A: People are reading too much about the fact the NCAA checked on Mayo's amateurism before he enrolled at USC. A lot of times, that means an athlete just filled out a questionnaire. And that doesn't absolve an athlete if he took money after he enrolled. It is not USC's fault if it did not know if he took money. But none of us knows what USC knew. We only know the person at the center of this was chummy with the basketball program.
Q: After Sports Illustrated posted a link to the walk-on video on Monday, did you notice that PeteCarrollTV has now removed said video from YouTube? Do you think they're getting scared and/or embarrassed by the behavior of Brennan Carroll and the national fallout that's resulting from it?
A: Yes.
Q: Could the staff of the USC compliance office be held accountable rather than Tim Floyd for failing to monitor the situation with OJ Mayo and Rodney Guillory? If that is the case, could any of the compliance office staff be fired?
A: Compliance officials work for the university, not the athletic dept. That is so they have independence to make decisions without fear of retribution. Compliance banned Guillory from basketball games, not the basketball program. And they do not monitor who comes into offices, etc.
Q: How did Adam Rose get to be an ESPN correspondent?
A: I have no idea.
A: I've covered USC long enough to know to never expect the scandals to stop at a certain point. So I'll hold my breath that you are right.
Q: How can USC justify allowing Guillory on campus (and in Floyd's office!) after his involvement with Jeff Trepagnier that led to him being ruled ineligible for receiving extra benefits? Did Floyd know about Guillory's past when he let Guillory have the run of the place? If not, didn't other "long-timers" at USC (e.g., Mike Garrett, Tim Tessalone, etc.) know of Guillory's past with Trepagnier? To me, there seems to be no proper justification for allowing Guillory to set foot on campus. Has USC provided one yet? It reminds me of the old adage: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Where is the institutional control?
A: USC wanted O.J. Mayo. The only way to get him was to do business with Guillory. So everyone winked and nodded and looked the other way. It was that simple. Perhaps this is one reason USC was so concerned about creating a certain image for Mayo. For example, when he punched Daniel Hackett and broke his jaw, Floyd denied it despite everyone on campus knowing the true story. Why? Because it would raise questions about Mayo and they did not want anyone looking into anything regarding their star recruit
A: I have not gone on YouTube to check this but if that is true, I will point to what Petros Papadakis said last Saturday on his web chat: The Daily Trojan is more objective than Ben Malcomson. After all, that's why it's petecarroll.com and not an objective web site.
Q: Considering that Tim Floyd was in direct contact with Rodney Guillory from before OJ Mayo's enrollment at USC, as well as throughout his tenure on the basketball team, do you think that once the dust has settled, Floyd will still be the head coach at USC? Could he be used as the scapegoat by the athletic department administration, especially Mike Garrett, who needs to have the heat taken off himself by the other off the field issues caused by the football team?
A: Right now, I do not see USC firing anyone. But we need to see the results of the investigation. Clearly, Floyd was wrong to allow Guillory such close access to the program. But the football and basketball coaches wield enormous power at USC and unless something really egregious took place, I would not predict a coaching change. Or an administrative change.
A: Usually it is compliance people who conduct investigations and I hear USC's is actually shorthanded at the moment. The Pac-10 has its enforcement officers but they are much like compliance people and not private investigators. Runners are worse than paparazzi.
Q: With the OJ Mayo scandal now breaking nationally and adding to other instances where USC student-athletes, notably Reggie Bush, having taken items of value from agents while enrolled at USC, at what point do you think the term "lack of institutional control" will start being used and will it be time for Mike Garrett to be held accountable and step down? Clearly the Mayo incident is not a surprise to anyone, so should changes be expected at the top with Garrett taking responsibility and resigning for allowing so many agents to wander around Heritage Hall, USC locker rooms, practice facilities and athletic events?\
A: It is troubling when you have two major investigations. But until we reach a resolution on both cases, it's probably hard to put the blame on someone. However, I do think it's fair to say the person at the top bears responsibility. According to a CBS Sportsline column, Rodney Guillory claimed he was told by Mike Garrett that the sports site was investigating Guillory.
A: The truth is that none of us really knows what took place. The NCAA will determine that with its investigation. And under the rules, USC could potentially be held responsible. It might have to vacate last year's victories or in a worst-case scenario, face probation. No one really knows what will happen.
Q: Will this Mayo episode and the Bush drama, will this hurt USC Sports for the next few years. Will recruits be frightened of penalties and not wish to come here( just like in the 2008 football recruiting class). Also will USC basketball and football stop recruiting one man shows like Bush, Mayo, Jefferson, and others who will cause more harm than good for USC sports? Also, will Pete Carroll leave because of a penalty to the programs and what will happen to Mike Garrett?
A: The Bush investigation has not hurt football recruiting for the past two years. The only thing that will hurt is actual penalties, not the threat of penalties. Same with basketball. USC will not stop recruiting elite athletes. But it might start being stricter in terms of monitoring who is around these athletes. A lot of NFL people speculate Pete Carroll might leave if it looks like USC will be put on probation but that's a hypothetical right now. Mike Garrett seems safe.
Q: What's the likelihood that Drew Radovich is behind Mayogate so he could take the heat off himself?
A: Looks like we have an answer.
A: The players are working out with Chris Carlisle and in the summer will do passing drills on their own.
Q: Anything new on malik storey and how likely is it that he qualifies? apparently the guy is a top notch shooter which this team desparately needs to replace OJ, along with dwight lewis neeeding to step it up among other things.
A: Story is still trying to get eligible and is more likely than not likely to succeed. But I don't know how much of an impact he will make. He is a nice shooter if he is open but if someone is in his face, it's hard to see him scoring consistently and is not the quickest player.
Q: Did Don Ludwig's job reassignment have anything to do with how he had jurisdiction over the song girls and allowed the group to fall into the pathetic and ugly mess it is now?
A: I believe Michael Jackson reassigned him for other reasons. Never try to figure out Michael Jackson's motives.
Q: Where are Joe Jares, Dennis Kirkpatrick, Ricky Jackson and Lon Rosen?
A: Joe Jares writes for USC Report, Dennis Kirkpatrick is a TV producer, Lon Rosen worked for the Dodgers and I have no idea who Ricky Jackson is.
Q: Could the character issues and concerns that prevented Radovich from being drafted by the NFL have anything to do with the fact that he went to high school with Sanchez?
A: Maybe it is Bob Johnson's fault. By the way, I'm going to repost a comment I made last night in one of the forums about a ridiculous assertion that I was evasive about Sanchez because I forgot to mention a fraternity house incident.
For the record, I was the reporter who broke the story on the fraternity house incident. Here's what I wrote two years ago: ``Last month, campus security detained him after he allegedly broke a window at a fraternity party but did not make any arrests.''
I forgot I wrote this when I answered the question Monday because I was busy with Mayo stuff. It's a joke to say I was evasive. My question is why you are obsessing on these incidents two years later?
A: No, I haven't been able to look into it yet, but the O.J. Mayo case kind of makes it moot doesn't it? Nothing surprises me regarding basketball.
Q: About how many scholarships did we have available last Feb. that were not given out and thus saved for future use?
A: There were at least five extras, but two went to walk-ons during spring practice. There might be more after this semester if anyone does not survive academically.
Q: I have noticed that you have been quite evasive the past two or three open forums when readers have asked you questions about Mark Sanchez's off the field activities. I am not sure whether this is due to legal reasons or fear of retaliation/fallout, so let me ask you a question where there could only be one answer - Other than his arrest for sexual assault by the LAPD, how many times has Sanchez been handcuffed or detained by law enforcement agencies, whether it was USC's Department of Public Safety, the Orange County Sheriff, LA County Sheriff, or any other entity, since coming to USC?
A: I don't recall being evasive. I have no fears of fallout or retaliation. Perhaps some of the questions were just ridiculous. The only time I know of a legal problem was the alleged sexual assault. I've previously written about an incident at a party in Orange County where Brian Cushing punched a friend of Sanchez, but Sanchez was not involved in the fight.
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