Miami is Screwed

Good riddance. I am not one of these who think anyone has to be good for college football to be popular and I especially do not place Miami in some special category of programs to be spared. The sport will do well without them--as it did for the decades when they were minor league--which is a good thing as the Hurricanes will be hammered for this latest problem. They will get a bigger punishment than they did in the 1990s and will disappear for awhile. Heck, they have been cheating for a decade and slipped from national power to also-ran. Even if they do not get te death penalty, they will become homecoming fodder for the ACC.
Meanwhile it is ridiculous what some reporters and Miami fans are advocating, that it is the work of one rogue booster and some teenagers (plus the everyone is doing it bs which is untrue). But almost all cheating is done through outside agents and the inability or desire of the program to stop this guy after years and years and scads of money is enough to hit Miami hard. That coaches were involved and compliance officers were aware of this bozo is very damaging. An example must be made to the current program and to otthers, like Paul Dee who was there when this all began and is now at the NCAA and Missouri basketball coach Frank Haith who okayed payments to his basketball players. I want heads to roll.

View From Bennett Avenue

As you know, there is much that I do not like about ESPN. But, of course, I have to accept them as the premium supplier of sports news on television. And I have to live with all of the stupid things that they do on what seems to be a daily basis.
While I would love to rail against them for boneheaded decisions, especially regarding their choice of "talent,"I have bigger fish to fry. Number one, why does the network present to us as fact this past weekend that Texas A&M was going to jump to the SEC? The "source" for that story was an insider from College Station reporting the news to basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb. Really? That is the best you can do? While it does appear that there is some interest between the SEC and A&M, the deal is being held up for scores of reasons mostly involving potential lawsuits and money to be owed by the Aggies to the Big 12. But because of these myriad hold-ups, the deal is far from finalized and, as we learned from the story about Texas jumping to the Pac 10, far from being a lock. Why jump the gun? You, ESPN, are the main source of sports news for everyone. Let the other guys jump the gun.
Also, this week ESPN is airing a panel that is discussing the ills of major college sports. And of course the dopey ESPN "experts," like Mark May and Jay Bilas, get to spout off while the more important people, like coaches and administrators, can barely get a word in. But allowing Saban to speak about the issue of recruiting malfeasance drove me crazy. Urban Meyer clearly had Saban in mind when he said that one way to control coaches would be to suspend them when they commit violations, but Saban just spun the conversation around to something else. And then May and others chimed in about how the rulebook is too big as if that is some excuse for Saban's cheating. Until they hammer guys like Saban the problem is not going to go away as others, as we saw with Auburn last year, will cheat to try to keep up with him.

Let's Play Two

Between camps opening this week and getting to watch The Longest Yard today, I am ready for opening day of college football--September 1. I am not sure if I am ready for my Alma Mater, Fordham, battling Connecticut that day but what the heck, it's football. We'll take it to those Huskies!

Rest in Peace Bubba

The obituaries of Charles "Bubba" Smith that I read all broke down his life in similar ways. He played high school football for his father in Beaumont, Texas before coming north to star at Michigan State. During his time there he played in the 1966 edition of The Game of the Century and at least one obit mentioned his knocking starting Notre Dame QB Terry Hanratty out of the game with a tough hit. Then the obits give Bubba plenty of space for his pro career and then multiple paragraphs for his acting. Huh?

Bubba Smith's fame is directly related to his college career. He was a college superstar, arguably the first national black superstar in college football. Although there were many--and I use that term loosely as there should have been thousands more--black football players who starred in the sport prior to Bubba, from Ernie Davis and Jimmy Brown at Syracuse to Jim Parker at Ohio State or Kenny Washington of UCLA, none of those players dominated on a national stage at such a high level of popularity/notoriety as Smith did at MSU. For one thing, Smith's stage was bigger than the others because he played in the Big Ten, the nation's number one conference at the time, and, unlike Parker or the black stars at Minnesota a half decade earlier, played a highly-visible role on television. Yes those earlier players paved the way for someone like Bubba, but we cannot deny Smith's place in the pantheon of college football celebrities. Who else would inspire the "Kill, Bubba Kill" chants that echoed throughout Spartan Stadium?

While one could argue that Bubba was not even the best African-American player on his own defensive unit, with George Webster dominating from his rover position, Smith was the most visible and most imposing. He also had a winning personality, which came through in his later acting career. The camera, like Michigan State fans, fell hard for his out-sized body, play and personality. That he would then play in huge games versus Big Ten rivals, UCLA in the Rose Bowl and Notre Dame in the battle for the national title, cemented his stature as a superstar.

If anything his pro career was a bit of a disappointment thanks to a devastating knee injury. Smith did play in two pro bowls with the Colts, but he never topped his college celebrity. Then again, how could he?

There is another important role Smith played in the history of sport that is again related to his college career. By being forced to leave his native Texas to play big-time college ball thanks to the refusal of Texas teams to integrate, and then becoming a superstar, Smith opened a lot of eyes in the Lone Star State. In 1965 and 1966, when Smith was helping MSU to a 19-1-1 record and a UPI title in '65, the Texas Longhorns were 13-8, Texas A&M Aggies 7-12-1, SMU Mustangs 12-8-1, etc. It was soon becoming clear that the South needed to address the integration situation or more and more teams from other regions would do well nationally with kids from their own backyard. Bubba's celebrity got a lot of folks talking.

As much as I loved Bubba's beer commercials and respected his pro career, I know that when someone remembers Bubba Smith 50 years from now it will be for his play at Michigan State.

View From Bennett Avenue

The state of big-time college football is precarious these days, with a number of high profile programs keeping the NCAA investigative arm busy. Just take a look at the schools who reached the BCS Title Game in recent years. Both Oregon and Auburn are facing investigations, there is video evidence of illegal contact between players from the previous year's winner, Alabama, and a booster, Ohio State, loser in January of 2006 and 2007, will soon find out the severity of their punishment for numerous violations, LSU, winner in January of 2004 and 2008, was just placed on probation for recruiting violations and, of course, USC, winner in January of 2005 and loser in 2006, had their championship from the 2004 season stripped among other levels of punishment.
Is it impossible to compete for national titles without cheating? Recent champions Texas, Florida and Oklahoma beg to differ, although Oklahoma was nailed in a phony-jobs-for-players scheme in 2005 and was tainted last year by allegations against former head coach John Blake that he may have paid for players for both recent employer North Carolina and former employer...Oklahoma.
Another disturbing aspect of this situation is that once there is an impression that a major program is cheating and possibly getting away with it, others are encouraged to do the same. That appears to be the case with Auburn as their possible pay-for-Cam scheme may have been the result of a perception that rival Alabama and coach Nick Saban get away with violations. I would love to be able to ask a behind-the-scenes power at Oregon whether the NCAA's inability to immediately punish USC encouraged the Ducks to get into bed with unsavory types like Will Lyles.
The good news is that punishments are being handed out. Allowing Auburn to compete for a national championship last year was ridiculous, but opefully they will pay for it. Just clean up this mess, please.

View From Bennett Avenue

Speaking of second chances, Notre Dame has reinstated star wide receiver Michael Floyd after his spring arrest for drunk driving. Floyd had to meet a number of requirements before being allowed back and he is a good kid who has represented his school well before the incident.
Having grown up a Notre Dame fan, I did not expect Floyd back after his arrest. The school, or mainly the residence board, had been notoriously tough on anyone, football star or regular student, who screwed up in this manner. But they passed the responsibility of Floyd's punishment to football coach Brian Kelly, which is a departure from precedent.
But I am fine with his return, as the stringent rule of law in the past was too tough. Repeat offenders, like Stephen Garcia of south Carolina (see yesterday's post), would still be tossed but those like Floyd that have done plenty of good and proved over a four month period post-crime that they made the correct changes, would be allowed to return.
Notre Dame haters are all up in arms about a perceived hypocrisy. But Notre Dame does have tough standards, standards that make it more difficult to compete against schools who recruit non students, allow kids to make multiple transgressions with little or no penalty and do whatever it takes to win. For Notre Dame to still compete for national championships they have had to improve their facilities, create a training table, allow the coaching staff to recruit smart kids who are not perfect academically and give kids second chances. They still have some of the tougher standards in college football and routinely win awards for academic results. They are trying to win a national title with a group of students who will all graduate--that is their annual goal and they should be commended for it.
If the Irish tossed Floyd and lost a game because of it, these same haters would be the ones pointing the finger at Notre Dame for being irrelevant. With them the school was in a no win situation, so it is good that they did the right thing.

View From Bennett Avenue

I do believe in second chances for everyone, let alone teenage football players who, if they get their act together, can fulfill their athletic potential and possibly even make a buck or two off of it. And maybe, just maybe, a third chance can be warranted with proper contrition and proof that changes have been made.
But six chances? sorry, but fool me six times and...how does that go?
After five suspensions, quarterback Stephen Garcia is back as the starter for South Carolina. Coach Steve Spurrier said to ESPN's Chris Low that "we think he's going to do what's right" about his troubled signal-caller. You think? How does one get kicked off this team? Actually, let me amend that statement. How does a key player get kicked off this team? We all know that if Garcia was the third string center he would have received his walking papers.
Spurrier screwed this up from the beginning. Garcia was a troubled kid in high school and should have been on double secret probation upon arriving in Columbia in January of 2007. Instead he was arrested twice in the first six months and allowed to stay. Spurrier should have dumped him then, which may have been the wake-up call Garcia needed. Instead wile continuing to screw up Garcia has become the focal point of the team's offense and so Spurrier cannot let him go now. It is wrong and a horrible message to the kids doing it the right way.
Then again how is Garcia supposed to understand the right way to do things when his quarterback coach and former player G.A, Mangus was reinstated by the University after being caught urinating in the street by Greenville cops. You cannot make this stuff up. Mangus will end up losing a lot of money, including a month's pay, as punishment, but again how can we expect the 19-year-olds to do the right thing when their coaches are literally being caught with their pants down. But Mangus is an excellent recruiter and they do not grow on trees.