Put me in the camp of folks who believe that--if Sales truly did not possess the drugs and it was just a driving offense (albeit a serious one), then Marrone should not dismiss Sales from the team. Rather, I believe that this is a situation where Sales' punishment should be a suspension from camp until September and ineligibility for reinstatement until after the Rhode Island game. No chance for gaudy stats against a 1-AA opponent. Meanwhile, no punishment of the TEAM by losing a key player for the Big East portion of the schedule. Reasons? #1, I am not aware of any other crimes or misdeeds. Being a lazy player or poor practicer is immature, but not a poor reflection on the program itself. #2, I consider this a first offense, as is the case with DC3. As a more serious compilation of offenses, loss of games is necessary though. #3, this is a situation involving a brother. We are ALL more lenient with family. How many family members would turn in a brother with drug or criminal issues? It's not like his brother murdered someone and the police were looking for the body. Instead, it was more of the victimless crimes that we all overlook. Pot? C'mon... raise your hand if you ever saw someone smoke pot and reported it to the police? Raise your hand if you knew someone in college that sold pot? Did you report it? So let's be careful to start drawing conclusion regarding morality. We all have out comfort zone for looking the other way... even if we shake our head. #4, now... if Sales is guilty of more than just the driving offenses, then game over. He knew the rules. Life is tough. I am not going that far. You cannot break the law and expect the privileges of playing. #5, A 2-game suspension is significant. If Lemon/Chew/West step up... Sales may have to beat them out to get PT. Losing camp, he would be behind. Of course, if Chew gets dinged up again, that would open the door for Sales to step in late in the season, just like last year. That benefits the team. #6, I am not a big believer in the kick everyone out mantra. Part of being a disciplinarian is fixing a player or young man. If there is the potential to get Sales on the right track, that is more impressive than simply casting him off to a doomed future. If Sales is unfixable, then so be it. That is HCDM's call. First offense, shame on you. Second offense, shame on me. #7, This program now has expectations. 4-8 without Mike Williams was an improvement. 6-6 without Sales is a step back. This is not a 4th string OL... this is a key player. Keeping Sales helps everyone... the 95 guys that did not break the law. Maybe Williams helps Paulus land a free agent QB job in the NFL? Who really got punished there? Maybe Sales helps keep Chew healthy or opens up holes for Bailey. Big picture. #8, see Notre Dame.