But of course...

The NCAA has dropped the hammer... on Southeast Missouri State Basketball.

Sanctions?

• Public reprimand and censure.
• Three years of probation to be added to the institution's current two-year probationary period,
  
• Reduction by one of the number of scholarships in men's basketball for the 2009-10 academic year from the NCAA maximum limit of 13 to 12. (Self-imposed by the university)
• Reducing the number of off-campus contact and evaluation recruiting opportunities in men's basketball during the 2009-10 academic year by 15. (Self-imposed by the university)
• Reducing the number of occasions in which men's basketball student-athletes may be supervised by strength and conditioning staff to no more than two per week. This is a reduction of 28 opportunities that generally are conducted May-August. (Self-imposed by the university.)
• Vacation of wins in which involved men's basketball student-athletes competed during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons; and the vacation of the individual records of the student-athletes and record of the former men's basketball coach.

Violations:

• impermissible presence of men's basketball coaching staff members during summer strength and conditioning activities
• impermissible observation of out-of-season pick-up games
• impermissible extra benefits: one in the amount of $239, and the other when the former assistant coach drove a student-athlete 171 miles from campus (allegedly to see his newborn baby)

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles... nothing. Well, not completely nothing: LA Times: Pete Carroll is pushing it

"One of our mottos is, a relentless pursuit of competitive advantage in everything we do," Carroll said Thursday.

Um, Pete, that attitude is exactly what has landed USC in trouble.

"We're not in trouble," Carroll said.

Yes, you are. By college sports definition, any time NCAA investigators are hanging around, you are in trouble.

They showed up for the Reggie Bush stuff, and apparently they are going to stay for the Pete Rodriguez stuff, this special teams consultant who admitted he attended USC practices, which is a direct violation of those stupid rules.

And yet, we've only heard crickets from the NCAA. Anyone surprised?