This should be fun...

Origin: Stewart Mandel (bread + crumbs)

This list is not comprehensive but we have to start somewhere so here goes.

If college football had a commissioner, and I were in fact that person (head for the hills!), here are various policies I'd chase/enact:

---Comprehensive Schedule Reform: First legislation item signed would be that D-IA teams may only play other D-IA teams.  The day of the cupcake is over.  I would also strongly encourage every BCS conference team to play other BCS foes or quality non-BCS teams in out-of-conference play.  Games between powerhouse schools (USC/Notre Dame, Ohio State/Texas) would be incentivized with cash from NCAA coffers.

---Comprehensive Poll Reform: I'd work with the Associated Press to assemble a more engaged, talented group of voters for its poll.  I'd use NCAA money to send necessary information to all voters and pollsters such as full DVDs of all available games, or at least significant portions of the games, plus copious statistical information, quotes and stories of all games played each week.  Pollsters would be given several days to digest the material and not be allowed to send their ballots until Wednesday morning at the earliest.  Poll release would tentatively be scheduled for Thursday at noon Eastern time.

---Clarification on Postseason Play: No playoffs.  Ever.  The Rose Bowl would entertain only the Pac-10 and Big Ten champions.  If that were to disrupt a BCS championship game, tough.  Also there would be a reduction of bowl games.  There are simply too many bowl games right now and I'd work to phase out a few a year until the number settled at around 15-20 games.

---Football Saturday: I saw this somewhere else and I like the idea; like the NFL, college football games would start at similar times.  For example, all morning games would begin at say, 11 a.m. Eastern, and then the next round of games wouldn't kick off until 3 p.m., followed by more games at 7 p.m. and then a late flurry of 11 p.m. games.  One could channel-click at home with ease knowing each game watched would be at a similar junction as all other televised games.

---Preseason: I would allow every team one local exhibition scrimmage (minimal contact) against a nearby foe that wouldn't count on the schedule.  No fans or media would be allowed, but it would help teams smooth out a few rough patches before their first official game.  I would also bring back the various preseason classic games, which would count on the schedule.  It would be a great opportunity to schedule quality OOC games on opening weekend and help promote the sport.

---Eligibility: Players will have five years of eligibility, period.  There will be no redshirts, but players can apply for a 6th year of eligibility if faced with unusual injury, personal or family circumstances.  Transfers would no longer lose eligibility but must continue to sit one year before being allowed to play in games.

---NCAA Reform: The rule book would be burned.  A committee would be formed to greatly simplify the NCAA's mission to a few basic principles (think the U.S. Constitution---brilliant and concise, with delegation).  The majority of rules should be created to maintain 1)academic integrity and 2)fairness throughout the game.  Nearly everything else would be superfluous.  The NCAA would make many more rulings on the issues that come before it, making its mistakes but also setting precedents that will help clarify what is right and what is wrong.  Most people understand how our courts make their decisions and can reasonably anticipate how a judge or jury will react to a case.  In college football, it's almost the exact opposite.  The NCAA is simply too inconsistent and dark and distant.  Time to bring it into the light and create consistency in its rulings.

---Other Concerns: I would encourage a reduction in the number of D-IA teams.  We're at either 117 or 119 teams right now, which is ridiculous.  Ideally D-IA football should have anywhere from 80-100 teams.  Dropping a few D-IA teams would strengthen the quality of lower division football, making it more watchable and popular while also scraping away a handful of persistent losers from the D-IA ranks.  I would encourage the various conferences to find a way to reduce their numbers into something more like 10 teams.  Thus, round-robin play could be institutionalized and we wouldn't have to fret about certain teams playing conference title games and others not doing so.  Finally, I'd make it so that teams participating in 6-3 type games would both be credited with a loss.  That's not fun for the players, and it's not fun for the fans.

So sad: hole in one.

I realize there's the opportunity for schools to set up "charity" golf events with big prizes for everyone if an example isn't set and a line drawn in the sand, but this is ridiculous.  The event was an innocent charity golf outing and the kid hit a miracle shot.  Let him ride off into the sunset with his Harley and never look back.

It's gotten to the point that every NCAA rule can be challenged and the broad, sweeping "no" to every challenge just isn't a legitimate solution.  There are simply too many rules and too many "shades of gray" situations that the NCAA cannot handle.  At some point the organization will have to sit down and simplify things and usher in an era of greater enforcement and monitoring (expensive) but also leniency (humane) or the entire organization will collapse under the powers of its own hypocrisy.

A wave of lawsuits are eventually on the horizon and the NCAA may not be able to afford/successfully challenge all of them.  Whether the organization chooses to proactively save itself or fall down in one swift blow is their choice.

The paradigm shift is coming, it's just a matter of identifying that tipping point when events come together to usher in a new "NCAA" reality.

What small or large event will create the change?  I don't know, but I'm curious.  All I know is that the NCAA in its current condition cannot persist forever.

Anyone have Malcolm Gladwell on speed dial? 

By all accounts, Georgia coach Mark Richt is a great human being.

Based on what I've read about him in Every Week a Season and heard about him from those close to the program, he's an impossibly genuine, kind, and humble man.

But he has a problem.  He's a big-time football coach.

As I've clearly documented this week, part of being a D-I football coach involves managing a roster of well over 100 players, each with their own backgrounds, personalities, motivations and discipline.  When it comes to college football at the highest levels, not every player is going to follow an enlightened path, unfortunately.

Enter Dannell Ellerbe, just one of the many college football players to get himself in trouble this offseason.  Ellerbe stole a teammates car and was arrested for DUI after hitting a tree while joyriding in January.  To make matters worse he gave false information to police.

His situation worked its way through the courts and the University of Georgia, resulting in several layers of discipline.  It is unclear per the article what action the Athens-Clarke County authorities took, but the University was "satisfied" with it---additionally placing him on six months probation and ordering him to take an alcohol-awareness class.

Here's where things get tricky.

After having already gone through the ringer of police, courts, and the University of Georgia and being cleared to rejoin society, his coach also punished him.  Sort of.

He was suspended for the first three games of the upcoming season.

It's not a lot.  But then, what is a lot?  Driving under the influence is a serious antisocial crime, one that could have resulted in something far more serious than a dented tree.

What should coach Richt have done?

I don't know, and that's the problem.  On one hand, three games sounds almost laughable.  If any other coach had done that, he'd have been roasted.  But nobody will make a sound because coach Richt is coach Richt.

On the other hand, the coach isn't a necessary disciplinary figure when it comes to a situation like that.  As noted, the player had to go through several powerful layers of authority these last several months in facing the music for his crimes.  Here's guessing he learned a lesson and got several months' lecturing from his coach on top of it.  That's the coach's job---provide leadership.

Apparently coach Richt's leadership failed.  That must mean he's a bad guy, right? 

I simply don't buy into the whole fan hysteria over how a coach punishes a player for off field situations.  His job is to manage a roster of players, help them win ball games, and set a good example.  However, once a player has committed a transgression (or is alleged to have committed one---we have to remember that pesky innocent until proven guilty thing in this unrivaled country of ours) he has to answer to far greater authorities than his coach.

That's why there's no right or wrong way to discipline or not discipline a player.  A coach's discipline role is more reserved for internal matters---showing up to practice, not making enemies with teammates, doing one's best, going to class, making grade, etc.  That is where he can truly influence a player outside of the day-to-day role as leader and authority figure.

Most of the time, additional punishments by coaches are simply pouring on.  But they have to do it to make a show in front of the press and school officials, nevermind that a player is very likely to have already been sanctioned at every stop.  That's why I call it window dressing, it's a song and dance to balance out a coach's desire to have his player back on the roster and the field (and under his influence) with the petty demands of the press and other agitators.

Keep in mind that coach Richt is held up as one of college football's shining examples of a good-guy coach who runs a clean program.  Yet his team faces many of the same off-field challenges as so-called renegade programs like Ohio State, USC, Miami, Oklahoma and Florida State.  In spite of his fine character, not all his players get the message and take after his example.

Does that mean he runs a "loose ship".  Most certainly not.  Does that make him some kind of cheater because he benefits as a coach from having miscreants on his team?  Nope.

Maybe if he wins a national championship people will start singing a different tune... I don't know.

But I do know he's a college football coach, and so long as he's in that line of work, he's just as guilty as any of the other so-called renegade coach of having the audacity to try and lead a roster full of physically talented individuals, many of whom are unfit to handle the burdens of living a squeaky-clean life.

The average college football fan: why build when you can wantonly destroy? 

Two weeks have now passed since allegations were published concerning former USC tailback Reggie Bush's housing situation.  Other allegations about Bush and USC followed, as well as a sexual assault arrest of a prominent backup quarterback.

Let's quickly summarize the allegations and where I think they're headed.

1)Reggie Bush Scandal

Bush (er, his family?) is accused of living in a $750k home in San Diego, perhaps without having paid any kind of rent.  Most of the accusations have come from the co-founders of the New Era sports marketing company also partnered by his father, LaMar Griffin.  Bush and Co. have been quiet except to allege extortion by the New Era guys.

Smell Factor (on a 0-10, 10 being Watergate): 8/10

The Bush folks aren't helping themselves or USC with their relative silence.  Based on what little we know, it appears his father, a sometime preacher and religious figure, conned a bunch of shady guys and ex-cons out of a lot of money and then left them hanging with a useless company.  This is a juicy story that won't easily go away.

Cheat Factor: 1/10 USC; 4/10 Bush

So far nothing's been connected to USC.  Unless further allegations arrive, USC is guilty of unknowingly playing a star athlete who may or may not have been ineligible.  Bush, or at least his parents, may have enjoyed rent-free living at a nice home and had their debts paid off to boot.  Based on future findings non NCAA sanctions may include USC vacating its 2004 BCS title, and Bush may lose his Heisman trophy.  But we're a long way from that happening.

Sanction Factor: 5/10

I'm not well-versed enough with the NCAA sanction process to make a good guess here.  It's my modest opinion that the NCAA makes up its rulings as it goes, lacking the consistent caseload volume of say, the nation's courts to have any kind of precedent-based system of judgments.  This is bad for the NCAA and bad for its member institutions.  It means a situation like this, with little precedent, is very much up to the whims of the NCAA investigators.

I will add that USC and the NCAA are not on the most friendly of terms right now.  Angry words from the USC camp went public after the resolution of Mike Williams' eligibility situation a day before USC's 2004 opener against Virginia Tech.  The NCAA may not be in a friendly or cooperative mood towards the Trojans.  However, they might not be in a great hurry to punish their flagship college football institution, no matter the past disagreement.

NCAA bylaws clearly state that institutions are responsible (Ed.-ridiculously) for knowing anything and everything about benefits enjoyed by their athletes, athletes' friends and athlete families, and can be punished for any transgressions whether or not they are aware of problems.  Therefore, USC is certainly not immune from a sanctioning process here, if the NCAA finds that Bush were ineligible.

2)Dwayne Jarrett Rent Situation

Star USC receiver Dwayne Jarrett has been living in an upscale apartment in downtown Los Angeles with  teammate Matt Leinart.  Both players used their NCAA stipends to pay a portion of the rent to Leinart's father, who then assumed the rest of the rent payment for the players. 

Smell Factor: 4/10

The smell is more because it's hard to imagine USC not knowing about this.  It sounds like they knew but failed to investigate further whether any NCAA violations occurred.  I'm not all that sympathetic towards USC on this one, but this does highlight some flaws in the NCAA amateurism process.  It basically asks college athletes to take a vow of poverty in order to stay eligible.  Thing is, living in Los Angeles isn't cheap and Leinart wanted a teammate's company as he got away from autograph hounds and into a nice downtown apartment.  Hard to blame the kid.

Cheat Factor: 3/10

Once again USC's nose is clean here-no boosters, no athletic department money.  Leinart and Jarrett didn't play the NCAA's poverty game and their "benefit" was getting away from campus and having a family member of one of the roommates take care of a part of the rent.  That's how many college students get by, needing an extra few dollars from family and friends.  Problem is it's frowned upon by the reptilian rulemakers in Indianapolis.

The NCAA's amateur policies: ugly, cold-blooded, and lethal.  Ask Jeremy Bloom 

Sanction Factor: 5/10

This looks like some kind of a violation, albeit a minor one.  I'm assuming at worst, Jarrett has to repay a share of his rent and maybe miss a game or two.  That said, USC finally investigated this and is playing it off as a minor matter.

3)Mark Sanchez Sexual Assault Investigation

Mark Sanchez is USC's highly regarded backup quarterback.  He was arrested April 27 by the LAPD on suspicion of sexual assault, and later released on $200,000 bail.  He has yet to be charged, but has a court date set for May. 17.

Smell Factor: Uknown

Sexual assault encompasses a lot of acts---none of which are tolerable but certainly not all are considered forms of rape and are often benign in comparison (for example, a single improper, uninvited touch can be cause for sexual assault charges).  Because the LAPD has been so vague and charges have yet to be filed, this story is still very much unknown.  Sanchez' arrest normally should raise serious red flags, but it's my understanding that current LAPD policy is to immediately arrest anyone accused of sexual assault, site unseen if an accusation is made.

Cheat Factor: 0/10

Duh.

Sanction Factor: 0/10 NCAA; 4/10 District Attorney

The NCAA doesn't have any say on this case, but the Los Angeles District Attorney's office certainly does.  I believe the delay in specific allegations points to a potentially weak case here.  USC beat writer/persistent critic Scott Wolf's doesn't think much of the allegations either, based on items published on his blog.  As HP has noted, sexual assault and rape allegations rarely find much success against athletes, or in the courts in general.

Even if he survives the sexual assault allegations, Sanchez is not in the clear.  Security cameras place him in an off-campus watering hole, underage, having used a fake ID.  USC's Student Affairs office will have some oversight into future punishments, and he's been temporarily suspended from school (although he was allowed to take his final exams).

It is my assumption that USC coach Pete Carroll will make an example out of Sanchez, and include some form of game suspensions and "doghouse" benching likely to affect much of his 2006 season.  The same thing happened to USC tailback Hershel Dennis, who in 2004 violated a team curfew rule and was investigated and later cleared in another sexual assault case at USC.  He would record just 28 carries that year, after carrying the ball 137 times in 2003.  In other words I think Sanchez's 2006 season is effectively over barring a substantial injury to de facto starter John David Booty.

It was a relatively quiet first weekend for the USC family of scandals.

The previously reported rumor of a LenDale White false drug test proved false.

However, new questions are being asked about the living arrangement between departed quarterback Matt Leinart and receiver Dwayne Jarrett.  Both lived in a posh downtown Los Angeles apartment, and paid equal parts rent ($650).  However, Leinart's father picked up the rest of the tab.  There may or may not be an NCAA violation based on this arrangement.

The apartment was unusually expensive, but Leinart's parents felt like getting him away from the campus and autograph hounds:

I was freaking out for his safety because people were following him home," Leinart's mother said. "He would walk out of his front door and people were waiting there for autographs."

Leinart's father said he put his son and Jarrett on the lease at the Medici complex downtown. Matt paid $650 a month, Jarrett paid $650 and Bob Leinart said he paid the difference.

"I have checks and money orders to prove it," the father said.

USC compliance officials are looking into whether the football program received an unfair advantage because, while Bob Leinart would have been allowed to make up the difference for his son, he might not have been allowed to do so for another player.

Finally, there are questions about Reggie Bush's future representative, Mike Ornstein, approaching a New Jersey memorabilia dealer in hopes of adding him to the Bush team as an official memorabilia guy.

Bob DeMartino said Saturday that Ornstein asked for a $500,000 payment in return for adding him to Bush's team. The request suggests the possibility that Ornstein was acting as an official representative of Bush, who was still a college player, thereby potentially violating NCAA rules.

Ornstein could not be reached for comment. On Friday, he told the Miami Herald that any talks with DeMartino were preliminary.

"All of that was based on only if I got [Bush] as a client," Ornstein reportedly said. "It was only going to be if and when I signed him. No deal was ever consummated until Reggie signed with me after the season."

DeMartino did not become Bush's memorabilia agent.

One more Bush story before I hit the hay.

"Bad News for Bush"

The New Era claim:

The lawyer for New Era Sports & Entertainment alleges that Bush's stepfather, LaMar Griffin, helped start the company with the idea that Bush would become its first star client, but the partnership turned ugly in December when Bush looked elsewhere for an agent...

...the relationship quickly disintegrated into unreturned phone calls, threatened lawsuits and a tense settlement meeting at a 2nd Street office in Santa Monica several weeks ago.

With Bush and his mother seated at a table beside their representatives, Watkins said he and a New Era executive were frisked as they entered the room, "to make sure we didn't have any tape-recording devices on us."

In another development Friday, Watkins released what he said was the content of a past text message from Bush assuring New Era executives they would be repaid.

Once again, Reggie Bush is fingered as knowing what was going on and participating in the process.

The Bush team claim:

Meanwhile, Bush's representatives — who have declined to comment on the purported business relationship — continued to assert that New Era is trying to extort millions from the athlete.

"We identified their scheme months ago and collected written evidence over the course of the months," said David Cornwell, the family's attorney. "And we provided that evidence to the NFL Players Assn. and NFL Security."

It's curious they haven't commented on the business relationship yet.  They're taking a beating in the press.

Sounds like the NFLPA isn't all that impressed with the extortion claims being made by Bush's attorney:

In a brief statement released Friday, the NFL said only that it has advised Cornwell to "consider referring these matters to law enforcement authorities" and would continue to monitor the situation. The NFLPA told the Associated Press it was investigating David Caravantes, a San Diego agent with connections to New Era.

I read this as them gently telling Cornwell that he's barking up the wrong tree.  The NFLPA has more interest in Caravantes, whose career as an agent is probably over.  One word: blackballed.

Here's more timetable information basically supporting what was reported earlier:

According to Watkins, the saga began in late 2004 when LaMar Griffin spoke to Lloyd Lake — a friend of Bush's from the neighborhood — about starting a sports marketing company. They made an unlikely pair. Griffin is a school security officer and minister, Lake a convicted felon who, according to court documents, has connections to a violent street gang known as the Emerald Hill Bloods.

So Griffin and ex-con Lake allegedly founded the company, but needed a third person:

In October 2004, the two approached a third man, Michael Michaels, a Sycuan Indian tribe member who worked for the tribe's development corporation. They spoke in a box suite after a Charger game. New Era was born

Now click your ruby red slippers together three times and you'll no longer live in a tiny apartment in East County San Diego.

According to Watkins, Griffin soon began asking for favors.

First came $28,000 to help repay family debts, Watkins said. Then, in spring of 2005, the Griffins — LaMar, wife Denise and teenage son Jovan — moved into the three-bedroom house east of San Diego that Michaels had just bought for $757,500. Watkins said the family agreed to pay a monthly rent of $4,500

Around the time of the Rose Bowl is when things turned sour for the group:

But in December, with the Trojans preparing to face Texas in the Rose Bowl, the back rent approached $54,000 and Michaels could no longer reach the Griffins by telephone.

"Then, an article came out in the paper that Reggie had narrowed his choices to five agents and he didn't mention his dad's company," Watkins said. "The next thing you know, he's hired an agent."

Bush hired sports agent Joel Segal, instead of Caravantes or another agent arranged by New Era. He had also retained Reebok consultant Mike Ornstein. Michaels and Lake began asking the Griffins to repay $300,000 — the alleged sum of unpaid rent, cash disbursements and other monies poured into New Era.

That's almost too unbelievable to be true.  Griffin, a minister of some sorts, is being fingered for swindling a deep-pocketed Tribal broker and an ex-con associate.  That takes cajones, if the allegations are true.

And for the soon-to-be-famous text message allegedly from Bush:

At some point, Watkins claimed, Bush tried to assuage New Era with a text message that read, in part, "Nobody is trying to screw u."

Why do I hunch that's going to be on a billboard somewhere in Los Angeles?

Now, for settlement talks:

Attorneys for both sides began settlement negotiations, Watkins said. Cornwell refused to comment on whether discussions took place. Watkins said Cornwell offered six figures. Watkins also provided The Times with a copy of a Feb. 13 letter he claims to have sent to Cornwell, asking for $3.2 million

ok.

"Please advise if it is your intention to involve the University in these settlement negotiations," the letter reads. "We would not object to their participation as we understand their wanting to be involved due to the fact this matter was ongoing during their Championship season of 2004 as well as the entire season of 2005, and any lawsuit filed might have an adverse effect on them."

There have been no claims that USC knew about the Griffins' connection to New Era. Coach Pete Carroll has said he was unaware of their living arrangements.

Good news for USC.  An NCAA investigation may have different findings, but one can read into this document to figure out that the New Era folks didn't feel USC was aware at the time of the business and housing deal.

And some new details about Bush's crew of representatives that he chose instead of the New Era guys:

Big-time agents have been almost smug in questioning New Era's pedigree. Yet, a decade ago, when Ornstein worked for the NFL, he pleaded guilty in a scheme to defraud the league of $350,000 and was sentenced to six months in a community correction center, ordered to pay more than $160,000 in restitution, and placed on five years' probation. Segal was fined and suspended by the NFL Players Assn. for providing money under an assumed name to a Florida State player in 1993.

Ornstein declined to comment for this article. Segal could not be reached

Finally, a peek into the potential mindset of Pac-10 investigators as they examine this story:

Ron Barker, a Pacific 10 associate commissioner for enforcement, said that such cases can be difficult for investigators looking at a number of questions.

"We have to hear the whole story," he said Friday. "Did the family get any type of preferential treatment? Did the landlord let it go and not try to collect like they would for a normal person? Did they not evict for a year when it would normally be three months?"

I'll let you digest all of that over your morning cereal or oatmeal or toast or whatever gets you going.

Enjoy the draft.

1)The Houston Texans have signed a contract with North Carolina State DE Mario Williams, effectively making him the #1 selection in Saturday's NFL draft. Who knows where Bush goes...

2)Another Yahoo! Sports story: Bush allegations now date back to November of 2004.

Reggie Bush is now clearly implicated in this story, as a knowing witness to the business deal between his father LaMar Griffin and the New Era group.

[Landlord Michael] Michaels' claims, which he has promised will be backed up by corroborating evidence, moves the timeline of Bush's potential ineligibility back to the Trojans' 2004 undefeated BCS national championship season.

In a statement released to Yahoo! Sports on Friday, Michaels' attorney, Brian Watkins, said that in October 2004 Michaels was approached at a San Diego Chargers football game by Bush's stepfather LaMar Griffin about investing and partnering in New Era Sports & Entertainment, a new sports agency.

In November 2004, Michaels then met with Griffin, longtime Bush friend Lloyd Lake and Bush himself to discuss the plan where the USC running back would be the firm's central client when he turned pro in the spring of 2006.

"In November 2004, in San Diego, Reggie Bush, recruited by his stepfather to validate Mr. Griffin's company, convinced [Michaels and Lake] of its viability," Watkins said in the statement.

"There was the representation that Reggie would come with his stepfather," Watkins told Yahoo! Sports on Friday. "Reggie ratified that."

Michaels said that soon thereafter Griffin asked him to pay off $28,000 of Griffin's personal debt, which Michaels obliged.

BCS officials are now considering whether to vacate USC's 2004 BCS national championship if Bush is found to have been ineligible for any part of that season.

BCS officials told Yahoo! Sports on Friday that if Bush is ruled ineligible by either the Pacific 10 Conference or the NCAA for even one game during the 2004 season, the BCS will discuss amending its rules to allow it to force the Trojans to vacate the national championship.

At this point I don't know what to say.

Allegations are allegations and we need to treat them as such until investigations occur and Reggie Bush and his parents the Griffins attempt some kind of rebuttal, but this is pretty damning.

Bush's link to the NCAA violation allegations is now more concrete.

What's surprising is that the USC Athletic Department has yet to be linked to this in any serious manner aside from an anonymous/sourceless allegation made by ProFootballTalk.com that USC players knew something was wrong and therefore the USC coaches should somehow have known and reported a possible violation to the NCAA.

We'll see if that allegation goes anywhere.

This week is perhaps the worst week in USC athletics history.

The Bush housing allegations began on Sunday night when the Yahoo! Sports piece was first published.  Monday is the height of the news cycle so this story was certain to get played all week.  Then, various allegations and facts about the story have continued to flow from the various media enterprises throughout the week, peaking with today's allegation that Bush may have been ineligible as early as November of 2004.

Combine the Bush housing scandal with Wednesday's sexual assault allegation and arrest of backup quarterback Mark Sanchez, today's news that Bush will not be chosen #1 in the NFL draft as had been anticipated for months and tonight's ESPNClassic's re-airing of the 2006 Rose Bowl loss to Texas, and the USC community cannot be feeling any worse about itself.

This week has been so bad for USC, even some of USC's bitter rivals are sounding almost sympathetic given the string of events.

Wow.

Mercifully, the weekend and the NFL Draft are upon us, giving USC but a brief respite in the crazy news cycle before things heat up again on Monday.

***UPDATE***

Yahoo! Sports is also reporting that agent David Caravantes---alleged to be a member of the New Era group and also alleged to have threatened to extort Reggie Bush and the Griffin family---says he has nothing to do with Reggie Bush:

David Caravantes told The Associated Press on Friday that he is unaware of the investigation, adding: "I have had no involvement with Reggie Bush. The truth will come out."

Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFLPA, confirmed Friday that the probe of Caravantes has begun...

..."I wasn't even aware of the money asked of the Bush family until yesterday," Caravantes said. "They (New Era) recruited me."

Stay tuned...

Michael Michaels, the landlord of the property occupied by Reggie Bush's parents, claims they failed to pay rent at any time during their tenancy.

The parents of Southern California running back Reggie Bush did not pay $54,000 in rent during the year they lived in a home owned by a sports marketing agency investor who wanted to represent the football star, the owner of the house told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The landlord, Michael Michaels, said that Bush's mother and stepfather agreed to pay $4,500 in monthly rent when they moved into the Spring Valley house, the paper reported Friday. They didn't pay for the first few months but promised to pay when the Heisman Trophy-winner started earning millions of dollars after turning pro, Michaels said.

He also sent the Griffins an eviction note on April 3, according to the story.

Watkins said he plans to file a $3.2 million fraud lawsuit against Bush's parents and possibly Bush. The sum includes $300,000 in "out-of-pocket" money that Michaels claims the family owes him and another investor, Lloyd Lake, plus punitive damages.

This story is now very much against the Griffins unless they can produce documentation counter to Michaels' allegations, or somehow discredit the eviction note as park of the alleged shakedown reported earlier tonight.

It remains unclear from the story whether there was a prior agreement to rent the house in return for the future services of Bush.  This fact is crucial in any likely NCAA sanctions against USC for playing an ineligible player.  Michaels does allege that the Griffins promised to pay rent several months into the living arrangement, once Bush had turned pro---but this is not necessarily concrete proof of an agreement prior to the Griffins' moving in.

As reported here yesterday, Bush's representative Mike Ornstein claims Michaels is a longtime family friend---a fact that needs further exploration by media, the NCAA and the Pac-10 in order to clarify the intent behind the housing agreement.  Was he renting the home as a way to look after friends?  Or was he doing it after making some kind of agreement with the Griffins to work with Bush later on---a clear NCAA violation?

The cards are stacked against the Griffins (and indirectly USC), based on my reading of this---I'm an NCAA rules novice but simply leveraging payment against future earnings may be an NCAA violation for improper benefits.

It's not exactly like getting a free car but it goes beyond the normal round of benefits enjoyed by most college students.  This home thing looks more like the deal where you go to the electronics store and get a high-price appliance free for several months before the backloaded payments kick in.

With a pending lawsuit this case is only going to get uglier as accusations fly between the involved parties. 

***UPDATE***

Here's a Yahoo! Sports article by Charles Robinson with details from Michaels alleging that Bush was aware of the marketing agreement at some point last year.  It also details Michaels' allegations in further detail.

It's still a little unclear what Bush knew and when he knew it, but it sounds like he mostly stayed out of the fray.

His parents, however, are looking more and more like freeloaders and frauds. 

Again, source in LA says ESPN reporting something about Bush and his family being extorted by the bumbling trio agent, David Caravantes.

I missed the story, will await the next SportsCenter or any other links on the various websites.

More details needed to see how this reflects on the main issue of the rental agreement and also agent contact.

***Update***

ESPN link

This story just get crazier and crazier.

The NFL Players Association and NFL Security have concluded that sports agent David Caravantes and marketing company New Era Sports used an attorney to try and force USC running back Reggie Bush to pay them $3.2 million after Bush decided not to sign with the group, sources told ESPN's Joe Schad on Thursday.

According to the sources, Caravantes threatened to reveal embarrassing personal information about the Bush family if he did not receive the money. Sources also say Caravantes tried to evict the family from a San Diego house they rented from his business associate Michael Michaels

Just taking a wild stab here, but what are the odds that at least one of Yahoo! Sports writer Charles Robinson's sources was Caravantes or an associate? If so, he's now part of the story, having been the tool for a revenge-minded Caravantes to get back at Bush and the Griffins who refused to bend in front of threats of embarrasment and extortion.

This still doesn't excuse the Griffins. This story may be the reason for their delay in discussing the housing deal, and they may yet not have ok from attorney, but at some point they have to explain what happened and provide ample, legitimate documentation.

The NCAA and Pac-10 are waiting.

***Update***

ESPN also reporting that the NCAA and Pac-10 will wait until after this weekend's NFL draft to begin interviews about the Griffins' housing deal.

Someone finally tracked down Reggie Bush yesterday---in New York City for a marketing appearance before the NFL draft.

Los Angeles Times Story

Bush acknowledges that he knew landlord Michael Michaels, but continues to avoid comment on the housing deal.

His marketing representative, Mike Ornstein, had the following NEW information to share:

[Ornstein] said Michaels was a longtime family friend of Bush's stepfather and mother. Ornstein said Michaels knew LaMar and Denise Griffin were having difficulty paying rent at another residence, so he allowed the couple and Bush's teenage brother, Jovan, to stay in a Spring Valley home he purchased for $757,500 last year.

"They were having a financial problem. So this guy came to them and said 'Move into the house,' " Ornstein said. "And so they did and they worked out an arrangement to pay him. That's what I understand."

Finally!  We have an explanation for the housing deal---sort of.  But it's not through the Griffins or Michaels, but instead one of Bush's representatives.  Grain of salt alert.

We still lack documentation and corroboration from the Griffins and Michaels, but we do have a version of the home deal to analyze.

So we're getting closer to the benefits story and whether Bush's parents received an improper benefit.

This explanation may or may not be legit.  If truthful, it quiets a lot of the fires about improper benefits although it does not remove any of the lingering sentiments of a shady deal.

The article also paints Bush's stepfather LaMar Griffin, as a significant debtor.

On Jan. 26, in San Diego Superior Court, a collection agency won a judgment against LaMar Griffin for $1,954.45 in unpaid bills to a cellphone company, a debt that according to court records dated to late 2001.

So we can now add Griffin's unpaid bills to the now well-documented hijinks of the bumbling trio of agent Michael Caravantes, Sycuan Tribesman and landlord Michael Michaels and professional criminal Lloyd Lake.

A source in Los Angeles is telling me the local news is reporting that USC RS-FR quarterback Mark Sanchez has been arrested and charged with on suspicion of sexual assault tonight.

More details certain to arrive within the hour on the various news websites.

Update: first story link of the evening

Not a good week for the Trojans.

Update:

Los Angeles Times
Daily News

Sounds like the LAPD had fun making a big scene of a routine arrest.

ProFootballTalk's rumor mill has this latest contribution:

From the perspective of the USC football program, the only question regarding the Reggie Bush rigmarole that really matters is whether anyone in a position of authority knew or should have known that Reggie or his family were receiving benefits from any prospective agent.

 

Based on information we've picked up from several sources, it is now obvious to us that multiple members of the USC team knew that something was going on with Reggie.

 

What that "something" is remains to be a matter of contention. Players knew about Bush's family living in a house that they didn't own. Players knew that Bush was involved, to some extent, with the New Era group

 

A smoking gun implicating USC, perhaps. Obviously the NCAA and the Pac-10 have to get some players to admit to 1)knowing about the allegations and 2)allege that the coaches also knew.

What this could do is trip up the argument that what happened was outside the view of USC coaches and administrators and finger USC for failing to report the possible Bush violation.

***
The truth, as always, rests with the Griffins and Mr. Michaels. If a violation occurred, and these new allegations can be proven and coupled with the violation, USC's in for a long summer.

If not---the Bush angle of the story will fall apart.

The PFT rumor will certainly be investigated by the NCAA and various newspapers and extend this story to the issue of USC and compliance, but the actual allegations of a violation will disappear.

My one concern is that PFT's rumor is anonymous and there will be tremendous difficulty for the NCAA in determining the "what did you know, when did you know it" aspect of whether or not USC coaches or administrators were aware of Bush's unusual home situation. I'm not sure what means they have to compel testimony from players and USC personnel since this is not a legal matter but an institutional matters as it stands right now.

USC beat writer Scott Wolf adds a few details about the Pac-10's investigation of USC and any likely punishment for the Trojans.

1)As part of USC's investigation handed over to to the Pac-10, Bush told USC officials he was in the dark about who was behind his parents' lease:

Bush told USC officials he did not know his parents leased a house from a man who wanted to market him and guide him toward a sports agent, according to sources.

Bush gave USC his version of events because the university's faculty athletic representative, Noel Ragsdale, will provide details to the Pacific-10 Conference, which is going to investigate the matter

2)And the Pac-10 has said that if Bush were found ineligible, USC would forfeit its 2005 Pac-10 crown.

If the Pac-10 rules Bush ineligible, USC would forfeit its 2005 conference title, according to commissioner Tom Hansen. USC has never forfeited a game in 118 years of varsity football.

An investigation is likely to last a couple of months, sources said.

NCAA sanctions are yet unknown, but probably weeks to months away assuming their investigations uncover any violations.

***
Yes, folks, we still don't know. Bush's public proclamations aside, until documentation is provided to explain what financing occurred with the home, we're still at square one. The rest of these stories are just beating around the bush unless someone gets their hands on cancelled checks, tax papers, etc.

Hot off the wires, a story updating information about the Reggie Bush situation (or is this the same story formerly under subscription cover at Sports Business Daily? My apologies if this is more or less a repeat of HP's entry, I don't have subscription access to SBD).

Most of this fails once again to address whatever happened between Bush's parents and Michaels and whatever rent/lease payments were made, but we have someone on record saying Reggie Bush did not meet with New Era Sports & Entertainment founder Michael Michaels and his partner Lloyd Lake as well as agent pal David Caravantes.

"I know for a fact they never met with Reggie," said [David] Reyes, who advises pro athletes on how they can help minimize taxes on signing bonuses.

Michaels' name is on the deed to the home Bush's parents were living in.

We now have public testimony that Bush is not directly connected to Michaels or the agent Michaels was associated with, David Caravantes. However, another article published at ProFootballTalk.com says Lake's attorney, Marc Carlos, testified the following at his parole hearing-

"Mr. Bush - or through his associates - had made some type of agreement with Mr. Lake's group."

It is unclear whether the above allegation is a claim Bush had personally met with Lake and his associates, but it stands in contrast to Reyes' claim.

Someone's lying. Looks like HP sniffed that section of the story out pretty well. The truth about Bush's agent connection or lack thereof relies on his word and the word of Reyes against the testimony of Lake and his attorney, Mr. Carlos.

***
We still do not know what the rent payments amounted to between Bush's parents and Michaels. As stated on here before, that's where this story is headed, it's the smoking gun that will chart the future course of events because it appears more and more likely that Bush had no direct personal dealings with any agents or the New Era Sports & Entertainment folks.

The rest of the new AP release paints an ugly picture of the New Era trio of Michaels, Lake and Caravantes.

The Sycuan Casino, of which Michaels is the assistant tribal manager, strongly denounced Caravantes:

"He was trying to help a friend who got sent to prison, and made inaccurate statements about his businesses relationship with us," [Sycuan assistant tribal manager Adam] Day said. "We are going to have our attorney look at statement and transcript to see what actions we can potentially take."

That's legal speak for "you're a big fat liar!"

Looks like the Tribe wanted nothing to do with the bumbling trio:

"There was a request to become partners in this New Era Sports," said Day, "Both the tribal council and the development corporation board of directors refused to join into the business venture."

Here's why:

The Sycuan Tribe said it was approached last fall by tribal member Michael C. Michaels, who created New Era Sports & Entertainment LLC with his partner Lloyd Lake, a documented gang member now serving time in prison for a probation violation...

...Michaels, who is also known as Michael Pettiford, was linked to Lake in a lengthy 2002 FBI affidavit filed in support of arrest warrants for Lake and other accused San Diego gang members. FBI agent Allan Vitkosky that Lake's "close relationship" with Michaels allowed Lake to tap a $10,000 line of credit with a quick phone call when he was running low on money at the casino.

Lake, 32, of El Cajon has a felony record that stretches back more than a decade. Police records identified him as one of 73 documented members of a street gang, according to the 2002 warrant. Lake has arrests and convictions for gun- and drug-related charges, and he is currently serving 12 months in a federal prison in Victorville for beating up his girlfriend while on probation for a drug-related charge.

They sound like real winners.

Of course, one of them has his name on the deed to the home formerly occupied by the Griffin family, Bush's parents. As noted on my very first entry about this story, the NCAA relevant mistakes made here are likely traced to Bush's parents and Bush's parents alone-

However, Reggie Bush's parents are potentially guilty of greed and stupidity

I think accepting a new home from bumbling ex-cons qualifies as both greedy and stupid. Now all that matters is determining what, if anything, was exchanged for that home.

Reyes' opinion of the entire New Era operation is particularly damning:

David Reyes, a financial and tax consultant, said he met with Michaels and Lake before they began courting Bush, and let Caravantes use his La Jolla office. New Era Sports used Reyes' office address on a brochure.

"I know for a fact they never met with Reggie," said Reyes, who advises pro athletes on how they can help minimize taxes on signing bonuses.

"Quite honestly, I was concerned from the beginning with this whole deal with Reggie, as far as getting him," Reyes said. "Most people felt he was going to be a No. 1 pick, and he was going with more of a known entity."

Reyes also said he wasn't aware of Michaels and Lake having any marketing experience.

"This was all from scratch," Reyes said. "They didn't have the credentials."

Yikes.

***
All that matters: Did they pay/what did they pay/was it commensurate with fair market value for that home?

We'll see if today brings any new testimony or documentation about the home deal. Two days in and both Michaels and his tenants have been mum, although it has been reported that the Griffins say they are going to cooperate with any investigation. The delay does little to alleviate the impatient and the pitchfork/torch types who have their minds made up already.

***
What does all of this mean?

Well, it appears the New Era folks are bad dudes. Somehow, they made a connection not with Bush but with his father, mother, or both. The connection was strong enough to situate the Griffins in a new 3,000 square foot home in March or April of last year.

However, New Era wasn't New Era until October of last year. That leaves a 7-8 month gap where it's unclear what Michaels' interest was with the Griffins---if it was one related to the yet-unborn company or one of regular Tribal/casino affairs.

What we do know is that nobody has fingered Bush or USC for any impropriety. Despite petulant accusations from longtime critics, there's simply no proof as of now that USC or Bush was "cheating" or directly and knowingly involved in any impropriety.

NCAA bylaws allow for punishment of institutions that play ineligible player, whether they do it knowingly or unknowingly. So further investigation will determine Bush's amateur status and USC's culpability and level of punishment, if any.

USC's athletic department passed along investigative powers over to the Pac-10 conference, so it appears the NCAA does not yet have oversight [Update---per this LA Times piece, the NCAA has jumped into the investigation: "a Pacific 10 Conference official confirmed Tuesday that the NCAA has joined the conference in an investigation into Bush's connections with New Era"] and is probably awaiting any investigative findings by the Pac-10. Thing is, the Pac-10 has little investigative power other than to question USC about its knowledge of the situation.

When the public is made aware of the Bush's payment situation is likely the same time the Pac-10 will be made aware of it. That is assuming, of course, that the involved parties ever make the details known publicly and truthfully.

In other words, it's a big waiting game outside of whatever dirt is dug up by the various newspapers and yet unknown public offerings by Michaels or the Griffins.

HP tries to piece together the Reggie Bush story with the new information detailed in the Pro Football Talk rumor mill---link.  As a bonus, there's a picture of oddly named Michael Michaels, the agent in question.

Like myself, HP sees the Griffins at the center of this story based on the evidence presented thus far.

Again, unless more proof is shown, it's going to be the word of New Era--a five-month-old company that has never represented a single player and has a convicted felon in its ranks--against that of Reggie Bush and his family.

Shady? You bet.

NCAA violations? At this point, a stretch.  Tomorrow, who knows.

Again, the fact-based community awaits more evidence.

BN is calling this Bush's blue dress... except it isn't.

Choppy, typo-laden transcript from Pro Football Talk's Rumor Mill:

In what could be the next big step toward a finding that USC tailback Reggie Bush was ineligible for all or part of the 2005 football season and that USC knew or should have known about Bush's ineligibility, Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal reports that sworn testimony from two hearings regarding a parole violation indicates that New Era Sports & Entertainment had an agreement of some sort with Bush.

Michael Michaels and Lloyd Lake founded New Era in 2005. Earlier this year, Lake faced the revocation of his parole from federal prison. At one of the hearings, Lake's lawyer, Marc Carlos, testified that "Mr. Bush -- or through his associates -- had made some type of agreement with Mr. Lake's group."

Carlos also testified that, after Bush signed with another group, there was a dispute over "representations made by Bush and his family to Mr. Lake's group" and that "they were going to discuss potential litigation -- or a settlement involving Mr. Bush's involvement with that agency."

David Caravantes, an NFLPA-certified agent who reportedly was being lined up by New Era to handle the negotiation of Bush's football contract, testified as well. Caravantes confirmed his arrangement with New Era: "Lloyd [Lake] and I had got together in October [2005] to start a new sports management company with Sycuan. . . . Since October, Lloyd was a viable part of the company, helping recruit players, and in the process of merging this New Era Sports with Sycuan. In the process of this happening, you know, it obviously hurt the company because he had some relationships with certain players who ended up not signing."

Lake gave the following testimony: "I had a sports agency that we had formed, and we had a guy in, Winston Justice, from USC. . . . Reggie Bush came into town. And at that time he was going to go out with us."

The initial significance of this testimony is that it removes any credible doubt that, at some time after Bush's family moved into the house owned Michaels but before the completion of the 2005 football, Michaels was an "agent" within the meaning of the relevant NCAA bylaws. Thus, if it ultimately is shown that Bush's family paid anything less than fair market rent after Michaels became an "agent," then Reggie was necessarily ineligible under the NCAA rules for each subsequent game.

More importantly, the reference to "potential litigation" suggest that New Era had (or at least thought it had) some type of binding commitment with Bush. If such an agreement was reached prior to the completion of the 2005 football season, Bush was ineligible regardless of whether his mother and stepfather were paying fair value for the house owned by Michaels.

***
Again, the college football angle of this story boils down to two participants: Reggie Bush and USC.

Right now nobody has proven that Bush has broken any amateur rules.  In order to do so, it will have to be shown that:

1)Bush had signed with an agent.  This story fails to address that.  It mentions an agreement between 'Bush, or his associates' to work with New Era Sports & Entertainment.  But there is no written documentation of this of yet.  Only the testimony of a convicted felon.

The story fails to address why Mr. Lake is in jail, but I'm certainly curious, aren't you?

Unless someone produces a paper with Bush's name on a dotted line agreeing to sign with this (or any agent) prior to Jan. 4, 2006, the agent angle is dead.

2)Did Bush had a hand in the home deal?  It will have to be proven that Bush had a hand in negotiations for the home, or was signing checks, negotiating, etc.  My read of this story is that his parents, the Griffins, are involved in the home deal, not Bush.

Being a college football player at a school two hours drive away, it's safe to say Bush was not a resident of the home.  Also, he has no previous experience with those kinds of matters, whereas his parents are adults and are much more aware of what the process entails.

3)The home deal itself.  Did the Griffins make rent payments?  How much did they pay?  Were their payments at fair market value?

The answers to these questions go a long way towards figuring out the amateurism issues at hand.  They are the real smoking gun, but are also what leads us farthest away from USC and Bush.  I think this is what is frustrating the pitchfork & torch crowd, because the most likely NCAA violation among these scenarios occurred farthest from their target: USC.

The Rumor Mill piece fails to provide answers to these questions, instead only adding the name of a convicted felon to the mix and distracting from the more narrow and vital NCAA issue.

Again, I hope the Griffins will provide documentation about their home deal in a timely fashion.  It will take this story to its next destination instead of the current hysterical, innuendo driven limbo where we currently are.

The University of Illinois is fighting to protect its mascot, Chief Illiniwek.  Here's a recent news release from the University about their efforts in appealing the NCAA's restrictive policy towards what it deems "hostile and abusive" mascots and logos.

Via the SportsBizBlog.

Last week ESPN.com ran a 3-day series of stories about big-time boosterism in college football and college athletics.  I don't have a lot to add, other than to provide comprehensive links to review all the stories at your own discretion.  Of little surprise, many of the stories are a mix of fact, hearsay, mythology and legalese.

The entries about former Nike CEO Phil Knight and two corporate types who are Troy boosters are very benign in comparison to what is written about Auburn Trustee Bobby Lowder and also the Alabama/Tennessee boster case.

ESPN.com investigative reporter Mike Fish wrote most of the pieces, with some entries by ESPN money guy Darren Rovell.

• Just Do It!-Oregon, Phil Knight, and Nike
• Money Talks-Oklahoma State and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens
• Corporate $upport-Troy and the boys from Movie Gallery

• Wave of Support-Tulane University fundraising after Hurricane Katrina
• Supply and Demand-Ticket prices and how some teams "license" seats through costly donation requirements

• Tiger of a Trustee-Auburn and Bobby Lowder
• Most Powerful Boosters-Self explanatory, ESPN's "Gang of 10" if you will

• The Crimson Hide-Logan Young, the Feds, Tennessee... outstanding magazine-like presentation with graphics, photos, video, documents
  

Old link, but it's interesting.  Via FanBlogs, which compared data among schools playing in 2006 BCS games.

The equity in Athletics Disclusure Website has the raw athletic budget data for all Div1 schools -- interesting stuff.

USC and Florida State look like peasants compared to Texas, Ohio State and Georgia.

Here's the link to the Equity in Athletics website with links to the disclosure forms. 

What's bowl season without late-breaking announcements of ineligible players, suspensions, and arrests.  We're talking to you, USC, Texas, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Clemson.

The rundown:

• ESPN very nearly made Matt Leinart ineligible for the rest of the season after asking him to do a short promo for one of their programs.  USC self-reported the error and he will regain eligibility before the Rose Bowl.  D'oh!
• Several Texas players were named in a variety of police investigations, although it appears they won't be charged or suspended.
• Wisconsin's Booker Stanley is once again in trouble, this time for an alleged domestic assault.
• Several Northwestern part time starters will miss the Sun Bowl for a variety of academic and disciplinary reasons.
• Clemson added three more casualties, two academic and one disciplinary.
  

I'm sure more announcements are coming, particularly related to academics.  Bowl season falls right in that gap between first and second semesters (or second and third quarters), when athlete grades are made final and determinations are made about ongoing eligibility.  Inevitably a few players, for whatever reason (think: not going to class but still playing football) have fall academic issues that go unpunished until bowl time.