Football?

That's right.....spring practice starts today for our much maligned Beavers. Perusing the college football headlines the past few days, I found these stories:


*Arizona State RB charged with first degree murder.

*Two ASU players kicked off team for photographing female student naked without her permission.

*Two Cal players suspended after a routine traffic stop turned up several bags of marijuana and a concealed hunting knife.

*USC cornerback to be arraigned on sexual assault charges

Why does it seem like every player in the Pac-10 is suddenly carrying a Mac-10?

And people are acting like Mike Riley has lost complete control of his program. One player got in a fight with a national guardsmen on leave, two got high (GASP) and tried to pay a cabbie off with their weed, and one stole a sheep. A sheep! And at the ticket office, I get letters every day from season ticket holders giving up their season tickets because of a "lack of morality" by the athletic department. Do they think these things don't go on at other schools? Moreover, is it fair to hold the football coaches and athletic department staff accountable for the actions of the football players? It's not like these actions have gone unpunished. All the players involved in the fight at the Headline Cafe were suspended for the two biggest games of the year and only recently reinstated. Joe Rudulph may still be kicked off the team if found guilty in a court of law. Jimtavis Walker and Starr Paddock are still suspended. I'm sure Ben Siegert won't be practicing today.

The fact of the matter is that football is what is important to these guys. For some, it's all they have going for them. From these random acts of idiocy we can assume that these are not bright people on the fast track to success in the business world. They need football. Suspending them is probably the best way to get their attention. Moreover, immediately casting these players out and pulling their scholarships most likely will send them on a tailspin where drugs, crime and violence are the rule rather than the exception. Yet all our fan base seems to care about is getting these "miscreants" out of our community. Better to have them do nothing with their lives somewhere else than try to help them make something of their lives here. Bravo Beaver fans.