Blogging with the Devils

Dennis Erickson

He was named Arizona State’s football coach before Christmas, and his five-year deal was approved by the Arizona Board of Regents in March, but Dennis Erickson’s contract became a public document less than a month ago.

That is because Erickson did not sign it until then.

Such delays are not unusual in college athletics, as coaches and their agents/attorneys make sure that all of the fine print is to their satisfaction. ASU baseball coach Pat Murphy did not sign the new five-year contract he received last summer until March. On June 13, more than five months after agreeing to an eight-year, $32-million deal, Alabama football coach Nick Saban finally put his signature on the dotted line.

The 29-page ASU contract, signed by Erickson and school president Michael Crow on June 11, is available for download here. The nuts and bolts are the same as reported when the deal was submitted for the regents’ approval: Erickson earns a guaranteed $5.6 million in salary, with bonus incentives based on the Sun Devils’ victory total, grade point average and graduation rate.

There’s nothing resembling the plethora of perks in Saban’s deal, which includes personal use of a non-commercial airplane for 25 hours a year. However, $5.6 million can buy Erickson a lot of first-class tickets.

I used to be heavy into sports video games, having completed two 162-game baseball seasons (plus spring training and the playoffs). And if you don’t think that is a remarkable gaming achievement, try it sometime.

Next to High Heat Baseball, which is, sadly, no longer with us, my favorite game has been EA Sports’ NCAA Football series, which will deliver its latest installment, NCAA Football ‘08, on July 17.

The NCAA series has a big following among ASU fans, so as a public service, here’s a look at what some of the top online gaming sites — IGN, GameSpy, Team Xbox, GameSpot, Game Informer, GamePro, 1up.com and GameDaily — are saying about the upcoming edition.

Many ASU fans, I’m sure, would say that this is the great commandment for those playing as the Sun Devils in NCAA ‘08: On fourth down, if you are trailing by a touchdown or more in the final minutes of the game, don’t punt.

As for me, the time I spend on the job and helping raise two boys has limited my video-game exploits to 20-minute-or-so sittings, which means I’m primarily playing the Atari 2600 found in my parents’ storage closet last year. Yars’ Revenge, baby.