FanHouse Arrest

Favored to become the starting quarterback next year at Arkansas, Ryan Mallett has hit a bit of a snag thanks to a public intoxication arrest deep deep deep into the early morning Sunday. He was arrested on Dickson Street in Fayetteville and booked at 3:47 AM.

Mallett is sort of a big deal because he's six foot six and bulletproof or something like that. He was a highly coveted recruit out of Texas who signed with and played for Michigan as a true freshman before transferring when Rich Rodriguez brought the spread circus to town. Arkansas, and specifically Bobby Petrino's explosive dropback system is a much better fit for Mallett. That is, if he can get his act together.

First year UCLA wide receivers coach Eric Scott has been arrested along with two other men on suspicion of burglary.

CBS2 reported that L.A. County Sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call to a residence on the 1100 block of Pioneer Boulevard in Norwalk yesterday and found Scott and two other men engaged in burglarizing a house. All three were arrested. Scott was released on $50,000 bail.

Brian Dohn, reporting in the Los Angeles Daily News, noted that Scott was booked at 1:07 p.m., posted bond and was released at 9:25 p.m. The other two men with Scott were identified as Jesus DeAlba and Timothy Williams.

Cautionary statement: innocent until proven guilty. Remember how Maurice Jones-Drew was implicated for an incident at a Westwood Dennys but was later cleared? Regardless, this is surprising. Sort of. I'd been hearing unusual things about Scott behind the scenes, but nothing criminal like this.

Scott was a former Bruin receiver who has played a critical role in UCLA's surprising recruiting efforts this year, helping lure a boatload of early commitments from quality players within the "L.A. City" schools.

This will be fun to watch as it unfolds as the stone chuckers living in a massive glass house figure out what to make of this.

Update: Scott's attorney has made a statement about the arrest:

From my preliminary investigation, it appears that a mistake was made by the Los Angeles Sheriff Deputies that should be cleared up within a few days. There is no evidence that any crime was committed by Eric Scott or anyone with him.

The Daily News' Brian Dohn is all over this, noting four prior arrests for Scott, something UCLA apparently didn't catch before hiring him. He's been placed on administrative leave for the time being.

If what Scott's attorney is saying is true, this might be a case of mistaken identity or confusion over something else that led to the arrest. Is it football season yet?

Now there's a NASCAR family member's face we don't see every day.

Meet 21-year-old Rachel Otto, granddaughter of NASCAR co-founder Edgar Otto, who is no longer directly involved with NASCAR but is still active in racing with Otto Motorsports.

Apparently, Ms. Otto makes a habit of impersonating police officers. She was busted Tuesday while posing as a Palm Beach County officer trying to arrest an aggressive driver. She was acting like an officer, wearing military fatigues and, as you can see, sporting a "close-cropped" hairstyle.

The would-be arrestee didn't realize what was going on when Otto approached his car at a red light, so when the light changed he took off. Otto chased him and with the help of a third motorist pinned and handcuffed him.

The real officer who later arrived on the scene recognized her from a previous encounter in 2006 in which she also purported to be a Sheriff's deputy. According to police, she has been arrested nine times since 2004.

Reports claim that everyone on the scene of this incident thought Otto was a man, including the woman in her passenger seat, who moved in with her last week!

She's got some 'splainin' to do!

NBC5 Video report

Two receivers on the Illinois football team were arrested Friday on suspicion of burglary. After leaving an accident scene, they were apprehended by police who then found in their vehicle wallets, cell phones, electronic devices and laptop computers believed to be stolen.

Jody Ellis and Derrick McPhearson later plead not guilty to the burglary and theft charges on Monday. For all the brouhaha about Ron Zook's allegedly shady recruiting, this kind of flies in the face of that whole "his players are on the take" charge, doesn't it?

Ellis, from the Chicago suburb of Evanston, and McPhearson, from Hyattsville, Md., each posted $2,500 bail and were released from Champaign County Jail Sunday afternoon.

Neither football coach Ron Zook nor Athletic Director Ron Guenther were available for comment Monday, but a spokesman for the school's athletic programs said further disciplinary action is possible.

"The school is continuing to review the situation and a decision on their future with the program could come as early as today," spokesman Kent Brown said.

You gotta love anyone looking (allegedly) to stolen goods for spare change who comes from freakin' Evanston, a swank little university enclave near Chicago. Strange world we live in.

And by players plural we mean player singular as two of the three accused are no longer on the Red Raider football team. The story:

Two former Texas Tech football players and a current team member accused of stealing electronic equipment have been indicted on felony burglary charges, a county official said Wednesday.

Police arrested the men on suspicion of burglary during an Oct. 27 traffic stop. In the car, police found a laptop and other electronic equipment, items reported missing by the homeowner, police said.

Freshman linebacker Julius M. Howard remains on the team as coach Mike Leach believes he's innocent.

"Unless that proves to be incorrect, our position is the same," he said. "He's on the team in good standing."

That's a daring stand for Leach, as most coaches get squeamish about defending players in trouble with the law. He did dismiss the other two accused (Jerred Rashad Hunt and Dimitri Lott), one of whom was already in academic trouble at the time of the arrest.

You already knew this if you follow recruiting and/or are a fan of Maryland or Illinois football. But if not, here's a sad, sad tale.

Melvin Alaeze was an all-world defensive end recruit out of Randallstown, Maryland a few years ago. He had offers from literally every major school and put on an amazing performance in the US Army High School All America game. He was tall, powerful and fast. There simply wasn't a better physical prospect in the country.

He was destined for stardom. Unfortunately, he's a terribly messed up kid.

His latest boo-boo is one that probably ends whatever limited chance he had to get his life back together. You see, Alaeze is now facing several charges including attempted murder.

Alaeze has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, armed robbery, car theft and use of a hand gun in the commission of a violent crime, according to Baltimore County court records.

He was arrested Jan. 13 in connection with the Christmas Eve incident at an apartment complex. The charges against Alaeze carry sentences ranging from life for attempted murder to five years for auto theft.

Those charges will effectively slam the door on any kind of college career if he doesn't end up behind bars.