NCAA & USC blame Reggie Bush for college's violations

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 09/01/2010

Running back Reggie Bush is a world champion with the New Orleans Saints. In college at the University of Southern California, he won the 2005 Heisman Trophy. Because of NCAA violations and illicit benefits delivered to Bush, the USC football program coached by former Vikings assistant Pete Carroll was placed on two years probation and lost 30 scholarships.

One of the major violations was that while at USC Bush took money from a loan shark. The Football Writers Association of America has stripped USC of the Grantland Rice Trophy awarded to the Trojans for their 2004 national title. It's the first time the organization has revoked the honor.

USC's new athletic director, Pat Haden, sent back the school's copy of the Heisman Trophy awarded to Bush to New York and the Heisman Trophy Inc.

However, neither USC nor the NCAA volunteered to send refund checks to the many thousands of fans who paid millions in cash for USC football games and wore Bush's number-five USC jersey. Bush used the loan money to put his parents in a house and buy a car. You ever notice that you never hear how much the NCAA makes? Or where the money goes?

Pete Carroll, Bush's coach, jumped ship at USC when he saw the sanctions coming and signed for millions to become head coach of the NFL Seattle Seahawks, who the Vikings beat Saturday 24-13. Bush's parents could have been starving and homeless for all the NCAA cares, and Bush gets blamed for accepting money to help his parents? That's wrong.

I have said for years and continue to believe college athletics,
particularly the revenue-generating sports like football and basketball, make billions - not the players. For the schools, players are 21st-century slavery - free labor.

The NCAA and many of the schools like USC, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Duke, Ohio State, LSU, Georgia and hundreds of others pimp these athletes - many of them are Black - under the guise of amateurism. Major college sports are big business: If they were traded on the stock market, they would be like gold - they would always be up.

Fred Bryan: NFL umpire No. 11

One of my longtime golf buddies is an NFL umpire. Fred Bryan's years of hard work was rewarded; he's in the NFL after years of toiling locally doing park board games and MIAC games as a referee at St. Thomas and around town. The former Minneapolis Central graduate is a good man; I've never seen him ground his club in a bunker or move his golf ball in the rough.
He was working an MIAC game three years ago, and two NFL officials were in the stands watching their sons play. Bryan's talents impressed them. He wears the number 11 in black-and-white stripes.

Fitz Notes & Quotes

With late surgery last week on Pro Bowl receiver Sidney Rice's hip, Brett Favre's number-one weapon will be lost for eight weeks or more. Percy Harvin has been a question mark with migraine attacks; he played Saturday and grabbed two passes for 30 yards. The Vikings' 24-13 win over Seattle Saturday improved their pre-season record to 2-1; however, it was not pretty. The Vikings committed three turnovers. Favre was intercepted twice.

The Vikings traded for receiver Greg Camarrillo and signed nine-year veteran Javon Walker off the street. Walker played for years with Favre at Green Bay. With four quarterbacks - Favre, Tarvaris Jackson, Sage Rosenfels and rookie Joe Webb - the Vikings are the envy of the NFL.

Parking Thursday, Sept. 2, will be tight in Minneapolis with both the Vikings and Twins playing home games at both Target Field and Mall of America Field at 7 pm. More than 100,000 fans will be in the area. The Twins are in a stretch drive pennant race drawing 40,000 playing the Detroit Tigers, while the Vikings draw 63,000 hosting Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos.

Big night in Arizona

Morton's Steakhouse hosted the Second Annual Larry Fitzgerald & Friends
Celebrity Servers Night in Phoenix Monday, Aug. 30. Four-time Pro Bowl star Fitzgerald, several of his Arizona Cardinals teammates and Head Coach Ken Whinsenhunt served as waiters at this fundraiser.

It all started with a 5 pm VIP reception then a 6 pm reception and
silent auction. Dinner was at 6:45, and the program and live auction
started at 7:30. It was very successful, well attended, and everybody had a great time for a wonderful cause: the Carol Fitzgerald Memorial Fund and the Larry Fitzgerald First Down Fund.

Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns was in attendance as well as Minnesota's PGA Senior Champion and former British Open Champion golfer Tom Lehman.

The Carol Fitzgerald Memorial Fund was founded in memory of Larry Sr.'s late wife and Jr.'s mother, who throughout her career as a state health department investigator in Minnesota had helped many people with HIV/AIDS, breast cancer and other health challenges. The fund proceeds continue her work and also support education of urban youth.

The Larry Fitzgerald First Down Fund was established to support children and their families. The fund has given money for computer equipment, vision care and other activities to support youth.

The 2010 Morton's event was a smashing success with more than $250,000 raised.

Larry Fitzgerald can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio 89.9 FM at 8:20 am, and on WDGY-AM 740 Monday & Saturday mornings at 7:50 am and Fridays at 3:50 pm; he also commentates on sports 7-8 pm on Almanac (TPT channel 2). Larry welcomes reader responses to lfitzgerald@spokesman-recorder.com , or visit www.Larry-Fitzgerald.com .