Weak flag takes away punter’s touchdown
Instead of reveling in the glory of what would have been his first -- and likely last -- touchdown, Louisiana State punter Brad Wing instead has spent much of the past few days replaying in his mind the momentary, yet premature, expression of joy that led officials to penalize him for taunting and take the points off the board Saturday in the Tigers' 41-11 victory over Florida.
"I do think there's a large amount of disrespect in taunting, and that's not what I'm about," said Wing, a redshirt freshman who grew up in Australia. "I've never been anywhere near an end zone before. I was so excited, and the emotion got the better of me and I made a silly mistake."
Wing was the first player to be flagged under a new -- and stupid -- NCAA rule aimed at further curbing "unsportsmanlike" celebrations by disallowing touchdowns if the scoring player celebrates before crossing the goal line.
With no pressure coming on a punt, Wing sprinted 52 yards to the end zone. His crime? Shortly before reaching the goal line, he looked back to see how close his nearest pursuer was and spread his arms out for only a moment.
Oh, the humanity.
"I honestly don't even remember doing it," he said. "It was just crazy."
But not as crazy as the rule that needs to be changed and the call that shouldn't have been made.
■ BOOTY BUS BOOTED -- Is nothing sacred anymore? Not only have the Detroit Lions abandoned their storied losing tradition en route to their first 5-0 start in 55 years, but the Booty Lounge bus that has been a fixture at Lions games since 2005 also has been given the boot by the city.
The party bus that apparently was operating as a strip club at a popular tailgating spot in Detroit had to move Monday from its normal parking spot at the request of police.
Bus operator Joe Parsons said he has a lawyer investigating what permits the bus needs, but he said Detroit has no ordinance against "mobile entertainment clubs."
Police have said the arrangement was illegal.
"If they're in there and they have semi-dressed girls, or they're in there dancing nude or whatever, that's a violation," police sergeant Charles Spruce told the Detroit News. "The people on the bus will receive another kind of violation."
Citizens of Detroit should feel violated that it took police six years to discover the bus, which is emblazoned with the words "Booty Lounge." Investigators must have spent a lot of time on it doing undercover work.
■ FISHY PRANK -- Texas Tech officials "strongly condemned" vandalism that targeted a Texas A&M bus before the Aggies' 45-40 win over the Red Raiders, but said fish bait, not manure, was used in the incident.
The officials said in a statement that bait was dropped on the floor of one bus parked at a Lubbock hotel, but A&M athletic director Bill Byrne claimed manure went "from one end to the other" in one bus and was spread on the outside of three others.
No one has admitted to the prank, but it's clear one school still is spreading manure.
COMPILED BY TODD DEWEY
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
