• Liberté, egalité, change of jurisdiction. The Worldwide Leader's Lester Munson and Paula Lavigne delve into Utah attorney general Mark Shurtleff's upcoming antitrust suit against the BCS, and find its fate could ultimately come down to location, location, location:

"It will be complicated, and it will be a close call," [Indiana law professor Gary] Roberts said. "But a state attorney general can win it if he files it in the right place."
[...]
Referring to venues that have been harmed by the BCS and others that have profited from the BCS, Roberts said that "if you sue the BCS in Salt Lake City or Boise or Honolulu, you have a sure winner. But if you sue in Columbus or Tuscaloosa or Baton Rouge, you may not do so well."

Noted sports economist Andrew Zimbalist, who's built his career on studying sports monopolies, agrees that Shurtleff (along with, I suppose, his friends in Congress) has a case, because, "There is no doubt that the BCS is a near monopoly" due to unequal access and, especially, unequal payouts. Stunningly, University of Oregon president David Frohmeyer, chair of the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee and a former Oregon attorney general his own self, disagrees: "I am convinced that an antitrust suit would be utterly without merit."

In the meantime, Shurtleff -- who claims he was stonewalled by simple requests for information -- is issuing subpoenas for materials and statistics to present to other attorneys general at their national meeting in June, where he'll make his pitch to bring other states on board. This is going to have a long, complicated life.

• Useless tragedy. Lewisville (Texas) police arrested and charged an 18-year-old man Tuesday night in last week's murder of outgoing North Texas safety Germaine Dawson, whose violent demise went somewhat under the radar -- my eyes are not tuned to headlines including the words "North Texas," but I don't recall seeing it reported anywhere in the week between the shooting and the arrest.

Dawson, who didn't make much of a splash as a player but was on target to graduate in May and was reportedly active in a local Big Brothers Big Sisters program, was on his way to sell marijuana, according to his girlfriend, and wound up with multiple gunshot wounds to the head in an auto repair parking lot along the side of the Interstate. The accused likely faces life in prison. Read court documents here, courtesy the Dallas Morning News.

• Scouts in a candy store. Rey Maualuga off the top rope!

(Nice shoes, by the way)

All of USC's starting linebackers helped themselves out at the most star-studded "pro day" of them all, with Maualuga (who didn't have such a hot combine in February) and Clay Matthews turning in strong 40 times and Brian Cushing solidifying his mid-round status, probably to the Saints with the 14th pick. All eyes, though, were on Mark Sanchez, who was accurate, drew comparisons to Matt Ryan and even drew effusive praise from Pete Carroll, who seemed determine to erase the cold shoulder he gave his now-former quarterback in January.

And at UCLA? Le sigh ... Ben Olson just can't catch a break.

• I can't tell if we're awesome or if we suck. The eternal quandary of spring practice: When one side of the ball succeeds in scrimmages, by definition, the other side is failing. Take Florida State, where the lately moribund Seminole offense spent the first half of the week spreading the field and taking Mickey Andrews' defense to school, including two 70-plus-yard touchdown plays on Wednesday. Is Christian Ponder's steady development in the pocket a just cause for optimism, or has the 'Nole defense deteriorated to the point that even the lame 'Nole offense can have its way. I think you already know what Mickey Andrew thinks.

Quickly ... Greg McElroy is Alabama's top quarterback after the Tide's first scrimmage, and Joe Cox is the clear No. 1 at Georgia. ... Individual losses at Tennessee: Brandon Warren loses No. 1, Gerald Jones loses his role in the 'G-Gun' and Brent Vinson loses the rest of his spring. ... I don't think "flop" is the right word to describe Florida's championship encore in 2007, though a repeat with the returning roster in '09 would be. ... Injuries threaten the career of Florida State lineman Will Furlong. ... Oregon's second practice under Chip Kelly was more business-as-usual than the first. ... Economic woes hit Kansas' employee ticket policy. ... Quarterback Chris Forcier, who decided last weekend to transfer to UCLA, is looking to the Hoosier State for a new school. ... Quarterback Jarrett Brown is off to a strong start for West Virginia. (Bill Stewart thinks so, too). ... Ron Zook's breaking news at Illinois. ... Tim Brewster's just asking for a mass arrest at Minnesota. ... And introducing Steve Sarkisian's daily top five.