You have to hand it to Norfolk State: while they might not be a sports powerhouse, their athletes keep finding new ways to get publicity (and in this age, notoriety is just as good as fame). First you had the two track athletes who were arrested for firing guns at a resort during Spring Break, and then trying to hide the guns by burying them at the beach - the perfect thing for little Timmy to find when he’s digging for seashells.

But now the VIRGINIAN-PILOT has a story which might trump that: a starter on the men’s basketball team and a women’s volleyball player, were among a group of six students arrested in connection to a string of motel robberies in the Norfolk area. And if that’s not enough, the volleyball player, freshman Jourdan Ellison, told police that she and another female student were used as bait to lure unsuspecting victims to their doom:

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When I went out to the beach for Spring Break in college, I packed a carload of supplies. Mostly it was case after case of Pabst Blue Ribbon, plus the usual assortment of beach supplies, snack food and maybe a change of clothes. One of the things I never thought to bring were guns - unless they were Super Soakers (probably to be filled with Pabst Blue Ribbon for some asinine drinking game).

But Norfolk State track athlete Carlton Phipps apparently is a bit more thorough in his packing than I was. Because the VIRGINIAN-PILOT reports that he has been suspended by the team after he and former teammate Raymond Brown allegedly caused a panic at a Daytona Beach resort this weekend by firing their semi-automatic weapons into the air at 3:30 in the morning.

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Tailgating is big business. Two week ago at Giants Stadium, I saw a custom-made RV with a fold-out barbecue pit and walk-in refrigerator in the luggage compartment. But that’s the pros. Yoy might even pay to tailgate at a big college football game. But how much would you pay to tailgate at a Norfolk State football game?

(She’s gonna cost you a little more than $100.)

Yes, the Norfolk State Spartans, those 3-6 juggernauts of the 1-AA MEAC conference, are charging $100 a car and $125 an RV just to crack open a few brewskis in the parking lot before a game. That doesn’t even include a ticket to the game. The only recourse for fans is to try and drink $100 worth of Natty Ice to offset the fee. That’ll end well.

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