Bags Under the Eyes and a Raspy Voice is a Day at the Office for Wednesday Hub

by SMQ on Aug 29, 2007 9:05 AM EDT in News Comment 5 comments

Up against it this morning, so not comprehensive...
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• String Him Up! Bruins Nation is a rather shrill source where USC scandal (or, as they might say, U$C $candal) is concerned, but Michael Vick's troubles have heightened the sensors to underground dog fighting and the L.A. Times subsequently confirmed a "scoop" of sorts by a BN commenter Tuesday that Trojan running backs coach Todd McNair was convicted on two separate incidents of animal cruelty for chaining dogs to trees and cars in 1993 and 1996. The ex-Chiefs/Oilers running back was charged with 81 counts of cruelty to 22 pit bulls allegedly being trained for dogfights, according to an old New York Times article dug up by "Meriones" and cited by the L.A. Times.

McNair: At least we know he's not a snitch.
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This is either water under the bridge - "We looked into it to make sure we knew what happened," Carroll said. "That was a long time ago." - or evidence of utter shame - "McNair needs to be fired. NOW." - depending on your L.A. loyalties.

Those of us without that sort of interest have to sort out what we think about an employer's obligation re: past convictions of employees. Has McNair paid his social price as a result of the legal conviction, or is it an everlasting black mark on his character? It might be an easier call if he wasn't also implicated in the ongoing Reggie Bush housing scandal.

• Mr. Powe's Wild Ride, Redux, Part Twelve...: Poor Jerell Powe: after two years of hemming and hawing, mockery, acceptance and repeated rejection, he finally worked his way into school and Ole Miss practices last week, only to be declared ineligible Tuesday. Again:

The NCAA ruled that Powe can receive "athletically related financial aid to attend classes," but will not be permitted to practice or play until at least the fall of 2008. It also invalidated part of Powe's high school records because he completed a "significant amount of coursework in an unusually limited amount of time - much shorter than the average time it takes students to complete similar courses."

It was the same concern the NCAA expressed last year, when it invalidated seven core credits. Powe's attorney, Don Jackson, said all of the work was invalidated again, including classes he completed at Wayne County High.

The NCAA said in a press release that it remains concerned about Powe's ability to balance school and football.

"The idea for determining if student-athletes are academically eligible to participate in college sports is to ensure that the rigors of practice and competition do not interfere with the primary reason student-athletes enroll in college - to get an education," Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president of membership services, said in a press release. "Mr. Powe has not achieved sufficient academic success under NCAA rules to permit athletics participation."

Thus begins Year Three of the `05 blue chip's never-ending oddyssey to the field. The NCAA's fundamental conceit here is its faux knowledge of why "students" go to "college" in the first place. Perhaps Kevin Lennon enrolled in Cornell or wherever to get his degree in embattled non-profit administration, but things work a little differently in the SEC, where football fuels academic success (hell, it fuels everything):

...in a statement released by Ole Miss, athletic director Pete Boone said the university is appealing because Powe has a better chance of acclimating to college if he is allowed to play.

"We think it's important for Jerrell to be a part of the team," Boone said in the release. "In our experience, the support that Jerrell would receive from teammates and coaches would help him succeed in the classroom."

Such pure humanitarianism is only possible motivating factor for the university, which has obviously admitted a student whose qualifications - the ones entirely invalidated by the NCAA - are woefully inadequate; according to the Association, Powe's coursework verges on non-existent, but he apparently will remain at Ole Miss until he finds a way onto the field, come hell or high water, or, I dunno, bad knees. This is the kind of academic environment Steve Spurrier can appreciate.

I will say this for Powe: he and his handlers are persistent, and getting into school is a victory, even if his chances to play are delayed another year. Powe, like everyone, will be better off on a college campus, with a shot at a degree, and he has powerful forces in his corner. Assuming the planned appeal fails next week - again, the NCAA invalidated basically all of Powe's previous work - he's still right where he needs to be to achieve his goals by next fall. At some point, he just has to meet the standard.

(Hat tip: Ragin' Cajun Rebel)

• Mack Brown Is Hypothetically Loaded: These contracts and extensions, they're highly manipulatable entities (ask Mike Shula), but for a guy in Mack Brown's very secure position at Texas, the new deal he signed Tuesday is only a shotgun to scatter the wolves who would lure him from his coop. A shotgun loaded with cash - per the Houston Chronicle's Joseph Duarte:

Take a look at these ridiculous numbers:

Brown will earn a base salary of $2.91 million this season. With incentives, Brown could increase that total to as much as $3.8 million.
Brown will officially earn a base salary over $3 million in 2008.
Along with raises and retention bonuses, Brown is scheduled to make at least $4.11 million in 2009 and $5.21 in 2010. That includes a $1 million bonus if he stays through Jan. 1, 2009, and a $2 million bonus if he's still at UT on Jan. 1, 2010.
Brown will earn a $450,000 bonus if the Longhorns win the national championship.
Not that he would ever reach the maximum incentives/bonuses, but Brown could earn more than $45 million through the length of the contract.

Beyond the generosity of the contract itself, Duarte also cites a couple quotes by members of the UT Board of Regents that point to either an offer from another school or some significant, threatening interest:

The way the coaching carousel turns in the college and pro ranks it would be silly to think Brown hasn't been contacted - even if it's just a courtesy call to gauge interest -- about interest in a vacancy elsewhere.

But these two quotes seem odd:

Example 1:

"Mack is in high demand around the country, and it is critical that we have a salary strategy to keep him here." - UT president William Powers Jr.

Example 2:

During a motion, regents member Cyndi Taylor-Krier said they were "wishing to discourage continued recruitment efforts by other entities and an acknowledgement of the competitive market for one of the few most accomplished and recognized coaches in intercollegiate sports."

• Complexity? No time for that shit: Nick Saban's 3-4 defense: too complicated? Not if you ask him, or his defensive coordinator, Kevin Steele, who's happy with the complexity of the scheme, but doesn't think it's difficult to learn:

"We have components within our packages that are interchangeable," Steele said, "and we can mix and match to take care of a problem. The last thing you want to do is stand on the sideline and the only answer you have for the players is to say, `play harder.'"

And anyway, it helped the Dolphins finish fourth in the NFL in total defense last year. So get bent.

But from the players, who, you know, have to learn it:

"Well, it is complicated, no doubt," said Simeon Castille, a UA senior cornerback, "I wouldn't say that it is too complicated. You really do have to apply yourself to learn it. But it gives you an answer for everything the offense may be doing." (great save, Simeon! A true ninja shows no hesitation! - ed.)

The perception was created in a Miami Herald article this spring titled, "Dolphins Don't Miss Saban." Safety Yeremiah Bell told the paper that the complex pass defense has "been simplified a lot ... They (removed) some things that were really confusing to the players."...According to Dolphins safety Renaldo Hill, instead of one call meaning three things, "Now it means one thing."

Standards for international law on humanitarian concerns? No time for that shit. We are not ready for Western Carolina!
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Renaldo Hill played for Saban at LSU and therefore worked in Don Nicky's system for five or six years, so his criticism is a very minor red flag. Like, a faded magenta flag.

Anyway, flags, defenses, praise, depth charts, sleep: no time for that shit. The Mobile Register reported "Saban showed for work Monday with a raspy voice and bags under his eyes," and some players seem to have no idea where they stand in the pecking order. Poor Terry Grant sounds like a recently-freed hostage in debriefing after months in blindfolded isolation:

With no favorites, there was no noticeable pecking order in practice. The trick was to keep players from becoming overly discouraged or elated with first- or second-string status. Tailback Terry Grant, for instance, didn't learn he had won the starting job until reporters told him while poring over depth charts released Monday.

"Nobody knew," Grant said. "We'd just go in the order they told us to go in."

This "trick" - is it covered by the Geneva Conventions?

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Disagree...

"which has obviously admitted a student whose qualifications - the ones entirely invalidated by the NCAA - are woefully inadequate; according to the Association, Powe's coursework verges on non-existent, but he apparently will remain at Ole Miss until he finds a way onto the field, come hell or high water, or, I dunno, bad knees."

First off, Powe's qualifications were not entirely invalidated by the NCAA. Only certain credits were not allowed b/c he completed them in an "unusual amount of time." Lost in this BS explanation is that he completed them in the timeframe designated by the NCAA when they gave him a "road map" to get qualified.

Further, his coursework is far from "non-existent." He sent in over 35 lbs of documentation to the NCAA. This included the work originally done at WHS, as well as all of his work he re-did over the last 3 years. (It's interesting to note that Auburn had 2 players from WHS who had the same courses and teachers, but were not flagged by the NCAA.)

While you may disagree with the reasons for the university's desire to help Powe, certain things can not be denied. The NCAA has created a new class here, similar to the old "partial qualifier" rule. The NCAA's role is to determine who qualifies for entrance and who does not. Isn't the APR meant to deal with the issues of eligible players once they are admitted?

The NCAA has overstepped its traditional boundries. They put themselves in the position of saying "We think you are capable of going to school but we do not thnk you can handle football and school." This is not their role. They are there to say you can go to school based on your record or not. There should be no grey area.

Other schools should take notice and be concerned. The "he's not ready for college and football" standard is arbitrary and subject to whatever definition the NCAA feels applies. If this is allowed to stand, the NCAA has increased its power ten fold.

At least that's my opinion.

by RaginCajunRebel on Aug 29, 2007 12:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree...

...I wanted to say something like that this morning, Rebel, but I didn't have the time to put it together, so what came out came out. You certainly put it better than I did.

by SMQ on Aug 29, 2007 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually, no...

...I was a little hasty with that concession.

The NCAA can't say whether a student is fit for the classroom. It only judges whether or not he's eligible to play under NCAA sanctions. Powe's admission to the university is up to the university, and it judges on its own standards. The NCAA makes this sort of ruling every other day. It can't kick him out of school.

The only issue is whether the NCAA has final say on who can or can't be on scholarship. The wording of this decision suggests it can put the kibosh on eligibility AND scholarships. If that's the case, I'd agree with you: the university should be able to put whoever it wants on scholarship. It's a market environment - scholarships are valuable, and if the university wants to put ineligible players or anyone else not likely to play on scholarship, it will reap what it sows. I don't see any reason the NCAA should interfere with that; if Ole Miss wants Jerrell Powe in school, it can get him in school and keep him there. But the Association always has the final say on who's actually eligible to play. There's nothing unusual about that.

by SMQ on Aug 29, 2007 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Then the question becomes

this: how is it that the NCAA ruled him to be eligible to attend school on an athletic scholarship, but not eligible to participate in athletics?

You say that the NCAA makes this sort of ruling every other day--but has the NCAA ever "cleared" a player in this manner, where he is eligible to attend but not play? And how does this ruling co-exist with the APR?

by RaginCajunRebel on Aug 29, 2007 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

McNair

We posed the same question - at what point do you allow / not allow a second chance - over on Conquest Chronicles. I'm not sure that I have a good answer, but if the malfeasance remains in the past, then one could assume some kind of progress, if one were that way inclined. As you note, allegiances color response in this instance.

If McNair remains in the "causing embarrassment" position for the season, I expect that it will be made clear that he should seek his fortunes elsewhere. It's rare that Carroll explicitly gives someone the boot, c.f. Eric Wright "deciding" to transfer to UNLV.

by DC Trojan on Aug 29, 2007 3:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs