No one said getting drafted would be easy. I’m sure Brady Quinn never expected the hardest part of Saturday would be to “sit and look pretty.”

Grace under pressure is easily harder than being tackled by a lineman. When the quarterback releases the ball and takes it to the gut with a crushing blow, any player would gladly take the physical hit versus the emotional smack of public embarrassment. While I’ve never been a Brady Quinn fan, I had to feel sorry for the poor kid as he sat there in uncomfortable silence as other names were called before his.

No one likes to be the last one picked in gym class when they were 10 and no one likes to feel overlooked when they are 20. Quinn’s poise during Saturday’s draft makes him a prime player for the NFL: one who is humble, well-composed, and a perfect role-model. (See Tiki Barber, for example.) Perhaps he’s too clean for the NFL, someone who would make a better suit than a uniform. Regardless, he has enough fire in his spirit to start with the Browns and prove his standing. The Browns won a goldmine in their 22nd pick: they got the QB they wanted who is inspired to prove his critics wrong.

Even if Brady hadn’t gotten picked until a later round, or not picked at all, the kid has more potential in his thumb to make something of himself than most college graduates have in their degrees. He’ll succeed regardless of vocation…but will he be the next Tom Brady? Remember, Brady was No. 199 when he was drafted. The truth is in the rings, not in the numbers.

----

In other news: I accepted my offer to attend Columbia University’s School of Journalism as a New Media graduate student.

Who is setting fire at USC? In the last week, more scandals and firestorms have been fought by the University’s public relations team than the whole of the southern California fire department during peek season.

The first flare up came with the arrest of quarterback Mark Sanchez on April 26th for allegedly sexually assaulting a female student. Way to celebrate your spring game debut, Mark. The evidence and allegations must have been convincing considering he posted the $200,000 bail. That’s a pretty expensive quarter of college, if you ask me! Granted, Sanchez has not been formerly charged with the crime, and he should be thanking his lucky stars that Duke Lacrosse players, the NFL Draft, and fellow teammate Reggie Bush have created a welcomed diversion to pull the unflattering spotlight off of his allegations. Speaking of Bush…

Just days before the Draft, potential NCAA and NFL violations have been raised to the appropriate parties concerning a smarmy deal between a start-up marketing agency and the Bush family. According to the LA Times, a lawyer for New Era Sports & Entertainment was planning on filing a $3.2 million law suit against the Trojan and his family for various grievances, including a supposed $100,000 “loan” the agency gave to the Bush family with the assumption that all would be repaid when Bush signed with the agency as their first client. The loan included cash payments and rent on a house that the agency owned by an investor who wanted to represent Mr. Bush.

For the record, the name of the wannabe Bush agent is Michael Michaels. Um…call me crazy but the guy’s name alone would be the deal breaker for me. I mean, the minute I’d meet the guy I’d be sitting there trying to conceal my giggles. How smart or savvy could this agent be with a name like Michael Michaels? Maybe he figured with all the previous superstar agents named Michael, such as Michael Ovitz, Michael Rosenfield, and the marketing #### who DID sign Bush named Michael Ornstein, Mr. Michaels thought he’d keep it consistent by duplicating his own name. Could his parents not come up with anything more original? If it were me, I would have changed that name faster than Lindsay Lohan changes the color of her hair. Secondly, I would join the bandwagon and take up Kabala and choose a last name with a Yiddish appeal since most superstar agents and a majority of Hollywood elite flock to that calling. Seriously, did this guy think that he would really score Reggie Bush as his first and only client? Would you, a Heisman winning NFL prospect worth millions sign with Adam Adams of the ‘Let Me Be The First To Profit Off You’ Agency? Case closed.

Generally, when one suit is brewing, you can bet a counter suit is in the works. A lawyer for the Bush family claims that Michaels and the agency were attempting to extort money from Reggie. You can’t blame Mr. Michaels for getting angry when his dirty deal backfired in his face. Sure, he gave the Bush family a generous loan, a $750K rental house to live in, and promised to keep the details hush-hush, but when his future client turned the table on him, Mr. Michaels went public with the details.

The Bush family isn’t completely innocent in all this either. They had initially promised to repay the loans and back-rent once their son cashed in on his million-dollar NFL pay day. Talk about dangling a carrot before the horse. I guess they didn’t see the potential NCAA or NFL violations in the matter. I’m sure at the time poor Reggie just wanted to see his family taken care of and didn’t mind playing the role of a puppet. It was his parents who really took advantage of the situation and used their son as a bargaining tool. There’s the crime. But the truth is, because the deal was so sketchy, it’s easy to cry “extortion!”

To top off the week, in other potential NCAA violations news, Matt Leinart is now in the hot seat. It seems that once he became the big man on campus, his off-campus residency became a flocking ground for groupies and fans. Concerned for their son’s safety, Pop Leinart moved his son to a “modest” downtown apartment with fellow teammate Dwayne Jarrett. For a mere $3,866 a month, the two split a portion of the rent while Pop Leinart picked up the rest. Where the violation comes to play is that Mr. Jarrett was paying $650 a month for his half the rent while Matt paid $500 and Pop paid the remaining. Now it would be okay for Matt to have that sweet rental deal, having his dad foot the bill is legit; but it’s not okay for Dwayne since he was paying for less than half of the rental and therefore relying on Pop Leinart (a non-relation) to pay the rest.

This violation seems pretty innocent. I don’t think the Leinarts had any intention of breaking rules; they were just generous parents taking care of their son and a friend. I know that my parents would have done the same thing for me…but I doubt they would have sprung for such a swanky bachelor pad. It is viewed as a potential violation because if the NCAA investigates, they could say that this apartment arrangement for a fellow team member gave him an unfair advantage. Now honestly, if living in a $3,866/month apartment gave Dwayne Jarrett a huge boost to his playing ability, how does one prove that? I won’t even go there.

What should really keep USC fans awake at night is the potential fallout these allegations could bring if proven correct. Since all infractions occurred during the 2004 and 2005 seasons, if Bush is found guilty, he would be deemed retroactively ineligible for last season, games would be forfeited and title could be revoked. (Irish eyes must be smiling!) Wow. Not that you can rewrite history, but what would that have meant for last season’s football? Can you imagine? That’s an entirely different blog posting.

There is no denying that Bush is an outstanding player and regardless of allegations, his performance against Fresno State is one for the godfather of sports highlights. As a fan of a team who witnessed the fallout of NCAA violations (OSU Men’s Basketball) and seen championships ripped away from walls, I hope that it doesn’t come down to that for USC. Although Pete Carroll may be running a loose ship, his players as a team made significant strides in college football and a team should not have to suffer the penalties at the hands of misguided adults and greedy entrepreneurs.

Although I would have loved to see a rematch between OSU and Texas in last January’s Rose Bowl, I don’t want to see USC striped of their glory. I’m not condoning the actions of individual players, but when taken to the field, these kids made history and deserve for that history to remain in the books.

‘Twas the morning of draft day and all through the house, one rookie was cursing ‘That terrible louse!’

For while he was settled all snug in his bed, visions of signing day danced in his head.

For Reggie, he thought, ‘I’ll go number one! On Carroll, on Heisman, on Houston I come!”

The press had declared he’d be the best choice, now Mr. Bush just needed a voice.

Someone to get him the biggest deal ever with Nike and Wheaties, this voice must be clever!

Thinking that Texas would be his next stop…now Reggie Bush must rethink his plot.

For what should take place on the eve of his day but one Mario Williams to step in his way.

The Texans choose Williams to be “Number One!” Not Reggie, not Leinart, not even Vince Young.

The press was befuddled, his agent a mess, for what should he say once he is addressed:

             “Dear Mr. Bush, we thought you’d go first, how does it feel to be slapped with this curse?

To have to go second, or wait ‘til the fifth, since Texas chose Williams over you as a pick."

Although broken hearted and a little dismayed, sweet Reggie Bush will still have his day.

For Reggie, he’ll sign an exorbitant deal; he still has that Heisman with plenty of zeal.

It’s not in the number or time that you’re called; it’s what you produce in the following fall.

No agent, no bonus, no signing day perk can ever determine your fate as a first: how will you handle the pressure of Sunday, will you make it to playoffs or vanish on cut day?

Tonight Mr. Bush can finally exhale, his fate all decided, his check in the mail.

Today he was made a very rich man, but tomorrow he’ll have to start forming a plan.

Come Sunday this fall, the test will be set; who will prevail and settle the bet?

Will Bush take the field and prove himself better? Or will Mario steal the front page header?

These questions have answers I cannot predict, but I relish the drama of signing day shtick!

Thus, I proclaim as I drop out of sight: Happy Draft Day to all and to all a good night!