06 August 2006

Athletes dropping like flies as season approaches

"I'm sorry" doesn't cut it. This past month, college football has started to like it used to look back in the 80s. I don't mean that in a good way. There are way too many players getting involved in scandals. For instance, former Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar and teammate J. D. Quinn are in some serious trouble as of late for accepting money from a car dealership they worked for as pay for hours they never even worked(see below post for more).

News out of Columbia is bad as well. Steve Spurrier has suspended Wide Receiver Noah Whiteside and Safety Ty Erving for violating team rules (Cough, cough, pass). Mark Richt added one more player to his bench team after suspending Defensive Back Thomas Flowers, bringing the grand total of sidelined Bulldogs for the season opener to five. Even more trouble in the SEC as ol Fat Phil Fulmer suspended Marsalous Johnson for waving a toy gun at an off duty cop in Knoxville traffic. He has also dismissed freshman Tight End Lee Smith for not only altering grades back at his high school, but for driving his car on the fucking sidewalk as well. The latter helped him receive a DUI. Speaking of drunk driving in the SEC, Tommy Tuberville suspended two of his players as well for alcohol related arrests earlier this year.

On the ACC side of the news, Larry Coker seems to still be high on his house cleaning crusade down in Miami because he has just suspended four of his players for the season opener against Florida State. This coming after Willie Cooper was shot in the ass, making him a bench warmer for the Canes as well.

I do commend the NCAA on starting to buckle down on schools that let their athletes act the damn fool. It really makes me upset to see kids with bright futures and a FREE education that they would otherwise not be able to pay for waste their lives and make poor decisions time and time again. It's a good thing that the NCAA is getting stricter, but it shouldn't have taken so long for them to do so.