NCAA 2009

[grumbler]

Yeah but Grumbler will bring the Spartoons up on his own. 

When?

[Eddie Teach]

I haven't been keeping notes.

[charliebear]

One of my coworkers went to the University of Michigan.  His daughter, when she was a middle school student, got a "B" in Art.  She asked her father "Does this mean I have to go to Michigan State?" 

I cannot believe you said that.   Harrumph.

[sbr]

The University of Oregon football program has announced a plan that could end the season-long suspension of LaGarrette Blount.  The very earliest he could play is against Stanford on Nov. 7th, at most he could play in 4 games plus a bowl game.


Unedited video of Chip Kelly's  press conference.  If you are interested int he story it is pretty good; it is ~22 minutes long but the questions at the end are the best part.  Some good thoughts there by Coach Kelly.

http://www.katu.com/home/related/632...?video=YHI&t=a


http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-t25-oregon-blount&prov=ap&type=lgns

EUGENE, Ore. (AP)—Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount's season-long suspension for punching an opponent could be lifted if he meets certain conditions, coach Chip Kelly said.

"It's not a football decision, it's a human being decision. It's about that individual," Kelly said Friday. "And he's got a lot of things he's got to do."

Blount punched Boise State's Byron Hout in the aftermath of Oregon's 19-8 season-opening loss to the Broncos. The suspension banned him from games, but Blount was allowed to remain on scholarship and practice with the team.

Kelly said he set down academic, behavioral and football-related "ladders" that Blount must achieve for possible reinstatement, but he did not provide specifics. Academics could not be addressed earlier because classes had not started.

Blount signed an agreement outlining the requirements last week.

Should Blount meet the conditions, the earliest he could return to the team is Oregon's Nov. 7 game at Stanford—and there is no guarantee that he would be allowed back at that time, if at all.

"There's a distinct possibility he'll never play football here again," Kelly said. "But the ball is in LeGarrette's court."

Blount could not be reached for comment on Friday. Following his suspension, he was told not to speak to the media.

Kelly said he reached out to sociologist Harry Edwards and former NFL coach Tony Dungy before revising the conditions of Blount's suspension.

The university said in a statement that athletic director Mike Bellotti and President Richard Lariviere had been involved in the process. Oregon was also in contact with Pacific-10 Conference commissioner Larry Scott.

Scott was expected to make a statement regarding Kelly's decision later Friday.

Hout was dropped to his knees by Blount's punch following the Ducks' Sept. 3 loss to the Broncos on national television.

Kelly suspended Blount for the rest of the season the next day. Because he is a senior, the suspension effectively ended Blount's college career.

On Thursday, the university newspaper published a letter of apology from Blount. In it, he offered his "sincerest apologies and heartfelt regrets."

"On a personal note, I probably will never be able to erase the memories of the post-game events of that day. Given this, I do not expect to be given a second chance to be a positive and responsible member of the football program and of this community," Blount said in the letter to the editor. "Going forward, what I hope for is the opportunity to show that I am able to earn a second chance as a University student. And if I am so fortunate, I believe that I also will demonstrate that I am a better man and a better human being for having lived through this unfortunate experience."

It was Blount's first public comment since an apology to reporters immediately following the Boise State game.

Blount and Kelly called Boise State coach Chris Petersen and Hout soon after the suspension to apologize. Kelly said Friday that the call was Blount's idea.

There has been support for Blount among some of Oregon's fans. Students at last weekend's 42-3 upset of California at Autzen Stadium were seen wearing "Free Blount" T-shirts.

Blount, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound transfer from East Mississippi Community College, rushed for 1,002 yards and a school-record 17 touchdowns last season.

Oregon has won three straight games since the loss to the Broncos. The No. 16 Ducks host Washington State on Saturday.

This is very clearly NOT a football decision.  The Ducks are 3-0 without Blount and have found some good backs to replace him.  They do NOT need Blount to do what they want this year, nor do they need the distractions this will cause.

After being kicked off of the team Blount stayed in school (Oregon did not take his scholarship away), and has practiced every day with the scout team.  In the coaching staff's and athletic department's eyes Blount has done enough for them to eventually reconsider the length of the suspension at some point int he next month.  He signed a formal agreement that was drafted by the University's legal department outlining everything he has to do to even have a chance at playing again.

Minutes after Blount's antics after the Boise State game I was one of the very first to say that he needed to be kicked off of the team for good.  I am glad to see that Coach Kelly, the University and the Athletic Department are open to Blount proving himself worthy of rejoining the team.

[Berkut]

It is Oregon - of course they will let him back on the team. Nike nation cannot be denied, and sucker punching another player and trying to attack fans is really not so bad. Did they consult with Phil though?

Not nearly as bad as those uniforms.

This is very clearly NOT a football decision.

[Barrister]

To be fair, you talk about Michigan St. WAY more than about Minnesota.

To be fair this board has Michigan State fans and does not have Minnesota fans.

I like all football-related topics from the state of Minnesota.

It's just that the Gophers get so very little national coverage I have very little reason to talk about them

[sbr]

It is Oregon - of course they will let him back on the team. Nike nation cannot be denied, and sucker punching another player and trying to attack fans is really not so bad. Did they consult with Phil though?

Not nearly as bad as those uniforms.

This is very clearly NOT a football decision.

What do you mean this is Oregon, do they have a history of things like this?  I can think of two players they brought in that were questionable: Rodney Woods and Richie Incognito, who you should know. 

The Ducks are 3-0 without Blount; since the Boise State game the Ducks have averaged over 200 rushing yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry as a team.

LaMichael James has rushed for over 100 yards in the last 2 games and is averaging 5.9 yards per carry.

The earliest Blount could come back is Nov 7th against Stanford.  The only games he could possibly play in are

Nov 7 - @ Stanford
Nov 14 - Arizona State
Nov 21 - @ Arizona
Dec 3 - Oregon State

Any bowl game.

If this was a football decision wouldn't they have brought him back before the Cal game, or even better after the WSU game this weekend?  If it was a football decision wouldn't they want him for the @ UCLA, @ Washington, USC gauntlet they run later this month?

In what way would it make sense to bring this kid back and re-open that can of worms and invite all of those distractions when they are already running the ball better than they could with Blount, and likely after the conference title has been decided?

[Berkut]

Because they can smell a BCS bowl, of course, and they know their chances are better with Blount than without him. The fact that they are 3-1 is why they are going to shuck and jive to get him back - if the season was a write-off, they would not bother with the flack bringing him back is going to bring after they supposedly suspended him for "the season".

They cannot bring him back too soon, of course - there is only so much chutzpah you can get away with.

And this is the Pac-10 - the title will most certainly not be decided with 4 games left in the season. And who are we kidding - Blount is their best back, and they know it. They are smelling success, and figuring that by November the stink of him will have faded a bit, so they are laying to groundwork with these protestations of all he will have to do now.

I guess at Oregon a "season long suspension" doesn't mean all that much. If they wanted to suspend him for a few games, they could at least have the honesty to say so from the start. I love this idea that somehow going to class is so amazing that they need to re-evaluate his punishment. ZOMG! He went to class! He must be really, really sorry!

[MadImmortalMan]

I like all football-related topics from the state of Minnesota.

It's just that the Gophers get so very little national coverage I have very little reason to talk about them

The new stadium looks pretty sweet. 

[MadImmortalMan]

Wow. Nailbiters in Michigan and Minnesota. That John Clay is a monster. Somewhere between him and Tolzein is a Heisman.


Michigan should have beat Sparty, but the Great Lakes rain decided to remind Coach Rodriguez why they don't play the spread in the Big Ten.

[derspiess]

I really didn't understand how Michigan was the underdog, but after watching most of the game I guess it made sense. 

Didn't watch any of the Cincinnati-Miami (OH) game, but I wonder how the bloody hell Miam was able to score 13 points on them.

And it figures that the Hokies would squeak by vs. Duke after last week's win

[Valmy]

Congrats to Sparty for a great win! 

Congrats to Iowa for a crap win.

[Valmy]

Michigan should have beat Sparty, but the Great Lakes rain decided to remind Coach Rodriguez why they don't play the spread in the Big Ten.

If you are under the impression the spread can only work in nice weather you obviously have never been Lubbock where Texas Tech is.  The winds there are simply ridiculous.

[dps]

Michigan should have beat Sparty, but the Great Lakes rain decided to remind Coach Rodriguez why they don't play the spread in the Big Ten.

If you are under the impression the spread can only work in nice weather you obviously have never been Lubbock where Texas Tech is.  The winds there are simply ridiculous.

Was MIM one of they guys who was saying, back when Florida hired Urban Meyers away from Utah, that his system couldn't work in the SEC?

[PDH]

Michigan should have beat Sparty, but the Great Lakes rain decided to remind Coach Rodriguez why they don't play the spread in the Big Ten.

If you are under the impression the spread can only work in nice weather you obviously have never been Lubbock where Texas Tech is.  The winds there are simply ridiculous.

Joe Tiller used an early spread in Laramie (wind, cold, wind, cold, wind), and now Christiansen is here using one...

With the wind, the short passing game of the spread is a lot better than a vertical game, at least it seems that way.