For the moment, it appears he doesn’t want to talk about it.

After starting quarterback Ryan Perrilloux was suspended a third time (in the last 10 months) and will miss all of spring practice, Les Miles has said that he will not be discussing Perrilloux and his future with the team. My take on the matter has been clear. If he wants to send a clear message to his team about off-the-field issues, he needs to dismiss Perrilloux. Period. LSU football may not be recruiting the brightest student-athletics in the SEC but I assure you they’re smart enough to see the hypocrisy in the star quarterback being given a third opportunity to NOT screw up when many on the time would be given their walking papers the first time they were involved in a bar fight or indicated in a forgery ring.

For the moment, Miles is, at the very least, non-committal on what Perrilloux’s future with the team will be. Miles told reporters today:

“I am not going to spend a lot of time thinking and talking about [Perrilloux],” said Miles at a pre-spring practice news conference Wednesday. “I am focusing on the guys who are competing for a position on this team now. I’d appreciate if you don’t ask me any more questions about him.”

When pressed by reporters for answers, Miles decided to take the always-wise approach of talking down to the media and explaining what being a head coach means.

“My discipline is about team discipline,” Miles said. “My responsibility is to the program and the team and not to the media. You guys get no vote and no say about the suspension. In time, you’ll get to know stuff.“

I’m sure that the reporters present at that press conference are comforted by the fact that eventually, if Uncle Les says it’s ok, they’ll actually “get to know stuff.” If Miles doesn’t suspend Perrilloux, he is taking an awfully big chance on a guy that is a repeat offender and has never actually been a full-time starter for any length of time in the SEC. This thing could all go horribly wrong for The Hat if he keeps Perrilloux on this team and he either plays horribly and costs LSU ballgames, if he gets in trouble again or both. For the moment, it appears that famous cap hasn’t cut of all the oxygen to Miles’ brain.

“The reality of it is [Perrilloux] is no longer part of the team [at this time]. It’s a very serious issue.”

The key phrase in that sentence may be “at this time.” While Miles refused to talk to reporters about Perrilloux at any length, he did leave the door open for the quarterback’s return to the team.

“He broke team rules, and I really don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking and talking about him,” Miles said. “His responsibility is to do everything right and get back on this team. And I’ll focus on the guys that are competing for jobs on our team currently.”

This is the third time that LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux has been suspended. He’s a junior.

I hope that Les Miles have the nerve to do what other college coaches (including himself), in both basketball and football, haven’t had the integrity to do: Kick this kid off the team. Time and time again, we see examples of athletic programs sending mixed moral messages to their players by giving the most talented break after break while preaching a message of accountability, respect and class to the kids seeing the least amount of playing time.

Case and point, last month Wake Forest dismissed a reserve running back for threatening messages he posted to his Facebook page. No second chances, no temporary suspension until they play a conference rival. Nothing. Just a handshake and a ride to the bus station.

Meanwhile, kids like Perrilloux who, for all intents and purposes has been a problem since arriving in Baton Rouge, has been suspended three times for violation of team rules. Former UConn point guard Marcus Williams was suspended by coach Jim Calhoun for his part in the heist of laptops from dorm rooms but was allowed to rejoin the team just in time for the starts of the Big East conference opener against Marquette. Isn’t that convenient?

I admonish Calhoun, Miles and coaches like them for taking moral stands of convenience and not sending a stronger message to not only their athletes but middle school and high school kids. The hypocrisy of the actions of these coaches and the special treatment received by the best players does not go unnoticed.

For now, the message seems to be that if you can run fast, shoot a jump shot or elude a blitz, you get to play by a different set of “team rules.”

I’ve heard the first step to overcoming addiction is admitting that you have a problem so here I am. I love the NFL draft. I love the meaningless 40 times, shuttle runs, bench press numbers and critiques of throwing motions all of which are a scientific way to analyze something that has proved to be nothing if unscientific.

That being said, I am a huge fan of the mock draft if, for no other reason, than to see how badly my Philadelphia Eagles will disappoint me by selecting yet another offensive or defensive linemen when they are other glaring inadequacies but I digress. I should add that last year’s decision to trade out of the first round (with divisional rival Dallas) and then take Houston QB Kevin Kolb with the team’s first pick of the draft in the second round was enough to make me pause for a moment, in stunned silence, before yelling at the television.

That said, I was parousing Scout Inc.’s Todd McShay’s (a guy who bears an uncanny resemblance to Destin Beach Safety Patrol Chief Joe D’Agostino) mock draft and was disappointed that he had my team taking Miami defensive end Calais Campbell. I mean why wouldn’t the Eagles take a defensive end from the U when Jerome McDougle worked out so well with the 15th pick in 2003.

That said, looking over this first round mock, there are a couple prospects I’d be very leery about drafting. For the record, one of them is NOT Indiana’s James Hardy, who McShay has going to San Fransisco with the 29th pick the team received from the Indianapolis Colts. Hardy’s size and speed at the wide receiver position makes him a unique talent though he needs a little work on his route running and needs to become more physical against press coverage.

Darren McFadden, Arkansas. I would be very, very careful about drafting Run DMC because he reminds me of another great college running back who has been something of a dud in the NFL: Reggie Bush. To be successful in the NFL, McFadden will have to quickly learn something that Bush has yet to learn in his first two seasons, you can’t outrun everybody in the NFL. McFadden’s east-to-west style of running would be a concern for me, though he is a terrific pass catcher out of the backfield. What makes Adrian Peterson such a great college and NFL running back is that he is great in space but can also run between the tackles and be an every down back. I’ve yet to see both of those qualities in McFadden.

Early Doucet, LSU. McShay has the LSU senior going to Jacksonville late in the first round and I can’t stress enough how awful this pick would be for Jacksonville who has other holes to fill and have wasted first round picks on receivers in recent years (the underwhelming Reggie Williams and combine hero Matt Jones, who is looking to play himself out of the league). By his own admission, McShay says Doucet will be a good number 2 receiver. I don’t know about you but I’m not paying millions of dollars in guaranteed money to a number 2 receiver unless his name is Wes Welker. Doucet is undersized but fast, could be a good return guy as he tries to find his bearings as an NFL receiver.

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.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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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.

Another BCS title loss to another SEC team for Ohio State.

I think the gameball from last night’s BCS title game  has to go to LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton. I’ve been very critical of the Tigers’ offense all season long, calling it bland and boring but great playcalling paired with near-perfect execution nullified the nation’s top defense. As a note to Ohio State coach, Jim Tressel may want to start recruiting cornerbacks that can tackle and defend the run — and the pass while they’re at it. Never in my life have I seen a team so unable to defend the option. Hats off to Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston who played the option perfectly everytime LSU ran it. His assignment is the quarterback and everytime out he forced the pitch but no one was home to take the pitchman and it resulted in at least a five yard gain every time out.

LSU’s won by doing the little things right. They didn’t commit bone-headed penalties, didn’t turn the ball over and converted, consistently, on third down and that’s how you win big games.

Offensively, Todd Boeckman looked confused and lost all night and the blitz packages Bo Pelini was calling weren’t all that complex. I feel for Jim Tressel, whom I believe to be one of the classiest coaches in all of college football, because I sensed that he wanted to go downfield but the lack of speed on the outside and Boeckman’s spotty accuracy prohibited him from doing so and testing Craig Steltz’s replacement at safety in coverage. One things for sure after last night, Brian Robieski, Brian Hartline and Todd Boeckman better think twice before declaring themselves eligible for the NFL Draft.

As far as whether or not this game solidifies, once again, the SEC’s dominance, I’m not nearly as sold on that as everyone else appears to be. I think that the top three teams in the SEC (see: Georgia, LSU, Tennessee.. sorry Florida) are  as good as any in America but their middle of the pack teams (see: Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, South Carolina) are certainly no better than the middle of the pack teams in the Pac 10 and Big 12.

I do think this game was a crippling blow to Big Ten football however. As a Big Ten alum, today hurts a little bit, losing to the SEC — again — but the conference isn’t where it should be and I attribute that primarily to poor non-conference scheduling by the elite teams in the conference. Michigan shouldn’t be scheduling Appalachian State (and probably won’t again after what happened this year), Ohio State shouldn’t be scheduling Youngstown State, Penn State shouldn’t be scheduling Florida International and Temple. To be considered the best, you have to play and beat the best and the Big Ten’s elite teams didn’t play the best until the end of the season. Conference commish Jim Delany would do well to get in the ear’s of the conference’s athletic directors and urge them to play tougher non-conference games for the betterment of the Big Ten as a whole. Getting stomped, repeatedly, on national television isn’t good for a conference with a new television network and it certainly isn’t going to help recruiting nationally.

For the LSU fans, enjoy your championship because this team is about to hemorrhage a Gator-esque number of players, particularly on defense. Check out the starting seniors this team is losing:
Ali Highsmith, Early Doucet, Matt Flynn, Craig Steltz, Jacob Hester, Jonathan Zenon, Chevis Jackson, Kirston Pittman, Glenn Dorsey.

Enjoy it while you can.

Great graphic on ESPN.com leading up to tonight’s National Championship game. I really hope that it’s a game worth watching for at least three quarters. Enjoy the game. Live on FOX, 7:30 p.m. CST.

Had a chance to watch American Gladiators 2.0 as I’ve taken to calling it and thankfully, the re-make is very similar to the Mike Adamle/Larry Czonka-hosted version of the early 90s that I loved so much as a kid. They’ve returned all the old games with a set of new HGH-inflated Gladiators. Back are old favs like the cleverly-named Wall, Joust, Gauntlet and my personal favorite, Powerball, not to mention the return of The Eliminator with its ziplines and reverse motion treadmills.

The one thing I don’t understand about Gladiators 2.0: what’s with all the water? When a contestant is tugged from the rings in Hang Tough, more often than not in an extremely homoerotic fashion, he falls.. into water. If he isn’t able to scurry up up the wall in…. Wall, he falls… into water. If he gets his pummeled about his head in joust, he falls off his platform… into water. Even the eliminator features a water-based element or two. What’s with all the water? Why not have the contestants falls headlong into a vat of Extra Virgin Olive Oil or what happened to the big cushy mats of my childhood or a ball pit?

While the show may be enough to make me tune in on Monday nights, sans Heroes, it will not be enough to pull me from tonight’s BCS title game.

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Tonight’s the night

The college football seasons ends tonight in New Orleans with a game I am genuinely, truly excited to watch. I have no idea how Ohio State will come out and play, after having almost two months off but the same can certainly be said for LSU, who’s most recent game was more than a month ago. Make no mistake, the beginning of the game is huge for both sides. Ohio State wants to come out and control the tempo of the game, slow it down and grind it out until the end. If they’re able to do that from the outset, it boasts very well for the Buckeyes. But, if LSU is able to get some big plays early on and get a big lead, Ohio State will have to abandon the run, the strongest part of their offense, and rely on Todd Boeckman and against a veteran secondary like LSU’s that could be all she wrote. In a close game though, I’ll take Ohio State as I find Les Miles’ late game judgment to be suspect at best.

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The Rocket takes former trainer to court

The news this morning is that Roger Clemens has filed a defamation suit against former trainer Brian McNamee, who indicated the pitcher had taken HGH in the Mitchell Report. I do not think that because Clemens filed this suit that it automatically means that he is innocent.

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Bring in the noise

Is anyone else tired of the San Diego Chargers? Between LaDanian Tomlinson, who is becoming increasingly self-aggrandizing, Shawne Merriman, that HGH-addled freak and Philip Rivers, who is far too mouthy for how medicore his numbers are, I’ve grown tired of the theatrics. I understand that football is an emotional game but I don’t need to see Shawne Merriman dance around like a moron after every tackle or Luis Castillo do the samba after getting his only sack of the day. You know, for a team that complained after New England mimicked Merriman’s lights out dance, this Chargers team does an awful lot of celebrating.

More playing, less talking.

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DVD Wars 

I was at the gym when I heard on CNBC that Warner Bros. had inked an exclusive deal with Sony’s Blu Ray to distribute their titles. News that was particularly hurtful considering my recent holiday purchase of an HD DVD player. I’m not quite old enough to remember the VHS/Beta wars of the 80s but I can certainly empathize with those consumers. It really is tricky, not knowing which technology to invest in. For me, the Warner Bros. news hurt because it meant one thing and one thing only: No Dark Knight HD-DVD for Pat.  Now, I know I’m jumping the gun a little bit on this one given that Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins sequel won’t hit theatres until July but still, a little sad..

Ohio State vs. LSU

Before last year’s BCS National Championship game, some foolish, young sportswriter wrote this about Ohio State:

“No offense Florida faced this year is packed with the kind of dynamite the Buckeyes will have when Troy Smith … lines up under center… The difference between the two teams … is that Ohio State has Troy Smith and Florida doesn’t.”

Yes, I can admit when I’m wrong and boy, was I wrong. What followed was a humbling lesson in prognostication as Florida’s defense pressured Smith all night and limited him to less than 50 yards passing, winning the national championship easily.

So here we are again.

The Ohio State team that heads down to New Orleans is very different from the juggernaut that I, and many others, thought last year’s Buckeyes to be. This year’s Ohio State team is coming in a little under the radar but needless to say, I won’t be going that far out on a limb for Jim Tressel’s team against this year. Especially not against LSU.

The key for LSU will be finding a weakness in the nation’s best defense, a task that will prove tricky, particularly considering how bland the Tiger offense has looked at various points this year. Without question, the strength of the LSU offense lies with Jacob Hester and their ground game. I wonder how Les Miles will respond if Ohio State stuffs the run early and LSU has to take to the air against the nation’s top-ranked pass defense. Having Matt Flynn back in the lineup will help LSU changes things up on offense and use backup Ryan Perriloux strategically and not as an every down quarterback. LSU will have to find Vernon Gholston on every snap and will likely double team Gholston, who finished fourth in the country with 13 sacks.

Without question, this game will be won or lost for both teams when Ohio State has the ball. It will be the ability of junior Todd Boeckman to stay patient and poised in the pocket and make feet with his feet when he has to as he will likely see an exotic combination of blitz packages from a defense loaded to the gills with NFL-caliber talent. If you’re a fan of great offensive and defensive line play, this is the game for you because when Ohio State has the ball, the tempo of the game will be decided by the big guys up front. If Ohio State can control the tempo of the game and the line can open holes for Beanie Wells, the national championship trophy will be headed to Columbus but if the LSU line can confuse Ohio State into missing assignments and not account for blitzing defenders, Boeckman will turn the ball over and the Buckeyes will lose. I have to wonder what effect the departure of defensive coordinator Bo Pelini for Nebraska will have on his unit or whether it will be business as usual for this quick, ball hawking defense.

In the words of the President, “fool me once, shame on me, fool me.. you can’t get fooled again.” I’m going with Ohio State in this one. I question Les Miles’ decision making, especially in a close game and this LSU team has been living on the edge all year long. Todd Boeckman at QB for Ohio State scares me but he has weapons in Robieski and Hartline and one of the best young running backs in the country in Beanie Wells at his disposal. I’ve just seen LSU’s offense flounder so horribly against teams with much worse defenses than Ohio State’s to believe they are capable of moving the ball up and down the field on this Buckeye defense.

The way Les Miles ends this press conference really made my day a great one..

Click here to view the embedded video.

While the Ohio State/LSU match-up seemed inevitable after West Virginia and Missouri lost Saturday, the omission of such teams as USC and Georgia in the national championships — and select members of the media – calling for a complete overhaul of the system. While I think a playoff, particularly this year, would be great television and a ratings monster but it will never ever happen.

That being said, I have to quibble with the inclusion of LSU, “the best team in the country in regulation,” in the title game. Twice this season LSU owned the top spot in college football and twice they gave it up. LSU, without a doubt, benefited from not having to play Georgia, both in the regular season and especially in the SEC Championship. I think in this case, regardless of how many overtimes were played, the timing of any one of a team’s losses should come into consideration. If Georgia can brush off the BCS snub, they will be able to handle Hawaii, who have struggled when playing on the mainland.

BCS defenders will say that if the argument wasn’t about who is number 2, it would be about numbers 4, 8 or 16. But at the end of the day, isn’t that a better argument to have? If you’re sitting at number 9, you have to accept that somewhere in the course of the season you dropped a game that cost you a chance at the playoff. But arguing over the second best team in an America is an entirely different subject altogether. This season, more than 5 teams (Oklahoma, USC, Georgia, LSU, Virginia Tech) had a legitimate argument for that number two spot. Why aren’t the presidents of those conferences screaming for a change in the system? Because there is too much money in the current system to change it. While a playoff would be a great thing for the fans, the current bowl system is a cash cow for the universities and for the conferences and until you can prove to the university presidents and the BCS head honchos that a playoff can make them more money then they are making now, they will continue to tell anyone stupid enough to believe them (Lee Corso) that everything is hunkie dorie.