Reggie Bush "gives up" Heisman Trophy

Reggie Bush was the best college football player in the country in 2005. I remember watching Bush as he rushed for over 1,700 yards and 16 touchdowns. Bush finished the 2005 season with 2,890 all-purpose yards and 19 TDs. So it was no surprise that Reggie Bush was awarded the 2005 Heisman Trophy. He had 705 more first-place votes than the runner-up, Texas quarterback, Vince Young. Bush received 2,541 total votes. Young received 1,608. There's no question the Heisman belonged to Reggie Bush.

Well, it belonged to him until September 14, 2010. After an NCAA investigation he was retroactively declared ineligible for the 2005 season and USC was severely punished. I'm not getting into the NCAA investigation - that's another post for another day, but the aftermath of the investigation created a controversy that, until this week, was left unresolved. Bush announced yesterday that he was "giving up" his award. And by "giving up" I mean he was forced to hand it over. Word leaked a few days ago that Bush would be stripped of his Heisman, so he did the only thing he could do to save a little bit of dignity - give it up so they couldn't take it.

So now with Bush "forfeiting" the Heisman, what will the Heisman Trophy Trust do with the award?

Well, there are basically three options:

A. The Heisman Trophy Trust can give the 2005 Heisman Trophy to runner-up Vince Young. That makes sense, right? Young was next in line wasn't he? But what about USC quarterback Matt Leinart, who received 18 first-place votes and a total of 797. If Reggie Bush had been ruled ineligible before the season began, Leinart would've been directly effected. There's no doubt opposing teams would've defended the Trojans differently. Would Leinart's numbers have been worse since he lost his starting running back and best play-maker? Or maybe Leinart would've thrown the ball more, adding up more yards and touchdowns. Without Bush, maybe Leinart wins the 2005 Heisman. So I'm sorry Vince, you're not getting the trophy.

B. They could re-vote. I'm not spending much time on this one, because I don't consider it an option. Re-voting for a five-year-old award is ridiculous. You would be asking voters to ignore the successes (or failures) the 2005 Heisman hopefuls have experienced since the original voting took place. For example, Deangelo Williams and Elvis Dumervil have had success in the NFL, while Brady Quinn and Matt Leinart have been huge busts. It would be impossible to ignore such information. So, on to plan C.

C. Leave the award vacant. No one knows how a Reggie Bush-less season would've played out. Even if Leinart finished with similar numbers, there's no way to know how the votes Bush received would've been distributed among the other finalists. So the 2005 Heisman Trophy should be awarded to no one. To me, this is the obvious choice. I don't think any individual or group can make an accurate and unbiased decision on what happens to the trophy. Therefore you must leave it alone.

Today the people with the opinions that matter made their decision. In a statement released this afternoon, the Heisman Trophy Trust said,

"As a result of Reggie Bush's decision to forfeit his title as Heisman winner of 2005, the Trustees have determined that there will be no Heisman Trophy winner for the year 2005."

The Trust went on to say,

"It was a difficult decision to return the Heisman Trophy and he (Bush) exhibited great character in acknowledging his mistakes and accepting the consequences."

So there you go. Reggie Bush gives back his trophy and the trustees decide no player won the Heisman in 2005. There will be an empty line next to the year in the official Heisman records. USC has removed all Reggie Bush pictures and memorabilia from campus. His name has been erased from the NCAA record books.

Now that we're finished with all of this nonsense, no one will ever know that Reggie Bush won the 2005 Heisman...right? WRONG. The memories remain. They can't take that away. And hey, if I forget, I'll just go to You Tube and look up Reggie Bush highlights. We all know, and we'll always know, who won the 2005 Heisman Trophy. To be clear, I'm not condoning his actions, which were clearly against NCAA rules. And I'm no way insinuating that Reggie Bush should be allowed to keep the Heisman. What I am saying is that it doesn't matter if he has the actual trophy in his possession. It doesn't matter if there is no official winner of the 2005 Heisman. I know who won it. Decades from now I'll still know who won it, and I'll tell my kids who won it. In 2005 I knew Reggie Bush was the best player in college football that season. Five years later my mind hasn't changed.

Iverson to China?

I never thought I'd see the day when Allen Iverson was forced to play overseas. Iverson's personal manager, Gary Moore, is saying no NBA team has shown interest in signing the 35-year old free agent, and playing in China is a possibility. Iverson, who has averaged 26.7 points a game over his career, with an average of 29.7 PPG in the playoffs, is one of the best pure scorers in the history of the NBA. He is arguably one of the top five scorers, pound-for-pound, that we've ever seen, winning the scoring title four times. Iverson was the Rookie of the Year in 1997 and the league MVP in 2001. He was an 11-time All-Star, winning the game's MVP award in 2001 and 2005.

I don't believe that out of 30 NBA teams, no team would consider taking a chance on signing Iverson for the upcoming season. But with training camp approaching, no one has made the call.

Moore recently said, "We're very astonished," that no one is showing interest in the veteran guard. Moore added, "I don't think he's done."

Iverson has been hobbled by injuries the past couple of seasons. There is concern about his attitude, and the fact he may not want to accept a role coming off the bench. Add to that he's not a big fan of practice, and I understand why many teams will avoid signing the aging superstar. But his talent and his toughness have never been questioned. Somewhere in the NBA, there has to be a team that could use an experienced, scoring guard, that can provide them with 15 solid minutes a game. And he is sure to sell tickets and jerseys, which is never a bad thing.

Allen Iverson is a future Hall-of-Famer. He's one of the best and most exciting players I've ever had the pleasure of watching. Hopefully he'll finish his career in the NBA.

Iverson's Top 10 Plays (well worth the three minutes to watch)


And you can't talk about Allen Iverson without this classic video...

NFL Week 1

- Calvin Johnson was robbed. Plain and simple. I saw him catch the ball. The fans, the players, the coaches all saw him catch the ball. And the referees saw him catch the ball. Both feet were down. His butt and one arm were on the ground, and he's holding the ball with one hand in a controlled manner. He caught the ball. BUT, the rule says he didn't. The controversial rule states,

"If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete."

So the official made the correct call. But that doesn't make it right.

See for yourself...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSYDYI4F4xs

- Michael Vick is back. He was 16/24 for 175 yards, 1 TD, and a 101.9 QB Rating. He also picked up 103 yards on 11 carries. Solid.

- Arian Foster is beast. Foster finished with 3 touchdowns and 231 rushing yards on 33 carries.


- The Bengals didn't live up to the hype. Cedric Benson lost a fumble. Terrell Owens dropped a couple of balls that should've been caught. Carson Palmer threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. The Bengals' special teams gave up a touchdown on a kickoff return to open the 2nd half. The Bengals didn't come ready to play, at least in the first half. And the Patriots did. But there are plenty of positives to take away from the first game of the season. The Bengals outscored the Patriots 21-14 in the second half. Palmer threw for 345 yards and 2 TDs, but threw that costly interception. Chad Ochocinco had a huge game, scoring a TD with 159 receiving yards. Rookies Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham both had solid debut performances. The Bengals were a perfect 2-2 in the red zone and 3-3 on 4th down. They had more first downs and more total yards. So it wasn't all bad. In the end, it's only one game.

- The Vikings should play every week on Thursday. Football is much more enjoyable on Sunday when no one talks about Brett Favre.

- Thank you C.J. Spiller for killing my fantasy team.

- And thank you to Dallas Cowboys' offensive tackle Alex Barron. Thanks for putting Redskins' linebacker Brian Orakpo in a choke-hold to negate that game-winning touchdown pass by Tony Romo. (I have no beef with Romo or the Cowboys. This is purely fantasy football related.)


- The Jets' offense looked awful. Six first downs. 1-11 on third down. ZERO touchdowns. Mark Sanchez only threw for 74 yards (2.9 yards/pass) and had a quarterback rating of 56.4. The Jets only had 176 yards of total offense. Doesn't matter how well their defense plays, they can't win if they can't score. They have alot of work to do before the Patriots come to town next week.

- Ray Lewis is still a bad man. That hit on Dustin Keller was nasty. Maybe Keller was still a little shaken up when he went out of bounds too early, didn't pick up the first down, causing the Jets to turn the ball over on downs, thus losing the game.

Boise State's schedule just got weaker...

Division 1-AA school James Madison went on the road at Virginia Tech and beat the Hokies. The loss is arguably one of the worst losses in the Frank Beamer era at VA Tech. James Madison becomes the second D1-AA school in history to beat a ranked D1-A school. The other was Appalachian State's upset at Michigan in 2007.

Virginia Tech 16
James Madison 21

Still saying Boise State is good.
Also still saying their schedule is terrible.

Always remember...

Ten years ago if I had said "September 11" to you, it wouldn't have meant anything. On September 11, 2001 that all changed. I was a senior at Harrison County High School and spent my mornings in the gym working with Coach Whitaker and Ms. Emery. A little before 9 AM that morning I was in Coach Whitkaer's office by the gym. CNN was covering a fire at the World Trade Center's North Tower. Just a few minutes after learning a plane had crashed into the building, the second plane flew into the South Tower. Mr. Barr, the principal, had stopped by to ask me about our Senior class meeting that was scheduled later that morning to talk about our class trip to New York City the following spring. He joined us in the office watching the news coverage. By this time Ms. Emery was in there as well. We all watched in silence, our eyes were fixated on the screen. After flipping back and forth between a couple of stations, CNN stated the plane crashes may have been the act of terrorism. That's the moment when our country, our way of life, were forever changed. This was the day that the words "terrorism," "Osama bin Laden," "Al-Qaeda" were introduced to our vocabulary. This was the day our country came under attack and thousands of innocent lives were lost.

Throughout the day we watched the news coverage in every class. Instead of discussing our class trip to New York City in our meeting, we began discussing other options. We learned about the plane crashing into the Pentagon, the towers collapsing, and the fourth plane crashing in rural Pennsylvania. The White House and Capitol were evacuated, as well as the United Nations buildings in New York. All air traffic in the United States was grounded.

We've all seen countless pictures and videos of the planes crashing, people leaping from the top floors of the towers, the buildings collapsing, and the chaos that ensued on the ground. Those images are still fresh in my mind.



The course of this great country changed that day. I know I'll never forget the chain of events and the different emotions that I felt; I was shocked, scared, angry, and confused. Millions of lives were impacted. It's important for every American to always remember the thousands of people that lost their lives that day, and to keep their friends and families in our hearts as they continue to cope with this tragedy nine years later. I am proud to be an American. I thank God every day for those who serve and protect our country. And whether or not you agree with the military efforts our country is involved in, it is your duty as an American to support our troops. God bless the United States of America.

An SEC coach punished for violating NCAA rules...

...and it's NOT Kentucky's John Calipari. The University of Tennessee released a list of self-imposed sanctions for the Men's Basketball team earlier today. Head Coach Bruce Pearl lied to the NCAA during a 17-month long investigation concerning possible recruiting violations. Athletic director Mike Hamilton is taking away $1.5 million of Pearl's salary over the next five years and Pearl is forbidden to leave campus to recruit for the next twelve months. The salaries of assistant coaches Jason Shay, Tony Jones, and Steve Forbes have been reduced by 25 percent as well. Shay cannot recruit off-campus for three months, Jones for nine months, and Forbes for an entire year. And remember these sanctions are self-imposed, as the NCAA investigation is ongoing. The NCAA investigation should be wrapped up by December.

Some people are calling for Pearl and/or his assistants to be fired. Some people are saying the sanctions are too harsh, saying the recruiting limitations could affect the school for several years to come and the salary cuts were excessive or unnecessary. But I'm satisfied with the punishment. I think Hamilton made the right moves, and he deserves credit for taking such swift actions against his own program. Many schools have imposed recruiting restrictions on themselves in an attempt to appease the NCAA. But I've never heard of an Athletic Director going after a coach's money the way Hamilton did. Coach Pearl will miss out on $500,000 of his $1.9 million salary in 2011. Even to someone averaging over $2 million a year between now and 2015, that's alot of money to lose. Hopefully this decision by Tennessee will set a precedent. If you break the rules, there's a chance your wallet could take just as big of a hit as your school. Losing $2 million is alot scarier for a high-profile coach than a post-season ban, no TV, recruiting restrictions, etc. that may or may not follow him to the next job. For coaches that leave programs facing sanctions, it's a way that the coach responsible for the sanctions can be held accountable for his actions. If Pearl left for the NBA tomorrow, it wouldn't matter what type of punishment the school or NCAA impose on Tennessee...but losing $1.5 million hurts, and I'm guessing it hurts bad.

What the NCAA has in store for Tennessee remains to be seen, and it could be months before we find out. But until then, I'm content with the job Mike Hamilton has done handling the situation.

links...
Mike DeCourcy, Sporting News http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/feed/2010-09/vols-penalties/story/tennessee-self-imposes-penalties-on-basketball-program

Associated Press, from ESPN.com http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5554682

Peace out Darnell

Darnell Dodson is no longer on the UK Men's Basketball roster...from Marc Maggard's Twitter account

marcmaggard

Darnell Dodson is off UK's basketball team and won't be coming back..... http://bit.ly/9dQLYt

The Darnell Dodson saga has finally come to an end. If he's really gone, I only have one thing to say...good riddance. Dodson was one of my least favorite UK players of the last few years. I didn't like his attitude, and I didn't like his game. He came to UK with the reputation of being a dead-eye shooter. He played 15 MPG and shot only 35% from behind the arc - not horrible, but hardly outstanding. He was fifth on what I consider to be a poor outside shooting team behind Josh Harrellson, Eric Bledsoe, Jon Hood, and Patrick Patterson. And he wasn't any better on the other end of the court. Is this decision final? I have no clue. But I hope it is. Peace out Darnell. If you need any help moving your stuff out of the Lodge, hit me up.

Boise State a title contender?

Boise State is legit. They are a good, solid football team. They beat another good football team in Virginia Tech. A win against a top-10 program is a good win for any team, but it’s a great win for Boise State. Too bad that’s the only good football team they’ll play all season. Yes I know they play Oregon State, but they just lost to TCU. Being ranked #24/22 (AP/USA Today) and losing your first game probably means you’re on your way out of the top 25, at least for now. That leaves VA Tech as the only ranked team Boise St. plays all season. But I’m in a giving mood, so I’ll say Boise State plays two ranked opponents. They’ll beat Oregon State at home on September 25, and then enjoy the cake-walk that is their conference schedule. They’ll finish the season undefeated, again, and be in the discussion for the national championship game. I don’t have a problem with them being in the discussion. But I have a major problem with them playing for the national title, if that is where the chips fall.

Alabama is probably the best team in the SEC. Their schedule includes games against five ranked opponents; Penn State, Arkansas, Florida, LSU, and Auburn. Ohio State is the best team in the Big 10. They play four ranked teams; Miami, Wisconsin, Penn State, and Iowa. Texas, the best team in the Big 12, plays only two teams currently in the top-25, but those teams are Oklahoma (#7) and Nebraska (#8). Not to mention the quality of the un-ranked opponents Alabama, Ohio State, and Texas will face is much greater than the un-ranked teams in the WAC. I know there were several teams in the WAC that made bowls last year, but six wins in the WAC to become bowl eligible is less than impressive, at least to me. Boise State beat VA Tech with a month to prepare. They had a month to prepare for both Oregon and TCU last year. And they had five weeks to prepare for Oklahoma in that classic Fiesta Bowl match-up in 2007. Would they survive a four-game stretch like Florida’s schedule in October of this year: at #1 Alabama, vs. #21 LSU, vs. Mississippi State, vs. #23 Georgia with a record of 4-0?…or even 2-2?

My point is this – I have no love for good teams in bad conferences. If Boise State wants respect, and wants to be taken seriously as a “college football powerhouse,” they need to leave the WAC. It’s that simple.