Top Ten Off-Season Stories: Part 2

Our Top Ten Off-Season Stories continues with part 2. I didn't get it posted as soon as I wanted to, but here it is. Look for another post or two about the off-season as we get ready for the pre-season top ten.


5. Reggie Bush Scandal

The scandal comes from allegations made by Yahoo! Sports (see link).Did Reggie Bush receive improper payments while he was still a student at USC? I don't know, but if he did, that would make this a full fledged scandal. Why? Because he was a Heisman Trophy winner and a National Champion. It would hurt his legacy, and his school. Not much seems to be made about it away from Yahoo! Sports unless you look at the internet message boards and blogs. I did find these articles on MSNBC, Fox Sports, and SI's Stewart Mandel. We will see what happens.


4. Arkansas Soap Opera

Wow the Razorbacks had a great season. It was entertaining. Almost as entertaining as the Off-season. Let's start at the end of the 2006 season, somewhere in late fall, maybe October, probably early November. Most of these events can be found chronicled at WholeHogSports. Just search the term on the site.

Year of the Dog, no passing game, meeting with the parents, Williams leaves (USC), Malzahn leaves (Tulsa), Mustain leaves (USC), infamous email, Lee returns, freedom of information act, Broyles retires, Dana Altman and John Pelphrey.

I will elaborate on each event in another post. It was a good time to own a website on Razorback athletics if you had a message board, because the traffic was high.


3. Oklahoma receives NCAA Penalties

The Sooners are forced to erase all of their wins from the 2005 season. I wonder, do they inherit the losses? They have some scholarship reductions, etc., etc., etc. Shame on you Oklahoma, for coming forward and telling us that you goofed. Once again, the issue is around whether or not athletes should have money while they are students (see Reggie Bush below). Usually, the school gets the worst of it while the players move on with their accomplishment to the NFL or to their career. Not so with Bomar and Quinn, the athletes in question. Coach Stoops dismissed them from the team and they both end up at a Division I-AA School (now called Championship Division because they have playoffs). Also, there was a walk on player involved, and, of course, walk on players have to abide by the same rules as a scholarship player. Go figure.


2. Nick Saban signs with Alabama

Nick Saban was so coveted by Alabama that they were willing to let him deny that he was going to 'Bama or interested in Bama in order to get him to come.What else can you say? I guess he is getting payed well, $4 million well. The story-lines here were the money and the denials. Saban comes to 'Bama with SEC titles and a National Championship. I wonder how he would look with a checkered hat.

1. Indiana Coach Terry Hoeppner Passes Away from Complications of a Brain Tumor

All of those other stories are frivolous. When you talk about someone's life, well that is a real story.Coach Hoeppner's life was celebrated by friends, family, fans, colleagues, and many more. He, like so many coach's, left a special mark on the lives of the athletes he coached. For Coach Hoeppner, most notable, Ben Roethlisberger, who called him a second father. Coach Hoeppner, coached young men because he cared about them. He wanted to see them do their best. To that, he shall always be remembered, as more than a coach.


There you have it. The Top Ten Off-Season stories. There are other stories to be sure. Depending on you who you are, they may be more compelling. For instance, if you are a Notre Dame fan, the signing of Jimmy Clausen may have been the biggest story of the year. These are my selections, but most would probably be on everyones list. Hope you enjoyed off-season. There are some points during the off-season where the rest of the sports world is just not carrying the torch very well, and you say to yourself, "we need football." One more month!

Top Ten Off-Season Stories

I am going to list my Top Ten Off-Season Stories, starting with 10 and working forward. We will do 10 through 6 today, and then 5-1 tomorrow. This should get our college football juices flowing nicely.



10. University of North Texas Hires High School Coach Todd Dodge

The hiring of high school coaches to the highest level in NCAA has happened before. Houston coach Art Briles was hired to Texas Tech to be the Running Backs Coach before becoming Head Coach at Houston. Gus Malzahn got a shot as Offensive Coordinator at Arkansas before becoming the same at Tulsa. But to hire someone in at that level as the head coach is quite a leap. However, the University of North Texas didn't feel it had anything to lose. The style of football known as "Dodge Ball" would at least fill the seats. And, with the use of the spread offense in College Football having success as both Texas and Florida has won the National Title with some form of the spread, UNT took the opportunity to snatch up Dodge before someone else did.


9. Clock Rule Changes Back

A year ago, the NCAA made a rule change to how the clock runs after a kick off and after a change in possession with the intent of shortening the game. However, coaches did not like the change. As a result, the NCAA has changed the rule back.


8. Florida wins Basketball Title

Florida won the National Basketball Title again. First repeat in a decade. Why is this new? Well, the football team did earlier in the year. Against the exact same team, Ohio State. The Gators swept the two major national titles in the same academic school year.


7. Joe Pa orders a Clean Up

In a time when college athletes at BCS schools seem out of control, fighting, drinking and driving, etc., Joe Paterno decided to go old school. He is going to show his players that you earn that level of respect and leadership, and that you maintain it with your actions. I remember when getting in trouble out side of school hours meant discipline. Joe Pa hasn't forgotten it. And, his players may not either.


6. Joe McKnight Signs with USC

Considered by most people to be one of the top two recruits of this class, McKnight's announcement was eagerly anticipated. Many thought that this Louisiana native would be going to LSU, but it was USC which got the call further fanning the flames between LSU (and the Southeastern Conference) and USC. In fact, many preseason magazines are predicting a match up for the National Title between USC and LSU. McKnights recruitment was such a story because he was uncommited whereas Jimmy Clausen, the other top recruit, had committed and followed through by going to Notre Dame leaving little speculation about his destination. Further, McKnight has drawn comparisons to former USC back Reggie Bush, giving him a difference maker status.

Seven Weeks Left

August 30, 2007 marks the first day for NCAA College Football Season. That is seven weeks, or 49 days. I did learn some math in school. Thanks Mrs. Burns. Much has happened in the offseason, but once the first day gets here, we will be looking forward. Why watch? Well, no less than five ranked teams play. Unfortunately, no ranked team plays another. Remarkably, that first day features the first SEC's game. Wow! Talking about the need to be ready for that first game! Hope you've had a good summer, and let's get ready for some football--college!