Bush Proves to Be More Elusive Than Ever

He has spent the last three years sprinting away from opponents, rendering them dusty, bloody and face down.

Is Reggie Bush now doing the same to USC?

Will his last official act before signing a professional contract be the defacing of his college program?

There are still many unanswered questions about a controversy that has performed a sudden Bush-like somersault across the sports landscape.

But this much is clear:

* His parents lived, for a year, in a house owned by a businessman attempting to secure Bush as a client.

* Bush has refused to answer questions as to whether they paid rent.

And USC, despite no apparent involvement, could end up a victim.

While Bush is making big money in the NFL, the Trojans could lose big money in the future because of NCAA sanctions.

While Bush streaks into the pro spotlight, USC is left with the scuff marks.

We often read the sad tales of universities exploiting athletes for profit before discarding them like threadbare socks.

But if allegations that Bush received what the NCAA calls "extra benefits" prove correct, tell me again, who's using whom?

"Mad at Reggie Bush?" Pete Carroll asked me Tuesday during a phone interview. "Why would I be mad at Reggie Bush?"

Oh, I don't know.

Maybe because Carroll constantly warns his players about the danger of premature involvement with agents?

Because Carroll does all but literally chase these agents off campus?

Because Carroll has worked hard to build that rare dynasty that follows the rules?

"I'm on my kids at every turn, every day, doing whatever I can to keep outside influences from clouding their thought processes," Carroll acknowledged.

Mad at Reggie Bush? Maybe the Trojan family should be.

Some say there is no way a college kid could know the finances of his parents' living arrangements.

"Think back to when you were in school, did you know how your parents paid the mortgage?" Carroll asked.

Of course not. For me, for the longest time, mortgage was only a word written on the back of a Monopoly property.

But being the most famous college athlete in the country, Reggie Bush is different.

For a year his parents lived in a huge house owned by businessman Michael Michaels, who fancied Bush as the client who would help him launch a San Diego-based sports agency.

Bush wouldn't have wondered why, and how, his parents were suddenly loading up boxes?