Homeless player still ineligible while Florida coach returns to field

A homeless football player in Florida has been declared ineligible days after the coach who housed him returned to action following a one-game suspension. Now St. Cloud (Fla.) High is fighting the Florida High School Athletic Association to get the player reinstated.

 

Bill Buldini, St. Cloud's first year coach, was suspended for one game during an FHSAA investigation into why he provided free housing to one of his players, whom he had discovered was homeless. After the school learned Buldini was housing a player it self-reported the FHSAA violation, and Buldini was unable to coach while the association investigation the situation.

According to OrlandoSentinel.com, that investigation moved far enough along that Buldini was allowed to return to action for the Bulldogs' 27-18 victory over Evans (Fla.) High on Friday.

That's not the case for the player involved, who has been indefinitely ruled ineligible, according to the St. Cloud athletic director.

"[Buldini is] our football coach and the player has been ruled ineligible," St. Cloud athletic director Chad Ansbaugh told OrlandoSentinel.com. "That's really all I'm allowed to say about it right now. We're appealing [the player's eligibility], but that's the current situation. ...

"Any appeal we do will be on our student's behalf."

While St. Cloud would like to get its ineligible player back on the field, it's likely that the program will have to wait a full month before any chance for that emerges. According to the Sentinel, the FHSAA is unlikely to hear his case before its next Section 1 Appeals Committee meeting, which is Nov. 7.

"The FHSAA is currently looking into the situation," an Association statement on the St. Cloud investigation read. "As per FHSAA policies, the Association cannot comment on any open or ongoing issues. There is no timetable for when this matter will be resolved."

By Nov. 7, the Bulldogs will only have two remaining games (at Harmony and Gateway High Schools), with the homeless player forced to miss four more games before the likely hearing date. That would bring the players total missed games to six, more than half of the Bulldogs' full schedule.

While the FHSAA might uncover something that indicated foul play in its investigation, it's also entirely possible that it would not, which would mean that it punished a homeless player for more than half a season essentially just for being homeless. That hardly seems fair. Given the circumstances, a more expeditious hearing would seem like a wise choice for the FHSAA, though there's no indication that is likely, or even possible.

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Carney boots game-winner for team he helped coach last season

The NFL's oldest player made the NFL's biggest kick in week four. What makes it all the more amazing is that 46-year old John Carney(notes) helped win the game for a team he helped coach last season.

Carney was signed by the New Orleans Saints last season to replace second-year kicker Garrett Hartley(notes), who was serving a four-game suspension. He performed so well in Hartley's stead that he stayed on as kicker after Hartley returned. But a late-season slump forced coaches to cut Carney and install Hartley as the kicker.

It paid off. Hartley's 40-yard field goal in the NFC Championship game sent the Saints to their first Super Bowl appearance. Once there, Hartley became the first kicker in the game's history to kick three field goals of 40 yards or longer. He owed a lot of that success to the man who he replaced.

Instead of looking for another job after he was cut in December, Carney stayed on with the Saints to serve as a consultant for Hartley. The young kicker, who became a New Orleans hero after that kick against Minnesota, credit Carney for aiding in the team's success.

"John has honestly been a tremendous support," Hartley said last January. "He's someone that I can just lean on."

This year, Hartley was the Saints starter and Carney spent his time away from the team, hoping for another chance to make it in the NFL. When Hartley struggled -- he missed a chip-shot 29-yard field goal that would have given the Saints a win over the Atlanta Falcons last week and also missed two kicks in the nationally-televised season opener against the Minnesota Vikings -- Saints officials didn't have to go too deep in the Blackberry address book to find his replacement.

After Hartlet's miss, Carney got a call immediately after the game and was signed early in the week. On Sunday, he went three-for-three in the Saints one point win over the Carolina Panthers. His field goal with four minutes left was the deciding factor.

They say you can't each an old dog new tricks. But John Carney proves that an old dog can still do the same trick pretty well.

Related: Garrett Hartley, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints

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