Some Parents Have Too Much Money

Private coaching for athletes is on the rise and Steve Clarkson, left, credited with developing NFL quarterbacks Matt Leinart, J.P. Losman and Ben Roethlisberger, is cashing in.

Clarkson, a quarterback coaching guru who has been called "The Dream Maker," held a camp over the weekend in Glendale, Calif.

"It's not a competition," Clarkson told the L.A. Times. "We're trying to educate. I'm trying to walk them down the potholes they'll face down the road."

Expensive potholes. There were 95 quarterbacks from 32 states attending the camp. Each participant paid $600. If our math is correct, that's $57,000.

Clarkson has scheduled at least seven camps and if the turnout is similar to this past weekend, he will take in nearly $400,000 (for 14 days work). And it might not stop there.

"By the fall, we're hoping to be overseas," he said.

This is a big business. No wonder Clarkson is aligned with Eddie DeBartolo, the former owner of the San Francisco 49ers.

Among the camp attendees was Brendan Cross, the son TV analyst and former 49er Randy Cross. Father and son flew in from Georgia to attend.

Corde Broadus, the son of rapper Snoop Dogg and expected to be a freshman quarterback at Long Beach Poly in the fall, was supposed to participate but was a no-show, according to the Times.

Contract Issue Not a Concern to Paterno

"If I've got to have a contract to keep my job here, I'm in the wrong place," Joe Paterno said.

Simply put, the Penn State coach might be in the wrong place.

Paterno talked about his contract situation over the weekend and claimed to be oblivious to speculation that this season will be his last. The 81-year-old Paterno is entering his 43rd season as Nittany Lion coach and his contract expires after the 2008 season.

"I don't even care if I get a contract," Paterno said.

A trustee told the Philadelphia Inquirer: "The university is fine with that, too, because they don't want to give him a contract, either."

The battle lines are clearly drawn with no hint of compromise on the horizon.

Paterno acknowledged he is spending more time working at home these days.

"I can walk home in 15 minutes," he said. "I can drive home in five minutes. When I leave you guys, I'll have bourbon in five minutes. There's no reason for me to be here. I have my own fax at home, my own telephone at home. I got all my tapes there. ... I can get so much more done at home.

"I hate to say this, but to a lot of people, I'm a celebrity. And, when they come in town, you'd be amazed how many people who may be Ohio State fans or Michigan fans and they're passing through and they stop in and say, 'Can we get our picture taken, or can you autograph this for me?' I can't get my work done."

Spring Reports

Our first look at spring games around the country:

Auburn: Start spreading the news. The Tigers took the gloves off and displayed their no-huddle, no-rest, no-time-for-mistakes spread offense.

Miami: Robert Marve remains the front-runner to become the starting quarterback, but his receivers continue to drop passes. Running backs Graig Cooper (fast) and Javarris James (strong) are a force.

Mississippi State: There are questions about the offense after a spring game that featured five interceptions, a boatload of overthrown passes and a 6-0 score.

Texas: New defensive coordinator Will Muschamp's first-team unit was a hit, giving up only one touchdown.

Reporters' Notebooks

Richard Sandomir, New York Times: A Michigan judge dismissed a lawsuit over the exhumation of the remains of George Gipp, but the legal squabble is far from over.

Iliana Limon, Orlando Sentinel: Thousands of friends and family members crowded Lely High to pay tribute to Ereck Plancher, the Central Florida receiver who died March 18 after an offseason conditioning workout on campus.

Brent Zwerneman, San Antonio Express-News: Mike McKenzie, who was a central figure in former Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione's secret newsletter scandal, is scheduled to be a keynote speaker at a College Station journalism convention.

Bob Thomas, Florida Times-Union: Bobby Bowden and Lou Holtz spun tales and anecdotes and offered plenty of advice over the course of a 90-minute discussion about coaching philosophy at Florida State.

Tom Luicci, Newark Star-Ledger: Construction is well underway on phase one of the two-part renovation of Rutgers Stadium that will eventually raise the capacity to close to 56,000.

Rob Oller, Columbus Dispatch: Rich Rodriguez needs to be more like Bo Schembechler.

Rick Scoppe, Greenville News: Police dropped two charges against South Carolina offensive guard Kevin Young.

Jim Mashek, Biloxi Sun Herald: Two Mississippi State players were dismissed from school after their arrests near a gunfire incident on campus.

Cincinnati Enquirer: Terrill Byrd, Cincinnati's All-America defensive tackle, has been suspended for the Bearcats' Aug. 28 season opener against Eastern Kentucky. He was cited for smoking marijuana on March 5.

Gridiron Bash Is Busted by the NCAA

ZZ Top won't be coming to College Station. Alan Jackson in Tuscaloosa? Not going to happen. Kelly Clarkson in Iowa City? Forget about it.

The NCAA has thrown the flag on the Gridiron Bash, a series of concerts, pep rallies and fan activities coinciding with spring football games at 16 schools. Officials are in the process of canceling all the gigs and the Gridiron Bash website says ticket refund information will be available shortly.

Some schools raised questions about whether participation of players in a pep rally at the concerts would constitute a violation of NCAA rules prohibiting special benefits for student-athletes.

"It is against NCAA rules for student-athletes to participate in a for-profit venture," said Charles Bloom, the Southeastern Conference associate commissioner for media relations.

Gridiron Bash was the brainchild of Shawn Garrity, an event promoter who lettered in football at Syracuse in 1986, and his friend, former California All-American running back Chuck Muncie. It's not clear why Garrity's group — New York-based MSL Sports and Entertainment — did not clear specifics with the NCAA before proceeding with the concert plans.

The suspicion is that MSL could take a financial hit, given that top-flight acts would seemingly have financial guarantees to guard against cancellations — especially cancellations close to the concert dates.

Boren Possibly Headed to Ohio State

If Justin Boren's departure from Michigan wasn't stunning enough, now comes the likelihood that the offensive lineman will be transferring to rival Ohio State in the fall.

Boren, an expected starter, left in a huff, saying that the "family values" he had grown accustomed to while playing for Michigan had "eroded in just a few months" under Rich Rodriguez.

Then Boren's father, Mike, a former linebacker at Michigan, told the Columbus Dispatch: "Ohio State would be a good fit for Justin, and that's why he's not at Michigan anymore, because Michigan is not the right fit for him."

If the Buckeyes lock up Justin, then his brother Zach, a highly rated fullback prospect out of Pickerington, Ohio, is likely to follow.

"I'm not going to have two kids at two universities," said Mike, who is one of those dads that likes to call the shots.

A story that appeared last Sept. 28 in the Detroit Free Press detailed the relationship between Mike and Justin.

"In high school at halftime he used to be at the gate, and if I was having a bad game, he'd just rip into me on the way to the locker room. ... It got ugly, a couple times the sheriffs wanted to escort me away," Justin said.

Mike, who runs a landscaping business, said Justin would often call from Ann Arbor to see how things were going back home.

"I say, 'Justin, don't worry about me or our business,' " Mike said. "He's more focused on here than him playing football. It's 'Dad, what did you do for the company today?' I say, 'What the hell did you do to become a better player?' "

Nonetheless, Boren's decision sent the locals searching for the real reason behind his departure from Michigan. And it left Rodriguez defending his program.

He told the Ann Arbor News: "Anybody who would make any comment about our values is way off-base. ... My players and my coaches are my family. They're coached that way. But we're not going to apologize for being demanding. We told that to the players. We also told them our job is to take them some place they can't take themselves, on the field and off the field, and I think the majority of our players understand that."

Tuberfield Trailer

Auburn has won six in a row against Alabama, and Tiger fans are making the most of it. Thanks to Deep South Sports.

Reporters' Notebooks

Ferd Lewis, Honolulu Advertiser: Representatives of June Jones are claiming the coach had a verbal agreement to be let out of his contract with Hawaii without a financial penalty. Hawaii says he owes the school $400,008.

Michael Rothstein, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: More trouble at Notre Dame. The women's basketball team had Crewcut Charlie Weis' players work out with the team. Rumor has it the women won the scrimmage game.

Mike Perrin, Birmingham News: Former Alabama center Roger Shultz is still going strong on the reality television show "The Biggest Loser: Couples." His new problem is that he no longer has a job.

Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Rich Rodriguez might not be the only coach bringing the spread-option offense to the Big Ten in 2008. Bret Bielema is talking about adding elements of it to complement Wisconsin's base offense.

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: It says here that the Southeastern Conference is second to none when it comes to football.

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: It will cost Oklahoma $436,724 for air charter services to road games this fall. A separate deal to fly the band to Seattle for the Sooners' game against Washington will cost $148,504.

Dirk Facer, Deseret Morning News: Utah is getting new uniforms. It's part of the supplier switch from Nike to UnderArmour.

Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego State will suffer a reduction of six scholarships over the next two seasons because of a fourth consecutive year of poor Academic Progress Rates. Thanks to Mike.

Brandon George, Dallas Morning News: The NCAA has granted a waiver filed by Texas Tech on behalf of defensive tackle Chris Perry, making the former Miami Hurricane immediately eligible to participate in the fall.

Columbus Dispatch: We'd like to see more of this. Ohio State and Tennessee have agreed to a home-and-home series. Unfortunately, it won't start until 2018. Thanks to Trent.

Bob Holt, Northwest Arkansas Times: The Arkansas-Louisiana State game will be played on the Friday after Thanksgiving for the 13th year in a row.

Alex Symonds, Daily Illini: Illinois' Ron Zook: “Everyone is predicting that the University of Illinois will come back down to earth this year and [last season] was kind of a fluke, it was a hit-and-miss, and honestly, as a coaching staff, we take that as a challenge."

Terry Hutchens, Indianapolis Star: Indiana is installing a no-huddle offense during spring drills.

Dan Collins, Winston-Salem Journal: Wake Forest offensive guard Chris DeGeare, who started nine games last season, has been ruled academically ineligible for 2008.

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'Great Sense of Urgency' at Notre Dame

He's back! After a rather quiet winter that saw Crewcut Charlie Weis bag yet another top-flight recruiting class, the big guy was back on the big stage, addressing the media throng that descended upon South Bend for his state of the Notre Dame address.

There is a "great sense of urgency" in South Bend, Crewcut said. A 3-9 season will do that.

Weis, the wily coach that he is, promised a new level of toughness around South Bend. That toughness will be reflected in each and every practice. The South Bend Tribune summed it up this way: "Running backs will be taken to the ground. Blocks will be carried out to the whistle. Tackling, not two-hand touch, will be the rule."

But Weis' biggest concern is Jimmy Clausen, the hotshot quarterback from California who played like a freshman — a high school freshman — last season.

"I think our biggest issue is that nothing happens to Jimmy," Crewcut said. "That's probably the thing that could ruin our practice the easiest if something would happen to him."

It was also revealed that Weis invited groups of players over to Casa Crewcut for dinner in the offseason. "The man can cook," safety David Bruton said.

Obviously.

Clausen's weight has ballooned from 194 to 212 and Weis said it was lean muscle gain. Michael Rothstein of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette got a good look at Clausen and wrote that "the California kid doesn't look to be much bigger than last season."

Rothstein later writes: "One of Jimmy Clausen's only red jersey counterparts — sophomore walk-on Nick Lezynski of Newton, Pa. — looks awful small for a quarterback. Well, he actually looks like a pee-wee player in his No. 12 Irish jersey. It could be because he's all of 5-foot-8, 157 pounds."

Apparently Lezynski missed dessert at the Weis' household.

Clemson Recruit With a Large Wad of Cash?

Yes, Clemson recruit Kenneth Page could have some explaining to do. According to the site Brahsome, Page posted this image on his MySpace page and "it came down about as quickly as it went up." Unfortunately for Page, somebody grabbed it during those few precious moments.

Page, an offensive guard from A.C. Flora High in Columbia, S.C., was graded a four-star recruit by Rivals. He picked the Tigers over North Carolina, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, South Carolina and Tennessee. Golly gee, wonder why? As Brahsome points out, those are "straight-from-the-bank $20 bills."

There was the usual B.S. "news" conference on Jan. 25 when Page selected Clemson.

After examining the body of evidence, Brahsome writes that "it’s pretty hard to argue that it’s not in fact Kenneth in the photo with the bills. It’s entirely possible that Page just has a really rich grandmother who likes to hand out wrapped bills in plastic bags, but either way, you gotta figure Kenneth and Lil’ Bobby [Tommy Bowden] got some explaining to do."

Thanks to Carr for sending this our way.

Reporters' Notebooks

Glenn Guilbeau, Shreveport Times: Louisiana State quarterback Ryan Perrilloux is back on the team. "He's no longer suspended," Les Miles said. "He's on the team, but not with playing privilege or practice privilege." But Perrilloux is expected to be back practicing before spring drills end.

Angelique S. Chengelis, Detroit News: Offensive lineman Justin Boren said "family values have eroded" at Michigan, leading to his decision to quit the team.

Greg Stoda, Palm Beach Post: College football, pay attention. Borrow a page from March Madness and start a playoff.

Randy Peterson, Des Moines Register: Iowa's Kirk Ferentz wants to add an administrative position called "player development director" after a tumultuous year that saw 14 players either arrested or charged with crimes since last April.

Rochelle Olson, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Former Minnesota cornerback Dominic Jones' sexual assault trial is set to begin on Monday, with the player expected to say he didn't have sex with the woman pressing charges and that she agreed to his actions. According to a court filing, Jones merely masturbated on the woman and did not have intercourse with her.

Jorge Milian, Palm Beach Post: A sports information director for the Miami Hurricanes was fired from his job and is under criminal investigation after police said child pornography was found on his university-issued computer. He has not been charged in the case.

Ira Schoffel, Miami Herald: Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford is out of spring drills after suffering a freak injury to his right knee in a scrimmage. He will have surgery and is expected to need four weeks to recover.

Chip Brown, Dallas Morning News: Message boards have been rife with rumors that Texas reserve quarterbacks Sherrod Harris and G.J. Kinne are considering transferring. "Neither one of them has said anything about it or discussed it," Mack Brown said.

Mike Knobler, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: There's a noticeable difference at Georgia Tech practices. Gone is the colorful language of defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta, who left for Notre Dame.

Clif LeBlance, Columbia State: South Carolina is in a dispute over land used for a farmers market. The university wants to purchase the parcel for football parking.

Tom Murphy, Northwest Arkansas Times: Arkansas linebacker Freddie Fairchild was suspended indefinitely after he was charged with third-degree battery and second-degree false imprisonment.

Larry Vaught, Advocate-Messenger: Kentucky's Rich Brooks did nothing to downplay expectations, saying he has a more athletic team returning and one that is better at linebacker and the secondary. He also said this is the best offensive line he has had during his tenure at Lexington.

Brian Christopherson, Lincoln Journal Star: Bo Pelini's first practice at Nebraska was called "very intense" by linebacker Phillip Dillard.

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The Glass Is Half Full at Minnesota

That surge of energy you feel as spring practices get rolling across the country? Well, it's not coming from Minneapolis, where interest in the Minnesota football program has hit an all-time low.

When they talk about raising the bar in Minnesota, that means lifting the bar off the ground. The Gophers were a not-so-golden 1-11 in 2007, with overtime needed to get the 1.

"I want to make everyone aware of what our goals are. That's a Big Ten championship and going to the Rose Bowl," coach Tim Brewster said, offering no timetable as to when the Gophers might next visit Pasadena.

Writes Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press: "Had Brother Brewster been speaking at the Rotary Club or VFW, his remarks would have been punctuated by several 'amens!' But the press is a tougher sell, although several among us were beginning to get that glassy-eyed look. Instead, we were more interested in the status of that defense, which leaked like the roof of a Guatemalan shack last season."

Brewster said recruiting had picked up and promised the defense would be better in 2008.

Powers, again: "[Brewster] and his assistant coaches are coming off a recruiting period that saw them log a quarter of a million travel miles over six weeks. Basically, they were searching for someone who could tackle. And by many objective accounts, they did pretty well. Of 45 official visits to Minnesota, 31 of those recruits signed on to become Golden Gophers. Twenty of those are defensive players.

"Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge there was no adult entertainment involved during any of those visits. That's a definite step up. It also means there's a lot more room for the Minnesota Vikings to spread out and get comfortable in the local strip clubs."

One of Brewster's recruits, Keven Whaley, is recovering after being shot in a leg last Friday outside a Virginia Beach nightclub around 2 a.m.

"People say what [Whaley's] doing out at that time of night? He's on spring break," Brewster said. "I don't know the details. All I know is Kevin Whaley is a great kid. . . . Whether or not Kevin did anything wrong. I can't say that at all. I wouldn't say that at all."

It's Just Pocket Change to Saban

What does Nick Saban think about being second-highest paid coach in the Southeastern Conference? "I could care less," he told Ian R. Rapoport of the Birmingham News.

Louisiana State's Les Miles took over the top spot when his new deal surpassed Saban's by a mere $1,000. Of course, when you're pulling down $3.75 million, what's a thousand here or there?

Rapoport asked Saban: "You're not, like, really, really, really upset about it?"

Responded Saban: "Doesn't bother me a bit."

The Alabama coach then said, "Ya know, I'm really pleased and happy for any coach that does well in this profession and Les Miles has done an outstanding job. He won the national championship, he's done a fantastic job with the record he's had since he's been there, and we're pleased and happy for him. It doesn't affect us in any way."

Thanks to Geaux to Hell Saban for the image.

Reporters' Notebooks

Mark Snyder, Detroit Free Press: Are Michigan practices too intense? Wolverine offensive lineman Justin Boren, who was projected to be a starter this fall, has left the team. He complained about the intensity of drills after the first practice this spring. Plus, Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman, provost Teresa Sullivan and athletic director Bill Martin issued a statement in response to the Ann Arbor News' series on academic practices for athletes.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: ESPN submitted a bid to the NCAA bowl certifying board to launch the St. Petersburg Bowl. The game would feature a matchup of Conference USA and Big East teams and would become the sixth bowl run and operated by ESPN. Other ESPN bowls: Las Vegas, Hawaii, Armed Forces, Papajohns.com and New Mexico.

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer on his backup offensive linemen: "They're soft. That group of guys, they're soft 300-pounders. They should be big, ugly tough guys. Right now they're not very tough."

San Antonio Express-News: The Alamo Bowl has landed a prime TV slot — Dec. 29 on ESPN and unopposed by any college or NFL game on other networks.

Rick Scoppe and Bart Wright, Greenville News: South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia has been suspended from all team activities until Aug. 15 after been charged with underage drinking last weekend. Trouble is becoming commonplace with the Gamecocks, going back to Lou Holtz and continuing with Steve Spurrier.

Corey Clark, Tallahassee Democrat: For $50, you can hear Holtz and Bobby Bowden talk football on Saturday in Tallahassee.

Dave Reardon, Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Despite an appearance in a Bowl Championship Series game, Hawaii's athletic department could finish with a budget deficit.

Kyle Hightower, Orlando Sentinel: Central Florida officials say that the offseason workout before Ereck Plancher's death complied with NCAA rules.

Randy King, Roanoke Times: Count Frank Beamer among the injured at Virginia Tech. He had a full replacement surgery on his left knee 27 days ago. "Other than a knee that won't bend, I'm doing good," he said on the eve of spring drills.

Doug Lesmerises, Cleveland Plain Dealer: Heisman Trophy candidate Beanie Wells, recovering from surgery to his left hand, should be healthy when Ohio State begins spring drills on Thursday.

Marc Morehouse, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Iowa has much work to do. The Hawkeyes, a pedestrian 19-18 the past three seasons, are looking to revive an offense that was last in the Big Ten in scoring in 2007.

Andrew Logue, Des Moines Register: Sophomores Austen Arnaud and Phillip Bates are the leading contenders to become Iowa State's quarterback.

Don Markus, Baltimore Sun: Chris Turner, who took over last season when Jordan Steffy was sidelined because of a concussion, and Josh Portis, who was suspended after getting caught cheating on a quiz, will battle to become Maryland's starter at quarterback this spring.

Bryant-Jon Anteola, Fresno Bee: Five questions facing Fresno State as it prepares for spring drills.

Mick McGrane, San Diego Union-Tribune: Could be tough times ahead for San Diego State, coming off its ninth non-winning season in a row. The Aztecs must replace eight starters on offense, including quarterback Kevin O'Connell.

Brandon C. Williams, Houston Chronicle: San Houston State's Rhett Bomar — the former Oklahoma quarterback — is still recovering from a knee injury suffered last fall.

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Defending Champion LSU Meets Its Match

Quarterback Brett Basanez, above, threw one touchdown pass and ran for another and the Northwestern all-stars held on to defeat defending national champion Louisiana State, 24-20.

Huh?

This is possible through What If Sports, a site that allows you to pit your team against any in college football history. We haven't had the time to toy around with this yet, but a reader over at Lake The Posts did and he matched the Wildcats against the Tigers.

You can check the box score by clicking here. Everything is there but the attendance.

Reporters' Notebooks

Rod Ohira, Honolulu Advertiser: Mounting legal problems for Hawaii defensive back Keenan Jones, who was charged with unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and second-degree assault, both felony offenses. Jones' problems apparently started when he viewed 13 porn movies through his girlfriend's cable provider, resulting in a bill of over $300.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia, a likely starter in the fall, was cited for underage drinking. He's the seventh Gamecock player arrested or cited since Dec. 31. This time Garcia, who was arrested twice last year, might get the boot from university officials.

Bill Wagner, Annapolis Capital: Navy, which has gone to five consecutive bowl games, could be scrambling for a postseason slot if eligible in 2008 after an agreement with the Poinsettia Bowl expired.

Ed McGranahan, Greenville News: Clemson is suddenly running out of tailbacks. James Davis suffered a shoulder injury in drills and Rendrick Taylor, a receiver who had a tryout as a linebacker, has been moved to tailback. Where's Ray Ray McElrathbey when you need him?

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: Oklahoma receiver Ryan Broyles, who was said to be dazzling coaches and teammates this spring, suffered a broken collarbone and will be sidelined until summer conditioning drills.

Joseph Goodman, Miami Herald: Turns out that Florida's Carl Moore, the hotshot junior college receiver whose recruitment became the focus of an investigation, is not as fast as advertised by Rivals and is battling for a starting job.

Bob Condotta, Seattle Times: These are the worst of times at Washington, where the football and basketball teams have suffered losing records for the first time in 50 years.

Kyle Hightower, Orlando Sentinel: Central Florida opened spring drills a week after the death of receiver Ereck Plancher.

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times: There would appear to be plenty of work ahead for USC, which opens spring drills with only four starters on offense and seven on defense.

Brent Zwerneman, San Antonio Express-News: Mike Sherman starts his first spring at Texas A&M with 15 starters returning from a team that finished 7-6.

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech must replace only one starter on offense and three on defense as it begins drills.

Pete Pelegrin, Miami Herald: Florida International coach Mario Cristobal wants to use the spring to build on the Panthers' winning streak, which stands at one.

Jim Benton, Rocky Mountain News: Steve Fairchild has already put his thumbprint on Colorado State, which opens spring drills Tuesday.

Ryan, Brohm Are Wonderlic Wizards

The stars of this year's Wonderlic test, which is administered to NFL prospects at the combine, appear to be Matt Ryan of Boston College and Brian Brohm of Louisville. The quarterbacks, regarded as first-round selections, each scored 32 out of a possible 50.

Joe Flacco of Delaware scored 27 and Chad Henne of Michigan had a 22. Flacco and Henne are thought to be second-round choices in the draft, scheduled for April 26-27 in New York.
Wonderlic scores are often controversial. Two years ago, Texas' Vince Young reportedly scored a 6, then took the test a second time and scored 16. Last year, Florida's Chris Leak reportedly scored an 8.

The sometimes embarrassing scores have led to heightened efforts by the NFL to crack down on Wonderlic leaks, but the Chicago Tribune was the first paper to published scores of several top prospects for the 2008 draft.

Among linemen, Vanderbilt's Chris Williams scored a 32, followed by Pittsburgh's Jeff Otah (28), USC's Sam Baker (27), Michigan's Jake Long (26), Boston College's Gosder Cherilus (25) and Virginia's Brandon Albert (23).

Among linebackers, Tennessee's Jerod Mayo had a 26 and USC's Keith Rivers scored 16. Miami's Kenny Phillips, thought to be the top safety, also had a 16.

Reporters' Notebooks

Michael Elkon, Braves & Birds: What's this? A Georgia blogger acknowledges the Bulldogs aren't exactly road warriors when it comes to nonconference games. Thanks to Get The Picture, who has been going toe to toe with Elkon over this. A reminder that Georgia has traveled the fewest miles (358 to be exact) of any Division I-A team for nonconference games the past 10 seasons.

Bob Condotta, Seattle Times: Who has the toughest nonconference schedule in the Pacific 10 for 2008? It's USC with a game at Virginia and home games against Ohio State and Notre Dame. Washington is second with home games against Brigham Young, Oklahoma and Notre Dame.

Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times: Fred Rouse, touted as the nation's No. 1 receiver coming out of high school and a starter as a freshman at Florida State, is leaving Texas El Paso because of personal reasons.

Sean D. Hamill, New York Times: Welcome to Jeannette, Pa., which once produced 70% of the world's glass. Now the town is better known as the home to Terrelle Pryor.

Dena Potter, Associated Press: A study to be published in the Southern Economic Journal will examine the "Flutie Effect" to see if it is more than a myth.

Mike Knobler, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Paul Johnson era is set to begin at Georgia Tech, with the Yellow Jackets scheduled to run through their first spring practice.

Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh, with 15 starters returning, opens spring drills expecting to be ranked in the top 25 in several preseason polls.

Bernard Fernandez, Philadelphia Daily News: Penn State's defense appeared to be a strength entering 2008, but off-the-field issues have thinned the Nittany Lions' ranks.

Heath Urie, Boulder Daily Camera: Two Colorado players were charged with felony assault in connection with two different off-campus incidents.

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Reporters' Notebooks

Matt Markey, Toledo Blade: Traffic to the official Internet home of the Ohio State Buckeyes quadrupled last Wednesday in the hour that Terrelle Pryor made his announcement that he would sign with the Buckeyes.

Patrick Wilson and Steve Stone, Virginian-Pilot: Minnesota running back recruit Kevin Whaley was shot in the leg outside a Virginia Beach nightclub.

Randy Peterson, Des Moines Register: Iowa athletes pictured unfavorably on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook could face disciplinary action by the university under a new policy, athletic director Gary Barta said.

Quwan Spears, Sacramento Bee: Running back James Montgomery, who announced last week his intention to transfer from California, says Washington State, Florida and an unnamed Southeastern Conference team currently top his list.

Rick Scoppe, Greenville News: Receivers Dion Lecorn and Matt Clements had their suspensions lifted by South Carolina's Steve Spurrier, who said suspended cornerback Carlos Thomas "will probably be back next week."

Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune: Questions and answers entering spring drills at Notre Dame, which begin Wednesday.

Anwar S. Richardson, Tampa Tribune: Want to become a sports agent? It's not as glorious as it appears.

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Paterno, Penn State Could Be Ugly Divorce

Joe Paterno is digging in his cleats and appears ready to engage in a power struggle with Penn State president Graham Spanier, believing his status and clout will eventually result in a contract extension.

Paterno, 81, who has not talked with the media since Dec. 30, the day after Penn State's 24-17 victory against Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl, is scheduled to hold a press conference next week before the start of spring practice. He'll face questions about his contract, which expires at the end of the 2008 season.

Two trustees told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that negotiations regarding a possible contract extension or succession plan for Paterno have not gone smoothly. And Spanier, like Paterno, appears ready for a fight.

"There's nothing new to report," Spanier said before the trustees' meeting in the nation's capital. "And there are no talks set up for the foreseeable future."

The sides have played this game before. In 2004, Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley and two other high-ranking Penn State officials showed up on Paterno's doorstep and urged him to stop coaching, only months after Paterno was given a four-year extension with less than a year left on his old deal.

While Paterno eventually won that battle, the result could be different this time, creating the possibility of an ugly end to his 58 years at Penn State, the last 42 as head coach.

Of note in all of this: Penn State is 32-32 against Big Ten competition since the 2000 season and has finished higher than fourth in the conference only once in the past decade.

Beamer Looking for a Few Good Men

Frank Beamer's Virginia Tech Hokies are suddenly looking awfully thin at running back.

Beamer dismissed Branden Ore from the team in midweek. Now comes word that two other running backs are no longer members of the team.

Norm Wood of the Newport News Daily Press reports that Devin Radford and Elan Lewis are gone, as is linebacker Matt Wright.

That leaves Kenny Lewis, a 5-foot-9, 205-pound junior, as the team's most experienced runner. He has 111 carries for 420 yards and six touchdowns.

Reporters' Notebooks

Kyle Hightower, Orlando Sentinel: Central Florida's George O'Leary talked publicly for the first time since Ereck Plancher died, calling the freshman receiver a "good kid" and "19-year-old angel."

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: O'Leary was helpless as he knelt over Plancher and tried to keep him from dying. He held his player tightly and implored over and over, "Squeeze my hand! Squeeze my hand!"

Kansas City Star: The Kansas basketball team has a big fan in football coach Mark Mangino, who was hand for the Jayhawks' first-round tournament game in Omaha.

Ricky Treon, Daily Texan: Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium is an honorable name, but it's certainly not a menacing one.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: South Carolina receiver Dion Lecorn requested a jury trial on a simple marijuana charge stemming from his arrest last month.

Michael Hasch, Tribune-Review: Charges of defiant trespass and disorderly conduct against Penn State linebacker Tyrell Sales were dropped.

Mike Joseph, Centre Daily Times: Political football: Penn State quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno, cornerback Lydell Sargeant and former receiver Kenny Jackson were on hand at the opening of the Barack Obama headquarters in State College.

Associated Press: Penn State students will have a new class offering this fall: "Joe Paterno, Communications and The Media."

Jeff White, Richmond Times-Dispatch: Virginia, which should be building on the success of a nine-win season and a Gator Bowl appearance, instead has holes at key positions and questions everywhere.

Here is today's mystery link. Thanks to Tom Kirkendall.

Trustees Expected to Discuss Paterno

Will Joe Paterno be swept out as Penn State coach after the 2008 season? We could have the answer by the weekend.

The Penn State Board of Trustees is expected to address Paterno's future during meetings Thursday and Friday at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in Washington.

"It'll definitely be on the menu," a trustee told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Paterno, 81, has fallen out of favor with university president Graham Spanier and key trustees, in part because of an embarrassing string of incidents involving the coach and his players.

"He's always saying that this is what he likes to do, that he doesn't play golf or have any other hobbies," one trustee told the Patriot-News last month. "Well, that isn't our problem. I think if he wasn't the coach, he'd still be as busy as ever."

Yet another Penn State player was arrested last weekend. Tyrell Sales, a starting linebacker, was charged with defiant trespass and disorderly conduct after he was asked to leave a St. Patrick's Day party. Six Penn State players are currently suspended from the team pending the outcome of various off-the-field incidents.

Last October, Paterno was involved in an incident described as road rage. The incident was first reported on Blue White Illustrated, the Penn State Rivals board, and quickly spread through the blogosphere before being picked up by the mainstream media.

Paterno eventually acknowledged there was an incident and blamed the messengers, saying he "did not give [the other driver] the middle finger, even if I knew what that meant."

Purdue's Joe Tiller, who is retiring at the end of the 2008 season, added to the speculation earlier this month when he acknowledged recently talking retirement with Paterno.

Beamer Gives Ore the Boot

Branden Ore, Virginia Tech's leading rusher the past two seasons who was entering his final season of eligibility, has been kicked off the team by Frank Beamer.

It's unclear exactly what Ore did to get booted, but he has had a series of academic and off-the-field troubles.

In 2006, coaches told Ore to spend the spring semester at home to rehab from shoulder surgery and refocus on academics. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Ore spent the semester working at a 7-Eleven warehouse.

Ore was so out of shape when camp started last fall that he was demoted to third team. Then he was late for one of the Hokies' bowl practices and was penalized by being suspended for the first quarter of the Orange Bowl, which the Hokies lost to Kansas, 24-21.

Later in January, Ore testified in a year-old federal drug case. A Cadillac driven by friend Tony Majette was pulled over in June 2006 in Blacksburg. A search found about 23 grams of crack in the car. Ore was in the front passenger seat.

The tailback testified that Majette handed him a bag of crack when the police ordered the driver to stop. Ore said he pushed the bag aside. Majette was convicted of possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

Reporters' Notebooks

Kyle Hightowner Iliana Limon, Orlando Sentinel: Initial autopsy results performed on Central Florida receiver Ereck Plancher were inconclusive about the cause of his death.

Joseph Goodman, Miami Herald: Emmanuel Moody, the transfer running back from USC, is having trouble adjusting to Florida's offense.

Michael DiRocco, Florida Times-Union: Florida offensive lineman James Wilson is back on the field for spring drills, but says there is still a chance he will transfer this summer.

Jonathan Okanes, Contra Costa Times: Running back James Montgomery said his decision to leave Cal was simply because "it wasn't the right fit."

Christy Gutowski, Daily Herald: Former Purdue linebacker Kyle Williams, who is already serving a 37-year prison sentence for attacking two women on campus, was sentenced to another 10 years for a similar attack in a Chicago suburb.

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Five Southeastern Conference players who could make a big impact in the fall.

Ferd Lewis, Honolulu Advertiser: June Jones, who disdained even wearing socks and once showed up at a wedding reception in black sweats and a ball cap when he was at Hawaii, is dressed for success at Southern Methodist.

Sean D. Hamill, New York Times: As expected, Terrelle Pryor announced he would attend Ohio State, selecting the Buckeyes over Michigan.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Here is today's mystery link. Thanks to Randball.

It's Elementary, My Dear Watson

Former Michigan defensive tackle Gabe Watson once dreamed of being an architect. He even attended a seminar at Michigan for prospective architecture students. But after being told of the major's academic demands, he said he decided "that probably isn't realistic."

"No way am I going to be in class 14 hours a day [and] balance that with athletics," he recalled.

Watson's academic record was shaky at best. He often flirted with ineligibility, failed three classes and departed school 35 credits shy of the 120 needed to complete a bachelor's degree in general studies, according to the Ann Arbor News, which concluded its four-part series examining the relationship between academics and athletics at Michigan.

Fortunately, Watson's pursuit of a career in the NFL has paid off. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in 2006 and became a full-time starter in 2007.

"God has blessed me now," he said, smiling. "I'm in the NFL."

Hawaii Wants Jones to Pony Up

Move over Rich Rodriguez. You're not the only coach who owes money to a past employer.

Hawaii is asking June Jones to fork over $400,008 it says is owed for Jones' departure to Southern Methodist. Hawaii says the payment was due within 60 days after Jones' departure, and that window closed March 7.

Leigh Steinberg, Jones' agent, told the Honolulu Advertiser: "We're attempting to work it out. We've been in discussions [and] we're working on a resolution."

In agent-speak, we believe this to mean that Jones doesn't want to pay the full amount. Stay tuned. ...

What's Left of the Orange Bowl

Joe Ovies of 850 The Buzz in Raleigh posted this image taken Tuesday of the Orange Bowl being torn down. It was sent to him by his father. Writes Ovies: "The strange thing is, it doesn't look any different from when I was there in November for N.C. State’s visit to Miami. R.I.P. OB, you lovable dump."

Reporters' Notebooks

Joseph Santoliquito, Philadelphia Daily News: The Terrelle Pryor nonsense is about to end. He's expected to narrow his list of schools to one and sources say Ohio State is Pryor's choice.

Jonathan Okanes, Contra Costa Times: Tailback James Montgomery, listed No. 1 on California's depth chart entering spring drills, has quit the team and will transfer. Washington, Florida, Oregon or Fresno State are possible destinations.

Dave Reardon, Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Hawaii has reinstated quarterback Tyler Graunke, who was suspended for academic and behavior issues.

Donnie Webb, Syracuse Standard: New Syracuse offensive coordinator Mitch Browning reportedly told his linemen, "I'm not going to play fat people."

Andrew Astleford, Columbia Missourian: Missouri linebacker Marquis Booker, who was arrested on a charge of unlawful use of a weapon on Sunday morning, was dismissed from the team.

Scott Cacciola, Commerical Appeal: Mississippi's Houston Nutt on linebackers Jonathan Cornell, Ashlee Palmer, Chris Bowers and Allen Walker, who have looked good during running drills. "Can they tackle a marshmallow? I don't know."

Paul Buker, Oregonian: He asked Oregon State's Mike Riley if he had filled out his NCAA tournament brackets "and he gave me this horrified look. I guess the [Rick] Neuheisel thing has impacted staffs all over the country."

Mike Casazza, Charleston Daily Mail: West Virginia's Bill Stewart has made the big time. He's profiled in the cover story of the latest edition of West Virginia alumni magazine.

Joe Rienzi, Oracle: South Florida receiver Colby Erskin, who sat out last season because of a torn ACL suffered during the first week of fall practice, will likely miss the entire 2008 season as well. Erskin tore the same ACL he did last fall during spring break.

Jay Hinton, Deseret Morning News: Utah State coach Brent Guy might have enough players to finally have a spring game.

Tragedy Strikes Central Florida

Ereck Plancher, a Central Florida freshman receiver, collapsed after participating in the Knights' final voluntary offseason workout before Thursday's scheduled start of spring practice.

Central Florida trainers administered CPR and then attached a defibrillator to Plancher's body to try and shock his heart back into rhythm. Emergency medical personnel arrived and Plancher was loaded into a waiting ambulance.

But Plancher didn't make it. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

"Distraught is not the word for coach [George] O'Leary right now," athletic department spokesman Joe Hornstein told the Orlando Sentinel. "He's devastated."

Central Florida has postponed the start of spring drills.

Plancher is the fourth football from a Florida university to die after a workout since 2001. South Florida running back Keeley Dorsey collapsed and died Jan. 17, 2007. Florida freshman Eraste Autin died in July 2001 and Florida State freshman Devaughn Darling collapsed and died in February 2001.

The Sentinel has several related links, including the 911 call, a column by Mike Bianchi, Alan Schmadtke's On Campus blog entry, a photo gallery and college football deaths this decade.

General Studies a Safe Harbor at Michigan

If you're playing football at Michigan, chances are you're a general studies major. Of 18 recruited scholarship players in the 2004 freshman class who remained at Michigan long enough to decide on a degree program, 17 were in general studies.

Day three of a four-part series by the Ann Arbor News also revealed that of the 74 recruited scholarship players on the 2004 team, 58 pursued an academic course of general studies.

Finding a program like general studies among schools Michigan cites in a variety of comparisons is not easy. A similar discipline is offered at Indiana and 13 players were in the program — far less than the 34 players currently enrolled in general studies at Michigan.

"Look, if you're asking me is it a little more difficult to maintain academic progress as a biology student, or as a general studies student, what do you think the answer is?" says John Bruno, Ohio State's faculty representative to the NCAA.

But other schools have clusters of athletes in pursuit of a single type of degree. At Northwestern, 32 players are majoring in communication studies. At Iowa, 30 players are majoring in the department of health and sport studies.

Reaction and related stories to the series:

Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune: Isn't it right to expect more from a university that tied with UCLA for 25th nationally in U.S. News & World Report's '08 rankings?

Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune: Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman declined to be interviewed in person or on the phone for the series, but offered to answer questions by email. The paper said no and "came off as churlish by insisting on setting the rules for how she was allowed to comment."

Detroit Free Press: Charles Woodson, who helped the Wolverines to the national championship in 1997, has donated $150,000 to create two scholarships at Michigan. One scholarship is for an incoming freshman in the kinesiology department and the other is university-wide in honor of Woodson's mother, Georgia.

Saban Gone, Certainly Not Forgotten at LSU

This should be the best of times at Louisiana State, with the Tigers basking in the glow of a national championship. But Paul Finebaum of the Mobile Press-Register writes that LSU fans remain hung up on Nick Saban.

Finebaum points to LSU boosting Les Miles' salary to $3.751 million, $1,000 more than Alabama's Saban. Writes Finebaum:

"Nobody over in Louisiana cares about Saban, right? It sounds more like being on the schoolyard in third grade when some kid pushes another, saying: 'My daddy can beat up your daddy.' How petty."

He adds:

"Why can't they embrace Miles? Perhaps the fact he desperately wanted out to leave for Michigan — that is until the story blew up on ESPN — might have something to do with the uneasiness and insecurity.

"Since taking over Saban's recruits, Miles is 34-6 and has finished No. 5, 3 and 1 in the final AP poll.

"Understandably, LSU fans are still obsessed with Saban and queasy with Miles.

"LSU fans may still yearn for the day when Saban roamed the sidelines. They remain embarrassed about Miles — even with the national title — like family members regard the crazy uncle stowed away in the attic.

"Don't forget people: Les Miles makes $1,000 more than Saban. Ain't it great to be on top?

"Nick Saban has been gone nearly four years. When will LSU fans get a life?"

Baylor Gets Rights to BaylorBearsSuck.com

The National Arbitration Forum, which handles domain name disputes, has told owner of five websites with names related to Baylor to transfer them to the university, according to the Houston Chronicle. The reason given? The names are confusingly similar to domain names used by Baylor.

Although the owner claimed he was a Baylor alum, the domain names — baylorbearssuck.com, baylorbears.net, baylorbears.tv, baylorbears.biz and baylorbears.name — forwarded users to Texas A&M's aggieathletics.com.

The owner reportedly planned to develop the sites for alumni social networks but never had enough money.

Investment Advice

We once again venture down that slippery slope of an off-topic post.

Perhaps you've been working the remote at light speed only to come to a screeching stop to catch CNBC's "Mad Money," hosted by the energetic Jim Cramer. Now in case you missed it, here's what Mr. Cramer had to say last Tuesday about Bear Stearns. Thanks to Crooks and Liars.

Reporters' Notebooks

Derek Kravitz, Columbia Tribune: All-American receiver Jeremy Maclin was driving a 2007 black Nissan Altima that was pulled over by a police early Sunday after an argument involving a gun at a south Columbia apartment complex. Sophomore linebacker Marquis Booker, 20, a passenger in the vehicle, was arrested on suspicion of unlawful use of a weapon and an underage liquor law violation.

Rick Plumlee, Wichita Eagle: Kansas is going to lose two scholarships because of failure to meet NCAA academic standards.

Georgia Sports Blog: Clemson's Tommy Bowden and Texas Tech's Mike Leach top the list of longest-tenured coaches who have not guided their teams to a Bowl Championship Series game.

Bryan Stickland, Durham Herald-Sun: The David Cutcliffe era begins Tuesday at Duke and Blue Devil players better be ready. "My first practice I had at Ole Miss, we had to have 19 players take IVs after the practice," Cutcliffe said.

Waco Tribune-Herald: Former Kentucky and Baylor coach Guy Morriss has found work. He's the new offensive line coach at Kentucky State.

Bill Koch, Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly said the athletic department is in the process of investigating the incident that resulted in All-American defensive tackle Terrill Byrd being cited for marijuana use.

Craig Smith, Seattle Times: New Washington State coach Paul Wulff is looking to develop a "team atmosphere" this spring.

Chris Starrs, Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia linebacker Marcus Washington is expected to sit out the 2008 season because of a left shoulder injury.

Kyle Ringo, Boulder Daily Camera: Former Colorado linebacker Justin Nonu was the victim of a stun-gun attack while he tried to break up a fight Feb. 16 in an incident that led to the arrest and suspension of current linebacker Lynn Katoa.

Kevin Tatum, Philadelphia Inquirer: Temple, coming off a 4-8 season, must replace only one starter when it begins spring drills on Tuesday.

Mercedes Mayer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Texas Christian begins its spring looking to add a level of toughness. "Our spring ball is probably tougher than most. That's where we get our physicalness," coach Gary Patterson said.

Dave Curtis, Orlando Sentinel: With meaningful basketball games over, Florida, Florida State and Central Florida have turned the focus to football.

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How Michigan Athletes Beat the System

Michigan football players have found a new path to academic success. In 2003, a year after changes to the sport management major were approved, general studies surpassed sport management as the most common academic path for Wolverine players.

Day two of a four-part series by the Ann Arbor News revealed that general studies was the chosen academic path for 38 of the football team's recruited scholarship players in 2004. General studies is a relatively unstructured degree program that has no foreign language requirement and allows students to take classes in a broad range of disciplines.

Athletes often find their way into general studies through the kinesiology division. Sixty slots — or roughly half an incoming freshman class in kinesiology — are reserved for athletes, several faculty members said. If a student has a 2.0 cumulative grade-point average or higher after two semesters, they can transfer into the general studies degree program.

Jay Basten, who has taught in the kinesiology division since 1999, was asked if Michigan could offer its student-athletes an academic experience similar to that of a typical student and still compete at the highest levels athletically.

"No," he said.

The Big East Balancing Act

What if the Big Ten comes knocking on Rutgers' door one day, asking it to leave the Big East?

Or what happens if the Southeastern Conference decides to expand to reduce the crossover games, setting up two seven or eight-team divisions? West Virginia and Louisville would certainly be good fits.

"I always worry about that," Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said. "Our people are aware of everything that is being written and said out there."

Big East football coaches, ever aware of the possibilities after the raid of Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College by the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2005-06, would like to add a ninth team. Not only would it help balance scheduling (four home, four away, four nonconference games), adding another team would strengthen the conference's standing in the Bowl Championship Series.

"We need to keep a constant study and take a constant measure of the landscape," said Rutgers' Greg Schiano, pictured with this post. "Anything can happen, as we found out. You always have to be aware of the surrounding environment and be ready to act."

Student 'Threatened to Kill Me,' Devine Says

Noel Devine, who last Friday plead no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge, said the West Virginia student he allegedly assaulted Feb. 16 at a Morgantown nightclub "threatened to kill me."

Devine said he was approached and threatened by the unnamed individual on three separate occasions that evening, including one incident where the person grabbed a bottle from the bar and asked the Mountaineer running back if he "had a problem."

Devine said the altercation occurred after the individual was kicked out of the club, with the person was waiting for Devine as he exited.

Devine said that, as a result of the altercation, he was ordered to pay a $250 court fine and perform 24 hours of community service.

"Other than [the altercation], everything else is great," said Devine, who acknowledged being nervous when Rich Rodriguez left for Michigan. But Bill Stewart and his new coaching staff are "pretty cool."

Said Devine: "Everything is straight now."

Thanks to Image of Sport.

Reporters' Notebooks

Detroit Free Press: What did Rich Rod's first practice look like at Michigan? Click here to find out.

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: Oklahoma is toying with a no-huddle offense, which could prove beneficial with Sam Bradford, the nation's reigning passing efficiency champion, returning.

Jeff Call, Deseret Morning News: Brigham Young has 10 starters back on offense, but must replace eight defensive starters when it begins spring drills on Monday.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: A South Carolina walk-on was charged with disorderly conduct after engaging in "horseplay" at a rain-shortened St. Pat's festival.

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal Constitution: Here's some early impressions of spring ball, including the expected denial of Ryan Mallet's request to be eligible this fall at Arkansas.

Handing Out Cheap Grades at Michigan?

Michigan linebacker Shawn Crable, the Wolverines' defensive captain last season, is among players named in the first of a four-part series by the Ann Arbor News that examines academic shortcuts given to athletes at the university.

Day one of the series centers on Michigan psychology professor John Hagen, who has taught at least 251 independent study classes to Michigan athletes from fall 2004 to fall 2007.

Athletes described being steered to Hagen's courses by athletic department academic counselors. They could earn three or four credits for meeting with Hagen for as little as 15 minutes every two weeks.

The seven-month investigation also examined transcripts from 29 athletes either currently enrolled or having left Michigan in the past three years. Thirty-two took graded courses from Hagen and averaged a grade-point average of 3.62 compared to an overall GPA of 2.57 in all other classes. No athlete received a grade worse than a B-minus from Hagen.

Even more embarrassing is that Michigan touts its psychology department as being the best in the nation. One member of the department calls Hagen's classes as "cheap academic credit."

Quarterback Chad Henne, receiver Mario Manningham and offensive lineman Jake Long were among other Wolverine players who have taken independent studies with Hagen.

Thanks to Image of Sport.

Reporters' Notebooks

Heath Urie, Brian Maines and Kyle Ringo, Boulder Daily Camera: Riar Geer, Colorado's starting tight end, was arrested after he allegedly hit two people outside of a party late Friday. Hours earlier, police arrested linebacker Lynn Katoa, one of Colorado's two five-star recruits in 2008, on suspicion of assaulting another student.

Paul Buker, Oregonian: Oregon State receiver Sammie Stroughter, a third-team All-American in 2006, has been granted a medical hardship year and will be eligible to play in 2008.

Phillip Cmor, Altoona Mirror: Terrelle Pryor says he will announce his college choice this week, and it appears Penn State is no longer on his list. Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Jordan Blum, Baton Rouge Advocate: Louisiana State's Les Miles will make $3.75 million this year. If you're keeping track, that's $1,000 more than Alabama's Nick Saban.

Dave George, Palm Beach Post: The oldest son of Florida Atlantic's Howard Schenellenberger was laid to rest on Saturday.

Tim Stephens, Orlando Sentinel: Is it time for the NCAA to sanction spring real football games between teams? It would be a refreshing change from these dog-and-pony intrasquad games.

Mark Snyder, Detroit Free Press: Michigan went through its first practice with Rich Rodriguez. With Michigan Stadium unavailable because renovation, the coach says the spring game might be held at a local high school stadium.

Eric Gilmore, Contra Costa Times: California's Jeff Tedford is reinstating tough love as part of his plan to rebound from a 7-6 season.

Former Penn State Mascot Sues Big Ten

Robert Welsh, who once donned the Penn State Nittany Lion mascot outfit, has accused the Big Ten of breaking a confidential agreement when it allegedly stole his idea to create the Big Ten Network. He is taking the league and network to court.

In his suit, Welsh claims he presented to a group of Big Ten officials and athletic directors his plan to create a Big Ten network back in 1998, according to Crain's Chicago Business.

The suit states that Welsh “distributed his business plan on a confidential basis and made a comprehensive and detailed presentation, including a specific delineation of the Big Ten Network plan as a satellite/cable television medium.”

But the conference decided it "did not wish to cede control over such matters to an independent entity" and instead took Welsh’s idea as its own.

Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Are You Friggin' Kidding Me!?!

The treatment of so-called "student-athletes" has reached a new low.

On Friday night, tornadic winds ripped through downtown Atlanta and ripped off sections of the Georgia Dome, site of the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament, forcing postponement of the Kentucky-Georgia quarterfinal round game until Saturday.

The game has now been moved to Georgia Tech's Alexander Memorial Coliseum, which is understandable given the damage to the Georgia Dome and downtown Atlanta. Tipoff is set for 9 a.m. (Eastern).

Later Saturday night, the winner of the Kentucky-Georgia game will return to the court to play Mississippi State in a semifinal game.

Two games in one day? Are there no labor laws in Georgia? If I'm Kentucky's Billy Gillespie, pictured with this post, or Georgia's Dennis Felton, I go ahead and forfeit the second game in protest. And if I'm in Las Vegas, it would be time to take a hard look at Mississippi State to advance to the title game by burying what will be an exhausted Wildcat or Bulldog squad.

There's no way in hell a team should be playing twice in one day. No way.

Conference tournaments are nothing more than a money grab to begin with. If officials were truly concerned about "student-athletes," they would do the right thing and push the tournament back a day. But then that would interfere with Selection Sunday, wouldn't it?

Where is the outrage over this? The kids are being treated like table scraps.

Reporters' Notebooks

Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman: The Western Athletic Conference is considering lowering its inconvenience fee to make sure every team gets a portion of the $900,000 rights fee the league gets from its contract with ESPN.

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: Oklahoma signee Josh Jarboe said he's still planning on coming to Norman despite being charged with two felony gun counts late last week. "This isn't fixing to just stop me.”

Donnie Webb, Syracuse Post-Standard: The 2008 season is now or never for Syracuse's Greg Robinson, who must find a solution for a leaky offensive line that gave up 54 sacks last season.

Lincoln Journal Star: Nebraska offensive lineman Andy Christensen, facing a possible one- to 50-year prison sentence on charges of first-degree sexual assault, had his $500,000 bond reduced to $300,000.

Associated Press: Four West Virginia players, including running back Noel Devine, have pleaded no contest to battery charges stemming from an altercation outside a bar on Feb. 16.

Is Spurrier Headed to the Kentucky Derby?

If you're looking for a possible Kentucky Derby longshot, take a look at Spurrier, a 3-year-old by Dixieland Band who is named after South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier. He broke his maiden earlier this year at Aqueduct and followed with another victory last week.

John Fort of Peachtree Racing Stables purchased the colt for $45,000 at the Keeneland fall sales in 2006.

"He was a beautiful, little gray colt," Fort says. "He had a nice pedigree and beautiful conformation, but he was just a bit small for major buyers."

But Fort saw something and immediately named the colt Spurrier. "I thought it was a good name for a colt from South Carolina. Everybody is proud to have him as our coach, and I am a tremendous fan of his."

Fort said Spurrier was "extremely laid-back, kind of sleepy when we put him into training." But trainer Todd Pletcher, who won the 2007 Belmont with Rags to Riches, has been working his magic.

"Every time we put him against another horse in training, he is right there," Pletcher said.

Spurrier's big test is expected to come April 5 in either the Wood Memorial or the Illinois Derby.

"He has grown mentally as well as physically," Fort says. "If he improves as much in the next two months as he has in the past two, he will be right there [in the Kentucky Derby]."

Opinions Differ on Ray Ray

What columnists are saying about the Ray Ray McElrathbey situation:

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The easiest thing for Clemson to do would have been to keep McElrathbey on a scholarship. No fuss. No muss. No controversy. But it would not have been the best thing for the Clemson program as a whole. In the real world, people have to make tough decisions that are going to be unpopular. This is one of those.

John Kaltefleiter, Athens Banner-Herald: Tommy Bowden claims he's a God-fearing man, that his priorities are the good Lord, family and football in that order. But it seems even the most religious men are prone to devilish mistakes, and Bowden surely fits the bill this time around.

Gene Sapakoff, Charleston Post and Courier: It's possible the coaching staff is doing McElrathbey a favor by not saying why he no longer is wanted as a football player. It's definitely not a stretch to say a non-professional football prospect in charge of a young teen might be better off moving on to the college-degreed work force or graduate work without having to worry about a relatively frivolous pursuit.

Phil Taylor, SI.com: Cold-blooded? Heartless? You bet. Having one more scholarship to hand out isn't going to change Clemson's program in any significant way, but losing it certainly could change Ray Ray and Fahmarr's lives.

Ken Burger, Charleston Post and Courier: The McElrathbey boys will be fine. Ray Ray will earn his degree and Fahmarr has a healthy trust fund to help him along in life. The real loser is Clemson.

Brad Senkiw, Anderson Independent Mail: Clemson knew this was going to be a black eye regardless of how the media covered the story. So, why has it taken so long to get the facts right? It seems that Clemson was piecing together its own puzzle after the decision was made, not before.

Mark Hudgens, Real Football 365.com: If Bowden needed a scholarship, he should have booted linebacker Cortney Vincent, who has an unresolved DUI from December and now is suspended indefinitely because of a violation of team rules.

Reporters' Notebooks

Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: In a wide-ranging interview, former West Virginia standouts Steve Slaton, Darius Reynaud and Vaughn Rivers talk about everything from Rich Rodriguez's move to Michigan to losing to "a below-average" Pittsburgh team.

Commercial Appeal: Memphis president Shirley Raines made it official, accepting a subcommittee's recommendation against building an on-campus football stadium.

Adam Jones, Tuscaloosa News: Alabama president Robert Witt has postponed plans to expand Bryant-Denny Stadium because of the challenges of raising money to pay for it during an economic slowdown, i.e. recession.

Gentry Estes, Mobile Press-Register: An Alabama offseason marked by assistant coaching turnover and off-the-field issues finally gives way to actual football on Thursday.

Dan Hinxman, Reno Gazette-Journal: Nevada linebacker Kevin Porter, who would have been a senior this fall, has been forced to quit because of injury.

Shannon Shelton, Detroit Free Press: Michigan State's Mark Dantonio: "Last year was about earning respect, handling adversity, not coming apart and unraveling. This year has got to be about finishing."

Brian Christopherson and Lori Pilger, Lincoln Journal Star: The judge recused herself in the sexual assault case involving Nebraska offensive lineman Andy Christensen because she knows the alleged victim.

Pete Bosak, Centre Daily Times: A felony charge of aggravated assault against Penn State defensive tackle Phillip Taylor was thrown out by a district judge who bound lesser charges of simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment over for trial in county court.

Bernard Fernandez, Philadelphia Daily News: A busy spring for former Penn State running back Austin Scott, who is preparing for the NFL draft and a trial for rape charges.

Susan Shroder, San Diego Union-Tribune: Thomas Williams, a former San Diego State quarterback under Don Coryell, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess firearms equipped with silencers as part of a plea deal and was sentenced to five years in prison.

And last but not least, thanks to Andy Gray of SI on Campus and FanNation for listing the Wiz among his five favorite sports blogs. Andy, the check should arrive in three-to-five business days....

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Rich Rodriguez's Kryptonite

Meet South Florida defensive coordinator Wally Burnham. His popularity has soared in coaching circles this offseason.

Why?

West Virginia was 22-4 the past two seasons under Rich Rodriguez, with two of the losses coming against South Florida. The Mountaineers averaged only 16 points, 160 rushing yards and 3.7 yards a carry against the Bulls. They averaged 41.2 points, 311.5 rushing yards and 6.6 yards against everyone else.

With Rodriguez at Michigan, coaches who will be facing the Wolverines' spread offense are reaching out to Burnham, according to Brett McMurphy of the Tampa Tribune.

Ohio State sent cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson to meet with Burnham and secondary coach Troy Douglas this week.

"Johnson said it was because we've done such a good job against that offense," Burnham said. "And we've had some success."

An assistant from Minnesota visited last week and a Colorado assistant will visit next week. The Buffaloes play host to the Mountaineers on Sept. 18.

Perhaps Tommy Took Lessons From Bobby

Like father, like son. Clemson's Tommy Bowden decided not to renew the scholarship of Ray Ray McElrathbey, and now we learn that his father, legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, has been practicing the same policy.

Larry Williams, the Clemson beat writer for the Charleston Post and Courier who broke the story about Tommy yanking McElrathbey's scholarship, received an email from Melanie Lott, the girlfriend of Florida State offensive lineman Geoff Berniard. Make that former Florida State offensive lineman Geoff Berniard.

Lott tells the story of how offensive line coach Rick Trickett tried to get Berniard to quit last December, but Berniard made it clear he was returning for his senior season. Berniard then showed up for the first day of mat drills and was called to Bobby's office. Writes Lott:

"Coach Bowden explained that he was 'surprised to see Geoff' at the 5 a.m. mat drill because he was 'under the impression that he was not to returning for his fifth year', information he received from Trickett. After beating around the bush and looking like a fool who has know (sic) idea about decisions that are made for his own football team, he finally told Geoff that due to a 'number crunch' he would not be receiving his fifth year of scholarship eligibility.

"This was a very unexpected and indescribable disappointment to Geoff. He had every intention to fulfill the commitment that he made on signing day in February 2004."

Lott then points out that her boyfriend has a 3.02 grade-point average, was awarded all-Atlantic Coast Conference academic honors, made the Dean's list for the 2006-07 school year and "was not involved in the cheating scandal that recently rocked our athletic program."

Thanks to Get The Picture.

The Genius That Is Urban Meyer

Jim Rome wants to see an intramural hero dust one of Urban Meyer's Gators in the 40-yard dash during the spring game. Thanks to HK Tequila.

No Place Like Dome

Syracuse's Carrier Dome plays host to many sports besides football. The Orange basketball and lacrosse teams also call the dome home.

After a Feb. 16 basketball game against Georgetown, Daily Orange photographer Rachel Fus shot more than 300 still images of the court being dismantled in preparation for a Feb. 17 lacrosse match against Villanova. The transformation from basketball to lacrosse, captured in this video, took 12 hours.

Thanks to UWire.

Artist's Rendition of Michigan Stadium 2008

Michigan Stadium is losing its status as largest football stadium because of various adjustments needed to accommodate wheelchair-accessible seats. The Big House's seating capacity will drop from 107,501 to an estimated 106,201 the next two seasons, putting it behind Penn State's Beaver Stadium, which seats 107,282.

Michigan is likely to regain the top spot in 2010 after completion of a $226 million stadium expansion project, but the Ohio State site Eleven Warriors wasted no time in jumping all over the rival Wolverines for falling out of the top spot, including this "artist's rendition" of what the Big House will look like this fall.

Reporters' Notebooks

Mike White, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Terrelle Pryor and his Jeannette High basketball teammates escaped serious punishment for their involvement in a fight after a game Saturday night against North Catholic. Fourteen Jeannette players attended Tuesday's hearing, but not Pryor. In a text message, Pryor said he didn't attend "because I'm not talking to the media. Everyone blames me."

Michael DiRocco, Florida Times-Union: In addition to the $3.25 million annual salary he agreed to last June, Florida's Urban Meyer would receive $3.75 million in retention bonuses until the deal expires after the 2012 season. There's also a buyout clause that would pay Meyer $2 million for each year left on the deal if he were to be fired.

Boi From Troy: The Pacific 10 or the Southeastern Conference? While the SEC has more elite teams, the Pac-10 has no Kentuckys or Vanderbilts. Even Stanford has won the conference within the last decade, and will again.

OmniNerd: Rivals or Scout? Which service does a better job of predicting the success of its five-star recruits? Thanks again to the terrific Get The Picture.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: South Florida's home game against Kansas has been moved from Saturday, Sept. 13 to Friday, Sept. 12, and will be televised by ESPN2. The Bulls' game at Central Florida has been moved from Friday, Sept. 5 to Saturday, Sept. 6, and will be televised by ESPN2.

Philadelphia Inquirer: Temple — yes, Temple — will have four of its games available on national television.

Mike DeArmond, Kansas City Star: Missouri, which opened spring drills on Tuesday, has high hopes, with 10 returning starters on defense and Chase Daniels on offense.

Alex Delanian, Newark Star-Ledger: Rutgers started spring drills looking to find a replacement for running back Ray Rice.

Stephen Tsai, Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii's Keanemana "Mana" Silva travels about 200 miles back to his home on the Big Island each weekend to be home with his wife and 8-month-old son.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Here is today's mystery link (the fun starts about a 50 seconds in, so stick with it). Thanks to the Midwest Correspondent.

Bowden Continues to Be a Real Pick

Clemson's Tommy Bowden was given another opportunity Monday to explain the decision to yank the scholarship of reserve tailback Ray Ray McElrathbey and instead of running with the ball, he decided to pass.

Bowden was asked two questions: Was McElrathbey habitually late to team functions, and did McElrathbey have the option to return to the team on scholarship in the fall?

"I've never commented on private things," Bowden said. "I made a comment Saturday. If you want anything else, get it off that comment or get it from Tim [Bourret, sports information director].

"It's your job to ask the question, it's mine to say no."

Paterno Talks Retirement With Tiller

Penn State's Joe Paterno, who has fallen out of favor with university president Graham Spanier and key trustees, discussed retirement at a recent Nike coaches gathering with Purdue's Joe Tiller.

Tiller is stepping down at the end of the 2008 season and his successor has already been named. Danny Hope left his job at Eastern Kentucky and will serve on Tiller's staff in the transition season.

"He was asking me 'Why?' and 'Who?' and 'How?' " Tiller said. "He didn't really tip his hand. But he did ask me 'Who's this guy?' and 'Why did I like him?' and 'Why now?' and those types of things.

"He didn't say, 'I'm thinking about this or I've got to do this.' But, after it had been announced, he seemed to be curious."

Paterno, 81 and in the last year of this contract, reportedly wants defensive coordinator Tom Bradley to be his successor and security for the rest of his staff. Spanier, who was recently awarded firepower with a five-year extension, wants a national search for the next coach. The president appears to be in no rush to address the stalemate.

Spanier, in an email response to a question of whether other teams' succession plans would influence Penn State's thinking, wrote: "Coach Paterno's current contract goes to 2008 and we are not working under anyone else's time frame."

Thanks to Fan Blogs and Black Shoe Diaries.

Big Ten Network-Comcast War Is Set to End

Barring an unexpected snag, Comcast subscribers in Big Ten territory will be able to get the Big Ten Network this fall.

Sports Business Journal reported that Comcast has agreed to place the network on an expanded basic tier in most but not all of the Big Ten market. The cable behemoth had previously insisted on putting the network on a sports tier, but that demand appears to have been relaxed.

The Big Ten Network relaxed its demand to launch the channel on expanded basic everywhere in the eight-state market.

No progress has been reported in talks between the Big Ten Network and cable companies Time Warner and Charter.

Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Reporters' Notebooks

Pete Pelegrin, Miami Herald: Stephen Schnellenberger, 48, son of Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger, died Sunday. He had suffered from a rare form of cancer.

Mike White, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Terrelle Pryor will likely find out Tuesday if he has been suspended for his involvement in a fight after his Jeannette High team defeated North Catholic in a prep basketball playoff game.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: South Florida's Jim Leavitt has signed his new contract that runs through 2014. Leavitt's deal will pay him $12.6 million during the next seven years.

Luis Zaragoza, Orlando Sentinel: Central Florida officials say the findings of a special engineering study on the structural integrity of the 45,000-seat Bright House Networks Stadium won't be completed for several months.

Lori Pilger, Lincoln Journal Star: Nebraska offensive lineman Andy Christensen, accused of reaching up a woman's skirt in a bar and assaulting her last weekend, won't be getting out of jail soon. His bail was set was $500,000.

Marisa Schultz, Detroit News: The decision to beef up seating for the disabled at Michigan Stadium sends a strong signal that even older stadiums need to be wheelchair friendly, disability advocates say.

Ryan Finley, Arizona Daily Star: Arizona's Mike Stoops has instituted a 14-man team council to enforce team rules, following a Pacific 10 Conference trend.

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Breaking down the West and East divisions of the Southeastern Conference.

Dirk Facer, Deseret Morning News: Utah welcomes back 55 lettermen and 16 starters when it opens spring practice.

Maurice Patton, Tennessean: Vanderbilt begins the process of replacing five starters on the offensive line in what should be an interesting spring.

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: Tennessee is breaking in a new quarterback (Jonathan Crompton) and offensive coordinator (Dave Clawson) when it takes the field for spring drills.

Larry Vaught, Advocate-Messenger: Middle Tennessee has replaced Akron on Kentucky's 2008 schedule.

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The Truth Comes Out: Clemson Ran Ray Ray

The Ray Ray McElrathbey story is a special one. The Clemson reserve tailback gained national fame for taking custody of his 11-year-old brother Fahmarr in 2006, then received a rare waiver from the NCAA that allowed him to get assistance from the university and the public in taking care of his younger brother and still maintain his football eligibility.

On Saturday, Clemson announced that McElrathbey, who has two years of football eligibility remaining, was going to graduate in August and was no longer a member of the team.

Now the truth. Tiger tailback James Davis says McElrathbey didn't have a say in the matter. The coaching staff decided not to renew McElrathbey's scholarship for the 2008-09 season.

"He said something about how they weren't going to renew his scholarship," said Davis, who has known McElrathbey since their high school days in Atlanta. "It really surprised me. But there's a lot of stuff you can't say. It's something I guess everybody has to learn to live with."

Why is Clemson doing this, especially to a player — a person — with a heart as big as McElrathbey's?

After signing 25 players last month, the Tigers are over the 85-scholarship limit and have plenty of depth in the backfield.

"We're pretty good at running back right now," coach Tommy Bowden said.

Said Davis: "He knew in his mind they were going to do it. It's hard on him right now. I kind of feel his pain."

Davis suggested that of this could end up backfiring on Clemson.

"There's a lot of guys they recruit in Atlanta," he said. "People are going to ask: 'What happened to Ray Ray?' His high school [Mays High], they've got a lot of talented guys coming out of there."

Davis said McElrathbey isn't going public with his side of the story because he "doesn't want them to badmouth his name if he wants to play football somewhere else."

Clemson now says McElrathbey could become a graduate assistant this fall in the athletic department, which would help pay for his planned graduate school. But seriously, would you want to work for a school that just stabbed you in the back?

Last December, Bowden used an offer from Arkansas as leverage to get a new contract and a fat raise out of Clemson. And now he has discarded Ray Ray McElrathbey because he thinks he can do better.

Bowden can go to hell on this one.

Let this be a lesson to any recruit interested in playing for Bowden or any other coach who demands long-term security from their employer, but fails to show the same respect to their players. We can only hope a tsunami of negative publicity results from Bowden's decision because frankly, college football can use more kids like McElrathbey, a kid who has more character than his former coach.

Thanks to Get The Picture.

Parole Tide!

In the wake of Alabama's recent off-the-field troubles, check out the new Crimson Tide athletic facilities. Our thanks to the M Zone.
Then we have this beaut from the gang over at Losers With Socks.

Reporters' Notebooks

Chris Gabel, Reno Gazette-Journal: Mark Hodges, the Fernley High coach at the center of the Kevin Hart recruiting controversy, has resigned. He accepted the the head coaching position at Hermiston High in Oregon.

Jon Solomon, Birmingham News: The NCAA is fine-tuning its Top Prospects Program, which brings the NCAA face to face with elite recruits before they ever enroll on campus.

Bill Koch, Cincinnati Enquirer: Quarterback Ben Mauk is taking one more shot at securing another year of eligibility to play at Cincinnati.

Brian Christopherson, Lincoln Journal Star: Nebraska offensive lineman Andy Christensen wound up in jail and indefinitely suspended from the team after Lincoln police were called to a bar early Saturday in response to an alleged sexual assault. Christensen allegedly approached a 23-year-old woman from behind and put his hand under her skirt.

Paul Strelow, Columbia State: Clemson's Ray Ray McElrathbey, who made national headlines two years ago for taking custody of his younger brother, has left the team and is on schedule to graduate in August.

Ron Morris, Columbia State: Perhaps South Carolina needs to re-examine the players it recruits. Of this year's class, two have been charged with criminal offenses. One has five criminal charges against him, including three burglary counts related to a string of smash-and-grab incidents at an Atlanta-area rental center. The other has been arrested three times, most recently in August for taking money from teammates’ rooms.

Dick Harmon, Deseret Morning News: Brigham Young is increasingly looking to Texas in its recruiting efforts.

Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman: Boise State, which opens spring drills Monday, must find replacements for five of its top six offensive linemen.

Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's spring depth chart has a few surprises.

Associated Press: A 12-year-old boy was among those interested in succeeding Rich Rodriguez as West Virginia coach.

Pryor, Teammates Involved in Fight

Terrelle Pryor, whose character was questioned during a basketball game last month, reportedly was involved in a fight Saturday after his Jeannette High team defeated North Catholic in a state playoff game.

Pryor was one of many players involved in the skirmish between the teams in the hallway after Jeannette's 86-60 victory.

Pryor said a North Catholic player called him a name in the handshake line and, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pryor had to be held back by teammates.

A few North Catholic players had bruises and their heads and faces and coach Dave Long said some of the players might need stitches. Pryor also said a few of his teammates were cut.

"We didn't start his," said Pryor, the hotshot quarterback who has narrowed his choice of schools to Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State.

Police said the incident, so far, is being treated as a disturbance and no criminal charges have been filed.

Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Tuscaloosa Police Targeting Black Players?

Alabama, like many teams, has had its share of trouble with cops this offseason, but are the Tuscaloosa police purposely looking to arrest Nick Saban's players — specifically, his black players?

Most of the arrests have taken place at The Strip and The Legacy bar. Writes Christopher Walsh of the Tuscaloosa News:

"There’s a growing perception and concern in the community as a whole and among students that black athletes are being targeted along the off-campus district, whether it’s true or not."

Later, he writes: "Granted, any football player, black or white, is going to be noticed and singled out in any Tuscaloosa establishment, and, you know the old saying about how nothing good ever happens after midnight, especially when alcohol is involved.

"Yes, they all could have been smarter, but what sparked each incident wasn't much different from what one might see on any night in any town: A dispute over the dress code, a guy essentially trash-talking in the street, an incident that originated with someone else. ... So we’re left with five arrests, none of the offenders white, and, like head coach Nick Saban, pondering the possibilities. How can he, and we, not?"

Reporters' Notebooks

Kristina Torres, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Josh Jarboe, one of the top prep receivers in the country who signed a letter of intent last month with Oklahoma, was arrested Thursday evening for receiving stolen property and having a weapon on school property — both felony charges. Thanks to Art.

Jim Moore, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Washington is looking for a new public-address announcer and Moore has the perfect candidate: himself. Check out his humorous demo tape.

Brian Davis, Dallas Morning News: The Texas A&M-Arkansas series will start in 2009 at the Cowboys' new stadium in Arlington, with an official announcement expected Monday.

Mike Baldwin, Oklahoman: Oklahoma State's Board of Regents gave approval to allow the university to accept gifts that will finance an indoor practice facility.

Mark Saxon, Orange County Register: USC defensive tackle Fili Moala was arrested for resisting and obstructing an officer after a melee at a Newport Beach bar was broken up by police.

Ryan Finley, Arizona Daily Star: Arizona will concentrate on rebuilding its defense when it begins spring drills on Saturday.

Dave Reardon, Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Hawaii is expected to reinstate quarterback Tyler Graunke, the likely replacement for Heisman finalist Colt Brennan.

Ferd Lewis, Honolulu Advertiser: Jim Donovan, the director of the Hawaii Bowl, has been selected to become Hawaii's athletic director.

The Equitable Way to Conduct Business

And with the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NCAA draft, the Duke Blue Devils select ... Terrelle Pryor!

Pryor slowly trudges to the podium, shakes hands with an elated David Cutcliffe — the new Blue Devils coach — holds up a blue Duke jersey with the No. 1 on the front and fakes a smile long enough to have a picture taken.

Sorry Terrelle, no more drawing out the signing day drama; you're a Blue Devil.

Times Are Tough in a Recession

They threw the piggybank at Georgia's Mark Richt on Thursday. He got a raise of $4.8 million for the final eight years of his contract, boosting his yearly salary to $2.8 million.

But Richt is barely a blip on the Southeastern Conference salary radar. Alabama's Nick Saban ($3.75 million a year), Louisiana State's Les Miles ($3.5 million), Florida's Urban Meyer ($3.25 million) and Arkansas' Bobby Petrino ($2.85 million) all make more than Richt, who is currently tied with Auburn's Tommy Tuberville on the salary scale. And Tuberville's deal calls for a $200,000 raise at the end of the season, which will put him ahead of Richt.

Georgia athletic director Damon Evans had to defend Richt's new contract after it was announced.

"We've got to do things we think are fair. We've got to maintain a balance. I don't want us to always be held to what other institutions are doing," Evans said, according to Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Only $2.8 million? Hopefully Richt — along with the rest of the overpaid coaches — will be able to make of go of it in 2008.

Sweet Home Alabama

We have Erik at Deep South Sports to thank for this "veritable cornucopia of crimson shame." Click the image for a detailed look.

Reporters' Notebooks

Phil Kegler, Independent Florida Alligator: The latest plan hatched by Urban Meyer is called the speed challenge. He wants to find the fastest student on campus and have him race footballers Percy Harvin, Deonte Thompson, Louis Murphy and Chris Rainey in the 40-yard dash at the spring game. If the student wins, he would get a full-ride scholarship.

Howard Richman, Kansas City Star: Lawsuits galore at Kansas State, where Ron Prince is being sued by his former agent, who claims the coach owes him $67,500. The university has sued former defensive coordinator Raheem Morris for breach of contract (early resignation). The school says Morris owes it $106,646.

Brian Christopherson, Lincoln Journal Star: Memorial Stadium will undergo an expansion in club seating before the 2009 season, leaving a financial decision for some ticket holders. A minimum donation of $1,500 per seat will be required to keep club seats.

Jimmy Watson, Shreveport Times: Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley, who has no direct experience as an athletic administrator, will add the title of athletic director to his resume in June.

Phil Stukenborg, Commercial Appeal: A 40,000-seat on-campus stadium for Memphis could be built for roughly $120 million and funded by stadium revenues and additional resources such as student fees, capital fundraising, public funding and rent from other events.

Ed McGranahan, Greenville News: The expectations are sky-high for Clemson, which opens spring drills on Saturday.

Terry Hutchens, Indianapolis Star: Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules and will not participate in the start of spring drills.

Stephanie Taylor, Tuscaloosa News: Criminal charges against Alabama captain Rashad Johnson will be dropped if he publicly apologizes to the Tuscaloosa police department, the city attorney said.

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times: USC recruit Maurice Simmons, a linebacker from Compton, was arrested on suspicion of robbery. Bail was set at $50,000.

Jeff McLane, Philadelphia Inquirer: Penn State's office of judicial affairs cleared suspended defensive tackle Chris Baker of wrongdoing in an October on-campus fight that allegedly involved about a dozen Nittany Lion players. Baker still faces criminal charges in connection with the fight and is awaiting a March 31 trial for his alleged role in an unrelated fight at an off-campus apartment last April.

Marc Morehouse, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, back from his Caribbean cruise, kicked receiver James Cleveland and backup quarterback Arvell Nelson off the team after they were arrested for drug offenses.

Laurence Miedema, San Jose Mercury News: San Jose State opens spring drills with the bulk of last season's 5-7 team returning.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Here is today's mystery link (nudity warning). Thanks to Joe and Ken.

Rich Rod Gives Relationship Advice

There was the allegation that he was recruiting for Michigan the same day he stepped down at West Virginia. There was Purdue's Joe Tiller, who said "a guy in a wizard hat selling snake oil" stole one of his recruits.

Rich Rodriguez quickly made enemies on the recruiting trail.

What's Rich Rod's reaction to all of this?

"Sometimes coaches will tell you, when somebody verbals, that just tells you who you've got to beat to get him," he said. "If somebody verbally commits to your institution, but they continue to visit, that verbal commitment is not a real solid verbal commitment.

"That’s like you say you’re engaged to someone but you continue to date. Your fiancee ain't going to be very happy."

Alabama's Most Wanted

Nick Saban's band of troublemakers are featured in this limited edition poster, available throughout the Southeast. For a closer look, click the image. Thanks to Loser With Socks.

Reporters' Notebooks

Mark Berman, Roanoke Times: Department of Opps: An error caused some online Virginia Tech season-ticket buyers to have funds taken from their bank accounts to pay for old tickets they had already paid for.

Levi Pulkkinen, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: A look at six Washington financial backers, including former Everett mayor Ed Hansen, who says, "Frankly, I will make no further financial contributions ... until and unless a new football coach is hired." Plus a look at the impact of winning on contributions.

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: He's breaking down the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal and Atlantic divisions.

Nate Allen, Northwest Arkansas Times: Mississippi coach Houston Nutt, his wife Diana, brothers Danny and Dickey Nutt were in attendance when the Rebels played host to Arkansas.

Dave Dye, Detroit News: Chances like this don't come along often, but Michigan State has an opportunity to close the gap with rival Michigan.

Brian Christopherson, Lincoln Journal Star: Nebraska's decision to move about 2,000 seats reserved for students from the lower half of Memorial Stadium to the upper half is creating an uproar.

Dave Curtis, Orlando Sentinel: Urban Meyer said he sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell asking him to re-evaluate how the league's draft advisory board projects the draft status of juniors considering leaving college early.

Jeff Rice, Centre Daily Times: Penn State tight end Andrew Quarless has been suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules.

Lauren Bertolini and Matt Gelb, Daily Orange: Syracuse police chased down Orange players Paul Chiara and Mikhail Marinovich after they allegedly were caught breaking into the Manley Field House equipment room.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: First-year South Florida defensive tackle coach John Hendrick, an ordained minister, will not allow any profanity from players.

The Warriors Will Throw: Hawaii has unveiled the designs for its new home and away uniforms. So far the new unis are meeting with rave reviews.

Troy Phillips, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Todd Dodge, whose North Texas team gave up 45.08 points a game last season, is looking for help from several newcomers.

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The Slippery Slope of an Off-Topic Post

Yannick Bertrand of France was setting a storming pace during the World Cup Super-G first round last weekend in Kvitfjell, Norway. Then he takes a nasty, nasty shot to the groin. With a little volume, you'll get the full impact. Credit to 850 The Buzz and SI's Extra Mustard.

The Jaw Says He's Not Going to Penn State

The chatter at Penn State continues to circulate around Joe Paterno, who is entering the final year of his contract and, perhaps, his final season as coach.

The latest round of speculation started Monday when the site Lasch Out reported that former Pittsburgh Steeler coach Bill Cowher had been on campus Feb. 24-25, which included an overnight stay at the house of Nittany Lion athletic director Tim Curley.

That sent the Internet sleuths into motion and Lasch Out followed with a report that Cowher's home in Raleigh was on the market, with the implication being that Cowher was possibly in line to become Paterno's successor.

But when contacted Tuesday by Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cowher laughed, saying, "I'm not going anywhere."

He added: "Put that to rest. I'm staying here."

As for Paterno's future, it remains in question. A column last week by David Jones of the Patriot-News mentioned the possibility of Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley eventually taking over for Paterno, who has fallen out of favor with university president Graham Spanier and key trustees. As the story goes, university power brokers have grown tired of embarrassing incidents involving Paterno (road rage, for example) and continuing issues with his players getting in trouble.

Jones suggested there could be a compromise in all of this, starting with Paterno:

"Where can Paterno give ground? It's clear. Name your retirement date now, Joe.

"I'll bet Spanier would give Paterno one more year through 2009 just to reach closure on this mess. But, agree to 2008 as the last season and you really get some 'security for your assistants.' ... Paterno could make this his stipulation: Bradley is named the associate head coach and takes over in 2009."

What is clear is this: Until Paterno's contract situation is addressed, the speculation about his future will continue.

Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Return of the College Football Tour Guy

If the boss is out of the office and you are looking for a great way to waste the day, this is your link.

Dan, the College Football Tour guy who turned a tour of the Pacific 10 in 2006 into a gig with SI On Campus this past season, has released a highlight video, which we have posted above, featuring all his stops in 2007.

We've also cataloged all of his posted 2007 stops: Illinois-USC in the Rose Bowl; Ohio State-Michigan in Ann Arbor; Michigan-Wisconsin in Madison; Louisiana State-Alabama in Tuscaloosa; Georgia-Florida in Jacksonville; Oregon-Washington in Seattle; USC-Notre Dame in South Bend; Oklahoma-Texas in Dallas; Oklahoma-Colorado in Boulder; South Carolina-Louisiana State in Baton Rouge; USC-Nebraska in Lincoln and Notre Dame-Penn State in State College.

The Great State of South Carolina

One would think the good citizens of South Carolina suffered enough embarrassment in 2007. Who can forget the performance of their representative at the Miss Teen competition, or that 6-6 Gamecock team that failed to earn a bid to a bowl?

But 2008 is off to a rocky start. Steve Spurrier says the cops beat up offensive lineman Kevin Young early Sunday morning in an incident that resulted in Young being field-booked, meaning he was arrested, processed at the scene and ticketed.

"I don't know how you get arrested without taking him downtown," Spurrier said.

Young was charged with fighting and resisting arrest, but Spurrier says his investigation indicated that Young was defending himself from an attacker before the cops showed up and started beating on Young, who suffered a bloody nose.

"I heard some policeman was beating on [Young] while the other one had his hands behind his back, or something. That’s the story we heard," Spurrier said.

A local sports-talk radio host who witnessed the incident confirmed the version of events that Spurrier says Young told him.

Kevin McCrarey, a co-host on the South Carolina News Network’s SportsTalk show, was leaving a nearby bar around 1:30 a.m. when three or four officers ran by him and toward the altercation. McCrarey said he saw an officer repeatedly punch one of the combatants, whom he later learned was Young, in the head with a closed fist.

"I think his rights were violated. Just because you get in a fight ... he got beat up by police. I really believe that," McCrarey said. "I don’t know police procedure, but the guy from behind was just swinging. He must have thrown 10 or 15 punches. Then they got him down, and they were still hitting him."

The State Law Enforcement Division plans to investigate.

Young is one of four Gamecocks currently suspended from the team. Cornerback Carlos Thomas, who started seven games in 2007, was suspended Tuesday. Thomas reportedly was disciplined for being loud and boisterous and using profanites in the presence of an athletic administrator in the team's dining hall.

Reporters' Notebooks

Andy Katzer, Fanhouse: Alabama fans are upset over an Auburn license plate that was on the front of a Tuscaloosa police cruiser.

Mark Snyder, Detroit Free Press: How is life away from coaching working out for Lloyd Carr? "It's an adjustment," he said. "Guys I've had relationships [with] for years and years and years — they're gone. And I don't see the players every day, so you've got to get through that."

Mickey Furfari, Charleston Daily Mail: Longtime West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong, who announced he will step down in 2010, says his proudest accomplishment was helping form the Big East Conference.

Ryan Wood, Lawrence Journal-World: Kansas and Southern Mississippi will play a home-and-home series against Southern Mississippi beginning in 2009. The Jayhawks have also added a 2010 home game against New Mexico State.

Glenn Guilbeau, Shreveport Times: Louisiana State's Perry Riley, expected to be a starting outside linebacker this fall, suffered a broken bone in a foot during spring drills.

Amy Brittain, Daily Reveille: LSU players say they are in favor of the ban on horse-collar tackles.

Brian Christopherson, Lincoln Journal Star: Nebraska has lost Anthony Blue, an expected starter at cornerback, to a knee injury.

Dan Hinxman, Reno Gazette-Journal: Nevada is leaving its longtime radio partner for a sweeter deal with Learfield Communications.

To bypass registration, to go Bug Me Not. Here is today's mystery link, a must if you're into college baseball.

Hey Tony, Here's Something to Chew On!

We'll post anything Rutgers-related in order to run an image of Tony Soprano patrolling the Scarlet Knight sideline.

Last week, we told you about Rutgers planning to try the Pure Power Mouthguard, which promises to safely reproduce some of the effects of steroids and the human growth hormone. The manufacturer says the device aligns an athlete's jaw properly by using bilateral electrical stimulation and relaxes face muscles, allowing the rest of the body to work more effectively.

OK then, what do the medical experts at Steroid Nation have to say about the mouthpiece? Not much:

"The claim of lower jaw alignment producing improved balance and increased upper body strength? Come on, this is 2008. Perhaps proper lower jaw alignment will decrease headaches, or allow you to chew properly. But increased upper body strength? Bite us."

And this:

"Right about now Rutgers should be looking at their graduation rolls. Someone slipped by without taking a science course. Of course mouthguards are important to prevent dental and facial injuries. ... But these claims of enhanced performance? Let's hope no one bites on that claim."

A person claiming to be Anil Makkar, the inventor of the Pure Power Mouthguard, posted a message on the site after several readers poked fun at claims of increased athletic performance. Here is that post:

"I love these comments, because we get these kind of comments every time we fit a pro athlete, and then when they experience the results, they do not want to tell anybody, because they want to keep it a secret to themselves.

"Everybody loves the Edge. It is easy to criticize a product when you have never tried it, but I challenge you to get one and notice the results. If you do not notice the difference, I will personally refund your money."

ESPN Thursday Night Schedule Announced

Steve Spurrier spent the 2007 postseason at home after his Gamecocks finished a disappointing 6-6. No wonder Spurrier and the gang are itching to play. The Gamecocks will have played two games before anybody else in 2008 because they are featured in ESPN's first two Thursday night telecasts

South Carolina will play host to North Carolina State on Aug. 28 and travel to Vanderbilt on Sept. 4.

Oregon State plays Stanford in the other opener on Aug. 28. That game will be telecast on ESPN2, according to Scott Wolf of the L.A. Daily News.

By our calculation, the season starts in 177 days. Please plan accordingly. ...

Here's a look at the ESPN schedule for Thursday night:

August 28
North Carolina State at South Carolina (ESPN)
Oregon State at Stanford (ESPN2)
September 4
South Carolina at Vanderbilt
September 11
North Carolina at Rutgers
September 18
West Virginia at Colorado
September 25
USC at Oregon State

October 2
Pittsburgh at South Florida
October 9
Clemson at Wake Forest
October 16
Florida State at North Carolina State
October 23
Auburn at West Virginia
October 30
South Florida at Cincinnati

November 6
Maryland at Virginia Tech
November 13
Virginia Tech at Miami
November 20
Miami at Georgia Tech
November 27 (Thanksgiving)
Texas A&M at Texas
December 4
Louisville at Rutgers

Reporters' Notebooks

Ray Melick, Birmingham News: When it comes to one of the most pressing issues facing college athletics these days — student-athlete off-field behavior — the NCAA often comes across sounding as frustrated as the average fan.

Chris Rosenblum and Sara Ganim, Centre Daily Times: Defensive tackle Phillip Taylor became the third Penn State player charged in connection with a fight last October at the Hetzel Union Building on campus.

Chip Scoggins, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Ted Roof, Minnesota's new defensive coordinator, received a three-year deal worth about $1.075 million, plus an additional $150,000 if he completes his contract. The deal makes Roof, the former Duke coach, the highest-paid assistant in Minnesota history.

Doug Doughty, Roanoke Times: Virginia junior defensive back Mike Brown has been removed from team activities pending resolution of criminal charges, including grand larceny in connection with a Feb. 6 report of the theft of four items valued at $3,400 from a vehicle in a university parking lot.

Paloma Esquivel, Paul Pringle and Francisco Vara-Orta, Los Angeles Times: One of the top high school players in Los Angeles was shot and killed Sunday evening.

Ivan Maisel, ESPN: What's behind all the concerts the night before spring games? It's the brainchild of Shawn Garrity, a former Syracuse player, and Chuck Muncie, a former California standout.

Paul Gattis, Huntsville Times: Not so fast. It appears Tuscaloosa prosecutors are still considering filing charges against Alabama captain Rashad Johnson.

Paul Finebaum, Mobile Press-Register: It's a safe bet that Auburn's Tommy Tuberville will use the current legal woes facing Alabama early and often on the recruiting trail.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: Steve Spurrier confirmed tailback Mike Davis will be suspended one game this season for missing class, although the South Carolina coach is not saying which game.

Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's 2008 schedule reveals that the Badgers replaced an early season nonconference game against powerful Virginia Tech with a regular-season finale against feared Cal Poly, a I-AA team.

Chuck Carlton, Dallas Morning News: Kathy Saunders becomes the first woman to chair the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association.

Jerry Hill, Waco Tribune-Herald: New Baylor coach Art Briles' life has seemingly been a series of rebuilding jobs.

George Hostetter, Fresno Bee: As if finding money for two new sports next year wasn't challenging enough, the Fresno State athletic department now must tackle a projected budget deficit of more than a half-million dollars.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Here is today's mystery link, a must if you are one of the many journalists who visit this site. Thanks to Ken.

Crewcut Gets an Earful From Ara

They just completed a Notre Dame alumni golf outing in North Naples, Fla., and Ara Parseghian shared with the world what he said to Crewcut Charlie Weis.

"Put big W's up. That's what I told him," Parseghian said. "Get those wins. Sometimes it's not always easy."

Parseghian, who had a sparkling 95-17 record as Fighting Irish coach, is clueless as to why Crewcut's team stumbled to an embarrassing 3-9 mark in 2007.

"It defies a logical explanation," said Parseghian, 84. "Apparently after winning 19 games and losing six in two years, the rebuilding process didn't quite measure up. The schedule is not quite as difficult this year, so I think they'll make a rebound."

Back in South Bend, the embarrassment continued. Sophomore tight end Will Yeatman pleaded guilty to misdemeanor operating a vehicle while intoxicated and reckless driving. Yeatman, who was unavailable for comment, was arrested Jan. 28 after he drove his car on a sidewalk on the Notre Dame campus.

Yeatman will have to install an ignition interlock system for at least 180 days. He is not allowed to drive any car without the system and will be in violation of the agreement if he has a blood alcohol reading more than 0.02 percent or tries to start or drive a car with a higher reading than 0.04 percent.

It's Division I Football!

Dan Hawkins doesn't like to spend time around the house and he doesn't play golf. The Colorado coach has one passion in life and that's football.

So when the NCAA passed a rule prohibiting head coaches from recruiting off campus from April 15 to May 31, Hawkins had to figure out what to do with himself.

Hawkins now wants to take to the highway, a plan he recently discussed with athletic director Mike Bohn and Chancellor G.P. Peterson.

"I told them I said, 'Hey, let's rent a motor home and let's just start going around to every town in the state and saying, hi, and meeting boosters and alums and people and engaging people,' " Hawkins said.

Bohn and Peterson liked the idea and the itinerary is said to be in the planning stages.

No Wonder June Jones Left Hawaii

Hawaii's trip to the Sugar Bowl is even more remarkable after you take a tour of its facilities.

In the locker room there are missing ceiling tiles, broken soap dispensers and inoperable fire alarms. In the weight room you'll find damaged Olympic weights, cracked upholstery on machines and broken equipment.

Hawaii is expecting to receive up to $4.5 million from its appearance in the Sugar Bowl and is planning to use a chunk of it to upgrade facilities.

Thanks to The Warriors Will Throw.

Reporters' Notebooks

Carter Strickland, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia, the hot pick to be No. 1 in preseason polls, begins spring drills on Monday.

Paul Gattis, Huntsville Times: Now that Tuscaloosa prosecutors have offered to dismiss the disorderly conduct charge against Alabama captain Rashad Johnson, the question must be asked: Why was he arrested?

Charles Goldberg, Birmingham News: After one week of spring drills at Auburn, Brad Lester remains the only scholarship tailback who is not hurt.

Jake Schaller, Colorado Springs Gazette: Troy Calhoun's second year as Air Force coach will be quite the challenge. The Falcons, who open spring drills on Tuesday, lost 14 starters off a 9-4 team.

Ron Higgins, Memphis Commercial Appeal: Plans are being made to celebrate the Liberty Bowl's 50th birthday.

Columbia State: South Carolina offensive lineman Kevin Young faces two misdemeanor charges after being arrested about 1:30 a.m. Sunday following a fight in Five Points.

Associated Press: Alabama, which drew 92,000-plus fans for its spring game last year, is bringing in country singer Alan Jackson to perform the night before this year's game. Thanks to Greg.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not.

Your Chance to Be a P.A. Announcer

For the first time since the late 1940s, Washington is conducting a search for a public address announcer for football.

Only two men have held this job since 1940. Wendell Broyles did it for 35 years before handing the microphone over to press box announcer Lou Gellermann, above, in 1985. Gellermann stepped down last fall because of growing difficulties with his hearing.

Qualified applicants are asked to submit a letter of application, resume, references and a mp3 file of their abilities before March 14.

What is Washington looking for? Here is a sample, according to the job description:

• Strong vocal talent
• A unique and definitive personality
• Strong knowledge of college football, including rules and positions
• Comfortable announcing to crowds of over 50,000 on a microphone
• Comfortable announcing complex names from a variety of ethnic backgrounds
• Able to attend all home games. Must arrive three hours before kickoff
• Receptive to positive and negative feedback
  

The pay is $100 a game and does not include any university benefits. The P.A. announcer is also provided two season tickets for personal use and a game day parking pass.

Reporters' Notebooks

Paul Finebaum, Mobile Press-Register: When it comes to dealing with the media, Nick Saban is a train wreck, a disaster waiting to happen. He's college football's version of Three-Mile Island and Chernobyl all wrapped into one.

Ian R. Rapoport, Birmingham News: Saban has been busy "building relationships" with Tuscaloosa police.

Mark Viera, Daily Collegian: Former Penn State defensive tackle Chris Baker, who was arrested twice in 2007 on felony charges in connection with fights: "People just think I'm just a big, black thug. And that's not what I'm like." Thanks to UWire.

Tom Luicci, Newark Star-Ledger: A shakeup of Rutgers staff has secondary coach Chris Demarest submitting his resignation. Demarest was arrested last July after an incident involving him and his girlfriend at a bar. Assault charges were dropped last month after Demarest was treated for anger and stress management.

Kate Hairopoulos, Dallas Morning News: Record-setting Southern Methodist quarterback Justin Willis and safety Bryce Hudman have been suspended from the team by June Jones and will not compete in spring practice. A source said the suspensions were related to academics and missing team functions.

David Hanners, St. Paul Pioneer Press: A judge ruled that a cell phone video and photos that purportedly show part of an alleged sexual attack involving former Minnesota football player Dominic Jones can be used by prosecutors in his upcoming trial.

Jacksonville Times-Union: Florida offensive lineman James Wilson plans to transfer, perhaps to Wake Forest.

Bob Condotta, Seattle Times: Washington quarterback Jake Locker said he plans to spend part of his summer playing baseball for the Bellingham Bells of the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League.

A Promise Broken, a Lawsuit Filed

Daniel Smith thought he had an agreement. The prep defensive back from Boise says he accepted a scholarship offer April 28 from Hawaii. As part of the unwritten deal, Smith agreed not to talk to other schools and inform them that he was already committed to the Warriors.

He followed those orders for 10 months only to have a Hawaii assistant call Smith's mother in January and claim that her son hadn't received an official offer. When signing day arrived, the crestfallen Smith found himself without a school and without a scholarship.

Smith has gone on the offensive, filing a lawsuit against Hawaii and former defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold, who is now the receivers coach at Southern Methodist. All Smith wants is his promised scholarship, according to Andy Staples of SI.com.

Although Smith's situation is not unique, it's believed to be the first time a recruit has filed a lawsuit over a broken promise. If Smith wins the case, it could change the landscape of recruiting.

Move Over Mike Gundy

Off-topic post: Michigan women's basketball coach Kevin Borseth had a meltdown of epic proportions Thursday night after the Wolverines blew an 18-point lead and lost to Wisconsin, 69-67. First spotted on UM Hoops. Thanks to a reader who wishes to remain anonymous.

If the above video doesn't work, here is the YouTube version: