SB Nation User Blog: Ajax

Scott Wolf pretty much sums it up:

Ajax — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:28:17 -0000

"The signing of O.J. Mayo pretty much ruined the USC basketball program."

ROFL

Another USC Limo violation?

Ajax — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:44:13 -0000

USC picked up Boyd in a limousine during his visit and put him and other recruits up in the downtown L.A. Marriott.

link

Sound familiar?

Having already told USC he was not interested in taking an official visit, USC assistant Ken Norton Jr. - a former UCLA player - called Price last month and tried to get him to check out the campus on an official visit. After some joking on the phone, Norton asked if Price would prefer to be picked up in a Mercedes-Benz or a Chevy Tahoe, and Price said he jokingly told Norton he preferred the Tahoe, but then declined the trip altogether.

The following day, Price said, he was pulled out of his fourth-period art class by a guidance counselor who informed him a limousine was waiting in front of Crenshaw High for him. When he got to the front, the driver asked Price to get in and they were going to USC.

With school officials declining to release Price without parental permission, Frank Price came to the school. They called Norton, who instructed the two to hop in and come to the campus, despite Brian and Frank repeatedly telling USC coaches they were not interested in taking the trip.

"He didn't get it through his head, and I had to keep on telling him no," said Brian Price, who grew up a USC fan. "I wasn't falling for it. "That wouldn't look right for UCLA. I'm the face of UCLA football right now. I already know I would not be the face of the USC team. Me taking that trip would be giving UCLA a bad name."

After they sent the limo away, both said they have not been contacted by USC
since. USC coaches are not allowed to comment on Price, since he is still a recruitable athlete until he signs.

While it's being reported that the use of a limo in recruiting is a violation of NCAA rules, Carroll told the LA Times that the school uses Town Cars, not limos. Price's father is quoted as saying the car was much longer than a limo.

Pearson at PE blog

The NCAA is very clear about the use of limousines in recruiting student athletes:

13.5.2 Excessive Entertainment. A member institution may not arrange or permit excessive entertainment of a prospect on the campus or elsewhere (e.g., hiring a band for a dance specifically for the entertainment of the prospect, a chauffeured limousine, a helicopter).

13.5.2.1 General Restrictions. A member institution may pay the prospective student-athlete's actual round-trip transportation costs for his or her official visit to its campus from any location, provided the prospective student-athlete returns to the original point of departure, or if return transportation is provided to the prospective student-athlete's home, educational institution or site of competition, the cost does not exceed round-trip expenses from the prospective student-athlete's original point of departure. Use of a limousine or helicopter for such transportation is prohibited. (Revised: 1/9/06, 5/26/06)

Now, I'm sure this is all a big understanding and that the limo was really a "Towncar. "

Cheat on Peter and Kenny.

Hanley Ramirez in Play?

Ajax — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 04:33:15 -0000

At least he is according to Heyman/Verducci:

The Red Sox made a play to re-acquire Marlins superstar Hanley Ramirez after losing out to the rival Yankees for star free agent Mark Teixeira, league sources tell SI.com. But while the Marlins listened to Boston's overtures, Florida isn't anxious to trade its best player, and talks apparently have been aborted after no agreement could be reached.

The Marlins were said to be most interested in a center fielder, and discussions apparently centered on Boston's promising youngster Jacoby Ellsbury, talented pitching prospect Clay Buchholz and others in a package for Ramirez, who began in Boston's organization.

I know it's the longshot of longshots, but how sweet would it be if the Halos put a package together and swooped in on HR right in Theo's face?

Tex "favored the Yankees all along."

Ajax — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:54:28 -0000

Just in case you were wondering whether Boras was using the Angels as leverage to drive up the price on Tex, the big picture of these negotiations is now coming into focus:

But when the Angels pulled out of the bidding on Sunday night, and the Red Sox failed to reach an agreement after their owner traveled all the way to Dallas to meet with him and agent Scott Boras, the Yankees suddenly became more interested.

It was then learned that Teixeira had favored the Yankees all along and according to sources he conveyed that to them this week.

link

Looks like Tex never had any intention of signing with the Angels (at least for a reasonable offer). While it's hard to begrudge Tex for getting all that he can get, it's hard not to feel at least a little disdain towards him for using our team as leverage. F-him: he is the enemy now. F-the Yankees, F-the Red Sox, F-Scott Boras too.

Here's too Kowbell and Wood coming up huge in 2009.

A theory on the Tex negotiations

Ajax — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:33:20 -0000

Could it be that Boras is advising Tex to hold off on a decision, hoping that the Yanks jump into the fray? If the Yanks jumped in, you'd think that the Sox would be pressured to do whatever it would take to keep him out of NY.

Boras set the number at 10 years/$200 million from the beginning. Could getting the Yanks invovled help him get there?

It certainly would not help the Halos' chance of resigning Tex if the Yanks got invovled.

Looks like it will take more than 6/$120m to land Tex

Ajax — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:56:49 -0000

Two high-ranking baseball officials predicted that star free-agent first baseman Mark Teixeira just might hit the reputed $200-million asking price.
At least two teams and perhaps more are believed to have already bid $160 million, and at least four teams still appear to be in the running. The Red Sox, Angels, Nationals and Orioles appear to be among the serious suitors for the switching-hitting star. Angels owner Arte Moreno told SI on Tueesday, "Teixeira's my guy,'' meaning he remained their top target.

Is it going to take 10 years/ $200m for Tex?

link

Anyone catch Cowherd this morning?

Ajax — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:15:05 -0000

Not that I'm breaking any news that he is a TrOJan groupie, but I thought his show was way overboard this morning.

First, I'm pretty sure he was drunk.

Second, I could have sworn that UCLA was hosting the game this year. So why is it that the TrOJand skanks--I mean song girls and SuC band---were performing during the show? Not to mention his breathless and constant fellating of everything TrOJan.

Keep up the good work ESPN.

"Coming This Fall" Cool promo video sent out by UCLA

Ajax — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:30:06 -0000

"Coming This Fall"

Cool promo video sent out by UCLA

A Big BN Welcome To So Cal to Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez

Ajax — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 01:46:01 -0000

The Angels and Dodgers both made huge trades in the last few days to grab two of the best hitters in baseball.

The Angels, who recently swept the Red Sox at the Big A then again at Fenway, went out and got Mark Teixeira from the Braves in return for fan favorite Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Stephen Marek. Look for Arte Moreno, the best owner in all of MLB, to make a serious push at signing Teixeira long term. The Angels were already poised to make a deep run in to October. Now they have the bat to protect Vlad that they have been missing.

Not to be outdone, the Dodgers jumped at the opportunity to land the best right handed hitter of this generation and future HOF, Manny Ramirez. Manny's famous for his eccentric and at times kooky behavior, but nobody can deny that the guy can flat out mash. The NL West is up for grabs, and the addition of Manny may be enough to push the Azul over the top. Manny has already publicly announced that he'd like to finish his career in Dodger Blue. (As an Angels fan, I'm just happy he's out of the AL so he can no longer torment Angel pitchers.)

The addition of Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez to the Angels and Dodgers is sure to guarantee an exciting play off run.

Bush Tackled For A Loss (At Least In One Play)

Ajax — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:45:50 -0000

So it looks like we have some movement in the Reggie Bush/Southern California blockbuster scandal (which if involved any other team would have put them on track to death penalty a long time ago). bruin7982 was tracking the case of Lake v. Griffin in which the judge issued a recent decision (against Bush) allowing the case to be tried out in the open (instead of resolving it in confidential arbitration). There has been some coverage on this development. The LA Times called it "good news for NCAA investigators":

Lewis' ruling is good news for NCAA investigators hoping to gain access to potential evidence in the case. They want to know if Bush or USC broke college rules.

More from the San Diego Tribune re. the significance of the ruling:

The ruling is significant because it keeps the case in public court, where NCAA investigators can collect evidence to determine whether Bush and his parents received impermissible benefits from Lake while Bush played at USC in 2004 and 2005.

Note that although in the same ruling the Judge Lewis had denied Lake's motion to compel further responses from Bush and sanctioned the P with a fine of $2,720 because they had failed to engage in an "appropriate meet and confer process" according to the Tribune report the Judge is going to reconsider that part of the "tentative" ruling

On Thursday Lewis had tentatively denied a motion by Lake's attorneys to compel further responses from Bush and his parents to written discovery questions Lake had submitted to them. The questions asked such questions as whether Bush received money from Lake – and were not answered because Bush's attorneys said they were "grossly overbroad."

But today Lewis said she would reconsider that tentative ruling and would reconsider a tentative sanction of $2,730 she had issued against Lake's attorneys Thursday. She had ruled against Lake's side on this point because she believed that Lake's side had failed to properly "meet and confer" with Bush's side over discovery issues. But yesterday, Lake's attorneys, Brian Watkins and Paul Wong, said they had met and conferred with Bush's attorneys. "until we were blue in the face."

So here are the next steps (per the Tribune report linked above)

Bush is scheduled to have his deposition for the case taken Sept. 9, possibly in New Orleans, where he plays for the NFL's Saints. His parents, LaMar and Denise Griffin, are scheduled to follow on Sept. 10-11.

Ted Miller of WWL posted this take:

The NCAA case involves two aspects: 1) Can it prove any USC coach or official was aware of Bush taking cash and gifts; 2) In the absence of proving direct knowledge, will the NCAA find USC's lack of knowledge an actionable failure in itself -- the dreaded "lack of institutional control."

Our take is the second option is more likely if the NCAA is going to hit USC hard, particularly when the Bush case is paired with the strikingly similar O.J. Mayo investigation.

Miller should not dismissing the first option out of hand considering Todd McNair, the Southern Cal running back coach has been implicated in this scandal, having allegedly known about Bush's involvement with the New Era venture before Southern Cal's national championship game against Texas. [also as a quick refresher don't forget McNair is the same individual who has a record of being arrested and charged with 81 offenses involving the mistreatment of 22 pit bulls being trained on his property for dogfights while a running back for the Houston Oilers].

Where the hell is NCAA on all of this? AP reports they are "making progress":

The NCAA is making progress in its investigation, according to a statement provided by spokeswoman Stacey Osburn.

If the NCAA determines that USC violated rules, the football program may have to forfeit victories from the 2004 and 2005 seasons and face additional penalties. The Trojans won the national championship in 2004 and lost in the BCS title game against Texas the following season.

If Bush is found retroactively ineligible, he could lose his Heisman.

I don't know about you all, but I am not holding my breath.

I don't see anything happening from the NCAA front as I am sure they are too busy keeping an eye on which UCLA recruit gets a letter from Coach Wooden next.

Go Bruins.