Maryland Basketball is Classroom Averse: "Maryland had the lowest graduation rate - 8 percent - among the 65 teams in this year's NCAA basketball tournament, according to an annual study released Monday by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida ... California was the next-lowest in the field, ranking 64th at 20 percent." The study analyzed "the classes that entered college from 1999 to 2002 and their success in graduating within six years." Of course, between 1999-2002, the Terps' enjoyed an incredible stretch of success: Sweet 16 (99), Final Four (01), Champ (02). Maryland had never previously been to the Final Four. "Among the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, Duke possessed a 92 percent graduation success rate, followed by Kansas (73 percent), Syracuse (55 percent) and Kentucky (31 percent)." [Washington Post] (16)
This email was sent to us over the weekend from a reader. We clicked the photo Sunday morning to view it, and it was a grainy photo of a college kid in a bar holding his jaw and the side of his face, looking kind of dazed. We wrote the tipster back, but heard nothing. We googled the incident Sunday and Monday to no avail. (Then ESPN suspended Kornheiser, and we forgot about it.) What hit newspapers last night? Student claims Knowshon Moreno knocked him out. We went to click on the photo … it had been deleted. Used as evidence, perhaps? Unlikely. TMZ claims nobody’s pressing charges.
LaMichael James Arrested: Oregon's freshman star running back was cuffed this morning on charges of "strangulation, assault and menacing." James rushed for 1,546 yards and 14 touchdowns as a freshman, and averaged 6.7 yards per carry. He's fast. Earlier this offseason, Oregon's QB (Jeremiah Masoli ) was connected to theft allegations. Toss in LeGarrette Blount's punch last season and you could be looking at one of the most knuckleheaded backfields in recent college football history. [KEZI] (60)
Jeremiah Masoli, the Oregon quarterback, is rumored to be one of the two players fingered in a campus theft this weekend. The Oregonian notes that two Ducks players are being sought for questioning after a fraternity member “filed a police report alleging that the players took two MacBook Pro computers valued at $2,000 apiece and a $900 guitar from the residence.” While the paper doesn’t name Masoli, a reader notes that talk radio in Oregon has been buzzing this morning that Masoli is one of the players in question. Oregon is projected as a preseason Top 10 team next year; perhaps even Top 5.
Florida Gators: See Urban, you should have considered Notre Dame! You think you'd have to put up with this scrutiny in South Bend? The Gators have committed a "team-wide 251 traffic citations in Alachua County, according to Orlando Sentinel research. These charges range from speeding tickets to numerous cases of driving with a suspended or revoked license, typically a second-degree misdemeanor or, for repeat offenders, a felony. The data was compiled in late November and early December through Alachua County court records, accounting for 96 Gators who either entered fall camp on scholarship or served in the 'game participation' portion of this season's boxscores. Charges stem from 2006-09 for football players who usually drive cars or motorized scooters around campus or in Gainesville." [Sentinel] (23)
Michigan State Brawl: "Witnesses and students involved in the incident said a group of 15 to 20 men, who some described as MSU football players, stormed into the dormitory and hit and injured about seven students, some of them women. Brent Mitchell, a communication junior who said he was sent to Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital after being punched in the face, said some of the men wore ski masks, but others were recognized as football team members." [State News.com] (39)
Lane Kiffin’s in for a long day – three of his recruits were arrested this morning. “Three University of Tennessee football players are charged with an attempted armed robbery that occured at a Pilot on the Cumberland Avenue strip early Thursday morning. According to Knoxville Police Department Spokesman Darrell DeBusk, Nu’Keese Richardson, Janzen Jackson, and Mike Edwards were being held at the Knox County Detention Center.” And the SEC cheers! [WBIR]
Michigan AD Bill Martin: "Retiring Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin admitted today he mishandled a situation with an employee who alleged Martin grabbed him at Michigan Stadium after the Delaware State game this fall. Another security employee also reported to police that Martin pushed her after the Notre Dame game a month earlier, but Martin said in a letter he didn't recall that incident. The latest incident occurred just three days before Martin abruptly announced his retirement on Oct. 21. That same day, a police investigator alerted Martin of the police investigation, a police report said." [Ann Arbor.com] (15)
Michigan AD Bill Martin: “Retiring Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin admitted today he mishandled a situation with an employee who alleged Martin grabbed him at Michigan Stadium after the Delaware State game this fall. Another security employee also reported to police that Martin pushed her after the Notre Dame game a month earlier, but Martin said in a letter he didn’t recall that incident. The latest incident occurred just three days before Martin abruptly announced his retirement on Oct. 21. That same day, a police investigator alerted Martin of the police investigation, a police report said.” [Ann Arbor.com]
This email was sent to us over the weekend from a reader. We clicked the photo Sunday morning to view it, and it was a grainy photo of a college kid in a bar holding his jaw and the side of his face, looking kind of dazed. We wrote the tipster back, but heard nothing. We googled the incident Sunday and Monday to no avail. (Then ESPN suspended Kornheiser, and we forgot about it.) What hit newspapers last night? Student claims Knowshon Moreno knocked him out. We went to click on the photo … it had been deleted. Used as evidence, perhaps? Unlikely. TMZ claims nobody’s pressing charges.
