Links and videos from recent happenings around the sporting world. If you come across good articles, videos, etc. – please pass them along, I’d love to take a look.

College Football:

An Amsterdam trio finds home at Boise State – safety Cedric Febis, wide receiver Geraldo Hiwat, and defensive tackle Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe are all expected to contribute for the Broncos this season having made the transition from the Netherlands.

Phil Steele has been releasing his All-Conference selections for many conferences across the country here’s are a few I found intriguing – Mountain West & Conference USA, Pac-12 & Big East, and ACC & Big-12.

The NCAA rejected USC’s bid to reduce football sanctions meaning the two-year bowl ban and loss of 30 total scholarships will remain. The NCAA’s denial isn’t surprising but it will be interesting to see how or if it impacts the NCAA’s handling of cases at the Ohio State and Auburn.

The NCAA’s decision to uphold USC’s punishment paints the NCAA into a corner for the UNC, Ohio State cases says Andy Staples (SI).

Mr. College Football (Tony Barnhart) says a divide between Division 1 programs might be coming and explores some of the possibilities.

There seems to be a growing belief that the BCS could have a hard time denying the MWC entry into the “elite” club for 2012-13 after an appeal.  As a Boise State fan I would be ecstatic if this happens.

Ohio State:
There’s so much turmoil and investigating going on in Columbus these days I figured I would give them their own section this week. Enjoy the spotlight Buckeye Nation:

Photo via sports.ap.org

Former OSU WR Ray Small “told all” to the school news paper – The Lanter – explaining that some players don’t “think about” the rules among other topics addressed in the article.  Small was quoted in the article saying ”They have a lot (of dirt) on everybody cause everybody was doing it.” Uh oh..

Dennis Dodd (CBS Sports) says if Ray Small has any stones, he now has to talk with the NCAA. I wouldn’t count on it, especially with so many former and current Buckeyes outraged about his comments.

This one was from Thursday of last week meaning new details have emerged but the message is still relevant – Dan Wetzel (Yahoo Sport) says it’s death by drip, drip, drip for Ohio State and the program needs to hit the scandal head on.

As you probably know by now, Coach Tressel resigned amid pressure and encouragement from those around him.  I’m just surprised it took him this long, especially for someone who wrote books about discipline, responsibility, and handling adversity.

Greg Doyle (CBS Sports) says Tressel quitting is a start for Ohio State but he better not be the last.

Sports Illustrated’s George Dohrmann’s investigation of Ohio State revealed an eight year pattern of violations under Tressel.  Dohrmann’s investigation was supposedly what lead to Tressel’s resignation and has some interesting details but it doesn’t quite live up to the hype.

Since Tressel resigned the focal point of the NCAA’s investigation is focusing on Terrelle Pryor’s cars. More details have emerged including the fact that Pryor’s drivers license is currently suspended. Has anyone started the countdown until he declares for the Supplemental Draft?

Pat Forde (ESPN) spent the day in Columbus to see what the reaction to Tressel’s resignation was like among Buckeye Nation. Unsurprisingly the news surrounding Tressel and Pryor has tOSU campus feeling down.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what else is uncovered in Buckeyeland and how badly the NCAA punishes the program after Tressel lied and all the other rampant violations that have been reported.

Soccer:

If you make any attempt to follow soccer I’m sure you’ve heard about the bribery and other accusations flying around FIFA.  All the corruption and “he said, she said” is further ruining FIFA’s already crooked reputation as the organization acts like they’re above the law with no one able to hold them accountable.

With FIFA President Sepp Blatter now running unopposed for his fourth term as president and allowing the organization to be run so crooked and corruptly – will anyone show him the red card? As a fairly new soccer fan, Blatter’s willingness to turn a blind eye to all the shady, fraudulent behavior and allow the sport’s governing body to be run so corruptly is sickening. The beautiful game would benefit greatly if someone (sponsors, governments, or FAs) could find a way to dethrone this schmuck.

Photo via zimbio.com

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes retired after 17 years, 676 appearances, and 24 trophies but the manner of his retirement reflects his lack of ego which is something that can’t be said about many of today’s stars.  Scholes is so respected among the football world that five Barcelona players wanted to swap shirts with him after the Champions League Final including Messi, Xavi, Busquets, and Iniesta who beat them to it.

National Basketball Association:

Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry was so confident the Mavs would reach the NBA Finals he got the Larry O’Brien Trophy tattooed on his bicep back in October – before the season started. Now Terry says, it’s time to finish the job.

LeBron James has always been a spectator, never a participant to celebrating a championship and lifting the trophy but he blew his life up to try and change that.

National Hockey League:

New York Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard was found dead on May 13th in his Minneapolis apartment. The cause of death was accidental due to mixing alcohol and oxycodone. Friends say the NHL enforcer felt the pain, too – this is a great read if you haven’t already.

The Atlanta Thrashers have officially been sold and will be moving to Winnipeg next season. This is great news for the NHL and the hockey world in general – we need more teams in traditional hockey markets not in the sun-belt.

The Bruins and Canucks meet in the Stanley Cup Finals opener tonight at 8:00 PM ET on NBC – yesterday I shared my Keys To the Series and predicted who will win. I can’t wait to watch Game 1 tonight.

Surfing:

Surfer Magazine Staff Photographer Todd Glasser explains/describes his 10 favorite photos.

Tassie schoolteacher James McKean survives and explains one of the heaviest Shipstern’s wipeout of all time. This is absolutely insane and makes you wonder why people even try to surf massive waves like that.

Oahu’s South Shore lit up thanks to some recent South Swells and of course Surfer Magaizine was there to document it.

Young Guns Episode 5 – Tom Carroll and a handful of groms shredding on the island of Bali:

Lacrosse:

Some of my friends over at Lacrosse All Stars are headed to Thailand to play some lax and grow the game.  They’ll be providing updates about the trip like they did for Day 1.

Any good articles or videos I missed? Happy Humpday Everyone!