Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Where's The Outrage & Holy Crap - What a Finish!!

I Hate To Lead With This…

Mary Lou Simon, et al, Should Be Facing Charges, Prosecution and at the Very Least, Relieved of Their Duties

Michigan State has some serious explaining to do.  If you haven’t been following the 4-day sentencing hearing for Nassar, you should be. 
Frankly, I’m surprised he’s still alive.  I question the outrage of parents of these girls (now numbering 98 victims with another 150 victims suing MSU) and I’m wondering why more aren’t screaming for heads of the enablers that were all part of this Nassar Mess at MSU.
Sandusky, in comparison, had 11 known and proven victims.  Where’s the Law?  Where’s the NCAA?
The NCAA and the legal ramifications for PSU are still being felt and the the penalties and payments to victims exceed $250M.   Estimates are that MSU could be facing quadruple that, over $1 BILLION when all lawsuits are settled!!!   That’s Michigan Taxpayer money, folks.   
Again – Where’s the Outrage?
ESPN’s Outside the Lines has finally done a great expose on all of this.  Most of what follows is excerpts of that article, but it is linked below if you have a lunch hour to read and absorb it.  In summary:
Where’s the State of Michigan and the State Prosecutor issuing warrants and filing charges against everyone that knew anything about this guy?  President Simon needs to be at that top of that list, followed by:
John Geddert:  Preeminent Club Gymnastics coach that was in Nassar’s wedding.  Manipulative coach that worked from an anger position and would steer victims to Nassar.  In exchange, Nassar on several occasions pleaded with parents of gymnasts not to file charges against Geddert for physical abuse
Kathy Klages:  MSU Women’s Gymnastic coach that ignored many of her team’s complaints about Nassar “Stretching their pubic area” to make them more flexible.  She cited that these were “medical procedures” and told her gymnasts not to be concerned.  And he did this without gloves and at one point removed his trousers, and the victim could confirm his apparent arousal.
Destiny Teachnor-HaukSoftball trainer that received several complaints from players regarding Nassar and his “Pubic Invasion” and told the softball players not to worry about it. 
William Strampel, MSU’s Dean of Osteopathic Medicine:  Received multiple complaints and suspended Nassar from doing any “Treatments” in 2014.  Later told Nassar he had to “Wear Gloves and have a chaperone in the room” when administering treatment.  He also turned the matter over to MSU’s Title IX team.  (Strampel, like a lot of the rats on the USS Sparty (sinking ship), has retired under a medical condition as of December, 2017)
The university's police department opened a criminal investigation. The university's Title IX department interviewed four experts to evaluate the complaint, all of whom had ties to Nassar.
Among the four was Dr. Brooke Lemmen, a fellow physician who was viewed by colleagues as a close friend and "protégé" of Nassar's. She told the Title IX investigators in the spring of 2014 there was nothing sexual about the treatment Nassar administered. The other three experts agreed with her opinion and decided that the complainant didn't understand the "nuanced difference" between the medical procedure and assault.
(Brooke Lemmen has also resigned from MSU under pressure.) 
Lemmen’s Opinion/Conclusion: Didn’t understand the difference between medical procedure and assault. 
Really?
Where’s the Outrage?
Douglas Dietzel, Nassar's immediate supervisorDidn’t know about the additional restrictions put on Nassar and let him continue to abuse girls after the spring of 2014
Steve Penny – CEO and President of USA Gymnastics:  Continued to try to hide and cover up Nassar’s activities…
Nichols' case is believed to mark the first time USA Gymnastics officials received a report about suspected abuse by Nassar. A day after Jantzi's report about what she had overheard, Nichols' mother, Gina, received a phone call. It was from Steve Penny, the president and CEO of USA Gymnastics, who started the conversation by saying: "I understand Maggie has some concerns," Gina Nichols says.
"He never once said, 'Is Maggie OK?'" Instead, she says, Penny told her, "We need to keep this quiet. It's very sensitive. We don't want this to get out."
(Penny has also resigned from his roll as CEO and President of USAG)
Where’s the Outrage?
Who else should be charged or otherwise dismissed from their positions at this point?
Simon – MSU President & Hollis – MSU AD:  For failing to monitor and oversee the Athletic Department & Lack of Institutional Control 
By My Count:  That’s at least 7 MSU enablers that should be facing prosecution at this point.  In addition to a lack of institutional control at MSU that the NCAA should be investigating as well.  This is about the safety of student athletes, something that MSU ignored for over a decade.  And a total of 9 people (with probably more) that enabled the Nassar pedophile and gave him an environment to get away with his crimes for 25 years. 
If one of my daughters had been a victim of this guy, you can bet I’d be going after the entire University with Feiger, Bernstein, and any of the other ambulance chasers that would take the case.
Where’s the Outrage?
I can’t in good faith ignore it any more, especially after what Penn State went through.  This is orders of magnitude greater with respect to the enabling environment with everyone involved at MSU and the knowledge of what this guy was doing. 
Orders of Magnitude
Where’s the Outrage?
File Under:  Games That Michigan Would NORMALLY (Probably) Lose
It’s kind of unfair to say Michigan would normally lose.  Any team that plays it’s arch rival and upsets them on their floor that has to come back and play ANYONE with a pulse is going to be upset fodder.  That’s basketball.
Michigan was playing the classic trap game on Monday night.  A game that was scheduled against an elite B1G team that needed a big Road Win to keep their NCAA Tourney hopes alive.  A game that was taking place a little over 48 hours after Michigan got home from East Lansing.
Yep, a tough game on short rest.
And the first half looked exactly like that.  Michigan was a team that looked tired and was missing more than half the shots they were taking.  The Crisler crowd sat in stunned silence and everyone was thinking the same thing:  If you can’t beat Maryland, the victory over Sparty wouldn’t be worth much
Michicgan scored the lowest points in the first half of the entire 2017-18 season and went into the locker room down 10, 30-20.  And they were lucky to only be down 10.
I don’t know what Beilein says to guys at half time.  But someone should be recording his half time talks and putting them on tape because coaches across the land would pay big money to hear whatever it is he’s saying.  Michigan came out in the 2nd half and immediately closed the 10-point gap and tied the game at 33.  In 14 minutes, Michigan scored 41 points.  Compare that to the 20 that was scored in the first half. 
Poole came off the bench and is proving why he was such a highly valued recruit. Simmons got in the act and Livers was being Livers.  And finally, Michigan was leading by 10 with 4 minutes and change left…
And then they weren’t. 
Maryland scrappily closed the lead and Michigan continued to miss free-throws, which at some point is going to be a big problem
And then Michigan let Maryland’s Three Point Shooting Phenom Heurter launch one from 3 feet behind the arc that he nailed. 
Michigan was suddenly down 1 in a game that they should have wrapped up at the charity stripe, with 4 tics left in the game.
And then Livers fired an inbound pass ON A ROPE from the baseline past the half court line (which NEVER WORKS) and somehow MAAR, who I think should be playing wide receiver for the football team, hauled in the pass and, instead of shooting, drove aggressively towards the hoop.  Beilein would comment in his presser on seeing MAAR catch the pass and start dribbling that, “That’s when I knew we were going to win the game.”
MAAR was laid out by one of Maryland’s defenders and was going to the charity stripe.  While the team huddled, MAAR just walked away and stood at the line with this look on his face:


That is the look of “Ice Water In His Veins”.  MAAR, who was one of the players that struggled in the 1st half, calmly launched his 999th point into the hoop on his first shot.  And then, just as calmly, launched the 1000th point of his career into the bottom of the net!  (I really shouldn’t use the exclamation point as there was no excitement on MAAR’s face.  Just execution.  Just do it.)
To say this was a “coming of age game” is, frankly, an understatement.  Youth exploded off the bench and was led by the quiet confidence of the junior and senior leadership of Wagner and MAAR. 
If you’re not watching this team this year, you’re going to be really sorry come Tourney time and how deep you take Michigan.  This is a team that is simply getting it done right now with more upside to come. 
Coach Turgeon would state in his presser after the game:  (similar to Painter from Purdue)  “This team is impossible to guard.  Especially with Wagner.  You can’t guard him.” 
Tomorrow at a surging Nebraska will be another test, but it should be fun!
All Game Highlights
Games  – Dates – Time – Result - Record
Illinois(H)                  January 6th               Noon                          WON  79-69              14-3
Purdue (H)                January 9th               9:00 PM                     Lost    70-69              14-4
Sparty (A)                   January 13th              Noon                          WON  82-72              15-4
Maryland (H)            January 15th            6:30 PM                     WON 68-67               16-4
Nebraska (A)             January 18th              8:00 PM
Rutgers (H)              January 21st             Noon
Purdue (A)                 January 25th              7:00 PM
Northwestern (H)    January 29th            7:00 PM
Minnesota (H)          February 3rd             2:30 PM
Northwestern (A)      February 6th              6:00PM
Wiscy (A)                   February 11th            Noon
Iowa   (H)                   February 14th           6:30 PM
Suckeyes (H)           February 18th           1:00 PM
PSU (A)                      February 21st            7:00 PM
Maryland (A)             February 24th            Noon
Domers Just Lost A Bunch of Guys…
Things like this TRULY WARM MY HEART on cold Wintery days!!! 
Stepherson is the big name, but the frosh and soph running backs are probably going to hurt just as much if not more for the Domers. 

Marijuana, shoplifting and more or less idiotic behavior by these knuckleheads.  I guess part of that “we have to recruit smarter and better kids” mantra looks a little less convincing at this point.  

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