MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Players testing positive for marijuana in the mighty Southeastern Conference do not face the one-year suspension that comes from getting busted by the NCAA. In the most successful league of the BCS-era, players routinely get third, fourth and even fifth chances before they're booted from the team; failed drug tests administered by the NCAA result in the automatic suspension. The finding comes from an Associated Press examination of the drug policies at 11 current members of the SEC. Vanderbilt, a private institution, declined to make its rules available. [continues 1303 words]
Judith Janis got the news upon returning home from Colombia on Feb. 13: Her husband's plane had gone down while she was en route. "It was 36 hours before we knew anything, and that was a horrible 36 hours," Janis said Thursday. Thomas Janis, 56, and Colombian Army Sgt. Luis Cruz were shot and killed near the crash site by rebels, and three other Americans are being held hostage. The identities of the deceased were released Monday by John Walters, director of White House drug control policy. [continues 224 words]
