1. By now, probably every person in the country has heard something or other about the Ohio State scandal of epic proportions. Following the departure of quarterback Terrelle Pryor and Head Coach Jim Tressel, Ohio State has vacated any and all wins from the 2010-2011 football season. This has various implications for the program, the most amusing of which is that Ohio State remains 0-9 against SEC schools in bowl games. Have a chuckle, readers. THAT is funny. Even when they win, they still don't win.
2. It was relatively easy to not hear the dull roar of yet another scandal, this one rising out of Eugene, amidst the loud noise coming out of Columbus, Ohio. However, the Oregon Ducks now are in the thick of an NCAA investigation centering around Willie Lyles, a "consultant" who exchanged recruiting information on various high school players (such as LaMichael James, Oregon's whiplash-inducing runningback) across 22 states for $25,000 cash. As the story unfolds and details are slowly released, it seems that the Lyles payment was less about recruiting information and more about recruiting access. Information seems to point to the conclusion that Lyles sent recruiting information as a red herring to throw any investigators from the NCAA off the trail of what he was really doing. His real job seemed to be providing schools with an inside track to recruits, a clear violation of NCAA rules. He provided schools with detailed information on what prospective recruits liked. He also allegedly used his influence over high school players to push them in the direction of schools who were playing him. The investigation has centered around Oregon, but LSU and Cal have also come forward and admitted to paying the man. Because of their openness, LSU and Cal are likely to receive minimal/nonexistant NCAA sanctions. However, a coverup seems to have occurred at the University of Oregon regarding this matter, and the NCAA will most likely come down hard on the football program just as they did when Ohio State's program attempted a cover up of NCAA violations.
3. This year's College Football Hall of Fame inductions included Charles Haley, a 5-time superbowl winner from the 49'ers and Cowboys. His significance on this blog is due to the fact that he played his college ball at none other than James Madison University from 1982-1985. In 1986, he became the first Duke to ever be drafted to the NFL, and he is still the career tackles leader at JMU 25 years after his graduation.
4. Alabama is certainly having a difficult offseason. Two weeks ago, Coach Nick Saban suspended freshman Keiwone Malone and sophomore Darrington Sentimore for an "unspecified team rule violation." In general, this usually means they failed a drug test for marijuana. Safety Robby Green also left the team after being suspended by the NCAA. Alabama transfer Aaron Douglas died in May from what seems to be a drug overdose at a party. Most recently, they lost arguably their top incoming recruit, runningback Demetrius Hart, to a season-ending knee injury. Alabama is being highly regarded as back to their 2009 national championship form, and these injuries certainly won't help them... then again, a bunch of people thought they'd repeat as national champions last year, and that certainly didn't happen.
5. Former Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier, who
6. The NCAA has accepted West Virginia's self-imposed sanctions regarding multiple allegations of improper oversight in the Rich Rodriguez era. WVU took away two of their own 2010 scholarships and one of their scholarships from the upcoming school year. They also placed themselves on two years probation. The NCAA did not deem additional sanctions were necessary, so they accepted the self-imposed punishment that AD Oliver Luck suggested. I speak for all fans of the athletic program when I say that this was the best possible outcome to the situation.
7. Dual-threat quarterback Russell Wilson from NC State has left the school and transferred to Wisconsin. Many people consider the addition of a quarterback who is very mobile to an already prolific running-based offense will catapult Wisconsin into the Big 10 preseason favorite conversation. I am a little more skeptical- I'd like to see how the ACC standout fares against a Big 10 line before I crown the Badgers.
8. The NFL recently counted down their top 100 current players.... Guess which AQ leagues did the best? Believe it or not (and most of you will not), the Big East led the top 6 leagues with 16 players. Mind you, this is the Big East including pre-2003-draft players from Miami and Virginia Tech, as they were still in the league at that time, but it's the Big East nonetheless. The list also featured 12 ACC players. Many criticize these two leagues for their "toughness," particularly in years like 2010 when both leagues experienced a down year. Expect the ACC to bounce back a little this year, and the Big East to come back in a big way. WVU and USF will both be competitors on the national scale.
9. The Director's Cup is awarded to a school every year that outpeforms all other schools in 20 sports, ten male and ten female. Stanford recently won for the 17th year in a row- with Stanford's very average basketball team in the forefront of many minds, it's easy to forget how dominant they were in last year's football season. One only needs to look at their postseason performance against Virginia Tech to remember how good they were, not to mention their year-after-year consistent domination in track and field. Other nearby notable teams are: #5 Duke, #6 North Carolina, #7 Virginia, #13 Penn State, #17 Maryland, #40 West Virginia, #45 Virginia Tech, #50 Villanova, #96 William and Mary, #114 James Madison.
10. Lastly, and of huge importance... In case you haven't heard, JMU will play WVU on neutral ground (FedEx field, home of the Redskins) next fall. This is precedent-setting and deserving up national attention, which it most likely will not get. But allow me to explain some of the reasons why this story is significant.
First and foremost, JMU pulled a stunning upset of Virginia Tech last year in Blacksburg, 21-16. This upset thrusted JMU onto a national upset scale for the forseeable future, and high profile games such as JMU vs UNC or JMU vs WVU will certainly receive a little bit more attention. In practical terms, more exposure means more money, and a game in an NFL stadium will mean even more potential money. While WVU will pocket a majority of the ticket sales from the game, they must then turn around and pay JMU a minimum payment of $350,000 for playing the game regardless of JMU's turnout at the game. Depending on the turnout, JMU may receive additional revenue if ticket sales for the Dukes cross a certain threshold (in other words, JMU fans, don't scalp tickets. Buy them through JMU!). The game is also important for recruiting exposure, as the Dukes' football program will gain exposure in the very large Washington DC market. Don't underestimate the large amount of alumni from JMU in the DC area- this game is a big deal, win or lose.
I will, as many of you might have already guessed, be writing a more personal entry regarding the JMU-WVU saga. Hope you all look forward to that piece, as I will most likely be submitting it to The Breeze. Until then!
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