

If Bush took the money, U$C should forfeit games and he should have to give up the Heisman (which Vince Young won on the field anyway).

If U$C coaches knew about this, there should be NCAA Sanctions against the program.

These sanctions are not fair, as they punish student athletes who had nothing to do with the violation.

These sanctions will not happen, or if they do, they won't be significant. This is because U$C is the only major program west of Denver, and there's too much national television revenue that would be lost if they were significantly impacted.

There's precedent for this: the University of Miami should have been given the "Death Penalty" for the levels of egregious behavior on and off the field, but were instead given a lighter set of sanctions which allowed them to continue to play (and benefit television executives). Oklahoma should have also received these types of sanctions recently and in the past, as should others.

But it's not going to happen, for the same reason there's not going to be a Division 1A ("Bowl Subdivision") playoff- Money.

Following up

Earlier, we were keeping our eyes on the hirings of African American coaches at Division 1 (Whoops- Bowl Subdivision and Championship Subdivision) institutions. The final numbers? 33 hires, only two minorities.

We talked about the possibility of Title Seven lawsuits to make institutions take this more seriously.

Seems that this hasn't fallen off the map for some people; BCA will consider legal action under civil rights legislation

"We have called on the NCAA and president Myles Brand to adopt an 'Eddie Robinson Rule,' a college version of the NFL's Rooney Rule mandating that people of color be interviewed for all head coaching positions with sanctions for those who do not," ( Richard Lapchick, director of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at Central Florida) wrote in a statement included in the report.

We'll keep you posted.

Unseen glory

Fantastic finish from the Akron game on Saturday:

Unusually usual

Huh.

If 9 of the top 10 lose over the course of two weeks, something strange must be happening, right? But the weirdness doesn't stop there:

• Kansas is undefeated. Kansas. Reason enough to link to this. (turn sound up)
  
• Miami lost to a team whose only win was against James Madison.
• The number one running back is a white kid from Nebraska, but not in a good way.
• Undefeated Urbana High choked away a 22-0 halftime lead to a 2-4 team.
• The Zooks look to be for reals... especially against #5 Wisconsin.
  
• Two of the worst teams in football put the "Loss" in Los Angeles, including a defeat of #2 that defies the 40 point spread. Great work by QB Tavita Pritchard, relative of our friend "the Throwin' Samoan". Stanford's win was so amazing, that it earns the YouTube clip of the week.

• Notre Lame has a win... Yup, it was against a third string, walk on quarterback, who threw two game winning interceptions, but it keeps them from going 0-8. Instead, get ready for 1-7!
• Speaking of goofy QB situations- Why doesn't Coach Fran just let Jorvorskie play QB? Not that this won't keep him from being fired...
  
• Tennessee looks great against Georgia; Vandy, Kentucky not so much against Auburn and South Carolina.
• Mich1gAAn wins by 11, against some school named for a flightless bird.
• The also flightless Ravens drop to 1-4. Yikes.

It wasn't all surprising, though- There were at least three amazing games. The Red River Shootout was all that it was cracked up to be- Oklahoma's freshman QB managed to lead them over Texas in a close battle in Dallas. LSU managed to hand Urban Myer and "Mr. Everything" Tim Tebow their second consecutive SEC loss with a late comeback. (Related note- Brian's having a rough year as a Phillies and an NFL Rams fan). And, the number 2 defense in the country held a team averaging @500 yards and 45 points to 190 yards and no points (nope, I'm not counting the 88 yard drive and late TD against the second string)

Wow- What an odd year of football. South Florida and Boston College are both in the top five. Who would have thought? And when the leaders of the picks league go into a slide that ends with a combined 6-14 with 31 total points, isn't it a sign of something? Take a lookee at these numbers:
Wow. I don't think that Carrie and I have ever done that poorly. It's time to start flipping a coin- it would work just as well... Obviously, Joe's not been given much say at AU- he definitely knows more football than he's letting on.
Each week, it seems like it's harder and harder to assign points, and it shows! But Mom's strategy of "Colors and favorite mascots" worked well enough for a victory this week, and Amanda continues to come on strong. somehow Cat went 5-5 and finished below people who did much worse. That's why we do two sets of rankings, folks.
Looks like Terry is running away with this thing- but with this season, who knows? What I meant by "Step it up" was not "I should do so badly that everyone passes me...
Jake and Aaron have the Shike women challenging them at the top... Oh, and i't good to see Scott and PAula come back to join the group.

One guy's opinion, week three: LSU #1, Cal #2, then one of the one loss teams (USC? OU?) and then Ohio State. They're not better than these others, even though records say otherwise.

Team to keep an eye on: Indiana (yup)- They don't play Michigan or Ohio State, so as a one loss team they could sneak into the Big T1e1n mix.

Coming up this week:

• Ohio State tries to avoid a shootout at Kent State.
• Michael and Carrie try to find a place to watch Callahan and Gundy go at it.
• Kentucky gets their shot at LSU (Good luck with that)
• Pope Fight!! Boston College at Notre Lame
• Hawgs! War Eagles! Nutt! Tuberville! ESPN!
  
• TCU tries to beat the team that upset USC
• Zook goes to Iowa. Like a lot of people, I guess.
• Anderson hosts Defiance (NO! they DON'T!!)
• And the Huskies travel to Arizona. Hopefully, they've shed a bit of fur.

Obscure game of the week: Since the Catholics are going at it, why not the Lutherans? Concordia (Chicago) meets Concordia (Wisc), Cougars and Falcons. Since they both come from the same great Lutheran stock, and from the LAtin word for "harmony" (where we get "Chord"), I'll take this opportunity to point out that there are actually 10 institutions who are a part of this system, but that these are the only two who play each other in football.

As a branch of the conservative "Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod", these schools' foundations include salvation as "grace alone, through faith alone, for Christ's sake alone" They also hold an a-millennial view, as well as rejecting the ordination of women. Finally, theirs is a closed communion, open only to persons who have been baptized and confirmed members of the church.

Well. There you go.

Your chance to make a difference

Please, if you have time, please go to this site and sign the petition that will ensure tOSU victories over Mich1gAAn for eternity.

Here's the text:

To: University of Michigan Athletic Department

We the undersigned hereby request that Bill Martin (Athletic Director), Mary Sue Colman (President), and the Regents of University of Michigan, offer to Head Coach Lloyd Carr and Defensive Coach Ron English lifetime contracts effective immediately. In addition, the undersigned request that the NCAA bestow upon Quarterback Chad Henne endless eligibility.

We make this request due to the three gentlemen's quality of work and promotion of excellence in college athletics. Coaches Carr and English, through endless work, have shown that you do not need any specific skill to obtain and maintain a major coaching job. Further, they have shown millions of children across the country that the ability to change, specifically when things are not working, is vastly overrated.

Henne has been an inspiration to thousands. For years football fans have been forced to root for players with good throwing arms and swift feet. Not since the years of Rodney Peete have fans had the opportunity to cheer on such a quarterback. Henne's willingness to give all players a chance to catch his passes, specifically the defensive players, just shows his desire to foster an inclusive environment.

By allowing the University of Michigan the opportunity to have Carr, English, and Henne helm the Wolverine Football program in perpetuity, the NCAA has the opportunity to benefit the school, Big 10 Conference, the NCAA as a whole, and the entire fandom of sports.

Sincerely,