Sanctions? What Sanctions?

[Inside ESPN.com's offices this morning]

"We need to put together an image for the site about the kickoff of college football season."

"Oh, I know! How about a bunch of different teams all grafted together into one image?"

"Brilliant! Everybody take 5!"

"No, but which teams?"

"Oh....I don't care. Hmmm... doesn't matter. Any teams. Which ones do you want?"

"I'll just pick a bunch at random, but what about the one front and center?  That should be a marquee team, right? One that represents the best about college football. A paragon of virtue. One that makes us all proud to be college football fans and never makes anyone think about the dirty underbelly of NCAA athletics... right?"

"Sounds good to me. So who are you going to use?"

"Well, USC, of course. Will Ferrell likes them."

"Oh, and you know what would be cool just to see if people are paying attention? Let's have the guy kicking off wear #49, which is worn by WR Robbie Boyer."

"Brilliant!"

Pounding the Trojans

POW!!

And boom goes the dynamite.

USC crushed by NCAA sanctions.

You know who this is really bad for? Kentucky basketball. The new NCAA doesn't like cheaters.

Yay Rah, NCAA!

"I got out in time!!"

The NCAA for years has refused to give significant punishment to it's big revenue generators. That will all change tomorrow when the official punishment following the NCAA's investigation of the Trojans is released.

Here's what it looks like will happen:
-All the wins from the '04 & possibly the '05 seasons will be expunged from the books
This type of punishment always seems silly to me...the revenue from tickets is still theirs, the fans still think those games count...so no big deal here, to me.

-20 scholarships lost for the USC football team
This is a big penalty. Even with USC's typically-talented roster, depth is still needed and with early defections, it's always good to be able to allow a player a year before he starts. Plus, most 19 year olds, even the highest-touted, aren't as big and strong as the average 22 year old college football player.

-No post-season play for two seasons
Another significant punishment as this hurts exposure and if nothing else will affect the psyche of the fanbase during the holiday season.
-Possible removal of Bush's Heisman
This is a somewhat-large deal simply because it's unprecedented (I believe)...but a few sources don't think this will happen.

I still can't find if there's any ramifications for the basketball team, but I think they should also be punished...as should USC's athletic director be fired and forced to never hold such a post in the NCAA due to his lack of control of the situation...but that probably won't happen.

It might be interesting to see if USC seeks to hold Carroll, Bush, Floyd, Mayo and others accountable after the punishment is official.

The NCAA took way too long to complete the investigation and then hand down the punishment. But, if the above is what comes to fruition, the NCAA got it right...for once.

What I'd still like to see is the coaches being held more-accountable for such violations. For instance- if your team is guilty of multiple-major infractions that leave a program decimated, you not only can't coach for 5 years, but will also be fined if you decide to return to NCAA coaching after the punitive period (as a deterrent). Sure, it won't happen, but one can dream.

Nobody Thinks USC-UND Is A Rivalry

Big, big, big high fives, chest bumps and knuckles to the handsome lads at Nittany White Out for their post today pointing out that nobody -- not even in California -- thinks Notre Dame-USC is a bigger rivalry than Texas-Oklahoma. They used ESPN's current poll, pictured here:


You know what they'll say, though. Everyone hates Notre Dame, which makes them relevant. No, no it doesn't. It just means everyone hates you, mainly due to overexposure despite constantly sucking.

Have fun losing to a freshman quarterback with a broken jaw this weekend.

Thanks For Stopping By, Penn State

I guess it was actually a good thing that Iowa knocked off Penn State during the regular season. Otherwise, they might have slipped into the National Title game and been clobbered by Oklahoma or Florida. As it was, they did the Big Ten no favors by looking completely overmatched against the USC Trojans, who played hard for a half and then spent the second half being pleased with themselves.

And I know there are legions of Paterno defenders out there who point out how he clearly hasn't lost it since his team went 11-2 this year. Fine, granted, the program is in good shape. But even if he was winning national titles, should an 82 year old codger who cannot even be on the sidelines or make it to the locker room at halftime be the head coach?

I just don't see how people think this is a good situation. He's sitting up in the press box, only occasionally donning a headset (and never when he's on the sidelines, begging the question as to how connected he can possibly be to what's going on), and just shaking his head and looking old and forlorn.

Then we get the wonderful press conferences with Joe.

"I thought the Southern Cal quarterback played a great game."

He said that over and over again. Does he not know Mark Sanchez' name? This would concern me greatly. This isn't your grandpa talking about players he doesn't know while sitting by the fire on New Year's Day. This is the head coach. Supposedly.

Asked about an injury to one of his players:

"I don't know, I haven't talked to the trainers or anything yet. I just know he got banged up and couldn't play."

Sounds very connected to his team.

Now, I'm not saying he doesn't sound like he still understands the game. He's not a joke at the press conference -- but the pages are fraying and I would be concerned if my team just inked this guy to three more years.

What are they hoping for? That he dies on the field? He's going to be coaching until he's 85, at least? He already can't stand on the sidelines and, sure, sure, he's got a new hip so I'm sure everything will work out fine. But clearly he's a brittle old man -- like all of us would be -- and so you begin to wonder about his effectiveness. Especially when his team gets taken behind the woodshed like they did yesterday.

I know, I know, we'd give anything for an 11-win season, and you'd be right if you said that. But that's not the point here. Is there any reason to think Paterno finally stepping down and being replaced by someone like Greg Schiano from Rutgers would be a bad thing?

Shocking News: College Athlete Takes Inappropriate Gifts

It's funny. People get mad when Boilerdowd posts comments about how he's pretty sure some of the successful college programs out there cheat to varying degrees and that few programs are clean. And then when ESPN decides to actually look into a player, probably because he seems like the perfect candidate to be doing shady things, look what turns up.

Looks like OJ Mayo was receiving cash, gifts, cell phone service, etc., the list goes on. During his one year at USC. He, and the lowlifes who can't wait to get their hooks into him -- their meal ticket -- couldn't wait the one year until he was a pro. Nope, gotta make sure he knows you're his "friend" now and take care of his needs. And launder the money by giving it to his friends. Smooth. And totally untracable! Well done!

Or maybe those who funded OJ don't really care about any of that. Because, really, who's going to pay for it if they get caught? USC. OJ Mayo can't be punished -- the NCAA could suspend him if he weren't already going pro. So they're toothless against him. But not against USC. So now kids at USC who are following the rules will be punished.

I can't say I'm surprised. This is the preening jackass who got ejected from his last high school game for an obnoxous dunk and for just acting like an all-around a-hole. Then he went to USC with the clear intent of only being there for one year before cashing in. Again, this is fine -- any one of us would trade our education at the age of 19 to be a multi-millionaire. But the point here is that it just isn't that surprising that an overly self-entitled brat like this might feel none of the rules apply to him. And the way it plays out proves that, indeed, they don't.

I just wish the NCAA could go after Mayo. Or USC. Sue his rich ass. But they won't. They can't. Maybe Tim Floyd will get fired, maybe USC will get the so-called "death penalty." (Though probably not.) None of it will impact OJ, as he continues living his charmed life and getting whatever he wants.