June 2010 Archives
Matt Darr, the punter who committed to Pete Carroll and then was cut loose by Lane Kiffin, signed to play with Tennessee. Darr signed with Fresno State but was released from his letter of intent.
Wonder if Tennessee fans think Darr for Kiffin was an even trade?
An NCAA recruiting committee decided to support a proposal that might prevent colleges from offering scholarship to middle schoolers. Wonder where they got that idea from?
This tweet points out the following fact about Oregon football: ``Since '07 UO has faced Pryor, Mallett, Keenum, Moore, Locker, Barkley & Luck, going 6-4.''
Good to see a win over a true freshman still means something.
It could have been USC's 13th national title but alas, it is the Gamecocks who won their first crown.
OK, so maybe the field did take a pounding over the weekend. Not quite the breathless photo of the Coliseum that used to be posted by Pete Carroll's blog this time of year.
The Western Athletic Conference announced it will not expand until 2012 at the earliest. It will operate as an eight-team league with of Fresno State, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State and Utah State.
Maybe Larry Scott can merge with the WAC if he still wants his Pac-16.
Here's the official release on UCLA dismissing three incoming freshmen off its football team. For about three months anyways.
Former Southeast Missouri State basketball coach Scott Edgar lost his appeal before the NCAA's levied last year by the NCAA's committee on infractions.
This blog points out that Edgar's case offers some possible bad news for USC's appeal if key facts were indeed, wrong.
``It is the Committee on Infractions that is to determine whether the information presented to it, and upon which it bases its finding, is credible . . . and persuasive . . . ."
That could mean the appeals committee is extremely reluctant to overturn factual errors.
Hopefully the thousands of fans who attended last weekend's Electric Daisy Carnival, or Rave, at the Coliseum did not damage the field too much.
Too bad USC coach Chad Kreuter did not take the burden off football's sanctions with some rules violations. At least there would not be any victories to vacate.
Just in case you think The Gold Sheet is anti-USC, here's another excerpt:
``There's a little discussed but much-valued skill that only a handful of head coaches have ever been able to master. It's called reducing expectations, and nowhere has the bar been lowered more deftly than at UCLA, where 3rd-year HC Rick Neuheisel has been able to convince a portion of Bruin football backers that he has the program on the right track despite winning only 6 of 18 Pac-10 contests (two of those victories vs. woeful Washington State) over the past two years.
``Some of the more wide-eyed UCLA honks even saw reason to celebrate last December's EagleBank Bowl win over a low-profile Temple squad that was minus its main offensive threat (RB Bernard Pierce) for much of the game. But discriminating Bruin backers have yet to see anything different from predecessor Karl Dorrell's failed regime, and they are running out of patience with Neuheisel's teams that have lacked dynamism (and playmakers) on offense and have done little to recall past glories of UCLA football (including some of Terry Donahue's Rose Bowl years in the '80s when Neuheisel played QB) that a new generation of local fans, weaned on the recent successes across town at USC, might never know existed.''
Here's another excerpt from The Gold Sheet:
``When the topic of trouble arises at USC, we can't help but recall a long-ago comment by legendary L.A. area radio sports personality Jim Healy, who had his own unique take when the Trojans were hit with a rather heavy penalty back in 1982 (which included a two-year ban on bowl games) in the wake of a ticket-scalping scandal.
"I have good and bad news for USC football fans," said Healy on the day the penalties were announced 28 years ago. ``The bad news is the Trojans have been put on probation for the ticket-selling scandal. The good news is that they didn't get caught for all of the other things they've been doing the past 20 years.''
If you are looking for an entertaining preseason publication, nothing beats The Gold Sheet.
``Don't expect the elder Kiffin (Monte) to tolerate any hot-dogging from SC defenders who a year ago seemed more interested in delivering highlight-reel hits (graduated S Taylor Mays in particular) than tightening up leaks that were ruthlessly exploited by Oregon, Stanford and others.''
Who said USC baseball was dead? USC routed UCLA today in the College World Series. The University of South Carolina, that is.
Imagine the excitement Oct. 15 when former USC wide receiver Vidal Hazelton and Cincinnati squares off against ex-USC linebacker Jordan Campbell and Louisville.
And some non-NCAA questions make an appearance.
More NCAA questions in this segment.
Another thought worth repeating: What penalties would USC face today if Reggie Bush settled his financial disputes immediately? Very few, I believe.
Apparently, Bakersfield is becoming a USC hotbed for recruiting, as kicker Andre Heidari committed over the weekend. He joins quarterback Cody Kessler.
We are still finishing up the Open Forum from last week, but here's a chance to get started on this week's version. One question per person please.
Linebacker Jordan Campbell is transferring to Louisville. I mentioned this before and I should again. He was suspended in the spring because of concerns over a car he was seen driving that allegedly belonged to a roommate.
And Lane Kiffin never officially reinstated him to the team following spring practice. So this departure has little to do with the NCAA probation. In truth, Kiffin probably wants the scholarship to try and use before the scholarship reductions go into effect in 2011 because Campbell was never projected to play much.
A soccer question sneaks in and a question about that AP football title in 2004.
It's a Sunday, as this question will prove.
Does the BCS have the power to strip USC of a football title? That is addressed in this segment.
Who is jacked up for the pending release of ``Win Forever,'' by Pete Carroll?
I'm not quite sure why the comments section in recent months turned into such a crosstown trash-talk section. So here's something for you all to discuss a day later.
Pete Carroll chose Prince's ``die for you,'' as his song of the day. An ironic choice considering he fled USC.
USC's Rising Stars camp this week was interesting for who showed . . . and who did not.
Quarterback Cody Kessler of Bakersfiled enjoyed a strong camp but quarterback Max Wittek only showed for one session, which will only increase speculation that Wittek is wavering on his commitment.
Tailback Kenny Hilliard, who already committed to LSU, participated in the camp and did not disappoint. Wide receiver Victor Blackwell, already committed to USC, was the top receiver of the camp.
Defensive tackle Antwaun Woods and offensive lineman Marcus Martin of Crenshaw, who already committed to USC, did not attend the camp.
Here's the way an appeal takes place under NCAA guidelines:
•School or individuals submit appeals
•Committee responds
•Appellants rebut committee response (optional)
•Enforcement staff corrects errors in appellant's rebuttal
•Appellants respond to Enforcement staff rebuttals
•Infractions appeals hearing
•Infractions appeals report finalized
•School and individuals notified
•Public release
Wonder if Seantrel Henderson would be influenced by a one-year bowl ban instead of two?
Regarding today's USC appeal announcement:
Will USC challenge the first two victory vacations (including the Orange Bowl?
Will USC challenge any of the penalties associated with vacating the victories?
In today's announcement, USC says it seeks to ``overturn certain findings.'' That is the most important part of the press release because it no doubt refers to certain alleged factual errors in the NCAA report.
Remember, the committee on infractions appeals is made up of a different body of members than the committee on infractions. This will make one of my advisers happy, who is upset that Missy Conboy of Notre Dame was allowed to be on the infractions committee.
Here's USC statement on its appeal to the NCAA, which asks for a one-year ban (implemented this season) and for a 15-scholarship reduction instead of 30.
Let's review the current state of the NCAA's actions, a couple weeks later.
The Infractions Committee was sloppy in figuring out the sanctions, and the effect of those sanctions. See the 12th game debacle, which the NCAA still is not clear about.
The NCAA pulled back from committee chairman Paul Dee's threat of television sanctions. This was a multi-million dollar issue to a Notre Dame member on the committee (Missy Conboy).
The key evidence tying USC to knowledge of the Bush violations may be, at best, mistaken.
And the NCAA apparently has a new standard, at least with respect to sanctions: even if only one student athlete is involved, big-time sanctions are appropriate, if it is a really, really important student athlete.
``High profile players demand high-profile compliance,'' Dee said.
Otherwise, there are no questions about the NCAA's logic.
A question here about committee on infractions chairman Paul Dee.
More good questions in this segment.
Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott and some Rose Bowl reps are at Wimbledon watching tennis. Or maybe Scott is trying to add Oxford and Cambridge to the Pac-12.
The St. Paul Pioneer-Press quotes Seantrel Henderson saying, ``I don't want to talk about that,'' when asked about his USC status.
Today is the NBA draft but the Pac-10 can probably take the day off. Washington forward Quincy Pondexter might get drafted in the first round. Might. Or might not.
Around 6:30 a.m., the USC football team is supposed to jog together from the Heritage Hall locker room to the Coliseum to run the steps. So be careful if you're driving down Exposition Blvd. around that time.
Here's LenDale White during his interview on radio station 1045 The Zone this morning, when asked if USC athletic director Mike Garrett should have known about NCAA rules violations:
``For you not to know anything is kind of unbelievable to me . . . If you're the AD I'm sure you get wind of something.''
Former USC tailback LenDale White was on the radio in Tennessee this morning. Here's some comments.on Pete Carroll: ``I don't really know about trust (with Pete Carroll). I played for him. I was shocked. I'm still shocked. I would figure if there was a problem, he was my old coach, he would step me to the side. It wasn't trust. It was whatever.
``I actually called Pete and asked Pete what was going on. Pete never knows why anything, right? Pete, he beat around the bush. He just said it wasn't going to work out.
``He didn't really give me an answer. He didn't give me a clear explanation.''
Here's a feature on Pete Carroll from Sports Illustrated.
Here's a quick quote: ``I know what we did (at USC). I sleep very well at night.''
The USC track team picked up a big signing with 400-meter runner Josh Mance of Don Lugo High School in Chino. Mance had the nation's best prep time (45.9 seconds) in the 400 this year.
USC sophomore first baseman Beau Brett signed with the Dodgers, who drafted him in the 35th round.
We hear that Weber State's inquired about playing USC if there are any openings during the scholarship reduction years on the schedule.
USC coach Lane Kiffin and assistant coaches Ed Orgeron, Monte Kiffin and James Cregg flew to Minnesota to visit Seantrel Henderson and apply damage control after Henderson did not show up for orientation last week.
Taylor King, the one-time phenom that USC recruited when he was at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana and then pursued again two years ago when he transferred from Duke, is now finished at Villanova.
Pete Carroll claimed safety Kevin Ellison today, a day after the Chargers released him.
Here's how I would divide the Pac-12, which means no chance it will happen:
North Division: Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, Colorado, Utah.
South Division: USC, UCLA, Cal, Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State.
Like I said, no chance.
Alexis Moore of Long Beach Poly, who committed to USC, was not heavily recruited. A lot of schools were taking a wait-and-see attitude. But USC coach Kevin O'Neill's never been influenced by others when it comes to recruiting and decided to offer him after watching him at two camps at USC.
The NBA draft is Thursday. From a USC perspective, it's not too eventful. Neither guard-forward Marcus Johnson nor guard Dwight Lewis is projected to get drafted.
The IRS might go after Reggie Bush for taxes on the $300,000 he received in cash and gifts while at USC.
PeteCarroll: Another huge W for the seahawks/sounders softball team... 23-3! I need some time in the cage... glove was there but stick was a little light
USC received a commitment from point guard Alexis Moore of Long Beach Poly. Moore averaged 11 points and five assists last season. He joins 6-4 Byron Wesley of Etiwanda and 6-2 Gelaun Wheelwright of Corona Centennial in the Class of 2011 recruiting class.
Former USC running back Sam "Bam" Cunningham has been selected as the newest member of the New England Patriots Hall of Fame.
The Chargers released safety Kevin Ellison. Hard to believe last month's arrest when police found 100 pills of Vicodin in his car did not contribute although team officials said they wanted more speed at the position. Ellison started nine games last season.
USC should be recovering from probation and scholarship reductions about the time the Baby Quarterback is scheduled to enroll. That said, these excerpts from today's story in the Wilmington News Journal probably bear repeating.
``To help students who can't afford to enroll, scholarships are available through the FOCAS Foundation, a program co-founded three years ago by David Sills IV, father of the 13-year-old phenom quarterback, who also is named David.
``The FOCAS Foundation -- which stands for Financially Obedient Christians Assisting Students -- is a privately funded financial aid program that, Dare said, provided assistance to approximately 60 students last year. It supplements the school's need-based financial aid program.''
``Sills also has left his mark on the school's campus. His commercial contracting company, Daystar Sills, built the Pusey Center gymnasium and upper school addition "through the bidding process for pay and profit" before Sills became more actively involved in athletics, he said.
``Since then, his company also has built a wrestling building, Lions Stadium and a football practice field. Sills called those projects personal donations to the school that were carried out in conjunction with other individuals and companies who donated time, materials and money.''
Chris Galippo (Nagurski Trophy), Kris O'Dowd and Jurrell Casey (both Outland Trophy) made those vital watch lists today.
Maybe Reggie Bush's cooperation with the NCAA would be of little help considering the insight he is bringing from the World Cup via twitter.
reggie_bush: One of the first things I've learned very quickly is how much Pride the World Cup has brought to Africa! This is a historical time period!
Does it just seem like the Northwest schools (and Colorado and Utah) care a lot more about how the Pac-10 schools are divided up than, oh, say USC and UCLA?
None of the proposed plans seem to include the L.A. schools with the Bay Area schools even though they are an hour apart by plane and have long-standing rivalries. But then again, does the average USC fan really care about the Cal game?
Finally wrapping up the NCAA forum where a reader challenges me for thinking the sanctions were excessive.
Looks like Reggie Bush got over his sorrow from USC's NCAA sanctions. Hopefully he will be told by Landon Donovan that the U.S. players get paid, which he worried about before the World Cup.
Will USC remove that big Reggie Bush jersey from the Coliseum before the home opener against Virginia? Or will the fans do it themselves at the game?
Here's the latest odds to win the Heisman Trophy with one USC player making the list.
A reader asked the following question this week: Can USC win an AP title without playing in a bowl? Has it ever happened before?
Our resident historian offered the following answer: In 1974, Oklahoma was ineligible for a bowl. At that time probation teams could not be listed on the coaches poll. Oklahoma went 11-0-0, did not go to a bowl, and won the AP National Championship. The coaches poll crowned a school that finished 10-1-1: the USC Trojans.
A reader suggest the Pac-10 should rename itself the 12-Pac and see if it can forge a marketing partnership with Coors, which should be easy now that Colorado is joining hte conference.
There could be two six-Pac divisions, the Coors and Coors Lite. Naturally, Utah would be in Coors Lite.
England tied Algeria, 0-0, in another awful display at the World Cup this afternoon. Maybe one reason is manager Fabio Capello does not tell his players who will start until two hours before the game.
Then again, Pete Carroll never told Aaron Corp he would start the Washington game, so Capello is outdone by Caesar.
There is little to suggest the NCAA has a clue regarding this whole 13th game issue. It chose yesterday to say the Hawaii game would be allowed even though the sanctions never mentioned the Hawaii game. USC could have dropped the Minnesota or Virginia game.
And what does yesterday's announcement really mean about transferring the 12-game limit to 2011 and 2012?
The Pac-10 could have a conference championship game. What happens if USC reaches it and is not serving a bowl ban? It is banned from the 13th game?
The Onion tackles USC's NCAA sanctions and lists its own violations. Here's my favorite:
``Review of incident reveals that USC did a pretty good job (messing) with Lane Kiffin, so the NCAA will reduce the bowl-eligibility penalty by one year.''
Now we know why Larry Scott wanted Utah to join the Pac-12.
``With Utah's prowess in skiing, we will be paying attention to the Sochi Olympics,'' Scott said.
Michael Cooper shot a 3-pointer between the first and second quarter at the Lakers-Celtics game tonight. He missed. Between that and his post-game work for KABC-TV in Los Angeles, when does he work at USC?
If Larry Scott makes as much money for Pac-12 schools as he did for Texas during the just-completed expansion process, he will go down as the greatest commissioner in conference history.
And what are the better bowl alignments going to be for the Pac-12 now with its two new members? They have to better because they cannot be worse.
One point missing from today's news on the NCAA allowing a 13th game. The way the report was written, it was not necessarily the Hawaii came that would have to be dropped, a point which the NCAA's statement today seems to ignore.
Reggie Bush tweeted a picture of his Super Bowl ring today with the message, ``Here it is...New Orleans Stand up! San Diego Stand up!''
Where's the USC ring, Reggie?
The NCAA allowed USC to postpone its 13-game ban until the 2011 season, which means the Hawaii game on Sept. 2 can be played.
``We want to thank the Committee for granting this relief; it recognizes the serious financial impacts game cancellation would have had to the University and State of Hawaii as well as the fans and supporters of USC who have already made travel arrangements,'' USC senior vice president of administration Todd Dickey said.
I missed this yesterday. LenDale White was asked by the Tennessean newspaper yesterday about Pete Carroll.
``Pete Carroll? The same Pete Carroll who ran out on 'SC? I have no comment on Pete. I better wait 'til I'm on a team one day before I say anything.''
Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott said Utah would join in 2011. Scott said Colorado might join in 2011.
So that means there might be 11 teams in 2011, which would mean schedule changes.
Here we go on the NCAA question-and-answer go round.
Here's more from Rick Neuheisel on the Dan Patrick show regarding the news of USC's sanctions.
How he reacted when he heard the news about USC:
``It had been so long and had been so many rumors about it, I just kind of took the news in stride. The idea that there was going to be some sort of sanction. It had been well documented around here but I don't think it changes the game very much for what we have to do and that it what I focus on and the things that we have to do.''
Tackling the NCAA forum. Not the NCAA. The forum.
The NCAA's Financial Aid is proposing a new rule that could have impications for USC if it eventually loses 30 football scholarships due to last week's sanctions.
One rule change would allow ``student-athletes to void their athletic scholarship if they receive a better non-athletic financial aid package.''
Under current rules, this can happen only if a coach writes it into a letter-of-intent agreement.
UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel was asked by radio host Dan Patrick how he would use USC's sanctions to his benefit:
``I don't think we try to use it to our benefit. I think we just try to do the best we can. We have been competing against USC for every recruit since I arrived here.
``It is up to the recruits to decide what that means to them and what they decide whether that comes into play, they make their decision between the two.''
News flash: Yuck-tah joins the Pac-10. Larry Scott made a valiant effort but his end result turned out to be Tom Hansen-esque.
The questions are quite good regarding some NCAA shortcomings.
Reggie Bush said today that the NCAA sanctions against USC were "the closest thing to death without dying" and that he supports USC's appeal of the sanctions.
So why didn't Bush fully cooperate with the NCAA and provide more answers to even USC about his ``situation.'' And why didn't he settle his lawsuits sooner?
At this point, words don't help much.
The Denver Post reports that Colorado would not join the Pac-10 unless it was placed in the South Division with the Los Angeles schools. That means USC, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah will form the South Division.
Utah will hold a press conference tomorrow to announce the Utes are joining the Pac-10. All I can say is I'm underwhelmed.
The NCAA is not commenting on the 13th game issue, but it did put out a statement on conference expansion that basically said it has no say on the issue.
For years, Pete Carroll was called the Prince of the City by radio host Petros Papadakis. But Papadakis, who is on vacation in Hawaii, informed us that he will now refer to Carroll as, ``Chin Forever.''
Here is Pete Carroll speaking at length today about USC courtesy of the Seattle Times.
No word on whether a 13th game penalty carries over if USC loses its appeal after this season. We ask. The NCAA does not decide . . . to answer.
Chipping away at the NCAA forum.
Here's what Caesar told the Seahawks at this morning's practice:
``We're the ones who control how good we are and how right we are. Let's take control and let's not be just OK, but let's be great.''
I wonder how he would temper that remark if the Seahawks were on probation.
Former USC coach Tim Floyd did speak to the media Monday, but apparently not about the NCAA sanctions.
We are going to answer NCAA forum questions first because of its relevancy.
TCU and Florida are the only schools nationally this season to play in a BCS
bowl game, reach the College World Series and win a national championship in another sport.
The Horned Frogs captured the NCAA title in the coed sport of rifle. Rifle?
One of the annoying things about the NCAA is the way they choose to pretty much ignore the general public (and the media) in terms of being responsive. They made it clear that Paul Dee's press conference would be their only comments on the USC case.
But they seem to be ignoring media requests (by extension request for fans) regarding the 13th game. I've had a lot of fans ask for about the game because they purchased airline tickets to Hawaii.
It seems the game is unaffected because of USC's appeal but a word from the NCAA would be nice on the subject.
Linebacker Jordan Campbell is transferring, according to Scout.com, with Boise State the frontrunner (although it should be noted that there is no word on whether the Broncos want him).
Campbell was suspended last winter by Lane Kiffin and banned from working out with his teammates for missing too many classes and/or tutoring sessions. And he was suspended again in the spring. Kiffin never actually said he was back on the team. So apparently he is gone.
This Canadian university is suspending its football program for a year over a steroids scandal.
USC received a commitment from offensive lineman Marcus Martin from Crenshaw High in Los Angeles. He is a teammate of De'Anthony Thomas, who already committed. At least for now, probation has not hurt recruiting.
The big question now is whether the Pac-12 will remain one conference or split into two divisions?
Commissioner Larry Scott wants his championship game so he can make more money. That leads me to believe there will be two six-team conferences with Stanford, California, USC, UCLA and the Arizona schools in the Southern Division.
From the outset, we've been lukewarm to the idea of a Pac-16. Not that we were against it. Just that all things being equal, Texas would stay in the Big 12.
Well, the superconference is dead, as Texas will make more than $20 million a year and the rest of the league seems resigned to letting the Longhorns do whatever they want.
If I were Texas A&M, I'd still go to the SEC.
But that's another matter. Get ready for the Utah Utes in a Pac-12, a move that surely has to burn BYU.
Here's Pete Carroll's song of the day: ``So much to say'' by Dave Matthews Band.
Why not just tell us what you really think Caesar?
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh tells TMZ.com that Pete Carroll made the right decision to leave USC.
``Yeah, of course,'' Houshmandzadeh said. ``Get out when the house is burning.''
Apparently bodog.com thinks the NCAA appeal will be heard earlier than most everyone else. It currently does not list USC in its odds on who will represent the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl:
Oregon 7/4
Oregon State 5/2
Arizona 4/1
UCLA 6/1
Washington 13/2
Stanford 8/1
California 10/1
Arizona State 16/1
Washington State 60/1
Over the past few years, a club promoter attended practices. He was warmly greeted by an assistant football coach and even a USC football administrator. When I raised the appropriateness of his being at practice after he had been caught having minors at his club, officials scoffed at me.
This was the mindset that was pervasive that the NCAA alludes to with its criticism of the practice atmosphere. It wasn't really agents, who were rarely at a practice. It was these other types, who existed on the fringes.
Can't blame Pete Carroll for the timing of this tweet to Matt Barkley right before the NCAA sanctions:
``I'm sure she's worthy of a scholarship! RT @MattBarkley I wonder what it would take to get @taylorswift13 to come to a game''
To which one alumnus replied, ``Tell Pete USC can no longer waste a scholarship on Taylor Swift.''
Readers of this blog know that for several years, my nickname for Pete Carroll was Caesar. I chose this nickname because Carroll could do whatever he wanted at USC with no questions asked.
A few at USC used to complain about the nickname, but after this past week, the nickname is more relevant than ever.
I'm guessing that July 13th launch date for the Win Forever book is not looking so great now. At least with the USC fan demographic. Then again, maybe that football-fanatic segment of Seattle will pick up the slack.
Is it too late to change the title to, ``Win ForNineYears, Leave Before Probation.''
Q: Why didn't USC hold a press conference to rebut the NCAA charges?
A: It couldn't find a podium.
Here's the way an appeal takes place under NCAA guidelines:
•School or individuals submit appeals
•Committee responds
•Appellants rebut committee response (optional)
•Enforcement staff corrects errors in appellant's rebuttal
•Appellants respond to Enforcement staff rebuttals
•Infractions appeals hearing
•Infractions appeals report finalized
•School and individuals notified
•Public release
There is also a 110-day timeline the NCAA has for appeals, but the organization also notes that appeals can take longer.
In January, the NCAA denied Florida State's appeal that cost Bobby Bowden 14 victories. In March, the NCAA denied Alabama's appeal that vacated 21 victories. By the way, the Alabama appeal took nine months to decide, so maybe that's where Lane Kiffin gets his timetable. And it makes the idea of canceling the 13th game moot, unless as I mentioned earlier, the NCAA could force USC to cancel a 12th game in 2011 or 2012.
Those cases were considered smaller than USC's, so what chance do the Trojans really have of winning an appeal?
Here's a photo of Pete Carroll in his office this week with ESPN's John Clayton. Readers are encouraged to post their own caption.
Here's mine: ``Sanctions? What sanctions? I'm in Seattle.''
How will the expected addition of the Texas schools affect the bowl alignments of the Pac-10 and Big 12? Aside from improving the Pac-10, of course.
Since David Beckham attended UCLA's spring game and not USC's, I will let readers gloat over his expression during England's 1-1 draw with the United States.
One of the NCAA penalties is for USC to disassociate itself from Reggie Bush. Does this mean the No. 5 jersey is immediately availablity for next season?
USC's men finished fifth at the NCAA track and field championships. Possible Pac-16 addition Texas A&M won the men's and women's titles.
After 15 events, USC is in fourth place with 26.5 points at the NCAA championships. Oregon's in first place with 44 points.
Here's my column on the challenges facing Lane Kiffin and the USC football team in the wake of severe NCAA sanctions.
ESPN reports that USC tailback Dillon Baxter was illegally contacted by Washington, Oregon, Florida, Fresno State and Alabama, according to the school's compliance office.
``In a letter written by USC director of compliance Matt Billings to Pac-10 Associate Commissioner for Governance and Enforcement Ron Barker, Florida, Washington, Oregon, Fresno State and Alabama allegedly contacted Baxter.
``The letter states in part: `I just met with [Baxter] and he told me that he received phone calls from five institutions [June 10th]. All of the institutions asked if he was interested in transferring from USC due to the NCAA decision. Would you please speak with these schools to remind them they cannot speak to this student athlete?' ''
If true, this means that two of Lane Kiffin's friends, Washington's Steve Sarkisian and Fresno State's Pat Hill, tried to steal his tailback.
Here's a report that says Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are coming west. Texas A&M is undecided. Baylor and Utah undoubtedly would love to replace them.
According to ESPN.com, this is what athletic director Mike Garrett told boosters in San Francisco last night:
``As I read the decision by the NCAA, all I could get out of all of this was ... I read between the lines and there was nothing but a lot of envy, and they wish they all were Trojans.''
This does not sound like a comment that will generate sympathy from the appeals committee that will determine if USC's penalties were justified.
Former basketball coach Tim Floyd told several media outlets he would have plenty to say once the sanctions were announced. But so far, I have not seen any public comments from him.
We hear the football locker room flooded this morning because of a broken pipe. Kind of a fitting end to the week right?
I've made inquiries about the idea that USC will need to drop a game next season because
the NCAA states in its report that ``during the two years of this postseason ban, the football team may not take advantage of the exceptions to the limit in the number of football contests.''
USC plays an extra game because it is going to Hawaii to open the season. And the Hawaii game is one everyone thinks would be dropped.
But here's the rub: If USC appeals the bowl ban and the appeal takes nine months, wouldn't it automatically eliminate the need to drop a game even if the appeal is unsuccessful?
Or would the NCAA try to think up some way to keep it in play by reducing USC's regular season by one game in 2011 if the appeal is unsuccessful?
And why is this even a rule to begin with again?
This passage of the NCAA report talked about Reggie Bush taking a USC track athlete to the 2005 Heisman Trophy ceremony. The athlete said he did not remember who paid his airfare. But the NCAA found the plane ticket was purchased by a business associate of the sports marketers mentioned in the report.
The track athlete was former 400-and-800 meter runner DeSean Cunningham.
Linebacker Tre Madden of Mission Viejo says he is not changing his commitment despite sanctions in this interview.
The NCAA report displayed what a spinmaster Tim Floyd can be, something I witnessed many times. Floyd told the committee on infractions he was so fed up with the negative influences within college basketball, he went to the NCAA offices to discuss the ills of recruiting with then-president Myles Brand.
But when USC's compliance director advised Floyd to drop the recruitment of O.J. Mayo because of questions surrounding his amateur status and ties to Rodney Guillory and an AAU coach, Floyd ignored the director. He also took down Guillory's personal information and passed it to his staff to recruit Mayo even after Guillory described himself as an, ``events promoter.''
Here';s some more from Lane Kiffin:
``I cannot say very many things about the investigation or the decision, but I can say this: in our minds, and in our fans and everyone involved in the USC program, that USC is an extremely powerful place, an extremely powerful university, an extremely powerful football program. Usc has gone through a lot before.
``As you look over the history of things that have happened here before, go back to 1980, USC over a four-year span had a three-year postseason ban. After that, the next season USC went on to win the Pac-10 and Rose Bowl, four of the next six years. USC has been through a lot before. We will continue to play championship football. We'll continue to recruit the best players in America.''
USC posted its December, 2009, response to the NCAA here.
The university hotly contested the NCAA's conclusion that assistant coach Todd McNair was connected to Michael Michaels and Lloyd Lake, the would-be sports marketers who supplied cash and gifts to Reggie Bush.
I find the NCAA penalties to be over the top considering almost all of it revolves around two superstar athletes. There have been cases at other schools where 40-60 athletes were involved and the penalties were far less severe. It's clear the NCAA wanted to make sure it established a tough guy image because of the high-profile nature of the case.
That said, the NCAA report illustrates just how little many people at USC did to monitor situations or question what was going on. You can throw Pete Carroll, Tim Floyd and Mike Garrett into this category. And that's led to the current mess for the football and basketball players, most of whom who were not even around during the violations to deal with.
Pete Carroll addressed the NCAA sanctions today.
Here's a key quote: ``The agenda of the NCAA infractions committee took them beyond the facts. And the facts don't match the sanctions.''
USC quarterback Matt Barkley on the NCAA sanctions:
``I'm not disappointed. You can't look at it from that perspective. It's pointless.
``Coach Kiffin brought this up when talking about players dealing with adversity.
USC coach Lane Kiffin said an NCAA appeal could take anywhere from 9-10 months. That means USC could be eligible for a bowl game this season if it appealed the two-year bowl ban.
Lane Kiffin said no recruits have asked to be released from their letter of intents:
``I don't think it will have an impact.
``I don't think having to miss one game will make them not come to USC.''
Lane Kiffin said he would not comment on specific violations, including those concerning assistant coach Todd McNair.
Lane Kiffin on the sanctions: ``I take the same stance as our university. There is some guilt in the penalties but the punishment is too severe.''
The NCAA just emailed me to say that football players can transfer during the appeal process without sitting out a year.
Here's a part of the report where assistant coach Todd McNair took a USC tutor to a party in San Diego of a former NFL player, where he initially became aware of the one of the would-be sports marketers' relationship with Reggie Bush.
``According to the assistant football coach, the associate was a tutor in the athletics department and he contemplated hiring her to assist him in "starting an independent record label." [Note: No such enterprise was ever started.]''
Here's an excerpt of the NCAA report on a meeting between Tim Floyd and Mike Garrett concerning Rodney Guillory, who was accused of giving O.J. Mayo at least $30,000 in cash and gifts.
``There were further signs of possible trouble that went unheeded by the administration of the institution. On October 7, 2006, the director of athletics went to the men's basketball office after receiving an e-mail from a sports reporter looking for a response to a report that representative B was a professional sports agent and involved with student-athlete 2. When advised by the former head men's basketball coach that representative B had on numerous occasions denied he was an agent or runner, the director of athletics responded, "That's all I need to know," and left the office. No further follow-up was done.''
The NCAA informed me right now that junior and senior players are free to transfer without sitting out a year because of the two-year bowl ban. However, USC is appealing the football sanctions, so we'll see if that means athletes would not be able to transfer without sitting out until the case is resolved.
In USC's response today, the university said, ``to provide us with recommendations about the best way to protect our student-athletes and their families from those who seek to violate the rules, we have retained the Freeh Group, headed by former federal judge and ex-FBI director Louis Freeh.''
Here's what one blog said about Freeh: ``Freeh represents Prince Bandar and argues that a plane given to Bandar by BAE was for Saudi Arabia's military purposes and was not a personal gift. And, no, according to Freeh, the fact that Bandar used the plane himself and had it painted in the colors of his beloved Dallas Cowboys doesn't change the aircraft's military nature.''
USC coach Lane Kiffin is flying to the Bay Area this afternoon to speak to a booster group.
Here is USC's announcement that it will appeal football penalties:
Paul Dee said no charges were brought before the infractions committee involving former USC coach Pete Carroll, which is why he was not sanctioned.
Paul Dee said if USC appeals certain penalties, it will stay the penalty, but the risk is the penalty is pushed back if the appeals committee denies the claim. For example, the bowl ban might not go into effect this year if USC appeals but could then apply the next two years if USC loses the appeal.
Paul Dee said the penalties would not be any different if Pete Carroll were still USC's football coach.
Committee on infractions chairman Paul Dee said Miami lost 31 scholarships when he was athletic director in 1995. It took the Hurricanes six years to win a national title.
This excerpt of the NCAA report concerns assistant coach Todd McNair.
``At least by January 8, 2006, the assistant football coach had knowledge that student-athlete 1 and agency partners A and B likely were engaged in NCAA violations. At 1:34 a.m. he had a telephone conversation for two minutes and 23 seconds with agency partner A during which agency partner A attempted to get the assistant football coach to convince student-athlete 1 either to adhere to the agency agreement or reimburse agency partners A and B for money provided to student-athlete 1 and his family. Further, during his September 19, 2006, and February 15, 2008, interviews with the enforcement staff, the assistant football coach violated NCAA ethical conduct legislation by providing false and misleading information regarding his knowledge of this telephone call and the NCAA violations associated with it. The assistant football coach failed to alert the institution's compliance staff of this information and later attested falsely, through his signature on a certifying statement, that he had no knowledge of NCAA violations.''
Here's the NCAA explanation of what games USC must forfeit:
``Vacation of all wins in which the former football student-athlete competed while ineligible, beginning in December 2004. This vacation includes participation in any postseason competition, including football bowl games.''
Here's the NCAA report's specific penalty regarding scholarships:
``Reduction of football athletics scholarships to 15 initial grants and 75 total grants for each of the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years. This represents a decrease of 10 scholarships for each of the three seasons.''
Teams are allowed 85 scholarships per year. So that's a 30-scholarship reduction and will be a huge blow to Coach Lane Kiffin.
Here's the first phrase from the NCAA release announcing its findings against USC:
``The findings in this case include a lack of institutional control, impermissible inducements, extra benefits, exceeding coach staff limits, and unethical conduct by an assistant football coach.
``The penalties include four years probation; a two-year football postseason ban; a one-year basketball postseason ban; vacation of regular and postseason wins for all three involved sports; scholarship reductions for football and basketball; and recruiting restrictions for men's basketball. They also include a $5,000 financial penalty; forfeiture of revenue from the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Tournament; and limitations for the access granted to boosters and non-university personnel to team charters, sidelines, practices, locker rooms and camps for men's basketball and football.''
The king of twitter goes conveniently silent regarding USC's sanctions. As expected. But he's got plenty to say about Matt Barkley and Taylor Swift.
There is word going around that USC might have a video response today instead of a press conference.
Here's the official Pac-10 announcement.
The NCAA will hold a press conference at 12 p.m. (PDT) featuring Paul Dee, the chairman of the committee on infractions, to discuss the findings against USC.
If the NCAA committee on infractions recommends it, any USC football with two years of eligibility or less could transfer without sitting out a year because of the two-year bowl ban.
I think USC will face more potential headaches with freshmen than veterans who are already comfortable at USC and really only lose a bowl game at the end of the season. Why bother transferring if you are already a starter and start over at another school?
The NCAA accepted USC's self-imposed penalties in basketball, though I doubt this soothes many fans tonight.
``We got killed,'' said a source who saw the report but not wish to be identified.
With a two-year bowl ban, it seems obvious the NCAA believes someone at USC was aware of the Reggie Bush situation. I wonder what Pete Carroll will say about this. Or what he thinks. Since he will not say what he really thinks, of course.
A USC source says USC will receive a two-year bowl ban from the NCAA and that Coach Lane Kiffin is livid.
While I was away from the computer, USC spokesperson James Grant released the following statement: ``There are erroneous reports that there will be a press conference at USC tomorrow. USC is not having a press conference.''
Here's what it sounds like will happen tomorrow. The NCAA will announce its findings regarding USC and possible sanctions (expect forfeits and scholarship reductions at least) and then USC will hastily assemble a press conference to announce its response.
Nebraska appears set to move to the Big 12 but from what we gather, that doesn't make much difference as long as Texas and Oklahoma stay put. If the Longhorns bolt, then the Pac-16 becomes a reality. But they could easily remain as the kings of the Big 12. So maybe something will not happen immediately after Nebraska departs for the Big Ten.
We just spoke to another source who said no press conference is scheduled for tomorrow. Of course, things can move fast regarding possible NCAA sanctions, but as of now, no press conference is scheduled.
Here's what USC spokesman James Grant said to me regarding a possible press conference tomorrow regarding the NCAA's findings.
``We're going to have comment after the NCAA publicly releases its finding . . . Otherwise, we haven't scheduled anything,'' Grant said.
That does not sound like a press conference is scheduled . . . yet.
USC scored a 924 in basketball. The benchmark score to avoid penalties is 925. But USC avoided penalties because all its current players did fine. Remember the basketball program's APR was a problem using a four-year average from the year when neither Gabe Pruitt nor Nick Young left in good academic standing.
There's lots of talk around Heritage Hall right now regarding whether anyone's seen the NCAA's report, which was supposedly delivered to USC today. A spokesman said no comment is planned ``until the NCAA releases its findings.''
USC's football scored a healthy 965 with its academic-progress report score. Here's the Pac-10 scores, which are four-year averages.
Stanford, 976
Cal, 969
USC, 965
UCLA, 953
Washington, 948
Oregon State, 947
Arizona State, 945
Oregon, 942
Arizona, 940
WSU, 918
USC plays Virginia at the Coliseum on Sept. 11. But the week before, Virginia opens its season against Richmond. And the quarterback for Richmond in that game could be former USC quarterback Aaron Corp. But Corp will need to beat out John Laub. They battled in the spring and no starter was selected.
Former USC coach John Robinson is currently serving as the defensive coordinator at San Marcos High School in California.
Here's a quote from Pete Carroll today on why he released former USC tailback LenDale White, courtesy of the Seattle Times.
``It was just time to just move ahead,'' Carroll said. ``I think he needs to go somewhere else and find a spot and it wasn't going to be here. That's it.''
Here's a quote from Pete Carroll via the Seattle Times: ``I'm not disappointed in a guy being in a donut shop when they've got maple bars like Top Pot has. However, under the circumstances I think they were closed or they were trying to closed or something like that. So that's definitely one we talked about it, and he's most remorseful about it and all that. I do understand the allure of the maple bars.''
Alabama, Florida and Texas and Texas Christian are the only schools to have a top-10 football program this season as well as a baseball team in the Super Regionals. So it is possible to be good in both sports. Memo to . . .
TMZ.com reports that Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate was given a warning by police for being inside a Top Pot doughnut shop at 3 a.m., seven hours after it closed. Maybe Tate thought he could enter the shop because Caesar's posed for pictures eating the Top Pot maple bars.
We checked with a high-ranking official at USC who said they had not seen or heard anything from the NCAA yet. The NCAA releases APR scores tomorrow, so it might not want to step on that story.
Linebacker Brian Cushing surfaces from his recent drug-test controversy to participate in an MMA training session.
Defensive end Lavonte Barnett of Paraclete High School in Lancaster, who attended one of USC's junior days in the winter, picked up a scholarship offer from Cal.
Here's the always-anticipated USC schedule poster. It's two posters in one. USC says the left side was released at the spring game and the right side will be available in September. You can order one online for $10. But no one said how to get one this summer, when they are actually wanted. In the old days, you could go to Heritage Hall and get one for free.
With the Pac-10 making a bold effort to lure Texas, does anyone think the Longhorns would move only if they couldn't find a better deal elsewhere?
Texas already spoke to the Big Ten, which is considered a superior conference financially.
And I wouldn't be surprised if the SEC put out feelers. But Texas could also stay in the Big 12, even if Nebraska left, and probably make more money than in a 16-team Pac-10.
The other issue is Texas state politics. What's going to happen with Texas A&M? Will the state legislature allow Texas and Texas A&M to play in different conferences? A&M might prefer the SEC to a Pac-16.
All of this will be played out in the next few months and right now, Texas is still a long way from joining the Pac-10. But give commissioner Larry Scott. At least he's trying to dictate what happens instead of sitting back.
The Open Forum finally gets wrapped up!
Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott wants to expand to Asia, not just into the Big 12.
``We've got a lot of student-athletes who have Asian roots,'' Scott said. "Some of our schools have a very high level of brand recognition over in Asia, and there's a lot of interest in our schools.
``You'll see our student-athletes playing in a more organized way in Asia.''
Scott's idea isn't new. USC played Oregon in Tokyo in 1985 in the Mirage Bowl, which was one of five games there involving Pac-10 teams between 1980-90.
A USC professor says coverage of women's sports on TV news and highlights shows dropped from 9 percent of airtime in 1999 to 1.6 percent in 2009.
Attendance at sports events in the Los Angeles/Orange County areas dropped 16 percent to 20.8 million people in 2009 compared to a reported 24.9 million in 2007. That's according to a study from the Los Angeles Sports Council and Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
USC home football attendance dropped from 87,476 in 2007 to 84,799 in 2009.
For all the talk of the Pac-10's insistence on adding schools with well-regarded research reputations, it's worth noting that only seven of the conference's 10 schools are members of the Association of American Universities, a prestigious group of 63 leading public and private research institutions.
Those members are Stanford, Arizona, Cal, UCLA, Oregon, Washington and USC. All 11 Big Ten schools are in the AAU. And there's no sign of Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State or Texas A&M, schools reportedly invited to join an expanded conference.
The Celtics beat the Lakers 103-94 in Game 2 tonight. Maybe it was because Brian Scalabrine wore a suit and sat at the end of the bench Sunday instead of wearing sweats and sitting next to the coaches, like he did in Game 1.
The Pac-10 gave commissioner Larry Scott formal approval to pursue expansion Sunday without committing to adding schools.
UC Irvine's up 4-1 on LSU in the sixth inning in Westwood. The winner plays UCLA tonight.
UPDATED: UC Irvine is now ahead 4-2 in the seventh inning.
UPDATED AGAIN: UC Irvine wins 4-3.
We've heard from some in the New York media that tailback Joe McKnight's actually practiced much better since throwing up the first day.
Some of you have asked why De'Anthony Thomas is listed by some services as a ``soft verbal.'' One reason is Thomas is scheduled to visit Washington in September. Like Pete Carroll, Lane Kiffin does not prevent commits from visiting other schools and it's sometimes encouraged. So there's really been no change in Thomas' status other than he will take some trips.
Back to the questions/answers.
Here's the number of early commitments for each Pac-10 school:
Arizona 3
Arizona State 1
California 3
Oregon 2
Oregon State 0
Stanford 15
UCLA 0
USC 7
Washington State 5
Washington 12
You might remember that Reggie Bush recently tweeted that he couldn't believe players were not paid for playing in the Worold Cup.
Well, Spain's World Cup team will receive $740.000 in bonuses if they win the World Cup, the highest amount offered to any of the 32 teams competing in South Africa. Hopefully that is considered meaningful compensation by Bush standards.
A few more answers here, including a Lane Kiffin-Steve Sarkisian comparison.
The SEC distributed approximately $209 million to its 12 league institutions in the revenue sharing plan for the 2009-10 fiscal year, the highest total ever distributed in SEC history.
That included $109.5 million from football television revenue, $26.5 million from bowl games, $14.5 million from the SEC Football Championship, $30.0 million from basketball television, $5.0 million from the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament and $23.5 million from NCAA Championships.
Each school received $17.3 million.
Duke Llewellyn, the chairman and co-founder of the Wooden Award, died today. He was 93. He played football, basketball and was on the track and field team at USC. A full obituary from the Los Angeles Athletic Club after the jump:
Where would you rank USC's backfield in the Pac-10? A reader asks.
That would be baseball coach Chad Kreuter. Most everyone focused on the speculation that NCAA sanctions would come today and he's not lost his job.
Back to answers since the NCAA did not take ESPN's advice today.
As you probably heard, this report says USC will not hear today from the NCAA. We've been skeptical all week about the ESPN report, mainly because the NCAA rarely leaks the announcement date more than a day advance.
USC vaulted from 38th to 12th place in the latest Directors' Cup standings. There are still several sports to be decided.
Will Frankie Telfort be the next linebacker to leave USC, especially if he feels he can get cleared elsewhere?
Back to questions . . . and answers.
There's been some probation predictions today in the media. Right now, everyone is making educated. From people I've talked to in Heritage Hall, forfeits and scholarships reductions are the suspected penalty but everyone is wondering if a bowl ban is coming too.
Here's one making the rounds today. The Pac-10 will invite six Big 12 teams to join the conference. It's certainly a bold move, which sounds like new commissioner Larry Scott. But every bold idea sounds possible these days and this is far from being a reality.
Quarterback Cody Kessler said he was going to commit to Washington on May 14 but USC called and offered a scholarship. He intends to graduate early and enroll in January, 2011.
Linebacker Jarvis Jones, who suffered what is believed to be a career-ending neck injury, was granted his release to transfer to any school. What is interesting is if Jones believes he can play elsewhere by seeing other doctors who might clear him.
Quarterback Cody Kessler's commitment today on the heels of Max Wittek from Mater Dei only demonstrates how certain recruits are that Matt Barkley will leave after his junior season. Kessler and Wittek think they will only wait a year and then compete for the wide-open starting job.
Quarterback Cody Kessler of Bakersfield committed to USC this afternoon. He also considered Washington, UCLA, Boise State and Pitt.
Former USC tight end Anthony McCoy signed a one-year contract with the Seahawks and Pete Carroll also signed former Washington quarterback Isaiah Stanback. Perhaps Carroll remembers that Washington nearly upset him at the Coliseum but Stanback could not snap the ball before the clock expired for last chance to win the game.
A high-ranking official at USC said today he had not heard anything yet regarding any announcement from the NCAA.
ESPNU's Top 150 is even more contrarian than Rivals.com with Antwaun Woods listed as the Trojans' top commit at No. 45. DeAnthony Thomas is down at No. 65 while Victor Blackwell is No. 56.
Linebacker Tre Madden, who committed to USC last week, is ranked No. 69 in the nation in Rivals.com's first ranking of the top 100 prospects while Mater Dei quarterback Max Wittek and wide receiver Victor Blackwell are not ranked.
Quarterback Cody Kessler of Bakersfield will hold a press conference today to announce his college choice. He made his third visit to USC last weekend, so the Trojans are considered a favorite along with Washington.
Although listed at only 6-foot-1, Rivals.com just listed Kessler as the No. 64-ranked player in the nation.
Former USC forward Brian Scalabrine shows Yardbarker.com, ``his town,'' Boston, as a member of the Celtics. It's better than when former USC coach Henry Bibby showed Scalabrine and his teammates New York City after they made the Sweet 16 in 2001 by taking them to dinner at Kentucky Fried Chicken.
USC's game at the Coliseum on Nov. 6 will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. and be shown on Fox Sports Net. That should be a chilly environment for a November game.
Although Pete Carroll did not respect Rick Neuheisel and Neuheisel did not really like Carroll, looking at the current number of early commits made me think maybe Neuheisel's adopted a Carroll strategy.
USC's got six commitments so far while UCLA has none, the only school in the Pac-10 without. Neuheisel might be waiting like Carroll used to for the summer camps and fall season to evaluate. Or maybe he just hasn't convinced anyone to pick UCLA yet.
If you believe ESPN, Friday is the day the NCAA announces whether it will penalize USC. But Friday is also the day the Pac-10 holds its annual meeting, where one of the promised topics is expansion.
USC sophomore golfer Jennifer Song was one of four finalists for the Honda Award, given to the country's top golfer. Caroline Hedwall of Oklahoma State won the award.
Bakersfield Centennial High QB Cody Kessler will decide his college choice this week, according to Scout.com. USC, Washington, Boise State and Pitt are Kessler's top four.
USC is selling customized pictures of locker stalls to fans. But do fans need Lane Kiffin's permission to wear the suddenly vaunted No. 1?
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