We had a delay for blog maintenance, of course.
Q: With a new scandal breaking every week, are these the halcyon days for a USC beat writer? Are beat writers for other teams, professional or college, throughout the country jealous of how much material you have to work with compared to their boring teams?
A: Yes, every beat writer in the nation wishes the NCAA had two major investigations going against the school they cover.
Q: Wouldn’t it be wise for USC and other schools to have athletes sign a consent and agreement form (upon acceptance of an athletic scholarship) that states:
1) Before entering college, they have never accepted gifts that would lead to the player being ruled ineligible, or causing the school any forfeits of games, or penalties by the NCAA resulting from such.
2) Players will not accept gifts or special treatment that would make them ineligible or cause forfeits by, or NCAA penalties to the school.
3) If contacted by an agent or representative of an agent, they would be required to inform their head coach and athletic director in writing.
4) Any violation of these rules would result in a forfeit of their scholarship and require monetary repayment to the university.
5) A student-athlete who signed the agreement would be liable for civil action by the university.
6) Any agent or representative of an agent who causes player ineligibility or penalties imposed upon the school would be subject to civil action.
Isn’t it about time to clean out the scum agents who earn their living by poaching on these young athletes and taking advantage of them, the school and the system?
A: Some reforms would are necessary though some of these seem a bit draconian and maybe even illegal.
Q: Since football is a year-round sport, and also since spring session is over and summer’s beginning – who on the team, if any, have you noticed going above and beyond the norm by putting in the extra time in preparing for the fall? And do you expect any of these guys to surprise us when autumn comes around?
A: A lot of guys put in extra time because it’s pretty much required in order to compete for a starting job. Mark Sanchez has been putting in as much time as anyone since the Rose Bowl to make sure he would be the starter and he’s still doing it since spring practice ended.
Q: Do you think Patrick Turner will become the number 1 wide receiver this year, if not him then who? I think he was off last year because of the injury before the start of the season and when he was healthy John David Booty was injuried so him and the other receivers never got time to work together.
A: There’s a group of guys, like Vidal Hazelton and David Ausberry, who all have a chance to be the No. 1 receiver. Patrick Turner needs to be a lot more consistent before he can be the top receiver. As does everyone else. It’s wide open right now.
Q: When do football tickets go on sale for the public?
A: They should be on sale now.
Q: At least two Internet Sports columnists from major outlets appear to be openly cheering for USC men’s basketball to receive the NCAA’s so-called death penalty.
I believe the names are Pat Forde and Greg Doyel.
From what I hear, the DP is basically not applicable to USC since the Bush and Mayo circumstances are concurrent events and thus there is no repeat offense without an issued sanction.
That being said, is there any scenario whereby the NCAA could hand down the death penalty in the Mayo case?
Are these columnists just using hyperbole to get readers and why the sudden animosity toward Troy by the media?
A: The death penalty is not possible right now. The reason the columnists were so forceful is because Forde needed to write a column to accompany the Mayo report and this was the strongest way to make a stand. Doyel’s disliked Tim Floyd for years, dating before USC, and this is consistent with his previous columns.