NCAA Endzone

Boise State lovebirds Ian Johnson and Chrissy Popadics were married over the weekend, with no racial nastiness invading the ceremony. Good luck, kids. Being married is sometimes hard, but you get out of it what you put into it.

UCLA wide receivers coach Eric Scott has been put on administrative leave following a burglary charge. Coach Karl Dorrell (pictured) will take over Scott’s duties.

University of Montana cornerback Jimmy Wilson has been ordered to stand trial in the death of his aunt’s 29-year-old boyfriend. The suspended cornerback remains in jail pending an Aug. 14 hearing.

Jury selection has begun for Mitchell Cozad, the Northern Colorado backup punter accused of stabbing starting punter Rafael Mendoza in his kicking leg. The trial is expected to last about 10 days. Mendoza, unable to fully extend his kicking leg after the attack, is rehabbing the leg this summer.

Baltimore Sun reporter Heather Dinich talks about rule changes in her Terps blog. This is the first I’ve heard of any college football rule changes. Stay tuned.

And last but certainly not least, the New York Times ran a wonderful article on the Play It Smart program. Anything that helps kids finish school is a good thing in my book. A couple of the program’s graduates are considered strong candidates for the Heisman Trophy this year. Check the article out to see who they are.

It’s about to storm, and my dog is a huge baby about storms ever since the nasty Florida hurricane season in 2004. Right now he is trying to take my laptop’s place on my lap, so that will be all for today. Got to go take care of my baby.

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A few days ago, I wrote about how the wedding of Boise State running back Ian Johnson and cheerleader Chrissy Popadics was being complicated by NCAA rules on gift giving and accepting services.

Apparently, that’s not the only complication. Johnson told the Idaho Statesman that he’s had to hire security for the wedding due to racial threats.

As you can see from the picture, Johnson is black and Popadics is white.

That’s pretty sad, that a college kid has to hire security for his own wedding because he’s got the nerve to fall in love with someone who’s not the same color as he is. Love is blind, but hate is not.

One blog has been bombarded with comments from a white supremacist site after posting a story on the couple.

It’s always nice to know that there are people who have time to spew their hate and discontent around the blogosphere. I mean, have your freedom of expression and all that, but can’t you express it in a place where people actually want to read your stink?

There are some people who are still stuck in the dark ages and insist on making the rest of us uncomfortable with their extreme views on race and interracial relationships. I usually ignore them, but by doing that, am I only making the problem worse instead of better? There is no way to answer that question in a way that will have any real meaning.

All I know is that if two people truly love each other, the outside package doesn’t matter as much as what’s on the inside.

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In light of the recent investigation of NBA referee Tim Donaghy for possible game fixing, I couldn’t help but wonder about the integrity of college football officials.

The Baltimore Sun ran an article yesterday about the ACC doing background checks on football and basketball officials. I was surprised to learn from that article that the Big Ten is the only other conference that does background checks on officials.

It doesn’t make sense to me. Why anyone would put someone in a position where they could have control over the outcome of a game and not do at least a cursory criminal background check, at the minimum?

My other job is in law enforcement, and background checks are commonplace in my world. So my view could certainly be warped on this issue. Do you think a background check should be required for anyone officiating a college football game? Or would it just be a waste of money?

Oklahoma State has won the right to use eminent domain to acquire a piece of property needed for completion of its athletic village, a court has ruled. Eminent domain basically means that even though you own a property, the state has a right to take it for public use.

The owners purchased the property in 2005 for $25,000 and turned down the school’s offers of up to $62,000 to buy it. They plan to appeal the decision, but in the meantime Oklahoma State holds the title to the property and is free to begin its construction on the property. If the owners win the appeal, they can regain control of the property even though Oklahoma State has built upon the property.

After the appeal, a jury will determine how much the owners will be paid for the property. Until then, they have legally been “robbed” of their land.

I’m all for progress and the expansion of college athletic facilities, but I always feel sorry for the little guy in eminent domain cases. Whether you buy a property for residence or investment purposes, it seems like you should have control of it once you have made the purchase. The sad reality is that sometimes that control is taken away, and nobody likes to lose control of something they’ve worked hard for.

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The New York Times ran a nice article on Virgina Tech, marking the beginning of freshman orientation on the campus. It seems that the freshmen overwhelmingly want to know where and when they can get their football tickets.

Football games are a fun part of college life. But football will mean more than fun at Virginia Tech this year. This will be the year when an entire campus uses football as a healing process.

The spring game was cancelled in the wake of the shooting tragedy that occurred in April at the Virginia Tech campus, so the resumption of football games will be a sign that everything is returning to normal. It will give students, faculty and alumni something to be proud of, especially if the team does well. Having ESPN there to televise the return to normal is something I’ve been looking forward to all summer.

There is not a beating, feeling heart in the entire country that is not rooting for the Hokies this year in some small way. Here’s to healing.

Twenty people were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame today. Among them were Florida State coach Bobby Bowden and Dancing With the Stars winner - ahem- I mean, Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith (Go Gators!). My congratulations go out to this year’s inductees.

I love halls of fame, especially when the worthy are inducted. That means I don’t love the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, because there’s a lot of unworthy performers in it, but I digress.

I love weddings, too. Speaking of weddings, Boise State tailback Ian Johnson will be getting married on July 28th. IdahoStatesman.com ran a story on it, and boy, do I feel sorry for his fiancee.

How romantic that she got proposed to on national TV after her honey scored the game-winning two-point conversion in the Fiesta Bowl on January 1st. I don’t feel sorry for her because of that. I feel sorry for her because NCAA rules have invaded the wedding planning.

It’s hard enough to plan a wedding that happens without any hitches, so that it becomes the day you’ve always dreamed of. But then there are these NCAA rules about accepting free or discount services, and who you can and shouldn’t accept gifts from. People who knew the player before he was a player can give a gift, but boosters shouldn’t.

I give the girl credit for going through with it, given all the extra constraints. If it were me, I’d be saying hey, honey, are you sure you don’t want to wait until after we graduate to get married?

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Minnesota suspended cornerback Dominic Jones and three other players for their alleged involvement in the rape of an 18-year-old woman.

Jones is the only one charged in the incident so far, which was videotaped on a cellphone and then erased. Investigators were able to recover part of the erased video, and there is DNA evidence linking Jones to the crime.

And yet another college football career is derailed by serious criminal allegations.

You would think these guys, smart enough get into college and to learn a football playbook, would be smart enough to stay out of trouble. It seems that once the party starts, the common sense ends.

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Yesterday the New York Post ran an article that hinted at NCAA football having a “plus-1″ semifinal playoff format as early as 2011.

The information on a possible “final four” format is speculative rather than substantive at this point, but interesting nonetheless. One has to wonder who the reporter’s sources are, and how they know what they know.

Whatever the change is, one thing is clear - the playoff format must change. The BCS is arbitrary at best, and at its worst excludes teams that by anyone’s standards should have a shot at the “national championship.” Perhaps we’ll never see a true “final four” like there is in NCAA basketball, but having semifinal and final bowls would at least lend some legitimacy to selecting a college football champion.

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Minnesota cornerback Dominic Jones was charged after investigators discovered a cell phone video clip of him having sex with a woman whose blood alcohol was estimated to be about .30, or at least three times the legal limit in most states. The victim was essentially rendered helpless by her level of intoxication. Way to commit a serious felony, Dominic.

Nick Saban admitted during an interview with Sun Sports that he handled his departure from the Miami Dolphins poorly. Wow, finally we get the truth from this man. Did anyone seriously believe him when he said he wasn’t talking to Alabama? Seriously. He lied from day one about Alabama, and he tried to play it off by saying he was acting in the best interests of the Dolphins. What a bunch of hooey. The Dolphins probably make all their prospective coaches take lie detector tests now, thanks to Saban.

And on a more positive note, look for The Express to hit movie theaters in October 2008. It’s about Syracuse running back Ernie Davis, known as the Elmira Express. In 1961, Davis was the first black man to win the Heisman Trophy. He was about to begin his career with the Cleveland Browns when leukemia took his life at age 23. Sad ending, but certainly a good story.

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Ohio State has a new president, and he’s a zero tolerance kind of guy.

That’s all well and good. Athletes who stray too far from behavioral norms can and should be punished, particularly when the behavior devolves into criminal action.

However, Gordon Gee is the guy who once disbanded the sports program at Vanderbilt for being too out of whack with the rest of the university. Hmm, there’s a problem with a leg, so let’s just whack it off instead of fixing it for the good of the rest of the body.

Can you see that going over at Ohio State? Athletics are big at Ohio State, and I don’t see students or alumni going along with something that extreme. People get emotional over sports, and sports can be an integral part of the overall college experience.

I know. I went to a college that didn’t have a football team. Drinking was very popular there.

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Florida State athletic director Dave Hart has received written notice from the university president that his contract will not be extended past its scheduled expiration in January 2009.

If he’ll stay until then is anyone’s guess. His contract can be terminated by mutual agreement between Hart and FSU. Any buyout agreement funds would be paid by Seminole Boosters, Inc.

It seems silly to me to want to get rid of someone who’s been largely successful, but hey, I’m just a fan. I can’t claim any firsthand knowledge of how this stuff works. I live in the real world, where things sometimes make more sense than in the political, pro-win world of college football.

Oklahoma plans to appeal the NCAA’s order forfeiting all eight of the Sooners’ 2005 wins. Was there any doubt that they would? Seriously! The program that would forfeit eight wins without challenging the governing body’s ruling would be a pretty sucky one by anyone’s definition.

Sports Illustrated pundit Stewart Mandel has named Virginia coach Al Groh as the worst coach in college football. I’m sure Groh is suitably mortified, if he even pays attention to this kind of stuff. If I were a coach, I wouldn’t. I barely pay attention to it as a fan …

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If you’ve been reading here much, you know I think many NCAA violations border the edge of stupidity. I agree with the NCAA on this one, though.

The announcement came Wednesday that Oklahoma would forfeit its 2005 wins and lose two scholarships for the 2008-09 and 2009-2010 seasons. The punishment results from a situation in which players were booted from the team for being paid for work they had not performed for a car dealership. The Sooners’ current probation was extended until May 23, 2010.

The NCAA found that Oklahoma didn’t keep close enough tabs on many players’ employment, which allowed NCAA violations to occur.

It’s sad that many players will be punished due to the lapses of two, and I feel sorry for the ones who were not involved because they worked hard for those wins. But there was a level of dishonesty in this situation with the two players that sets a terrible precedent, and the punishment had to be severe to make it clear that ethics do matter. Allowing this situation to go unpunished would be like saying it’s OK, you’re a football player, you don’t have to work for your money like everyone else does. And that’s a load of crap.

This punishment will undoubtedly serve as a warning to other schools that might be tempted to straddle or cross the ethical line. The NCAA clearly won’t tolerate the wrongdoing, and neither should college football fans who work hard for their entertainment dollars.

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Northern Colorado punter Mitchell Cozad lost his bid to have his statements to police suppressed. As you may remember, Cozad was a backup punter and is accused of stabbing starting punter Rafael Mendoza in his kicking leg. He’s set to go to trial on July 30.

Jimmy Wilson, currently suspended from the University of Montana football team, entered a plea of not guilty to a murder charge on Monday in Los Angeles. He is accused of shooting his aunt’s boyfriend to death following a dispute.

Rumor has it that Evan Sharpley is the frontrunner in the three-way race for the starting quarterback spot at Notre Dame. The source? None other than David Frazier, father of former Notre Dame QB Zach Frazier, who split when he learned that he was the fourth man in the three-way race. Of course, this could be just another blog rumor. Sometimes those things pan out, though, so stay tuned.

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In this episode of America’s Most Wanted Football Players, New Mexico State wide receiver A.J. Harris was taken into custody on Sunday for battery. Harris reportedly told the responding officers that he slapped the complainant, who was his ex-girlfriend.

The NCAA is making the NFL look like a bunch of well-paid choirboys. Perhaps Roger Goodell should come head up the NCAA when he is done weeding out the NFL and get rid of the future Pacmans, before they have a chance to get paid for embarrassing their teams.

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The season can start any day now. Then there will be some real news to talk about, but instead there is the news that Alabama has self-reported three secondary violations of NCAA policies involving football recruits and/or their family members.

Zzzzzzzzzzz …

One of the improper contacts occurred during a game in December, when a booster talked to a recruit while both of them were in a skybox. NCAA bylaws restrict the booster’s contact to a greeting only, and apparently the conversation went beyond that. So, in other words, it’s OK to say, “Hey, how are you?” but you can’t say anything past that. That doesn’t sound very welcoming to me, but those are the rules.

In January, a graduate assistant took a recruit’s mother and a family friend to and from campus during a recruit’s official visit. Can’t do that either. Free ride for your son, but no free ride for you. Mmm, buh-bye.

Then in February, a booster gave a recruit a book on the history of Alabama football. Man, those boosters are off the chain! How dare they be proud of the program they support and want to share that with someone who might play football at Alabama.

I know, I know, the rules are supposed to protect the recruits from being manipulated and the school from liability and accusations of wrongdoing. It just seems to me that some of the rules suffocate the very normal human interactions people have with each other, without even thinking about it.

Guess they have to start thinking about it.

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