Coming off Tuesday's entry about the potential for a medical hardship and another year of eligibility for Stafon Johnson, Hebron Fangupo and Marshall Jones, here are some clarifications and corrections about the rule, straight from the USC compliance office:

• The NCAA doesn't rule on medical hardship waivers. These waivers are submitted to the Pac-10 Conference.
• Postseason bowl games are not included in the calculation.
• Hardship waivers cannot be submitted until the season is completed.
• The medical hardship doesn't give an extra year of eligibility in the sense that it extends the five-year clock; it essentially replaces the season used when the injury occurred, but the student-athlete still must use the extra year within five years of initial enrollment. The clock extension is required to use a season after the five-year clock has expired. Jeff Byers, Josh Pinkard and Hershel Dennis all received clock extension waivers from the NCAA to grant the sixth-year on the clock in which they could use the fourth season of eligibility. Some missed entire years due to injury so they didn't get hardship waivers for each year.
• The student-athletes don't apply for the medical hardship waivers; the institution has to file the request on the student's behalf.