by Timothy Weisberg | Sep 21, 2010 | Blog
They say what hurts us only makes us stronger, but New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush has become anything but strong after fracturing his leg in Monday night’s 25-22 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Bush had trouble with Candlestick Park’s signature wind gusts, and muffed a punt, hurting himself in the process. Just days after stating giving back the Heisman Trophy was “not an admission of guilt,” Bush fractures his fibula.
Now I guess you can say it all comes back to us, and that’s why it’s called karma. Boy did Bush feel that karma hit him hard, a direct hit to his right leg. He is now not only hurting mentally, amidst the controversy swirling around his days at USC, which resulted in a complete disassociation with anything USC, Bush is hurting physically.
Karma got the best of him, and cut him from beneath his legs. A tall-tale microcosm for a reputation gone awry wrong. The football Monday night acted as a symbol of his reputation, and the gusts of wind as the swirling controversy that pushed his reputation around. Having been tarnished, the reputation was hard to get back, and was a microcosm for how he handled it: he lost it in the wind of controversy. Sure he eventually picked the ball back up, but it was too late; karma was waiting for him with a blow below the belt, that being the precious femur in his right leg.
Now I do not go about implying a higher deity was responsible for his injury Monday, but it could have been fate. It’s only minimally coincidental that within days of refusing to admit guilt regarding improper benefits he received at USC, he winds up in crutches and out four to six weeks.
Karma has struck Bush, and not even a life-size band-aid will be able to heal his bleeding wound that oozes out denial, controversy and reputation.
His collegiate career has been burnt to ashes, and now his NFL career has suffered. And like his inelgibility as a player at USC, its going to costs his teammates in New Orleans. One win? Two wins? We can’t know for sure, but what we do know is that the injury is a small message from karma; unfortunate events brought upon by the will of fate based upon past events.
One bad deed does not go unnoticed. A small price to pay when an opportunity presents itself, and you fail to take advantage of it.
He has lost his Heisman Trophy. Okay he gave it back, but he knew darn well as an ineligible player it was not rightfully his. He has lost all ties with USC; his accomplishments and achievements thrown away as if he never existed. Now in the NFL, he has a broken fibula, and thats not only a setback in his professional career, but a negative impact on his teammates.
So it might only be one loss. But that one loss could be next week, or during the playoffs. It also only took one ineligible player for the NCAA to slap a two-year postseason ban on the Trojans football team, a decrease in scholarships that can be awarded, and a 2005 season that to the university and NCAA, does not exist.
Trust me. One is a significant and very lonely number.
by Timothy Weisberg | Sep 18, 2010 | Blog
Reggie, Reggie, Reggie. You present yourself with a perfect opportunity to come clean by relinquishing your Heisman award, and fail to do so.
Reggie Bush told reporters Thursday that returning his Heisman Trophy was “not an admission of guilt.” Then what was it an admission of? Pretty soon the corner you are backing yourself into will not allow you any wiggle room and you will have to come clean then. But by then it will be too late. This was a chance to admit guilt, admit wrongdoing, apologize to the NCAA and show that you are trying to move forward.
However, not admitting to guilt not only hurts your already tarnished reputation, but if and when you eventually admit guilt, the damage is already done. At least its just a denial stage, and not him bolstering, finding ways to bring up the good things he has done to outlandish the bad.
But in the end, the opportunity is now in yesterday’s trash, and shows that Bush really does not care about what he did to the school, his reputation in college, and all he stood for. All he cares about is making the debacle go away. I said in a previous blog that he didn’t make the right choice giving back the Heisman, only a necessary one. You would assume an apology would complement that.
Instead, the lights are still on him, the “burning” Bush is burning. Pretty soon the “bush” will just become ash, burnt away from the turmoil and controversy that made it fall to its demise. So when that day comes, and he finally admits to wrongdoing, it will be too late.
All he cares about is his current reputation, and how it will effect him as an NFL player. You really think Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo care about the NCAA infractions their presence at the school created? Of course not. They are off making millions in the NBA, which was their original intention anyway.
It did not take long for Bush to lose support from at least one person who was associated with USC at one point. The one who had no support for Reggie Bush was former USC offensive coordinator and current University of Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian.
“He had a chance to apologize, look like the good guy,” Sarkisian told ESPN’s Shelley Smith. “But in giving it back and not apologizing, he just looks like an idiot again.”
Sarkisian did mention that the team was still legitimate that season, and the team’s success was not hindered by Bush’s improper benefits.
“No matter how much money he got paid, that didn’t affect how we prepared,” Sarkisian told Smith. “We weren’t the best team in football because of what he or his parents took.”
But while Bush proclaims his innocence, the USC athletic program tries to rebuild from the ground up under the leadership of new athletic director Pat Haden.
I hate to break it to you Mr. Bush, but until you admit guilt, the problem will not go away, and will continue to be something that is talked about. Sooner or later, the corner will collapse and it will take something Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-esque like climbing of walls to get out of that corner.
Sorry Reggie. Giving back the Heisman won’t make the nightmare go away. And as of now, neither will an apology.
by Timothy Weisberg | Sep 17, 2010 | Blog
Yankees infielder Derek Jeter put on an Oscar-worthy performance, pretending to get hit by a pitch Sept. 15. It was Oscar-worthy because Jeter was actually awarded first base.
So it begs the question…is he a cheater? I would not go that far. Even though the act was quite ridiculous, he is not the only athlete in the world to exaggerate plays in order to get a referee, or in this case umpire, to sway in favor of the player. To me, it’s as cold as the cold wind blows; whoever can put on a good act and fool the ref, they are deserving of a questionable call.
What Jeter did Wednesday night is the same thing basketball players do to draw a charge. Where do you think the term “flopping” comes from. Players will fall back on the floor after not even the least bit of contact to try and get the refs to call a charge. How about a wide receiver who arms the motion of throwing a flag after an incomplete pass in an attempt to get the ref to call pass interference?
Surely 90 percent of the time it is not pass interference, but wide receivers still try and show a “fake” emotion to let the cold wind of questionable calls sway in their direction. It’s like a game of tug-o-war for these players. In professional sports, it has gotten even more ridiculous, but at this level, teams and players are willing to do anything to help their team. That’s what Jeter was doing.
Everybody “cheats” in sports. Jeter just got caught. I think the all-time worst acting job goes to Arkansas baseball player Brian Walker. At least the ball thrown at Jeter actually hit something (the bat).
Walker “hit” pitch did not even graze his jersey, and prompted the umpire to not by any of the shannanigans. Better yet, a pitch later, he struck out, and kept the act going by arguing with the umpire, and getting thrown out of the game.
Okay so maybe nobody knows who Brian Walker even is-he plays A ball by the way, but the fact it was Derek Jeter “cheating” put the controversy in perspective. If a lesser known player had done it, sure it would have been news worthy, but only because it was entertaining to see the acting job. Jeter’s fake reaction to getting hit by a pitch sparked a new perspective: “gamesmanship.”
What do people want from him? To give back the base he took like Reggie Bush gave back the Heisman Trophy?
To me, it could have also been a desperate attempt on his part to do something productive for the Yankees offensively, since his .262 average hasn’t contributed much.
I give Jeter props for fooling the umpire. I know Tampa Bay Rays fans won’t be too happy about that, but they wouldn’t be Tampa Bay Rays fans if they weren’t in a playoff race anyway. Heck, they probably do not even know the “Rays” were once called the “Devil Rays.”
So call him a cheater. If you do, might as well call every athlete a cheater, because they all do it for gamesmanship. Jeter just got caught.
Brian Walker Emmy Nomination
by Timothy Weisberg | Sep 16, 2010 | Blog
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Hello Heisman! The famous words of announcer Keith Jackson as Michigan receiver Desmond Howard returned a punt against Ohio State for a touchdown. That was 1991. This is now. Can you say goodbye Heisman?
Former USC phenom and current New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush announced Sept. 14 that he would be forfeiting his 2005 Heisman trophy.
A dismal time for college football as of late, got even more disgraceful as Bush became the first player to ever relinquish the Downtown Athletic Club’s storied trophy in its 75-year history.
Bush received major pressure from the media and the NCAA to relinquish his trophy after USC was recently hit with major sanctions by the NCAA after it determined Bush received improper benefits during his tenure at USC.
A two-year bowl ban, the disassociation of Bush to any involvement with the university, lost scholarships; it was inevitable that the burning Bush would keep on burning. To the school he does not exist. Asterisks are presented by wins on USC media pamphlets that note there was an ineligible player during the Trojans 2004 and 2005 seasons.
USC did their part, and now it was time for Reggie Bush to do his. As someone who took advantage of thousands of dollars in benefits during his tenure at USC, he is in the least bit worried about the turmoil, controversy and above all, embarassment USC has received over the five-year investiagtion.
His only intention was to go to play football there knowing he would one day be in the NFL, which makes the incident even more depressing.
The Heisman trophy is only eligible for, you guessed it, eligible players. Bush was not an eligible player. Another storied program, an athlete that sparked so much intensity, excitement and passion for the game to be discredited.
Seems to be the new trend in the college sports world. Recruiting violation after recuiting violation permeates the NCAA like an incurable virus.
Sure you can give it antibiotics (an infraction committee), use your defense mechanisms (NCAA Rules Committee), but when its a virus, these techniques in this medical analogy are ineffective. Like viruses, the scandal and controversy swirling around college sports like a giant F5 tornado, is constantly evolving; it is finding new and improved ways to decimate athletic programs across the country.
It starts with the coaching staff, attacking their moral and ethical character, causing them to bend the rule book until it eventually snaps. The virus, made up of boosters, agents, marketers and sketchy recruiting schemes then move on to the Athletic Director, causing a severe side effect: complete negligence and a state of blissful ignorance.
An epidemic has struck major college sports, one that has grown exponentially. Ask former Heisman winners. I bet you could put millions on them ever believing one day a Heisman ballot would be left vacant, an entire season and athlete excommunicated from the institution he represented.
It is a sad day for the sports world. Reggie Bush did not do the “right” thing. He did the necessary thing. If he didn’t do it, someone else, most likely the Heisman committee, would take back what is rightfully not his and do it for him.
So say goodbye to the 2005 Heisman. Get Will Smith and Tommy Lee to wip out the Neuralyzer and erase the Heisman winner, the trophy and the ballet from your memory bank. As far as we are concerned, the 2005 winner never existed.
by Timothy Weisberg | Sep 9, 2010 | Blog
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University of Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green was suspended for four games by the NCAA for selling a jersey to a proposed agent. According to the USA Today, Green sold his 2009 Indepedence Bowl jersey for $1,000.
So does that mean that its okay to sell your game jerseys to fans? I mean, it’s not like his scholarship is covering his tuition, books and room and board costs.
In an idiotic move, one of the Bulldogs top offensive players will be sitting out for a third of the season. He led the team in catches last year, and was a five-chip recruit for the class of 2008. The 21-year-old junior will now be on the sideline pondering whether or not it was even worth it to sell his jersey.
The Independence Bowl? It would be even funnier if he got to sell his prized jersey for an even more ridiculous bowl game: “Georgia wide receiver suspended for allegedly selling his Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl jersey.”
Although this is not the case, he should still feel a little bit embarrassed about his actions. Not only is it detrimental to the team, but it would, I hope, be demoralizing to such a prospective athlete, who could probably declared himself eligible for the 2010 NFL Draft.
But like the clouds of suspicion behind ineligible players, agents, recruiting violations, the clouds of controversy are now hoovering over the Dirty South. I mean Athens, Georgia.
Green was already investigated for allegedly receiving improper benefits from an agent, but he has salted his wound of suspicion more drastically with this act of stupidity.
From Southern California to North Carolina, hell the entire eastern seaboard, recruiting violations and NCAA sanctions appear to be the norm for the college football world these days. In a game defined by boosters, agents, and the fight for the best recruits to play for storied programs with high expectations, it comes to no surprise that such “illegal” measures are being taken by numerous coaching staff around the country.
A.J. Green is a fantastic athlete; has great hands, speed, agility, and is a deep threat everytime the ball is snapped from the line of scrimmage. However, like many great athletes, there is this constant trade-off: one’s intelligence level.
You should know better. At 21 years old, this is not a time to experiment with the gray areas of ethical behavior. Like a little kid that discovers putting his hand on the stove causes the hand to burn, Green should know that selling personalized items for a profit is strictly forbidden among student athletes.
I want to meet the guy that would actually pay $1,000 for an A.J. Green jersey. I wouldn’t even pay that much for a jersey worn by Mark Ingram in last year’s national championship game, heck a Kobe Bryant game seven of the NBA Finals jersey.
Either the agent is on a two-way street of idiocracy along with Green, or Green let his arrogance and ego get the best of him. Not even a BCS bowl game jersey. So disappointing.
That’s college football for you. Makes you wonder how they pass their classes. Oh wait, do they? Oh boy. A whole other issue.
by Timothy Weisberg | Sep 7, 2010 | Blog
Former University of Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli gets cleared on Friday to play for the University of Mississippi, only to see his new team lose its home opener…to Jacksonville State?
Masoli was dismissed from a team he guided to a Pac-10 title and the Rose Bowl, and found himself in jeopardy of being forced to sit out a season per NCAA transfer rules. However, he has his degree from Duck Nation, did not “transfer” per say, and apparently only moved to Oxford, cleared to play the night before the Rebels home opener.
Saturday rolls around, and by the late afternoon, the Rebels are 0-1, and Masoli is probably wishing the NCAA had forced him to sit this season out.
The FCS Gamecocks defeated the Rebels in a remarkable comeback win, 49-48, in double overtime that stunned the Oxford faitful Saturday afternoon.
The Rebels led 24-3, and appeared to be cruising in what was supposed to be a warm-up game against an FCS foe. But just ask the 2007 Michigan Wolverines how that turned out. Appalachian State stunned the college football world then, and now it was the Gamecocks turn to do it in 2010.
The Gamecocks coverted on a fourth and long, scoring a touchdown with under twenty seconds left to cut the lead to two points. Two-point conversion to send it into overtime. No problem.
Fourth-and-fifteen in double overtime. That was easy too. True freshman Coty Blanchard threw a strike to the endzone that left a Gamecock receiver displaying his ballet skills, as he dipped one foot in bounds to cap off the third do-or-die play of the game.
With all the momentum on their side, why not go for two to win it all. In case you did not know, it is only in the third overtime that teams must go for two. But the Gamecocks had something else on their mind: a victory over an FBS foe, better yet, an FBS foe from the SEC.
Blanchard showed off his athleticism weaving between Rebels defenders and throwing a little floater to the Gamecocks running back Calvin Middleton, who dove into the end zone to give the Gamecocks the improbable victory.
That’s right folks. Ole Miss is 0-1, and will go down as another team that lost to an FCS opponent.
I admire the Gamecocks for going for two to win it all. As an FCS team, you really have nothing to lose. Here are your options in that situation: either fail to convert, and lose a game you were expected to lose, or convert, and win a triumphant and historical victory for your program.
So the small historically black school from Alabama knocks off the Rebels of Ole Miss. Boise State went for two to beat the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Central Michigan went for two last year to beat the Michigan State Spartans, and now the Jacksonville State Gamecocks go for two to beat the Rebs.
What a game, and an inspiration to the underdogs of the world that rise from the bottom and as Benjamin Disraeli famously said, …”climbed to the top of the greasy pole.”
The Gamecocks not only climbed to the top of that greasy Oxford pole, but claimed the stake and permantently administered a place in history as the team that beat the Ole Miss Rebels, on the road.
Well played Jacksonville. Time will only tell when another underdog will find a way to climb to the top of a greasy pole.
