While there has been a ton of wild speculation and poor reporting by most news agencies not directly familiar with the Indiana program (Pat Forde, Andy Katz), CBS’s Gary Parrish has decided to throw his hat in the speculative ring. He is quoting sources familiar with last night’s meeting that Indiana AD Rick Greenspan had with Indiana players. Players supposedly told Greenspan that if Sampson was fired, they’d walk too. Those players, reportedly, included Eric Gordon, D.J. White, Super Walk-On Kyle Taber and Lance Stemler.

“According to the sources, after Greenspan informed five selected players — namely D.J. White, Eric Gordon, Kyle Taber, Lance Stemler and Adam Ahlfeld — of his decision to replace Sampson he called a meeting with the entire team in an attempt to “prepare” them for Friday’s official announcement that Sampson would either be suspended or terminated in time for the Hoosiers’ weekend game at Northwestern. But before Greenspan finished his speech, the sources said an unidentified player stood up and insisted “if Sampson ain’t coaching, we ain’t playing.”

According to Parrish’s story, Greenspan rhetorically asked if he should just cancel the whole season and the player reportedly told the AD “We don’t care what you do. But if Sampson ain’t coaching, we ain’t playing.’ And then they just walked out.”

If this is true, I commend the players for doing what they believe to be right while all of the adults around them try to figure out how not to get hit by the shrapnel. I don’t think any of them would actually go through with it, save maybe Eric Gordon who is going to the NBA next year anyway. Could this be a Jimmy Chitwood/Norman Dale type of situation? “I play, coach stays. If he goes, I go.”

We’ll see what Greenspan has to say at a 2 p.m. ET press conference that has been scheduled at Assembly Hall.

(Indianapolis Star/Matt Kryger)

After persuading my girlfriend to watch Saturday night’s Michigan State/IU game (something that was entirely too easy, which leads me to believe that I’ve made a trade of dubious quality for myself down the road), we settled in to watch the game. Of course, most of the discussion from ESPN’s talking heads centered around the NCAA allegations against Indiana head basketball coach Kelvin Sampson and what his future may or may not be come later this week. During the course of the game, I explained to my girlfriend what he had done and then explained my hardline stance on what had happened and what I thought should happen to our coach. Her reply was something that floored me, an emotion that I had never considered or entered into the equation.

“That’s sad,” she said.

I was stunned. I didn’t really know what to say. In my anger as an IU basketball fan and as someone who had embraced Sampson as the leader of my favorite team and my alma mater, I had never stopped to consider the human price in all of this. Here’s a guy who has one of the top 5 jobs in his entire profession and it appears that he’s thrown all of it away, leaving a once-brilliant career in total jeopardy. Make no mistake about it, sanctions or not, Kelvin Sampson is a heck of a basketball coach and as I watched him embrace his players and pump his fists, it did occur to me that the entire story was a little sad, as my girlfriend had originally emoted.

This was a guy who had put our much-beloved program back in the national spotlight and has now found himself in the cross hairs with seemingly no way out. All of the people that had originally loved him and praised the work he had done to land big-time recruits and put Indiana basketball back in the top 10, stood on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington with a microphone in their face and called for his job.

Come to think of it, that is pretty sad.

By my own admission, I wasn’t all that excited about the end of football in America and when the final seconds ticked off the clock at the Super Bowl, I began to feel the way you do the day after Christmas.

Truthfully, I was dreading this weekend. My first weekend without football (and the Pro Bowl doesn’t count as football, it barely qualifies as a competitive sporting event) was going to be, to say the least, slow and mildly depressing. That was until Wednesday and Thursday night.

The Duke/UNC game, a great game that saw Duke hitting every three-pointer and garbage shot imaginable, sparked my interest once again in college hoops and last night’s Indiana/Illinois game in Champaign has me ignited.

(Indianapolis Star/Heather Charles)

A couple of thoughts on last night’s game.

It’s time for Bruce Weber, his basketball team and the Illinois fan base to grow up. As an IU alum and IU fan, nothing is more satisfying to me than beating a fan base who would sell their vital organs to beat IU so for the Hoosiers to come out of Champaign with a win is unspeakably gratifying this morning.

The win is particularly fulfilling considering it came against a fan base that is as borderline obnoxious as Illinois. Look at it this way, these are fans that viciously clung to and defended a white student running onto the field dressed as a Native American and dancing around. Doesn’t sound like the most enlightened bunch of cats, right? Think Ohio State fans without all the, you know, championships and tradition of winning. I can’t say that I blame them for being cranky. The handful of occasions I have traveled to Champaign-Urbana has left me with no further desire to ever go back. It’s like Seattle without all the natural beauty, great seafood and interesting people.

The shove, let’s not mince words, that Chester Frazier gave Eric Gordon at the beginning of last night’s game was absolutely classless and that starts at the top. I know that Bruce Weber’s feelings are hurt that an 18-year-old kid changed his mind and decided not to play at Illinois (I can’t imagine why, I mean Champaign-Urbana is so lovely) but at a certain point you need to move on for the sake of your program. But oh no, not old Bruce. He’s going to continue to let this thing drag out and consume him as he drives this program right into the ground.

And while we’re on the topic of that 18-year-old kid, any NBA GM who takes this kid with his lottery pick had better had his resume uploaded to CareerBuilder.com. I was excited as an IU fan to be getting a player of Gordon’s caliber and while he has shown flashes of…being a pretty good college basketball player, he’s far from the game changer that many IU fans were promised when Gordon committed to IU. What I see when I watch Gordon is an 18-year-old kid who is used to dominating high school competition and can’t create his own looks. Anyone can hit an open shot, only the great players can create and Eric Gordon is far from great, as of now. I think this year in college has really exposed some glaring weaknesses in his game. He’s not a great ballhandler, his shot selection (particularly when he’s pulling up from the parking lot) is questionable and he’s turnover prone. If you’re a GM are you giving $3 million a year to a kid who’s too small to play the 2 at the NBA level and is too turnover prone to efficiently run the point. Put it like this, do you like Eric Gordon matching up against Steve Nash, Tony Parker or Chris Paul? That being said, I think he’s gone after the year and he’s going to get someone to pay him a lot of money to play basketball but his first year or two in the NBA could determine whether he’s Jason Kidd or Mateen Cleaves.

Dead horse files assault charge against Rev. Al

As some of you may have heard, Golf Channel analyst Kelly Tilghman has been suspended two weeks for a remark she made while calling the Mercedes-Benz championship last weekend.

On air, Tilghman joked that to stymie Tiger Woods’ dominance on tour young golfers needed to “lynch him in a back alley.” Tilghman has since apologized for the remark and has received the suspension I’ve mentioned above. Tiger’s camp has accepted her apology and the whole thing appeared to be over. A very poor choice of words into a live microphone had earned Tilghman two weeks off from work and a fair share of embarrassment.

If only that were the end of this story. Rev. Al Sharpton, as he seemingly always does, has interjected on behalf of… well at least himself, saying that Tilghman’s comments were no less inflammatory than Don Imus’ famous comments about the Rutgers womens basketball team and that Tilghman ought to be fired.

I should preface this post by saying that I think this country needs people like Rev. Al Sharpton serving as a watchdog for civil rights.

Al Sharpton is just flat out wrong about Kelly Tilghman. What he does when he injects himself into situations like this is compromise his own legitimacy as a leader and as a public figure when called upon to lend his voice to causes that are actually socially significant (the Jena Six most readily comes to mind).

You absolutely cannot make the comments that Tilghman and I do not condone making those types of comments because of the emotions and years of vicious violence they invoke. But Imus and Tilghman are not the same because there is nothing in her past that suggests that she is bigoted in any way (her friend, Washington Post columnist and PTI host Michael Wilbon said as much on last night’s program), the same cannot be said for Imus who, on a number of occasions, referred to Illinois Senator Barack Obama as “that young colored fella.”

Leave Kelly Tilghman alone, Al.

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Playoff Picks

GREEN BAY over Seattle

NEW ENGLAND over Jacksonville

INDIANAPOLIS over San Diego

DALLAS over New York

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When did Sports Writers become gossip columnists?

Does anyone really, truly, honestly care where and with whom Tony Romo spent his off weekend?

It is an absolute embarrassment to our profession that sports writers are asking Dallas Cowboys players and coaches what they think about Tony Romo heading to Cancun for a couple days during the Cowboys off week. A trip, it should be noted, he did not take alone, pro bowl tight end Jason Witten went along.

Romo broke no team rules by going, didn’t miss any practices or team functions. In fact, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips instructed his players to get away from the game for a couple days. So what’s the problem? Do we care at all if Marco Rivera mowed his lawn over the weekend? Or if Marion Barber took a nap, played a little Call of Duty 4 and went to see No Country for Old Men? No and we shouldn’t care about this.

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Am I really excited about a flick called Cloverfield?

Answer: Very much

Ever since this film began it’s somewhat cryptic viral marketing campaign, I was interested to see what producer J.J. Abrams had in store. The trailer is out (and below) and what I like most is that they let you know just enough about the plot but leave it at that. Too many times trailers are giving away the movies they are advertising for to lure moviegoers into theaters. This film doesn’t need to do that and I’m itching to see what this movie has to offer.

That being said, I’m not expecting a whole lot. My guess is that this is a monster movie in the same vein that we have seen monster movies before and I hope that, after seeing the film, my favorite part about it isn’t the build-up before I saw going to see it.

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Senior Bowl adds some more big names

Add to the list of players committed to playing in this year’s Senior Bowl, five LSU Tigers. Those players are Jacob Hester, Craig Steltz, Early Doucet, Ali Highsmith and Chevis Jackson.

They join a nice contingent of players from the SEC who’ve committed already.

Also announced this week were Missouri tight end and First team All-American Martin Rucker, Texas wideout Limas Sweed, and Biletinikoff finalist Jordy Nelson from Kansas State.

The final rosters are to be announced on Sunday, Jan. 20 and will be posted here on The Bottom Line. This year’s Senior Bowl will be played on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. and will be televised on the *sigh* NFL Network.

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Sampson vs. Weber, Round 1

It’s a big afternoon for Indiana sports Sunday as the Colts kick off against the Chargers at 1 and IU and Illinois square off at 4:30 in Bloomington. If you thought the relationship between Bill Belichick and Eric Mangino was contentious, watch the IU game on Sunday on CBS. These are two men who genuinely hate each other’s guts, due in large part to Weber’s belief that Sampson contacted Gordon after the guard had verbally committed to play at Illinois in 2008. Sampson claims a member of Gordon’s family initiated the contact with his staff and that led to Gordon de-committing to Illinois and signing with the Hoosiers. What we have here is a good, old fashion Big Ten Bloodfeud and while the game Sunday won’t come close in the palpable hatred department at Feb. 7’s game in Champaign, it should be entertaining none the less. The end of game handshake will be like Patriots/Jets minus Belichick assaulting a photographer.

Monday, Dec. 31 - Insight Bowl

Indiana vs. Oklahoma State 

For the first time in my life, I have a horse in the proverbial bowl season race. For the first time since 1993, my Indiana Hoosiers are going bowling. I think, nationally, college football fans know very little about this Indiana team (and probably won’t this season given that the game is only being televised on the dreaded NFL Network) but Indiana has one of the most exciting offenses in America. Sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis is one of the nation’s most complete offensive players, ahead of Dennis Dixon, Matt Grothe and Kansas’ Todd Reesing, Pat White and Andre Woodson in total offense and ranks ahead of John David Booty, Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford in passing efficiency. On the outside, the Hoosiers have 6′7″ James Hardy, one of the nation’s most exciting receivers playing in what is sure to be his last game in an Indiana uniform and Marcus Thigpen, an electrifying returner/receiver/running back. The Hoosiers will look to Lewis, Hardy and Thigpen to exploit an atrociously bad Oklahoma State pass defense that finished 116th of 119 teams in all of college football against the pass. Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, Oklahoma State (and their screaming moron of a coach, Mike Gundy) has a sensational receiver in Adarius Bowman, who is averaging just under 100 yards a game in receiving. Indiana must use defensive end, Greg Middleton, who leads the nation with 14 solo sacks to pressure quarterback Zac Robinson into incompletions and turnovers and corner Tracey Porter must defend his reputation as one of the Big Ten’s best cover corners (Porter finished second in the Big Ten with 6 interceptions) and stick to Bowman like glue all day long. I’m going with my heart and the Hoosiers‘ pass attack in a shootout.

Tuesday, Jan. 1 - Chick Fil-A Bowl 

Clemson vs. Auburn 

It’s a matchup between two coaches that nearly went to Arkansas when Clemson and Auburn square off in Atlanta. Both Tommy Tuberville and Tommy Bowden were reportedly interviewed for the Arkansas head coaching job before pulling their names for consideration and staying where they were. Auburn comes into this one with another great defense and a slumping, boring offense led by senior quarterback Brandon Cox. Clemson is a little more well-rounded with a great offense, passing and rushing and one of the ACC’s top defenses.  Clemson’s three losses came on the road to Georgia Tech, at home to a Virginia Tech team that would go on to win the conference and a nail-biter to BC thanks to Matt Ryan’s heroics. To win this game, which is being played less than 2 hours from the Auburn campus, the Tigers must find a way to generate some type of offense. Auburn didn’t have a rusher in the SEC’s top 10 rushers and Cox finished the year averaging 155 yards a game passing and that isn’t going to cut it against a Clemson defense that finished in the top 15 in the country against the pass and 20th in the country against the run, not to mention the weapons they have on the other side of the ball in quarterback Cullen Harper and running backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller. Losing offensive coordinator Al Borges this week isn’t going to help Auburn put points on the board despite their defense. Clemson’s defense will force the Auburn offense to go three and out for much of the game and Clemson’s rushing attack will wear down the Auburn defensive front. I’m going with Tommy Bowden and Clemson.

Jan. 1 - Outback Bowl

Wisconsin vs. Tennessee 

One of three bowls that pits the SEC and the Big Ten, the Outback Bowl returns Tennessee to the scene of a pounding last year at the hands of the Nittany Lions. The key for Tennessee will be moving the ball up and down the field and being able to execute David Cutcliffe’s offense against a Wisconsin defense that finished 4th in the conference in total defense. Defensively, the Vols have struggled in spectacular fashion against the run, giving up more than 162 yards a game. That statistic is particularly troubling given who’s lining up in the backfield for the Badgers: The Wisconsin Winnebago, P.J. Hill.  I’d look for Wisconsin to pound the ball and leave few chances for the ball-hawking Tennessee secondary chances to make plays off banged-up quarterback Tyler Donovan. This is a difficult game to pick because both teams have struggled at various points during the year but I will take Wisconsin and P.J. Hill in a close contest.

Tuesday, Jan. 1 - AT&T Cotton Bowl 

Missouri vs. Arkansas 

Playing in this game must be a tough pill to swallow for Gary Pinkel, Chase Daniel and Missouri. The loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game propelled the Tigers out of the BCS picture, to the benefit of the Kansas Jayhawks, a one-loss team that the Tigers had handled the week before. Still, the Tigers need to remain focus and not focus on their BCS snub as they prepare to square off against a dangerous Arkansas team. The trouble with Arkansas is that beyond Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, they don’t have much of an offense. Stuffing the run will be huge for Missouri, something they’ve done well this year limiting opponents to 118 yards per game on the ground. On offense, Missouri will look to do what they’ve done all year: Let Chase Daniel run around make plays and find Jeremy Maclin, Chase Coffman and Martin Rucker for big plays. It helps that Missouri has running back Tony Temple in the lineup but Temple played in the Big 12 Championship and was a nonfactor. Look for Missouri to exploit mismatches in the secondary, particularly on Coffman and Rucker. Given how bad Arkansas’ secondary has been all year, I’d look for Chase Daniel to have a big day and Missouri to win big.

I like…

Eric Gordon drops 33 in his debut for the Hoosiers last night.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Mark Bradly says Georgia is every bit as tough as LSU.

Fanhouse has a funny take on the Missouri-Kansas border war.

Marvel is offering an archive of 2,500 back issues.. not for free but still pretty cool.  Lost creator Damon Lindelof has a list of what you should start with.

USAToday’s Beau Dure has devised a hypothetical playoff system.

I don’t like…

ESPN is stockpiling journalists.

The Michelin Guide gave zero stars to chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in Las Vegas. Keller is the only American-born chef with two three-star Michelin restaurants to his credit (French Laundry and Per Se).

I like…

Wired’s Epicenter blog has an interesting post about the WGA strike and the effect it might have on WebTV.

The Buffalo News’ Bob DiCesare is the latest member of the media to advocate a playoff in college football.

See if you can follow this one: Wyoming coach guarantees win over Utah.. Utah blows out Wyoming.. up 43 Utah coach shows zero class and attempts an onside kick … Wyoming coach gives him the finger on national television.

SI’s Stewart Mandel updated his bowl projections and has IU playing in Vegas.

I don’t like…

Adrian Peterson is out a week with a torn knee ligament. I really hope this kid can stay healthy but he did have trouble with his knees in college and hopefully he is able to bounce back from this.

Peyton Manning really likes throwing to Antonio Cromartie

Only problem with that is Cromartie isn’t really on his team. The ever-mopey MVP threw three, count ‘em, three picks to the second-year corner out of Florida State in Sunday’s loss on the road to the Chargers. I would think after a while you would stop throwing in someone’s direction after they’ve picked you off twice but Peyton was courteous enough to give Cromartie the trifecta on way to throwing six interceptions. I know that it never entered Colts head coach Tony Dungy’s mind to pull the struggling quarterback but he should have. Am I surprised that he didn’t? No. But it would have been Dungy’s chance to show that no matter who you are or how many companies and products you shill for, if you don’t perform, you don’t play. Make this two weeks in a row that Manning and the Colts offense has blown big conference games.

You may want to wait before buying those Saints playoff tickets

The Saints dropped a bad home game yesterday against the formerly win-less Rams after putting together a nice little streak and putting themselves back in playoff contention. Given that the Saints play in what is arguably the weakest division in football, I think , barring any further collapses, they are still going to the playoffs but it’s important to remember that prior to their four-game winning streak, they started the season 0-4. You have to wonder if a loss to a bad team like the Rams will send the formerly terrible Saints into a shame spiral and out of the playoff race. Time will tell. Their schedule the rest of the way is pretty mild and none of the games they still have on tap jump out at you as being potential landmines.

Donovan McNabb may be headed to Minnesota

The latest trade rumor has Donovan McNabb headed to Minnesota after this year to re-unite with former Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress. I’ve gotta say this rumor smacks of irony to me. He would be leaving a team with a great running back, a decent offensive line and no receivers to go to a team with a great running back, a decent (if not overpaid) offensive line and no receivers. Are are Troy Williamson and Sidney Rice that much of an upgrade over Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown? I think that no matter where McNabb goes (unless it’s New England), his best years are behind him.

Ron Zook is the national coach of the year

As it turns out, Gator fans, Ron Zook can actually coach. Forget about Jim Leavitt or Mark Mangino, no one has done a better job this year than Ron Zook. Zook took a team that was 2-10 last year and made them nationally relevant this weekend, knocking off top-ranked Ohio State on the road to get their 8th win of the year. If Zook can continue to pull big time recruits like Arrelious Benn and recruit well in the Chicago area, Illinois could become a real force to be reckoned with.

It’s 1994 all over again in Bloomington

The last time Indiana was bowl eligible it was 1994, they went 6-5 and didn’t get invited to a bowl. Well boys and girls, welcome to 1994. I’ll be rocking my Zubaz pants and my #2 Charlotte Hornets Larry Johnson jersey and listening to Meatloaf and Ace of Base. Indiana, barring a miraculous win at home next week against Purdue, isn’t going to a bowl this year. Saturday just wasn’t a banner day for the Hoosier football team. Not only did they give away a game that would have given them seven wins and a virtual bowl guarantee, they gave Northwestern their sixth win of the season, and Iowa and Michigan State all became bowl eligible as well. I’m going to go sulk and listen to Gin Blossoms.

Sylvester Croom will have a job next year

The Fighting Crooms of Mississippi State have put together a nice little resume this year, on their way to become bowl eligible for the first time since people were spazzing out about Y2K. After upending #22-ranked Alabama this weekend, Croom has seemingly changed the football culture in Starkville. The Bulldogs, who play excellent defense and the worst offense imaginable, have knocked off Auburn, Kentucky and now the Saban-led Crimson Tide and have a chance at seven wins when they play Ole Miss next week in the Egg Bowl. Well done, coach.

I like Indiana’s interim head football coach as much as the next guy. Bill Lynch seems like a very capable, intelligent guy who cares about his players and about this program. He has been undoubtedly been put into a tough spot and performed admirably. Following Terry Hoeppner is no easy task. Hoeppner in his short time at IU had become something of an iconic figure in Bloomington, a symbol of the program’s new hope and any coach would have a tough time following that. It’s always tough being the guy after the guy and Coach Hep was well on his way to becoming the guy at IU. This program, now more than ever, needs someone with Hep’s charisma and Hep’s enthusiasm and likability and I just don’t think Bill Lynch is that guy.

Frankly, whatever success the Hoosiers are having this year and whatever the result of this season is, bowl berth or not, Indiana athletic director Rick Greenspan would do well to remember why student ticket sales for the last three years have been on the rise and why there is a renewed enthusiasm surrounding this program. Indiana football is on the up and up because of Terry Hoeppner. Terry Hoeppner was the face of this program and Terry Hoeppner was a difficult guy not to like, not to follow and not to believe.

I remember sitting at Alumni Hall in Bloomington when Hep held his first ever meeting with the student body at IU, shortly after being brought on to coach the Hoosiers. His excitable was palpable. You could feel that he was thrilled to death to be in that room, be on that campus, and wearing that cream triton on his chest. That passion and that excitement was absolutely contagious. One would be hard pressed to listen to Hep for 15 minutes about his vision for Indiana football and not start believing.

This season, while it is certainly a fitting tribute to the memory of Coach Hep, who passed away in June of this year from brain cancer, it has less to do with Bill Lynch’s leadership and more to do with IU’s schedule, which was ranked as one of the nation’s weakest before the season began. Frankly, with a non-conference schedule that includes three MAC teams and Div. I-AA Indiana State and a conference schedule that didn’t include Ohio State or Michigan, if there was ever a season for the Hoosiers to “Play 13,” it was this one.

At the end of the day, the guy who replaces the guy who filled in for Terry Hoeppner this season needs to be someone who shares Hep’s vision for this program’s future and an equally clear love for it. That guy just isn’t Bill Lynch. Greenspan needs to keep the ball rolling, needs to keep student interest in this program that Hoeppner helped build. He needs someone to do for IU football what Greg Schiano did for Rutgers and Jim Leavitt has done for South Florida and candidly, what Ron Zook is doing across the border in Illinois.

The Labor Day weekend is upon us and for those of us here in Destin, it means one last weekend before Summer and the tourists it brings is officially over for the year.

Quick update on my picks for the week, I went 9-for-11 last night with Ball State and Iowa State being my only two losses. Ball State lost to Miami of Ohio in the last seconds of that game in Muncie and Iowa State just didn’t show up to play at home against Kent State. Can’t win ‘em all.

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No, seriously…

We’re going to need a bigger fly swatter: 200-yard spider web found in Texas.

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The NFL has revamped its logo.

ACC must prove it is power conference again.

Virginia Tech lunch pail gets in on remembrance of shooting victims.

AJ Feeley breaks hand in preseason game. Inquirer/Daily News

Wisconsin running back P.J. Hill changes his style to prolong his career.

Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback Trent Edwards impresses in Bills’ preseason wins.

The play of Brodie Croyle in the preseason solidifies the reasons to start Damon Huard at QB for Chiefs.

Hoosiers head to the Bahamas.

Vols will need to run ball effectively to repeat ‘06 result against Cal.

Georgia Tech hasn’t won at South Bend since the ’50s.

Urban Meyer not concerned about ego of USC transfer.

Is Oregon State running back Yvenson Bernard a Heisman dark horse?

Beckham out for six weeks with knee injury.

LSU not impressive in season opener, says Baton Rouge Advocate columnist.

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Well-rounded news… 

Premiere has a list of the 20 greatest plot twists.

NBC will not renew its contract with iTunes.