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Cheating scandal is reason for most
Published on Sunday, Dec 23, 2007
From Beacon Journal wire services
Thirty-six Florida State players won't be going to the Dec. 31 Music City Bowl against Kentucky because of an academic cheating scandal, other violations of team rules or injuries.
Linebacker Dekoda Watson, cornerback Patrick Robinson, who had six interceptions, and three top defensive tackles were among the players sidelined either as a result of the ongoing investigation into an academic cheating scandal at the school or some other violation of team rules.
''It is very important that the media make clear that those missing the bowl trip are not included because of either injury or for a violation of team policy,'' Associate Athletic Director Rob Wilson said in a statement accompanying the travel list. ''It would be irresponsible to imply or state that any or all of the student-athletes will miss the trip for one particular reason.''
The school announced earlier this week that 25 of its players were included in its ongoing investigation of academic wrongdoing by the athletes. It didn't identify which students.
A violation of team rules could range from poor class attendance to a run-in with the law or failing a drug test, among many other things.
The Florida State roster was so thinned by the academic scandal that the team had room for 17 players on the traveling party who are either redshirt freshmen or athletes who suffered season-ending or career-ending injuries this season. Only 43 scholarship players are available to coach Bobby Bowden for the game.
Junior quarterback Xavier Lee, who started three games for the Seminoles, was among offensive players not traveling. The offensive line was also hit hard with tight ends Caz Piurowski and Charlie Graham, offensive tackle Damon Rose and guard Jackie Claude not making the trip.
The absence of defensive tackles Letroy Guion, Budd Thacker and Paul Griffin, linebacker Marcus Ball and defensive ends Neefy Moffett and Justin Mincey could lead to a big day for Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson.
The team's top two tacklers — linebackers Derek Nicholson and Geno Hayes — will play.
And while Florida State usually has a couple of casualties after the first semester, never has a Bowden-coached team limped off to postseason play without this many players.
''You have 22 positions out there and some you'd be more concerned about than others,'' Bowden said following Friday's practice.
''I think we've gotten everything we could out of it.''
Thirteen of the names missing from the travel list had started games this season for Florida State. Eleven of the players not traveling were nonscholarship athletes.
Meanwhile, former Florida State Athletic Director David Hart Jr. rebutted part of Florida State President T.K. Wetherell's statement Friday that could have implied that the scandal led to Hart's leaving the university a year before his contract expired.
''There's no connection there,'' Hart said Saturday. ''I can assure you that my separation from Florida State had absolutely nothing to do with this current review of academic misconduct. To even suggest otherwise would be irresponsible.''
Skiing: American Vonn wins again
• American Lindsey Vonn won a super-combi at St. Anton Am Arlberg, Austria, for her second straight victory, sending her to the top of the overall standings. For the second straight race, U.S. teammate Julia Mancuso finished third. Another American, Stacey Cook, was 13th. Vonn led after the downhill leg and finished with a combined time of 2 minutes, 20.28 seconds after the slalom. It was her third victory of the season and 10th overall. German Maria Riesch was the runner-up, 0.63 of a second behind Vonn.
• Austria's Thomas Morgenstern became the first ski jumper to open a World Cup season with six straight victories, taking a large hill event in Engelberg, Switzerland, to equal the record for most consecutive wins. The Olympic champion won with jumps of 132.5 and 133.0 meters for 260.4 points, beating Austrian compatriot Andreas Kofler (134.5-128.5, 254.4 points). Norway's Tom Hilde (133.5-129.5, 252.9 points) was third.
Other: Ex-Yankee pitcher dies
• Tommy Byrne, who fulfilled a boyhood dream by pitching for the New York Yankees and won a game during the 1955 World Series, has died in Wake Forest, N.C. He was 87. Byrne, who served two terms as Wake Forest mayor, died Thursday, his son John said. Tommy Byrne had congestive heart failure and was in declining health the last six weeks. After two years at what was then Wake Forest College, Byrne signed with the Yankees in 1940. He also pitched for the St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox and Washington Senators. He returned to the Yankees in 1955, when he pitched a complete-game victory in Game 2 of the World Series, but was the loser in Game 7 to Johnny Podres and the Brooklyn Dodgers.
• The ATP suspended Italians Potito Starace and Daniele Bracciali for making bets — some as little as $7 — on tennis matches involving other players. Starace, ranked 31st, was suspended for six weeks and fined $30,000, the Italian federation said. Bracciali, ranked 258th, was banned for three months and fined $20,000. Both suspensions take effect Jan. 1.
From Beacon Journal wire services
Get the full article here.
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