Where Saban Goes to Escape the Riff-Raff

Deep South Sports has posted a photo said to be of Nick Saban's getaway on Georgia's Lake Burton. The house is located in Rabun County, which — interestingly enough — provided the backdrop for the 1972 film "Deliverance." Saban, 56, said he plans to retire here. A larger image of the home can be viewed by clicking here.

Leinart's Expensive Love Child?

Former USC quarterback and 2004 Heisman winner Matt Leinart reportedly has been handed a setback. An expensive setback.

Leinart, who saw a dispute over his love child with USC basketball player Brynn Cameron spill into the media and blogosphere, must pay Cameron $15,000 a month in child support, according to TMZ.

If our math skills are correct, that's $180,000 a year. Cameron was asking for around twice that amount.

However, Scott Wolf of the L.A. Daily News writes that the TMZ report is erroneous and that no settlement has been reached. Credit Sports By Brooks for being on top of this story.

Leinart, entering his second season with the Arizona Cardinals, will be back in court Aug. 13 to fight for the right to spend more time with the kid.

Thanks to Joe for this beaut.

The Best Player in College Football

Louisiana State defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey's chances of winning the Heisman are slim and none, but no one will be more feared on the field this fall.

"We tried a dozen different ways to block him last year and we haven't slowed him down yet,'' Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville told John Pruett of the Huntsville Times.

"He's the first guy you look for when you come to the line of scrimmage if you're playing LSU,'' Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge said.

"He's not a guy you want chasing you, believe me,'' Auburn quarterback Brandon Cox said.

So why is Dorsey back in Baton Rouge for his senior season? After all, he could be cashing NFL paychecks.

Two reasons. Dorsey had a shin injury and feared it would impact his draft status. Some reports say he got bad advice and still would have been a top-10 pick had he decided to enter last April's draft.

This could be one player Nick Saban wishes he never signed. Saban was LSU's coach in 2004 when Dorsey decided to become a Tiger. Now he will be on the other side when the teams play Nov. 3 in Tuscaloosa.

How Low Can the ACC Go?

How bad was the Atlantic Coast Conference last season? J.P. Giglio of the Raleigh News & Observer has a post on the paper's blog ACC Now — arguably the best college sports blog by a newspaper — detailing that league teams went a dismal 4-12 against its BCS brethren during the regular season. Percentage wise that puts the ACC sixth out of the six-conference BCS.

Giglio writes that the "ranking doesn't get any better when you consider the ACC's record vs. the rest of I-A in 2006. The league went 17-6, which in terms of percentage points, also ranks sixth."

The Southeastern Conference is at the top of the list, followed by the Big East, the Pacific 10, the Big Ten, the Big 12 and then the ACC.

The post includes the nonconference results from all BCS conferences and has links to the ACC's best and worst nonconference losses in 2006. One of the worst losses was Akron's 20-17 victory over North Carolina State at Carter-Finley Stadium, when the Zips' Dennis Kennedy, above, scored a controversial touchdown on the last play of the game.

All is not lost for the ACC. Giglio looks at 10 games that will determine what the rest of the college football world thinks of the ACC in 2007.

At Kentucky, Brooks Has Them Believing

Rich Brooks turned around Kentucky's fortunes in 2006, and the Wildcats will try to build on the 8-5 season that included a 28-20 victory over Clemson in the Music City Bowl.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

This Post Comes 'Out of the Blue'

The Boise State documentary "Out of the Blue" is nearing completion and officials are already accepting orders in preparation for the Aug. 28 release. We're told ESPN2 is planning to show 60 minutes of the 90-minute film later this month, but we beat the four-letter network to it with this three-minute trailer. Ha! Now if you're an Oklahoma fan, you have been warned.

Thanks to Matthew at Statue Left for sending this along. Statue Left, you might recall, sponsored the winning entry in our Great Billboard Competition, one of those things we do to keep entertained during the offseason.
Presumably the final filming for the DVD was done Saturday when Boise State running back Ian Johnson followed through and got hitched to Chrissy Popadics. We wish them well.

Buildup to This Season's Game of Games

Nick Saban has decided to throw a little gasoline on the fire, as if the Alabama and Louisiana State game, set for Nov. 3 in Tuscaloosa, really needed it.

At last week's Southeastern Conference media days, Saban said that C.C. Thompson, a member of his staff, had the tires slashed on her car when she went back to Baton Rouge to attend a wedding. Thompson worked for Saban at LSU and the Miami Dolphins.

LSU sports information director Michael Bonnette disputed the story, according to Scott Rabalais of the Baton Rouge Advocate. Bonnette called Thompson and "she told him that she initially thought her tires had been slashed but that someone had merely let the air out of them. A serious headache, but not the same degree of vandalism."

Les Miles downplayed the game with Alabama at SEC media days, but when asked about it was careful not mention the words "Alabama" or "Nick Saban."

Back in Baton Rouge, Saban's latest chatter is like a rerun. Writes Carl DuBois of the Advocate: "To Alabama fans, the words are new. The courtship is fresh. The speeches inspire. To ears that heard it all in five years in Baton Rouge, there is something subtle and a bit surprising underneath the familiar phrases.

"They do not have the same gravity, the same cocksure force-of-nature feel to them as when Saban was a rival of the Crimson Tide instead of their coach."

Nov. 3 can't get here soon enough.

Handing the Ball Off to Aunese's Son

In 1987, Colorado started to show the first signs that it would become a national power under Bill McCartney. The Buffaloes' quarterback was Sal Aunese, and he ran McCartney's option game to perfection.

Two years later, Aunese was dead. Stomach cancer took him at age 21.

Now Aunese's son, T.C. McCartney, who was five months old at the time of his father's death, is about to enroll at Louisiana State. Bill McCartney was outside linebackers coach at Michigan when LSU coach Les Miles was a Wolverine player. When McCartney took the Colorado job in 1982, he brought Miles, who stayed five years. The friendship has remained.

In December, a motion picture of Sal Aunese's life will be released. You can view a clip of the film off the Livin' Large Productions site. Thanks to Matt!

Are Better Days Ahead in the Palouse?

They are getting restless at Washington State. After three 10-win seasons in a row, the Cougars have struggled for the past three seasons, putting coach Bill Doba on the hotseat. Turning it around won't be easy. Two of the first four games are at Wisconsin and USC.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Send your team's official poster schedule to dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

Here's the Team the Big Ten Should Add

Oklahoma State plans to invest another $28 million with alumnus T. Boone Pickens in its effort to expand on the west end of the football stadium that bears the billionaire's name.

The money will be added to $277 million that Oklahoma State had previously invested with BP Capital Management, Pickens' Dallas-based company. Pickens, the most powerful booster in college athletics, has been waiving fees for the university's investments with his fund. How nice of him!

Under BP Capital's management, the fund reportedly gained $37.6 million in the first quarter of 2006.

Pickens' university scored a victory in court last week, when a judge ruled the university had the right under eminent domain to take the last house and land standing in the way of a $316 million athletic village just north of campus.

There has also been discussion about expanding Pickens' controversial "Gift of a Lifetime" program, which will generate over $250 million in life insurance commitments for the athletic department. That plan has caught the attention of a U.S. Senator.

Reporters' Notebooks

Iliana Limón, Albuquerque Tribune: A Brigham Young fan in Phoenix has started a website with a petition urging satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network to add the Mtn., the Mountain West Conference's channel, to their lineups.

Brian Davis, Dallas Morning News: It comes down to this for Baylor coach Guy Morriss. Take the Bears to a bowl game and he gets an extension. Compile another losing season — the fifth in five years — and he's likely out of a job.

Jon Machota and George Sipple, Detroit Free Press: Former Ohio State linebacker turned broadcaster Chris Spielman says Michigan's chances of going undefeated are "as good as they've been in a long time."

Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Former Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez has changed his mind. He now supports a Big Ten title game.

Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman: Looking for a sleeper? Here are 10 teams that could surprise.

Mike Baldwin, Oklahoman: Oklahoma State is negotiating for a two-game series with Washington State, with a 2008 game at Seattle's Qwest Field and a return trip to Stillwater in 2010.

Joseph Duarte, Houston Chronicle: Notre Dame has discussed playing a game at Houston's Reliant Stadium.

Paul Finebaum, Mobile Press-Register: Rating the coaches in the Southeastern Conference. Steve Spurrier is No. 1, Les Miles is No. 7 and Sylvester Croom is No. 12.

Ian R. Rapoport, Birmingham News: When it comes to football, Mississippi is a state of decline.

Pete Thamel, New York Times: Rutgers running back Ray Rice and California receiver DeSean Jackson are two players to benefit from Play It Smart, a nonprofit program to help players in inner-city schools with their studies.

Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times: The former Times sports editor expresses his disappointment that there's now a regular gambling column in the sports section.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not.

Yet Another Unflattering Portrait of Saban

The emperor has new clothes.

This was the scene Thursday at the Southeastern Conference media days in Hoover, Ala., moments before the arrival of Nick Saban.

"Loiterers and signature seekers made the lobby of the Wynfrey Hotel look like the infield at Talladega. The only other arrival that would cause this buzz would be the ghosts of Bear Bryant and Dale Earnhardt walking through the revolving door," writes Wendell Barnhouse of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Then the moment arrives: "An escort that would make the Secret Service proud whisked The Next Bear through the fans and past the paparazzi. This is Southern Football, folks. And no fans are more fervent and devoted than Alabama's."

Yes, Saban can draw a crowd. But Barnhouse wonders if Crimson Tide fans aren't setting themselves up for a big fall.

" 'Bama fans are so desperate for their football program to become nationally relevant that I sincerely hope they're not investing their emotions in a false idol. I find Saban to be neither believable nor credible. He's a coach who has been coached on what to say and how to say."

Then Barnhouse asked the $4 million question. "Last December, you were adamant that you would not be Alabama's coach, yet here you are today. Can you explain why or why not integrity should be an issue for recruits and their families considering the events two weeks before you took the Alabama job.

"His answer, basically, was that he sticking to the story that he didn't mislead or lie when he said he wasn't interested in leaving the NFL for a return to college football. Saban ended his 361-word answer with, 'Maybe we could have handled it a better way.

"The word 'integrity' was not addressed in the answer."

Switzer Caught in a Traitorous Act

Yes, that's who you think it is. Former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer, who made a living recruiting the likes of Billy Sims out of Texas, is caught flashing the famed "Hook 'Em" sign with Longhorn coach Mack Brown.

Southern Mississippi Is Back for More

Here's a poster that would make Brett Farve proud. We smell upset in week 2, when the Golden Eagles will travel to Knoxville and play Tennessee, a week after the Volunteers open at California and a week before they travel to Florida. In week 4, the Golden Eagles have a biggie at Boise State.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Another Insensitive and Offensive Post

It now appears that Florida State isn't the only place where Cavemen prosper. This was sent to us by Timm, who as you might guess, is an Oklahoma fan.

In Case You Missed the Show

Los Angeles Times reporter Lance Pugmire, who has been working the story involving Tuesday's arrest of UCLA receivers coach Eric Scott, was one of our guests Friday night on "Sports Overnight America" on the Sports Byline USA Radio Network. You can listen to the 14:37 interview, in MP4 format, by clicking here. Christine Daniels of the Los Angeles Times also joined us in the second hour, and we talked NFL and a different kind of futbol that features David Beckham. You can listen to that interview, 31:44 in length, by clicking here.

UCLA in an Unbearable Position With Scott?

UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero is saying there was a misstep in a background check of receivers coach Eric Scott, who was put on paid administrative leave after his arrest on suspicion of felony residential burglary earlier this week.

Guerrero said neither he or coach Karl Dorrell were aware of Scott's criminal background, which included up to four reported arrests, including two misdemeanor convictions resulting in 36 months probation, before he was hired in March.

"It is standard operating procedure for all full-time UCLA employees in the athletic department to have a background check, and we did not know the background for that particular person," Guerrero told the L.A. Daily News.

The L.A. Times reports that the burglary investigation involving Scott has been expanded, with an L.A. County Sheriff's Department official saying a discarded gun was found at the home and "a large quantity of narcotics" was found in the area.

Dorrell acknowledged that he hired Scott knowing some of his past, but when asked whether the university encountered any red flags during the hiring process, he added, "I can't speculate on that."

The Times reported that a university source acknowledged "because Eric Scott had played at UCLA, there was some loyalty."

Attorney Milton Grimes, who represents Scott, maintained that his client was innocent and said the arrest was part of a misunderstanding. He described Scott, who played football for UCLA from 1995 to '97, as "depressed and anxious."

"It'd be a shame if he loses his job at UCLA over some doo-doo like this," Grimes said.

Trying to Turn It Around in Boulder

If Colorado is going to rebound from a 2-10 record in Dan Hawkins' first season in Boulder, it will have to master a challenging nonconference schedule that includes Colorado State, Arizona State, Florida State and Miami (Ohio).

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Hitting Below the Belt

Found floating around on a Florida board. Yet another example of how the Caveman is being discriminated against in this county.

Reporters' Notebooks

Andy Staples, Tampa Tribune: Southeastern Conference official Wally Hough, who was criticized on several blogs — including this one — for his association with a Florida booster club, says his affiliation had no bearing on his job as an official. Hough, who acknowledged being president of the club in the past, said it was incorrectly reported that he president when South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier spoke to the group.

Randy Peterson, Des Moines Register: The Big Ten becoming the Big 12? Conference commissioner Jim Delany, on a barnstorming tour to promote the Big Ten Network, said his league could be looking at adding a team, perhaps Rutgers or Syracuse.

John Helsley, Oklahoman: Oklahoma and Notre Dame have agreed to a two-year series beginning in 2012.

Mark Snyder, Detroit Free Press: Michigan athletic director Bill Martin is being sued by radio broadcaster Dave Shand, who alleges Martin used his influence to get Shand fired from WTKA in Ann Arbor.

Roger Clarkson, Athens Banner-Herald: Alabama coach Nick Saban had to navigate a mob of about 100 fans, several sporting Bear Bryant-style houndstooth hats, to get through a hotel lobby and into the conference room to speak with reporters at the SEC media days.

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Ten years ago, Steve Spurrier made news with a $2 million a year contract at Florida. Now there are five coaches in the SEC making at least that much.

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times: The Pacific 10 Conference is viewed as USC and the Nine Dwarfs (see Les Miles), but this season it can do something about it.

Rick Bozich, Louisville Courier-Journal: Former Michigan State coach John L. Smith has settled in Louisville for now.

Jeff D'Alessio, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: In case you were wondering, here are Erin Andrews' five favorite hangouts in Atlanta.

Christine Daniels Will Be Our Guest

Los Angeles Times sportswriter Christine Daniels will be our guest Friday night/Saturday morning on "Sports Overnight America" on the Sports Byline USA Radio Network. Daniels was a guest in May, shortly after announcing she was a transitioning transsexual, and we are pleased to welcome her back to the show.

Daniels' "Day In L.A." and "Woman In Progress" blogs are among the most popular destinations at Los Angeles Times website, and she will offer her unmatched wit and wisdom on the world of sports. Christine will join us just after the midnight hour on the Pacific coast.

Be sure to listen to "Sports Overnight America" beginning at 10 p.m. on the West Coast. Fred Wallin and John Woolard will get things started. You can hear the broadcast worldwide over the Internet at Sports Byline. Just click on "Listen Live." If you are in the military, check out the American Forces Network, available in 177 countries, U.S. territories and Navy ships at sea. The show is also heard on the Cable Radio Network, or check the list of the Sports Byline affiliates.

Update: Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times will join us around 11:30 p.m. to talk about the situation involving UCLA receivers coach Eric Scott.

Crewcut Charlie: Celebrity Used Against Me

A day after being handed a humbling defeat in a Massachusetts courtroom, Crewcut Charlie Weis issued a statement about the setback, saying he "was still surprised by the verdict."

He said it was time to move on, that he did not plan to appeal and "will make no further comments." Weis also said that he thought the fact he is Notre Dame's coach "was certainly used against me in the trial."

One has to suspect that the carefully written statement was crafted by one of Weis' attorneys. Here is a link to the full statement.

Lindsey Willhite, for one, is not buying any of Weis' post-trial rhetoric. The Arlington Heights Daily Herald writer has a blistering response to Weis' statement, pointing out Weis' many warts that were revealed during the two trials, the first of which ended in mistrial.

Willhite points out that Weis, then an assistant with the New England Patriots, first shared his decision to have gastric bypass surgery in 2002 with quarterback Tom Brady. Only in the final stages before surgery did he divulge his plans to his wife, Maura.

Weis' statement, which tries to put family before football — certainly not believable if you look at his trustworthiness in Brady over his wife — has Willhite wondering, "Who is the real Weis?" Willhite suggests that Weis' statement is merely an attempt to get in the last word, even in defeat.

As for Weis' surprise at losing, Willhite asks, "Why? Because football coaches always think things should go their way? Here’s another testimonial nugget that reminds everyone why football czars rank among the most controlling people on the planet."Now let's turn to Houston attorney Tom Kirkendall, who along with University of Iowa doctor Gary Gaffney, have provided us with analysis during both trials. Gaffney runs the site Steroid Nation and Kirkendall operates Houston's Clear Thinkers.

We thank each of these gentlemen for their valued contributions. Here is the last word from Tom:

"The rematch of Charlie Weis' lawsuit against the doctors who performed his gastric bypass surgery turned out to be as much of a mismatch as Weis' Notre Dame team endured in losing to LSU, 41-14, in the Sugar Bowl in early January. After spending only about two hours in deliberations (it usually takes that long for jurors just to elect a foreperson and take lunch orders), the jury returned a verdict denying all of Weis' damage claims against the doctors. Thus, it appears that the stronger legal position trumped the politics of the case in this particular trial.

"As noted in my post before the first trial and my post after the mistrial, Weis faced an uphill battle in his legal case against the doctors. The surgery that Weis requested is notoriously risky and subject to complications, so the fact that Weis endured serious post-operation complications obviously was not surprising to the jury. Moreover, Weis' expert witness during the trial — always a key witness for the plaintiff in a medical malpractice trial — was not from the Boston area and was not able to portray the defendant-doctors' actions in performing the surgery or in treating Weis afterward as being beneath the customary standard of care for doctors handling this type of procedure.

"As Dr. Gaffney noted in his blog post on the plaintiff's expert, the expert's testimony appeared to raise merely a reasonable disagreement with the defendant-doctors over the proper course of post-op treatment given the risks that Weis was facing. Reasonable disagreements do not usually prompt a jury to find that the treatment decisions of doctors — particularly ones with reputations as good as those of the doctors in the Weis case — were beneath the customary standard of care.

"Beyond that, the politics of the case during the retrial turned out not to be as favorable for Weis as in the first trial. Media coverage for the re-trial appeared to be much more muted than coverage of the first trial, perhaps because Weis' star celebrity witness from the first trial — Patriots Super Bowl QB Tom Brady — did not testify in person during the retrial. Retrials tend to be more streamlined than the first trial, so that faster pace may have hurt Weis' case by limiting the amount of time that the jury considered evidence of Weis' pain and suffering, which appeared to be one of the stronger elements of Weis' case.

"And although Weis seemed from media reports to do fine as a witness during the trial, it's a tall task to evoke empathy from jurors for someone who is currently doing exactly what he set out to do in electing to have the surgery in the first place.

"But in the end, this case reflects that the civil justice and professional liability insurance systems usually work reasonably well in this type of case. A man who unquestionably endured severe suffering was able to hold two prestigious professionals accountable for their actions in a court of law. Although the amount of unproductive time that all parties must spend in this type of litigation is regrettable, the financial risk that Weis' attorneys took in taking the case on a contingency fee basis, and the financial risk that the insurers took in insuring the doctors, removed any meaningful financial risk that the individuals had to endure in the outcome of the trial.

"Thus, the two interests with the most riding financially on the outcome of trial — Weis' attorneys and the doctors' insurers — were competing investment bankers betting on the result of the trial. In this particular case, the insurers made the better bet."

Previous coverage:
Preview: A legal perspective
Day 1: Battle lines drawn
Day 2: Weis' hired hand returns
Day 3: Weis takes the stand
Day 4: Team Weis scores a victory
Day 5: Weis' story is questioned
Day 6: Hodin defends decisions
Day 7: Weis loses battle of the bulge
The mistrial: A look back at our coverage of the first trial.

It's a Field of Dreams in Barrow, Alaska

The remarkable story of the Barrow High Whalers continues, with Wayne Drehs, who chronicled the Whalers' first game last year for ESPN, delivering another must-read that centers on Cathy Parker, the Florida woman who spearheaded the move to get a synthetic turf field for the team.

We're happy to report that the turf is on its way, but not without an incredible effort from Parker, whose website Project Alaska Turf served as the centerpiece of her fundraising. Instead of costing $500,000, the venture ended up totaling $800,000. And despite some resistance in Barrow, the field is expected to be in place for the team's Aug. 17 opener.

Parker was a guest on the radio show in May, and you can listen to the interview by clicking here. She plans to be in attendance for Barrow's opener and we hope to have reports from 340 miles north of the Arctic Circle as gameday draws near.

Arrest of UCLA Assistant Will Be Hot Topic

No coach will be on the hotseat quite like UCLA's Karl Dorrell on Thursday. It's Pacific 10 media day, and Dorrell have to answer questions about receivers coach Eric Scott, who was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of felony burglary.

Scott and two other men, Jesus DeAlba and Timothy Williams, were arrested after deputies received a 911 call from a neighbor about a possible burglary at a home in Norwalk.

Now this could be one big misunderstanding, according to the L.A. Daily News, which reported that DeAlba's cousin lives at the house. The investigation is moving slowly because a resident of the house could not be located.

Even if Scott is cleared, there appears to be trouble for Dorrell. Scott, it turns out, had been sentenced for three other crimes before being hired in March. And Dorrell acknowledged in a statement that the school knew about Scott's criminal background when it hired him.

"I knew he had some rough spots growing up, coming from his inner-city neighborhood. He lost three brothers to violence, so yes, I knew he had some issues in his background," Dorrell said.

Scott was put on paid administrative leave Wednesday.

You'll be able to lock into a live stream of Dorrell's press conference, scheduled for 11:15 a.m. (Pacific) at the Pac-10 site. The link also provides times for other press conferences by league coaches.

South Florida Does It Right

When we made the rounds requesting team poster schedules, nobody came through quite like South Florida. The Bulls do poster schedules in a big way, and officials sent us five. We're happy to display all of them.

The Bulls travel to Auburn in Week 2, then return for home games against North Carolina and West Virginia. Louisville also comes to Raymond James in November.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Scott Carter, Tampa Tribune: Terry Bowden, in what could be his first step toward a return to coaching, has left his job as a co-host of a radio show and will become an unpaid volunteer assistant coach at Florida State.

Lindsay Jones, Palm Beach Post: Southeastern Conference officials are now openly talking about creating a TV network, but it couldn't become a reality until the 2009 season.

Ray Glier, New York Times: Houston Nutt continues to try and put the Arkansas soap opera in the past, but there are plenty of rubberneckers at the SEC media days.

Des Moines Register: A Texas pastor has been named life skills assistant for the Iowa State football team, prompting some to question whether the university was abiding by its promise to hire someone who would cater to all faiths and wouldn't pressure students to observe a religion.

Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Notre Dame is expected to play Baylor in the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium in Arlington in 2012.

Daniel Lyght, Fresno Bee: Fresno State coach Pat Hill, who likes to schedule heavyweights, says he sees no need to alter that approach.

Mike DeArmond, Kansas City Star: Oklahoma State cornerback Martel Van Zant has lived his life in a world of silence. He has been deaf since birth.

Oklahoman: The assistant district attorney in Texarkana who is prosecuting the sexual assault case against Oklahoma State linebacker Chris Collins has resigned.

And here is today's mystery link.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not.

Weis Loses His Battle of the Bulge

In the end, it wasn't even close. Crewcut Charlie Weis' medical malpractice case against two Massachusetts General doctors went to a Suffolk Superior Court jury on Tuesday. About two hours later, the jury returned and announced it had rejected Weis' claims, clearing Charles Ferguson and Richard Hodin.

Weis left the courtroom with a cell phone to his ear. Michael Mone, Weis' attorney, threw a hand up in front of a Boston Herald reporter's face when Weis was asked to comment about the loss.

William Dailey, attorney for Ferguson and Hodin, said the doctors "wished Weis the very best."

The jurors, who barely had enough time to order coffee and donuts before getting down to business, declined to comment.

In football terms, this was a rout.

Mone said later that Weis was "very disappointed" and that there would be no appeal. "There are no issues that came up at the trial that would appear to be the basis for an appeal."

Weis was fighting an uphill battle from the start. In 2005, a study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that fewer than one in 15 of the more than 750,000 patients who suffer injuries in hospitals each year ever file lawsuits, and only about a quarter of patients who sue ever receive money.
Helping us with coverage of both trials involving Weis have been Houston attorney Tom Kirkendall and University of Iowa doctor Gary Gaffney. Tom, who also runs the site Houston's Clear Thinkers, will provide a legal perspective on Thursday. First we welcome Gary, who also runs the site Steroid Nation, to give us a look from a medical perspective.

"We discussed the four points of a medical negligence case in our first post last week. Apparently this jury did not feel that the Weis team completely proved the four criteria in their argument (duty to patient, failure to carry out duty, injury proximal to the negligent act, permanent disability).

"I felt that the Weis team scored by pointing out that the bowel ruptured secondary to bleeding. That rupture led to Weis' coma. A perforated bowel and coma are serious complications, not usually expected even with gastric bypass surgery.

"The quandary of infusing a blood thinner to prevent pulmonary embolism, which likely prevented blood clotting, was one of those 'between a rock and a hard place' decisions. If the surgeons justified their actions in medical notes — making decisions based on data as it was ascertained — then no malpractice existed there. However, I would not have been surprised if the jury found in favor of Weis, giving him a few hundred thousand dollars for excessive loss of time.

"Even though the surgeons contend that Weis was not the most compliant patient, I didn't see that as much of a factor. A surgeon can refuse to complete the surgery if he feels the patient presents too much risk, or may be noncompliant.

"I recently served on a jury trial. Although we applied the 'facts' of the case to elements of the law, I can see where subjective impressions may play a role in a jury's verdict. Did Weis not look like a victim, but rather a successful and rich college football coach? Did the doctors appear to be honest and empathetic? We may never know.

"People may talk about the added expense of such malpractice litigation. While it is true that this trial adds to the financial burden of health care, and that the trial likely ate up several weeks of time where the physicians could have been performing surgery on other patients, it is important to allow patients who feel wronged to have their due process in an impartial way. It doesn't hurt to hold professionals accountable for their actions, even if inconvenient to everyone's schedule."

Previous coverage:
Preview: A legal perspective
Day 1: Battle lines drawn
Day 2: Weis' hired hand returns
Day 3: Weis takes the stand
Day 4: Team Weis scores a victory
Day 5: Weis' story is questioned
Day 6: Hodin defends decisions
The mistrial: A look back at our coverage of the first trial.

Nobody Is Perfect

Once again we venture into the murky world of online wagering to see what the betting public believes will happen this season. The site Bodog has posted odds for number of victories for several teams. Louisiana State leads the list with an over/under number set at 10.5 regular season victories.

Nick Saban's plan to put Alabama back in the national title picture will have to wait, it appears. The Crimson Tide's over/under is 8.5. And they might be in for a bit of a letdown at Notre Dame, which is listed at 7.5 at the time of this posting.

The second set of numbers come us from the Las Vegas Hilton and were sent to us by a reader who wishes to remain anonymous. That group of numbers list the odds for winning the conference title games in the Atlantic Coast, Big 12 and Southeastern conferences.

Regular season victories
(Team must play all regular season games for action. Bowl and conference championship games do not count.)

10.5
Louisiana State
10
Louisville, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas
9.5
California, Florida, Florida State, Penn State
9
Auburn, Georgia, Nebraska, Ohio State, Tennessee, UCLA
8.5
Alabama, Iowa, Miami,
8
Arkansas, Clemson, Texas Tech
7.5
Kansas State, Notre Dame, Texas A&M
7
Arizona, Georgia Tech, Oregon, South Carolina
6
Kansas

Odds to win conference title games
(Las Vegas Hilton, current as of 7-16)

Atlantic Coast Conference
Virginia Tech even; Florida State 5-2; Miami 7-2; Clemson 12-1; Georgia Tech 12-1; Wake Forest 25-1; Boston College 25-1; North Carolina State 25-1; Virginia 25-1; Maryland 40-1; North Carolina 100-1; Duke 1000-1.

Big 12
Oklahoma 8-5; Texas 8-5; Nebraska 4-1; Missouri 7-1; Texas A&M 10-1; Kansas State 15-1; Colorado 18-1; Oklahoma State 40-1; Texas Tech 100-1; Kansas 100-1; Baylor 500-1; Iowa State 500-1.

Southeastern
Louisiana State even; Florida 5-2; Georgia 6-1; Tennessee 6-1; Auburn 12-1; Arkansas 12-1; Alabama 12-1; South Carolina 40-1; Kentucky 100-1; Vanderbilt 500-1; Mississippi 500-1; Mississippi State 500-1.

'A Colt Following' Now Online

The Colt Brennan for Heisman campaign is underway. Hawaii has made the 43-minute DVD of the quarterback titled "A Colt Following" available online. You can watch it by clicking here.

The DVD, centerpiece of the campaign, cost the athletic department approximately $25,000 to produce. Warrior officials plan to send 1,000 DVDs to media outlets and voters for postseason awards and polls.

And what good is a Heisman campaign without a website? Hawaii has put a Herculean effort into Brennan's site, and it will contain highlights of each of the Warrior games.

Reporters' Notebooks

Paula Reed Ward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: John Duffy, a sports announcer and weekend news anchor for ESPN Radio 1250, was arrested last week on child pornography charges. Ward, 46, is the press box announcer for University of Pittsburgh games at Heinz Field. Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Knoxville News Sentinel: Put out those Marlboros, Tennessee fans. Neyland Stadium is now smoke-free, to comply with the “Non-Smoker Protection Act” passed by the state legislature this year.

Ray Melick, Birmingham News: An official with knowledge of the infractions process says Alabama coach Nick Saban's name has turned up more than any other coach's in other teams' allegations of secondary NCAA rules violations.

Mark Snyder, Detroit Free Press: The Federal Communications Commission may get involved with negotiations between Echostar Communications and the Big Ten Network. A ruling in favor of Echostar would be a damaging blow to the Big Ten Network.

Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman: Boise State running back Ian Johnson, who will marry Chrissy Popadics on Saturday, has had to hire security for the ceremony after racist threats.

Ed McGranahan, Greenville News: Atlantic Coast Conference officials say they have conducted background checks of officials for the past two years.

Jake Schaller, Colorado Springs Gazette: Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson the league has conducted random background checks on the officials in all 19 of its sports for the past two-plus years.

Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald: Miami coach Randy Shannon has ordered the names removed from the back of player jerseys. The move is an effort to promote a "team-first" attitude.

J. Brady McCollough, Kansas City Star: Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins said that coach Mark Mangino has done what they've asked him to do thus far, but that another 6-6 campaign would not cut it this year.

Tony Barnhardt, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Florida State could be playing a nonconference game at the Georgia Dome in 2008 against an opponent to be determined.

Jim Kleinpeter, Times-Picayune: Louisiana State running back Alley Broussard, unable to overcome a knee injury that caused him to miss the 2005 season, has left the team.

Marcus Nelson, Palm Beach Post: Coaches in the Sun Belt Conference are among the lowest paid in Division I-A.

Louisiana Tech: Bark of a New Generation

Derek Dooley, the son of former Georgia coach Vince Dooley, was hired in December to replace Jack Bicknell at Louisiana Tech. He's a former attorney turned coach who spent the past seven years as an assistant to Nick Saban. Dooley scored points Monday during the Western Athletic Conference media day in San Jose with several entertaining quotes. Among them:

On Louisiana Tech's difficult travel schedule in the WAC: "I think it's an excuse. 'It's not fair we had to travel.' ... That's ludicrous. These guys are 18 years old, 20 years old, they stay out until 3 in the morning anyway. These guys don't even know what morning and night is. And you're telling me they're tired? I don't buy it."

On Louisiana Tech's need to play "money" games against big-time opponents: "Nick [Saban] always told me it's not about the money. It's about the amount."

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Booty Is the Man to Beat in Heisman Chase

USC quarterback John David Booty, left, is the frontrunner to win the Heisman, according to odds listed on the Internet.

Three of the past five Heismans have gone to players from USC, including quarterbacks Carson Palmer in 2002 and Matt Leinart in 2004. Reggie Bush won the award in 2005.

Chris Huston, who runs the site Heisman Pundit, outlined several reasons why Booty was considered the frontrunner when he was a guest on the radio show last weekend. You can listen to that interview by clicking here.

Huston also mentioned several darkhorse candidates, including Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller, who was not singled out on Bodog's list. Keller falls under field (all other players) and his chances are 7-1.

Unlike Booty, Keller's campaign is unique. His chances are not as strongly tied to Nebraska's record, much like Booty's are to USC, and he will have the opportunity to put up monster games against some questionable secondaries in the Big 12.

The Los Angeles Times, using odds from Vegas Insider, listed Booty (5-1) as the favorite along with West Virginia's Steve Slaton (5-1) and ahead of Arkansas' Darren McFadden (6-1), Louisville's Brian Brohm (6.5-1) and Hawaii's Colt Brennan (8-1) Below are Heisman odds according to Bodog:
7-2
Brian Brohm, Louisville
4-1
John David Booty, USC
9-2
Steve Slaton, West Virginia
5-1
Darren McFadden, Arkansas
7-1
Colt Brennan, Hawaii; Ray Rice, Rutgers
8-1
Mike Hart, Michigan
10-1
Tim Tebow, Florida
14-1
Pat White, West Virginia
15-1
Chad Henne, Michigan; C.J. Spiller, Clemson
18-1
Colt McCoy, Texas
20-1
Chase Daniel, Missouri; Percy Harvin, Florida
22-1
C.J. Gable, USC
25-1
Jonathan Stewart, Oregon
40-1
Anthony Morelli, Penn State
50-1
Matthew Stafford, Georgia

Money Talks, B.S. Walks

Do sports justify eminent domain? Yes, they do. At least in Stillwater, where a judge ended a year of court battles between residents and Oklahoma State, which is bankrolled these days by T. Boone Pickens (click the cartoon above).

It started when Oklahoma State expressed a desire to build a $316 athletic village just north of campus. It needed 331 properties for the project, funded in large part by a $165 million donation by Pickens. Most of the properties were residential homes.

At the center of the fight was whether Oklahoma State could use eminent domain, or the taking of private land for public use, to build an athletic complex for use only by university athletes. Construction has already begun.

Residents fought with all their might, including turning to the Internet. First the site Boone State was started, followed by OK State Expansion.

But the last hurdle for Oklahoma State was cleared Monday when District Judge Donald Worthington ruled that the university had the right to take a small ranch house and land owned by brothers Kevin and Joel McCloskey. The property is 3,000 square feet and sits where plans call for an indoor pitchers' bullpen in the village.

The brothers plan to appeal to the state Supreme Court, a process that could take several years. If the McCloskeys win (a longshot to say the least), they could get control of the property back, despite university construction on it.

Hodin Takes Stand, Defends Decisions

They continue to grind away at Crewcut Charlie Weis' malpractice lawsuit against Massachusetts General Hospital doctors Charles Ferguson and Richard Hodin, with the case expected to go to the jury this week.

Hodin, right, was on the stand Monday. He was entrusted with Weis' post-operative care after the gastric bypass surgery by Ferguson.

Hodin's decisions were criticized earlier by San Diego surgeon Alan Wittgrove, who said Hodin should not have administered the blood-thinning drug Heparin while Weis was hemorrhaging. Hodin eventually performed a second surgery to stop the bleeding.

The trail continues to draw interest outside of college football. David Frank of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly used Weis' retrial to examine who might have the upper hand the second time around and why many attorneys dislike a second trial.

"It's a worse-case scenario to have to do it again because, from a trial lawyer's point of view, it's really hard to bring the same amount of mojo to a second trial as it is to a first," said Thomas Peisch of Boston, a member of the Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association. "Whether people admit it or not, it's hard to get as pumped up and ready to go for the second trial."

Previous coverage:
Preview: A legal perspective
Day 1: Battle lines drawn
Day 2: Weis' hired hand returns
Day 3: Weis takes the stand
Day 4: Team Weis scores a victory
Day 5: Weis' story is questioned
The mistrial: A look back at our coverage of the first trial.

Let's Check In on Life at the Bottom

Who, in their wildest imagination, would sign up for this? Losses in 72 of the past 81 games. A national-best (worst?) 20-game losing streak. A 23-game losing streak that was stopped in 2002. A coach with a 5-34 record. Seven wins in the past five seasons.

Yes, we're talking Duke football.

"Last year was bad for us," Miami offensive lineman Derrick Morse told Wendell Barnhouse of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "We only won seven games and I almost feel embarrassed. If I didn't care about winning, I would have went to Duke."

But Blue Devil players are talking like they might be preparing for something this season, even if it's not big.

"You have to be on the inside of the program to know that things are going in the right direction," safety Chris Davis said. "It's hard to explain that to people, to get everybody to understand because it all comes down to wins. We just have to win to prove to everybody we can."

It doesn't help that Duke and coach Ted Roof, pictured above, are facing one of the nation's toughest schedules. The Blue Devils play only five home games and among the road games are trips to Miami, Florida State and Notre Dame.

Syracuse Tries to Make a Sudden Impact

It doesn't get any easier for Greg Robinson in his third year as Syracuse coach. The Orange open at home against Washington, travel to Iowa, then play host to Illinois. Road games at Louisville and Miami (Ohio) follow, then West Virginia and then Rutgers come to the Carrier Dome.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

And the Best Part? You Don't Pay Taxes!

No, Iowa senator Charles Grassley isn't asking for a measurement before deciding if he should go for it on fourth down. Something tells us he's not much of a football fan. Grassley is making the rounds again, asking the NCAA to justify its tax-exempt status.

Not much headway has been made by Grassley since we first told you about this in March, but he raises good questions, especially when NCAA honcho Myles Brand, one of our favorite targets, is pulling down $895,000 in salary.

All this to run tax-exempt, amateur athletics. Nothing like exploiting the workers/athletes.

Nicholas Johnson, a former commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, suggests that Grassley is going down the right path.

Johnson, who now resides in Iowa City, points to the hometown university as an example.

"Iowa spent $90 million refurbishing the Kinnick Stadium — and for what? Six games will be played there this year. Most games run about 3-1/2 hours [and include, I'm told, a total of about 7 to 12 minutes of actual action, with multiples of that time devoted to commercials].

"At 24 hours a day, and 365 days a year, counting 3-1/2 hours a game, that's 21 hours of use out of 8760 hours a year — 99.76% of the time sitting empty; 24/100ths of 1% of the time being used. ... Grassley's just asking — not declaring, just asking — what does this multi-billion-dollar industry have to do with charitable, tax deductible contributions for 'educational purposes'? Good question."

Reporters' Notebooks

Tristan Scott, Missoulian: Montana offensive lineman J.D. Quinn, whose "job" at a Norman auto dealer helped put Oklahoma on probation, was arrested on charges of drunken driving. Quinn was featured in a YouTube video on the site two weeks ago.

Bob Flounders, Patriot-News: Penn State has sold — get this — more than 93,000 season tickets, with a waiting list about 2,000 applicants long.

Adam Himmelsback, New York Times: Attention Joe Paterno: Bobby Bowden, with 366 victories and less than four months shy of his 78th birthday, would like to reach 400 victories.

Joey Johnston, Tampa Tribune: Atlantic Coast Conference coaches and players try to answer critics about their watered-down league.

Virginian-Pilot: ACC coaches debate the NCAA's ban on text messages to recruits, plus other notes from the league's media day.

Robbi Pickeral, Raleigh News & Observer: North Carolina coach Butch Davis said the school is hoping to begin a $100 million renovation of Kenan Stadium within the next 18 months.

Jorge Milian, Palm Beach Post: Miami coach Randy Shannon says he might use Kyle Wright and Kirby Freeman at quarterback.

Jake Schaller, Colorado Springs Gazette: Sound familiar, Big Ten? Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson is trying to create a groundswell of support from fans to get The Mtn., the league's television network, on basic cable rather than a more expensive digital basic tier.

Natalie Meisler, Denver Post: MWC commish Craig Thompson also might be on the move. He has been contacted about the same position in the Big 12.

Kate Hairopoulos, Dallas Morning News: Is Texas Christian prepared to be the latest uninvited guest to crash the Bowl Championship Series party?

Ferd Lewis, Honolulu Advertiser: The Western Athletic Conference, given up for dead nine years ago, is back with two Heisman candidates and two teams that finished last season in the top 25.

Ryan Finley, Arizona Daily Star: The Pacific 10 added the Poinsettia Bowl to its postseason lineup, and with the addition of the Hawaii Bowl, the league will have seven postseason partners.

Phil Stukenborg, Commercial Appeal: Conference USA coaches say it will take a combination of deft scheduling and good fortune for a team from the league to break into the BCS party.

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The Biggest Losers in the 'New' ACC

It wasn't supposed to turn out this way, at least for Florida State. And count Miami, Maryland and North Carolina State among that group.

When the Atlantic Coast Conference first raided the Big East in 2004 and headed toward expanding to 12 teams, the idea was to improve the stature of football for the league, which had been dominated by the Seminoles.

But Florida State, which was 20-4 in the three seasons before the expansion, is only 14-10 since. Miami? It ruled in the Big East by going 20-1 in 2001-03, but like its in-state rival, is only 14-10.

Maryland was 19-5 before expansion and only 11-13 since. N.C. State? The Wolfpack had a 13-11 mark but have slumped to 8-16 in the new ACC.

There are winners in the deal, reports J.P. Giglio of the Raleigh News & Observer. Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Boston College and North Carolina have all experienced turnarounds. As for Virginia, Clemson, Wake Forest and Duke, the impact has been minimal.

BYU: Reloaded and Raising the Bar

Brigham Young enters 2007 with the nation's second-longest winning streak at 10 games. Keeping the streak alive will take some doing, with an opener against Arizona at Provo followed by a road game at UCLA. On Nov. 8, Texas Christian comes to LaVell Edwards Stadium and on Nov. 24, the Cougars close at home against Utah. Thanks to Mitch at Provo Pride for sending us the poster!

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Notre Dame Takes Shine to the South

So what's up with Notre Dame deciding to play games at neutral sites? The past few days have the Fighting Irish playing Washington State in San Antonio in 2009 and tentative games in Orlando in 2011 and 2014 against opponents to be determined.

It also means that Michigan is off the schedule beginning in 2012.

Eric Hansen of the South Bend Tribune drops a hint that this might be all about recruiting. Games in talent-rich states Texas and Florida certainly can't hurt, and there is mention of a neutral site game possibly in Louisiana, another recruiting hotbed.

All this has left them wondering in Alabama, where Nick Saban's challenge to the Fighting Irish has been declined.

Maybe it's just time for a bold move in South Bend. After all, Notre Dame hasn't won a bowl game since defeating Texas A&M, 24-21, in the 1993 Cotton Bowl.

Reporters' Notebooks

Chadd Cripe and Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman: It's the most-anticipated Western Athletic Conference season in years, with BCS contenders Hawaii and Boise State and Heisman hopefuls Colt Brennan and Ian Johnson. Plus a look at the 10 best teams in WAC history.

Chip Brown, Dallas Morning News: After playing for five of the last seven national titles and winning two of them, the Big 12 gets another chance in non-league action to prove it is still among the elite.

Tim Griffin, San Antonio Express-News: The problem with the Big 12? It's top-heavy with Oklahoma and Texas, who have accounted for four of the last five conference titles.

Doug Doughty, Roanoke Times: Virginia players were defending coach Al Groh, labeled as the worst coach in college football, during Atlantic Coast Conference media day.

Adam Himmelsbach, New York Times: Virginia Tech players, flooded with questions surrounding the April 16 shootings on campus, say football is helping to bring normalcy back to Blacksburg.

Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News: A look at the best games of the past 20 years in the Pacific 10 Conference.

Bruins Nation: Brynn Cameron, the mother of former USC quarterback Matt Leinart's love child, says of the Heisman winner: "He likes that Hollywood stuff and I don't like that and raising a kid together, you have to work together as parents, but we're so different."

And here is today's mystery link.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Thanks to Hester Graphics.

Best Damn Room in the Land

Check out this basement rec room, which became a canvas for a mural of Ohio Stadium, aka The Horseshoe. Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Reporters' Notebooks

Thayer Evans, New York Times: Some black residents of Texarkana have questioned whether a sexual assault case against Oklahoma State linebacker Chris Collins has racial overtones.

Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Ranking the conferences. The Southeastern is the best, the Sun Belt the worst.

Ron Bracken, Centre Daily Times: Penn State coach Joe Paterno couldn't have imagined the day when Rutgers and West Virginia would be ranked higher than his Nittany Lions.

Scott Rabalais, Baton Rouge Advocate: Louisiana State, which sold a record 67,700 season tickets in 2006, has already surpassed that mark with 68,100.

Tim Griffin, San Antonio Express-News: Big 12 Insider. Baylor coach Guy Morriss, whose team opens against Texas Christian, has his players wearing dog tags inscribed with "Baylor vs. TCU, Sept. 1, 2007. Beat the Frogs."

Steven M. Sipple, Lincoln Journal Star: Nebraska receiver Maurice Purify, who sorted out his legal problems, has been reinstated to the team but will sit out the opener against Nevada.

Natalie Meisler, Denver Post: Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick, 70, indicates that retirement is not in his immediate future.

Dick Harmon, Deseret Morning News: The time has come for the Mountain West Conference to answer why the league can or cannot expect more exposure on a national level, and who, by name, is responsible to get it done.

Andy Staples, Tampa Tribune: A one-evening camp Florida coaches started called Friday Night Lights is gaining popularity. Florida State is the latest team to adopt the idea.

Mark Berman, Roanoke Times: Virginia Tech fans and supporters comment about the troubles surrounding former Hokie quarterback Michael Vick.

And here is today's mystery link (thanks Urban Meyer!)

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not.

The State of Alabama (and Auburn)

What kind of fan would schedule their wedding on a game day? The Alabama fan featured in the YouTube video above made that mistake. He's now divorced.

The bottom video is titled "The Needham Hex" and is about an Auburn fan's "voodoo magic." The videos are part of a larger project in development by SouthPaw Productions.

Snazzy Effort From Middle Tennessee

Middle Tennessee was one of the better stories of 2006. The Blue Raiders were picked to finished sixth in the Sun Belt, ended up sharing the title with Troy and played in the Motor City Bowl. As was the case in 2006, some heavyweights are on the schedule, with road games at Louisville (Sept. 6) and Louisiana State (Sept. 15) and a home game against Virginia (Oct. 6).

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Not Everybody Is Buying Weis' Story

Week 1 of Crewcut Charlie Weis' malpractice lawsuit against two Massachusetts General doctors drew to a close Friday, and the case is expected to be turned over to the jury by the middle of next week.

Weis, the Notre Dame coach and former New England Patriot assistant, saw his weight soar to an estimated 350 pounds before he sought help through gastric bypass surgery in July 2002. Weis suffered internal bleeding after the procedure and had to undergo a second surgery to stop the hemorrhage. The critically ill Weis slipped in and out of a coma for two weeks and has claimed carelessness on the part of the doctors nearly cost him his life.

Weis, described in an Associated Press account as a "notoriously foul-mouthed understudy to Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick in the NFL, sat quietly and alone in a Suffolk County courtroom this week while the doctors and lawyers discussed his medical care."

Not everybody is buying Weis' story. A 42-year-old woman posted an entry Friday on her MySpace page that was critical of Weis. The woman is scheduled to undergo gastric bypass surgery in Septemeber by the same doctor, Charles Ferguson, who performed the procedure on Weis.

"If you believe the news coverage, this fiendish butcher [Ferguson], wielding a stapler that he bought for a $1.99 from Office Depot, hacked poor Charlie's insides to pieces, then went vacationing on the Vineyard, leaving Weis to bleed to death in the hands of uncaring doctors who don't know their asses from a hole in the ground.

"None of the media remember to mention the part where Weis wanted next-day surgery. Because of his status, it seems that he was allowed to bypass [pun intended] all of the required preliminary testing and dieting and counseling and waiting that us regular folk are subjected to. I first requested my PCP for a referral in December, 2006. My surgery is scheduled for September, 2007 [rescheduled from August to September thanks to Mr. Weis' lawsuit, thanks Charlie]."

She adds: "I read in several of the news articles that Mr. Weis is quoted as calling himself a stupid ass, or words to that effect, because he had weight loss surgery. He's not a stupid ass for having weight loss surgery. He's a stupid ass for thinking that WLS is a risk-free, easy and fast fix to a complicated problem."

The see where we stand as the trial prepares for Week 2, let's turn to our medical expert. Gary Gaffney, M.D. University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, also operates the site Steroid Nation:

"The tabloid interest in the Charlie Weis gastric bypass trial deflated during the first week after the announcement that New England Patriot quarterback Tom Brady would not be testifying. Photos from the trial revealed an almost empty courtroom as Weis sat alone on the front bench.

"Arguments from the trial traveled the same paths as the first case, which ended in mistrial: Plaintiff attorneys say the Harvard surgeons allow Weis to bleed too long, leading to coma, near death and resultant disability, while defense lawyers pointed out the risks of bariatric surgery and that Weis was a rather non-compliant patient.

"Team Weis scored points as they obtained an admission from Ferguson that the bleeding cut off circulation to a loop of bowel, causing it to explode. Contamination of the abdominal cavity then led to the coma. That argument could establish the four key points of medical negligence if the jury so chooses to buy the plaintiff's logic."

Previous coverage:
Preview: A legal perspective
Day 1: Battle lines drawn
Day 2: Weis' hired hand returns
Day 3: Weis takes the stand
Day 4: Team Weis scores a victory
The mistrial: A look back at our coverage of the first trial.

Let the Heisman Hype Begin

It's never too early to sort out this Heisman mess, is it? Chris Huston of Heisman Pundit was our guest early Saturday morning on "Sports Overnight American" on the Sports Byline USA Radio Network, and we covered the field, from John David Booty and Darren McFadden to Steve Slaton and Brian Brohm. Chris told us why Colt Brennan has no chance of winning the Heisman, but Sam Keller does. You can listen to the interview, in MP4 format, by clicking here.

The Real Michael Vick Experience

Former Virginia Tech and current Atlanta Falcon quarterback Michael Vick has been in the news for the disturbing allegations that he was involved in dog fighting. Being a dog owner, we consider any cruelty to animals inhuman and punishable to the full extent of the law.

But it didn't take long for somebody on the Internet to put their spin on Vick's indictment. Here is "The Real Michael Vick Experience" post indictment.

Team Weis Scores a Major Victory

The medical malpractice trial that Crewcut Charlie Weis was seemingly losing took a dramatic turn in his favor Thursday.

After Weis finished his testimony in the morning, Massachusetts General doctor Charles Ferguson was called to the stand. It was Ferguson, above right, who performed the gastric bypass procedure on Weis in July 2002.

The surgery was performed on a Friday, then Ferguson left on a weekend residents' retreat on Martha's Vineyard. While Ferguson was away, Weis suffered an internal hemorrhage and became critically ill. Richard Hodin, center, performed a second surgery to stop the hemorrhage on a Sunday night. Weis was in and out of a coma for two weeks.

After getting Ferguson to explain Weis' hemorrhaging in medical terms, Mone was able to get the doctor to admit that if the bleeding had been surgically stopped, the leak likely would not have happened.

"Yes, that’s true," Ferguson said after a long silence. "If Mr. Weis had never had an operation, he might never have had a leak, too."

Was this the defining moment of the trial? To get the answer, we turn to our medical expert, Gary Gaffney, M.D. University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and the owner and operator of the site Steroid Nation:

"Ferguson described the gastric bypass procedure and also commented on how Weis was particularly impatient for results. We learned in the previous trial that Weis confided in Tom Brady first and his wife Maura second, but only days before the surgery was scheduled.

"However unthoughtful for his wife, Weis' secrecy should have no bearing on the outcome, but the Boston Herald details what could turn the trial in Weis' favor:

'An internal hemorrhage Weis suffered while Ferguson was attending a weekend residents' retreat on Martha's Vineyard filled the coach's small bowel with blood, causing it to kink "like a garden hose," Ferguson explained. The pressure tore apart sutures and titanium staples holding together Weis' reconfigured digestive system, leaking toxic waste into his body.'

"The bleeding must have caused changes in Weis' vital signs; however the leakage of the contents of the bowel into Weis abdominal cavity certainly contributed to the near-fatal coma.

"The acknowledgment by Ferguson that if the bleeding had been surgically stopped, the leak likely would not have happened gets to the heart of the matter: that the leaky bowel caused the coma.

"Score major points for the Weis team on this day."

Previous coverage:
Preview: A legal perspective
Day 1: Battle lines drawn
Day 2: Weis' hired hand returns
Day 3: Weis takes the stand
The mistrial: A look back at our coverage of the first trial.

Times Are Tough in Cincinnati

Not one member of the Cincinnati media — be it print or electronic — covered the Big East Conference media day this week in Newport, R.I. Cincinnati was the only Big East member that didn't have media tagging along.

Bearcat Coach Brian Kelly, left, was scratching his head and scolded the Cincinnati press corps, challenging it to become "a credible source of information."

Kelly continued: "I think, quite frankly, that Cincinnati is the only one that dropped the ball in not having any print or electronic media here."

So what gives? The Cincinnati Post appears to have an excuse. Officials announced this week that the paper is going out of business on Dec. 31. As for the Cincinnati Enquirer, you have to think the idea is to continue to cut its way to prosperity, especially when the competition is limping off into the sunset. With the Post all but buried, why worry about spending money?

It didn't take much to set off the Post's Lonnie Wheeler, who took a few swings.

"The issue is not, as so many UC fans have hotly supposed, about a conspiracy theory against the Bearcats. For heaven's sake, it's not about some editor's rooting interest in Ohio State or Xavier. And it's only partially about Cincinnati football.

"Rather, it's about playing the game at the appropriate level. It's a matter of spending the dollars necessary to do what needs to be done, a consideration that of course goes to the top of the respective corporations.

"Put it this way. Often, as I've chastised the Reds for prioritizing the payroll or the Bengals for failing to hire more personnel people, I've written with a weighty awareness of the double standard involved. I've realized that if either of our big-league teams, or the community at large, would point out the hypocrisy inherent in those charges, we'd be exposed.

"In other words, if the Reds or Bengals went about their business as the Post and the Enquirer do, we'd rip them from here to there. And we have."

Wake Forest Wants to Paint It Black

Was last season a fluke at Wake Forest? We will find out early what the Demon Deacons are made of. Wake Forest opens at Boston College, then returns home to Groves Stadium to take on Nebraska. The biggie is Oct. 11, when Florida State comes to Winston-Salem. Who can forget the Demon Deacons' 30-0 victory last Nov. 11 at Tallahassee? Certainly not the Seminoles.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

More Big Ten Network Follies

The Big Ten continues to try and shove its network down the public throat, and the public continues to shove back.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette, in an online poll, asked whether the Big Ten Network should be put on Mediacom's basic tier of service. Mediacom is a cable company that serves much of the state of Iowa.

Hoping to manipulate the result, Rick Klatt, an associate athletic director at Iowa, took it upon himself to have a special email distributed to Iowa Hawkeye ticket purchasers and other supporters urging them to vote in the Gazette's poll.

"I invite you to cast a vote in favor of Mediacom placing the Big Ten Network on the basic level of service it makes available to its customers in the state of Iowa," Klatt wrote in the email.

But when the final numbers were in, roughly 82% opposed putting the network on the basic tier, handing Klatt a crushing defeat.

Klatt's opinion of the validity of online polls changed dramatically when the result didn't go his way. Asked by the Des Moines Register about his email, Klatt defended his actions, then dismissed the poll.

“I have problems with online polls,” he said before quickly spinning the argument. “They aren’t scientific or accurate, but there is another side to this argument and we believe we have the strong evidence that Big Ten sports is important in Iowa and that has to be recognized.”

This isn't the first time Klatt has found himself in the middle of a controversy. He was involved in Iowa's decision to secure seven domain names that could be used to criticize athletic department officials, including coach Kirk Ferentz.

'Snoop Dogg' Calls Out Les Miles

OK, so it's not Snoop, but the site Gump 4 Heisman is having a little fun at the expense of Louisiana State coach Les Miles. The site has posted audio of USC fan Calvin Broadus — aka "Snoop Dogg" — ripping into Miles for his "bitch-ass" comments about the Trojans, his knack for calling inappropriate timeouts and even the size of his head. You can listen to the audio by clicking here, but it comes with a strong language warning. Thanks to Jon!

We Give a Listen to What You Have to Say

A reminder to join us Friday night/Saturday morning on "Sports Overnight America" on the Sports Byline USA Radio Network. This is your chance to call in and tell us what's on your mind as we race toward the start of the season. Join us at 11:30 p.m. (Pacific). The number to call is 800-878-7529.

You can hear "Sports Overnight America" over the Internet at SportsByline.com, on the American Forces Network, available in 177 countries and U.S. territories and Navy ships at sea, through the Cable Radio Network or one of the Sports Byline affiliates.

The Big Guy Takes the Stand

Crewcut Charlie Weis, 30 pounds lighter than his first trial five months ago after kicking carbohydrates, testified Wednesday in his medical malpractice case against two Massachusetts General doctors.

Weis said he drifted in and out of consciousness after undergoing gastric bypass surgery in July 2002 and recalled seeing a priest standing over his bedside. Weis said he told the priest, " 'Don't you dare.' He told me he was giving a prayer for the sick, not a prayer for the dead."

Weis told jurors that he had to transform his home office into a handicap-accessible bedroom and that he needed help from his wife, Maura, to use the bathroom.

Weis said he continues to have limited use of his feet and that his hips ache. "I don't get around fast, but I get around. I try to stay off my feet as much as I possibly can."

The Notre Dame coach explained that he decided on the surgery after tipping the scales at an estimated 350 pounds because, "I felt like I was at the crossroads of my life. I get paid handsomely to be a football coach and I thought this might be the end of that."

Weis' testimony mirrored his appearance in the first trial, but there will be one big difference in the second trial. Tom Brady, Weis' star witness, will not testify. Instead, a deposition from the New England Patriot quarterback describing Weis' ordeal was read for jurors.

Let's go to our medical expert, Gary Gaffney, M.D., University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and the man behind the site Steroid Nation, for his analysis of Wednesday's testimony:

"Nothing new here or surprising as Weis recounted his accusations that the Harvard surgeons misfired when they waited 30 hours before revising the hemorrhaging bypass surgery. We learned the coach rallied behind the support of his family and Brady, and that he now feels pain when he walks.

"Although the second Weis trial started with more of a bang than the first, we learned that Brady will not attend this reversion of Weisgate. Nothing in Brady's deposition reveals any earth-shaking revelations, and attorneys for Weis introduced no new medical information, apparently sitting pat during the five months between the trials."

Previous coverage:
Preview: A legal perspective
Day 1: Battle lines drawn
Day 2: Weis' hired hand returns
The mistrial: A look back at our coverage of the first trial.

Nothing Will Come Easy for South Carolina

South Carolina will be tested early. Two of its first four games are on the road, and neither is easy. First comes a trip to Georgia, followed two weeks later by a journey to Louisiana State.

And a brutal four-game stretch closes the season, with road games at Tennessee and Arkansas, followed by home games at Florida and Clemson.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Big Ten Network Shut Out Again

If, by chance, you happened to be renting a room in the Montgomery Building in Chicago, which houses the Big Ten Network's offices, could you get the fledgling channel though the local cable company?

The answer appears to be no, according to the network's website.

The Big Ten, in an effort to increase pressure on cable companies to carry the network, recently added a feature to the site that allows users to enter their zip code and send an email to their cable provider demanding it make the network available to them when it launches on Aug. 30.

The email is a form letter crafted by Big Ten Network officials. According to Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a portion of the prepared email message that is sent to cable providers reads: "My neighbors with DirecTV and AT&T tell me that they will get Big Ten Network, and that if I switch over now, I am guaranteed not to miss a single game on Big Ten Network." Hmmm. That almost reads like a threat.

The zip code for the Montgomery Building, located at 600 West Chicago Avenue, is 60610. Enter that zip into the Big Ten Network's site, and you'll see the area is serviced by Comcast, which has entered into a public battle with the conference over its refusal to carry the network. In other words, no go on the cable.

Of course, the Big Ten will work around this matter through the use of satellite dishes.

The Big Ten Network also announced that former Minnesota coach Glen Mason, who had an uneasy relationship with the media, is now one of them. He will serve as a color analyst this season.

Reporters' Notebooks

Robbie Andreu, Gainesville Sun: It appears Urban Meyer's first recruiting class in 2005 — rated among the best in the nation — is a bust. Only eight of the 18 players remain with the Gators, and only two figure to be starters this season.

Candace Buckner, Kansas City Star: Kansas State takes a liberal approach to policing its Wildcat logo, which is different from the strong-arm tactics used by Wisconsin on high schools. Thanks to John for this item!

Glenn Guilbeau, Shreveport Times: The wife of Louisiana State coach Les Miles is getting ready to host a football clinic for women. "I honestly feel that the husbands make the wives go so they can bring the information back," Kathy Miles said.

Ray Parrillo, Philadelphia Inquirer: One reason ESPN loves the Big East, and Rutgers in particular? The Scarlet Knights' win over Louisville last November had the highest average rating for a college sporting event in the New York market since ESPN began rating them in 2000.

Robbi Pickeral, Raleigh News & Observer: Combined, North Carolina's nine assistant coaches don't make as much as coach Butch Davis, whose contract is worth $1.86 million a year.

Evan Woodbery, Mobile Press-Register: Auburn has reported 13 secondary NCAA violations since last summer, including three involving the football program.

Chip Scoggins, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Minnesota coach Tim Brewster dismissed four players accused of being involved in a rape.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: The Big East Conference and Tampa Bay Devil Rays officials have had discussions about starting a Big East bowl game at Tropicana Field in 2010.

Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald: Miami freshman quarterback Robert Marve, injured in a car accident, is expected to sit out the season.

Mike Baldwin, Oklahoman: Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy says his team hasn't turned the corner yet.

Mark Alesia, Indianapolis Star: Citing a need for research on college sports conducted independently of the NCAA, the University of Memphis announced the creation of the College Sport Research Institute.

Bridget Wentworth, Newark Star-Ledger: The attorney for Rutgers assistant coach Chris Demarest entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and said the incident that led to a domestic assault charge against Demarest has been "blown way out of proportion."

Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin receivers coach Henry Mason could miss the season while recovering from a spinal cord injury.

Nate Allen, Northwest Arkansas Times: Danny Nutt, who resigned as the running backs coach at Arkansas because of reoccurring bleeding from the brain stem, could find out this week if he will require surgery to correct the problem.

Jake Schaller, Colorado Springs Gazette: Tim Horton, Air Force's offensive coordinator and receivers coach, is leaving to become running backs coach at Arkansas, replacing Danny Nutt.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is getting a $500,000 bump in pay, bringing his annual compensation to $1.75 million.

Columbia State: Clemson has sold 57,991 season tickets, breaking a record that was set in 1988.

Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii is expected to spend a week in Houston in September between road games at Louisiana Tech and Nevada Las Vegas.

And here is today's mystery link.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Thanks to Hester Graphics.

The Return of Weis' Hired Hand

Team Crewcut Charlie Weis brought in San Diego surgeon Alan Wittgrove, above, to testify Tuesday in Weis' medical malpractice lawsuit against Massachusetts General Hospital doctors Charles Ferguson and Richard Hodin.

Wittgrove, who has performed 3,500 operations like the gastric bypass procedure that Weis underwent, also testified in the first trial. And like that first trial, Wittgrove acknowledged that he was paid $7,500 for his testimony.

Wittgrove said Hodin, whom Ferguson entrusted with Weis' post-operative care, made the wrong decision when Weis took a turn for the worst after the July 2002 surgery. Wittgrove said Hodin should not have administered the blood-thinning drug Heparin while Weis was hemorrhaging before a second surgery was performed to stop the bleeding.

"He should have operated on him to stop the bleeding," Wittgrove said. "And in doing so, he would have repaired the leak that was also there."

And as he did in the first trial, Wittgrove blamed the partial paralysis in Weis' feet on Massachusetts General's apparent failure to monitor his thiamine (B-12) levels.

Defense attorney William Dailey then had his turn at Wittgrove, attacking the Californian for being a vitamin salesman.

Weis is expected to take the stand Wednesday.

In a sidenote, a videographer for WHDH-TV in Boston appears to have made a mistake during Monday's testimony that cost them their job. The videographer, who was also the pool cameraman, mixed the identities of Weis and WBZ-TV reporter David Robichaud. The Boston Herald reported that the videographer was fired for the mistake.

Now to put the day's testimony in perspective, we turn to our medical expert, Gary Gaffney, M.D., University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and founder of the site Steroid Nation.

"Wittgrove essentially repeated his performance of the first trial, maintaining that the surgeons waited too long to re-operate on Weis for internal hemorrhaging. Rather than operate to stop the bleeding, the surgeons choose to administer Heparin, a powerful anti-coagulant that exacerbated the internal hemorrhaging. Wittgrove also contends that Weis' leg pain can be attributed to a deficiency of Vitamin B-12, well known in gastric bypass patients.

"Wittgrove's second-guessing can be easily answered by the defendant's lawyers. The surgeons became concerned about Weis' labored breathing as a sign of a pulmonary embolism. Pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lungs) can cause sudden death; Heparin administration will dissolve any clots moving into the lungs. Apparently acting on the available data, the surgeons decided to treat an immediate threat of an embolism while watching the threat of internal bleeding, which in this view is a defensible action. When further lab tests pointed toward hemorrhage, the doctors revised the bypass surgery.

"In the first trial, the defense answered the B-12 charge by saying they indeed administered B-12 to Weis. In cross-examination on Tuesday, the defense pointed out Wittgrove receives $7,500 a day for expert testimony, as well as trying to paint him as a vitamin pusher. Those points are likely superfluous to the issues in the trial.

"In other news about gastric bypass surgery, recent research has indicated that bypass patients require less alcohol to reach the legal blood level and metabolize the alcohol more slowly. Here's a toast to Coach Weis who can now save on liquor costs."

Previous coverage:
Preview: A legal perspective
Day 1: Battle lines drawn
The mistrial: A look back at our coverage of the first trial.

Score a 'W' for Wisconsin

Wisconsin officials have put a stiff-arm on a Texas high school and forced it to find a new logo.

Wisconsin's logo, left, was trademarked 11 years ago. Then came word that The Woodlands High in the Houston suburb of the same name was using a slanted W, right. Wisconsin said the high school's logo was too similar and that the use of it diluted the Badgers' identity and reduced the value to the university.

"I honestly don't think it's all that big of a deal," Woodlands High senior Kevin Waller told Houston's KTRK-TV. "I mean, we're all the way down across the country."

Woodlands is not alone. Wisconsin reportedly has asked 40 schools in 26 states to change their Ws.

Missouri Unleashed

Missouri is regarded as a team to beat in the Big 12 North, and we should get a good feel early for what the Tigers have for firepower. Missouri opens against Illinois in St. Louis, then travels to Mississippi. The Tigers have five of their next six at home, with warmups against Western Michigan and Illinois State before Nebraska comes to Columbia.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Battle Lines Drawn in Day 1

Opening statements were delivered Monday in Crewcut Charlie Weis' malpractice lawsuit against Charles Ferguson, director of Massachusetts General's surgical residency program, and Richard Hodin, a surgeon and professor at Harvard Medical School.

Weis attorney Michael Mone, above right, said the doctors acted negligently by allowing Weis to bleed internally for 30 hours after the June 2002 gastric bypass surgery before performing a second operation to correct the complication. Weis was in a coma for two weeks and nearly died.

Mone said Weis still suffers pain in this feet, requiring the coach to sometimes use a motorized cart.

William Dailey, representing Ferguson and Hodin, said that internal bleeding was a known complication of gastric bypass surgery and that there was concern that Weis could develop a pulmonary embolism, a potentially fatal condition, and did not want to perform a second surgery with that possibility looming.

Dailey also noted that Weis, who weighed around 350 pounds before the surgery, lost about 100 pounds in the following year and landed one of the premier coaching jobs in the country at Notre Dame after serving as an assistant with the New England Patriots.
Also taking the stand were Maura Weis, left, the coach's wife, and Jennifer Wilson, Weis' nurse while the coach was in intensive care. Weis is expected to take the stand Tuesday.

We'd also like to point readers to two other items of interest. First is an interview of John Romanelli, a 1991 Notre Dame graduate and a 1995 graduate of the Medical College of Pennsylvania. He is a general surgeon of six years who did a fellowship in laparoscopic surgery and he specializes in bariatric (weight loss) surgery. That interview appears on the site Blue and Gold.

Second is a short radio interview of David Frank of Lawyers Weekly USA with Mark Katic of WBZ in Boston. That interview can be accessed by clicking here.
Now to another member of our coverage team. We once again welcome Gary Gaffney, M.D., University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He is currently Associate Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Iowa College of Medicine, and also runs Steroid Nation, a weblog looking at the use of anabolic steroids (and performance enhancing drugs) in sports, youth and society. We turn it over to Gary:

"Coach Weis and his legal team claim that complications in the post-surgical course included significant inter-abdominal bleeding, which was not diagnosed in a timely fashion. That diagnostic delay led to a revision surgery, which resulted in the complications.

"The surgeons counter that Weis suffered from a well-known complication of gastric-bypass surgery, and that he entered into the procedure with informed consent, thus accepting the possibility of surgical complications.

"Looking at medical malpractice, or professional negligence, four elements must be proved:

—The doctors owed a duty to care for the patient in a manner compatible with standard medical care.
—That duty was breached; in other words, the doctors did not meet local standards of care.
—The breach resulted in medical injury directly (proximately) caused by the alleged negligence.
—Damage was suffered, either medically or psychologically.

"To win, the Weis team should lay out this logic:

—Although Weis agreed to the procedure with known risks, mistakes were made during the surgery and in the post-surgical period that resulted in internal hemorrhage. The surgeons mistakes clearly represented a substandard practice of medicine.
—Those mistakes, or poor judgments, resulted in bypass revision surgery, coma, near death, pain, suffering, and permanent disability.
—Thus Weis is owned compensation for his pain, suffering, and continued disability.

"The defense should counter with:

—The surgeons provided excellent medical care, in line with (high) local standards.
—While Weis suffered from post-surgical complications, those complications are not unexpected from such a high-risk procedure, a procedure Weis entered into fully aware of the potential for bad outcomes.
—Although the surgical team and hospital empathize with Weis, there was no failure of professional duty. High-risk surgeries like gastric bypass carry the possibility of severe complications, including death.

"While testimony in the first trial established that Weis suffered complications, there did not appear to be an event that directly pointed to professional negligence. A critical piece of evidence would be the medical record that should document the physician's reasoning. If experts could establish that the surgeons carried out faulty procedures or made heinous errors in judgment, then the Weis team might prevail.

"On the other hand, as indicated by Tom Kirkendall, jury trials such as this sometimes hinge on the persuasiveness of lawyers, the fame of litigants, the reputation of the hospital, or other qualitative extraneous factors.

"This case may hinge on jury selection. Did the lawyers agree on intelligent, reflective jurors who will consider evidence presented in court? Or did the attorneys select jurors who might be swayed (positively or negatively) by the reputation of the Harvard medical establishment or the star power of a high-profile football coach and the sports heroes he can enlist in testimony?"

Previous coverage:
Preview: A legal perspective
The mistrial: A look back at our coverage of the first trial.

The Return of the Corso

In case you were wondering (or perhaps worried), Lee Corso is loving life and ready to once again play the roll of clown on ESPN's "GameDay."

And the 71-year-old Corso has much to say.

"Southern Cal could be No. 1 — and No. 2," he told Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel.

What about defending national champion Florida? "They can't be as good as they were last season without Chris Leak. He beat FSU, Tennessee and Georgia. Hello! Tim Tebow [Leak's quarterback successor] has a ways to go. They'll miss Leak.

"Gators need to look out for South Carolina. I hear they have a pretty good coach [ex-Gator Steve Spurrier]."

Florida State?

"They have a shot at the title — the ACC title. Not the national title; there are too many good teams."

And about that new coach at Miami ...

"Randy Shannon [first-year coach] was a questionable hire. Not that he isn't a real good coach ... but Miami is Miami. I don't know if they're going to give a guy the chance for on-the-job-training.

"Are they going to blame the coach right away?"

Boiler Up!

A fast start will be key to Purdue's season. The Boilermakers have winnable home games against Eastern Illinois and Central Michigan sandwiched between road games at Toledo and Minnesota. Then comes a key three-game stretch, with Notre Dame and Ohio State visiting Ross-Ade Stadium, followed by a trip to Ann Arbor to face Michigan. Thanks to Mike for sending the poster.

A reminder that we need your help in tracking down poster schedules. Here is the updated list of posters that we either have in hand or have already posted: Arkansas, Cincinnati, Duke, Florida State, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kent State, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Missouri, Navy, Nevada, North Texas, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Stanford, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern Mississippi, Texas El Paso, USC, Utah, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Wyoming.

If you don't see your team listed, now is the time to act. Send your team's poster schedule to dawizofodds (at) aol.com. Again, we are looking for the official poster schedule and seeking an image of high quality.

Links to posters that have been displayed: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Purdue, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said that although his league is interested in adding a ninth football-only member, there isn't a viable option available. Plus a look at the Big East's turnaround that has proved doomsayers wrong.

David Chanen and Chip Scoggins, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: This is truly disturbing. A teammate used a cell phone to record video of Minnesota cornerback Dominic Jones allegedly raping a woman who had passed out after drinking too much, according to charges filed Monday.

Barry Jackson, Miami Herald: Miami freshman quarterback Robert Marve injured his left (non-throwing) hand when a car he was in flipped on Interstate 75 just north of Naples. He won't be ready to play until October. Two other teammates received minor injuries.

Dan Collins, Winston-Salem Journal: Wake Forest linebacker Eric Berry, a projected starter, has been declared academically ineligible.

Tom Witosky, Des Moines Register: A popular Iowa football replay show won't be shown on local cable affiliates this fall. It is a victim of the new Big Ten Network.

Tennessean: Tennessee released its 2009 schedule, which includes a visit to Knoxville from UCLA.

Tuscaloosa News: A third Alabama player has been arrested and is facing charges after an altercation in front of a bar just off campus early Saturday.

Associated Press: Texas A&M, following a move earlier this month by Michigan, is switching from Nike to Adidas.

And here is today's mystery link.

Crewcut Heads Back to Court for Round 2

Almost five months to the day after a mistrail was declared in Crewcut Charlie Weis' wildly colorful malpractice lawsuit against Massachusetts General doctors Charles Ferguson and Richard Hodin, the parties are set to return Monday to Suffolk Superior Court.

Fourteen jurors were chosen Friday to hear the retrial. Weis did not attend the jury selection.

The first trial ended Feb. 20 in stunning fashion, when juror Anthony Perry collapsed while listening to testimony. Ferguson and Hodin rushed to Perry's aid and Judge Charles Spurlock called a mistrial.
Once again, we are going to offer gavel-to-gavel coverage, with a daily report on developments followed by expert analysis. To get us started, we once again welcome attorney Tom Kirkendall, right, whose site Houston's Clear Thinkers is one of the best reads on the Internet.

First a disclaimer: Although Kirkendall's field of expertise is business litigation and he is not familiar with applicable Massachusetts law regarding medical malpractice liability and damages, he brings an important perspective to all of this: He's a big college football fan. Nonetheless, he humbly writes: "My comments about the case should be taken with those substantial grains of salt in mind."

Here is what he has to say about Weis teeing it up for another try:

"The fact that the Weis case is being re-tried illuminates quite a bit about the probable status of the case. As in most lawsuits, financial interests on each side of the case that have considerable risk in the outcome are probably calling the shots in regard to whether the case settles or goes to trial. In this particular case, those interests are likely Weis' lawyers and the insurers that insured the defendant doctors.

"Weis' lawyers probably took the case on a contingency fee basis. Thus, they will not make any money for their expenditure of time and resources on the case unless they obtain and recover a judgment for damages. Consequently, unless the insurers have placed a substantial settlement offer on the table, there is little downside for Weis and his counsel to take a flyer on a re-trial.

"On the other hand, the insurers are attempting to resolve the case in a manner that minimizes the amount of money that they will have to pay on the claims that Weis has made against the doctor-insureds. In all likelihood, the doctors have little financial skin in the game (other than the adverse publicity from the lawsuit and the trials) because they have probably directed the insurers (behind the scenes, of course) to settle the case within the financial limits of the doctors' insurance policies.

"Under the law of many states, when an insured makes such a "settlement demand" on the insurer, the insurer has two options. First, the insurer can simply go ahead and settle the case within policy limits if the plaintiff is willing to accept such a settlement, which is usually the case. Or, if the insurer believes that it can do better financially than settling the claim by attempting to minimize or zeroing out the claim at trial, then the insurer can take its chances and defend the insured at trial.

"However, if the insurer elects to take the risk that it can do better at trial than settling the case, then the insurer usually has to protect (i.e., indemnify) the insured from the risk of a bad result at trial — i.e., a judgment that is more than the limits of the insured's insurance policy that, absent such an indemnity, would require the insured to come out of pocket to pay the portion of the judgment that is in excess of the amount of the insured's insurance policy.

"So, in short, if the insurer can settle the case within policy limits, but chooses instead to take the risk of trial and a judgment in excess of its insured's policy limits, then the insurer has to pay the entire judgment — not just the amount of its policy — if the plaintiff hits a home run (i.e., a judgment in excess of the insurance policy limits) at trial.

"I suspect that the foregoing considerations are driving the retrial in the Weis case. The insurers believe that the doctors have a strong case in defense of Weis' claims. Thus, in the insurers' view, the financial spread is probably too large between the amount of Weis' current settlement demand and the amount of a judgment that the insurers think is probable after a retrial. Accordingly, the insurers are willing to take what they perceive to be the relatively small risk of a judgment for damages in excess of the doctors' insurance policies in order to take a good shot at doing considerably better financially than what they could achieve in settling the case before the retrial.

"Beyond those considerations, retrials are always interesting because both sides have already had a test run before a jury to determine what works and what doesn't. As a result, retrials are usually more streamlined than the first trial and the presentations are generally sharper and more focused.

"The legal case has not changed from the first trial. The key issue remains whether the doctors' actions caused Weis' post-operation problems and, if so, whether the doctors' actions were of quality that were beneath the standard of care for doctors performing such procedures in the Boston area. Given that the surgeon-defendants are indisputably quality doctors (one is on the faculty of Harvard Medical School), an important consideration during the trial will be the quality of Weis' expert witness on the issue of the doctors' standard of care. It's not easy to find a credible expert witness to testify against prominent doctors unless the doctors really did something wrong.

"Nevertheless, as noted in my post before the first trial, the politics of the case tend to favor Weis and politics often trump legal issues in this type of case. That's why courtroom dynamics such as the way the judge and lawyers handle the trial and the makeup of the jury often determine the outcome. Thus, although the doctors would appear to have a strong case in defense of Weis' malpractice claims, the glare from the diamonds in those multiple Super Bowl rings on the fingers of some of the plaintiff's witnesses has a way of obscuring even the clearest legal issue."

Where Is Dick Vitale When You Need Him?

If you hate Duke basketball, you probably love the football team. The Blue Devils have only one bowl appearance in the past 17 seasons and have lost 20 in a row, tops in the nation. But Blue Devils coach Ted Roof is trying to turn it around and has enlisted Duke's business school — one of the best business schools in the land — to help resurrect the program.

Roof has dispatched director of football relations B.J. Naedele, a 2007 Fuqua School of Business graduate, and Travis Pearson, a Bayne consultant and former player, as well as two interns, one Fuqua student and one undergraduate economics student, to 30 universities to gather data on the best way to lead Duke out of the doldrums.

Their mission, according to Michael Moore of the Raleigh News & Observer, is to create a comprehensive strategic business plan for Duke football.

The Blue Devils need the help. The program operated at a loss of nearly $1.7 million during the 2005-06 school year, according to the university's report under the federal Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Ripping the Sooners a New One

We have yet to hear from Rhett Bomar, the former Oklahoma quarterback whose "job" at Big Red Sports/Imports, helped get the Sooners into their latest trouble with the NCAA. But during a segment in April on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" Bomar appears genuinely sorry for his involvement, unlike his former teammate and partner in crime, J.D. Quinn.

As for what's left at Oklahoma, Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Gil Lebreton rips the Sooners a new one and says officials in Norman should simply accept the penalty rather than appeal. Lebreton says Oklahoma has yet to learn its lesson, despite this being the Sooners' seventh major infractions case, and writes that the problems in Norman go all the way to the top:

"OU President David Boren should have spared us the rhetoric Wednesday about erasing the Sooners’ eight 2005 victories. Boren said it wasn’t fair to 'the over 100 student-athletes and coaches who played by the rules.'

"This is the same administration, remember, that wanted Oklahoma’s loss at Oregon last season erased because somebody saw the fumble recovered on YouTube."

Lebreton also said Oklahoma was trying to cloud the facts of the case.

"Let’s clear up one misconception, however, popularly being dispensed by Oklahoma. The Sooners did not blow the whistle on themselves when they learned last year that two players, including quarterback Rhett Bomar, had been receiving payments for work they did not perform at a Norman, Okla., car dealer.

"As the NCAA’s own report said Wednesday, an anonymous e-mail simultaneously tipped off both the university and the NCAA infractions committee."

An anonymous email might have been cited as the reason the NCAA got involved at Oklahoma, but the mess involving the Sooners and Big Red was first "reported" on the site TexAgs.com. A user named aggiegrant06 posted a message detailing how his girlfriend handed out payroll checks for a car dealer in Norman. "She didn't recognize several of the names," aggiegrant06 wrote. "She thought it was fishy and asked me."

As Selena Roberts of the New York Times wrote, "The boyfriend knew the names in the blink of an instant message: They were football players at Oklahoma." (subscription).

Two hours later, the posting was pulled by an administrator at TexAgs.com because the information lacked sufficient evidence. But on Sunday, Texas A&M fans were thanking aggiegrant06 for erasing a 36-30 loss to Oklahoma from the record books.

Thanks to Greg for his help.

Reporters' Notebooks

Don Walker, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: With the sophistication of a political campaign, the Big Ten Network has launched an Internet and telephone effort designed to put pressure on cable providers to carry the fledgling channel.

Mike Baldwin, Oklahoman: Oklahoma State receiver Artrell Woods is unlikely to play this season after surgery following a weight room accident.

Mark Tupper, Decatur Herald & Review: Is Illinois defensive coordinator Vince Okruch, who is taking a "temporary leave of absence for personal reasons," going to miss the entire season?

Tony Barnhardt, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Toughest schedule in the Atlantic Coast Conference? That honor goes to Florida State.

850 The Buzz: Back by popular demand, the 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference helmet schedule, now available in a new, improved PDF format.

Lucinda Coulter, Tuscaloosa News: Two Alabama players face misdemeanor charges after an altercation in front of The Legacy, a bar along the University of Alabama strip.

Ray Melick, Birmingham News: Alabama coach Nick Saban is seemingly showing up everywhere, even though his contract limits the number of public appearances.

Ian R. Rapoport, Birmingham News: Notre Dame doesn't appear to be interested in playing Alabama.

Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman: Work is progressing on the $35.9 million addition to Boise State's Bronco Stadium, with completion scheduled for July 2008.

Darren Sabedra and Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News: Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby talks about firing Walt Harris and hiring Jim Haubaugh. He also says Harbaugh is "not a loose cannon."

Joseph Person, Columbia State: Troubled South Carolina freshman quarterback Stephen Garcia, arrested twice within his first two months on campus, vows to stay out of Five Points’ bars and nightclubs.

Two mystery links today. Here and here.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. And thanks to Hester Graphics.

The Legend of Cody Paul

If you haven't been to Deep South Sports, you really need to go there. We can't thank them enough for this video of Cody Paul of the Los Alamitos Griffins, the 2006 Pee-Wee Pop Warner national champions. Simply put, Cody is a man among boys. Considering he's playing in USC's backyard, Pete Carroll might want to reserve Reggie Bush's old No. 5 for young Cody.

Update: Cody, we are told, is 13.

Reporters' Notebooks

Caulton Tudor, Raleigh News & Observer: The Atlantic Coast Conference is loaded on defense, but the league may not have enough offense to field a team that can compete against the best in the country and contend for the BCS title.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: South Carolina offensive tackle Quintin Richardson was released Saturday after spending the night at the Richland County jail following a drug-related arrest.

Bob Wieneke, South Bend Tribune: Ron Powlus, who was Jimmy Clausen before Jimmy Clausen, is loving his return to Notre Dame.

Ferd Lewis, Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii has two I-AA opponents on its schedule, but five teams — Michigan State, Notre Dame, USC, UCLA and Washington — have not played a I-AA opponent since the NCAA adopted the divisional setup in 1978.

Dave Matter, Columbia Tribune: The best position group among Big 12 teams? Texas A&M's backfield, with quarterback Stephen McGee and running backs Mike Goodson, Jorvorskie Lane and Chris Alexander.

Mike Baldwin, Oklahoman: Oklahoma State receiver Artrell Woods suffered a serious back injury during a weight-lifting session Friday and underwent 3.5 hours of surgery.

Jake Schaller, Colorado Springs Gazette: Air Force players — unlike their colleagues at other I-A teams — spend part of their summer getting hands-on experience at an Air Force base.

El Paso Times: Texas El Paso coach Mike Price has been released from a hospital after doctors implanted a stent to relieve a blocked artery in his heart.

John Walters, NBC Sports: The brother of Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe is Kurt Kragthorpe, sports columnist at the Salt Lake Tribune.

And here is today's mystery link.

Navy: Expect to Win

Navy gets an early start, opening Aug. 30 (a Friday) at Temple, followed by a toughie at Rutgers. From there, the sailing gets easier, with five of the next six at home, including a Sept. 29th visit from Air Force. Then comes a biggie — at Notre Dame. If anyone in Annapolis needs to be reminded, the Midshipmen have lost 43 in a row to the Fighting Irish. Last but not least is Army on Dec. 1 in Baltimore.

And don't forget our favorite Navy blog, Pitch Right.

We're still missing poster schedules from Army and Air Force. Can anybody out there give us a hand?

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

We Get the Scoop on Poker's Main Event

The madness started just over a week ago with 6,358 players. By the end of play early Saturday morning at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, the number was cut to 112. Needless to say, the atmosphere is electric at the Rio Hotel and Casino.

The live reporting log at Poker News described railbirds "backed up five and six rows deep, standing on chairs and peering over shoulders, trying to catch a glimpse of the heart-wrenching action taking place just a few feet beyond the ropes. Each announcement of, 'All in and call!' draws a flock of spectators, cameramen, and reporters alike."

To get us caught up on the action, Dave Curley, the media representative of the World Series of Poker, joined us on "Sports Overnight America." Dave had all the scoops, including the incredible story of Hal Ludarsky, who is legally blind and finished 197th in his first main event. You can listen to our 17-minute interview with Dave by clicking here.

Minutes Count at Kent State

You have to credit Mid-American Conference teams. They back down from nobody. Kent State's nonconference schedule includes road games at Iowa State, Kentucky and Ohio State. Could be a challenging season for the Golden Flashes, who play only five games at Dix Stadium, which earned a humorous review from our friends at Project 119.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Former OU Lineman Quinn: 'Get a Real Job'

One of the reasons Oklahoma found itself in trouble again with the NCAA was offensive lineman J.D. Quinn. Back on Aug. 1, 2006, Quinn, along with quarterback Rhett Bomar, acknowledged taking money they didn't earn from Big Red Sports/Imports. The next day, Quinn and Bomar were dismissed from the team.

Quinn, who has since transferred to Montana, was reached by Brian Brinkley of Oklahoma City TV station KFOR and asked to comment on the sanctions. We find it interesting that he told Brinkley to "get a real job," especially considering that Quinn's "job" at Big Red helped put the Sooners on probation.

Quinn likely won't be welcomed back in Oklahoma should he ever return. As for his new home in Montana, his comments have yet to draw much reaction at the Montana site The Grizzoulian. Thanks to Brian over at AOL Fanhouse.

Arkansas Having Twice the Fun

Arkansas has provided us with two posters. The top entry is the official poster, just completed this week. The bottom poster was created specifically for the spring game in conjunction with Razorfest, an event for local charity that features kids games, concerts and an autograph session with former players and coaches. This is the first time Arkansas has done two posters, and judging by the finished products, it probably won't be the last time this is done.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Berry Tramel, Oklahoman: Since the winter of 1988-89, the NCAA has handed down 46 major-infraction cases in Division I-A football. Only 13 included a bowl ban, and only four of those have come since 1995.

Mike Koehler, Oklahoman: It's time to look back and remember those eight wins in 2005 that Oklahoma has been asked to "vacate."

Dave Matter, Columbia Tribune: If ticket sales are an indication of fan interest, then 2007 figures to be the most anticipated Missouri season in a while.

Howard Richman, Kansas City Star: Coach Ron Prince says there will be no quarterback controversy at Kansas State.

Kyle Hightower, Orlando Sentinel: Central Florida has set a record for season tickets, but officials still fell 4,300 shy of their goal.

Toledo Blade: Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, his wife, Ellen, and her parents have donated $1 million for a sports practice center at Youngstown State.

And here is today's mystery link.

Guiremand Brings His Wit and Wisdom

Las Vegas-based writer Steve Guiremand will be our guest Friday night/Saturday morning on "Sports Overnight America" on the Sports Byline USA Radio Network. Steve is editor of Rebel Nation, which covers Nevada Las Vegas sports as well as recruiting news provided by national experts Tom Lemming and Bob Gibbons.

Steve formerly covered USC at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner before joining The National Sports Daily. He later joined the staff of the Long Beach Press-Telegram and oversaw the popular "Best in the West" football recruiting section from 1991-98. Steve also has spent more than two decades as a college football correspondent for Sports Illustrated. He will join us just past the midnight hour in the Pacific Time Zone.

Before Steve joins us, Dave Curley, the director of publicity for the World Series of Poker, will be our guest. He will join us at 11:40 p.m. Pacific. Dave will update us on all the late-breaking developments at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The field will have been cut to roughly 100 players by day's end.

If you can't hear the show through one of the Sports Byline affiliates, check out the streaming Internet feed at SportsByline.com. The show can also be heard over the American Forces Network, available in 177 countries and all the Navy ships at sea, or the Cable Radio Network. You can join the conversation by calling 800-878-7529.

Pittsburgh: 'Inspired by Our Tradition'

A challenging road for Pittsburgh, which is entering its third season under Dave Wannstedt. The Panthers are 11-12 under Wannstedt and have difficult nonconference road games at Michigan State and Virginia. In conference, the Panthers must play at Louisville, Rutgers and West Virginia.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson., North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Everything Is Not OK in Oklahoma

Reader C.J. might consider updating his entry in our great billboard competition in May. The billboard (click in it for a closer inspection) took at shot Oklahoma for its troublesome past with the nagging NCAA. The Sooners added another chapter on Wednesday when the governing body told the team to "vacate" — or erase — eight victories from the 2005 season.

Oklahoma plans to appeal.

This latest mess started with an email tip to the NCAA on March 3, 2006 about players being paid for work they didn't do at Big Red Sports/Imports, a car dealership in Norman. On Aug. 1, 2006, quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn acknowledged taking money they didn't earn. The next day, Bomar and Quinn were dismissed from the team. Bomar has since transferred to Sam Houston State and Quinn to Montana (each is eligible this fall).

A third player — receiver Jermaine Hardison — was later dismissed from the team after being implicated in the scandal.

Then came Wednesday's ruling by the NCAA, which called the case "significant and serious."

Regardless of the result of the appeal, Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel says the Sooners have much work to do to repair their damaged reputation. Plus a look at what some Oklahoma fans are saying and who is on the NCAA Committee of Infractions.

Reporters' Notebooks

Rickey Hampton, Flint Journal: When asked about retirement, Michigan's Lloyd Carr said, "I can't predict the future." He added: "When that day comes, I'll just make the announcement that I'm going to do it."

Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times: USC quarterback Mitch Mustain, on why he decided to leave Arkansas. "It just got to the point where I knew it wasn't going to work out there. Not this year, not ever."

Ron Higgins, Commercial Appeal: After having at least one league team on NCAA probation for 25 consecutive years, Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive is hopeful the league will be sanction-free by June 11, 2008.

Ian R. Rapoport, Birmingham News: Alabama coach Nick Saban on scheduling nonconference games. "I'd like to play Notre Dame. We played them three times at Michigan State and beat them three times."

Ferd Lewis and Stephen Tsai, Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii coach June Jones, in the final year of a five-year contract and third-highest paid coach in the Western Athletic Conference, could become the league's first to crack $1 million mark in annual compensation.

Honolulu Advertiser: The 43-minute video to promote the Heisman campaign of Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan will be available for viewing July 24 on the athletic department's website.

Joe Vardon, Toledo Blade: Days before she was to sue the university for firing her, a former high-ranking member of Toledo's athletic department learned she was going to get her job back.

Jack Bogaczyk, Charleston Daily Mail: Big East teams will be adding plenty of oomph to their nonconference schedules after 2007. Teams such as USC, Ohio State, Florida, Notre Dame, Florida State, Auburn, Penn State, Michigan and Oklahoma appear on future schedules. A look at tentative schedules for all Big East teams through 2015 (pdf file).

Mickey Furfari, Charleston Daily Mail: Retire at age 45? Former West Virginia defensive back Tim Agee plans to walk away from his job in November.

Score One for Justice (and UCLA)

It appears USC and UCLA meet in places other than the football field. Such was the case Tuesday in Santa Ana when U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney, above, put the hammer down on Barry Landreth, who was sentenced to six years in federal prison for running a real estate investment scam.

Landreth is a former adjunct professor of real estate and finance at USC. Carney? He's a former All-American receiver at UCLA.

Prosecutors had recommended a four-year sentence for Landreth, but Carney would have none of that, saying Landreth abused his position as an instructor in real estate finance to lure investors and then used the money to buy luxury items, including a Cadillac Escalade and several show horses.

"That's what's so upsetting in this case," Carney said.

Landreth apologized to his victims, several of whom said the scheme ruined them financially. Included in the group was one of Landreth's former students who went to him for career advice.

"I know you guys hate me at this moment," he said. "I really hope that at some point you will accept my apologies."

Doubtful that will happen. A person claiming to be one of the victims wrote in the reader's comments section of the Orange County Register that "I'm glad he's going to pound-me-in-the-butt prison for a long time."

Thanks to Erratic Magic.

It's Good to Be Gold

There's no place like home — at least for Vanderbilt. The Commodores have eight home games, including the first four at Vanderbilt Stadium. If the Commodores can defeat Alabama on Sept. 8, a 4-0 start is possible entering the Oct. 6 game at Auburn.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

It's Late and It's El Paso

Quite the melee they had early Sunday morning in that West Texas Town of El Paso. Five Texas El Paso players, one former player and two Army soldiers were arrested in a disturbance that started after the nightspot Club Blu closed.

Miner linebacker Brian Wilkins, after allegedly wrestling with an officer, was stunned by a Taser. Receiver Tufick Shadrawy allegedly head-butted an officer. Each player had been charged with third-degree felony.

Crowds "can be very dangerous situations," police spokesman Javier Sambrano said.

Especially in El Paso, one of our favorite towns.

A Grass-Roots Effort at USC

This was the view Monday of USC's Howard Jones Field from Ray Irani Hall. Workers have spent the last several days resodding the practice field in preparation for the opening of fall camp on Aug. 6. Last Thursday, we are told the field was stripped of turf, and you can see, the process has moved along quite nicely. In the background is the downtown L.A. skyline.

Reporters' Notebooks

Joseph Person, Columbia State: Coming Monday: SpurrierHBC.com (the HBC is for Head Ball Coach). For $29.95 for three months or $99.95 a year, subscribers can access “inside news and photos,” archived broadcasts of Spurrier’s TV and radio shows and a question-and-answer feature.

Ryan Wood, Lawrence Journal-World: A Kansas official is firing back at ESPN's Mark Schlabach for labeling the Jayhawks' schedule the easiest in the country.

Glenn Guilbeau, Monroe News Star: Hey Les Miles, why not go ahead and schedule USC?

Mike Kaszuba, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Minnesota is finding it difficult to raise money to finance its new $288.5 million stadium.

Mark Snyder, Detroit Free Press: Michigan is dumping Nike for Adidas in an eight-year deal worth $7.5 million a year, believed to be Adidas' largest with a public university.

Evan Woodbery, Mobile Press-Register: Former Auburn coach Terry Bowden said he doesn't rule out a return to the sidelines.

Emily Badger, Orlando Sentinel: Florida State has agreed to play a neutral-site regular-season game in Orlando in either 2012 or 2013 if a planned renovation of the Citrus Bowl is completed.

Brad Schmidt and Jeff Smith, Oregonian: Oregon's top recruit is ineligible and Dexter Manley II, the son of the former NFL lineman, has decided to transfer.

Mick McGrane, Sand Diego Union-Tribune: The losses continue to already pile up for San Diego State. Senior offensive lineman Peter Manuma is academically ineligible and has left school.

And here is today's mystery link.

Clausen to Sit This One Out?

We possibly have another piece of the puzzle in the Jimmy Clausen mystery. Dennis Dodd of CBS Sportsline quotes David Frazer, the father of quarterback Zach Frazer, who recently transferred from Notre Dame to Connecticut, as saying "Clausen won't play this year."

David Frazer also suggests that Notre Dame coach Crewcut Charlie Weis has already determined his starter.

"From what we know [Evan] Sharpley is going to be the guy. [Demetrius] Jones will be put in for a few trick plays." (Take note, opposing coaches.)

The Notre Dame blog Blue-Gray Sky is taking exception to Dodd's "editorialzing." [sic]

Clausen, the most celebrated Notre Dame recruit since Ron Powlus, graduated in December from California's Oaks Christian High and arrived last winter in South Bend as damaged goods. Jim Clausen Sr., told the Chicago Sun-Times in March that his son played last fall for Oaks Christian with an elbow injury.

On June 12th, the site Log's Blog reported that Clausen had surgery to remove bone spurs on his right (throwing) elbow and would be out for the season. Notre Dame officials then acknowledged that Clausen had a "procedure" on an elbow, but didn't indicate which elbow it was. This raised questions about Crewcut's credibility.

As for when Clausen had the surgery, it apparently took place on June 5 and was performed by famed orthopedic surgeon James Andrews of Birmingham. An eagle-eyed tipster alerted Blue-Gray Sky to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article about Andrews that described his 15 surgeries that day, which included "an incoming freshman quarterback who needed a quick elbow repair in time for the start of the season."

Thanks to our friends at Image of Sport for the shot of Clausen.

How 'bout Those Cowboys!

Nice effort here from our friends at Wyoming. The Cowboys have an interesting nonconference schedule, with home games against Virginia and Utah State and road games at Boise State and Ohio.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Randy Peterson, Des Moines Register: Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard told state Democrats that if they wanted 175 tickets to the Iowa-Iowa State game in Ames, they would have to buy Cyclone season tickets. Iowa then filled the Democrats' single-game request.

Curt Rallo, South Bend Tribune: The Big Ten is getting ready to play hardball with Comcast by urging fans to switch from cable to DirecTV. Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Bob Condotta, Seattle Times: Could Washington coach Tyrone Willingham's job be at stake if the Huskies, who play the nation's toughest schedule, win only one or two games.

Brendan Murphy, Lafayette Journal and Courier: Former Purdue quarterback Brandon Kirsch now regrets leaving early for a shot at the NFL.

Dave Matter, Columbia Tribune: A look at 12 storylines as the Big 12 enters its 12th season of football.

AOL Fanhouse: A Des Moines area bank will produce a commemorative coin to be used for the pregame toss at Iowa State home games that will bear the likeness of coach Gene Chizik. The coin will also be sold for $15. Thanks to Dave!

Ferd Lewis, Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii coach June Jones says quarterback Colt Brennan won't be padding his statistics this fall by playing late in games that are already decided.

Denise Lavoie, Associated Press: Jury selection is scheduled to begin Friday in Crewcut Charlie Weis' retrial of his medical malpractice lawsuit.

Dave Curtis, Orlando Sentinel: A felony charge against Florida running back Brandon James has been dropped. He still faces a misdemeanor marijuana charge.

And here is today's mystery link. Send mystery link submissions to dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

Florida State's Awakening

A double entry from Florida State kicks off our look at college football poster schedules for 2007. The Seminoles have selected "The Awakening" as the theme of this year's effort.

Unlike last year, we are not going to review individual posters. We will leave any comments about each poster to our readers. Last year we displayed 40 poster schedules and the hope is to surpass that number this year.

With the help of reader Greg, we recently contacted 120 teams to ask about poster availability. To date, 25 have been kind enough to share their efforts. Unfortunately, not everybody wants to play this game, and we respect that decision. So this is where you come in. We need your help tracking down posters missing from the 2007 collection.

Again, we are looking for the official poster schedule and seeking an image of high quality. Anything less won't be accepted.

Currently we have posters from the following teams: Cincinnati, Duke, Florida State, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kent State, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Missouri, Navy, Nevada, North Texas, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Stanford, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern Mississippi, Texas El Paso, USC, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Several other teams have promised to come through, but until they do, help us track down posters we are missing. The address: dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

And thanks to Chris for sending us the Florida State posters. The full images of the Seminole posters can be viewed by clicking here.

Poster schedules: Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Things Are Getting Out of Hand at Toledo

The Toledo Blade continues to hammer away at the Toledo athletic department. The latest: University officials bartered their way to $700,000 worth of goods and services in 2006.

Although barter-trade agreements are commonplace at many universities and legal, Toledo officials appeared to have taken the policy to an extreme. Akron, for example, engages in trade agreements totaling about $270,000.

One abuse cited at Toledo involves a $5,000 trade with Honey Baked Ham in 2004, of which $4,050 was used for gift certificates for athletic staff members. Another $500 was used for a staff Christmas party that year.

Football coach Tom Amstutz, above, drives a beefy 2007 Honda Ridgeline thanks to an arrangement with a local dealer.

Even the Blade entered barter agreements with the university. In exchange for advertising panels inside the Glass Bowl and Savage Hall, 100 reserved football season tickets and other items, Toledo received $82,400 worth of advertising space in the newspaper in 2006. Looks like some execs at the Blade are going to have to do without perks from now on. ...

Toledo President Lloyd Jacobs has already ordered a massive restructuring of the department, citing problems with team travel, lack of financial control and unlawful handling of medications.

Will Les Miles Replace Lloyd Carr?

Who is next in line to coach Michigan? It could be none other than Les Miles, the Louisiana State coach who appeared to damage some relationships last week with his comments about — among other things — voting Florida over Michigan in the USA Today poll after the Gators defeated Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference title game.

That vote helped to put Florida in the BCS title game over Michigan, which is where Miles played and later served as an assistant under Bo Schembechler.

Speculation continues to build that Wolverine coach Lloyd Carr will retire at season's end. In January, officials made a change in Carr's contract that has helped lead to reasoning that the coach, who turns 62 on July 30, will call it quits.

Previously Carr was promised a $300,000 bonus if he were employed as Michigan's coach on July 1, 2008. The new contract promises the bonus to Carr if he is employed by the university in any capacity until July 1. Again, in any capacity, meaning he doesn't have to be coach.

Jim Carty of the Ann Arbor News believes Miles has a better chance than most candidates to replace Carr. He writes:

"Miles has the resume — having thrived at both Oklahoma State and LSU — plus he's charismatic and is typically given rave reviews by former players, assistant coaches, and the people he's worked for. You add those qualities to top-notch recruiting, a stint in the NFL and his Michigan ties [former player and assistant coach], and there's a lot to like."

It could help that Miles had maintained a relationship with Schembechler, who died Nov. 17. Carty writes:

"There are still rumors kicking around that Schembechler and Miles had grown apart in recent years over some LSU vs. Michigan recruiting nonsense, but both men dismissed that in separate conversations about their relationship last July. Bo said he watched every game Miles coached in his first season at LSU; Miles talked about how he still called his old coach for advice."

SEC Official Is Head of Gator Booster Club

It turns out Southeastern Conference umpire Wally Hough is also in the booster club business. Hough, as reported by Andy Hall of the Palatka Daily News, is president of the Putnam (Fla.) County Gator Club, a support group for the University of Florida.

Hough, a former Florida player, introduced South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier during a luncheon last week at a restaurant named the Gator Landing.

"Wally is one of my favorite referees," Spurrier said. "His crew does a super job. Sometimes they make some calls that favor Georgia and some of those teams we don’t like and we have to say something about it."

Granted, it's difficult to find good officials, and by all accounts Hough falls in that category, but in many lines of work, Hough's affiliation with a booster club of an SEC team would simply be considered a conflict of interest and not allowed.

Thanks to Ryan at AOL Fanhouse.

Welcome to Maryland's Byrd Stadium

We can only speculate what is going on this offseason at Maryland's Byrd Stadium. The gang at Project 119 recently visited the stadium and found a used condom on the field near one of the goalposts. Yes, it appears somebody had scored.

Last winter, Project 119 visited Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium only to find something resembling a penile enlargement ad etched into the snowy field.

Reporters' Notebooks

Jane Stancill, Raleigh News & Observer: North Carolina is ending its relationship with the state lottery, but large public universities in the surrounding states of Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee continue to have major advertising partnerships with state lotteries.

Detroit Free Press: How to fix Michigan State football, which includes an interview with WXYT host Mike Valenti, who is best remembered for his Spartan rant after last year's loss to Notre Dame. Also a Q&A with new coach Mike Dantonio and columns from Drew Sharp and Michael Rosenberg.

Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times: Notre Dame coach Crewcut Charlie Weis is venturing into enemy territory (Beverly Hills) to raise money for a good cause.

South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame's Oct. 20 home game against USC is the second-most demanded alumni ticket in team history behind last year's game against Penn State.

Ian R. Rapoport, Birmingham News: Alabama has reported three secondary NCAA violations since Oct. 16, 2006. Two of the violations occurred under Nick Saban's clock.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: It looks like the budding rivalry between South Florida and Central Florida, teams located 98 miles apart, is over after the 2008 season.

Ryan Finley, Arizona Daily Star: Arizona is the 16th athletic departments to partner with StubHub to resell (i.e. scalp) tickets to Wildcat sporting events.

Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Here are 20 reasons Georgia Tech won't outclass Georgia this season.

Brett Vito, Denton Record-Chronicle: Several ticket policy changes at North Texas will result in fans will be paying a lot more for seats.

And here is today's mystery link.

Hello Wimbledon!

We once again venture down that slippery slope of an off-topic post. Spinal Tap, England's loudest band, reunites to play Wembley Stadium for Live Earth and debuts its new single, "Warmer Than Hell." We suspect the videos won't be around for long, so view them while you can.

Shuffle Up and Deal

The main event at the World Series of Poker started Friday in Las Vegas, and Daniel Negreanu, one of the premier players in the world, was our guest Friday night/Saturday morning on "Sports Overnight America" on the Sports Byline USA Radio Network.

We covered a lot of territory in this interview and Daniel, one of the top spokesmen for poker, had plenty to say about the state of the game just hours before was to begin his quest for poker's biggest prize. You can listen to the interview by clicking here (MP4 file in Quicktime format).

On a sidenote, a dropout from the University of Pittsburgh was the first player eliminated. Luke Staudenmaier, 21, who paid the $10,000 entry fee himself, lasted all of nine minutes. He went all-in with $20,000 after being raised.

"I was excited," he said. "I thought I was going to be the chip leader and double up immediately."

They'll Be One Less Magazine Next Year

It appears there will be one less college football preview magazine next season. Word is that Sporting News and Street and Smith's will be merged into one magazine in a cost-cutting move.

Although there remains plenty of competition, Phil Steele's preview is a clear favorite of Eric Crawford of the Louisville Courier-Journal. He writes:

"The 328-page publication is the only one that has attained full reference status for me, meaning it must be saved from year to year. Steele isn't much worried about aesthetics. The print is tiny. Copy juts nearly to the end of the page and right to the borders of pictures.

"The front trumpets the magazine as 'jampacked' with information. There's no such word. But Steele has no time for hyphens."

Although Steele has a staff of researchers, the magazine is primarily his work. Steele, 47, is a resident of Cleveland who has 12 televisions in front of his desk and says he works about 100 hours a week on his obsession.

Now how accurate are the magazines? Chris Stassen ranks them from year to year, and Steele's was No. 1 last season, with Athlon No. 2. Over the past five years, Sporting News and Lindy's have been the most accurate.

Reporters' Notebooks

Blake Jackson, Oklahoman: Oklahoma will be among 15 teams using the Head Impact Telemetry System that alerts officials of possible head injury.

Mel Bracht, Oklahoman: An Oklahoma City radio station, as a service to a fast-growing Hispanic population, will broadcast the Sept. 8 Miami-Oklahoma game in Spanish.

Robbie Andreu, Gainesville Sun: Former Florida cornerback Avery Atkins, 20, who was arrested three days earlier for possession of crack cocaine, was found dead in his car.

David Dye, Detroit News: Michigan State quarterback Brian Hoyer, listed at 6-2, 212 pounds, is eating 6,000 calories a day in an attempt to gain weight before the start of the season.

Adam Jones, Tuscaloosa News: University of Alabama employees have ordered more than twice the number of allotted season tickets and a quota system will be used to distribute seats.

Tad Walch, Deseret Morning News: Brigham Young running back Manase Tonga was arrested after a traffic stop early Tuesday morning for allegedly failing to pay a traffic ticket and giving a fake name to Provo police.

And here is today's mystery link.

It's Your Call

A reminder to join us Friday night/Saturday morning on "Sports Overnight America" on the Sports Byline USA Radio Network. Although we are working on a surprise guest or two, this will be your chance to call in and tell us what's on your mind as we race toward the start of the season. Join us at 11:30 p.m. (Pacific). The number to call is 800-878-7529.

You can hear "Sports Overnight America" over the Internet at SportsByline.com, on the American Forces Network, available in 177 countries and U.S. territories and Navy ships at sea, through the Cable Radio Network or one of the Sports Byline affiliates.

It's the Team Nobody Wants to Play

"Teams don't want to make the trip anymore," Hawaii coach June Jones says. "They come here, we kick their ass, they go home."

Jones has a point.

The Warriors were unable to find a 13th opponent to fill their schedule despite offering $750,000 and a trip to paradise.

Hawaii was put in this position because Michigan State tried for a year to get out of a game in Honolulu — the same one Hawaii now can't replace — before finally paying $250,000 to do so, reports Matt Hayes of the Sporting News.

Michigan State, of course, got beat in its last trip to Hawaii, 41-38, in 2004. The Spartans are not alone. Alabama, Purdue and Arizona State have lost in recent years on the island.

Mississippi State was one team that refused to play Hawaii, and that game would have been played in Starkville. Jones told Hayes that "a couple" of Pacific 10 teams were offered the $750,000 — plus national television coverage — for a game in Honolulu, but declined.

With quarterback Colt Brennan returning, it's not surprising that teams didn't answer the Warriors' call for a 13th game (allowable under a 52-year-old NCAA exemption). Hawaii, you might recall, punted only 16 times in 14 games last season, half of that total coming in the first six games. Ultimately, the loss of an extra game will cost Brennan any shot of winning the Heisman.

Skeptical of the Warriors' talent? Consider this: Hawaii had five players selected in this year's NFL draft. That's more than Nebraska, Georgia, Oklahoma, UCLA or Alabama. Brennan could be next year's No. 1 pick.

And the restocking process has already taken place. Hawaii was the state most efficient in producing Division I-A recruits this year in relation to population.