CBB
Armageddon - The FBI Follows The Money
College Basketball will
never be the same. And I hope that in
fact is a good thing. This could change the entire collegiate sports
landscape and we may finally get past this asinine idea that college
athletes are “amateurs”. There
are plenty of people interested in paying players, and the FBI is figuring that
out for the NCAA.
In a shocking
story that unfolded yesterday, the FBI announced the arrest of 10
individuals, 4 assistant coaches from USC, Auburn, Oklahoma and Arizona, an Adidas
high level exec, a prominent AAU Coach and various agents for financial fraud
and bribery. Anyone among the readers a lawyer or know more about the law than
the MMQ? Why wasn’t there a RICO
Charge? Doesn’t all of this fall
under the heading of a “Racket”?
Anyway, it also made very
clear that three other universities, Miami, South Carolina, and Louisville were involved in shady dealings as
well. One deal specifically involved
Louisville landing heralded 5-star recruit Brian Bowen via a $100,000 payment
to associated parties (AAU coach, parents, etc.) in 4 installments that took
place in May of this year, about the same time Stripper-Gate was coming to a
close and sanctions were handed down to Louisville and Pitino.
Of course, Rick Pitino is
again “SHOCKED” that this happened on his watch! And
I think you all know how I feel about slimy Rick Pitino.
Hey Rick, you know
what? I don’t think it matters that you
did or didn’t know at this point. If your AD Jurich doesn’t have the balls to lop
your head off, the NCAA has ample evidence at this point to step in and shut Louisville
down for either A. Paying a recruit to
come play or B. Your lack of
institutional control. I’ll
patiently wait to see if the NCAA and Emmert (Who should also be canned
if these kind of shenanigans are going on under his nose and he has no
clue about it) give Louisville the death penalty as advised by Louisville native Pat
Forde (Link).
But, the NCAA
is known for backing off the Big Time programs that generate television revenue and
eyeballs to screens. Shut
Louisville down for a season and that’s a lot of dough you’re kissing goodbye…
How deep will all
of this go? DEEP. 10 people are facing jail time in
Federal “Pound Me In the Ass” penitentiaries. And the FBI left it wide open, and I quote:
“Because the affidavit is being
submitted for the limited purpose of establishing probable cause, it does NOT
INCLUDE all of the facts that I have learned during the court of the
investigation.”
The FBI and acting US
Attorney Joon Kim also advised: “If you yourself engaged in these activities, I’d encourage you to call
us. I think it’s better than us calling
you!”
You can BET that they’ll
be some singin’ in rooms with single light bulbs regarding who else might be dirty in
all of this…Pop the corn and sit back and watch. Also expect every AD across the country is spending
the next day or two with his hoops coach and coaching staff asking a LOT OF
QUESTIONS.
Wetzel has a
pretty good take on what could happen based on his discussion with now infamous
Myron
Piggie, another former AAU Coach that was charged with essentially the same
thing in April, 2000, and chose to serve time rather than snitch. He believes the coaches and others will talk.
No
AC? And NO X-Ray Machine?
In what would
be bush league for the MAC, Purdue apparently didn’t do anything with
their visitor locker rooms during the multi-million dollar renovation. Harbaugh went off on Monday “Pretty Hard”,
even for Jimmy, regarding the sanitary conditions, trainer’s table and lack of
basic necessities, including AC.
Harbaugh had the 1st stringers sitting on a bus in AC to help
keep cool during half time as temperatures in the visiting locker room were a
stifling 110 degrees.
Purdon’t not
only played dirty, but tried to create an un-level playing field by failing to
meet the most basic locker room needs. Not
Classy, Boilers, not classy. Of
course, this is a school in Indiana…Should we really be all that surprised?
O’Korn
Gets Even
Tony Levine, the Head
Coach at Houston
while O’korn played there, was also the coach that benched O’Korn in his
Sophomore season. This was AFTER O’Korn was the AAC Player of the Year as a Freshman! Needless to say, O’Korn was elated to get into
the game opposite his former coach and have a great game. 270 yards and 3 scoring drive led by O’Korn
kind of “rubbed a little salt”.
O’Korn stated
that Coach
Harbaugh had to “Talk me down after the first couple of series.” God for O’Korn. Revenge is a dish best served cold…
PS: Another reason O’Korn played so much better
than the last time we saw him against Indiana last season? Indiana was a driving snow storm and in the
mid 30’s. O’Korn is a Florida kid. Methinks he plays better in the heat…
Sparty
Game Time is Prime Time
In case you HAVEN’T heard:
The worst kept secret or un-surprising announcement of all time: Sparty Michigan game time is 7:30 PM. Meaning a full day shot and a late evening
before getting home. Whateva’.
How
Bad IS the SEC?
If you’re a fan
of statistics, they’re pretty bad. With
one exception, Duh. But everyone else underperforming
to the SP+ Power Rankings have dragged the SEC down to last place, with
regards to Statistical Performance and expected outcomes.
How
Bad ARE Things In Mizzou?
Pretty bad.
I mentioned about enrollment being at an all-time low and now Residence
Life has figured out a way to offset a $5M deficit from having to close 7
residence halls: Rent Dorm Rooms
during home games. Yep, you read that right. For $120 a night, you can rent a Dorm room
during a home football game.
Mizzou is going into some dangerous territory…Can you imagine a bunch of
20-year old fans wanting to drag booze into the dorms for a throw back party?
The
Climb – Part IV
Dr. Sap’s
continuing saga of the 20 Year Anniversary of the1997 Championship Season. They’ve all been great reads! I hope you’re able to follow:
Also – I know
Woodson is the Honorary Captain for the suckeyes, but has anyone in the collective heard
ANYTHING about bringing this team back for a 20 Year Reunion?
I know I should
know, but I have not seen or heard anything.
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