Urban Warfare

December 23rd, 2010 at 4:06 PM ^

Your reading is overbroad.  OSU actually does take compliance pretty seriously.  They built a 10' fence around the Woody Hayes practice facility to keep agents and boosters out of the area.  They require basketball players to live in a specific dorm on campus to reduce the chances that bookies or whoever can try and approach a player.   They do tons of workshops on compliance, so I don't think it's a failure to promote compliance or an atmosphere of non-compliance.

I think Not a Blue Fan has it right when he thinks that the compliance office didn't get into the details of whether individual awards and rings can be sold, or whether they are technically university property, etc.

I agree that they should be suspended, and that the suspension should include the bowl game.  The one good thing about the Sugar Bowl is that if the players have a strong performance, it might push them into going pro rather than coming back.  Pryor, I'm looking at you.

Joined: 09/28/2010

MGoPoints: 1691

Section 1

December 23rd, 2010 at 1:12 PM ^

and Tressell.

This was just stupid shit, by a very few players.  Handled appropriately by OSU.  This is not a strike against Tressell.  There's no competitive advantage, no competitive impact, nothing with grades or academics, no big money involved, no recruiting impact.

Player suspensions are the right punishment.  Five games actually sounds pretty harsh to me, but that's based only on my limited info.

Here's one thing about this that I don't like.  Reading 11Warriors yesterday, Pryor was swearing a blue streak (just a phrase I picked out of thin air) "that [he] paid for [his] tattoos."  Pryor sounded angry; indignant.  Maybe Pryor has a defense.  Maybe Pryor is a huge liar.  I'll give him the presumption of innocence through his appeal process and a chance to be heard.

One other thing.  This all came out of an IRS investigation of the Tattoo artist, as far as I know.  That artist may be claiming to agents, that he didn't get cash payment for lots of work, so no taxes are owing.  (Or that he did work in trade for autographed paraphernalia, which has a lower value than what the IRS now claims is subject to a tax liability.  In any event, there's bound to be a motivated witness against the players.

Joined: 06/29/2009

MGoPoints: 16535

Feat of Clay

December 23rd, 2010 at 2:18 PM ^

Frankly I think it's ridiculous.  It's almost half a season that these players have to miss.  For getting something that they couldn't sell or share, via barter instead of a payment.  Using nothing more than their signature.

I get that it's a violation, and no one needs to lecture me about a slippery slope.  But for god's sake, five games?  When at other schools you can physically assault someone and hardly miss a thing?

I think they are getting a raw deal.  And while I thoroughly dislike OSU, I can't celebrate them getting nailed for this, not to this degree.

Joined: 08/10/2009

MGoPoints: 3759

SFBlue

December 23rd, 2010 at 1:17 PM ^

Actually agree with much of what this guy says.  This is some petty bullshit, it could have happened anywhere, and is not on the head coach. 

Not so sure I would be as quick to dismiss the prior contributions of TP and Herron, however.  Those guys are a big part of why tOSU has been to three straight BCS games. 

Joined: 11/02/2009

MGoPoints: 15699

Wolverine3927

December 23rd, 2010 at 1:40 PM ^

The OSU AD admitted that they failed to educate their players properly about this, but the players still should have known right from wrong.  The reason the school is guilty is because they allow a culture on non-compliance (see all the secondary violations they've racked up over the years).  It was never proven, but we all remember the smoke around Pryor's recruitment with the Corvette.  Do you think he ever thought that receiving money or gifts for his celebrity was wrong? 

Joined: 08/28/2009

MGoPoints: 41

bdneely4

December 23rd, 2010 at 2:21 PM ^

Dude, If you are coming to MGoBlog to find allies and comforting words, you have come to the wrong place.  The NCAA ruling is what it is and when it is all said and done, the University is who always gets the blackeye.  The fact of the matter is, Pryor has not made many good decisions on and off the field since he has been at Ohio State.  You can make all the excuses you want about the players, but in the end the University always suffers with the bad press.

Joined: 01/06/2009

MGoPoints: 13932

SFBlue

December 23rd, 2010 at 1:33 PM ^

Part of me is struck by the stark unfairness in how much money in TV revenue the Big Ten brought in from TP et al.'s efforts in playing in the Fiesta Bowl, etc., while the players themselves are scraping by, selling the meager tchotchke's they receive as their split of the spoils.  Sure, they get an education for free and a shot at NFL riches, but these are benefits that pay off (if at all) in the long run, while the conference gets its $$$ upfront. 

Joined: 11/02/2009

MGoPoints: 15699

Other Chris

December 23rd, 2010 at 12:18 PM ^

On the one hand, you're a broke college student and broke college students sell anything -- books, plasma, sperm, I will go no further but let's just say I knew fellow students who were  "exotic dancers" in my time -- so this is totally not out of the ordinary.  On the other hand, it is so easy to trace back to them and having overheard David Moosman on the 36 bus to campus one day telling freshman they absolutely must not take offers of free sides at QuickieBurger because that's extra benefits, how could they have not known this was a problem?

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 1219

repole

December 23rd, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^

The exotic dancers you knew were likely trying to pay their way through college, these kids are already having that done for them. The necessities are covered for them, there's no NEED to go sell every other thing to try and make a few extra bucks. I entirely understand why that may be appealing, but it's just not the same as a kid trying to work their way through college.

And just to be clear, I'm as big of a believer as anyone in paying these kids extra and that they deserve a piece of that NCAA pie.

Joined: 04/03/2010

MGoPoints: 359

Other Chris

December 23rd, 2010 at 12:45 PM ^

One was trying to pay off a bunch of tickets including  reckless driving without daddy finding out. Everyone can have these unbudgeted expenses aside from tuition and room and board.  I'm not trying to moralize on the actions or the reasons for them, just the stupidity of doing something so easily traced back.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 1219

El Jeffe

December 23rd, 2010 at 2:01 PM ^

It's actually a really interesting question for Pryor. On the one hand, he'll have at least 8, if not 9 (assuming they win the Legionnaire's Disease Division or whatever it's called) games to prove himself, but I almost wonder what more he could demonstrate to pro scouts that he hasn't already demonstrated.

I mean, I think he's convincingly demonstrated that he can't be a pocket passer, so that leaves gimmick QB, which I think it's pretty clear he could pull off. If he's going to be drafted as a TE or WR, then he certainly won't display that in games 6-14 of 2011.

Balance all that against the probability of injury, and I think you've got a pretty convincing case for him to go pro. I guess the looming lockout will, um, loom large.

Joined: 07/07/2008

MGoPoints: 27314

OSUMC Wolverine

December 23rd, 2010 at 2:38 PM ^

If he stays, when he does come back there will be timing issues, snap issues...think of all of your typical first game crap going on mid-season....other teams will eat that up.  Pryor has a tendency to crack at times anyway...just imagine this added frustration.

He will make a fine TE for someone.  Could go to the Eagles and be the new front man for the dog fighting on the local scene.

Joined: 09/06/2008

MGoPoints: 4403

DPUblue

December 23rd, 2010 at 2:40 PM ^

I actually think this has a bigger impact on Posey and Adams not coming back next year.  Both those guys have the insane measurables to move on to the next level and it really serves them no purpose to sit out 5 games (assuming the suspensions hold) and "prove themselves" when they've essentially peaked at the college level.  Why sit on your hands for 5 games when you could get paid in the NFL.  Their draft status won't improve next year, so why not bolt now?  

TP is a different story though.  I know he's said he's coming back next year, but that was before this.  His draft status can still increase.  However, if he has a phenomenal bowl game and his draft status goes to Everest, then there is no reason for him to stay.  

Joined: 01/09/2009

MGoPoints: 1011

catatomic

December 23rd, 2010 at 3:22 PM ^

While college football isn't a business, televising college football is.

Bowl Ratings = Ad Rates = $$$

Without going too indepth into the media planning at the Disney•ESPN Media Networks, here's the short version: If projected ratings don't equal actual ratings, then the rate charged for ads won't have the media penetration promised and the network has to provide "makegoods," which are essentially free ads at a later date, which is your future inventory that you now cannot sell... if you have less things to sell because you had to give some of your things away for free = you make less money. That goes for the local affiliates too, which have a slice of the minutes/hour to sell as local inventory ... you know, the terrible car dealership and lawn equipment ads that are specific to your city.

So there's lots of pissed off people, the sponsors, the network, the conference, the fans who traveled to the game, the local affiliates... but not so much the advertisers, because they negotiated a rate based on eyeballs on the TV. If the eyeballs aren't there for the Sugar Bowl, that's alright, they'll get 'em later during a college basketball game in mid-January.

So they let them play this year and avoid upsetting the apple cart. Then next year, ESPN can schedule around the OSU games no one is going to watch and the ad rates are protected. Everyone is happy!

Let's be honest, less people were going to watch a Sugar Bowl missing Terrelle Pryor and the Swag-Sellers™ gang, right?

I absolutely love college football, but all this NCAA (Cam Newton) and BCS (Sugar Bowl) nonsense is embarrassing and corrupt. It's all about the money, and you can tattoo that on your arm, because it's a fact.

Joined: 01/14/2009

MGoPoints: 130

esipp

December 23rd, 2010 at 12:13 PM ^

The players are eligibile for the bowl game because the NCAA determined they did not receive adequate rules education during the time period the violations occurred, Lennon said.

So because OSU did a bad job educating their players, they get rewarded by getting to play in the bowl game as opposed to a less impactful/profitable game next year? Ridiculous.

Joined: 07/01/2008

MGoPoints: 815