College football has become a cesspool of corruption. Unfortunately, there's no way around it. As college football has become more and more popular and, thereby, more and more profitable, it has become primarily about the money and less about the student or the school's integrity. We saw minor violations of NCAA rules at Michigan under Rich Rodriguez, regarding the amount of time student-athletes were practicing per week. We saw corruption spread through Pete Carroll's USC program as he bolted for the NFL. We saw the prolific fall of Jim Tressel at Ohio State, earlier this year. Now, it appears, there's another story to add.
Oregon.
The Oregon Ducks are generally well-regarded as a program. They're not huge like many Big Ten schools and they're not the king of their division (USC is). But they're a trendy school. No blue grass on the field, but they have sleek, memorable uniforms and a frenetic quick-tempo offense.
College football starts at recruiting. During the offseason, coaches and their scouts are profiling the best high school students and wooing them to come to their college, with scholarships, promises of success and limelight, and perhaps hinting at better NFL chances if they play for them.
Oregon coach Chip Kelly authorized a payment of $25,000 to a fellow named Willie Lyles, in March of 2010, for scouting services. This isn't particularly uncommon - a scouting service will compile data for schools and send it along. It could be video, analysis, etc. The big problem came when Oregon released Lyles' recruiting package in June - it was outdated material: profiles and information primarily of players who graduated in 2009. This brings up the troubling question - is Lyles ripping them off, or is he justifying his payment in other ways?
The important thing to note about NCAA rules and recruitment services is that they're essentially supposed to play the role of an unbiased information supplier - provide film and data to the school as requested per their payment and contract and any relevant information to the recruit if they deal with them personally. It is not smiled upon for an outside recruiter to nudge recruits towards a school. Lyles has an obvious business relationship with Oregon, having helped recruit All-American running back LaMichel James and Lache Seastrunk.
According to Lyles - who is the only member of this debacle talking - he gave Oregon an outdated package because they had asked him for "anything" in order to justify the payment. If this was to satisfy boosters or public image, I'm not sure why they thought a set of outdated profiles would do anything but spur curiosity and intrigue. In Lyles' own words, according to his interview with Yahoo!, "I never thought that stuff would see the light of day."
The pointed scandal here is this - was Oregon paying Lyles for recruits? Was that $25,000 not for his scouting services, but for his influence to direct recruits to Oregon? Lyles himself seems comfortable putting the wolves on Oregon and perhaps that's acceptable: they aren't exactly coming out to defend him and, at the moment, his reputation and business are torched. He's already said in his interview that "the service I provided went beyond what a scouting service should." What's becoming clear as this web is unwoven is that Willie Lyles and Chip Kelly had some sort of arrangement in place and the NCAA wasn't going to look kindly on it. What started out looking simply murky has become a great deal shadier.
But unfortunately, this is what college football has come to. It's not about the student or his education. In fact, Kelly and Lyles got LaMichael James to switch schools in his senior year, to finish in Arkansas instead of Texas, to avoid taking a standardized math test he hadn't passed, in order to maintain his college eligibility. That alone, to me, is a damning indictment of where the priorities are, even before $25,000 is being slung around for morally grey scouting services. College football brings in a ton of money, money that's made on the backs of student-athletes who - by NCAA rule - never see a dime. Some of them make it big, go to the NFL. Most don't. That atmosphere, of profit over education, is spreading like a disease through college football and it's only getting worse as more money comes to the table.
Around the MLB -
Washington 5, Chi. Cubs 4 - How often is a game won in extra innings on a walk-off... wild pitch? Ouch.
Pittsburgh 5, Houston 3 - This game had 14 hits for the Pirates, with each member of the starting position players getting at least one.
Toronto 9, Boston 7 - John Lackey lasted less than three innings as he gave up seven runs early.
Minnesota 7, Tampa Bay 0 - Brian Duensing out-dueled David Price, earning his second career complete game shutout.
Seattle 2, Oakland 1 - Michael Pineda bounced back after his previous tough outing, going six innings of two-hit, one-run ball.
Arizona 8, Milwaukee 6 - Shaun Marcum's grand slam in the fourth wasn't enough as the D-Backs rallied late over the last five innings.
San Diego 5, San Francisco 3 - Tim Lincecum only lasted five innings, giving up two runs in the first and a third in the fifth.
Philadelphia 1, Florida 0 - Vance Worley keeps on rolling in Philly, going seven scoreless innings and allowing only two hits for his fourth victory.
St. Louis 1, Cincinnati 0 - Chris Carpenter and Johnny Cueto both went eight solid innings, but a pinch-hit single allowed in the eighth was the sole, difference-making RBI.
Cleveland 6, NY Yankees 3 - After going six scoreless, both teams got on the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth... the Indians just put up more, thanks to Austin Kearns' 3-run HR.
Atlanta 4, Colorado 1 - Tommy Hanson notched his 10th win, going seven innings of one-run, four-hit ball to shutdown the Rockies.
Chi. White Sox 5, Royals 4 - We had a walk-off wild pitch in the Cubs game; the White Sox, not to be outdone, won on a walk-off balk.
Texas 13, Baltimore 4 - Michael Young was a HR short of the cycle as the Rangers bats pelted the Orioles all game long, putting up 8 in the first three and then spreading the rest out.
LA Angels 5, Detroit 1 - Joel Pineiro went seven innings with one run and five hits, backed up with HRs by Torii Hunter and Vernon Wells, to put the Tigers away.
NY Mets 5, LA Dodgers 2 - After five scoreless, the Mets open the gates with three runs in the sixth to spur a rally and take the victory.
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