Recent Revelations Are Doubly Troubling

Now I know how the Yankees felt going against Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. Every time you look around town these days, athletes are on their second strike.

The latest repeat lapse in judgment belongs to UCLA running back DeShaun Foster, who was declared ineligible for Saturday’s game against Oregon because of a possible NCAA “extra benefits” violation.

The word is that he was driving an agent-provided car. Wonder if he had it hooked up with the 20-inch rims--or that other fashionable UCLA car accessory, a disabled-parking placard.

Last year Foster was cited for possession of marijuana. (Less than an ounce; he’s no Nate Newton.) Trouble with the law, now trouble with the NCAA. In the broad scope of things, this latest is worse because it doesn’t affect only him. The Bruins were struggling enough even with one of the best players in the country in their backfield. Now they’re supposed to try to beat the Associated Press’ seventh-ranked team without Foster.

Meanwhile, we found out that the Clippers will wind up playing at least six games without Lamar Odom, who was suspended for the second time in eight months for violating the NBA’s drug policy. The Clippers put him on the suspended list Wednesday, a procedural move that allows them to replace him on the roster with someone else. It also means he must sit out at least five games, beginning with Wednesday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, in addition to the game he missed Monday night as part of the league-imposed five-game suspension.

So two of this town’s brightest young athletic stars--and two of the local sporting scene’s nicest guys as well--are in trouble. So much for sports playing the relief role, providing us an island of escape in a more turbulent world. Apparently, that all ended when winning run crossed home plate in Game 7 of the World Series. We now return you to the regular scroll of shortsighted baseball owners and athlete transgressions.

Like Odom, Foster is hurting his teammates the most. So much for UCLA’s diminished bowl prospects. The Bruins probably will feel grateful to go to a bowl at all. This season’s going downhill faster than Picabo Street.

Just about everything has gone wrong. First a horrendous half of football at Stanford. Then various injuries and an emotional drop-off at Washington State. Finally the looming specter of the NCAA.

This is some farewell gift for UCLA Athletic Director Peter Dalis. Maybe he’s getting out at the right time. These days, an NCAA or Pacific 10 investigation is never more than an e-mail away. It’s not that there are more eyes out there watching, it’s that there are more eyes with Internet access.

He spent the summer dealing with Internet-fueled allegations against Steve Lavin’s basketball program that were not substantiated. Now someone dropped a dime on Foster and the football team. Oh, for the good old days of Sam Gilbert.

Actually, what I miss are the days when the problems were caused by the likes of Dennis Rodman and Isaiah Rider. At least then you could write them off as questionable people doing questionable things.

You never hear a teammate or coach say a bad thing about Foster and Odom. You’ve seen the way Foster’s offensive linemen run to congratulate him after he scores a touchdown.

He never tried to hog all the glory when the Bruins won, he took responsibility when he fumbled.

I guess we’re all learning, again, that good guys aren’t necessarily impeccable guys.

Sure, we make the mistake of holding athletes to higher standards. We all make goofs and oversights. I got a letter this week and found out I was about 56 hours away from getting my power turned off because I forgot to pay my electricity bill.

But these stars have to operate under the knowledge that they have more at stake. If Foster’s past two games didn’t take him out of Heisman Trophy contention, this incident would have done it. Odom might have blown a possible $80-million-plus contract by smoking a joint.

There’s a difference between messing up and knowingly violating rules. These were choices. Bad ones.

And the fans are paying the price. We won’t get to see Odom go against Vince Carter when the Toronto Raptors come to town Nov.16.

And how about the prospect of a UCLA-USC game the next day without Foster and Trojan running back Sultan McCullough, who is still bothered by an abdominal muscle injury? Although the early reports were that Foster would be out only one game, you never know.

Maybe I’m just imagining a worst-case scenario. Maybe by now that’s what we should expect.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at: j.a.adande@latimes.com