Ryan's Hope extinguished


Defending national champion LSU may have trouble getting out of the starting blocks in the race for the 2008 Southeastern Conference championship.

LSU coach Les Miles announced Friday that quarterback Ryan Perrilloux has been kicked off the team for failing to ''fulfill his obligation as an LSU student-athlete.''

Frankly, this development is about as shocking as reports that Mardi Gras revelers are known to drink large quantities of alcohol. Perrilloux, who served as the backup to Matt Flynn last season, had repeated disciplinary run-ins throughout his college career. He was suspended last summer after being caught trying to enter a Baton Rouge casino with fake ID and was suspended again for skipping classes, missing a team meeting and being tardy to offseason workouts.

It took a fair amount of courage for Miles to make the move he did. Perrilloux can play. He completed 51 of 75 passes last season, including eight touchdowns and two interceptions. Had he not run afoul of Miles' rules, he would have had the inside track to being the starter for a sure-thing top-five team.