Your College Football Weekend Primer: The Premature End of Penn State's Sanctions

With postseason eligibility restored and a full complement of scholarships available, expect James Franklin to return Penn State to prominence. But is it too soon after one of the worst scandals in American sports history?

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Well, that didn't take long.

In the summer of 2012, following the Jerry Sandusky scandal and cover up, Penn State's football program was banned from postseason play, including the Big Ten Championship Game, until 2017, and was hit with crippling scholarship restrictions that would allow it to only carry 65 scholarship players (20 less than other programs) and offer 15 players scholarships each recruiting cycle (10 less than other programs), also until 2017.

Things seemed ugly, and it was estimated by many that the Penn State football team wouldn't be fully stocked with scholarship athletes until the mid-2020s.

Well, forget about all that, because just over two years later, all of it is out the window.

The NCAA, which appeared to "drop the hammer" on Penn State in July of 2012 for enabling and failing to report a child rapist, has decided that the Nittany Lions have done their penance, whatever that may be (perhaps not enabling another case of systematic child rape in the last 26 months?), and will be allowed to participate in the postseason THIS YEAR.

Furthermore, scholarships will be fully restored to 25 available offers per season and 85 total by the start of next season. Way to go NCAA, you effectively penalized the worst scandal in the history of college, if not all American sports by making Penn State skip the Gator and Buffalo Wild Wings Bowls, and by forcing a pair of coaching upgrades.

NCAA Tournament: Day 2 Preview

This lousy bum fell on the floor a bunch and cost me a billion dollars.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

So, my dreams of a billion dollar bracket were dashed yesterday, when all those reject Ohio basketball recruits beat the kids that were better than them in high school.

I'm talking, of course, about stupid Dayton beating Ohio State, and busting 83 percent of the brackets in the Quicken Loans Bracket Challenge. I know we're supposed to root for underdogs and all, but dang it Dayton, did you have to end my dreams of what I'd do with a billion dollars so quickly?

Oh well, as the kids say today, onto the next one.

Here is your day two preview.

Weekend Football Roundup: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Tavon Austin has caught, rushed and kick returned his way into our hearts the last two weeks.

 By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The Good

Peyton Manning

Yeah, I went there.

In a game in which he had his lowest yardage total since Week 16 of 2010, his lowest completion percentage since Week 3 of last season, his lowest passer rating since Week 2 of last season, and his lowest yards per attempt since Week 2 of 2005, I say Peyton Manning had a good game.

Manning had a good game because he made the right decisions. On a 20-degree night with 20 mile-per-hour winds, with gusts even higher than that, against a Patriots defense with gaping holes through the middle and a healthy Aqib Talib on the outside, Manning (correctly) recognized that running the ball was the way to win the game. Denver had 48 rushes to 36 passes, 37 of those rushes going to Knowshon Moreno. As a team, the Broncos gained 280 yards on the ground at a clip of 5.8 yards per rush. Yes, Denver's offense in the first half was buoyed by New England turnovers, but Manning still made plays when he had to, including two insanely accurate throws (one to Jacob Tamme, one to Demaryius Thomas) on Denver's late touchdown drive to tie the game and force overtime.

Purely as a passer, Manning wasn't very good. But as a quarterback, responsible for putting his team's offense in the best possible position to gain yards and score points, he was very good.

-JC

College Football Weekend Primer: Shame on the NCAA (Again) and the First Quarterly Report

NCAA President Mark Emmert says reducing Penn State's sanctions is "the right thing to do."

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

I think we can all now admit that last weekend featured one of the lamest college football slates in recent memory.

As editor Jeremy Conlin pointed out in our Weekend Football Recap, there was only one game between ranked teams (Though Arizona State shouldn't have been ranked), and I would add that the "marquee SEC matchup" of Florida and Tennessee was largely on affront on the game itself. Even if you clicked away from that turnover-fest to see the competitive Notre Dame-Michigan State game, you were treated to inept offense and vanilla play calling.

Meh.

But fear not college football fans, because exciting football returns this week with four different battles between ranked opponents. For more on those, the NCAA dropping the ball yet again, and our NCAA Football Quarterly Report, keep reading after the jump.

EMERGENCY GAMBLING ADDITION!

This guy wants me to make him some money Saturday...

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

In Thursday's "College Football Weekend Primer" I gave you a STONE COLD LOCK of KANSAS STATE (-13.5) over Louisiana-Lafayette. Well, much like Tim Tebow being asked to change positions, I'm sticking to my guns. But, that doesn't mean that I can't acknowledge that I made a mistake and that there may be better options.

While reexamining the Vegas lines, I found one ripe for the picking that I can't believe I missed the first time around. So, if you will indulge me, I would like to offer my STONIER, COLDER, LOCKED DOWN PICK OF THE WEEK!

Bob Lobel: Tim Tebow, Johnny Football and the Return of the NFL

By Bob Lobel  @boblobel

Sometime it isn’t clear what the letters "NCAA" stand for. 

No Class At All?  Perhaps. That self-important, self-indulgent collection of wanna-be FBI-ers really often does stupid things.  Even when the things they do define stupidity. Johnny Football and Texas A&M were very dumb doing the autograph thing, but the college athletic police were even dumber.  It is a broken system being run by people that are self perpetuating their own lack of common sense.  

What's even more ridiculous is everyone involved with them knows it, yet simultaneously doesn’t have a clue. 

Because You Need to Be Reminded How Much the NCAA Sucks

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Oh how we all love the NCAA.

Whether it's making arbitrary decisions about a player's appeal for a 6th year of eligibility, making billions off of free labor, allowing "name" programs to get away with murder (Or child abuse) until it is far too egregious to ignore, it's pretty easy to dislike it.

Now, we all know that the NCAA has hidden behind the facade of "amateurism" to avoid paying the people that actually make the money for these giant universities and their high paid employees for years, but today's news that it may not let a particular athlete participate this season is just downright silly.

Long and Suite Preview: The ACC

After showing tremendous potential as a freshman, much will be expected of Miami's Duke Johnson in 2013.

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

The ACC enters a new era as it welcomes Syracuse and Pittsburgh, but don't count on either of those two teams making much noise in 2013.

The Panthers were a middle of the pack Big East team last year, and now have to replace three-year starting quarterback Tino Sunseri and star running back Ray Graham. Pitt's heir apparent at running back, stud recruit Rushel Shell, transferred to rival West Virginia, so questions abound for coach Paul Chryst's second season.

Long and Suite Preview: The Big 12

TCU's Devonte Fields made life miserable for Big 12 quarterbacks in 2012.

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Offense is king in America's heartland, and the Big 12 features some of college football's most explosive attacks.

Seven of the conference's 10 teams (Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia) ranked in the top-25 nationally for scoring offense, but does anybody play enough defense to win a national championship?

That will certainly be the big question for conference contenders this season, and with quarterback questions at Oklahoma, WVU and Kansas State, several offenses could take steps back as well. The conference may not have a bona-fide national favorite, but only Kansas looks like a lost cause, with nine teams all chasing a bowl game.

9-Game Conference Schedules: Potentially the Best (Or Worst) Thing for College Football

Could 9-game conference schedules lead to more games like LSU vs Oregon?

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

As I continue my long journey through sports purgatory into football season, news came down today that the Big Ten officially plans to switch to a 9-game football schedule, beginning in 2016.

As a fan of one of the Big Ten's lesser programs, Purdue, my first thought was "well, here come a bunch of 4 or 5 win seasons for us."

After all, programs like Purdue, Minnesota, Iowa State, Virginia, Vanderbilt and Washington State pretty much need to schedule themselves three or four wins every year to have a shot at a decent bowl game. It's gotten so bad at Purdue, that I pretty much consider Central Michigan and Northern Illinois to be our rivals. Damn you Chippewas!

But for the betterment of college football, this development could be a necessary step toward getting the whole national playoff thing right. Or, conversely, it could lead to another SEC circle jerk. Really, it depends on how teams and the eventual playoff committee value challenging non-conference schedules.

"Coach Meyer Knows What it Takes to Win:" Urban's Legend at Florida

He won a pair of BCS Championships and coached the program's most revered star, but how will Gator fans remember Urban Meyer?

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Since former University of Florida and New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was charged with murder, the less-than-disciplinarian management style of former Gator coach Urban Meyer has once again entered the public consciousness.

This isn't the first time Meyer has been called out for losing control of the Florida program. When current Gator coach Will Muschamp took over in Gainesville, he spoke repeatedly about a need to "change the culture," and fix the program. One of the first moves he made with that in mind was dismissing star cornerback Janoris Jenkins after the All American was arrested for possession of marijuana.

Amid a full-blown Meyer backlash, it is Jenkins' remarks from 2011 about being dismissed by Muschamp that have come to define Urban's off-field legacy at Florida.

"No doubt, if Coach Meyer were still coaching, I'd still be playing for the Gators," Jenkins told the Orlando Sentinel. "Coach Meyer knows what it takes to win."

NBA Summer League Notes from RoundballDaily.com

Photo: NBA.com

Republished, with permission, from RoundballDaily.com and our buddy Kels Dayton. Kels knows his college and pro basketball, and you can hear him every Sunday at 5 pm talking hoops with us on our "Taking You to School" podcast. 

By Kels Dayton  @RoundballDaily
 
Two days into the NBA Summer League, and it's clear: Victor Oladipo is the face of the entire operation. He's played well, averaging 15 points, 6 assists, and 4.5 boards per game, and his effort and class-leading athleticism on both ends of the floor have been impressive. But that's not the only reason he's been the league's most intriguing player. For one thing, Oladipo is playing in his future home--and the Magic are happy to have him on site already. For another, he's the highest draft pick on display in Orlando, as Anthony Bennett and Cleveland won't play until next week in Vegas. But the biggest reason Oladipo has been the talk of the Summer League is that the Magic have him playing the point.

Let's Bet on College Football!!!!

Are you really betting on this dude to win the Heisman again?

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

I know I can't be the only person out there starving for football. I mean, seriously, I actually spent some of my Saturday watching the the Saskatchewan Rough Riders and Edmonton Eskimos play a first half that ended 22-1.

One point! In football!

The only reason I was even watching the game was because one of my all-time favorite Boilers Kory Sheets was Saskatchewan's starting running back, but watching him just made me yearn for college football season. Luckily, Las Vegas had my back, coming out with future odds on who will win the BCS National Championship and Heisman Trophy, plus over/unders for each FBS squad.

Now, I'm not a betting man, but here are the wagers that caught my eye.

Bet The Third-Tier Quarterbacks to Win the Heisman

With 3/1 odds, reigning Heisman winner/Scooby-Doo enthusiast Johnny Manziel is Vegas' favorite to again win the award in 2013. Ohio State's Braxton Miller follows him at 6/1, and South Carolina defensive end/apex predator Jadeveon Clowney checks in at third with 10/1 odds.

The Anti-Decision: Andrew Wiggins and the Biggest Basketball Signing of a Generation

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Everybody remembers "The Decision."

In about five seconds, LeBron James pissed off 29 cities (Nearly bringing the apocalypse to Cleveland) and coined the phrase "Taking my talents to…"  It is a preface that every Blue Chip college football/basketball player now uses when they commit to a program.

It was a decision so Earth moving that ESPN gave it a damn hour special, a ridiculous idea considering we all tuned in to hear one sentence. But LeBron was a special, once in a generation type of player, so we allowed him to grab the spotlight and hold it as long as he pleased.

Andrew Wiggins is a little bit different.

Remembering Pat Summerall

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Obviously we are all still reeling from the tragedy at the Boston Marathon this past Monday, but the sports world took another hit this week with the passing of legendary football broadcaster Pat Summerall.

In a way, it's almost fitting that Summerall's passing won't be discussed much in the wake of this terrible tragedy. Summerall was never one for personal attention, and I'm sure he would want the focus of the sporting world to be squarely on Boston right now. After all, this is the guy that basically got out of John Madden's way for 22 years, only occasionally stepping in to translate for his louder and more famous colleague.

Tragedy at the Boston Marathon

From the SuiteSports Team

The SuiteSports team would like to extend its thoughts and deepest condolences to all those affected by yesterday's terrible tragedy at the Boston Marathon.

Seeing as this site is run by two guys that live in Boston, love sports and have been known to enjoy themselves on Marathon Monday, yesterday obviously hit home. The senseless attack of innocent people that were watching their loved ones complete a life goal, taking in one of the greatest sporting events in the world, or simply enjoying a holiday is unthinkable, and puts a black eye on one of the best days of the year in Boston.

We obviously do not have all the facts yet, but to those that tragically died, those that were injured, those that are still fighting for their lives, those that suffered emotional trauma, those robbed of achieving a life goal and those that finished or were unharmed, but will always remember this as a day of horror, we are thinking about you.

And, to the heroes that emerged yesterday-- All those that ran in to help immediately following the blasts, firefighters, police officers, first responders and the entire staffs of the fantastic hospitals the city of Boston has to offer-- thank you. As has been said everywhere in the wake of this unthinkable act of violence, you represented the best of humanity, and offered hope that we're not too far gone as a species.

There is still good in people.

The Marathon has endured two World Wars, a Great Depression, numerous socioeconomic changes and seven Police Academy movies, so we have no doubt the people of Boston and everyone that comes to the city for the greatest event in running will be back next year.

But it will never be the same.

SuiteSports on the Radio: NCAA Championship Preview

Listen to internet radio with RF Sports Radio on Blog Talk Radio

Joe Parello and Jeremy Conlin of SuiteSports welcome in Roundball Daily's Kels Dayton to break down the upcoming national championship game between Louisville and Michigan, as well as the scandal at Rutgers and John Calipari's insane recruiting at Kentucky. All this, and more, in this championship edition of "Taking You to School," the only college basketball show on the RF Sports Radio network.

SuiteSports on the Radio: Final Four Preview

Listen to internet radio with RF Sports Radio on Blog Talk Radio

SuiteSports' Joe Parello and Jeremy Conlin join Kels Dayton of Roundball Daily to discuss the NCAA Tournament to this point, and preview the Final Four. Plus, who's NBA Draft stock is on the rise, and which big names could be falling to the bottom of the lottery. All this, and more, on this Final Four Special Edition of "Taking You to School," the only college basketball show on the RF Sports Radio network.

March Madness in Vegas: It's Even Better Than You Think

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

So, it's been a while since I last posted and you will have to forgive me if this piece makes little or no sense. I am still insanely jet lagged and a little hungover from what was an eventful and triumphant Bachelor Party weekend in Las Vegas.

Every guy thinks that doing the first weekend of NCAA Tournament in Vegas will be a little piece of sports heaven, but I'm here to tell you that it's better than that.

Wait, wait, let me qualify that statement. Doing the first weekend of March Madness in Vegas is absolute sports nirvana, IF you have a bunch of friends that are willing to spend a good amount of money (betting on games and other endeavors), not sleep, and stay intoxicated for four consecutive days.

Now, if you have all those pieces in place, here is why taking in the most exciting weekend in sports in Sin City is the best sporting decision you can possibly make.

1. Where to Watch the Games?

Your NCAA Tournament Primer

By Joe Parello

Ok, so the tournament technically starts tonight with a pair of play-in games, but the round of 64 is still a weekend affair. Since I will be in Las Vegas for my bachelor party this weekend, I thought I would share with you some picks and sleepers that are sure to all be false and cause you to lose your bracket group to you buddy's kid sister, and lose me a ton of money.

But that's the beauty of the tournament, right? Nobody knows anything. That being said, here are some teams that I like, and some observations I have made about this year's bracket.