The Ultimate Bar Bet Resource

Which team had the most players selected in the NFL draft?

A) Alabama
B) Northwestern
C) Bentley
D) Oklahoma State

The correct answer is, of course, C, Bentley.

Valuable information like this can come in handy. Thus the reason for this post. Here's the draft breakdown by teams, conferences and positions.

For all that talent Ohio State allegedly has been stockpiling, it had only three players selected. Rival Michigan, interestingly enough, had six. The Buckeyes are already talking revenge in the 2009 draft.

Brigham Young fans might be upset about opening the 2008 season at home against Northern Iowa, but consider that the Panthers had more players selected (2) than the Cougars (1).

Hog Heaven

Meet Tusk, the Arkansas mascot who was taking it easy last Saturday during the Razorbacks' spring game festivities. Tusk, a 380-pound Russian boar that closely resembles a wild razorback hog, resides on a local farm when not paraded around in this cage.
Our man Greg made the trek to Fayetteville to find out what life is like for those living high on the hogs and he came away impressed.
"Let me start by saying this venue was the most active site of the the spring games I attended during this year. Lots of corporate tie-ins, lots of activities and some of the nicest people you will ever meet, especially Frank Broyles [above].

"In talking to him about the color commentaries he provided on ABC college football in the '70s, he actually let me stay in the autograph line while he told stories about those experiences."
The new Boss Hog in Fayetteville is Bobby Petrino and T-Shirts playing off the popular "Got Milk" campaign were in abundance.
Arkansas fans like to think of themselves as the biggest fish in the Southeastern Conference pond.
There was no shortage of energy in the air, reflected in this young fan's headgear.
This is how the Razorbacks roll ...
Yes, that's a photo of Sam Walton in the middle of the trophy case. His Wal-Mart billions no doubt helped pay for this.
A homeowner near Razorback Stadium gets in the spirit.
Big Red was on hand to greet Greg as he entered Razorback Stadium.
A look toward the open end of the stadium and the "PigScreen," a Smartvision LED screen that is built into the giant scoreboard.

Paying the Price at Check Out Time

Here is something Rich Rodriguez can look forward to. Writing checks for large sums to his former employer, West Virginia University.

Michigan basketball coach John Beilein just sent this check for $290,000 to West Virginia for the first installment he owes the university for his $1.5 million contract buyout.

Rich Rod, of course, owes substantially more, according to West Virginia officials, who are suing the Michigan coach for a $4 million buyout in his contract.

Thanks to West By God Virginia for their help.

Reporters' Notebooks

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times: Are the Pacific 10 and the Big Ten alone in standing in the way of a playoff? Plus, Ed Goren, the president of Fox Sports, says the network doesn't care if there is a change in title format, it just wants to stay in the game.

Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News: If Alabama fans thought losing to Louisiana Monroe was a low point, it wasn't. Draft weekend was.

Jason Siffring, Big Red Network: The site's annual look at spring game attendance. You can compare the 2008 numbers to 2007 and 2006.

Chip Scoggins, Minneapolis Star Tribune: E.J. Jones, dismissed from the Minnesota team a year ago after being linked to but not charged in a sexual assault, would like to rejoin the team. But Golden Gopher officials say that is unlikely to happen.

Mike Feigen, Daily Evergreen: Washington State is likely to lose six scholarships next year because of a poor Academic Performance Rate.

Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia has completed its 2009 schedule with what promises to be a bruising home game against Tennessee Tech.

Phillip B. Wilson, Indianapolis Star: A look at the future of sports coverage, merging high-definition TVs with the Internet.

Ian R. Rapoport, Birmingham News: Tuscaloosa police chief Ken Swindle, who has become a controversial figure to Alabama fans, announced he is retiring on Oct. 1.

Ron Musselman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: As expected, five Penn State players who were suspended from spring drills have rejoined the team. Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Howie Stalwick, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Washington State player Andy Roof was arrested on suspicion of fourth-degree assault. He allegedly head-butted a bouncer when denied entry into a private party; punched a man in the face; then smashed a man's face into the sharp edge of a stop sign.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not.

Rutgers to Notre Dame: Forget About It!

If you're going to negotiate with Rutgers these days, well, you're going to negotiate on the Scarlet Knights' terms. That's the way things are done in Jersey, understand?

The Scarlet Knights were scheduled to start a six-game series with Notre Dame in 2010 but the Fighting Irish have to told to take a hike.

Notre Dame wanted the three games scheduled for Piscataway to be moved to the new NFL stadium being built at the Meadowlands. But Rutgers, which is spending $102 million to renovate its stadium, was against such a move.

"We feel Rutgers' home games should be played on-campus at Rutgers Stadium." athletic director Bob Mulcahy said.

But this being Jersey, nothing comes easy. The contractor in charge of the Rutgers' renovation project had been previously fired from all work on K-12 public schools in the state.

Update: An interesting piece on the Notre Dame-Rutgers situation in the New York Times, and a biting column in the Daily Targum, the Rutgers student newspaper, saying it's about time somebody stood up to the Notre Dame bullies. Now that Rutgers said no, is Syracuse the next scheduling target of the Irish?

Baker Polishes His Pickup Lines

Sam Baker, the USC offensive lineman who was the 21st pick of the NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, gives a tour of his Ford F-150 pickup.

As Sports By Brooks points out, Baker said he has gotten over 100 parking tickets while at USC. While Baker acknowledges he's "not a very clean individual" and needs to carry deodorant with him at all times, the 6-foot-5, 305-pounder comes across as quite a likable character.

Reporters' Notebooks

Ray Melick, Birmingham News: Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive is scheduled to present a plan for a four-team playoff at the Bowl Championship Series meeting this week in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times: BCS officials don't need to leave Florida with a tan, they need to leave it with a plan.

Dick Harmon, Deseret News: Who is standing in the way of a playoff? It's the Big Ten and the Pacific 10.

Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: The Cotton Bowl has requested that its game be played on Jan. 2, 2009 and that the start time be moved back three hours.

Detroit Free Press: Imagine that. Rich Rodriguez will be playing golf with Nick Saban.

Mike Knobler, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Taylor Bennett, Georgia Tech's starting quarterback last season, is transferring to Louisiana Tech.

Tabitha Yang, Tallahassee Democrat: The State Attorney's Office will not prosecute Florida State's Preston Parker on a two-year-old misdemeanor charge.

Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: Former San Diego State player Martin Miller was found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder stemming from a 2005 double shooting.

Greenville News: ESPN2 will go the Division I-AA route on one of its Friday night telecasts, broadcasting the Appalachian State-Wofford game on Oct. 31.

No Shortage of Rivals for the Zooker

Are some recruiting websites merely recruiting vehicles for certain teams? That's what Ron Zook suggested last week during his criticism of the "Saban Rule." The Zooker said that some teams had secretly allied themselves with the websites as another way to communicate with recruits. The benefit for the websites is that they get better information, more traffic and make more money while helping their teams.

The editor in chief of one of those recruiting sites has fired back. Bobby Burton of Rivals.com says the Illinois coach is out of line. Writes Burton:

"The new rule has come about because of your profession's inability to work within the rules that govern them. Simply put, the NCAA doesn't want its head coaches going out in the spring because they don't trust you and your brethren.

"This new rule has nothing to do with Rivals.com; it's not our job to recruit players, nor is any writer paid to recruit players to a school. It's our job to report about recruiting. Instead, the new rule has everything to do with your profession's inability to follow rules."

Of course, some coaches have already found a way around the Saban Rule. Namely, Nick Saban.

Thanks to Image of Sport.

The Express

Here's an early trailer for "The Express," a drama based on the life of Syracuse's Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. The film is scheduled for release in October. Thanks to Donnie Webb of the Syracuse Post-Standard.

Spring Reports

Our fifth look at spring games across the country:

Arkansas: No shortage of offense to go with a record crowd of 40,200. Even with a running clock in the second half, the Red and White teams combined for 735 yards.

Boston College: The Eagles' replacement for Matt Ryan? It's likely to be Chris Crane, who outshined his competitors by displaying arm strength and accuracy.

California: Jeff Tedford on his team's spring: "I'm really happy with the team chemistry. The way we're working together, the attitude of the team, the focus, the camaraderie — it's all very positive."

Cincinnati: Dustin Grutza showed he would be a capable replacement at quarterback if Ben Mauk is not granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA.

Hawaii: A crowd of 10,000 got in free and watched the first Hawaii spring game in several years.

Marshall: With no less than 20 scholarship players unavailable to play, the Thundering Herd put on an abbreviated spring game.

Maryland: Ralph Friedgen was not enthusiastic about the play of his quarterbacks. "I'm looking for some guy to separate, and I really can't see that right now."

Minnesota: To say the Gophers have a lot of work to do between now and the Aug. 30 opener is a major understatement.

Oregon: A week after fumbling through a scrimmage with 20 plays for negative yardage, the Ducks put on a crisp offensive display before an estimated 14,107.

San Diego State: The Aztecs spent much of the spring game attempting to establish an identity. Based solely on production, the chances of anyone soon becoming a household name are roughly as remote as a run on real estate.

UCLA: Crespi High quarterback Kevin Prince, who wasn't scheduled to enroll until January 2009, has been asked if he can enroll early to help the depleted quarterbacking corps.

Washington: Even the diehards among the 9,000 weren't quite sure what to make of a punchless 10-7 final score.

Reporters' Notebooks

Chris Foster, Los Angeles Times: UCLA starting quarterback Patrick Cowan will miss the 2008 season because of surgery on his left knee. He will have to petition the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility if he hopes to play again. Backup Ben Olson is likely to have surgery on his right foot but is expected to be ready for fall drills.

Detroit Free Press: Lloyd Carr on a Columbus Dispatch report that he helped offensive lineman Justin Boren in his transfer to Ohio State: "That's a lie."

Mickey Furfari, Charleston Daily Mail: Should the NCAA allow teams to play scrimmage games before the start of the season? (We ask: Aren't teams doing that now by dumbing down the nonconference schedules?).

Andrew Neff, Bangor Daily News: Florida State has scheduled a 2009 game against always tough Maine. Thanks to the Business of College Football.

Frank Bodani, York Daily Record: Penn State defensive back Knowledge Timmons said he, along with defensive tackle Chris Baker, linebacker Navorro Bowman and tight end Andrew Quarless, have been reinstated to the team. Team officials said that wasn't the case, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Larry Lage, Associated Press: An attorney for Rich Rodriguez plans to ask an attorney for Larry Aschebrook to have his client retract statements that he made in a sworn affidavit last month.

Dave Hart, Raleigh News & Observer: Rameses XVII, the blue-horned ram who led the North Carolina team onto the field for the past five years, died of complications from a wound he suffered at the horns of his own son.

Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Urban Meyer on having Florida's spring game televised: "At first I didn't want to [televise the game], but recruiting is such a major player. It's the bloodline of our program, and if they're not here, they are going to be somewhere else, and we want people to see this great campus."

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: Sophomore tight end/defensive lineman Trent Pupello, who transferred to South Florida from Florida in November, received an NCAA hardship waiver and will be eligible in the fall.

Booty, Woodson No Wonderlic Wonders

More information has become available on the closely guarded Wonderlic scores of NFL quarterback prospects. Mac Mirabile has posted his annual look at the scores and John David Booty, left, formerly of USC, and Andre Woodson, formerly of Kentucky, are at the bottom of the list.

According to Mirable, Booty and Woodson each scored 14 out of a possible 50.

To put this in perspective, Terry Bradshaw scored 15 when he took the test in 1970, according to Mirabile's site. Pat McInally, a graduate of Harvard, is thought to be the only player to score a perfect 50.

A score of under 10 is an indication of literacy problems.

The average score for a quarterback is 24. Offensive tackles average the highest score at 26.

Texas' Vince Young reportedly scored a 6 when he first took the test in 2006. He was given another opportunity and scored 16. Florida's Chris Leak allegedly scored an 8, but his tally has since been updated to a 12 on Mirabile's site.

Former Iowa State running back Darren Davis reportedly has the lowest score for a prospect, a 4.

Among people of various professions, the average participant scored a 24. Chemists score 31, journalists 26, clerical workers 21 and warehouse employees 15.

Bruins Are in a World of Hurt

The injuries are piling up for UCLA quarterbacks.

Patrick Cowan, right, who was designated the starter by coach Rick Neuheisel early in spring practice, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in practice and could be lost for the season.

Backup Ben Olson fractured the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot and likely will have surgery to insert a screw to aid in healing. He will be out two months.

That makes junior college transfer Kevin Craft the starter for Saturday night's scrimmage at the Rose Bowl.

If Cowan is lost for the season, it could also mean the end of his college career. He has already used a redshirt season and would have to petition the NCAA for a sixth season of eligibility.

The Bruins have nonconference games against Tennessee, Brigham Young and Fresno State, meaning UCLA's 2008 season could be over before it starts.

So Much for the Saban Rule

He's back. It didn't take long for Nick Saban to find a way around the "Saban Rule," which prohibits head coaches from making off-campus visits during the spring evaluation period, running from April 15 to May 31.

Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News details how Saban hooked up with William Ming, a hotshot defensive end recruit from Athens (Ala.) High.

It started when Crimson Tide assistant Curt Cignetti visited Ming at his high school, which has a Distance Learning Lab that allows students to take online classes by using a live webcam. Writes Scarbinsky:

"Cignetti left behind a web address that Ming used to log on later that day and spend 15-20 minutes talking, through the webcam, with Saban, who was in his office in Tuscaloosa.

"Athens High Coach Allen Creasy, who witnessed the conversation, called it 'a first from a recruiting standpoint' for his school.

" 'You could see [Saban's] facial expressions and hand gestures just as if you were sitting across the desk from him,' Creasy said. 'It's the next-best thing to being there in person.' "

And perfectly legal under NCAA rules. Although Saban and his staff are restricted to one phone call to a junior recruit during the spring evaluation period, a prospect can make unlimited calls to a staff, even if a "call" involves the use of a webcam.

As you can expect, Crimson Tide fans are giddy over the news.

Did Carr Help Boren Transfer to Buckeyes?

The announcement this week that offensive lineman Justin Boren was transferring from Michigan to Ohio State came as no surprise. It had been expected from the moment Boren left the Wolverines in a huff, saying that the "family values" he had grown accustomed to while playing for the Wolverines had "eroded in just a few months" under Rich Rodriguez.

Now comes word that Boren might have had help in his transfer from former Wolverine coach Lloyd Carr.

Writes Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch: "Maybe they should take a cue from previous Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, who according to a source close to the situation worked behind the scenes to help Boren obtain his scholarship release from Michigan.

"Carr even assured Boren that Ohio State is the closest thing to Michigan that he would find and that there are 'good people' in Columbus."

Thanks to Image of Sport.

The Long and Short of It

There is something called the NFL draft this weekend and Jake Long, the mammoth offensive tackle from Michigan, is signed, sealed and delivered as the No. 1 pick of the Miami Dolphins.

Singer-songwriter Ryan Parker has put together this half tribute-half warning to the Dolphins.

Reporters' Notebooks

Justin D. Anderson, Charleston Daily Mail: Joe Manchin, the governor of the great state of West Virginia, says money and a slick agent changed Rich Rodriguez.

Iliana Limon, Orlando Sentinel: Central Florida attorneys have started to interview players in an investigation into the death of Ereck Plancher.

Jake Schaller, Colorado Springs Gazette: Air Force coach Troy Calhoun wants to soften the team's schedule, following the lead of Navy.

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times: USC's compliance department is investigating the circumstances surrounding the sale of a T-shirt that used quarterback Mark Sanchez's name. The T-shirt featured an image of the Mexican flag and included the words "Viva Sanchez."

Brian Bennett, Louisville Courier-Journal: It seemed like only yesterday they were giving away tickets to Louisville games. Now plans call for a 21,000-seat expansion of Cardinal Stadium.

Lauren Boyer, Centre Daily Times: Almost a year after student section seats sold out in 59 minutes, Penn State developed a plan to halt the influx of thousands of season ticket hopefuls to its Ticketmaster Web site.

Mason Kerns, Des Moines Register: Iowa defensive tackle Cody Hundertmark was charged with possession of alcohol under the legal age. He is the 15th Hawkeye player to encounter legal trouble since last April.

Randy Peterson, Des Moines Register: Iowa State will seek permission to continue with architectural planning for the second phase of its Jack Trice Stadium renovation project when it meets with the Iowa state Board of Regents next week.

Dave Reardon and Brian McInnis, Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Hawaii has switched the date of its 2009 home game against Navy from Sept. 5 to Nov. 21.

Slick Rick Takes in Spirit Squad Tryouts

The all-important spirit squad tryouts were held this week at UCLA and none other than Slick Rick Neuheisel took time from his busy spring schedule to examine this year's pool of candidates.

According to Trojans-Haters Club, Neuheisel "came over during a score-tallying break, and talked to us and some judges, about golf, and Rose Bowls. ... He was just so cool, so personable, and so approachable, that we felt comfortable to chime into his 'conversation,' without feeling pushy.

"And he instantly included us in the group. So cool!! Someone asked him if he was gonna stick around and judge, but he said no way, that he had his own students that were keeping him very busy [but that otherwise, he would have loved to!]."

OK, enough of the chatter. What did Slick Rick come to see? It's posted below, with more images at Trojan-Haters Club, which earlier chronicled the Swim With Mike event featuring the USC Song Girls.
Thanks to With Leather for the tip.

It's Time to Rebuild at Texas A&M

The 2007 season was a forgettable one in College Station. If Dennis Franchione wasn't publishing his VIP Connections newsletter or running up the score on Nebraska, an Aggie yell leader was being sent home from the Alamo Bowl after saying, "Joe Paterno's on his death bed! And someone needs to find him a casket."

To top it off, an Aggie fan at the Alamodome was caught on camera digging in his nose and consuming a tasty snack. Yikes!
But times, they are a changing in College Station. Thanks to the fine photography work of reader Greg, we are here to show you how they are blending the old with the new in Aggieland in 2008. It was all on display Saturday at the Maroon and White game.

Yes, the 12th Man is alive and well, along with the $1,000 boots cadet seniors proudly wear around campus.
Gone is Franchione and his newsletter. The new sheriff in town is Mike Sherman. OK, who cares if he was caught sleeping at the NFL scouting combine when he was on the staff of the Houston Texans? And the yell leaders? They promise to be on their best behavior.
The Aggies embrace their tradition. They have a trophy case to prove it.
Everything is big in Texas. They once crammed 88,253 into Kyle Field.
The snazziest addition to Kyle Field came in 2006 with the installation of 12th Man TV, a 3,954 square foot Mitsubishi Diamond Vision enhanced resolution LED videoboard. Bitching!
Aggieland Outfitters was sued over the Saw 'Em Off logo and had to make minor changes to it because the original design infringed on the Texas Longhorn trademark. (This all started after an Aggie victory over the Longhorns in 2006.) But from the looks of it, the lawsuit merely made the logo even more popular among Aggie fans.
Young and old fans were among the estimated crowd of 32.000.
Gas prices might be pushing $4 a gallon, but Texas is oil country and high prices for fuel are not going to slow down the Aggies.

Reporters' Notebooks

Chip Scoggins, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Minnesota has new uniforms designed by Nike. There are six different uniform combinations that feature a number of changes in design and material, including the return of white pants for the first time since 1967. Photos: click here. Reaction: click here.

The Warriors Will Throw: Hawaii also unveiled new uniforms, designed by Under Armour. Photos: click here.

Randy Riggs, Austin American-Statesman: Texas Tech's Mike Leach says unlike South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier, Notre Dame’s Charlie Weis and Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen, he has no plans to relinquish play-calling duty. "Because I'm younger than those guys... I got into coaching to coach. Otherwise, you’re just a handshaker."

Shawn Courchesne, Hartford Courant: Connecticut legislators announced they have reached and agreement that will allow the Huskies to play "home" games in a series against Notre Dame at out-of-state stadiums.

Tim May, Columbus Dispatch: As expected, offensive lineman Justin Boren has decided to transfer from Michigan to Ohio State. Because of Big Ten rules, Boren can never be on scholarship at Ohio State and will have to pay his own way.

Patrick Ridgell, Longmont Times-Call: Kai Maiava, the final member of Colorado's 2007 recruiting class who turned out to be a starting guard that earned some freshman All-American honors, told coaches he wants to transfer.

Andrew Jones, Wilmington Star-News: There's no spring in the step of Atlantic Coast Conference football.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: South Florida's home game against Connecticut has been moved back a day to Sunday, Nov. 23 and will be televised on ESPN.

Bill Free, Baltimore Sun: Mark your calendars: Navy and Ohio State will open the 2009 season in Columbus and meet again in 2014, possibly in Baltimore.

Chip Alexander, Raleigh News & Observer: A Q&A with North Carolina State coach Tom O'Brien.

Rock Kubatko, Baltimore Sun: Brady Smith, the Boston College defensive end accused of gaining access to a residence hall and assaulting a female student early Saturday morning, has been dismissed from the team.

Natalie Meisler, Denver Post: Colorado State is planning a $20 million expansion of its facilities. Included in the project is an indoor practice venue for the football team.

Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Lawmakers who are seeking a government probe of the Bowl Championship Series are offsides.

George Schroeder, Eugene Register-Guard: Oregon's offensive linemen are featured in a calendar. Thanks to EDSBS.

Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News: San Jose State has scheduled a 2009 game against USC. A four-game series against Navy is set to begin in 2011.

Fred Girard, Detroit News: Rich Rodriguez pursued the opening at Michigan, according to documents Rich Rod was forced to turn over as part of West Virginia's $4 million lawsuit against him. Thanks to John.

Mike Casazza, Charleston Daily Mail: The attorney for Larry Aschebrook, the former West Virginia fundraiser who was accused of making racial comments toward former Mountaineer offensive coordinator Calvin Magee, said his client is leaving his legal options open.

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

Rivals, Scout at Heart of Next Scandal?

Count Illinois' Ron Zook among coaches who are against the new "Saban Rule," which prohibits head coaches from going on the road during the spring evaluation period from April 15-May 31.

Now throw the Internet into all of this and suddenly you have a bigger problem. Writes Lindsey Willhite of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald:

"Because operator/writers for Internet sites, such as Rivals.com and Scout.com, are the only ones who have unregulated access to recruits when coaches can't talk to them, it's an area that's ripe for corruption.

"Some programs have secretly allied themselves with the Web sites that report on their school as another way to communicate with recruits.

"In return, the Web sites get better information, more traffic and make more money.

" 'We're turning the recruiting over to the so-called recruiting gurus,' Zook said. 'Now, all of a sudden, just like you've got basketball coaches complaining that it's turning over to the AAU coaches, now we're turning it over to these guys that can call them.

" 'Well, you know what a lot of them are saying. They're selling their school to these kids, and we're not able to talk to them. To me, we're losing this thing, in my opinion.' "

Thanks to Image of Sport.

Welcome to Rocky Top

Tennessee finished spring drills Saturday with the Orange and White game at Neyland Stadium and reader Richard was kind enough to send us several shots of the festivities.

A game — even a spring game in Knoxville — wouldn't be complete without a look at the hardware inside the Neyland Thompson Sports Center. First there is the shrine to Peyton Manning.
Then there is the Sears Trophy, representing the Volunteers' 1998 national championship season. The Waterford crystal that sits atop the trophy is still in one piece, unlike Florida's broken trophy.
Fans stream into Neyland shortly before kickoff. Dark skies in the morning gave way to glorious sunshine.
Members of the Team Orange take the field. The announced crowd was 28,896.
Among those in attendance were former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and former Southeastern Conference commissioner and Bowl Championship Series architect Roy Kramer. The Volunteers open Sept. 1 at UCLA.

Reporters' Notebooks

Ferd Lewis, Honolulu Advertiser: The dispute over whether former coach June Jones owes Hawaii $400,008 for the early termination of his contract is apparently at an impasse and headed to binding arbitration

Sunday Morning Quarterback: Newspapers will never — probably should never — stop publishing the names of anyone arrested or charged with a felon, but sometimes it seems that newspapers should include a disclaimer reminding readers that the accused are "innocent until proven guilty."

Molly Yanity, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Center Juan Garcia, who has started 25 consecutive games for Washington, may have played his last game after suffering an injury to his left foot in a scrimmage last Friday.

Ron Higgins, Commercial Appeal: The 50th anniversary of the Liberty Bowl will be played on Jan. 2, 2009.

Tim Stephens, Orlando Sentinel: Why are Georgia State, North Carolina Charlotte and South Alabama announcing they will field Division I-AA teams? It's all about conference realignment.

Tom D'Angelo, Palm Beach Post: Receiver Preston Parker, who was named Florida State's MVP last season, was arrested on gun and drug charges.

Boston Herald: Boston College defensive end Brady Smith pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on charges of rape and breaking and entering that stemmed from an alleged weekend attack.

Chris Foster, Los Angeles Times: UCLA quarterback Patrick Cowan sat out practice after "tweaking" his knee.

Beckley Register-Herald: Rich Rodriguez obviously isn't as smart as he thought he was, and neither are his agent and lawyer.

Here is today's mystery link.

Slick Rick in Training

Rick Neuheisel has just been named the MVP of the 1984 Rose Bowl.

"I'll tell you what, whoever wrote this story I'm going to have to give a lot of money to because they did a good job," his Slickness says.

Neuheisel passed for 298 yards and four touchdowns in the 45-9 victory over Illinois. Two of his scoring passes went to his eventual predecessor as UCLA coach, Karl Dorrell.

Thanks to Bruins Nation.

At Nebraska, Bo Knows

The Bill Callahan hangover is over and they're ready for the Bo Pelini era to start at Nebraska, where 80,149 packed Memorial Stadium last Saturday for the spring game. At $10 a ticket, the Cornhuskers cashed in. So did some scalpers, who were asking up to $150 for a ticket on StubHub.

The momentum is carrying over to the fall. A check of StubHub at the time of this post showed two tickets for the Sept. 27 game against Virginia Tech Before kickoff, members of the Husker Nation packed the Coliseum to listen to athletic director Tom Osborne, Pelini and baseball coach Mike Anderson deliver a sermon.

These images are courtesy of Big Red Network and Husker Mike's Blasphemy and we thank each of these sites. Pay them a visit for more images.
Quarterback Joe Ganz, the expected starter this fall, charged onto the field ahead of the Red team. Running back Quentin Castille blows through a hole on the left-side of the line ...
... then has the ball stripped by defensive back Prince Amukamara.
tackle Lydon Murtha gets inside on a defender. The offensive line is expected to be one of the strengths of the Cornhuskers.

Pelini is likely looking forward to the Nov. 15 game at Kansas State. Pelini was Nebraska's defensive coordinator in 2003 when the Cornhuskers suffered an embarrassing 38-9 loss to the Wildcats in Lincoln. Afterward, Pelini accused Bill Snyder of running up the score.

Miami Says Nebraska Omaha's 'O' Should Go

Do these helmet designs look alike or similar in any way? Nebraska Omaha's "O" has caught the attention of Miami officials, who say the logo is too similar to the Hurricanes' copyrighted "U".

"No legal paperwork has been filed by either side," Nebraska Omaha Athletic Director David Miller said. "They've raised the concern that they view our logo as being similar to theirs. We see it differently."

Reporters' Notebooks

Ryan Wood, Lawrence Journal-World: More Big 12 teams are installing a no-huddle offense. One reason given is to get more plays in during the course of a game — and season. Missouri, which ran a no-huddle, was second in Division I-A with 1,112 offensive plays in 2007.

Doug Segrest, Birmingham News: The Pizza Bowl, a Wiz favorite, will be staying in Birmingham for at least the next two years.

Picture Me Rollin: Ian R. Rapoport, the Birmingham News reporter who questioned Nick Saban about his scholarship numbers, talks about the incident. Thanks to EDSBS.

Jeff McLane, Philadelphia Inquirer: Jay Paterno, Penn State's quarterbacks coach, is causing a stir for a political decision. He chose to back Barack Obama for president, a departure from his dad's conservative ways.

Drew Edwards, Knoxville News-Sentinel: Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right throwing elbow. He is expected to fully recover in about four to six weeks.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: The St. Pete Bowl, which hasn't even been approved yet, is already seeking a new date for its game.

Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports: The Bowl Championship Series would really be in trouble if congressmen Neil Abercrombie, Lynn Westmoreland and Mike Simpson were educated about the issue.

Mike Casazza, Charleston Daily Mail: Who is Larry Aschebrook and why/how did he find himself at the center of the Rich Rodriguez dispute?

Alan Schmadtke, Orlando Sentinel: It has been nine months since a $250 million renovation of the Capital One Bowl was approved, but today the facility sits virtually untouched.

Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News: Department of Bummer: There's only two regular season games between Pacific 10 and Southeastern Conference teams this fall.

Jake Grovum, Minnesota Daily: Three Minnesota players who were arrested in the alleged rape of a woman in 2007 were never charged. But their lives have never been the same.

Danielle Vickery, Daily Collegian: Former Penn State running back Austin Scott, who had rape and sexual-assault charges dropped against him last week, might file a lawsuit against Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira. Scott's attorney also said that he would be meeting with other attorneys within the next two weeks about "prosecutorial discretion" by the district attorney’s office, specifically noting charges that have been brought against other Penn State players.

Lindsay Jones, Palm Beach Post: Details about Percy Harvin's heel surgery seem to make the injury rather gruesome. As Get The Picture points out, perhaps that is why Urban Meyer says he will know in August if his team is a contender.

Kevin Donahue, FanBlogs: Virginia Tech is planning a "white out" for its opener against always tough Furman. The Hokies want to help promote reading across the Commonwealth of Virginia.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not.

Best Run of the Spring

Quite a debut in Saturday's spring game by Ralphie V, Colorado's new mascot. The 18-month-old, 500-pound buffalo, who replaced the retired Ralphie IV, runs with attitude, punishing would-be handlers with the greatest of ease. Very impressive.

Thanks to Gabe!

The Questions Keep Coming for Paterno

The reporter-coach exchange of the weekend goes to David Jones of the Patriot-News and Joe Paterno of Penn State.

Jones and Paterno went at it after the columnist asked the coach if his contract situation would impact recruiting. Here is part of the exchange:

Paterno: "I think we've had a heck of a year recruiting. That's your problem."

Jones: "It's not your problem?"

Paterno: "Naw, it's not my problem. Why is it my problem?"

Jones: "The fans support this program."

Paterno: "You're succumbing to the Web site mob. And that's what it is. Those people who write in and don't sign their names."

Jones: "Well, a lot of players would want to know who the coach is in two years. Don't you agree with that?"

Paterno: "Don't you think that they talk to me about that? I tell 'em this: Some of the guys who tell them I may not be here are washing streets and doing dishes and things like that, all right? I don't get into that.

"I tell them exactly what I think: 'I'm here. I hope I'm going to coach while you're here; I may not. God only knows what's going to happen with me.' ... We have a whole mess of kids up here today. We must have 50 high school juniors here. Take a look at this place and say, 'Hey, this must be one heck of a place.'

"And if I walked down the stairs, they may not even know me."

Jones: "They won't know you?"

Paterno: "They may not."

Paterno, 81, said it with a straight face.

The coach later told Jones: "Do me a favor. Go get an anonymous trustee who doesn't have the guts to use his name."

This was in reference to Jones' paper first reporting that an anonymous trustee expressed concern about Paterno's players continuing to get into trouble.

Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Reporters' Notebooks

John Henderson, Denver Post: How slick is UCLA's Rick Neuheisel? Whenever Neuheisel, then an assistant with the Baltimore Ravens, went to Indianapolis for the NFL scouting combine, he would have lunch with one of two men in charge of NCAA enforcement. NCAA staff members even invited Neuheisel to their pickup basketball game on his next trip.

Kurt Streeter, Los Angeles Times: USC's Pete Carroll has been making midnight trips to L.A.'s toughest neighborhoods, including Watts' Jordan Downs, as part of the work he does with a foundation.

Pat Harty, Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa fans were caught by surprise at Saturday's spring game. Alcohol was prohibited from tailgating festivities.

Lorenzo Perez, Raleigh News & Observer: North Carolina State's sloppy monitoring of the College Inn, home to many "student-athletes," could have the school in violation of NCAA rules prohibiting varsity athletes from claiming 50% or more of any wing or floor of a residential building.

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer issued a warning to his players after spring practice. "I told them I don't want any darn phone calls at 2 o'clock in the morning about anything," Fulmer said. "I want to hear how well they behaved themselves."

Bill Koch, Cincinnati Enquirer: Quarterback Ben Mauk is hoping to find out this week if he will be able to return for a final season at Cincinnati.

Kyle Ringo, Boulder Daily Camera: The Colorado-Colorado State game will likely be moved to Sunday, Aug. 31, to give Denver officials time to regroup after the Democratic National Convention.

Michael DiRocco, Florida Times-Union: Urban Meyer, trying to fire up his troops for summer conditioning drills, said he will know whether his team can compete for a Southeastern Conference and national championship weeks before Florida starts fall practice.

Andrew Logue, Des Moines Register: Iowa State running back J.J. Bass, a senior, was suspended indefinitely from the team.

Andrew Dalton, Associated Press: A summit in California is helping to raise awareness about the seriousness of sports concussions.

Jeff McLane, Philadelphia Inquirer: Rape and sexual-assault charges against former Penn State running back Austin Scott were dropped.

George Hostetter, Fresno Bee: About two dozen Fresno State students are angry at being shut out of a meeting of campus leaders where the fate of a potential fee increase will be debated.

Bryant-Jon Anteola, Fresno Bee: Fresno State has completed a self-evaluation of its athletic department to renew its certification with the NCAA. You can access the evaluation by clicking here.

Spring Reports

Our fourth look at spring games across the country. The Big Ten Network also video of several league games. Access it by clicking here:

Arizona State: Quarterback Rudy Carpenter struggled, completing only seven of 21 passes for 88 yards, almost half of those on a 43-yard touchdown to Brandon Smith.

Army: A bowl bid for the Black Knights? Receiver Mike Wright thinks Army can end a postseason drought that dates to 1996.

Bowling Green: It was all about defense, with Diyral Briggs getting five sacks and nine tackles. He also batted down a pass.

Central Michigan: Nobody got hurt.

Colorado: Things are looking up in Boulder, with Cody Hawkins back at quarterback and depth improving at other positions.

Colorado State: The Ram offense has been the focal point this spring, but the defense had its moments before an estimated 6,100.

Connecticut: Coach Randy Edsall experimented with using cornerback Darius Butler at receiver. Butler responded by catching a touchdown pass. The announced crowd was 9,700, but it appeared about half that number.

Duke: With David Cutcliffe breathing new life into the program, 3,250 fans — a number Cutcliffe claimed was a spring game record — showed up to see if this was the start of a magical turnaround.

Florida Atlantic: The Owls displayed offensive punch, but not enough to satisfy coach Howard Schnellenberger. "They should move the ball without error," he said.

Fresno State: Quarterback Tom Brandstater is good to go. The Bulldogs need to clean up the center position, which featured botched snaps and shotgun hikes that saw the ball sail over the quarterback's head.

Georgia Tech: Paul Johnson's team will pass, at least some. The spring game was about 75-25 run-pass.

Idaho: Sophomores Nathan Enderle and Quin Ashley split time at quarterback and a decision on a starter will likely wait until fall.

Illinois: Ron Zook hinted that his defense could be something special. It looked that way, with 10 sacks. The first- and second team offenses had minus-11 years in 44 carries.

Indiana: Tight end could be back in play for the Hoosiers. Max Dedmond, at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, had four catches. By Indiana standards, that would be a good season, not a game.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes are facing a conundrum at quarterback, as the spotty play of Jake Christensen and Ricky Stanzi continued into the spring finale.

Iowa State: Alexander Robinson continued to shine at tailback. Phillip Bates and Austen Arnaud are still likely to split time at quarterback in the fall.

Kansas State: Not sure what to make of this. Josh Cherry's 51-yard field goal with 12:43 to go in the fourth quarter was the only scoring.

Kentucky: Nothing has been settled at quarterback, with Curtis Pulley and Mike Harline taking their battle into fall practice.

Louisville: An announced crowd of 17,200 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium saw Steve Kragthorpe's team run only 12 series because of a lack of depth. Last year, Louisville drew 28,000 — a record.

Michigan State: The defense would appear to have several potential playmakers.

Missouri: The Tigers' balanced offense in the fall could be even better than the scoring machine that drove the Tigers to a 12-2 record last season.

Navy: Coach Ken Niumatalolo wasn't impressed overall by the performance in the Blue-Gold game, saying at "the Blue guys, especially the offense, were punching the clock."

Nebraska: They're drinking the Bo Pelini Kool-Aid in Lincoln, where 80,149 were on hand to watch the Cornhuskers.

Nevada Las Vegas: If you're a gambling man — and Las Vegas is a gambling city — Omar Clayton is the bet to be the Rebels' starter at quarterback in the opener against Utah State.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish were able to spring forward, but how far?

North Carolina State: Redshirt freshman Justin Burke appears to have thrust himself into the quarterback competition with a strong performance before 15,273.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes announced an attendance of 76,346, a figure that appeared about 15,000 or 20,000 too high. But those who braved the soggy conditions want to see the Buckeyes, who have made the BCS title game three times in the past six seasons, make the leap from runners-up to national champions.

Penn State: Evan Royster made his debut as the No. 1 tailback. Then his backup, Stephfon Green, stole the show.

Pittsburgh: The offense displayed the ability to play with confidence. Now it has to do it with consistency.

Purdue: Justin Siller and Joey Elliott, the backup quarterbacks, combined to throw four touchdown passes.

Tennessee: An announced crowd of 28,898 saw the first team offense score a lot of points. But it didn't come against the first team defense, which displayed an improved pass rush to go with a dynamic secondary.

Rutgers: The search for Ray Rice's successor continues. Kordell Young, who sat out this spring after knee surgery, could be the best option.

South Carolina: With Steve Spurrier Jr. calling the plays, quarterbacks Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher combined to throw eight interceptions. Steve Spurrier said the suspended Stephen Garcia is likely to be back in the quarterback mix this fall.

Syracuse: The Syracuse Triple-A baseball team and the American Hockey League team drew more fans than the Orange for the spring scrimmage, a 37-play event that gave little indication of the team's future. The scrimmage was interrupted for a contest in which Syracuse's Rob Long punted the ball to a fan. If the fan caught the ball, they won $99. Long kicked four times and the fan, wearing a helmet, failed to catch a single punt.

Temple: A 75-yard touchdown pass from Vaughn Charlton to Bruce Francis was the day's highlight.

Texas A&M: Junior Mike Goodson had 58 yards in eight carries on the first series. Then he lined up at receiver and caught a pass for 17 yards.

Texas El Paso: Receiver James Thomas II could see time at quarterback behind Trevor Vittatoe. Mike Price wants to use Thomas to run the option.

Texas Tech: Mike Leach is not happy with his offense. "I didn't think we had a particularly good effort with our first group," he said. "Some of them may have had their nose in the newspaper, some of them may have been thinking about their family or their girlfriend."

Tulane: Just as they have all spring, receiver Jeremy Williams and running back Andre Anderson turned in strong performances.

Tulsa: Quarterbacks David Johnson, Jacob Bower and Clark Harrell will take their battle to the fall to become Paul Smith's successor.

USC: The Trojans ran a 97-play controlled scrimmage, with Mark Sanchez strengthening his grip on the starting quarterback job.

Utah: Coach Kyle Whittingham gave his team a grade of A-minus for the spring.

Virginia Tech: Sean Glennon had two touchdown passes and the Hokies may have found a receiver in Brandon Dillard.

Wake Forest: An enthusiastic crowd estimated at 4,100 watched the Demon Deacons put on an offensive show.

West Virginia: The run-heavy tendencies of Pat White could be over. The Mountaineers want to keep their quarterback healthy and having him run less is a way to keep him out of harm's way.

Wisconsin: The starting quarterback job appears to be Allan Evridge's to lose.

Wyoming: Quarterbacks Karsten Sween, Dax Crum and Ian Hetrick did little to distinguish themselves in the spring finale.

Rich Rod Is Not Looking Too Good

Things would appear to be going from bad to worse for Osama bin Rich Rodriguez, football coach, University of Michigan.

To simplify matters, let's introduce the parties involved in this story:

Larry Aschebrook, West Virginia senior director of athletic development. In other words, a fund-raiser for the university. Or was. He left the post earlier this week for a similar job at Arizona State.

Calvin Magee, former offensive coordinator at West Virginia. He now has the same title at Michigan. Magee is African-American.

Rich Rodriguez, Michigan coach who is being sued by West Virginia, his former employer, in an attempt to recover the $4 million buyout clause in the coach's contract.

On Thursday, the Associated Press obtained a sworn affidavit given by Aschebrook, who is alleged to have told Magee he would not have a chance at Rodriguez's former job because he was an African-American.

In the affidavit, Aschebrook denies ever making such a statement and implies that Magee was making the charge on behalf of Rodriguez, who was looking for a way to get out of paying the $4 million buyout.

"It is my firm belief that Mr. Magee has made these allegations simply to divert attention away from the valid-buyout provision in Mr. Rodriguez's contract with the University so as to taint the University in hopes that litigation can be resolved," Aschebrook said.

Aschebrook also detailed a conversation between himself, Rodriguez and Magee. Aschebrook alleged Rodriguez made him a promise of employment at Michigan and added this statement: "This isn't about you Larry, it's about me. You can't afford it, I can't afford it. I don't have $200,000 in the bank. I'm paying for [wife] Rita's family, my family, and [West Virginia is] doing this to me. I'm sorry about this, but it's business not friendship."

Aschebrook's response: "That's fu--ed up Rich."

Dave Hickman of the Charleston Gazette has an interesting take on all of this:

"Face it, the Aschebrook deposition is just one piece of explosive evidence in a case that figures to have many. When Rodriguez and Magee spin the conversation their way it will come out dramatically different, which will make this another he-said, she-said. Maybe it will be significant, maybe not. There are still a lot of other pieces to the puzzle.

"Still, on this day at least, chalk a big one up in the WVU column."

Thanks to Colin, Raman, Chill and John.

Political Football, the BCS and Gruel

Dateline Washington: "College football's Bowl Championship Series system is illegally rigged against schools that are not members of the six largest conferences, potentially costing them millions annually and frustrating fans over which team is the national champion, House lawmakers charged Thursday."

Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, is a lead sponsor of a resolution that calls for the Justice Department to investigate whether the BCS is illegally restraining trade.

"Everybody else is ... looking in as if they were Oliver Twist with a little begging bowl ... saying, 'Please Mr. NCAA Bowl Championship Series director, may we have some more gruel,' " said Abercrombie, who received a doctorate from Hawaii in 1974.

What's the reaction? Alan Schmadtke of the Orlando Sentinel writes: "It's an election year. We're in a war. Health care in this country is a joke. [I just paid $75 for prescription nasal spray, for God's sake.] Social Security is limping and the Baby Boomers have just started to retire.

"Gas prices overseas just hit record highs. Milk in some places is $7 a gallon. We just had the first anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech and there's a proposal out there to let college students have personal weapons on campus.

"This just in: The BCS, however flawed, ain't our biggest problem."

The gang over at Get The Picture is also bashing all of this. "Doesn't the Justice Department have enough calls for inquiries to ignore already?"

The Wiz? Big-time college football needs a playoff. As for the politics? Isn't that what the BCS is all about?

In the meantime, enjoy your gruel.

Reporters' Notebooks

Sunday Morning Quarterback: Exactly how many scholarship players will Alabama have to cut to meet NCAA levels? And about the rule that limits the size of a recruiting class to 25. Alabama signed 32. What gives?

Jon Solomon, Birmingham News: Nick Saban on the new "Saban Rule," which prohibits head coaches going on the road during the spring evaluation period from April 15-May 31: "I think it's ridiculous that we're doing what we're doing."

Chip Brown, Dallas Morning News: Texas officials confirmed a loss of roughly $68,000 for the Longhorns' trip to the Holiday Bowl. One reason given was that the team sold only 3,634 tickets from its allotment of 11,000. If Texas had sold 7,000 tickets, it would have generated enough money to cover the shortfall.

Chris Wohlwend, New York Times: Jackie Walker, the first African-American player in the Southeastern Conference to be named an all-American and the first to captain an SEC team, is having his legacy restored, six years after his death. Why has his name faded from memory? It was because Walker was gay, his brother, former teammates and coaches say.

Mark Viera, New York Times: A question and answer session with Bobby Bowden, in advance of a Sunday piece on Joe Paterno.

Jonathan Crowl, Daily Nebraskan: Hmmm. After its spat with Bo Pelini, the student newspaper follows with a piece that is praiseworthy of the coach's "full-throttle approach to discipline and player conduct." Thanks to UWire.

Dirk Facer, Deseret News: Yet another postseason game? The Rocky Mountain Bowl, to be played in Salt Lake City, could be up and running in December.

Doug Lesmerises, Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohio State will play host to Penn State on Oct. 25 in a night game. It will be the first night game at Ohio Stadium since the memorable 2005 game against Texas.

Randy Peterson, Des Moines Register: Iowa will charge $65 for a ticket to its home game against Iowa State. Last year, Iowa State charged $90, making a ticket to the rivalry game the second-highest priced single-game ticket nationally behind the $95 charged for Oklahoma-Texas in Dallas.

Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman: Ticket prices are getting a hefty boost at Boise State. Prices will rise between 5.9% to 14.3%, with the average increase just under 10%.

Kyle Ringo, Boulder Daily Camera: Hotshot prep running back Darrell Scott, whose recruitment was surrounded by controversy, will attend Colorado's spring game. What controversy? Here, here and here.

Dion Hazelbaker, Indiana Daily Student: The use of the Indiana University logo in political campaigns is being questioned. Again, thanks to UWire.

Rod Higgins, Memphis Commercial Appeal: Cocktail alert. The 50th anniversary celebration of the Liberty Bowl, scheduled for July 19-20, will be a star-studded event.

Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times: Have you hugged your sports columnist today? Yes, Friday is National Columnist Day.

Trojan Wire: USC has won the all-important title of "Hottest Student Bodies: The 50 Best Colleges Ranked By Looks."

Michael Hiestand, USA Today: Erin Andrews? She's just a working stiff.

It's the biggest weekend yet for spring games, and we'll be posting reports from each game on Sunday.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not.

Saban's Fuzzy Math

Nick Saban was put on the hotseat Monday by Ian R. Rapoport of the Birmingham News over how the Alabama coach plans to get his roster down to the NCAA limit of 85 scholarship players.

By Rapoport's account, Saban will be six scholarships over the limit when an expected 25 freshmen enroll for fall classes. Given the public interest in Saban's math skills — he can certainly add up all those numbers on a contract that pays him $3.75 million this year — this was a fair question. And it no doubt is a question several Crimson Tide players and their families would like answered because it appears a few kids are about to lose their scholarships.

Pressed by Rapoport, Saban was at his combative best/worst — depending on your perspective — when trying to explain or not explain how this scholarship reduction would be accomplished.

It certainly appears that Saban is not looking out for the kids as much as he is looking out for himself, which has been the case throughout his career.

When dealing with the media, Saban remains nothing short of a jackass. Last week, he apparently raised a stink about a blog post by Gentry Estes of the Mobile Press-Register. Estes was merely informing his readers that reporters are not allowed to watch Alabama scrimmages or practices.

Then Ray Melick of the Birmingham News revealed that Saban had allowed a crew from FSN South to film an all-access look into the program. The coach also has been letting prep coaches and prospects into practices.

Wrote Melick: "And now we know what it takes to 'open' Saban's program: Show him where it benefits him, particularly in recruiting, which is the currency of most value in Saban's world."

As for Saban being a man of his word, forget about it. Who can forget last Nov. 17, when the coach suspended standout receiver DJ Hall for a game. That game, of course, was against Louisiana Monroe. And this was not a particularly good Louisiana Monroe team, making the timing of the suspension even more suspicious.

But with the Crimson Tide struggling to a 14-14 tie with the Warhawks, Saban lifted Hall's suspension at halftime. Hall's return still wasn't enough as the Crimson Tide lost, 21-14, leaving the coach to issue a $4 million apology to the good people of Alabama. Losing to Charlie Weatherbie made it worse. Weatherbie was the lowest-paid coach in Division I-A. It's enough to make a coach's hair turn gray.

This is how Saban summed up back-to-back losses to Mississippi State and Louisiana Monroe: "Changes in history usually occur after some kind of catastrophic event. It may be 9/11, which sort of changed the spirit of America relative to a catastrophic event. Pearl Harbor got us ready for World War II or whatever, and that was a catastrophic event."

The last thing Crimson Tide fans needed was another reminder of the loss to Louisiana Monroe. But they got it, thanks to a billboard that was put up on Interstate 20, the route fans would take to watch the team play in the Independence Bowl.

Where the Bowl Money Really Goes

About that big bowl payout Texas Tech was to receive for its postseason trip to Jacksonville for the Jan. 1 Gator Bowl. Despite a bowl payout of $2.5 million, the university was left with a tab of $202,240.

How can this be? First, the check is made out to the Big 12, not Texas Tech. The bowl "profits" are then dispersed among conference members along with a formula-based travel allowance for teams that participated in the postseason.

In Texas Tech's case, it was given a bowl appearance fee of $925,000 and an additional $239,198 in reimbursement for travel.

As part of the Gator Bowl deal, Texas Tech had to sell 12,000 tickets. It sold about half that number and was stuck with a bill of nearly $74,000. But the biggest expense came for the official party of 750 that traveled from Lubbock to Jacksonville. It gobbled up 95% of the "profits" for transportation, lodging, meals, awards and extras compensation for staff.

One top of that came promotion and advertising, media guides and training room supplies.

Texas Tech is not alone. Although it has been reported that Hawaii will receive $4,385,555 for its participation in the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl, it will net approximately $2.2 million after expenses.

Recruit Gets It All in Writing

This will keep them honest. Tate Forcier, a hotshot prep quarterback from San Diego's Scripps Ranch High, has scholarship offers from 30 teams.

And to prove it, he has started posting the letters on the Internet, Andy Staples of SI.com reports.

Thus far, 21 letters have been posted and all but one — from first-year Washington State coach Paul Wulff — contain a legal disclaimer in case another player commits first.

Writes Staples: "Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, who has had some recent experience with attorneys, must have had a real legal eagle help him with his letter, which contains the slickest — and one of the most accurate — disclaimers of the 21.

" 'This letter remains viable until such time as NCAA Rule 15.5.5 regarding squad limits [85 total] would appear to be compromised. Therefore, as a necessary consequence, grants may only be awarded on availability.' "

Reporters' Notebooks

Chris Foster, Los Angeles Times: The NCAA ruled that UCLA could not make up Tuesday's lost practice, which ended after stretching exercises when players — continuing a spring tradition — took a self-imposed day off. The tradition started under former coach Terry Donahue, and he explains how it all began.

Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Colt Brennan's major college record for career touchdown passes might last no more than a season. Texas Tech's Graham Harrell is 42 touchdown passes from tying — 43 from breaking — Brennan's record of 131.

John Helsley, Oklahoman: Former Oklahoma receiver Malcom Kelly, who was critical of Oklahoma coaches last week after a time of 4.68 in the 40, didn't fare much better in a re-run.

Tom Murphy, Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Do you believe him? Arkansas' Bobby Petrino said he paid virtually no attention to the firestorm of criticism he started nationally last December when he left the Atlanta Falcons with three games remaining in the season.

Bill Koch, Cincinnati Enquirer: Urban Meyer gets around. The Florida coach attended Cincinnati's practice on Wednesday and talked to the Bearcat players afterward.

Bill Ward, Tampa Tribune: Who is responsible for breaking the Waterford crystal that sat atop Florida's 2006 national championship trophy? It was Orson Charles, a tight end prospect from Plant High.

Fred Girard, Detroit News: Michigan's Rich Rodriguez will testify under oath Monday on the circumstances that led to a $4 million court fight with his former employer, West Virginia.

Greenville News: Starting in 2010, Clemson will have at least two Southeastern Conference teams on its nonconference schedule for seven consecutive seasons.

Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald: Mark Richt is headed to Honduras for the second year in a row. More than 20 players will join the Georgia coach on the five-day mission trip.

John Hunt, Oregonian: Frantz Dorsainvil, the 6-foot-8, 260-pound basketball player and would-be defensive end, has given up the idea of playing football at Oregon.

And a request. Could one of the operators of the former site, WeHateTheNewClockRules.com, drop the Wiz and email?

Meet Bo Pelini, Control Freak

Bo Pelini is back in the news, just over a week after his cruise through several taverns in downtown Lincoln in search of players violating his ban on consumption of adult beverages.

A editorial that ran in Monday's Daily Nebraskan, the student newspaper, ripped the Nebraska coach for his handling of players who have run afoul of the law. Prominently mentioned in the editorial was Josh Williams, a defensive end recruit from Denton, Texas. Williams was arrested last week for assault and robbery after he allegedly punched a man in the face and robbed him of $900.

The editorial enraged Pelini. According to the Daily Nebraskan, "Pelini called our office and berated one of our board members so loudly that he was heard clearly from across the newsroom. There’s no real point in printing the choice phrases he used during that first phone call.

"But Pelini informed us the Daily Nebraskan’s relationship with the football program would be severed unless an exhaustive retraction was published on [Tuesday's] front page.

"Athletic Department personnel confirmed Pelini’s decision later in the day, and asked that our reporters and photographers not show up at Monday’s practice while politely asking the one writer who did to leave."

Late Monday, Pelini called the paper again, this time lifting the media ban.

The Daily Nebraskan, much to its credit, is dusting itself off and is ready for another round with Pelini.

"In the coming days, one of our football writers will publish an article examining Pelini’s doctrine on team discipline. We hope it’s able to provide an objective look at part of the inner workings of Husker Football, a realm reserved for a few fortunate and highly-talented young athletes."

Thanks to Sean.

UCLA Players Already Tuning Out Slick Rick

Imagine that. UCLA's players pulling a fast one on Slick Rick Neuheisel. It happened Tuesday, when the Bruins bolted from the practice field after going through stretching exercises.

In what has become a spring tradition at UCLA, players ditch out of one practice. Even Neuheisel participated when he was a Bruin quarterback. But now that he's coach, Tuesday's move was not welcomed.

"I don't want to make too big a deal of it. It is what it is and there are still plenty of days left in spring to get the improvement that we need."

Maybe not. The Bruins are likely to lose the practice day, one of only 15 allowed in the spring by the NCAA.

When the players ran from practice, Neuheisel went to the locker room. One player, who asked not to be identified, told the L.A. Times that Neuheisel asked the team not to ditch a practice before spring drills, promising to "make it up to us later."

As expected, the players are catching hell, even from the UCLA's student newspaper, the Daily Bruin.

Neuheisel planned to check with NCAA officials Wednesday to see if he can get the practice back. That would be one sweet phone call to tap into, Slick Rick calling the NCAA to try and get a practice back. Heh, heh. ...

Thanks to Gutty Little Bruins.

Know of a Stadium Webcam?

What's not to love about a stadium webcam? Here's a screen grab of Oregon State's Reser Stadium, snatched Tuesday afternoon. Granted, there's not a lot going on, but if you're locked in a damn office and just dreaming college football, nothing beats a stadium webcam to help daydream the time away.

The point of this post? We're trying to compile links of webcams pointed at Division I-A stadiums, so if you know of one, drop us an email: dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

This little project involves tinkering we've been doing with the Wiz Resources page, where we stash the best of college football links, plus a few other oddities. We've created a separate section titled "Stadium Webcams" and currently have three other cams besides the one at Reser. Also listed are TCF Bank, the new stadium being built for Minnesota, Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial and the Horseshoe in Columbus.

Reporters' Notebooks

Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports: No SpyGate in college football. Rule 1-4-9-g was approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel. It reads: "Any attempt to record, either through audio or video means, any signals given by an opposing player, coach or other team personnel is prohibited."

Matt Markey, Toledo Blade: Can the Ohio State lacrosse team better the all-time attendance record of 52,004? Jim Tressel thinks so. He has invited the lacrosse team to play its game against Denver in the Horseshoe before the Buckeyes' spring game, which drew 75,301 last year.

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times: USC's starting quarterback in the opener at Virginia will be Mark Sanchez.

Paul Finebaum, Mobile Press-Register: Has Nick Saban become bigger than Bear Bryant? Has Alabama football hit an all-time high? Crazy questions. But don't laugh.

Ian R. Rapoport, Birmingham News: Saban gives a thumbs-up to many of the new rules changes.

Mark Tupper, Decatur Herald-Review: Ron Zook says his Illinois defense has a chance to be special: "We're big and we can run and now we have some older guys who have done it for a while.''

Detroit Free Press: Tom Izzo a football coach? The Michigan State basketball coach will be an honorary coach for the Spartans' spring game. He gave his Green team a pep talk on Tuesday.

Jack Bogaczyk, Charleston Daily Mail: West Virginia is planning a promotional campaign to help the Heisman chances of quarterback Patrick White.

Patrick Ridgell, Longmont Times-Call: Colorado is looking thin at linebacker after the dismissal of Jake Duren.

Josh Robbins, Orlando Sentinel: The tragic death of Central Florida's Ereck Plancher will likely impact the team this fall.

Dave Matter and Derek Kravitz, Columbia Tribune: Missouri offensive lineman Austin Wuebbels was arrested on suspicion of possession of less than 35 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of alcohol by a minor and false identification.

Luciana Chavez, Raleigh News & Observer: Two-year starting left tackle Cameron Goldberg was suspended from the Duke team for a violation of team policy.

Kevin Gorman, Tribune-Review: Pittsburgh safety Sherod Murdock has been suspended from the team, apparently after an on-campus altercation last weekend.

Abusing Timeouts Is Still Fair Game

The situation: Fresno State leads New Mexico State, 17-7, in the closing seconds of the first half of a 2005 game at Las Cruces. In an attempt to "ice" Bulldog kicker Clint Stitser, Aggie coach Hal Mumme calls three timeouts in a row.

It didn't work. Stitser made the kick and Fresno State rolled New Mexico State, 37-7, one of 12 Aggie losses that season.

This shenanigan of a coaching move — in particular the piggybacking of timeouts — has gone on too long.

But when the Football Rules Committee proposed ways to shorten games in February, it decided against taking action on this annoying tactic. We messaged Michael Clark, the chairman of the rules committee, to ask if there was any discussion about limiting the number of timeouts a coach could call in succession or if a ban on using timeouts in such situations was considered. Here is his response:

"It was discussed because there is a definite 'sportsmanship vs. gamesmanship' issue involved in a lot of these cases. However, the concept of a coach being able to call timeout from the sideline is something we were reluctant to take away. Remember the late timeout could be a double-edged sword [there were times when a kicker missed a kick and got a second chance that was successful] that did not get the same play as the Auburn-Florida situation we all saw.

"I could see someday where much like the NFL back-to-back timeouts are considered unsportsmanlike in these situations, but it was not something the committee felt needed to be addressed at this time."

Here is the end of last season's Auburn-Florida game referenced by Clark. Freshman kicker Wes Bynum booted the Tigers to a 20-17 victory after Urban Meyer tried the "ice" tactic by using his last timeout.

Reporters' Notebooks

J. Brady McCollough, Kansas City Star: Kansas' offense, which finished No. 2 nationally in scoring offense last season, sputtered in its spring game. The unit resembled a group that had lost its two starting offensive tackles, its starting tight end and its leading rusher and receiver from 2007.

Ilana Limon, Orlando Sentinel: Central Florida's Cliff McCray, who was the roommate of Ereck Plancher and projected starter on the offensive line, left the team days after Plancher collapsed during an offseason workout and died March 18.

Michael Dirocco and Jenna Marina, Florida Times-Union: The Waterford crystal atop Florida's 2006 Bowl Championship Series title trophy was shattered in an accident outside Urban Meyer's office.

Dave Curtis, Orlando Sentinel: SPARQ Training, a popular individual athletic improvement program, removed the name and likeness of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow from its website after receiving a call from Florida officials asking the company to make the change.

Shannon Shelton, Detroit Free Press: A draft to select players for Saturday's spring game at Michigan State got heated when one team selected two centers, forcing "commissioner" Mark Dantonio to step in and settle matters.

West Virginia Metro News: A West Virginia attorney predicts the Mountaineers will win their lawsuit against Rich Rodriguez.

Rick Scoppe, Greenville News: South Carolina's Steve Spurrier now says he never predicted his team would win the Southeastern Conference title last summer. He just said if the Gamecocks got in position to win, they’d have a chance. "We got in position and didn't compete for it. But we were certainly in position there at 6-1, but obviously we weren't ready."

Norm Wood, Newport News Daily Press: In the year since the April 16 shootings on the campus of Virginia Tech, Frank Beamer has been a pillar of strength and a symbol of recovery. Thanks to Ryan!

Dennis Romboy, Deseret News: College are beginning to add the name of corporate sponsors to sports venues. "So much of what we see in professional sports percolates into the college scene," said Dennis Howard, a business professor at Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. "They are starting corporatize."

Molly Yanity, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Washington kicker Ryan Perkins says the 2008 season could be his last. The level of pain in his twice surgically repaired knee continues to increase. "I don't want to have knee replacement surgery in 10 years if I can [wait and] have it when I'm 50 or older."

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

USC Song Girls Take It Off for Charity Again

You have to like it when the USC Song Girls are wet, which happened to be the case Saturday at the annual Swim With Mike charity fundraiser on campus. Once again, the Wiz would like to thank the Trojan-Haters Club for a look at the festivities, and you can see more shots by going to their site.
The featured event was the Song Girl-Football Player relay. You might recall last year, when the headliner was Pete Carroll and Will Ferrell in a head-to-head race. A record $1,000,000 was raised Saturday and you can find out more about Swim With Mike by clicking here. There's another fundraiser coming this Saturday at the University of Hawaii Aquatics Complex.

Face It, Paterno Will Never Retire

Jerry Sandusky's reputation around State College is second to none. He played for then coached alongside Joe Paterno for 32 years, many of those years spent as defensive coordinator.

Sandusky waited for Paterno to retire, thinking he might someday become the head coach. But as time went on, Sandusky realized that was not going to happen, that Paterno was not (never?) going to retire. Nine years ago, Sandusky resigned and got on with his life, starting a charitable organization.

Sandusky said he's not surprised Paterno is still coach. "It's just been a part of him for such a long time. The total experience — it just feeds his being. He wakes up every day thinking football. To throw that away would be scary."

Although Paterno can be an intimidating figure, not everybody in State College runs at the mere mention of the legend's name. Writes Ron Bracken of the Centre Daily Times: "You can describe the current state of Penn State football in one four-letter word — mess."

Bracken continued to layeth the smacketh down:

"All of the good done by all of the former players in the program is slowly being eroded by the acts of the latest generation. Someone took the time to compile a list of players who have run afoul of the law just since 2002. Care to guess the number? It’s into the 60’s and climbing. ... None of this is the ranting of someone with an axe to grind. It’s just a laying out of facts, ugly as they are."

Thanks to Brother Bluto.

The Closed World of Nick Saban

Alabama coach Nick Saban showed up for Saturday's A-Day scrimmage looking like he was going to church. There he was, wearing a gold blazer, gray slacks and brown tasseled loafers, wandering the field at his leisure, often positioning himself behind the offensive backfield.

But as quarterback John Parker Wilson was forced to scramble, Saban suddenly found himself in the middle of the action, nearly being run over by defensive lineman Brandon Fanney. After reviewing Saban's poor blocking technique, we've decided to revoke his scholarship in an attempt to get the Crimson Tide under the NCAA limit of 85.

While Saban's team might not yet be ready to run with the big dogs, his handling of the press continues to draw fire. Last week there was the incident involving the Mobile Press-Register. Now we learn that reporters are about the only people who can't get access to Alabama practices.

Saban has allowed a crew from FSN South to film an all-access look into the program, which will begin airing in the middle of May. In addition, he has let in several hundred high school coach and prospects.

Writes Ray Melick of the Birmingham News: "Practices are closed to the people whose presence does not offer Saban something of value in return — basically, the beat writers who cover Alabama teams day-to-day and random fans who used to be able to drop by just to be able to go home and say they were there.

"And now we know what it takes to 'open' Saban's program: Show him where it benefits him, particularly in recruiting, which is the currency of most value in Saban's world."

Thanks to Losers With Socks and Deep South Sports.

Reporters' Notebooks

Jake Schaller, Colorado Springs Gazette: While players at most big-time Division I-A teams stay on campus and participate in informal workouts throughout the summer, Air Force players don't have that luxury. After the school year ends, the Falcons will be spread out across the country — and in some cases, the world.

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times: USC tailback Joe McKnight will miss the final week of spring workouts because he is academically ineligible to participate after he dropped a class, leaving him without the required 12 units. The situation is not expected to affect McKnight's eligibility for the fall, Pete Carroll said.

Kyle Ringo, Boulder Daily Camera: Colorado linebacker Jake Duren was kicked off the team after he was arrested early Sunday for criminal trespass. Duren is the fifth player in the past two months to be either arrested or cited for breaking the law on a weekend night in Boulder with alcohol involved.

Brian Dohn, L.A. Daily News: Patrick Cowan appears to have won the quarterback competition at UCLA over Ben Olson and Kevin Craft. Thanks to Gutty Little Bruins.

Scout.com: Illinois coach Ron Zook reportedly took some jabs last month at his old team, the Florida Gators. "Florida didn't win their first SEC title until 1991 and now they think they invented football."

Pat Harty, Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa fans can now put their pigskin IQ to the test.

Andy Staples, SI.com: Running back Emmanuel Moody, who transferred from USC to Florida, might want to consider another transfer after harsh comments by Gator coach Urban Meyer. Thanks to Get The Picture.

Reporters' Notebooks

Iliana Limon and Robyn Shelton, Orlando Sentinel: Ereck Plancher, the Central Florida player who died after a workout on May 18, passed two physicals, which team officials say gave them no reason to conduct advanced heart tests that might have uncovered potential problems.

Jeff McLane, Philadelphia Inquirer: Penn State's offseason of horrors continued when starting outside linebacker Sean Lee, an All-American candidate who was expected to be named a team captain, suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Randy King, Roanoke Times: Virginia Tech lost another tailback. Jahre Cheeseman suffered a broken left fibula in Saturday's scrimmage. The injury came a day after the team learned that No. 1 tailback Kenny Lewis will undergo left shoulder surgery Tuesday and could be out from four to six months.

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: Former Oklahoma receiver Malcolm Kelly will get another chance at running the 40-yard dash, this time on AstroTurf.

Andrea Cohen, Oklahoman: Renovations on Oklahoma State's Boone Pickens Stadium remain on schedule, with construction on the west end zone (that's right, the Cowboys' field runs east-west, not north-south) expected to be completed in time for the home opener.

Terry J. Wood, Northwest Arkansas Times: Arkansas is working on a new silent snap count routine to help the offense deal with noisy fans at Southeastern Conference road games.

Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune: Entering its last week of spring practice, Notre Dame would appear to be strongest in the secondary. The team is most fragile at quarterback and defensive line.

Barry Jackson, Miami Herald: Crowds gather each day to watch crews demolish the Orange Bowl. Said one spectator: ''I came here to say my private farewell to this grand old stadium . . . and I almost cried when I saw what was happening."

A Warning About an Image on the Site

We wanted to let our readers know that we have posted an image of a rather gruesome injury suffered by Tennessee fullback David Holbert during a scrimmage on March 29. We are issuing this warning before you scroll down and happen to come across it.

The image is located below the next post, "Spring Reports." If this type of material is objectionable, it's best you leave the site or not scroll below the Western Michigan entry on "Spring Reports."

Football is a violent sport and unfortunately, injuries are part of the game.

Spring Reports

Our third look at spring games across the country:

Air Force: The first- and second-team offenses failed to score on their first five combined drives and picked up more than one first down on only one of them — the fourth, when the second-team offense drove to the five-yard line before losing a fumble.

Alabama: The passing game was sharp before another huge crowd — an announced 78,200 — with running back Terry Grant doing most of the damage with four receptions for 87 yards and two touchdowns.

Alabama Birmingham: Quarterback Joe Webb accounted for 243 yards and two touchdowns, but the Blazers ended spring practice with only 74 players, including walk-ons.

Arizona: A crowd of only 3,500 watched the spring's final scrimmage, which featured vanilla play-calling on both sides of the ball and liberal substitutions.

Boise State: Senior Bush Hamdan and freshman Kellen Moore will continue their battle to become starting quarterback into the fall.

Brigham Young: Running back J.J. DiLuigi, who sat out last season because of a broken foot, showed his pass-catching ability before 16,700.

Buffalo: The Bulls appear to have firepower on offense, but Turner Gill is searching for linebackers.

Central Florida: The Knights honored Ereck Plancher with a moment of silence and with a painted memorial on the grass outside the tunnel leading from the locker room to the Bright House Networks Stadium field.

Clemson: Receivers Xavier Dye and Aaron Kelly showed they could be dangerous, but what about that offensive line, which could end up with a freshman or two in the starting lineup.

East Carolina: The end-of-spring scrimmage was cut short when sirens went off, signaling a tornado warning.

Florida: A crowd of 61,000 watched the spring game and the "Fastest Fan" race, with pitted 15 students in a 40-yard dash against players Chris Rainey, Deonte Thompson and Louis Murphy. Rainey, according to Florida officials, clocked 4.24 seconds, which beats the best time ever recorded on a track. That was 4.38 by Ben Johnson, who set a world record of 9.79 in winning the 100 meters at the 1988 Olympics. Johnson later tested positive for steroids. Florida officials, of course, earlier told us that Urban Meyer didn't misuse his cell phone.

Florida State: It was all about the defense, which had 11 sacks and forced four turnovers — two interceptions and two fumbles.

Houston: Junior quarterback Blake Joseph passed for 421 yards and five touchdowns, completing 37 of 41 passes.

Louisiana Tech: Quarterback Ross Jenkins overcame early struggles, including two interceptions, to spark the offense.

Memphis: The Tigers' focus on the running game appears to be paying off. Curtis Steele ran for 94 yards in 15 carries, including a 38-yard touchdown run.

Michigan: A sloppy finish. The Wolverines dropped six passes, committed six penalties (including three in a row), threw four interceptions and fumbled twice.

Middle Tennessee: Joe Craddock accounted for four touchdowns and completed 19 of 25 passes for 235 yards in front of 2,512.

Mississippi: Quarterback Jevan Snead, the transfer from Texas, threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns.

North Texas: The Mean Green's first team defense gave up 10 points in five series and scored a touchdown in a controlled workout.

Oklahoma: The Sooners showed off their new no-huddle offense, but it was far from a smashing success. "It's still a work in progress," Bob Stoops said.

Oklahoma State: Quarterback Zac Robinson was sharp, leading T. Boone Pickens to say with a grin: "I'm just hoping for a nice, quiet season — maybe 11-1 or 12-0."

San Jose State: The highlight was the first play: a 96-yard kickoff return by Josh Harrison. The remainder of the scrimmage was fairly uneventful and dominated by the defense.

South Florida: Defense ruled, with Jarriett Buie getting four sacks and Patrick Hampton three.

Southern Mississippi: The Larry Fedora Era started before a crowd of 11,126, with running back Damion Fletcher and quarterback Austin Davis helping to make the transition a smooth one.

Stanford: Alex Loukas, who is competing against Tavita Pritchard and Jason Forcier for the starting quarterback job, capped his spring by throwing for a touchdown, catching three passes and also setting up a touchdown with a long run on a fake punt.

Texas Christian: The first-team offense struggled, scoring only one touchdown against the first-team defense.

Utah State: Stanley Morrison caught two touchdown passes, including the scrimmage winner from Sean Setzer, one of three quarterbacks battling for the starting job.

Virginia: The Cavaliers completed 76 passes to wide receivers, fewer than six game last season. On Saturday, wide receivers caught 22 passes in the final spring scrimmage.

Washington State: The Cougar passing game was sharp, totaling 350 yards and three scores, in a modified scrimmage.

Western Michigan: Glenis Thompson had 14 bruising carries for 86 yards, but the Broncos were encouraged by the improved play of the defense.

Warning: Gruesome Injury

Tennessee fullback David Holbert suffered this violent injury to his left knee during the team's first scrimmage on March 29. According to the Tennessean, Holbert was attempting to catch a pass out of the backfield and was hit by linebacker Rico McCoy.

Last week, Holbert underwent the first of two surgical procedures to correct ligament damage. A second surgery is planned this summer.

Holbert missed all of the 2007 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee early in fall camp.

Alabama receiver Tyrone Prothro suffered a grisly compound fracture (click here to see that injury; again, this comes with a warning) of his left leg in a 2005 victory against Florida. The injury ended his playing career.

Miss USA Highlights

Because we care, two clips from the Miss USA contest, held Friday night at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. The top clip is of the swimsuit competition. The bottom clip is of the all-important swimsuit fittings. Miss Texas won the competition, edging out Miss Mississippi and Miss New Jersey.

Reporters' Notebooks

Iliana Limon, Orlando Sentinel: The father of Central Florida player Ereck Plancher, speaking for the first time since his son's funeral, expressed concern about the family's distant relationship with the school and said he was concerned about a "cover up."

Drew Edwards and Dave Hooker, Knoxville News-Sentinel: Tennessee will begin charging students for football tickets, leaving South Carolina and Vanderbilt as the only Southeastern Conference schools that admit students into games for free. Plus, Volunteer quarterback Jonathan Crompton will have elbow surgery to remove a loose particle in his right (throwing) elbow.

Randy King, Roanoke Times: Kenny Lewis, expected to replace Branden Ore as Virginia Tech's No. 1 tailback, will undergo surgery for a torn labrum in his left shoulder and is expected to be sidelined for four to six months.

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times: Pete Carroll is concerned about crowds attending USC's open practices. His main worry is for kids who are sometimes roaming the sidelines unattended.

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: Former Oklahoma receiver Malcolm Kelly went on a radio station and apologized for publicly ripping the Sooner strength staff after his pro day.

Jorge Milian, Palm Beach Post: The spring game has become so popular in some places that it's turning a profit. In some cases a huge profit.

Waco Tribune-Herald: Baylor coach Art Briles will be inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame next month.

Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune: Crewcut Charlie Weis will be cheering on Notre Dame Saturday night when the Fighting Irish try to win the NCAA hockey championship against Boston College in Denver.

Eleven Warriors: Ohio State defensive backs Donald Washington, Jamario O'Neal and Eugene Clifford did not take part in practice drills. There are rumors their playing careers could go up in smoke.

Jeff McLane, Philadelphia Inquirer: Penn State defensive tackle Phil Taylor accepted sanctions from the university’s Office of Judicial Affairs for his involvement in a fight at the HUBRobeson Center in October. Taylor, along with two other players, are awaiting trial on assault charges.

Steroid Nation: The Wiz has been accused of juicing.

Did Saban Request Blog Post Be Spiked?

Terrific story out of Alabama, chronicled by Will Collier of From The Bleachers.

Last Saturday night, Gentry Estes of the Mobile Press-Register posted an item on the paper's "Bama Beat" blog discussing the frustration of attempting to cover an Alabama scrimmage he could not watch. After the scrimmage, Estes and other beat writers are merely handed statistics compiled by — you guessed it — team officials. If they're lucky, Nick Saban talks to them, but everybody else — players, assistant coaches, the mascot — are off limits.

"This is not an ideal situation for a journalist who values a balanced account, and it's worth disclosure and a warning to readers: Take it for what it's worth."

On Monday, Estes' entry was deleted, only to reappear Wednesday, but not the "Bama Beat" blog. It was posted on Paul Finebaum's site.

Finebaum interviewed Randy Kennedy, the paper's sports editor, on his radio show later Wednesday and asked him why the blog entry was removed.

"We just decided it was more trouble than it was worth … this was not necessarily the battle [Estes] wanted to pick with the people who were supposed to be our customers."

According to From The Bleachers, Montgomery radio personality Doug Amos was told by a source that the request to spike Estes' post came from Saban, who called the writer to complain.

But on Thursday evening, Estes re-posted the original piece, along with the following note, which stated there was never any contact from Saban or any other Alabama official regarding the original post:

"Two days later, after feeling compelled to respond to numerous comments from readers, the blog was threatening to become a time-consuming distraction to my work as Alabama beat writer for the Press-Register.

"This was a battle I began to feel would do no good for my newspaper or myself. I wish to be known for objectivity and reporting skills rather than a mere blog that made myself the story. This was heading in an opposite direction from those goals. So I deleted the post. Never at any time did anyone from the University of Alabama request or suggest that I remove the blog entry."

Thanks to reader George for his help.

Joe Paterno: Coach Without a Contract

Joe Paterno better enjoy the contract he currently has with Penn State because it is going to be his last.

That much was made clear Thursday when university president Graham Spainer issued a statement about Paterno's future. You can read the full statement by clicking here.

In short, Spanier said that when Paterno's contract runs out after the 2008 season, he won't be getting another. But that doesn't mean he won't be back coaching in 2009. In other words, there are many ways to interpret Spanier's statement. And they are reading it differently in all corners of the Keystone State:

Bob Flounders, Patriot-News: It would appear that Paterno has gotten his wish and will continue to operate on a handshake deal.

Bernard Fernandez, Philadelphia Daily News: For Paterno to survive beyond 2008, it could well be that he needs to pull another 12-1 rabbit out of his hat, take the Lions to a BCS bowl and scrub away the taint of the recent arrests and suspensions of some of his players.

Jeff McLane, Philadelphia Inquirer: Could Paterno's uncertain future impact recruiting? In one case, it already has.

Jeff Rice, Centre Daily Times: Welcome to Happy Valley, the home of the non-stories.

Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Explosive Allegations in Plancher Death

Four Central Florida players, who asked for anonymity because they fear retribution from coaches, told the Orlando Sentinel that Ereck Plancher showed signs of distress during a voluntary workout on May 18.

Shortly after the workout, Plancher collapsed. He died about an hour later at a hospital. The cause of death has yet to be determined.

"Everybody was struggling at times," one player said of the workout. "... But [Ereck] was running, and I could tell something wasn't right. His eyes got real dark, and he was squinting like he was blinded by the sun. He was making this moaning noise, trying to breathe real hard."

The four players said Plancher fell during a sideline-to-sideline sprint and members of the coaching staff yelled at him to finish the drill. Plancher did but finished last.

The team then huddled at the middle of the field and coach George O'Leary singled out Plancher and cursed at him for lack of effort. "That's a bunch of [expletive] out of you, son," O'Leary said, according to the four players.

Said one of the players: "Ereck was in the back when O'Leary was yelling at him, but Ereck couldn't even look at him. He was trying to catch his breath the whole time and he never could."

O'Leary and his staff say the account by the four players is simply not true. "I did not see him struggle," he said.

A Trip Into Enemy Territory

Football season can't get here fast enough. Check out this carload of Tennessee fans as they rolled into Gainesville last season. Thanks to Loser With Socks.

Reporters' Notebooks

Lindsay Jones, Palm Beach Post: Florida receiver Deonte Thompson will be one of three football players racing students before Saturday's spring game. Thompson's reported time in the 40 is 4.28, which is faster than the best time ever clocked on a track — 4.38. That was done by Ben Johnson, who set a world record of 9.79 in winning the 100 meters at the 1988 Olympics. Johnson, of course, later tested positive for steroids.

Rick Kaipust, Omaha World-Herald: A record crowd of 80,000 is expected for Nebraska's spring game on April 19. Tickets are now being sold on StubHub!, with asking prices nearing $150 at last check. Thanks to Big Red Network.

Brian Christopherson, Lincoln Journal Star: Nebraska recruit Josh Williams is accused of robbing a man of $900 in beautiful Denton, Texas.

Sports by Brooks: Brooks gets stranded in Austin for 48 hours (thanks to American Airlines) and discovers that Earl Campbell's Heisman Trophy is stashed in the Austin airport.

Mike Baldwin, Oklahoman: Oklahoma State co-offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer says the new 40-second clock rule will result in fewer plays. "We've been working these rules this spring to make sure we get our plays in."

Jim Moore, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Meet Tripper Johnson, the 32nd pick of the first round of the 2000 baseball draft by the Baltimore Orioles. Now he's about to turn 26 and is a walk-on defensive back for the Washington Huskies.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: The father of suspended quarterback Stephen Garcia said his son is committed to playing at South Carolina. Gary Garcia, along with his wife Debbie, were spotted Thursday at Augusta National, talking with Gamecock coach Steve Spurrier.

Ryan Wood, Lawrence Journal-World: With a forecast of crummy weather on Saturday, Kansas has moved its spring game to Monday night.

Mike DeArmond, Kansas City Star: Missouri linebacker Van Alexander will have surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee.

Jonathan Okanes, Contra Costa Times: California quarterback Nate Longshore, battling Kevin Riley for the starting job, could miss the rest of spring practice because of a pulled pectoral muscle.

Doug Lesmerises, Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman on his new competition, incoming freshman Terrelle Pryor: "With all the hype, it's going to be tough to back that up. ... I hope he can turn out to be a great player."

Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech receiver Edward Britton was arrested after a traffic stop. He was found to have a warrant stemming from an alleged incident two years ago. The player's father calls it a "misunderstanding" and says the issue will be resolved.

Teddy Feinberg, Las Cruces Sun-News: Despite numbers that suggest otherwise, New Mexico State quarterback Chase Holbrook had a better junior than sophomore season, according coach Hal Mumme.

Dan Hinxman, Reno Gazette-Journal: Former Nevada linebacker Ezra Butler acknowledged that his one-game suspension last fall was for marijuana use, but he denied online reports that "marijuana was part of his diet."

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

Woods Returns from Paralyzing Injury

Last July 13, Oklahoma State receiver Artrell Woods was working out with teammates in the Cowboy weight room.

After finishing a set of repetitions with 185 pounds on his shoulders, Woods walked over to set the weight back on the rack. But he lost his balance and fell to the floor.

The weight fell on him and teammates rushed to help Woods get to his feet.

"Immediately when they tried to help me, I knew something was seriously wrong," he said.

The weight had dislocated Woods' spine.

He was airlifted to an Oklahoma City hospital and underwent three hours of emergency surgery.

"At first, the doctors didn't think I would ever walk again, period," Woods said. "They weren't even thinking about me playing again. They were just trying to get me moving."

Woods spent 12 days in the hospital, walking on day 11. He was cleared to begin running in January. Now he's participating in a non-contact role in spring practice. He anticipates playing this fall.

"I’m ready to get going," Woods said. "I just want to get back on the field. I'm not even worried about getting hit. It's football, it happens."

Reporters' Notebooks

Tim May, Columbus Dispatch: Former Michigan offensive lineman Justin Boren visited an Ohio State practice, fueling speculation that he might be near a decision on whether he intends to become a Buckeye.

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: Former Oklahoma receiver Malcolm Kelly ripped into the Sooner coaching staff after a disappointing time in the 40 before NFL scouts. "Certain people have tried to hold me down, and they know who they are," he said. Video link. Thanks to Globber Country.

Mark Snyder, Detroit Free Press: How did Mario Manningham, who told NFL executives in a letter that he failed two tests for marijuana while at Michigan, according to Pro Football Weekly, continue to play for the Wolverines?

J. Brady McCollough, Kansas City Star: Nate D'Cunha, a native of Sydney, Australia, and a former rugby player, is trying to earn a spot on Kansas' offensive line.

Eric Lacy, Detroit News: The top five clichés heard from college coaches during spring practices.

Dave Matter, Columbia Tribune: Safety Munir Prince discusses his decision to transfer from Notre Dame to Missouri.

Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Allan Evridge is leading the battle to become Wisconsin's starting quarterback, but the Kansas State transfer's hold on the job is being challenged by Dustin Sherer.

Natalie Meisler, Denver Post: Financial problems at Colorado State. The athletic department needs an additional $2.4 million in assistance from the school's general fund for the upcoming fiscal year to make its $21.4 million projected budget.

Jake Schaller, Colorado Springs Gazette: Eric Herbort and Shea Smith are expected to battle into fall camp to become Air Force's starting quarterback.

Rick Scoppe, Greenville News: South Carolina safety Emanuel Cook, who started nine games a year ago, is likely out for the rest of spring practice because of a cracked a bone in his thumb.

Dallas Morning News: Southern Methodist coach June Jones answered questions during an online chat.

Patrick Finley, Arizona Daily Star: Not so special teams. Arizona hasn't returned a kickoff for a touchdown since Sept. 3, 1998.

Toledo Blade: Wyoming and Toledo will play a home-and-home series beginning in 2010.

Mangino Makes His Pitch

Video shot from the stands of Kansas' Mark Mangino throwing out the first pitch at the Kansas City Royals' home opener against the New York Yankees on Tuesday.

Butkus Wins Ruling in Award Dispute

The future of the Butkus Award, given annually to college football's top linebacker, is unclear after a judge ruled that the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando no longer has the right to say the Hall of Fame linebacker supports it.

The club was sued by Butkus last year because the former Illinois and Chicago Bear standout felt the club had squandered fund-raising opportunities. In addition, the club had declined requests by Butkus to move the award to Chicago.

The judge has yet to rule on a trademark issue surrounding the award. It is that trademark — Butkus Award — that gives control of the award itself.

Chip Landon, the president of the club, told the Orlando Sentinel: "If you ask me now, 'Can we present the award next year?' I don't know the answer to that. We are convinced that we can."

Bob Helfing, who represents Butkus, said the ruling was a clear victory for his client. Helfing said the judge also ordered the club to pay Butkus' attorney fees, which amount to about $200,000.

"This is a great thing for Dick because this means he is free to start his own award program. He wants to bring it to Chicago," Helfing said. "He thinks [Chicago] is going to be a much better venue for him to raise funds for the charities he supports.

"The only thing that remains to be decided is who owns the trademark 'Butkus Award.' But regardless of who owns that, Dick is free to operate his own award."

A jury trial is set for June 5 in Los Angeles.

Crewcut's Turn on the Coaches Hot Seat

Coaches Hot Seat continues to crank out its offseason reviews. As we scanned the list of coaches on the hottest of hot seats, one name jumped out — Crewcut Charlie Weis, sitting at No. 16. Imagine the excitement as we clicked the link to see what the gang at Hot Seat had to say about ol' Crew.

Nobody gets compensated like Crew. His $4.2 million annual salary is tops in the land. And coming off a 3-9 season, it's clear this seat is warming up. Hot Seat:

"A botched interviewing process where it became apparent that Notre Dame did not even meet the hiring process of the local 7-Eleven when it comes to checking credentials, the hiring and firing of Tyrone Willingham, and the reach of hiring an NFL assistant coach that had never coached a down of football in the college game.

"That's a recipe for disaster, and Notre Dame now enters the 2008 season in full rebuilding mode, with the alumni and fans clamoring for a return to the national stage."

Hot Seat says the hiring of Jon Tenuta as defensive coordinator was a step in the right direction. But the key to Notre Dame's season will be how it fares in road games.

"We believe that Notre Dame will do pretty well at home, 5-1, but they will go 1-5 on the road, with only a win over Navy in Baltimore."

That results in a 6-6 regular season for the Fighting Irish, good enough for a bowl and good enough — the site predicts — to keep Weis around for another season. This one appears headed for resolution in 2009:

"Charlie Weis needs a big season in '08 to quiet the calls for his head, but we don't see a big season in the cards, and no doubt Weis will enter the 2009 season coaching for his job in South Bend."

The Odd Couple

We have no reason to run this photo other than it's Mark Friggin' Mangino. OK, maybe one other reason. Stacey Dales.

Now don't they make a lovely couple?

We aren't sure of the origin of this photo, but you have to love Mangino wearing the shades at a night game. How cool is that?

The big guy did throw out the first pitch Tuesday night at the Kansas City Royals' home opener. Mangino, working from the stretch, reportedly fired a strike.

"Maybe if Frank Thomas was batting, it would have been a high strike," he said.

Reporters' Notebooks

Nolan Nawrocki, Pro Football Weekly : The site reports that cornerback Aqib Talib told officials at the NFL combine that he tested positive for marijuana three times while at Kansas. In addition, receiver Mario Manningham acknowledged failing two drug tests while at Michigan.

Angelique S. Chengelis, Detroit News: Michigan will not face NCAA penalties based on a recent four-day series in the Ann Arbor News that examined academics and athletics at the school.

Scott Bell, Detroit Free Press: Rich Rodriguez fired back at Ohio State's Jim Tressel, who took a jab at the Michigan coach for his recruiting tactics.

Ron Musselman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: More trouble at Penn State. Suspended receiver Chris Bell was kicked off the team after he allegedly threatened defensive end Devon Still with a cooking knife that had an eight-inch blade. As he was being escorted away, he reportedly told Still, "I have more knives and a gun up here."

Matt Jones, Arkansas Traveler: Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, the transfer from Michigan, has been impressive in spring drills with his strong arm and ability to put the ball in tight spaces.

Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Big Ten Network is planning a "Spring Football Showcase" on April 19, with live look-ins from the eight conference spring games scheduled for that day.

Dave Dye, Detroit News: Michigan State offensive line prospect Arthur Ray has withdrawn from school after a setback in his attempt to return from cancer.

Mike Casazza, Charleston Daily Mail: Former West Virginia running back Jason Gwaltney, perhaps the most highly regarded recruit in team history, attended a practice, but coach Bill Stewart it was for no other purpose than to visit his half-brother, defensive lineman Scooter Berry.

David Williams, Bleacher Report: The rise and fall of Southern Methodist. Looking back at the impact of the NCAA's death penalty on Mustang football, 21 years later.

Kyle Veazey, Clarion Ledger: Three Mississippi State players who were absent from the March 29 spring game have withdrawn from school.

Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: Martin Miller, a former member of San Diego State's "Dark Side" defense, is facing charges of murder and attempted murder stemming from a double shooting. Thanks to Mike.

The Big Picture: An interview with Ben Maller of Fox Sports Radio.

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

June Jones: From 12-1 to 1-11

Southern Methodist has it all. A renovated stadium, two large practice fields, state-of-the-art locker rooms, offices and facilities. And it has money. Lots of it. Alums are not shy about flaunting their financial success. Bumper stickers on BMWs read, "My maid went to Texas."

What SMU doesn't have is a winning football program.

That's where June Jones comes in. He left paradise in Hawaii and a team coming off a 12-1 season for a 1-11 reclamation project in Dallas.

How did Jones end up at SMU? According to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, it was the work of Eric Dickerson, who asked Jones in early December if he might be interested in a new challenge. Jones said yes and Dickerson passed word to Mustang athletic director Steve Orsini.

"It's a rock star hire," said Gary Cogill, a movie critic for Dallas TV station WFAA and long-time friend of Jones.

Four other coaches have failed to resurrect the SMU program after the NCAA handed down the death penalty in 1987. Now it's Jones' turn. He nearly left Hawaii in 2004 and 2006, but the timing wasn't right. This time it was different.

"I can turn things around," he said.

Ferentz on the Coaches Hot Seat

Coaches Hot Seat is back at it, this time with its offseason review of Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, currently No. 3 on the Hot Seat rankings behind Washington's Tyrone Willingham and Wyoming's Joe Glenn.

Ferentz experienced a spectacular three-year run that saw the Hawkeyes win 31 games. That earned the coach a long-term deal and significant boost in pay. But according to Hot Seat, that's when it all started to fall apart in Iowa City.

"The problem is that since Ferentz signed that very rich contract his overall record is 19-18 and his record in the Big Ten is 11-13."

Along with the Hawkeyes' predictable offense are a myriad of other problems. Hot Seat says the "overall intensity level is dramatically different, with the 2002-04 teams playing with much more passion, drive, and fire. The second very noticeable item is the amount of stupid penalties and lack of focus by the Iowa players in the last couple of years."

Iowa opens with creampuffs Maine and Florida International. Then comes Iowa State and a trip to Pittsburgh.

Hot Seat: "We see the Pitt game as the beginning of the end of the Hawkeyes in 2008, with a loss to Pitt being the first loss of 6 in the last 9 games of the season. The biggest problem for Iowa in recent years has been in the Big Ten, and we see Iowa going 2-6 in the conference, which if it happened would give Ferentz a 4-year record of 17-19 in the Big Ten. "

Ferentz, is you're keeping score at home, has a $4.55 million buyout.

Reporters' Notebooks

Quwan Spears, Sacramento Bee: Former California running back James Montgomery is transferring to Washington State. He had also considered Florida and South Carolina.

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Is there going to come a time when the players on Louisiana State's team who are busting their butts to do the right thing are going to get tired of Ryan Perrilloux and the stuff the quarterback is able to get away with?

Heron Marquez Estrada, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Hilding Mortenson was a 15-year-old high school sophomore in 1924 when he helped build Minnesota's Memorial Stadium. Mortenson, now 100, returned to campus on Monday to lay the first brick for the new $288 million, 50,000-seat TCF Bank Stadium.

Mike Ehrlich, Daily Tar Heel: North Carolina's running game was in control for much of the scrimmage that concluded spring drills.

Toledo Blade: Michigan's intrasquad scrimmage scheduled for Saturday will not be open to the public.

Miami Herald: Surgery on the right heel of Florida receiver Percy Harvin was called a success.

Southeastern Conference: Your complete team-by-team schedule for 2008. It's also available in PDF format.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not.

Bo Pelini Is, ah, Making the Rounds

If you were bar hopping in Lincoln late last week and thought you saw Bo Pelini across the bar, chances are you did.

The Nebraska coach was spotted at several taverns late Thursday and/or early Friday morning. Pelini, who earlier banned players from downtown bars, was apparently making sure the players were following the rules.

While we have no reason to doubt that Pelini has good intentions, that image of the coach in the French Quarter at 3 a.m. celebrating Louisiana State's victory in the Bowl Championship Series still haunts us.

Remember coach, a DUI will pay for a lot of cab rides.

Rita Rodriguez Stands by Her Man

Rita Rodriguez, the wife of Rich Rod, has a message for West Virginia fans:

"Rich is a hard worker. He's worked his whole life to get where he's been. It amazes me that the state of West Virginia cannot be proud of a man from this state who is now the head football coach at Michigan. What an accomplishment."

Rita gave an interview to Rivals (you have to be a premium member to access that link), but didn't take long for excerpts to snake through the Internet.

"It was only 11 years ago that he was the head coach at Glenville State College. If you would have told someone back then that in 11 years he'd be offered the Alabama job and then the Michigan job, no one would have ever believed that.

"It's such a great story. Why do we want to tear that down? Why do we want to tear down all the great things that have happened with West Virginia football?"

Reporters' Notebooks

Geoffrey Gaurano and Jenna Skoller, Michigan Daily: Kill the messenger: Several Michigan athletes interviewed for the first story in the Ann Arbor News' recent four-day series "Academics and Athletics" say the paper's reporters misled them about the topic of the series and how they would be portrayed in it.

Adam Rose, All Things Trojan: About those phony 40-yard dash times. Chauncey Washington just ran 4.35 seconds at USC's pro day. If that's true, Washington shouldn't be entering the NFL draft — he should be entering the Beijing Olympics. The fastest time ever clocked on a track is 4.38.

Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune: It appears everything is under control in South Bend. "Sometimes a fight isn’t a bad thing," Crewcut Charlie Weis proclaimed as Notre Dame's spring practice sessions hit the halfway point.

Chip Scoggins, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Minnesota and Learfield Communications agreed to a 15-year contract extension worth $112 million that will give the company exclusive rights to sales of signs and corporate sponsorships at the new Golden Gophers stadium.

Brian Bennett, Louisville Courier-Journal: Louisville's defense, despite not having three potential starters for a scrimmage, continued to struggle to contain runs on the outside, cover receivers and pressure the quarterback.

Phil Kornblut, Columbia State: In addition to his stop at Florida, former California running back James Montgomery has visited South Carolina.

Bryant-Jon Anteola, Fresno Bee: Fresno State defensive end Kenny Borg, who was in contention for a starting spot, will miss the 2008 season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament during a noncontact drill.

Barry Jackson, Miami Herald: Miami's 13-year streak of producing at least one first-round pick in the NFL draft is in jeopardy.

Lindsay Jones, Palm Beach Post: Florida receiver Percy Harvin will undergo surgery to repair an injury to his right heel. He is expected to be back for summer conditioning in June.

Rick Scoppe, Greenville News: Steve Spurrier, who turns 63 on April 20, says he wants to coach another four or five years.

Steve Ellis, Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews says his unit needs to be better than pretty good. "Pretty good will get you back up in Nashville or get you out on the West Coast and that's the wrong kind of bowl we're trying to go to," Andrews said in reference to recent trips to the Music City and Emerald bowls.

Dallas Morning News: Gary Joe Kinne, who was shot by a disgruntled parent three years ago as a prep coach, and his son, Texas quarterback G.J. Kinne, are changing addresses. The father is leaving Baylor's staff for a high school job in Fresno. His son will transfer from Texas.

Eric Petersen, Cedar Rapids Gazette: John Cooper returned to Iowa State for a coaches clinic, 30 years after he played for and then helped coach the Cyclones.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not.

Spring Reports

Our second look at spring games around the country:

Akron: For the first time in coach J.D. Brookhart's three years as coach, the Zips had enough depth to put on a spring game.

Arkansas State: With 18 players sitting out, including starting quarterback Corey Leonard and starting running back Reggie Arnold, the Indians struggled on offense.

Baylor: The Bears will enter fall drills with Kirby Freeman and Blake Szymanski battling for the quarterback job.

Georgia: The rain-soaked fans came to see redshirt freshman Caleb King run with the ball, but Knowshon Moreno showed he still has the moves.

Louisiana State: Running back Richard Murphy turned in a dazzling performance, scoring three touchdowns. As for the quarterbacking ...

North Carolina: The Tar Heels' spring game was canceled because of a forecast of poor weather. In its place, a scrimmage will be held Monday.

Southern Methodist: June Jones held a toned down practice and scrimmage to close spring drills, with the emphasis on the short passing game.

How About Those Bruins!

OK, things didn't go as planned for UCLA's basketball team in the Final Four, but that's not the fault of the Bruin cheer squad, which did its best to keep everyone's spirits up.

Now beside the obvious, take note of the two gentlemen circled in this photo (you can enlarge the image by clicking it). The move by the gentleman on the left is probably outlawed in 36 states. But have no shame, he'll get that closeup in front of tens of thousands in the Alamodome come hell or high water.

The gentleman on the right is a famed sportswriter who gets front-row seats for events such as this. Now we know why!

San Diego State Accused of Excess Drills

San Diego State remains one of the great mysteries in college football. Why the Aztecs continue to struggle confounds experts. One would think that recruiting would be snap simply because it's San Diego. They don't call it America's finest city for nothing.

And it's not like you have to travel far and wide to find players. Consider that Heisman winners Marcus Allen (USC, 1981) Rashaan Salaam (Colorado, 1994), Ricky Williams (Texas, 1998) and Reggie Bush (USC, 2005) are all from the area, having been reared within a 15-mile radius.

But the Aztecs haven't had a winning season since 1998. Now comes an allegation that Chuck Long's team has been conducting excessive offseason workouts.

Long, 7-17 in two seasons, told the San Diego Union-Tribune is "no truth" to the allegation and said he didn't know how it originated. University officials have been interviewing players in recent weeks as part of the in-house probe.

This isn't the first time the Aztecs have faced questions about excessive workouts. In 2003, the team was put on two years' probation for violations that included impermissible offseason activities.

Thanks to Mike.

Arizona's Lewis Digs Deep for Suspension

This short and sexually explicit video got Arizona defensive tackle Josh Lewis suspended from the team by coach Mike Stoops earlier this week. Lewis, a walk-on from Seton Catholic High in Gilbert, Ariz., got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, so to speak. Lewis has not been charged with any crime. The video was first posted on The Dirty.

Update: Here is an image of the incident, one of three images on The Dirty link.

Another Leinart Photo Surfaces

The Dirty has posted another shot of Matt Leinart, this time having a gay old time with some of the boys. The site, which earlier posted Leinart hot-tubing around with several young ladies, is promising that more photos are coming.

Can We Talk?

Join us Friday night at midnight Pacific on the Sports Byline USA radio network. We'll be breaking down the Final Four matchups and taking calls about all things sports, and you can join the discussion at 800-878-7529. Listen to the show on your computer by going to Sports Byline and clicking "Listen Live."

Bad Boy Perrilloux Headed to White House

His being questioned by federal officials after allegedly using a small amount of counterfeit money? That never happened now, did it? That little run-in with police for trying to use false identification to enter a gambling casino that resulted in a suspension from the team? We all make mistakes.

The barroom brawl that resulted in a second suspension? Wrong place, wrong time. The missed classes, team meetings and strength and conditioning workouts that resulted in a third suspension? It's all behind us now.

The disturbance last weekend at a Baton Rouge eating and drinking establishment? It's all forgotten.

Yes, Ryan Perrilloux will once again be a proud member of the Louisiana State Tigers come Sunday. He will join the team on its visit Monday to Washington, D.C., and the White House, where the Tigers will be honored for winning the national championship.

"Yes, Ryan will be going with us," coach Les Miles said.

Yes, this is what can happen when your current quarterbacks are a walk-on transfer from Harvard (Andrew Hatch) and a redshirt freshman (Jarrett Lee).

After all, there's a national title to defend!

April Fool's Day at USC

Only at USC. Pete Carroll plays a prank on defensive end Everson Griffen, who is said to have "physically abused a freshman" and is threatened with an arrest Tuesday during a team meeting. The freshman turns out to be offensive lineman Matt Meyer, who was flattened in practice by Griffen.

Another Cereal Killer

Combine a post on Clemson recruit Kenneth Page flashing a large wad of cash with an earlier post featuring Nick Saban on a cereal box and what do you get? A new vitamin-fortified breakfast of cheaters featuring Tommy Bowden and the Tigers!

Farker JB3 sent in this beaut. Click the image for an enlarged view.

Paterno Springs Into Action

Joe Paterno lifted the ban on cameras inside of a Penn State practice last Saturday. This seemingly hasn't been done since the Nittany Lions switched from leather helmets to molded polycarbonate shells.

Now why would Paterno suddenly change his policy? Our guess is that it's all tied to the contract standoff between Paterno and university president Graham Spanier and trustees who want this season to be Paterno's last.

As you can see from the clips, the 81-year-old Paterno is rather involved in this practice, at one point telling a lineman to pull his shirt down. Thanks to SI On Campus.

The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia

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

Reader Bruce sent us this stunning photo of the sky over Atlanta on March 14, 2008. This was the storm that spawned the tornado that struck the Georgia Dome during the Southeastern Conference basketball game between Mississippi State and Alabama.

The image was shot by Shane Durrance. You can click the image for an enlarged look, or go to Durrance's site.

Reporters' Notebooks

Mike Casazza, Charleston Daily Mail: Rich Rodriguez attorney Marv Robon played the slavery card in regard to his client's $4 million buyout: "It's like back before the Civil War when slaves had the right to buy their freedom. A penalty of $4 million is almost like a slave from Africa trying to buy his freedom in America. I think it's an outrageous amount. It's just not fair and it's not related to any damages the university is suffering."

Doug Lesmerises, Cleveland Plain Dealer: Did Jim Tressel take a swipe at Rich Rod? The Ohio State coach was asked if there a gentleman's agreement between Big Ten coaches that once a player verbally commits to a school, the other coaches are supposedly hands off? "I guess only between the gentlemen." Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Bill Koch, Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati officials hope to know shortly whether quarterback Ben Mauk's latest appeal to the NCAA for another year of eligibility will be approved.

Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman: Texas will replace its 2009 game against Arkansas with a road game at Wyoming.

Steve Ellis, Tallahassee Democrat: Peter Tom Willis, whose candid work as a analyst for radio broadcasts of Florida State games raised the ire of Seminole officials, including Bobby Bowden, has lost his job. Willis was told that he "was too critical."

Bob Condotta, Seattle Times: That opening for a public address announcer has been filled at Washington. Eric Radovich was selected from a pool of 45 applicants and five finalists.

Kevin Hudson, Daily Emerald: Oregon's Frantz Dorsainvil, a 6-foot-8 forward on the basketball team, is giving football a shot as a defensive end. "I'm excited to see what he can do. He's the kind of body type you like to see out there," Mike Bellotti said.

Ed McGranahan, Greenville News: Clemson running back James Davis underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery but is expected to be 100% by fall.

Raleigh News & Observer: East Carolina quarterback Brett Clay, who started last season's game at Virginia Tech, has ended his career after a knee injury that required three surgeries.

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

Classic Hype for a Classic Game

Matthew McConaughey and Will Ferrell in a hilarious promo for the 2006 Rose Bowl.

Perrilloux's Spring Over Before It Started

Ryan Perrilloux's on-again, off-again status with Louisiana State appears to be off once again.

"He has not fulfilled some obligations that were set by coach Les Miles in order to return to practice," sports information director Michael Bonnette said. "He has not regained practice privileges and will not until he fulfills the requirements set by coach."

Miles said last week that Perrilloux, the expected starter at quarterback, was "no longer suspended. He's on the team, but not with playing privilege or practice privilege."

The practice restriction was to end Monday, but the quarterback was a no-show on that day and again on Tuesday. With only one practice left before Saturday's spring game, it appears time has run out on Perrilloux.

So what happened? The Daily Reveille reported that Perrilloux allegedly caused a scene at an area bar and restaurant last weekend. A server at Kona Grill told the student newspaper that Perrilloux entered the bar 30 minutes after it had closed and attempted to order drinks.

After he was denied service, Perrilloux began to curse and use racial slurs. A manager approached Perrilloux and asked him to leave. Perrilloux cursed the manager and employees called the cops. By the time they arrived, the quarterback had left.

Miles reportedly called the establishment the next day and apologized. The restaurant manager is now denying that there was an incident and Miles avoided discussion Wednesday about the talented but troubled Perrilloux.

What does Miles do with Perrilloux, who continues to defy orders? A reader at EDSBS summed it up this way: "Seriously, think about this. Not only has this guy said f--k you to the rules over and over again, but it's at the point now where Miles is actually calling places personally to apologize for his QB’s behavior. How f--king embarrassing is that?"

Update: Yet another employee at Kona Grill confirmed that Perrilloux was involved in an altercation at the restaurant, saying the junior quarterback called a server “Osama.” The Daily Reveille also has a column by Keith Claverie, calling for Miles to kick Perrilloux off the team.

Reporters' Notebooks

Eric Petersen, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Iowa State will not be selling single-game tickets for the Nebraska game at Ames, meaning many Cornhusker fans will have to purchase a Cyclone season-ticket package in order to gain entrance into the Oct. 18 game. Iowa State used a similar policy last year for its home game against Iowa and it resulted in a team-record sale of 36,610 season tickets.

Scott Dochterman, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Fifteen of the 39 players from Iowa's 2005 and 2006 signing classes have left the program.

Mike Knobler, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: James Johnson, one of the top 20 pass-catchers in Georgia Tech history, has left the team. "He just felt it was time to move on with his life," receivers coach Buzz Preston said.

Kyle Ringo, Boulder Daily Camera: Colorado is considering building a hotel-conference center on campus, with one of the sites being an area outside the northeast corner of Folsom Field. "An on-campus hotel would be a boost to recruiting and for the hospitality of boosters and visitors to complement the other outstanding properties in Boulder," athletic director Mike Bohn said.

Jon Naito, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Paul Wulff probably wishes he were back at Division I-AA Eastern Washington, where he had 63 scholarship players. He has fewer than 60 scholarship players participating in spring drills at Washington State.

Doug Doughty, Roanoke Times: Virginia linebacker J'Courtney Williams, facing charges of credit card theft and credit card fraud, was booted off the team by coach Al Groh.

Dave Matter, Columbia Tribune: Missouri’s depth at linebacker took another hit when Connell Davis returned from spring break and quit the team. Two weeks ago, Marquis Booker was dismissed from the squad after his arrest for suspicion of unlawful use of a weapon.

Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman: Eight representatives of the American football club at Hosei University in Tokyo are spending two weeks observing Boise State's spring practices.

Jerry Brewer, Seattle Times: For Washington fans, there's no middle ground when it comes to Tyrone Willingham.

Mickey Furfari, Charleston Daily Mail: West Virginia has scheduled a 2009 game against always tough Liberty.

Mike Casazza, Charleston Daily Mail: Let the litigation begin! The first in a series of legal hearings in the battle between Rich Rodriguez and West Virginia will be held Thursday.

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

How $250,000 Can Get You a Bowl Bid

In a day of scheduling maneuvers, not much was made of Kansas State's decision to back out of a game against Fresno State. At least not much was made of it in Kansas. But in Fresno, well, that's a different story. They are getting quite the laugh out it. Matt James of the Fresno Bee picks it up from here:

"A Kansas State administrator admitted his school was trying to get out of the Fresno State game a while back, but now it's a reality worth repeating: A Big 12 school paid $250,000 to get out of a home game against the No. 3 team in the Western Athletic Conference. A home game.

"Oh Auntie Em, what's become of that Midwestern pride?

"Kansas State coach Ron Prince went 12-13 his first two seasons. This spring he's signed 19 junior college transfers and the acting athletic director, Jim Epps, said it was Prince's idea to get out of the Fresno State game and find a team the Wildcats could, you know, beat.

"How's that for a preseason message to your team? Not exactly Notre Dame's Play Like A Champion Today, is it? More like, We'll Get Bowl Eligible Somehow.

"Kansas State should change its logo from the Powercat to the Panic-cat."

Fresno State, never a team to shy from competition, will now play at Rutgers to open the season. Kansas State, in a move reminiscent of Bill Snyder's approach to scheduling, will play host to Montana State.

Fresno State has been nothing but trouble for Kansas State, beating the Wildcats 45-21 in 2004 and 45-29 in 2007. Prince, who talked about upgrading Kansas State's schedule when he was hired in 2005, has now called a reverse.

The scheduling facelift gives the Wildcats nonconference home games against North Texas, Montana State and Louisiana Lafayette. The only toughie in the bunch is a game at Louisville. At worse, Kansas State should be 3-1 entering Big 12 play. If the Wildcats can squeeze out three more victories, they might get a bid to the Texas or Independence bowls. And Prince will be able to hold on to his job for another year.

That's what $250,000 can do for you.

Jones: Crewcut Never Wanted Me to Start

Let us not forget about Demetrius Jones. He was Notre Dame's starting quarterback in the 2007 opener against Georgia Tech. He attempted three passes, completed one, and ran for a team-high 28 yards before he was pulled in the first half of the 33-3 loss. Less than two weeks later, Jones left and enrolled at Northern Illinois.

One problem: Crewcut Charlie Weis wouldn't release Jones from his scholarship. Some control thing about the kid not talking with the coach first.

After an avalanche of negative publicity, Crewcut finally gave in and said Jones could transfer, but not to Northern Illinois. Some control thing about a list of banned schools that included Northern Illinois.

Jones finally landed at Cincinnati and although the quarterback says he has nothing against Crewcut, it's clear to Jones that the big guy never intended for him to be the starter.

"I'm not stupid," Jones told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "I've never seen a quarterback lose a position in a quarter. It doesn't take me much to read between the lines to see that that was [Jimmy Clausen's] position even before he came there and I was just in an unfortunate situation."

"As a man, I'm able to look clear-cut at that. That was basically the plan, for that to be his position."

Jones told the paper that the only reason he started against Georgia Tech was to protect Clausen.

"You've got to look at Georgia Tech and their defense," he said. "Who wants to put a freshman out there against a whole bunch of guys from the South who are going to be running around blitzing? That's why he didn't send him into the game until the third group was out there."

Leave Matty Alone! He's a Human Being!

It didn't take long for the first Matt Leinart fark to appear. The Dirty, which first posted images of the Saturday night festivities at Casa Leinart, also posted this edited image from the evening.

While this might be considered normal activity on the USC campus, Leinart's partying activities have caught the attention of Arizona Cardinal coach Ken Whisenhunt, who said he's "disappointed" in his quarterback.

"Matt called me Monday morning and we spoke for a while," Whisenhunt said in a statement. "I reiterated to him the type of behavior that we expect at all times from our players. ... It's being handled internally."

Not everybody is down on poor Matty. East Valley Tribune columnist Scott Bordow writes: "I guess I’m supposed to be upset that he's not sitting at home, studying his playbook and watching film of the Seahawks defense. Well, I'm not.

"What Leinart does in his private life — as long as he doesn't break the law — is none of my business. Now, if it’s proven that he was supplying underage girls with alcohol, that's another matter completely. And one the police should look into.

"But let's not pretend Leinart is the only single, millionaire athlete who chases women on a weekend night. In fact, I can guarantee you many of Leinart's teammates are doing the exact same thing. If not worse."

Reporters' Notebooks

Bob Condotta, Seattle Times: Washington offensive coordinator Tim Lappano, who recently spent time exchanging ideas with Florida coaches during a visit to Gainesville, says Husky quarterback Jake Locker is in the same class as Tim Tebow. "He's right there, believe me,'' Lappano said. "He's right there. He's not far away.''

Ed McGranahan, Greenville News: Clemson has committed more than $3 million this year to football coaching salaries and athletic director Terry Don Phillips wonders where it's going to stop. "It can't continue to escalate the way it is," he said.

Glenn Guilbeau, Shreveport Times: It appears that Ryan Perrilloux is calling the shots at Louisiana State. After Les Miles said he expected Perrilloux back at practice on Monday, the quarterback was a no-show for the second day in a row. Miles isn't talking and there's only one more practice before Saturday's spring game.

Pat Harty, Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa is thought to be down to only one scholarship running back after sophomore-to-be Jevon Pugh dropped out of school.

Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema has apparently dismissed Brad Thorson after the offensive lineman was involved in a practice incident that left defensive end Dan Moore sidelined for at least the remainder of the spring because of a knee injury.

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: Tennessee's opener at UCLA has been moved to Sept, 1. The Labor Day game will be televised on ESPN. "The opportunity to play unopposed on national television against such a quality opponent as UCLA was something we couldn't pass up," athletic director Mike Hamilton said.

Brian Bennett, Louisville Courier-Journal: The Kentucky-Louisville game has been moved to Aug. 31, a Sunday, and will be televised on ESPN. Louisville officials had wanted the game to be played on Labor Day, but Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart balked at the idea, saying a Monday night game would not leave the Wildcats enough preparation time for their game against dreaded Norfolk State the following Saturday.

Brandon George, Dallas Morning News: Texas Tech and Oklahoma State have agreed to move their annual game to the Dallas area beginning in 2009. But will it be played at the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium in Arlington or the renovated Cotton Bowl?

Bill Wagner, Annapolis Capital: Navy could have a bowl destination. The proposed Congressional Bowl, to be played Dec. 20, reached an agreement with the Atlantic Coast Conference to fill a slot. Officials are hoping to fill the other slot with a service academy, with the Midshipmen at the top of the list.

Doug Doughty, Roanoke Times: Virginia linebacker J'Courtney Williams, already on probation for possession of marijuana, now faces a larceny charge in connection with a March 10 incident at the university's aquatic and fitness center.

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

Matt Leinart Is Clearly Enjoying Himself

Here are two of the photos that are all the rage at the moment. Heisman winner Matt Leinart, now the face of the Arizona Cardinals franchise, has been busy perfecting his offseason workout routine. These photos, along with others, first appeared on the site The Dirty. Can't wait for the video!
Not everybody in Arizona is enjoying this. Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic, who apparently wasn't invited to the party, says it's time for Matt to grow up.

He writes: "Take that young girl apparently guzzling beer from a funnel device [beer bong] held by Leinart. ... What if she never made it home that night? What if she plowed through a red light after leaving the bash at Leinart's house, taking out a family in the process?

"Now take that picture of Leinart and four young girls cuddling in a hot tub. What if one of them woke up and decided to accuse Leinart of improper conduct? What of the headlines then?"

A-Day at Auburn

A gorgeous afternoon with temperatures in the 70s. Coeds, cheerleaders, the band. Welcome to Auburn's spring game.
A estimated crowd of 35,000 watched the Tigers work out the kinks in their new spread offense. These photos were sent to us by reader Greg and we thank him for his efforts.
Although this little Tiger wasn't impressed, coach Tommy Tuberville was talking it up afterward. He said that "nobody in our conference does [the spread offense] the way we do it," and promised, "We're going to throw the football quite a bit next year."

The usual assortment of Southern beauties were on hand to watch the Tigers emerge from the tunnel.

Auburn plays five of its first seven games at home, including the opener against Louisiana Monroe on Aug. 30.
There's always one in the crowd. Have to feel sorry for the guy trying to watch the game.
The Tigers' quarterback situation remains unsettled. Kobi Burns and Chris Todd are battling it out, with Burns said to have the arm and Todd the running ability.
The beauty of spring games is being able to escape from the upper deck and sit in a seat you couldn't come close to affording during the regular season.
Auburn's cheerleaders already have that cutesy knee-bend down for group photos.
As always, we welcome your contributions. If you're going to a spring game and want to share the experience with our audience, send your photos and snarky comments to dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

How About Those Spartans!

No explanation is needed. But if you happen to require one, click here. Thanks to Loser With Socks.

Idaho Vandals Are Oiled, Ready for You

The gang over at Fight, Fight Boise State has posted this image of the Idaho Vandals getting all macho in their workout facility. Of course, the Vandals were 1-11 last season and we're not sure the toughness tag applies at this point.

Slick Rick's Instructional Video

A rather lengthy video of Rick Neuheisel from his Washington days, demonstrating basis quarterback reads. Thanks to Gutty Little Bruins.

Reporters' Notebooks

Ray Melick, Birmingham News: Just who is the NCAA looking out for? When it comes to having current "student-athletes" take part in a pep rally on the eve of a spring football game before a concert as part of an event that promotes college football and guarantees hundreds of thousands of dollars to general scholarship funds, well, the sanctimonious NCAA says that violates its precious spirit of amateurism.

Michael DiRocco, Florida Times-Union: Florida receiver Percy Harvin's right heel injury might require surgery. "Percy now has trouble pushing off with his knee because of pain. He's trying to compensate for his heel. He's starting to have knee and hip issues," Urban Meyer said.

Joseph Goodman, Miami Herald: Former California running back James Montgomery watched Florida practice over the weekend. Montgomery is interested in transferring to Florida, according to receiver Carl Moore, a longtime friend.

Tennessean: Tennessee season tickets are increasing $19 from a year ago. Tickets range in price from $40 for an Oct. 4 game against Northern Illinois to $70 for games against Florida and Alabama.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: Tailback Bobby Wallace, defensive back Chris Hail and linebacker-turned-tight end Dustin Lindsey have been told by Steve Spurrier to sit out spring drills for a week to concentrate on academics.

Scott Bell, Detroit Free Press: What does Justin Boren's departure mean to Michigan's offensive line? Outside of Stephen Schilling, who has 13 career starts, the four other projected starters at Saturday's practice have only three combined starts.

Eric Petersen, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Iowa State coach Gene Chizik hinted that Austen Arnaud and Phillip Bates will split quarterback duties in the fall.

Andrew Carter, Orlando Sentinel: Problems at Florida State. Receivers can't catch and the defense is giving up long pass plays. And another problem. "There's still too many [players] that don't know the plays. Offensively and defensively," Bobby Bowden says.

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times: USC receiver Damian Williams was knocked out of practice after twisting an ankle while avoiding a collision with a child.

Paul Finebaum, Mobile Press-Register: Nick Saban is staying in Tuscaloosa until retirement. End of discussion. He loves it here and is appreciative of the people who hired him. Really. Seriously. This is not an April Fool's Day joke.

Michael Rothstein, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: The Crewcut Charlie Weis tour is coming to Ocala, Fla., on April 24. Tickets are going for $35, $50 and $250. The event will feature a reception, buffet lunch, video presentation, Weis' speech and a question-and-answer session.

Jay Hinton, Deseret Morning News: Things might be looking up at Utah State, coming off a 2-10 season but winners of two in a row.

Lincoln Journal Star: Because it's never too early to plan a trip to Hattiesburg, right? Nebraska will play at Southern Mississippi in 2013, part of a three-game series between the teams.

Phil Steele: Who has the most wins in the last five years? Who has the best winning percentage away from home? It's USC. Thanks to Get The Picture.

Mike Knobler, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Tech quarterback signee Jaybo Shaw, the first player to commit to play for the Yellow Jackets after Paul Johnson was hired as coach, was arrested early Sunday morning on a charge of underage drinking.

John Pruett, Huntsville Times: His farewell column. "In the sports writing business, you don't necessarily have to go out at the top of your game. But you don't need to overstay your welcome, especially when the fires begin to flicker."

Chris Foster, Los Angeles Times: Rick Neuheisel begins his first spring as UCLA's coach. The Bruins lost 25 seniors and the positions of priority are the offensive line and quarterback.

Bill Koch, Cincinnati Enquirer: Brian Kelly begins his second spring at Cincinnati with high hopes.

Dave Reardon, Honolulu Star-Bulletin: A position-by-position look at Hawaii, which started spring drills Monday.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not.