Agreed. But until changes are in place, don't you play by the rules?

Just a thought.


8)

succinctly said xan, my sentiments exactly. This farce will eventually implode. Who woulda thunk that the old fashioned Alabama style "support" would end up being a truer or more realistic way of running college ball?

I'm not condoning "cheating." Poverty and dispair makes people do things they wouldn't normally do. I don't think that Reggie Bush is inherently dishonest or evil. I don't think his family were trying to do anything that they had beleived that other people hadn't done. The unfortunate thing is that they got greedy and tried to do too much with dishonest people and they were too naive to recognize it. It's not an uncommon story.

When you look at how much money Reggie Bush generated for USC, the Pac-10, the NCAA, ESPN, CBS and ABC and their advertisers, was $100,000 in total benefits received over 2 years for their entire family to live in Southern California near their son a heinous crime?

The naivety may be an assumption...or not. Nope, not uncommon.



No. And heinous crime might be a stretch. As far as I know, its being treated as an NCAA violation.






8)

Not disagreeing with you, Tally, that what the Bush family did was an NCAA violation. Given that the NCAA goes to pretty good lenghths to communicate that receiving ANYTHING from anyone other than from the University administration is a violation of NCAA policy, I'm having a hard time thinking that there was total ignorance and naivitee by the Bushes. However, since by the time facts like these come to light after the athlete's eligibility has expired, there's no penalty for the athlete for what he/she did. The University bears the brunt of the violations even though the sometimes had no way of knowing or controling the situation. If the athlete were held civilly liable for the misdeed, then there would be a huge hammer behind the rules.

But, since most athletes after graduation make minimum wage or turn to crime (I'm only half joking), suing for lost revenues due to NCAA sanctions doesn't make much sense. An athlete takes a summer no show job for $3000 and the University gets banned from TV, losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. It is a rediculous system.

Now, if I were USC, I'd have my attorneys all over Bush if it costs them their National Championship and even one game of tv exposure. At some point the loop has to close.

But then, there shouldn't be this loop in the first place.

please forgive the misspellings

I agree 10000000000%, and made this very same argument on another board. Colleges make millions upon millions of dollars on their atheltes, especially at major programs like USC, and give them ZERO. One of these kids has a career ending injury, he never sees the pros and never gets that money. If you go to school on an academic scholarship, you still have the free time to work on the side. Not student athletes, and especially not football players. The vast majority of your free time is supposed to go to keeping your grades up, and getting better on the field for the school. They NEED to introduce a stipend for student athletes. A lot of these guys were prob workig while in high school to help their families if they come from poor homes, then they have that income taken away cause it is the only way they get to play college ball,a nd they have to hope in 3 years they get drafted. I am never surprised when I hear of a collegiate athlete accepting bribes and gifts. Never. Nor does it make me lower my opinion of them, unless they robbed someone or some such.

"If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit!" Wait......wrong Trojan. Carry on. :D

None of this will change the fact that he's Reggie MF'n Bush! He's the best athlete to come out of college in decades. He was clearly the best player in college football whether he retains his Heisman or not. Everyone knows he's the best. Who cares?

The guy is in the NFL now and he's about to revolutionize the professional game as we know it. None of that crap really matters, anyways - he can pay back any fine they could possibly dream of. Whether he was eligible or not, you can't take back Bush running all over the NCAA like he was playing on the little kids' playground. Give it a rest.

The college ball system is crap. Legalized exploitation. They should have the same opportunity as HS kids signing in beisbol. Think Ryan Perriloux would have chosen LSU or anyone else over a million dollar signing bonus to play minor league ball if the Jets had a minor league club? A lot of these kids are way out of their "league" being in any college setting to start off with. Nothing wrong with earning a few million with no college or paper degree.

I'm not much on this sort of news. I get tired quickly of the T.O. soap operas, the Manning bowls, the who's next busted lines, and all the off field hoopla. Schemes vs. the Packers is much more compelling.