Hey King Ward. Glad you joined us over here. The conversations have been kinda dull. Seriously, I have missed your posts since AST has been down.

How would you feel in their situation? You worked so hard to do good. Went through so many coaches and dissapointing seasons. After going to Lou Holtz' classes about teamwork and coming together to be better people. They ran the plays last season very well and were better than their record shows. Even Lou Holtz took part of the blame this year because of coaching. After they become bowl eligible they get blown out by chumpson far worse than the score shows. Those 7 points came on a miracle. We were down late in the game and still getting the qb with a bad ankle to run the ball 50% of the time. A lot of emotions came out about the last 3 years during that game and in the weeks following. Even Lou Holtz praised Rodriques Wilson all year as being such a model student athlete of our football team. I will trust Lou Holtz' assessment of his character. All you are using is a label to define something which you know very little about.

Why are they keeping it so hush hush? Are they concerned about recruiting? I just hope I see a new SC team this year with more discipline and POINTS. I am tired of being the butt of jokes with the guys at the water cooler.
TW and NW should leave the team if that is the kind of leadership they would bring to Gamecock Football. I want to see players more humble and grateful rather than egotistical. (sp)

Seriously though, it is odd that no one is talking about it.

Everything but 1 laptop is returned so far, if everything is returned then I don't think anyone should be punished. The reason they did it was not for fun. They were pissed off that they gave 4 years of their life to the program/state/university and were denied a bowl b/c Sorensen wanted to look good, that's all that it's about, Sorensen wanted to look good and punished everyone on the team, not just ppl involved in the brawl. I would agree to kick them off, but the crime was done under high emotions, and remorse was obvious b/c they returned 99% of the stuff. They were just mad, if you ask me they shouldn't have stolen anything but should have showed up at sorensen's office and pummeled his lilly, faggot, linguini-spined ass. That would have gotten the message across...

I understand your thoughts completely. Look at the situation as a whole...

#1. You punish the team with no bowl game. Punishment Accepted
#2. Now you punish players individually with suspensions. Punishment Accepted/Starting to go overboard.

#3. Then you punish the players by not having a seniors banquet. Punishment is now going overboard.

How many times are you going to punish these individuals over one incident. The suspension and lack of bowl game should have been enough. When is the punishing going to end?

As for the theft, yes everything was returned except for a laptop. All of this was probably done out of anger and raw emotion and if they wanted to make a statement, I doubt they would have brought back the stuff the very next day. The fact that Whiteside/Williamson has NOT brought back the laptop (Valued at 6K) warrants them to kick his butt out of the school. Just my 0.02.

Indeed this is a tricky situation to handle. I think at the VERY least they should have given the seniors their banquet. That is just a slap in the face to the players who have worked so hard on the field. If the success rate been higher for these players over the last few years they would have had the banquet. I think not having a banquet for them is also due in part to the Gamecocks not making it to a bowl the last 2 years. The school feels let down. As far as kicking players off the team, the action was obviously done in the heat of the moment. Even in court that defense will greatly reduce the punishment. Also the fact that most of the equipment was returned is a sign that they realized it was wrong after looking at the situation with a clearer head. I would say that a 1-3 game suspension for Whiteside would be fair. The punishment given to the players who played a large role in the brawl was only a 1 game suspension. Are we telling our players that it is much better to participate in what was basically a riot than it is to steal? Both actions should be punished but I dont think one is that much better or worse than the other. With the great WR's that are showing interest Whiteside would have to work that much harder to get playing time and that would show that he is serious about this team. Should he be punished? Deifinatly. Should he kicked off the team? Certainly not.

I agree with you on all points except for the Whiteside incident. The thing that bothers me is the fact that he still HASN'T returned the laptop. That's why I think that the school is seeking to kick him out.

Good for them, if they were guilty of the accusations being placed upon them, then they should remove them from the team. You have to be accountable for your actions and if they did do it then they disrespected the institution that was giving them a free education. Some thanks huh! There are plenty of other recievers already at the school as well as being recruited. Losing Whiteside would not be make or break for us.

you said there was a third person right? maybe the missing laptop is also with the third person involved. i really hate to see all this happening(poor ole lou) just find it funny that everyone in the state is talking about it but they are still keeping it on the down low. just let us know!

No problem dude....Will do...

So all of this is just speculation right? I'm not calling anybody in here or liar or anything, but if it's just on the rumor mill, how much faith can we put in to it? Don't get me wrong, if it's true, then criminal charges should be brought forth, and like I said, I'm not questioning any of you, I just find it strange that nothing has been said as far as an official statement. This is the first I've heard of any of this, but I'm also living in Macon, which probably explains why this is the first I've heard. Anyway, this is certainly a shocker if it is in fact true!

It's no rumor USAF. This is the real deal. The university is keeping this VERY VERY quiet.

Delo Is Usually Right! I Will Trust His Sources Until He Lets Me Down!

I have been given bad info before. It's not often though.