Maddux Sports Blog

I wasn’t entirely sure that it was going to happen, but even the lowly and pathetic Washington Nationals couldn’t screw this one up – they got Stephen Strasburg signed with minutes to spare. His $15.067 million contract is a far cry from what lunatic super-agent Scott Boras wanted, but it is still almost $5 million more than any other player has ever got from the draft. The deal includes a $7.5 million signing bonus, and extends through 2012.

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This Tim Floyd situation is going to get uglier and uglier. His resignation, and the speed and seeming joy with which the athletic department at USC took it, is a clear indicator of his guilt in the alleged cash-spreading incident, and it’s not hard to imagine him being guilty of more, either. The NCAA combined their investigation into the basketball team with their one into Reggie Bush and the football team et al . That would suggest that they are taking it pretty seriously, and this just adds fuel to their efforts. It will be very interesting to see what happens here. It could end very badly – loss of scholarships or post-season eligibility or the like. This really makes you wonder if maybe Pete Carroll will find the next NFL offer too good to refuse. If he does have some blood on his hands then he’d be much better off following the example of John Calipari – get out ahead of the scandal – than that of Tim Floyd.

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So long, Tim Floyd. One of the slimiest coaches in basketball has reportedly resigned from his post at USC. He’s embroiled with a scandal over allegations that he personally paid an associate of O.J. Mayo so that Mayo would choose to attend USC. He hasn’t admitted to doing anything wrong, but this resignation is the next best thing. It was only a couple of months ago that Floyd declared his love to USC and chose to stay instead of taking the job at Arizona, sp this is a relationship that soured quickly. Now USC has to find a good coach at an awkward time, and they can’t afford to screw it up. The search won’t be made any easier by the sins of Floyd – no coach would be eager to jump into a school that could be hit by sanctions. I’ve never been a fan of Floyd, and this is just a clear sign that I can trust my instincts.

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