Dean's List (cont.)

Detention List

Michael Crabtree's got the makings of an NFL star, but some fans are still upset that he's turning pro after indicating he wasn't considering it. L. Scott Mann/Icon SMI

• What good is a man's word if he doesn't stick to it? It seems like college football players have no problem reneging on their promises when it comes to the NFL draft. Example one: On November 26, when asked whether he was going pro, Pittsburgh running back LeSean McCoy answered, "I'm not going anywhere." But now McCoy seems ready to bolt for the NFL. (Although, he recently postponed the decision.) Example two: Back in early December, Michael Crabtree indicated he was not even considering going pro after the season was over. However, at a press conference scheduled for Tuesday, Crabtree is expected to announce his entry into the NFL draft. OK, so you don't want to tell your school's fans you are going pro until after the college football season is over. That's understandable. But don't lie. Don't say you are going to stay and then leave. When in doubt, just say you don't know.

• Always think twice before firing your advisors. Oklahoma State pitcher Andrew Oliver learned this the hard way when, last March, he told lawyers Tim and Robert Baratta he wouldn't be needing their services anymore. In typical lawyerly fashion, the Baratta's first sent Oliver a bill for their services and then a letter to the NCAA accusing the left-handed pitcher of violating eligibility rules. After an investigation, the NCAA suspended Oliver for the rest of posteason play because his former lawyers had been present at a meeting with Minnesota Twins officials and NCAA rules prohibit advisors from having direct contact with big league clubs. But the NCAA didn't stop there. It believes Oliver, who went 7-2 with the Cowboys last season and posted a 2.20 ERA, should sit out 70 percent of OSU's upcoming games. To counter that rather draconian punishment, Oliver is suing the NCAA, arguing that a player has the right to legal help when negotiating a big league contract. So what's the moral of the story? Never fire your lawyer before hiring a replacement.

• USC linebacker Rey Maualuga was just trying to have some fun when he spontaneously did a little dance behind ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews during USC's victory over Penn Sate in the Rose Bowl. Little did he know a small group of hyper-sensitive, righteous rabble-rousers would find the dance rude, crude and sexually immature. Donna Lopiano, former CEO of the Women's Sports Foundation, called Maualuga's dance "another example of a narcissistic, high-profile athlete believing that any behavior, no matter how inappropriate, is acceptable because of his status." Really? We found Maualuga's dance neither sexually threatening nor humiliating. At worst it was unprofessional, but let's not forget college football is not played by professionals. Regardless, USC took the safe route and issued a statement saying Maualuga had apologized to the sultry sideline reporter -- which is a little like your mom writing an apology letter for your behavior in math class. Lopiano, though, remained unimpressed. "For those who would laugh off, celebrate or enable this behavior, think twice," she said. "Ms. Andrews could be your sister, daughter or wife." Erin Andrews as my wife? That would be awesome!

• On New Year's Day, when Cal State Northridge basketball player Jeffrey Braswell used a fellow employee's password to log onto a register at a Best Buy and allow three friends to check out $6,600 worth of merchandise without paying, he let down both his basketball coach and his father. That's because Jeffrey's father, Bobby Braswell, is his basketball coach. Now Jeffery and three others, including Cal State Northridge's leading scorer Deon Tresvant, who leads the Matadors with 13.3 points per game, face a felony count of second-degree commercial burglary and three felony counts of grand theft over $400. So did the coach's son get preferential treatment? Not so much. Coach Bobby Braswell refused to bail his son out of jail, leaving him in the clink for four days, long after the other accomplices had been released.

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