Two LSU Players Ineligible for Sugar Bowl

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) _ LSU running back Shyrone Carey and long snapper Steve Damen were declared ineligible for the Sugar Bowl because of unspecified rules violations. <br><br>No. 2 LSU (12-1) will play

Tuesday, December 23rd 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) _ LSU running back Shyrone Carey and long snapper Steve Damen were declared ineligible for the Sugar Bowl because of unspecified rules violations.

No. 2 LSU (12-1) will play No. 3 Oklahoma (12-1) for the Bowl Championship Series title on Jan. 4.

Carey began the season as one of the team's two main running backs, but his role diminished after he missed four games with a knee injury.

Center Ben Wilkerson has been long-snapping in practice and others, including backup Gant Petty, can handle the assignment, coach Nick Saban said.

Saban would not disclose what Carey and Damen did, but he said they must understand the consequences of their actions.

``They've been warned about these types of things in the past. I'm sure they feel worse about it than anybody,'' Saban said.

``Everyone else is doing what these kids did. These kids are human beings. They are held to a higher standard and have a lot of rules, relative to what they can and can't do relative to a bowl game.''