Cheaters Never Win

Cooking Spray Blamed In Football Incident
By Amy Beth Hanson, Associated Press Writer

HELENA, Montana (AP) - Football players from Sacramento State are accused of greasing their jerseys with nonstick cooking spray on the sidelines during a game against top-ranked Montana last weekend.

Sacramento lost the game 31-24.

The Big Sky Conference and Sacramento State said they are trying to figure out how many players applied PAM to their uniforms and whether the coaches knew about it. The players and the school could face punishment.

"We'll decide the penalty, depending upon who we find at the bottom of the pile," league Commissioner Doug Fullerton said. He added: "I think it's a serious ethical breach."

Fullerton said applying cooking spray to a football jersey could make it more difficult for opposing linemen to do their jobs.

"It actually does work, to a certain extent," he said. "That's why there's rules against it."

Sacramento State head coach John Volek said Wednesday: "I have no knowledge of Sacramento State players using PAM." Volek was not on the sidelines during the game, because he was serving a one-game suspension for complaining about the officiating at an earlier game.

Defending national champion Montana rallied from a 21-14 deficit to beat Sacramento State and tie an NCAA record with a 24-game winning streak.

Todd Goodrich, a University of Montana photographer, said he first noticed two players spraying each other near the end of the first half. During the second half, Goodrich said, he saw two more players spraying each other with a can of PAM and snapped several photos.

"They were pretty blatant about it," Goodrich said. "Right there on the sidelines."

The photos were being turned over to the league. The University of Montana declined to provide copies to The Associated Press.

 

Just a bit of trivia, John Volek is Titans QB Billy Volek's father.

 

Kevin Greene said he used to do that.