Boise State star Ian Johnson weds girlfriend

So for any girl growing up as a sports fan, watching Ian Johnson propose to his girlfriend Chrissy Popadics after scoring the two-point conversion for a victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl was pretty darn romantic. She was completely shocked and completely thrilled.

For those of you that were under a rock during the last bowl season, here’s a video clip to get you up to speed.

Boise State on ABC World News

While we live in a country of many great freedoms, one being the choice to marry whomever we wish it is unfortunate that there are some who can’t see beyond color of skin. In case you couldn’t tell in the above video, Ian Johnson is black and his new wife is white.

It was reported on Wednesday that Ian Johnson had hired security for his wedding because he had been receiving threats in the form of letters and phone calls from people who objected to their marriage.

In my opinion, Johnson handled the matter beautifully. His comments were straight to the point and well said.

“You take it for what it is — the less educated, the less willing to change,” Johnson, 21, of San Dimas, Calif., told the Idaho Statesman for its Tuesday editions. “But we’re not acting like we’re naive to all the stuff that’s going on. We know what’s been said. We’re going to make sure we’re safe at all times. It’s an amazing day for us, and we’d hate to have it ruined by someone.”

“It’s really sad because a lot of people that are probably doing it are the same people who were cheering me on,” Johnson said.

Their wedding which was held yesterday at Cathedral of the Rockies United Methodist Church in Boise went off without any problems and they began their ceremony with a prayer to end prejudice.

How beautiful is that? A couple that has been harrassed by those objecting to their wedding, harrassed by the media for comment was able to rise above and pray for those who, for a lack of a better word, were their enemies.

They ended their ceremony with the African tradition of jumping over the broom to symbolize their new life together.

Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, best of luck and God Bless.

Sooners to forfeit 2005 season

Last August Oklahoma starting QB Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman JD Quinn were dismissed from the team after it was discovered that they had been paid for work they did not perform at a local car dealership. A walk-on player Jermaine Hardison was also paid for work at the dealership as well as for his participation in a scrimmage and the spring game.

The NCAA led an investigation and has declared that the Sooners “demonstrated a failure to monitor” the employment of several athletes, including some football players who worked during the school year. The NCAA said that failure led to the university not detecting NCAA rules violations.

The Sooners went 8-4 and beat Oregon in the Holiday Bowl to end the 2005 season. Records from that season involving quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn must be erased, the NCAA said, and coach Bob Stoops’ career record will be amended to reflect the erased wins, dropping it from 86-19 in eight seasons to 78-19.

Oklahoma challenged the investigation saying that the NCAA should commend the school’s actions to root out violations instead of investigating them.

The NCAA has ultimately decided that Oklahoma must erase its wins from the 2005 football season and will lose two scholarships for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years.

Oklahoma plans to appeal the ruling and has 15 days to inform the NCAA of any appeal.

Complete details of the story can be found here.