It's all good (he says)
posted by LW, Friday, June 12, 2009
According to this column by Bart Wright, Forcier says there were no hard feelings with the Bruins' coaching staff.
That's a bit hard to believe when you read this utterly bizarre press release Forcier issued recently.
Actually, Forcier was national news before the locals had a chance at him because he was interviewed on a segment of the Dan Patrick show on nationally available Fox and satellite radio stations earlier in the day.
“He tried to pull some things out of me that weren't there,” Forcier said of the Patrick interview. “I had to tell him, eventually, it was all about me wanting to be a quarterback, not a receiver; that's what being here is all about, but it's not about being angry at UCLA.
“Right now,” said the 6-foot-3, 190-pound sophomore-to-be, “I have a new home and I'm just concentrating on being the best quarterback I can be for Furman University; sometimes you just have to move on.”
Coulda fooled me.
An interesting item from Wright's column: Forcier was rated ahead of Willy Korn coming out of high school.
In the wake of Alabama's slap-on-the-wrist sanctions, Andy Staples asks a reasonable question: Given the immense financial stakes involved in today's world of major college athletics, has the NCAA become too lax a policeman of its schools?
The conflict of interest is becoming too obvious and problematic to ignore.
Like New Mexico this year and New Jersey in 2007, it seems the NCAA has banned the death penalty. For the nation's marquee programs, 25-to-life probably is out as well. Stripping a handful of scholarships over three or four years and forcing the vacation of wins, the NCAA disciplinary equivalent of serving a 30-day jail sentence on weekends, is about the harshest penalty the once-feared Committee on Infractions will hand down to a name-brand football program.
So forget bowl bans. Forget the TV ban, the NCAA's version of the atomic bomb. NCAA leaders, representatives of the schools themselves, understand now that it's bad for business to slaughter the cash cows, even if some of those cows occasionally cheat on tests or take money from agents.
Staples' hammer addresses the nail's head when he takes a glimpse back to the severe penalties the NCAA smacked on SMU in 1987, when the Mustangs' season was canceled.
The NCAA also added the following sanctions against the Mustangs:
• They could play only seven games, none at home.
• They would be allowed 15 scholarships.
• They were allowed only five assistant coaches.
• They were banned from television and from bowls.
SMU didn't even bother playing in 1988, choosing instead to field a roster of freshmen and practice for 1989.
Now, just imagine if the NCAA issued even one of those penalties to USC as a result of the Bush investigation. The heads of programming at ESPN/ABC and Fox Sports Net would suffer simultaneous heart attacks. If the Pac-10 was in the midst of negotiating a new TV deal, it would have to take significantly less money, hurting the conference's other nine schools. The same would go for a similar penalty against Alabama. In fact, the money involved has grown so much that had the Albert Means scandal occurred last year, the NCAA probably wouldn't have slapped Alabama with a bowl ban and a 21-scholarship reduction. The Crimson Tide's probation for the textbook case actually leaves Alabama open for the death penalty, but it's highly unlikely the committee would take so drastic a step even if 'Bama ran afoul of the rules again. Alabama -- or Florida or LSU or Tennessee -- is simply too valuable a commodity. During the next 15 years, CBS and ESPN/ABC will pay a combined $3 billion to televise SEC sports. If those networks couldn't televise Alabama-LSU or Florida-Tennessee, they might ask for a refund. When punishing Alabama also hurts Auburn and Mississippi State, the NCAA can't afford to throw the book at an offender.
What happens when two schools are forced to vacate victories in a particular season, and those schools actually played each other? The NCAA, as pointed out here by Dennis Dodd, must address that question with regard to a 2007 game between Florida State and Alabama. The Seminoles won, but the recent academic scandal in Tallahassee forced the vacation of that victory, among others.
Kevin Scarbinsky, columnist for The Birmingham News, views Alabama's president as a shill for the football program and wonders when he'll acquire an appreciation for integrity.
Clemson fans might be wondering if Alabama's president would like to work at a place like Clemson.
The Tigers' baseball coaching staff is in for a long wait to learn the intentions of a few of its drafted players and signees.
Jack Leggett says his hopes are high regardless of what happens between now and Aug. 17.
"We have some athleticism," Leggett said. "Most of our infielders back. The same guys are coming back in the outfield, our catchers are coming back. ... We have a solid pitching staff.
"They tasted the super regionals, we got close to Omaha. We are very highly motivated."
More on that in The GVegas News and Independent-Mail.
LW
For questions or comments on this blog entry, please visit The West Zone message board.
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Chris Forcier said yesterday that his transfer from UCLA to Furman came about solely as a result of his desire to be a receiver.
According to this column by Bart Wright, Forcier says there were no hard feelings with the Bruins' coaching staff.
That's a bit hard to believe when you read this utterly bizarre press release Forcier issued recently.
Actually, Forcier was national news before the locals had a chance at him because he was interviewed on a segment of the Dan Patrick show on nationally available Fox and satellite radio stations earlier in the day.
“He tried to pull some things out of me that weren't there,” Forcier said of the Patrick interview. “I had to tell him, eventually, it was all about me wanting to be a quarterback, not a receiver; that's what being here is all about, but it's not about being angry at UCLA.
“Right now,” said the 6-foot-3, 190-pound sophomore-to-be, “I have a new home and I'm just concentrating on being the best quarterback I can be for Furman University; sometimes you just have to move on.”
Coulda fooled me.
An interesting item from Wright's column: Forcier was rated ahead of Willy Korn coming out of high school.
In the wake of Alabama's slap-on-the-wrist sanctions, Andy Staples asks a reasonable question: Given the immense financial stakes involved in today's world of major college athletics, has the NCAA become too lax a policeman of its schools?
The conflict of interest is becoming too obvious and problematic to ignore.
Like New Mexico this year and New Jersey in 2007, it seems the NCAA has banned the death penalty. For the nation's marquee programs, 25-to-life probably is out as well. Stripping a handful of scholarships over three or four years and forcing the vacation of wins, the NCAA disciplinary equivalent of serving a 30-day jail sentence on weekends, is about the harshest penalty the once-feared Committee on Infractions will hand down to a name-brand football program.
So forget bowl bans. Forget the TV ban, the NCAA's version of the atomic bomb. NCAA leaders, representatives of the schools themselves, understand now that it's bad for business to slaughter the cash cows, even if some of those cows occasionally cheat on tests or take money from agents.
Staples' hammer addresses the nail's head when he takes a glimpse back to the severe penalties the NCAA smacked on SMU in 1987, when the Mustangs' season was canceled.
The NCAA also added the following sanctions against the Mustangs:
• They could play only seven games, none at home.
• They would be allowed 15 scholarships.
• They were allowed only five assistant coaches.
• They were banned from television and from bowls.
SMU didn't even bother playing in 1988, choosing instead to field a roster of freshmen and practice for 1989.
Now, just imagine if the NCAA issued even one of those penalties to USC as a result of the Bush investigation. The heads of programming at ESPN/ABC and Fox Sports Net would suffer simultaneous heart attacks. If the Pac-10 was in the midst of negotiating a new TV deal, it would have to take significantly less money, hurting the conference's other nine schools. The same would go for a similar penalty against Alabama. In fact, the money involved has grown so much that had the Albert Means scandal occurred last year, the NCAA probably wouldn't have slapped Alabama with a bowl ban and a 21-scholarship reduction. The Crimson Tide's probation for the textbook case actually leaves Alabama open for the death penalty, but it's highly unlikely the committee would take so drastic a step even if 'Bama ran afoul of the rules again. Alabama -- or Florida or LSU or Tennessee -- is simply too valuable a commodity. During the next 15 years, CBS and ESPN/ABC will pay a combined $3 billion to televise SEC sports. If those networks couldn't televise Alabama-LSU or Florida-Tennessee, they might ask for a refund. When punishing Alabama also hurts Auburn and Mississippi State, the NCAA can't afford to throw the book at an offender.
What happens when two schools are forced to vacate victories in a particular season, and those schools actually played each other? The NCAA, as pointed out here by Dennis Dodd, must address that question with regard to a 2007 game between Florida State and Alabama. The Seminoles won, but the recent academic scandal in Tallahassee forced the vacation of that victory, among others.
Kevin Scarbinsky, columnist for The Birmingham News, views Alabama's president as a shill for the football program and wonders when he'll acquire an appreciation for integrity.
Clemson fans might be wondering if Alabama's president would like to work at a place like Clemson.
The Tigers' baseball coaching staff is in for a long wait to learn the intentions of a few of its drafted players and signees.
Jack Leggett says his hopes are high regardless of what happens between now and Aug. 17.
"We have some athleticism," Leggett said. "Most of our infielders back. The same guys are coming back in the outfield, our catchers are coming back. ... We have a solid pitching staff.
"They tasted the super regionals, we got close to Omaha. We are very highly motivated."
More on that in The GVegas News and Independent-Mail.
LW
For questions or comments on this blog entry, please visit The West Zone message board.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Donnie Patterson. Donnie Patterson is the founder of Patterson Tax Service, located in Easley, S.C. He has been active in tax preparation since 1970, and offers a full range of tax and bookkeeping services.
Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.