A Day After Stephen Garcia is Kicked Off the Gamecocks, Here Come the Point Shaving Rumors

"Garcia told The AP in a text message Tuesday that he was “shocked and completely flabbergasted to be honest” by the dismissal. He said he would have a full statement later in the week."

Interesting. So if his dismissal wasn’t substance-abused related, what was it about? Rumors have been swirling all morning that it allegedly involved point-shaving against Navy. There’s little or no evidence that has surfaced yet, but Steve Fezzik, a moderately famous gambler (he’s won the Hilton Contest twice), tweeted about it, and specifically noted that the South Carolina-Navy line plummeted by 2.5 points on the Saturday morning of the game (from 17 to 14.5).

Against Navy, South Carolina struggled at home – Garcia was 18-for-25 with a pick – but ultimately won, 24-21, due to a late stop by the defense. It seems like a massive reach to connect Garcia to anything (though people really are trying). Perhaps the line went down because Alshon Jeffery, one of the country’s best receivers, was punished for breaking a team rule and didn’t get the start?

As they say in the newsroom, developing …