Cavaliers' Groh lashes out at media
Coach Al Groh says the media has been unfair in its coverage of Virginia players' off-field troubles.
By Doug Doughty
981-3341
The Roanoke Times

GREENSBORO, N.C. - From the moment he arrived at the ACC Football Kickoff, Virginia coach Al Groh displayed an edginess that wasn't readily explainable.

Groh's irritation finally bubbled over when he advised the media that UVa assistant coaches and players would not be as accessible as usual during this year's preseason. "I'm p----- off; I'm invoking the [Bobby] Bowden Doctrine," Groh said Monday. "When Bowden got p----- off last year at coverage of off-the-field events [at Florida State], he cut off his availability. I'm p----- off about it, too, so I'm invoking the Bowden Doctrine."

Five Virginia football players with remaining eligibility have been arrested since April, although the first three to go to court were found not guilty. In the most recent case, recruit Ahmad Bradshaw will not face charges for underage possession of alcohol, one of the allegations that resulted from an incident July 17.

"I don't think [the coverage] was fair," Groh said. "The truth is the truth. What happens, happens. Every paper makes a decision every day, what stories to cover and what stories not to cover, and how big to cover them and how big not to cover them.

"It goes back to the Elton Brown situation a year ago. Like they say, 'Where there's smoke, there's fire.' Well, that wasn't even a match. That's a situation that's branded him for a long time. Nobody used any discretion as to 'let's find out what the facts are,' before this thing goes on television and multiple media outlets."

Brown, an offensive guard who has been named to several preseason All-America teams, was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery in the winter of 2003 following a campus altercation that also involved Almondo "Muffin" Curry. Curry was found not guilty following a hearing, but the case against Brown did not get that far before it was dropped.

"It was a very traumatic experience for him and his family," Groh said. "It turned out to be not only unfounded, but unfair. I understand that editors are pushing for stories, and this and that, but it's not football."

Groh cited an article on Bradshaw's arrest that appeared in the July 11 edition of the Charlottesville Daily Progress.

"The only story in the main section of the paper that had a bigger headline was about the 9/11 commission," Groh said. "Now, really, which was the more newsworthy story? It's [the Bradshaw story] got his picture. It's got a big headline. That's out of whack. I think everybody would agree, that's out of whack."

Bradshaw had a hearing July 23 in Charlottesville General District Court, where his case was continued until Aug.13. Bradshaw, 18, was charged with obstruction of justice after he fled from police officers who were questioning him about an open container he was carrying.

Groh subsequently released a terse, 21-word statement in which he said that Bradshaw would not play for the Cavaliers this season. As to his status as a student, that is out of Groh's hands.

In April, three Virginia players - Marques Hagans, Kenneth Tynes and Brandon Lee - were arrested following an incident in which former UVa player Jamaine Winborne suffered a gunshot wound. Winborne was not charged and his three ex-teammates were found not guilty.

Earlier this month, UVa wide receiver Ottowa Anderson and his girlfriend both were charged with assault after a domestic dispute, but Groh confirmed Monday that Anderson already was under academic suspension when Groh said he would not play this season.

Anderson's hearing in Albemarle County Domestic and Juvenile Relations Court is scheduled for Sept.27.

"I think there's an undue emphasis on those [off-field] issues," Groh said. "In a lot of cases, I think there's a voyeurism amongst the press that wants to peek into every issue of a player's life, sometimes with wanton disregard for the impact it might have. You want a good perspective, get Dan LeBatard's column from 10 days ago on the Antrell Rolle situation."

Rolle, a University of Miami defensive back, was arrested July 12 on charges that included felony battery of a police officer.

"If you read this Dan LeBatard column, I think the point is well-taken," Groh said. "Usually, the judgment of a player is based on what's written about him in the initial article. It takes a long time for the player to outlive that, even though the courts may have said there's really nothing to it."

Groh maintains that he holds his players to a set of values. However, the summer transition program in which Bradshaw was enrolled is a university-administered program that limits coaches' access to their future players.

"I'd like to have a little more access to them, almost on a paternal basis," Groh said, "but that's how the program is set up and it's very advantageous to us, however we get it. It's like [it is] in a family. If you raise them right, they'll do OK. That's both in terms of where they come from and the way we raise them, too."
 

Vick's 'people' talk transfer
Parties close to Tech QB Marcus Vick have contacted Georgia Southern's coach.
By Kyle Tucker
981-3341
The Roanoke Times

GREENSBORO, N.C. - While coach Frank Beamer remains cryptic when talking about Marcus Vick's future with Virginia Tech, the troubled Hokies quarterback may have started looking for a new home.

According to Georgia Southern assistant athletic director Tom McClellan, Eagles head coach Mike Sewak has had contact with parties close to Vick about a possible transfer. "Mike said he has had preliminary talks with 'Marcus' people,'" McClellan said. "I don't know what 'people' means, but he has not talked with Marcus himself."

Vick is suspended indefinitely from the Tech football team after a recent arrest for speeding and possession of marijuana. In May, he was convicted on three charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Talking with reporters at the ACC Football Kickoff on Monday, Beamer repeatedly refused to answer questions about Vick.

"The only thing I'll say about Marcus here is he's suspended indefinitely and his exact future is undetermined. That's it," Beamer said.

Pressed by another reporter, he responded, "His future will be determined in the future."

Georgia Southern is a traditional Division I-AA power with six national championships, including back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000. The Eagles failed to make the I-AA playoffs last fall, snapping a string of six straight postseason berths. The school is in Statesboro, Ga., 209 miles from Atlanta, where Marcus' brother Michael plays for the NFL's Falcons.

If Vick transferred to Georgia Southern, or any I-AA school, he would not have to sit out a year before returning to the field.

There is also a Virginia Tech connection at Georgia Southern. Last month, the Eagles hired former Hokies running back Ken Oxendine as wide receivers coach. Oxendine earned a master's degree at Tech last year and spent two years as an assistant strength and conditioning coach in Blacksburg. But he said he hasn't talked to Vick and doesn't expect him to be heading south.

"I knew Marcus, but everything I've heard, he's staying," Oxendine said. "I haven't made contact with him. The one person I had spoken with said that Marcus wanted to stay where he's at and clear up his name. He wants to be what he was supposed to become."

Tuesday, Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring said he also was unaware of any transfer talks.

"I haven't heard anything along those lines," Stinespring said.

Neither Beamer nor Vick could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Georgia Southern opens practice on Aug.5, and Oxendine noted that the Eagles have senior quarterback Chaz Williams returning. Williams is a preseason first-team All-Southern Conference pick.

"Even if Marcus would come, you'd have a hard time dealing with him when you've had a guy that's been in the system three years," Oxendine said.

There's also the matter of Vick's pending legal troubles. He has yet to appear in court for his latest arrest, and he is awaiting a second trial in Montgomery County after appealing his May convictions.
 

ACC game's stay favors Florida
The ACC football title game could remain at its first site for four years, which would bolster Jacksonville's bid.
By Rob Daniels
981-3341
The Roanoke Times

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The ACC football championship game's first stop might be a longer layover than originally expected.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford said Tuesday that the game could remain at its initial site for up to four years - a guaranteed two-year run, plus a league-owned option for the next two. While a selection derby apparently headed by Jacksonville, Fla., won't conclude until late August or early September, the possibility of a four-year deal suggests the process is moving forward. Before Tuesday, league officials were more cautious in predicting the length of the initial relationship between the ACC and its title-game host.

"The thing we want to make certain is that we're going to a venue and a city that will truly wrap its arms around the game and make it successful," Swofford said.

The multiyear decision will be widely interpreted as another sign that the Gator Bowl Association in Jacksonville is the front-runner. If the ACC is going to set up shop for the long term, it may prefer to do so in a climate with reasonably predictable and warm weather over a place such as Charlotte.

Other cities that have submitted proposals are: Tampa, Fla.; Miami; Orlando, Fla.; Baltimore; and Washington, D.C.-Landover, Md. They have another six days to revise their bids per the conference's request.

Jeff Elliott, the ACC's chief financial officer and the point man for the site-selection process, said the filing of new paperwork is a formality designed to streamline the process and give a four-person subcommittee an easier time in "comparing apples to apples."

"We've been very pleased with the proposals," Swofford said. "It's almost a case of trying to make the best decision. I don't think we can make a bad decision."

The inaugural game is set for Saturday, Dec.3, 2005, and will be televised by ABC. Under NCAA rules, the league can't conduct a title game until it gets its 12th member, which will happen when Boston College joins July 1, 2005.

The Gator Bowl would probably be willing to give up its top draft position in the post-BCS selection process to the Peach if it gets the league title game. That would prevent the threat of having the same team in Jacksonville twice in a span of four weeks.

Jacksonville's bid has been boosted in recent weeks by the completion of a $15 million hospitality pavilion at one end of Alltel Stadium. The project was created for the Super Bowl, which will be played there in 2005.
 

Schaub, Lavalais, Wilson sign contracts; Hall, Jenkins still out
Associated Press

Greenville, S.C. -- General manager Rich McKay eased some mild
tension Tuesday night when three of the Atlanta Falcons' five
unsigned draft picks agreed to contract terms.

Unfortunately for the Falcons, it seemed unlikely that cornerback
DeAngelo Hall, the eighth overall pick from Virginia Tech, would
report before the midnight deadline Tuesday at Furman University.

"I'm never one that says you're close or far because truly you're
about a 10-second phone call from being able to finalize any of these
deals," McKay said of his negotiations with Hall. "So hopefully this
is the one. I'll do everything I can."

Quarterback Matt Schaub, a third-round pick from Virginia, Chad
Lavalais, a fifth-round defensive tackle from LSU, and running back
Quincy Wilson, a seventh-rounder from West Virginia, will sign
contracts before the Falcons' first practice Wednesday afternoon. The
team also announced that it signed free agent DT Daniel Benetka.

McKay hoped receiver Michael Jenkins, the 29th overall pick from Ohio
State, would agree to terms before the first practice. Agent Joel
Segal, who represents Hall and Jenkins, declined to comment.

A source familiar with the negotiations requested anonymity before
saying that McKay and Segal spoke by telephone Tuesday and appeared
to move closer on talks involving Jenkins.

"DeAngelo participated in all of the team's offseason workouts and
shouldn't miss a beat when he gets to camp," one source said. "He's a
very conscientious young man. We anticipate no problems."

McKay indicated that the deals won't become a major distraction. Two
years ago, running back T.J. Duckett, a Segal client whom the Falcons
drafted 18th overall, missed the first nine days in a contract
holdout.

Hall is due a big contract. The Washington Redskins agreed to terms
Tuesday with Sean Taylor, the No. 5 overall pick, as the former Miami
safety received a signing bonus of $7.2 million with option and
roster bonuses worth another $6 million.

The Houston Texans gave cornerback Dunta Robinson, the 10th overall
pick, a $4.07 million signing bonus, but Segal might wait until
Cleveland agrees to terms with tight end Kellen Winslow, the sixth
pick, and Detroit does the same with receiver Roy Williams, the
seventh pick, before finishing Hall's contract.

"I will not allow it to be a protracted deal," McKay said. "That's
not in our best interest. That's not what we want, and I know that's
not what DeAngelo and Joel want."

Terms of the deals involving Schaub, Lavalais and Wilson weren't
immediately available. Schaub's contract, however, won't be far from
the four-year, $1.8 million deal that Kansas City gave former Georgia
Tech linebacker Keyaron Fox. Atlanta chose Schaub 90th overall. Fox
went three picks later.|

Notes: Head coach Jim Mora said RB Warrick Dunn will be in full pads
and ready to practice. Dunn missed the last five games of last season
after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament at the base of his
left toes. ...

Though Pro Bowl alternate Allen Rossum is the incumbent punt and
kickoff returner, Mora said Hall will have many chances to field
punts, a talent he showcased at Virginia Tech.

"If you've got a guy who can change the complexion of a game, you use
him," Mora said. "You use your weapons. You don't think about him
getting injured. You just don't think that way. We'll use 'em both.
We'll need 'em both."

The team doesn't expect DT Ellis Johnson to report. Johnson, a nine-
year veteran who led all NFL interior linemen with eight sacks last
year, restated his intention to retire Monday in a phone conversation
with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Johnson wants a richer
contract, but the Falcons haven't budged.

"I don't envision him reporting based on what I've heard," McKay said.

Mora indicated that reserve G-C Roberto Garza, who's coming off
reconstructive knee surgery, should have no problems early in camp.

Regarding the quick practice pace he established in three mandatory
mini-camps in the last three months, Mora expects his players to be
ready to go full-speed. Spending the last seven years with the San
Francisco 49ers, including three as defensive coordinator, has helped
Mora apply the changes with the Falcons.

"In San Francisco, when we were a great team, the veterans took over
the team at some point of the season," Mora said. "A dropped ball in
practice wasn't tolerated. A person being late for a meeting wasn't
tolerated. It was just the way it was. We were going out of the field
one day, and Ken Norton was yelling at a guy, saying, 'If I see you
miss a tackle today, I'm going to come beat your butt! You better not
be missing those tackles today!' Just seeing the bunch of players
raise the standard up is awesome."

Virginia set to debut band
Pease-led group expects to add excitement to UVa football games
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
July 28, 2004

It would be hard to imagine that Marques Hagans did not have a few butterflies in his stomach before the Western Michigan game last year.

Besides the fact that Hagans had been handed the reins to the Virginia offense, he entered that contest as the starting quarterback of the team for the first time in nine months.

There were butterflies on the other side of the field, as well. And while Bill Pease was not preparing to play against UVa, he was preparing his band to play for the Cavaliers and their fans, and more importantly, their coach Al Groh.

Pease, who had never met Groh before, was excited about the audition that his band - the Western Michigan’s Bronco Marching Band - would give the coach. Less than a month before the game, Pease had been named to be the first band director at UVa by Athletics Director Craig Littlepage.

Before the audition, Pease got a scouting report on Groh from WMU’s football coach Gary Darnell.

“I had heard a lot about Coach Groh before I came here because he was friends with the football coach at Western Michigan, where I was at. They had coached together,” Pease said. “Darnell and I were looking at the job [at Virginia] and I said Gary, ‘I have a great relationship with you and I really like it here. I don’t know Coach Groh at all [except] his reputation to be a good coach, but I don’t really know him.’”

Darnell quickly eased Pease’s nerves.

“He said, ‘Bill, you couldn’t work for a finer man,’” Pease said.

Groh and Pease met, and after a brief conversation, the former Western Michigan Band Director knew that working with Groh and being at UVa was the perfect opportunity.

“[Groh] has been great to me, my family, the band and the students,” Pease said. “Coach Groh has been over to several meetings with the band kids and talked to them about his expectations and also letting them feel like they are part of the whole atmosphere.”

While Pease said that it has been a tough task starting the band from scratch, his job has been easier thanks to the support of Groh.

“He has really been a big advocate for this,” Pease said. “The quote that we’re using on our flyers is one of the things that Coach Groh says: ‘A championship football team needs a championship marching band.’ I thought that was pretty cool. You don’t usually get that from a football coach.”

Pease also said that Groh has motivated the members of the band in a series of meetings with them. According to Pease, Groh has continually told the team that the band can be a direct impact on the football team.

“He knows and he sees the importance of it and the correlation between [the football team and the marching band],” Pease said. “He started talking to the band kids about USC, Texas, LSU, who all have great bands. He made the correlation between the two. I didn’t really think about that. Band kids, of course, loved that. They thought that was great.”

While the football team is not getting new uniforms, as previously reported, the band will have new uniforms that Pease thinks fans will love.

According to Pease, band members will wear black shoes and blue pants. The jackets will be blue, orange and white.

The blue section will be on the right shoulder and will have an embroidered logo of the Rotunda in white stitches. The white section will be on the left shoulder and have orange cross sabers sewn in orange stitches. An orange sash will be sewn into the middle of the jacket and run from the right shoulder down to the left waist, like a sabre.

On the back of the jacket, Pease said the jacket would have an orange and white cape hanging down to around the belt.

“You can use that cape to do visuals,” Pease said. “Every time we turn, that cape will go whipping around from the one side to the other.”

Band members will also wear a blue and orange Cavalier hat with a white feather.

“When you look at the front and you look at the back it will look totally different,” Pease said. “When the band turns around you are going to see something totally different. [The uniform] is not a Cavalier but it has a couple of things from what a Cavalier is. It’s not a Cavalier with gauntlets and all that stuff but it has a hint of that.”

Pease also said that with Virginia fans sitting on both sides of Scott Stadium, he intends to entertain the East and West portions of the stands.

“What’s nice is that we are going to perform to both sides,” Pease said. “One tune will perform one way and one tune will perform the other.”

Pease will welcome in 150 to 175 band members to camp on Aug. 19. In the near future, Pease said that he hopes that the band’s size ranges from 300 to 400 members.

When the band is at full strength, Pease said that a “sub-section” of 50 to 60 members of the band would perform at road games. This season, the entire band will be present at only one road game - at Virginia Tech.

Pease said that he is excited to get the season started and also for what the future holds for the relationship with Groh and the football team.

“Eventually, in three or four years … whenever you see the band, the team is following right behind them and getting ready to do their thing,” Pease said. “[Coach Groh] will not know what we are playing up in the stands a lot of the time but what he will have a pulse on is how the crowd is reacting to things. That’s my job to keep that crowd fired up as much as possible. Basically, to help be a 12th man.”
 

Players may get 5th year in ACC
ACC wants football players to be able to compete for five years. It would drop the redshirt season
Swofford: Rule may aid grad rates.
By ROBBI PICKERAL, Staff Writer

GREENSBORO -- If the Atlantic Coast Conference has its way, Division I football players could compete for five years beginning in the fall of 2005. They now can play four years.
The rule -- which the ACC proposed to the NCAA as legislation earlier this month -- would do away with redshirt seasons, when a player is on the team but doesn't play and the year doesn't count toward his eligibility. The legislation -- similar to legislation for men's and women's basketball proposed by the National Association of Basketball Coaches -- could be voted into action next April.

The number of scholarships per team (85) would not increase and the ACC does not expect costs to increase. Many players now stay for five years and redshirt one year.

ACC commissioner John Swofford said Tuesday that the rule might increase graduation rates. Swofford said that a player who previously was out of eligibility after four years might stay longer and thus get a degree.

"So I think it would be something very positive from an academic standpoint," Swofford said.

ACC assistant commissioner Shane Lyons pointed out that NCAA studies show the average general student takes 4.8 years to graduate and echoed Swofford's point about the legislation possibly increasing graduation rates.

"My experience -- and this is not scientific data -- is that [football players] played football for a number of years," Lyons said. "That's what motivates them, that's what they live, breathe, drink for a number of years. Sometimes when that's removed [so is] the motivation to go back to school."

N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler said the change might keep players more focused on the field as well as in the classroom.

"[The football coaches] think it would keep more kids involved in the program mentally ... they feel like they can keep him involved academically,'' Fowler said. "They [coaches] kind of lose them mentally when they tell them, 'You're not going to play, we're going to redshirt you.' "

Lyons said the league has had informal discussions about the proposal with NCAA president Myles Brand, who supported the rule for basketball. Lyons said Brand seemed supportive of the football proposal as well.

There is no current legislation to increase eligibility for Olympic sports. Swofford said it might be better for college athletics to think about changes on a sport-by-sport basis, because what's good for football might not be good for tennis or golf. However, he didn't rule out future similar proposals in other sports.

"If it gains momentum in football and basketball, I don't think there's any question that it will be looked at in terms of the Olympic sports,'' he said. " ... I definitely think it will be discussed with the Olympic sports; the question is whether there's a real need there, does it really enhance anything, what it would cost as well as, is it fair and equitable to do it in a few sports and not in others?"

Also Tuesday:

* Swofford reiterated the league is leaning toward "finding a home" for the football championship game, and will probably award a city a two-year contract with an additional two-year option for the league.

A league subcommittee is still researching the seven cities -- Charlotte; Baltimore; Miami; Jacksonville, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; and Washington, D.C. -- that submitted proposals. Swofford said a site for the inaugural 2005 game will be chosen by early fall.

"The thing we want to make certain of is that it goes to a venue and a city that will truly wrap its arms around the game and truly make it special,'' Swofford said. "Financially, with the proposals that have come in, it's going to be successful to one degree or another, and that's a good feeling to have."

* Swofford said there is a chance the league will add a bowl game for the 2005 season, but it's more likely the ACC's bowl tie-ins will stay pat until the contracts run out after the 2005 season.

"We don't want to do something in the short run that would eliminate a better opportunity in the long run," he said.

With the possibility of having more teams bowl eligible than guaranteed spots, Swofford said the league would keep an eye on other conferences which may not have enough eligible teams to fill their spots. Last season, the ACC had bowl agreements with the Continental Tire, Peach, Humanitarian, Gator and Tangerine bowls. The league champion automatically participated in the Bowl Championship Series.

"If you've got more than what you have, you just hope that somebody else doesn't have enough and you can fill in that spot," he said.
 

ACC FOOTBALL KICKOFF
NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Jul 28, 2004

TITLE TOWN: The addition of Boston College will give the ACC a dozen football teams next year. They'll be split into two six-team divisions, and the conference will hold its first championship game after the 2005 regular season.

Seven cities submitted bids to play host to the inaugural ACC title game: Baltimore; Landover, Md.; Charlotte, N.C.; Tampa, Fla.; Jacksonville, Fla., Orlando, Fla. and Miami.

Word at the ACC Football Kickoff, which ended yesterday in Greensboro, N.C., was that Jacksonville is the favorite. That city would stage the game at 73,000-seat Alltel Stadium, home of the NFL's Jaguars.

In comments to media members yesterday, ACC Commissioner John Swofford, as expected, did not single out any of the potential sites but said, "They're all very, very good."

An announcement could come as early as next month.

"The thing we want to make certain of is that it goes to a venue and a city that will truly wrap its arms around the game and make it something special," Swofford said. "Financially, with the proposals that have come in, it's going to be successful, to one degree or another, and that's a good feeling to have at this point. That's what I meant by [saying], 'We can't really make a bad decision with this.' It's just a question of trying ot make the best one."

ACC officials likely are to award the title game to a city for two years, Swofford said, with the conference having the option to keep it there for two more years after the initial two-year run.

HE BEGS TO DIFFER: The ACC's new members, Miami and Virginia Tech, came from the Big East. Boston College will leave that conference for the ACC next summer. Still, Swofford disputes the suggestion, which many have made, that the ACC "raided" the Big East.

"You can't go raid a conference," Swofford said. "To me, that's poor choice of words, because expansion is a two-way street. There has to be a conference that wants to expand, and there have to be schools that want to join that conference."

POSTSEASON POSSIBILITIES: The ACC has tie-ins with the same bowls this season that it did in 2003.

The conference champion advances to the Bowl Championship Series, and another ACC team could get into the BCS as an at-large representative. The ACC also will send teams to the Gator in Jacksonville, the Peach in Atlanta, the Continental Tire in Charlotte, the Tangerine in Orlando and the MPC Computers (formerly Humanitarian) in Boise, Idaho.

"We're very happy with the bowl partners we have now," Swofford said. "I think we'll have some other opportunities that would not have been there without the expansion I don't think there's any question about that and I think that just comes with the quality depth that we'll have."

Most of the ACC's bowl contracts run through the 2005 season. After that, Swofford said, the ACC will "be taking a fresh look with our current bowl partners and any others that might have an interest in associating with our league."

ID REQUIRED: Tommy Hunt, coordinator of the ACC's football officials, briefed the media yesterday on rule changes for 2004. They include one that major-college players aren't likely to cheer.

Rule 11-2-1-d states: "The referee, if he is equipped with a microphone, will announce the number of the player committing the foul."

HEY, BUDDY: Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer is on record as saying he doesn't like competing against his close friends in the business, and he tries to avoid those situations. But the Hokies' move into the ACC makes one unavoidable. Beamer and Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen are old friends. The Terrapins play Tech in Blacksburg on Nov. 18.

Friedgen doesn't like playing pals any more than Beamer.

"Very much so," he said. "We're such competitors. The first time I played against Georgia Tech after leaving . . . was such a memorable game. Decided in overtime. George [O'Leary] and I never discussed that game.

"When we won the national championship in 1990, we beat Virginia Tech 6-3. Frank and I have never discussed that game. It's not like you say, 'Hey, I got you here.' We don't even talk about it. It doesn't even come up."

IT STARTS AT HOME: Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said colleges and coaches can't take the brunt of the blame for athletes getting in trouble. Kids haven't changed, he said. Parents have changed.

"Their parents must teach them" right from wrong, Bowden said. "It has to be done when they're 2, 3, 4, 5 years of age. And kids are not getting that any more. And a boy needs discipline. He needs discipline from a male, not a mama. They all want to wear earrings like their mama, they all want to look like their mama because their mama is raising them.

"People say, 'Bobby, when are you going to change those kids you've got?' The parents have them 17 years. I got them two." Mike Harris and Jeff White