The Root of the Problem
As I have noted in earlier posts the role of the agent is a big part of the problem in regard to how players can be corrupted and potentially lose their eligibility. Scott Wolf has a small blurb in his latest article today in the Daily News about agents' runners.
USC's compliance office and Trojans coach Pete Carroll are aware of the situation, and changes could be made for the next home game. Carroll said he favors rules preventing agents (or their workers) from being able to talk to athletes.
"It's happening in high school now," Carroll said. "Why should a kid talk to an agent? There is no reason for that."
There is absolutely no excuse for this type of contact and the school needs step in and control the situation now. I'm really surprised that the NCAA hasn't addressed this issue; after all if an agent corrupts a players eligibility it will hurt the NCAA and the product that they want to market.
The Student Ticket Issue
Dave Wharton of the LA Times has the story on the USC student meeting after the student-seating debacle at the Coliseum last weekend for the Nebraska game USC officials are looking to increase seating to 8600, open the gates earlier and increase security personnel.
The university had sold 12,000 spirit cards, which allow entrance to various sporting events, but reduced the number of student seats to 8,000.
They should have had a better plan in place.
Looks like Chauncey is Hungry
Chauncey Washington wants a bigger role in the USC offense. The LA Times Gary Klein has the story here.
...Asked if Washington could be the starter Saturday in the third-ranked Trojans' Pacific 10 Conference opener at Arizona, Coach Pete Carroll said, "He certainly could be. He's fighting for that right now."
Success breeds success. Once you get a taste of it you want more. It looks like Chauncey wants some more.
USC Needs to come out Hot!
Dan Greenspan of the Daily Trojan has an article on USC's road record when opening Pac 10 play. We have been lucky to some of these games with the high-powered offense that we had the past few years. This year we still have some questions on offense and injuries sill hurt us in key areas. I'm not foolish enough to write off any of our opponents but I won't feel comfortable until I see a little more stability in the areas in question.