Round 2

Q: As of today, how likely is it that the basketball team will make the NCAA Tournament? How many more Pac-10 wins will guarantee a berth?

A: I think two more wins should do it. One more might but two eases the suspense.

Q: As a sports reporter, do you consider the Seattle Times series on Rick Neuheisel's time as the coach of Washington to be the best investigative reporting ever on college football? What other investigative college football stories from the past would you consider to come close or, even, eclipse the Times series? And has it now upped the ante for what sports reporters will write about above mere depth charts and injuries, considering such reporting goes from being a regional story, with a limited reach and audience, to getting major national coverage?

A: I would say this is one of the best pieces of journalism I've seen on college football. Whether it ups the ante is unlikely. For one thing, it took the Seattle Times about a year to work on the story and they did it with two reporters who were not sports writers. Unfortunately, most papers these days do not have the resources to attack one topic so aggressively. It would nice if this series set a trend but doubtful.

Q: Do you think the NCAA recently restoring Oklahoma's victories in the 2005 season provides any clues as to their eventual actions in the Reggie Bush inquiry? It looks like the main reason for the OU decision was the Sooners were not ruled to be guilty of "failing to detect the violation." I realize one difference is OU self-imposed penalties after performing its own internal investigation and also cooperated with the NCAA.

A: I think if anything this case will cause the NCAA to think twice before making a school forfeit games. It's hard to gauge other cases against Reggie Bush because no other case received publicity like this. That leads me to believe the NCAA will wait as long as it needs to find out what it wants. And it's a reason the NCAA wants his deposition so much. The one he delayed Monday. I'm not sure if USC will be held responsible. USC seems confident it will not be. But they will not decide that issue, the NCAA will.