Making the morning rounds.
? The rap sheet, Part One. Notre Dame star Michael Floyd, future first-round draft pick and soon-to-be owner of every school receiving record, was arrested by campus police for drunk driving around 4 a.m. Sunday morning ? his second alcohol-related offense in 15 months, following a citation for underage drinking in January 2010. (In that case, a bloodied Floyd was caught allegedly trying to flee from a fight in downtown Minneapolis alongside exquisitely named Minnesota running back Shady Salamon, a former high school teammate.) Obligatory mugshot is here.
Floyd was released Sunday on $500 bond; a court date is set for April 2. No official word as of this morning from Notre Dame or coach Brian Kelly. [South Bend Tribune]
? The rap sheet, Part Two. Alabama safety Mark Barron, a two-time All-SEC pick and arguably the best player on what figures to be a very nasty Crimson Tide defense this fall, was arrested early Sunday morning on a misdemeanor charge for hindering prosecution in a single-car accident involving his Chrysler 300. According to police, Barron was a passenger when the car struck the center wall of I-10 in Mobile around 5 a.m., and continued to insist that the car had been stolen from a club by a man he knew only as "Bull," even after an officer determined that the driver was actually Barron's cousin, who fled the scene before police arrived. (Name of club: "Shotgun Willies." It is not clear how Barron accounted for being inside a car that he claimed had been taken without his permission, but he stuck to his story so vehemently that the officer "had no other choice but to arrest him.")
Barron was released on $500 bond within an hour of being booked; the maximum sentence for conviction of a Class A misdemeanor is a one-year jail term. Coach Nick Saban said he was aware of the incident and is "gathering information," etc., but Barron was already expected to be limited in spring practice ? beginning today ? while he continues to rehab the torn pectoral muscle that kept him out of the Capital One Bowl. [TideSports.com]
? The rap sheet, Part Three. The Fiesta Bowl is bracing itself for the results of a potentially "scathing" internal probe into the game's political and financial maneuvering, expected to be released as soon as this week at the possible peril of longtime CEO John Junker's job. Among the subjects expected to be addressed by the bowl's three-man investigative panel: a) Allegations that the bowl broke campaign finance laws by directing and reimbursing employee contributions to certain politicians, including John McCain; b) Junker's nearly $600,000 salary and the $120,000 worth of zero-interest loans he and a then-vice president for marketing took from the bowl in the early 2000s; and c) An unusually large contract with a local security firm, Blue Steel Consulting, run by a lieutenant in the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department.
The bowl is "probably inclined to make the internal report public," according to the Associated Press, except for parts that could affect an ongoing criminal investigation by the state attorney general's office (and possibly the IRS). In the meantime, the game has already responded to the charges by putting Junker on paid leave, hiring a high-profile defense attorney and cutting ties with the security firm. [Associated Press]
? Beginning of a happy ending. Three-star defensive end prospect Lorenzo Mauldin, the hard-luck case from Atlanta who became the poster boy for critics of oversigning when South Carolina pulled his scholarship offer the night before signing day, has reportedly signed a letter of intent with Louisville. Mauldin, a ward of the state for most of his life, was dumped by South Carolina in part because of borderline grades, and in part because there was no more room in the Gamecocks' overstuffed signing class. (They still have about a half-dozen actual signees to shed by August.) [@RecruitingAJC]
? Ken "Snake" Stabler is marketing a private-label line of Chilean wines. The wine, "12," includes three reds and two whites grown by Santiago, Chile-based Anderson Estate Wines, and comes in a bottle with a "venomous-looking serpent that bares its fangs" on the label. "I don't know what that is," said Stabler, who was acquitted of his most recent DUI charge in October 2008. "It's a friendly snake, though. Not a poisonous one." That is all. [Birmingham News]
Quickly… Two high school coaches in Texas defend Willie Lyles as a legitimate scout. … Jadeveon Clowney remains "on track to qualify." … Little-used quarterback Skylar Jones is transferring from Wake Forest for (presumably) more playing time in his final year of eligibility. … Auburn sees a slight uptick in applications in the wake of its championship season. … Denard Robinson dips his toe into Michigan's new offense. … Ohio State fans still basically love Jim Tressel. … The Oklahoman pulls into the lead for Most Boring Headline of the Spring. … And how did Hasbro manage to get a Transformers logo on LSU's uniforms all the way back in 1936?
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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