'Dirty South'ern Cal

So if recent allegations of Reggie Bush's family accepting free housing from a scum bag San Diego player agent that may or may not have been extorting the Bush family wasn't enough, it has recently been alledged that Matt Leinart, the golden boy of the program, was also involved in his own kind of housing controversy. News sources have reported that Leinart and Dwayne Jarrett's living arrangement was compromised because of a subsidy by Leinart's father, Bob, that was given to the student athletes so that they could live at the Medici apartments and Condominiums at the corner of Sunset and Figueroa.

Having your father pay for your housing is not a crime, and not a violation of NCAA rules. It may be a violation for Jarrett, and he will probably have to miss a few games next season. Don't get excited Bruin Fan, he will be back for the PAC 10 schedule. In any case, this looks like a pretty benign problem, right? WRONG!

In a Sports Illustrated article last season, Fall College Football Special Edition featuring Reggie Bush giving Matt Leinart a piggy back ride on the cover, it was reported that Matt Leinart's parents were a little upset with his decision to stay in school and take a ballroom dancing class because, and here comes the kicker, they did not have that much bread or for those pop culturally challenged, money. The article detailed how his parents were upset that he lived in an apartment building that had no security and no working AC. The story mentioned how Leinart and the boys would hang out in a beat up Ford Ranger to cool off during the summer and how Leinart and company would search the streets for old couches and chairs that were left out on the corners to outfit his apartment. In short, my man was bootleg and his family did not have the means to help him out, according the the article.

This then brings up a bigger point and another possible violation. Bob Leinart had no money, so how was able to afford paying the $2500 balance of the $38oo monthly rent? Either he sold off his J.P. Marlin stock, started slinging some crack rock, or developed a wicked jump shot, anything to give him the extra scratch to cover the expense. A more viable scenario, he probably was paid (ALLEGEDLY) by CAA, the talent representation agency that Matt Leinart was eager to sign with once he declared for the draft to manage his "entertainment career." Go ask Leigh Steinburg, he may have an explanation as to why Leinert fired him two weeks before the draft and hired Tom Condon, who coincidently is also a part of the CAA family. Of course, it may also be that some scum bag, AKA La Canada resident, gave him a nice stipend. In any case, I'm sure an investigation can be launched at any of your local Taylor's Steakhouses to find out the truth.

What then does this mean for the program? Well, for one the PAC 10 may strip them of wins and word on the street is that the Bowl Championship Series is looking to strip them of their 2004 BCS win over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. All this for the Reggie Bush fiasco, but I am sure that the Leinart situation will also add a little kindling to the fire. This proves, however, that the USC football program is loaded with good guys that play by the rules, peppered with shady fools that listen way too much to their stupid parents who can't get the money signs out of their eyes and end up ruining their kids' lives and making them into burnouts and drug addicts, remember Todd Marinovich? This also proves that Pete Carroll, in all his glory, is letting the inmates, well you know the rest. More to come.