South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia can’t seem to stay out of trouble.

For the fifth time since coming to South Carolina in January 2007 and the second time this spring, the Gamecocks’ QB has been suspended – only this time it’s indefinite according to USA Today. The university isn’t saying why they’ve suspended him, but Garcia told the AP that it wasn’t because of any arrests, nor was it drug or alcohol related.

So let’s see: No drugs, no alcohol, no arrests. Outside of academic cheating or low grades, what else could a college athlete be suspended for? (Check that – I don’t want to know.)

Actually, it doesn’t really matter what he was suspended for this time. I’m all for giving people second and even third chances, but considering this is the fifth time that Garcia has been suspended, maybe Steve Spurrier should just give him the boot for good. There comes a time when it’s obvious that a person is just taking advantage of his or her situation because they know they won’t be held accountable for their actions. If this was a one-time thing, the program should reach out and offer its hand. But five times? He’s been suspended five times? See ya.

Of course, that’s easy for me to say when I don’t have to worry about competing in the SEC. Garcia threw for 3,059 yards and 20 touchdowns in 14 starts last year, leading the Gamecocks to a SEC East title. If Garcia were done for good, sophomore Connor Shaw would have to shoulder the responsibility of running South Carolina’s offense. There’s no question that losing Garcia would be a blow to the Gamecocks’ chances of competing again next season.

Years from now, when people look back on 2010, what will they remember as the defining sports moment? Uh, they can only pick one? We discovered that Tiger Woods likes to play the field and that Brett Favre doesn’t mind sending pictures of his anatomy to hot sideline reporters via text message. We found out that LeBron listens to his friends a little too much and that Ben Roethlisberger needed a serious lesson in humility. But we also learned that athletes such as Michael Vick and Josh Hamilton haven’t blown second chance opportunities (or third and fourth chances in the case of Hamilton). It was also nice to see a certain pitcher turn down bigger money so that he can play in a city that he loves.

We’ve done our best to recap the year’s biggest sports stories, staying true to tradition by breaking our Year End Sports Review into three sections: What We Learned, What We Already Knew, and What We Think Might Happen. Up first are the things we learned in 2010, a list that’s littered with scandal, beasts, a Decision and yes, even a little Jenn Sterger.

Contributors: Anthony Stalter, John Paulsen, Paul Costanzo, Drew Ellis and Mike Farley

Tiger Woods gets around.

We hesitate to put this under “golf” because the only clubs involved were his wife’s nine-iron hitting the window of his SUV and the various establishments where Tiger wined and dined all of his mistresses…over a dozen in all. This was the biggest story of the early part of the year, but it got to the point that whenever a new alleged mistress came forward, the general public was like, “Yeah, we get it. Tiger screwed around on his wife. A lot.” He has spent the rest of the year attempting to rebuild his once-squeaky clean image, but it’s safe to say, we’ll never look at Tiger the same way.

LeBron wilts when his team needs him most.

Say the words “LeBron” and “Game 5” in the same sentence and NBA fans everywhere know exactly what you’re talking about. In the biggest game of the season, LeBron looked disinterested, going 3-of-14 from the field en route to a 120-88 blowout at home at the hands of the Celtics. There were rumors swirling about a possible relationship between LeBron’s mom and his teammate, Delonte West, and there’s speculation that LeBron got that news before tipoff and that’s why he played so poorly. Regardless of the cause, LeBron played awful in that game, and it turned out to be his swan song in Cleveland as a member of the Cavaliers. Talk about leaving a bitter taste.

You can auction off your talented son’s athletic abilities and get away with it.

The NCAA set a strange precedent this season while dealing with the Newton family. The always inconsistent and completely morally uncorrupt NCAA decided in its infinite wisdom that despite discovering that Cecil Newton shopped his son Cam to Mississippi State for $180,000, and that is a violation of NCAA rules, that Cam would still be eligible because it couldn’t be proven that he knew about it. Conference commissioners and athletic directors around the country spoke out about the decision, while agent-wannabes and greedy fathers everywhere had a light bulb go off in their own heads: As long as we say the player doesn’t know about it, it could go off without a hitch. What was Cecil’s punishment in this whole thing? Limited access to Auburn for the last two games of the season. Easy with that hammer there, NCAA. Read the rest of this entry »

Check out Rams’ running back Kenneth Darby get leveled by an official during St. Louis’s loss to the 49ers on Sunday:

Of course, that officials’ hit had nothing on this guy:

Top 25 vs. Top 25
No. 25 South Carolina at. No. 4 Florida, 3:30 PM ET CBS
After they were shocked by Ole’ Miss and turned in a lackluster performance in a win over Arkansas, the Gators trounced LSU, Kentucky, Georgia and Vanderbilt in convincing fashion. Nothing against the three teams ranked higher, but Florida might be the best team in college football right now. Tim Tebow has resurrected his Heisman candidacy after rushing for five touchdowns and accounting for 424 total yards in the Gators’ 51-31 win over the Gamecocks last year. But Steve Spurrier’s squad has been one of the hottest teams in the nation over the past couple of weeks. The rotation of Stephen Garcia and Chris Smelley at quarterback has lifted South Carolina and the defense has played inspired. This is a better matchup than most think, although it’s highly possibly that Florida could roll with how well they’ve played over the past month. Expect the Gators to use this as another statement game leading up to their huge battle with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game December 6.

Upset Watch:
No. 16 North Carolina at Maryland, 3:30 PM ET ABC
The Terps have clearly been a different team at home than on the road where they’re 4-0 and averaging 25.5 points per game as opposed to 1-3 and 11.75 PPG on the road. Maryland has also won five straight against ranked opponents the past two years and still control their own destiny in the ACC Atlantic. Three wins in their final three games would send the Terps to the ACC title game, which is amazing considering this was the same team that got drubbed 31-0 by Virginia. If Maryland is going to pull off the upset they’ll need to get Da’Rel Scott and Davin Meggett going in the running game because putting the ball in the air against the Tar Heels is a risky proposition. UNC has one of the best ball hawking defenses in the nation and has forced opponents into mistakes all season. If the Terps play things close to the vest offensively and rely on their defense to win the game, an upset could be in the making.

Other notable games:
Mississippi State at No. 1 Alabama, 7:45 PM ET
It’s highly unlikely the Tide lose focus against a 3-6 Mississippi State team, but the Bulldogs did pull off one of the better upsets of the year when they crushed previously No. 13 Vanderbilt 34-3.

No. 3 Texas at Kansas, 12:30 PM ET
The Longhorns try to keep in the national title hunt while the Jayhawks look to end the season as quickly as possible.

No. 10 Georgia at Auburn, 12:30 PM ET
This is one of the more underrated rivalries in the SEC.

South Carolina vs. Florida
Florida is considered one of the hottest teams in college football, as they have won their last five games by an average of 39 points. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier would love to knock off his alma mater out of this year’s BCS championship title hunt. And he will try to defeat the Gators by rotating quarterbacks (Stephen Garcia and Chris Smelley) on every offensive play. The rotation system did not seem to bother either quarterback in last week’s 34-21 victory over Arkansas; they combined to throw for 219 yards with two touchdown passes and only one interception. It will not matter how well the QB duo performs if the Gamecocks defense cannot contain Tim Tebow, he accounted for seven touchdowns in a 51-31 victory at South Carolina last season. National coverage will begin Saturday at 3:30 PM on CBS.

UFC 91: Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight Championship Title
The main event of UFC-91 is a classic example of two contradictory styles going against one another, as Randy Couture puts up his heavyweight title against Brock Lesnar at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Lesnar is still untested as a fighter, as he going into only his fourth MMA fight this Saturday night. Couture is unstoppable coming into matches where he is an underdog with a 9-1 record. Lesnar is bigger, stronger, faster and hopes to neutralized Couture’s Greco-Roman wrestling style being a former NCAA wrestling champion himself. Couture has out-muscled larger opponents in his career and expects his experience to come into play in this fight. He hopes to avoid the takedown by moving side-to-side and using his hand speed and quick legwork to neutralize his opponent’s superior strength. If Lesnar can take Couture off his feet, the question will become: Can he keep him on the mat? Pay-per-view coverage will begin Saturday at 10:00 PM

Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins
The Dallas Cowboys hope the return of quarterback Tony Romo to the starting lineup will provide a spark and help them get a “W” in the win column this Sunday night in Washington. Since winning their first three games, the Cowboys have dropped four of their last six games and likely will need to win at least five of their final seven games to hopefully be considered for a playoff spot. Injuries could have a large role in determining if the Washington Redskins make the playoffs. They may have to go the rest of the season without running back Clinton Portis, who is second in the NFL in rushing with 995 yards. He injured his knee at the end of the first quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks ago and has not returned to the lineup. National coverage will begin Sunday at 8:15 PM on NBC.