“Road to Banzibar” Closes this Friday: All Hope for Justice Bobs on the NCAA’s Special usc-sanction Announcement, which is teed up for Friday, and could be a Classic, or could be a Joke
Happy Memorial Day. And it IS slightly happier than the average Fallen Soldier Awareness Holiday, because on Sunday, ESPN reported that the NCAA is finally ready to end the suspense and disclose their decision on usc’s wrongdoings. The Sports Network’s inside source says that the big announcemt will come this Friday.
One piece of speculation that I discussed earlier was that the NCAA likes to drop bombs on Friday, so that they usually have the Weekend to prepare for any official backlash. It is often too late for the victim — in this case usc — to put together any official rebuttal for the Press before the weekend begins. Also, emotions tend to cool off a little over Saturday and Sunday, so the attacks on Monday tend to be a bit gentler.
So the report that it’s TGIF (“Trojans Get It Friday”) fits in with that bit of idle speculation. The flip side of the bomb theory is that it’s not usc that they want to avoid, but everyone else, when the penalties turn out to be nothing more than a slap on the wrist. If the NCAA delivers ZERO sanctions, and says that the evidence was insufficient, there will be a monumental backlash, and not just from Bruins and Notre Dame fans. Bushgate and Mayogate have received National attention, so the whole Country is watching to see if the NCAA has any balls at all. If the trojans skate, many people will assume that the NCAA is nothing but a $20 whore, who couldn’t jeopardize the money that might be lost for its member-institutions, by kicking sc off TV and/or out of Bowls.
The common belief is that sc will have to vacate games, and give up some scholarships. The DEBATE is on whether or not sc will be banned from Bowl Games, or banned from TV, and for how long. Also, will their BCS Trophy and Bush’s Heisman be Officially invalidated? Meanwhile, NO ONE expects the Death Penalty (or disbanding of the FB team), even though that’s what the rules call for in cases like this that happen during a Probation period.
Anything less than the Death Penalty, and the system is still broken. Anything less than the Death Penalty is a Green Light to everyone else to start paying their players, and enticing them with Agents, Drugs and Sex. OH, to be a 17-year old with a rocket arm.
Assuming that the Death Penalty is off the table, the only way for the NCAA to maintain integrity would be to cut scholarships by 5 a year for 3 years, take the trojans off TV and out of Bowls for 2 years, vacate all wins that Reggie Bush played in, repo his Heisman, take back the BCS Crystal Football, and assign an Independent watchdog to oversee the sc “Program” 24/7. If the NCAA fails to do this BARE MINIMUM, then the real investigation begins. Look for the Yahoo guys to expose NCAA Insiders with trojan ties, or maybe they’ll uncover death threats, like the ones received by Coliseum Committee members. The trojans will stop at nothing to protect their precious and only commodity, and Blackmail and Extortion would not be even close to a last resort.
But just because it’s inevitable that they’ll try, there’s no guarantee that they will find a willing patsy on the inside. So if sc does get hammered, it doesn’t mean that they didn’t bribe everyone they could. But if they get off Scot free, you can draw your own conclusion. And a two-day weekend isn’t going to change it.
Comments
6 responses to “SANCS FOR THE MEMORIES”
Dead Soldier Awareness Day, really, wtf! I don’t know who you are or what you are about, however, a lot of good people over the years have sacrificed their lives for this country. Whether you agree with this country’s policies or not, show these servicemen and women the respect that they deserve.
[T-H’s Note: I’m sorry that you didn’t get my point, which is: It sucks that good soldiers have to die (for Religion, Money, Power, OR Freedom), and Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day to me, as the Son of a Serviceman, are very SAD. Therefore, the news about the impending NCAA announcement took some of the edge off the sadness. Again, I am sorry that you didn’t understand what I was trying to imply. Please re-read it in context, and write back if you still want me to delete the words that I think give the sentiment much more impact — I think it’s more expressive of WHY it’s a sad occasion. The term “dead soldier awareness” isn’t inherently disrespectful — People SHOULD be aware of all the sacrifice. But if you really want me to change it, write back.]
LOL you forgot to mention the black helicopters…
Dead Soldier Awareness Day IS INHERENTLY DISRESPECTFUL and you should remove it immediately. Perhaps you should interview a veteran and gain a little perspective on the sacrifices that have gone into your having the free speech to write such things.
[T-H’s Note: FINE. I’ll take it down, because of how SENSITIVE all you military people are being. I was making a point that it was SAD because they are still “sacrificing” [dying], but I guess that’s not relevant. I wasn’t even trying to be anti-military. BTW, I was totally FOR the WAR in Iraq, and I think they should have been MORE aggressive. So don’t get the wrong idea that I am anti-military. I am just anti-18-year olds getting killed.]
although you make a point for “dead soldier awareness” I can’t help but think about your many student readers who lost their father (or mother) in one of the gulf wars and have grown up without and have to look at “dead soldier awareness” and think to themselves “is that all that my father is remembered as?” I grew up in the Viet Nam era and lost a lot of good friends.
Okay — Just to placate the people who were offended by the word “dead,” I changed it to “fallen,” which means the EXACT same thing, but resonates with respectfulness. I hope you are all satisfied, and you stop launching your drone attacks.
“Dead” soldiers, though accurate, is not a sensitive description, though I wouldn’t go so far as to say it is insensitive, However, I could see how others may disagree.
People will not interpret your usage of the phrase as frustration with the leaders of this country. In describing veterans, there is no argument to be made against giving them the benefit of the doubt. Politicians, of course, are a different story.