USC's Deflated Ball Scandal--Lies, Lies

USC coach Lane Kiffin owes dethroned Laker coach Mike Brown an expensive bottle of champagne.. When the Lakers finally dumped Brown Friday, the shocking news rocked Los Angeles, pushing aside USC's ugly deflated ball scandal, which had been gathering media momentum. The Trojan misstep has slipped out of the spotlight, which is firmly on the Lakers. Brown's pain has been Kiffin's gain.

Apparently Kiffin, famous for bending rules during his short stay at Tennessee, is up to his old dirty tricks. And he got caught. Don't blame athletic director Pat Haden. He's trying to run a clean ship. The problem is the ship is being run by a captain who's used to playing dirty.

What happened at USC is disgraceful. The Pac-12 has fined USC $25,000, charging that a student manager, who hasn't been named, had deflated balls used by SC in last Saturday's game against Oregon, which won 62-51. Those balls gave USC a boost, since throwing and catching a lighter ball is considerably easier. Though SC lost, their prolific passing kept them close. Kiffin swears that manager acted on his own, that the coaches and players knew nothing about this transgression.

Bullcrap. Who is he kidding? Does he think we're all stupid?

Three different sources close to the team report that not only did several coaches know about the deflated balls but so did QB Matt Barkley. What's more, the sources add that a well-executed cover-up has buried the truth and set up the student manager as the scapegoat. That really smells. No way would a manager take it upon himself to do something that might open the school to penalties and embarrassment. That kind of flagrant violation by an underling doesn't happen without somebody upstairs knowing about it.

What's worse, this isn't the first time this has happened. It's just the first time SC was caught. The word in the sports underground is that USC has done this before and has done it so well they've evaded capture. So SC's glossy passing stats, which put Barkley and WR Marquis Lee in college football's elite, are tainted. Unfortunately, those passing stats aren't the only thing about SC football that's tainted.