Thursday, August 23, 2018

Meyer Gets 3 Games, Transfer Rules & More


MeyerGate Ends…Or, Perhaps Its Karma’s Beginning?

In typical "Scandal Fashion" (late night report out), we have a verdict.  And that verdict is kind of a joke…

But, if you believe in Karma, you should be tickled pink!  Because, as I’ve always said, KARMA’S A BITCH!

First, the details of the suspension:

Meyer out for three games in a continued administrative leave without pay. 

Smith out from August 31 through September 17th, without pay.

Next, the statements, The Lies, THE COVER UP and other facts from the Investigation (ALL EXTREMELY LAME!):


The suckeye Prez probably had the most impactful statement with regards to stating what sounded like, “Some of you will think the punishment is too harsh, while others will believe it’s not nearly enough.”  I personally go the impression that Drake wanted to can both Smith and Meyer, but he was more or less standing there with his hands tied. 

I have to believe any University Prez in today’s #METOO environment would have lobbied for firing with cause.  And I can only imagine what the few liberals in Columbus will do when the time comes…

Drake said the board wanted to take its time to be as thorough and equitable as possible, knowing it would not be able to please all parties with the decision.
The MMQ’s Take:  More than half of the people on the Board of Trustees want to keep these lying SOB’s on staff.  I couldn’t even get them to agree to at least fire Smith…
"We worked to refine our decisions and our actions to be able to do the best we could to achieve those goals," Drake said. "It's a very difficult and complicated situation."
The MMQ:  I agreed to go along with this three-ring circus even though I know EXACTLY the right thing to do.  But I was beat down every time I tried to do the right thing.  You try being a Prez at a “Football First University”…
White said the investigators conducted more than 40 interviews and reviewed 60,000 emails, 10,000 text messages and relevant reports from media and police. That information led the board to believe that "the handling of this matter did not exhibit the kind of leadership and high standards that we expect."
The MMQ:  Everybody involved in this “situation” pretty much all fucked up…
Investigators also found that upon learning about accusations made by Courtney Smith in an Aug. 1 report from college football reporter Brett McMurphy, Meyer and a fellow football staffer discussed how to adjust the settings on Meyer's phone so that text messages more than a year old would be deleted. When investigators examined Meyer's phone, they did not find any message more than a year old but said they were unable to tell when Meyer adjusted the settings on his phone to get rid of older messages.
So – let me get this straight:  Meyer purposefully made efforts and successfully DELETED TEXTS that were one year old?  And that’s not a cover up to hide a lie?
Question to “The Distribution” as I know there’s a lot of techy types that read this:  Can’t deleted texts be recovered?  Didn’t “Kwame’s Lasting Lessons” teach us that? 
Is finding these deleted texts the next McMurphy Digging Expedition?
"While those denials were plainly not accurate, Coach Meyer did not, in our view, deliberately lie," lead investigator Mary Jo White said. "... Coach Meyer impressed us with his sincere commitment to the 'respect for women' core value that he espouses and tries to instill in his players."
NOW let me get THIS STRAIGHT:  the Investigators are LYING for Meyer stating that HE DIDN’T LIE?  How much more comical can this get?
Urban Meyer denied knowing about the text messages Courtney Smith sent to his wife in 2015, but the independent investigators concluded that "given the closeness of their relationship and Shelley's concerns, we believe it is likely that Shelley and Urban Meyer had at least some communication about these allegations in 2015 and were concerned about them, although both had doubts about the credibility of Courtney's claims ..."
Well, at least the Panel saw through the veil of BS that Meyer never knew that Shelly got a text with photos.  They at least recognized that their own credibility would be compromised if they didn’t acknowledge that fact.  But they conveniently hid behind the “CREDIBILITY” of Courtney’s claims, even though she had marks all over her body…Nice.
"We cannot logically square Coach Meyer's responses on Big Ten Media Days broadly denying knowledge of the 2015 events regarding Zach Smith with his extensive knowledge of those events in 2015 and the evident knowledge of AD Gene Smith of the 2015 events reflected in the group text message of July 23 and July 24, 2018 sent to Coach Meyer," investigators wrote in their report.
This one, this STATEMENT OF BEAUTY, has to be my absolute favorite.
"We cannot logically square. 
What the hell does that mean?
The Investigators now KNOW that Meyer blatantly lied because Gene Smith in fact TEXTED HIM the evening before Media days and Meyer STILL LIED THAT HE HAD NO KNOWLEDGE!!! 
Question:  What exactly, besides losing to Michigan, does a guy have to do to get fired in Columbus?
There’s a lot more and I’ve read the 23-page report.  It’s sickening that educated people, people that are supposed to be objective and arrive at logical conclusions came together in what can only be described as a “knowing conspiracy” to more or less save the most successful coach, in wins and losses, that the suckeyes have ever had.  The report, in its entirety:
Yes, there is some supporting evidence that Meyer in fact didn’t have information about 2015 (or was simply LYING AGAIN!) and that he asked for “guidance” on how to address the press during the B1G Media days…
Anyway, Meyer’s statement was equally lame, and he never apologized to Courtney.  Even given another opportunity to apologize directly to her in the follow-up questioning, Meyer didn’t acknowledge her.  Whether or not that was necessary is opinion, but it would have at least been a caring mention or gesture to the “victim” here, depending on the storyline you’re believing at this point.
Every talking head, writer and blogger is lambasting the suckeyes right now, and they should be, rightfully so.  There was a clear path here if you wanted to stay on the moral high road.  Without question, they have knowingly and willingly protected a proven liar. 
The suckeyes chose the other path…that could lead to oblivion.
Wins in Football (at osu) are bigger than firing a lying, established, successful coach that created an enabling environment for a sexual pervert and domestic abuser. Plain and simple.
But when the suckeyes downfall begins (and it will!) it will be fun to watch the suckeye faithful begin to bitch and moan and then collectively yell, “Why didn’t we fire this SOB when we had the chance?”
Parents of players will certainly think twice before letting their student athlete attend osu. 
The death spiral has begun.  It might be slow, but it has begun.
Into The Morass of the NCAA Transfer Rule…

It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad…What price victory?  What price player safety?


The NCAA is getting laid to waste, as is Texas A&M and Jimbo Fisher this week with respect to a linebacker, Marchiol, that decided he’d seen and done enough at Texas A&M.  Marchiol had been recruited by Sumlin and decided to follow his coach Sumlin to Arizona and play for him. 

Santino Marchiol has alleged that:

1.    Texas A&M Coaches gave him money on two different occasions to entertain recruits on unofficial visits.
2.    Texas A&M coaches were present at what were supposed to be “Player only” workouts
3.    Texas A&M players violated the “8 hours per week” spring practice rule, practicing and working out from 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM
4.    Alleging that Texas A&M Trainers forced him to practice on an injured foot (in 2017)

So, Marchiol did the sensible thing and hired former Shea Patterson attorney Mars to lead his fight against losing a year of eligibility.  Marchiol more or less sang like a bird and isn’t ashamed to bring A&M down as a result.

Part of me hates that the players have to do this.  But at the same time, I get that if a player is losing a year of eligibility to get away from a toxic situation or worse, a situation where he’s losing playing time, why not bring everyone down with you?  What’s worse:  What if other transfer desires start making stuff up about programs they’re leaving in order to get immediate eligibility?  I mean, why not? 
Those are the new ground rules!

It only makes sense from the player’s perspective.


Where this should get interesting is how far the NCAA goes into investigating A&M.  If they do find improprieties, I’m guessing a lot more Athletic Departments decide to tell the NCAA to reduce the restrictions on transferring even further to the point that free transferring and not losing a year of eligibility will become the norm. 

Only makes sense. 

No one wants to be a squealer, but at the same time:  If I’m getting screwed, I’m taking you down with me…

And What If A&M Decides To Fire Fisher?

A&M really stuck their PeePee out there with Fisher and don’t have anything to fall back on.  Fisher got the Sweet-heart-iest of deals when he signed at A&M. 


If Fisher is fired without cause at any point, all the buyout money will come from Texas A&M, according to a copy of the agreement obtained Wednesday by USA TODAY Sports.
In a departure from many college coaching contracts, Fisher would not be required to seek new employment – and if he did, the income would have no impact on what Texas A&M would owe him.
Making the agreement even more favorable to Fisher, if he terminates it without cause, he will have “no financial obligation to the University.”
Jeez…No wonder Fisher had to take the deal!  Even Harbaugh and Meyer owe their respective universities $500K and $2M if they chose to terminate, so there’s some pain involved. 

So anyone thinking that the Jimbo Fisher Era is over before it even got started due to a couple of paid unofficial recruiting trips and some illegal practices…think again!

Which, make you think, between Maryland, the suckeyes and A&M: 

How has The Beast gotten so far out of control?

With College Gambling Legal In Multiple States…

It’s time we all brush up on what it takes to be a smarter bettor!  I like Bud Elliot, even though there’s MANY TIMES I don’t agree with his picks.  If anything, I sort of use Bud as a contrarian pick as he sees things through a different color lens than I do.  The FMQ results weren’t outstanding last season ($763 in the BANK – Down $234), either, but I’m always ready to learn. 


This is where this article by Bud provides some insight.  Why he didn’t offer (or maybe he did) up a couple of these “Hedgy” type bets in early spring is beyond me.  Anyway, check out the article, study it, and I’ll see if I can’t put some of Bud’s practices to use for the FMQ.

One of Bud’s bets that he did get down is as follows:

NC State and Georgia Tech to win the ACC (+$6,000 each): This is nothing but a hedge opportunity. I project these teams for second or third place in their divisions. So why bet? Well, the gap between the odds for FSU and NC State and between Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech is too large. NC State draws Virginia and North Carolina as its opponents from the Coastal Division, likely an easier cross-division pairing than either Clemson or FSU get.

This was a great wager as I’m sure the price on those bets come way down as we approach Saturday Kick-off.  Assuming the odds dropped to even $4,000 (for a $100 bet), you could in theory throw $4,000 down on the other side of the bet and be into the bet completely neutral for a chance to win $2,000.  That’s a bet I can always live with.  $0 money out of my pocket (at the end of the season) for a shot at $2,000 ($6,000-$4,000 = $2,000).  Granted, you have to tie up a big chunk of change for the season, but if you have the means, you’re now seeing an easy way to make some dough.

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