Tater

May 26th, 2011 at 5:28 PM ^

It's great to see that the Ohio media have decided to actually report and investigate the program instead of simply obeying the Scarlet Wall of Silence and being shills for the team.  I refuse to believe that any sports reporter who has worked Columbus for even one football season doesn't know how corrupt they are.  

Now, it appears as though editors have given the green light to reporters to put the TSIO football team under the proverbial microscope.  They are going to find a lot of bacteria and parasites.  

samber2009

May 26th, 2011 at 5:34 PM ^

"Similarly, Tressel’s sterling 9-1 record against Michigan would be a middling 5-5 mark if adjusted to reverse games won with headline players (Clarett in 2002, Troy Smith in 2004, Terrelle Pryor in 2009 and 2010) who were in violation of NCAA rules at kickoff of those games against the Wolverines."

I know we'll never know what would have happened, but this statement just pisses me off to no end.  

Hurricane

May 26th, 2011 at 6:41 PM ^

It's numbers like these that raise my blood pressure.  Years of agonizing over a football game each year and hearing coworkers rub my nose in the result should never have happened. Ugh it makes me want to throw up.

MichiganPhotoRod

May 26th, 2011 at 9:34 PM ^

Michigan is above all of that.  Michigan must strive to win no matter who is on the field for the other team.  Think of it this "what if" way: Had Michigan beaten the nuckbuts even with ineligible players, think of the 8,000 pound elephant that would be sitting on that extra tid-bit.

BRCE

May 27th, 2011 at 4:03 AM ^

If it makes you feel any better, it's not true. OSU could have beaten Michigan last year with its third-string quarterback.

I normally eat all this anti-OSU stuff up, but Hooley is a bit much for me. Columbus's version of Rosenberg.

 

Tater

May 26th, 2011 at 5:46 PM ^

I wonder if the radio station that fired Hooley for his "anti-Tressel statements" two months ago had any idea what they were unleashing on their beloved Buckeyes?

psychomatt

May 26th, 2011 at 5:59 PM ^

Every article Hooley has written on this subject has been spot on. And it truly is stunning that the power brokers at OSU still somehow believe that keeping Tressel is a net positive. As Hooley points out, OSU has become a national laughingstock. What Tressel and the players did was wrong, but by merely slapping Tressel on the wrist with a 2-gameday suspension and a fine that did not even equal his performance bonuses last year, the institution is damaging its "brand" in a much more serious and permanent way.

WolverineHistorian

May 26th, 2011 at 5:51 PM ^

"The clear message Ohio State is sending by retaining Tressel, despite the lying Ohio State admits he engaged in, is that winning — even if it requires cheating — is preferable to playing by the rules."

Amen!

Njia

May 26th, 2011 at 6:00 PM ^

That no matter what happens, tOSU administration would rather go down with the ship than cut the anchor loose. That can't look good to the NCAA. But, knowing the NCAA's appetite for clubbing a high profile program (none) I don't expect much of anything from that group but a lot of hot air.

Maizeforlife

May 26th, 2011 at 6:11 PM ^

The NCAA needs to be careful.  Their reputation is as much on the line right now as OSU's.  With all of the scandals hitting the airwaves at once, the association is looking pretty crooked as a whole.  The worst part about the whole thing is the attitude of non-surprise from everyone.  These scandals could significantly hurt the cash cow for a lot of  people.

Blazefire

May 26th, 2011 at 10:00 PM ^

Would be not only to give OSU a bowl ban, but also restrict them from BCS bowls for as long as anyone associated with the volations is employed there, seeing as Tressel and staff worked so hard to keep inelligible players plyaing for their most recent bowl game.

I'd love it!

"Sure, after two years, you can go back to a bowl.... As long as it's the Minikee Auto Care Bowl".

BigE

May 26th, 2011 at 6:05 PM ^

I used to want us to be the ones to knock them off their pedistal, not the NCAA.  Not anymore.  As new revelations roll in almost daily and Smith and Gee refuse to even slightly retract their support for Tressel I now see that the whole institution is crooked.  

"The clear message Ohio State is sending by retaining Tressel, despite the lying Ohio State admits he engaged in, is that winning — even if it requires cheating — is preferable to playing by the rules."

Burn 'em to the ground!

Maizeforlife

May 26th, 2011 at 6:09 PM ^

This story is why I want to beat them so badly whether Tressel is the coach, or not.  I don't have one bit of respect for his resume.  Everything this man has accomplished is tainted with the stain of cheating.  He is a liar, a cheat, and a complete phony.  I lack even the smallest amount of respect for this man (which I hesitate to even call him one.  A man has dignity). 

MGoCooper

May 26th, 2011 at 6:12 PM ^

"The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just." -Abraham Lincoln

This is the quote I always tell my students about doing the right thing. I think it applies to the Athletic programs in this country that refuse to  hold them selves to a higher standard. As I've stated before, I'd rather finish 0-13 and running my program the right way. What message are we sending High School players across the country? I'm truly worried about the state of this game that I love dearly.

There's a famous moment in English history, in which St. Thomas More is speaking with Cardinal Wolsey. The Cardinal tells Sir Thomas that a "man must some times dirty his hands with iniquity to serve the greater good." Sir Thomas being a man of impeccable morals, dipped his hands into a nearby bucket of water and said "I deal with the spiritual element, it wants not for corruption, and never leaves a mark." Granted, in a business like College Football has become, morals would appear to be few and far between.

Farnn

May 26th, 2011 at 6:10 PM ^

I'm starting to wonder if my doubts that anything major would happen to OSU were wrong.  I know that usually the big money makers don't get hit that hard, but with the national coverage of this thing, and how dirt keeps coming out, it seems the NCAA may be forced to come down hard.  They have said of late they want to get tougher, and they denied USC's appeal, so maybe some tangible punishments will come of this.  Although I still feel that OSU may just be setting up Tressel as a fall guy and kick him to the curb once everything is out to lighten their penalty.

foreverbluemaize

May 26th, 2011 at 7:45 PM ^

Personally I think the vest must have something on some of the higher ups. Why else would he still have a job. While any other University would have already named a new coach, there is no sign or hint that he may be out. That being said I hope they don't fire him. Imagine how great it will feel when even though they cheat they still can't beat Hoke.

Hugh Jass

May 26th, 2011 at 8:24 PM ^

I work with a couple of tsio wonks who have let me have it for the last few years, it is nice to see them sweat now and avert their eyes when I walk by (insert smily face here)

Wolverine 73

May 26th, 2011 at 8:33 PM ^

Sooner or later, this is what will stick a fork in Tressel. Hooley has bluntly called out the administration and the board: Just what sort of purported legitimate academic institution stands for this sort of behavior?  Herbstreit and Spielman get it.  It's amazing the people who run the joint haven't figured it out.

Bobby Boucher

May 26th, 2011 at 8:33 PM ^

I bet they retain Tressel because he's solid gold in Columbus but fire everyone else around the program because they are expendable and didn't do what they were supposed to do, perform a successful cover-up

Bighousemike84

May 26th, 2011 at 10:46 PM ^

I am getting the feeling that the major jist of the SI story is going to be a comprehensive look at the misconduct that has been committed up to this date and the possible consequences of those actions. We are all phsycing ourselves up for some big revelation that will finely blow the lid on this barrel but I dont think we are going to get what we want.

 

And really, even with another big bombshell I cant imagine that THE Ohio State University would quit now. I mean if they have stuck to there guns for this long then why stop now? Why give them the satisfaction? This is just terrible for college football and I am so very glad that I am a fan of a school that has a much better defined sense of integrity, honesty, and sportsmanship.

rockydude

May 27th, 2011 at 1:12 AM ^

Does it seem to anyone else like the way that Tressel weaseled the game suspension later in order to let the TatGate 5 play in the bowl game is likely to cause the NCAA to stick it to them even worse? To me, it makes it seem more like they are thumbing their noses at the rules. At the exact time that Tressel needs the NCAA's support, I'd think that would make them even more antagonistic towards him. Kind of a, "we worked with you and trusted you, and you burned us" thing. . . .

Seth9

May 27th, 2011 at 1:39 AM ^

This article sounds like it was written by a Ohio version of Drew Sharp. While both Tressel and OSU deserve all the crap they're getting for how dirty the program has been, the article includes multiple fallacies (such as saying that Tressel's record against Michigan to 5-5 because they would have lost without certain players who should have been inelligible), fails to even acknowledge arguments in favor of the university on things like Maurice Clarrett's allegations against the school, and simply tries to be as inflammatory as possible.

Seth9

May 28th, 2011 at 12:42 AM ^

First of all, Pryor wasn't inelligible by rule in 2009 based on what we know thus far. And Clarrett and Smith are stretches too. So the only game on that list should be 2010 if you are simply looking at inelligible players and counting games with important inelligible players as losses.

But even if we include all the listed games, it remains highly unlikely that Michigan wins in 2009 or 2010 even if Pryor didn't play. I say this because OSU killed us by stifling our offense and shredding our defense on the ground. I'm reasonably comfortable saying that '02 and '04 would have been wins if Clarrett and Smith were out, but not '09 and '10 for Pryor. So that's a 7-3 record for Tressel, rather than 5-5.

Now, I personally believe that OSU has been dirty as hell throughout Tressel's tenure and that we would have a much better record against OSU this decade if they had followed NCAA rules. But it has yet to be proven that OSU regularly cheated throughout the decade. Therefore, the assertion that Tressel's record against Michigan was inflated by cheating is questionable, and stating such an assertion as fact through an outlet that heavily caters to OSU fans is as inflammatory and pointless as any Drew Sharp article.

benjamin

May 27th, 2011 at 7:58 AM ^

Please provide a brief summary of the article when you make posts like these.

If you have time to create the post, you have time to add a 2 sentance summary.

superstringer

May 27th, 2011 at 9:08 AM ^

While the author of the article in the OP has questionable motivations, here is what appears to be a neutral observer coming to the same conclusions.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=dw-wetzel_ohio_state_needs_to_get_serious_052611

More of the drumbeat.  I can't imagine Gee and Smith survive this.  Gee has become the posterchild for the school administrator being corrupted by the sports program.