Florida State players in trouble again

Up to 20 Florida State football players will be suspended from playing against Kentucky in the Dec. 31 Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, as well as the first three games of the 2008 season, for their roles in an alleged cheating scandal involving an Internet-based course, ESPN.com reports. The story goes on to say that other student athletes were implicated in the scandal, but I'm here to just talk about the football team and Bobby Bowden. There have been many diciplinary violations for FSU in recent years, wheather it be Geno Hayes being arrested after an altercation outside of a bar with a police officer or A.J. Nicholson being accused of rape, and no one seems to bat an eye anymore when something like this occurs. It's like they almost expect this to come from Florida State. I know they've had their problems in the past, the "Free Shoes University" and Peter Warrick and Laveranues Coles Dillard's incidents come to mind, but those were isolated incidents years apart. I blame this recent trend of acts on Bobby Bowden. I think he's lost control of the program and his players don't seem to have the same respect for him as they used to. I never thought I'd see the day where I wished Bobby would ride Renegade off into the sunset, but I believe the time is here. I want to see this once feared and proud football team regain it's former glory, and I don't think that can happen until someone else is manning the sidelines.

On a happier note, here's FSU's...biggest fans?

Matt Holliday's new nickname....

I'm really liking "The Snowman".
A) He plays in Colorado, where there is a lot of that substance during the winter (unfortunately, not during baseball months so that we could see The Snowman in his natural habitat, but the ice-capped mountains are still there)
B) He has a shiny bald head that makes him look a little bit like a snowman.
C) Guys who lead the league in BA and RBI deserve badass nicknames.

Obviously, The Snowman's hand melted under Barrett's cleat Monday night, and the puddle did touch the plate, the replays clearly show. Only if you have an HDTV, though.

And just since this is my first post, I'm going to make everyone aware of my currently-embarrassing team loyalties.

NFL - Miami Dolphins (0-4 4th place, AFC East) - What can I say positive about my Dolphins other than the fact that Cam Cameron seems to be working well with Ronnie Brown....almost 500 total yards in the last two games, not bad at all. The receivers don't look bad either, and the offensive actually looks good run-blocking, while the pass-blocking has been decent. Our defense is anemic, the secondary is the worst in the NFL and the interior linemen get no movement up front. Trent Green is TERRIBLE as well, and Ted Ginn Jr. was a worse pick than....(this is a nice segway into my next loyalty)
NBA - Orlando Magic- ....Fran Vasquez. Yes, I'm serious (considering what was available to Miami....). Anyway, the Magic are on the upswing, possibly more than any of my favorite teams. I'm looking forward to watching Rashard Lewis, although I don't think he was worth the max contract, sorry 'Shard. Dwight Howard is blossoming, and that alone is worth the price of admission a few times a year. I have my fingers crossed that JJ Redick can play well with a starting role this season and maybe our offense will not be among the worst in the NBA. Hoping for a nice seeding in the Eastern Conference.
MLB - Atlanta Braves (84-78, 3rd NL East, No playoffs again...) - No more Andruw now, either. That move doesn't bother me, he is a shell of his youth right now. Probably going to experience a career turnaround and have another couple peak years, but right now he's not worth the cost to keep him, and he just isn't inspired. I love Tex, though. And if we sign Glavine, that will be a great move. All the young hitters look good, too. I wish our bullpen had been consistent throughout the year and that we'd had one more quality starter.
NCAA - Florida State Seminoles (3-1) - Big win vs Alabama. That felt great to see Nick Saban get crunched, being a Dolphins fan and all. Xavier Lee finally showing promise, we'll see how they look this weekend against NC State. It's a home game, but we always seem to slip up against these mediocre ACC rival schools. Hopefully this weekend is different.