Making the morning rounds on the worst day of the year to work in online news.
? Pants on fire. Outgoing LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson issued the obligatory rebuttal Thursday to claims by former Texas A&M assistant Van Malone that then-recruit Peterson was shopped to Texas A&M for $80,000 in 2007 by Houston-based "trainer"/street agent Willie Lyles:
"I have never had any type of relationship with Willie Lyles and he had no influence on my decision to attend LSU, or any other school for that matter," Peterson said in a statement released by LSU. "He had no involvement with my recruiting process and I resent the fact that my name has come up in these allegations."
Peterson also told ESPN Radio that the ESPN report was "all baloney," and told a reporter twice that he had never visited Texas A&M. Alas, the 2007 archives say otherwise:
[Peterson], a soft Miami commitment, embarked on a summer tour visiting schools including Southern Cal and Florida. However, it was an unplanned stop in College Station, Texas that he says made one of the biggest impacts on him.
"I visited Texas A&M the other day," said the 6-foot-1, 193 pound prospect. "My dad and I were in Houston visiting one of his friends and he suggested that we go look at A&M.
[…]
At A&M I really like the coach recruiting me, coach (Van) Malone. He is also my position coach and he is really down to earth and he seems to care about the players more than just in football."
The "friend" who suggested the trip to A&M? One Willie Lyles. [Associated Press, AggieYell.com, And the Valley Shook]
? Up for grabs. The Pac-12 Network is officially on the market to the highest bidder after Fox's window for exclusive negotiations for the network closed on Thursday without a deal. ESPN, Comcast and Turner Sports are all expected to throw their hats into the ring for rights to build the network from the ground up after the model of the Big Ten Network, which was built by … Fox. [Associated Press]
? Go @OleForty, go. Ole Miss defensive end and Twitter favorite Kentrell "@OleForty" Lockett has been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA, a huge boost to both the Rebels' front four and the entertainment level of following college football online, in general. Lockett had 12 tackles for loss in 2008 and 10 in 2009 before going down with a season-ending ACL injury last September. [Clarion-Ledger]
? We're monitoring the situation. Michigan State will review its relationship with all booster clubs and eliminate raffles at Spartan Stadium in response to an ongoing investigation into Lansing's Downtown Coaches Club by the Michigan Lottery Commission. The club has traditionally run a 50-50 raffle during MSU home games, with half the pot going to the winning ticket-holder and half to the club, but seems to be under scrutiny for how it uses the proceeds. [Associated Press, Lansing State Journal]
? Mad props for the random, gratuitous Marshall Faulk reference. It's safe to say once-hyped recruit Kevin Newsome hasn't exactly lived up to expectations at Penn State after falling to third string on the quarterback depth chart. But he may be exceeding them as a rapper, under the name "NewNew":
Visit NewNew's home page on reverbnation.com for more tracks. (I recommend the legitimately catchy "I'm Cool," featuring "NYC" and "Topher," although it's not entirely safe for work.) I'm not qualified to make this statement, professionally, but I'm guessing NewNew has a brighter future in music than he does in football. [BroPaterno, via CBS Sports]
Quickly… Former Michigan running back Kevin Grady, once a prized five-star recruit in 2005, faces jail time after pleading no contest to his second drunken-driving arrest in three years. ... Arizona loses two linebackers and a backup running back on the same day. … Luke Fickell is surprisingly excited about having to replace more than half of Ohio State's starting defense. … Georgia center Ben Jones is "screaming, yelling, pushing, going crazy" after practice. … Ryan Broyles, like his starting quarterback, is bulking up this offseason. … An accurate graph of the trajectory of offseason emotions. … And Miami coaches get icy on April Fool's Day.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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