Dein erstes Forum » by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons

In case you missed it during this week devoted to indigestion and brawling during Black Friday over that toy your child just has to have, the NCAA dropped the hammer on Notre Dame for academic shenanigans that occurred in its once-storied football program.It was an all-too-familiar lapse in the charade of professional sports franchises operating within our institutions of higher learning: a student trainer handled the schoolwork for several football players who couldnt be bothered with doing it themselves, which led to the Fighting Irish being stripped of two seasons worth of wins.The NCAA delivered a relatively swift punishment that, frankly, appeared a bit too harsh. Notre Dame acknowledged that rules were broken and cooperated in the investigation. There was no indication that the higher-ups were aware of what was going on.But were not here to cry for the Fighting Irish.Were more concerned about another case.Remember North Carolina? The Tar Heels have been mired in a massive academic fraud scandal going back more than two decades that has led to five NCAA charges, a corruption scandal far more troubling and far-reaching than the substitute schoolwork that went on at Notre Dame. Heck, what the Irish did sounds downright quaint by comparison.Yet, the NCAA has still not levied any punishment on Tobacco Road, allowing the case to devolve into a legal mumbo-jumbo that seems to be sending a clear message to future rule-breakers: its best to delay, delay and delay some more.Its now been more than six years since the NCAA first arrived in Chapel Hill to investigate allegations of improper benefits and academic misconduct within the football program.That led to the uncovering of something even worse: sham courses within a department devoted to African-American studies, which were really nothing more than a conduit for athletes to pick up an easy A without being burdened with going to class or doing much in the way of actual schoolwork.An independent investigation by former U.S. Justice Department official Kenneth Wainstein found that some 3,100 students -- roughly half of them athletes from numerous sports -- took bogus courses between 1993 and 2011. At least one prominent former basketball player has come forward to say he was caught up in the scam: Rashad McCants, who helped lead the Tar Heels to the 2005 national championship.Despite a massive body of evidence, North Carolina has yet to face any sort of justice.Instead, this has become the worst episode of Law & Order ever.The NCAA leveled its initial set of charges, including the dreaded lack of institutional control. The school had 90 days to respond, and went right up to the deadline before sending along additional information for the NCAA to review. That led to an amended set of charges, with the most serious allegations still in there. The school responded again, this time with a bunch of procedural arguments that most notably challenged the NCAAs jurisdiction in the case. That led to another hearing, lots of sniping back and forth by the attorneys, and ... well, you get the idea. To get a true glimpse into what this case has become, check here .Clearly, theres no end in sight for this convoluted mess.Meanwhile, Notre Dame is already preparing to appeal the sanctions the NCAA handed down on Tuesday, which included stripping the school of all 21 wins it had during the 2012 and `13 seasons. That wiped out the Fighting Irishs best showing since the 1980s -- a 12-0 regular season and No. 1 ranking before a humiliating 42-14 loss to Alabama in the national championship game. It was another tough blow for the current team, which has endured a 4-7 season heading into Saturdays finale against Southern Cal and faces questions about the future of coach Brian Kelly.Its just a couple of guys made a mistake, and the whole team goes down with it, said offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey, a team captain. We know we won the games. Theyre not going to take that away from us. They can take it away in the record books all they want, but we won the games.The Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dames president, called it unprecedented to strip a school of wins without serious underlying institutional misconduct. He said the NCAAs ruling wouldnt punish those responsible for the misconduct, but rather will punish coaches, student-athletes and indeed the entire institution who did nothing wrong and, with regard to this case, did everything right.If the folks at Notre Dame sound a bit frustrated, they have every right to be.Theyve felt the wrath of the NCAA, while the Tar Heels remain on the lam.What a travesty.---Paul Newberry is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at pnewberry(at)ap.org or at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .---For more AP college football coverage: www.collegefootball.ap.org Custom Falcons T-shirts . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Custom Falcons Jerseys . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. http://www.customfalconsjersey.com/ . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. Wholesale Custom Falcons Shirts . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Falcons Jerseys China . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins fourth preseason exhibition game in Tampa has been moved to Wednesday, Aug. 31, due to anticipated severe weather from Tropical Depression Nine.The game was originally scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 1, but will now take place at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday at Raymond James Stadium.We have been in regular communication with administrators from the Tampa Sports Authority, Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa and the National Weather Service over the past day, as it has become apparent that the most severe weather associated with Tropical Depression Nine will likely make landfall on Thursday, Buccaneers chief operating officer Brian Ford said.This decisiion was made by both teams in conjunction with the National Football League and local authorities in an effort to ensure the safety of our fans, players and stadium staff.dddddddddddd.The center of the system is currently 240 miles west of Key West, Florida. According to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center, it is expected to become a tropical storm Tuesday with sustained winds of at least 39 mph.Conditions indicate that the storm could reach central/northern Florida on Thursday, with the potential for tropical storm winds affecting much of Floridas Gulf coast. ' ' '