FSU hopes medicine now is sufficient

On jacksonville.com, Florida Times-Union sports columnist Gene Frenette discusses various topics in the sports world. The following is a blog on Feb. 14th.

Florida State University's decision to self-impose two years of probation and a loss of scholarships due to an academic cheating scandal is essentially a plea to the NCAA that says: We've punished ourselves enough, please don't add to our misery.

The fact that FSU has already fired a tutor, two staffers and a learning specialist in this scandal -- which involved cheating on a fall, 2006 online test and again in 2007 spring and summer semesters -- is a good start. No official word yet from FSU on how this probation would impact any of the sports teams involved. Nearly two dozen football players were suspended for the Dec. 31 Music City Bowl and many will continue to be suspended for the first three games next season.
It remains to be seen whether the NCAA will conduct its own separate investigation after assisting on FSU's investigation. If that happens, there remains a strong possibility that the NCAA could impose additional penalties to the ones already put forth by the school.

The biggest problem facing the Seminoles and new athletic director Randy Spetman is the NCAA frowns heavily on academic fraud. If you're going to draw the attention of the NCAA, it's better for it to be for a secondary recruiting violation or breaking some minor rules. The NCAA is less likely to be as understanding of this kind of wrongdoing.

It's always dicey to try and predict what the NCAA is going to do at any given time. Put it this way: 78-year-old football coach Bobby Bowden won't age well while waiting for the NCAA's possible response.


Speaking of NCAA rules violations, it doesn't look good for Indiana basketball coach Kelvin Sampson. The man allegedly can't seem to stop making illegal phone calls to recruits, which could put his career in jeopardy now that the NCAA is accusing him of further violations after he was already on probation for similar offenses when he coached at Oklahoma.

The problem here is Indiana, 20-3, has one of its best basketball teams since Bob Knight left the building and the school may have to strongly consider banning itself from the postseason in exchange for NCAA leniency. It's hard to imagine Sampson, who says he never knowingly violated the terms of his NCAA probation, won't either be suspended or fired before this season is over.

If Indiana decides to fight the charges and loses, the penalties down the line could be a lot worse.

It was amusing to hear on Jacksonville sports radio the issue raised whether Jaguars' fullback Greg Jones is "that good of a blocker." If the Jaguars were willing to give him around $17 million, a record contract for an NFL fullback, it stands to reason that he's got the blocking part of his game in top form. Teams don't give that kind of money to fullbacks who have problems picking up their blocks.

Florida's 85-73 home loss to LSU Wednesday night could be a killer come NCAA tournament selection day. Billy Donovan's Gators have reached nine consecutive NCAA tourneys, but that streak is in a little jeopardy because the Gators dropped to 60th in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), which is a partial barometer for the NCAA selection committee. It's rare for teams ranked 50th or below on the RPI to receive an at-large bid.

The Gators played a terrible non-conference schedule and their only win over an RPI Top 50 team came at home against Vanderbilt two weeks ago. Florida (19-6) will likely need four more wins to assure itself of an NCAA berth. A win at Vanderbilt on Saturday or an upset of Tennessee on March 5 would have coach BIlly Dononvan breathing a little easier about another NCAA trip.


Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning the first Duel 150 Thursday afternoon is a great story, but another was missed in the second Duel 150 when Hollywood stunt man Stanton Barrett was involved in a wreck after running superbly in the first 15 laps. Barrett has done many of the stunts in the Spiderman movies and has a long list of other credits on the silver screen.

Barrett had a decent shot at qualifying for his first Daytona 500 until his Chevy Impala was taken out on Turn 4 after former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve spun out.


A follow-up to my Tuesday column on former Camden County High linebacker Tyrone Jones, 46, who has been suffering from an inoperable brain tumor for the last three years and is in a nursing home in Folkston, Ga. under the care of Hospice. Jones was a four-time All-Star in the Canadian Football League and still holds the Grey Cup record with four quarterback sacks in one game. He was also the last CFL player to intercept Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon when Jones' team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, defeated Moon's Edmonton Eskimos in the 1983 CFL playoffs.

Happy Valentine's Day. Good luck to all who are right now contemplating going into a two-minute offense to secure a gift for their significant others.

Read about the report in Bob Thomas' Whataboutit Bob blog.