Ho, Ho: The next Ding Dong you hear may be the NCAA coming for Lane Kiffin, who should use the Twinkie Defense to avoid letting the Tennessee Hostess Scandal be the icing on his Cupcake
Lane Kiffin is not a Twinkie. The shelf-life of a Twinkie is 1000 years, but Kiffin’s is about the same as the milk in your fridge right now, thanks to some Tennessee co-eds. The issue is NOT whether or not the girls had too much creamy filling — It’s actually about them travelling to high schools to support Tennessee recruiting targets. And this — along with two other violations — make up the alleged focus of a new NCAA probe.
With Kiffin being a trouble-magnet, it’s no surprise that the NCAA has been coaxed to re-open/re-intensify their investigation, but it IS a surprise that these three minor Lane Violations might — according to an ESPN article — add up to one Violation classified as MAJOR. If this is the case, trojan A.D. Pat Haden may pounce on the opportunity to sever all ties with the troubled Coach. It would be a great way for Haden to mask his true colors, and make a statement that usc won’t tolerate blatant rule-breakers any more. Of course, what will REALLY be happening is Haden installing someone who can actually Coach, and who won’t be in the NCAA’s crosshairs at every moment, so usc can go back to business as usual. Did you see the Calipari $200,000 recruit payoff accusation? Makes you wonder what goes on at u$c.
The other two minor violations that may combine with Hostess-gate to be considered a Major Infraction are both about illegal contact. First, some Kiffin Assistants broke rules by allegedly attending an All-Star game and talking to at least one recruit when they aren’t allowed to do so. Then, some Kiffin Assistants violated some new rules, by contacting recruits on the players’ Facebook pages. Leave it to Kiffin and his brain surgeons to NOT realize that Facebook posts aren’t private. Facebook has 500 Million users Worldwide now, and almost all of them know better than to do what Kiffin’s guys did. If you’re going to break rules and you want to keep it on the down-low, you DON’T do it on Facebook.
So of course the NCAA is all over it. Even THEY have a Facebook page. So if they find Kiffin’s staff guilty on all counts, do the Vols get punished? You think the State of Tennessee hates Kiffin NOW, what if they lose scholarships because of him, all these months after he fled town? It’s just another case where the punishment should follow the DOER, as opposed to the Institution where he happened to commit his crime. But Kiffin escaped punishment — and pitchforks — by leaving town in the middle of the night, WELL before the sanctions hit… just like Pete Carroll. The difference is, Carroll’s u$c, from top to bottom, was complicit in the sleazy shenanigans that have now become synonymous with the trojans. Tennessee’s brass, unlike Mike Garrett, probably had no idea that Kiffin was violating every rule that he could find. Garrett, it appears, was encouraging it all along. So it makes sense that usc received Carroll’s sanctions, but it doesn’t make as much sense for the Vols to get hammered. The best thing would be for Haden to do the right thing ( in light of a damning finding by the NCAA), and say enough is enough. Then at least the right guy would be getting penalized.
The problem is, UCLA fans should want Kiffin to stay right where he is. Just about ANY replacement for Kiffin would be an upgrade in just about every facet of Coaching, on and off the field. So hopefully, Haden will just stand Pat.
Comments
4 responses to “HOSTESS-GATE SNO-BALLS!”
Sounds to me like the cupcakes are going to get the ding-dong in trouble.
I hate to stutter, but perhaps the problem was that Kiffin’s cupcakes were actually Ho-hos…
Did coach Peetie feel at all compelled to leave ‘SC because of his Malibu affair with an ‘SC grad student? Is Snoop & company still hang’n on the sidelines during Lane’s practices? What are the ‘SC play’as driving these days? Escalades? The ‘SC football program is bound to be made into a reality TV show. The sideline hollywood entourage posers hang’n with the program could pose as guest stars! Peetie should be on danc’n with the stars if they could find a dance partner that weighed less than the 95 cents like him & could deal with his small man complex.
‘SC haters’ should read the eyewitness accounts in Boys Will Be Boys to learn first hand the disgusting behavior of traitor Ken Norton, Jr. There are greater concerns than him coaching @ ‘SC as he actually belongs there with his recorded egregious behavior. Yikes!