Ron_Lippitt

July 22nd, 2011 at 4:11 PM ^

I feel the bile rising.  Yes -- I think I'm gonna be sick.  I KNEWW the ncaa wouldn't have the balls to see this thing through!!!

And I was having a good day today!

Section 1

July 22nd, 2011 at 5:49 PM ^

And I'll be the first to admit, it isn't much of a prediction.

The prediction is this:  That by then end of this year, the rival fanbases and other assorted haters of The Ohio State University are going to be sorely, desperately, disappointed in whatever sanctions are imposed.

I am not saying that because I am a secret lover of the Scarlet and Gray.  And I am not saying that because I am a great critic of the NCAA Committee on Infractions.  I'm neither of those.  I respect our rivals down south.  And I'm mostly an agnostic on the NCAA.

The reason I say this, is because no one can possibly read all of the hysterical rumor-mongering in the press, through Maize-colored (or whatever color you might wish to choose) lenses, and not expect there to be something on the order of an NCAA death penalty.  And I do think that some people, like George Dohrmann of Sports Illustrated, and a number of general sports bloggers, and much of the staff at ESPN, have totally jumped the shark on their OSU stories.

Eyebrowse

July 22nd, 2011 at 9:30 PM ^

I don't think anyone was seriously talking about the death penalty.  However, my thought after reading the Doc Saturday article revolves around the fact that if (and this is an if because we don't know the NCAA findings) OSU manages to avoid the worst of what happened because they fired Tressel it shows a poor understanding of the situation.  OSU allowed Tressel to retire without any penalties.  He was not "fired", he paid no fines for his actions, he was not penalized in any way because of what he did (or failed to do).  In the end, Tressel gets off free and clear and OSU saves some face with the NCAA.

Weak.

wolverine1987

July 23rd, 2011 at 10:30 AM ^

Tressel may not have been fined, but he paid for his actions by losing a lifetime job, and make no mistake, the documents show that he was encouraged to retire by OSU, he was not going to do it himself. And further, his reputation is severely tarnished--nationally for sure, and even among many OSU loyalists. You don't have to lose money to pay.

Eyebrowse

July 23rd, 2011 at 1:22 PM ^

I agree that he has paid for his actions in other ways, but to act like the university was really actively seeking his dismissal before it become a PR problem is suspect to my understanding of what went down.  Second, should someone who did what he did expect to keep his job?  I guess I look at that as the natural consequence of his actions.  When you lie to your boss repeatedly and garner an unfair advantage because of it I would expect you to be fired at the very least.  I don't get the impression that the majority of OSU fans and supporters are anything less than appreciative of Tressel's coaching career at OSU though.  Maybe I'm not listening or hearing from the right people.

Section 1

July 23rd, 2011 at 2:02 PM ^

I have said this, to my OSU friends -- Andy Geiger was perhaps the best AD they ever had at OSU, and maybe the best of his (post-Canham) time as an athletic director.

Andy Geiger did more great things for OSU than I can even recall.

But he is the guy who hired Jim Tressel.  For my part, I'd quickly add, "And, Geiger is the guy who warned Tressel, and who apparently reprimanded him, for failure to report to Compliance, many years before Tatgate."

I really wonder if OSU doesn't need to clean house up to and including Gene Smith.  I have real (but unprovable) doubts about whether OSU would be in the predicament they are now in, if Andy Geiger had remained as the AD.  They'd be the luckiest university in the country if they found another Andy Geiger, to replace Gene Smith.

Yeoman

July 23rd, 2011 at 2:11 PM ^

Smith was on record, before he was hired at OSU, as an opponent of written records that might document performance or compliance expectations, and I think that's why he was hired. Someone or some group at OSU didn't want an Andy Geiger around reprimanding the head coach.

Does anyone remember the circumstances around Smith's hire? Who first suggested the name, who had the final say? (I know it's the President's decision, formally, but that doesn't mean it's how it went down.) These aren't rhetorical questions--I'd really like to know.

Section 1

July 23rd, 2011 at 3:39 PM ^

Are you suggesting, that Andy Geiger was let go because Jim Tressel didn't like Geiger's oversight, and complained to people over Geiger's head?

Because I have NEVER heard that, and absent some good evidence, I refuse to believe that.

Now, there is a middle ground -- that Geiger retired of his own accord (I think that is what happened; although it might have had something to with Geiger's exhaustion with all of the tension that we've seen devoloping between most big university sports programs, money, and the NCAA).  And that Gene Smith was hired for bona fide reasons, because he was a qualified and capable candidate who also had the benefit of "racial diversity" going for him.

AND... that after Gene Smith arrived, Tressel made it clear to Smith that HE -- Senator Tressel -- would be running football operations, thank you very much. 

Yeoman

July 23rd, 2011 at 5:03 PM ^

I think Geiger left on his own and I suspect your parenthetical reasons are pretty much on target.

I also think (no, this one is certain because I know such people) that there were people in the OSU booster community who would have preferred less effective oversight over the program.  Smith's stated disinterest in written agreements and contracts and the like would have made him an attractive hire to that group.

It's also possible that no one involved in the selection of Geiger's replacement knew anything about Smith's point of view on such matters, but that seems less likely to me.

It doesn't require anything conspiratorial, just a slight shift in the balance of power resulting in the hire of an AD more interested in promoting an atmosphere of trust than of compliance. Behind the scenes struggles over the philosophy and direction of a program on the retirement of a significant figure are the norm, as Michigan fans must surely be aware.

Purkinje

July 22nd, 2011 at 4:15 PM ^

Bullshit. How the hell is it possible for them to ignore the rules for a decade and get off with one season vacated? Burn in hell, asshats.

MGoCooper

July 22nd, 2011 at 4:18 PM ^

I've lost all respect for the NCAA. Their motives are so crystal clear that it's borderline criminal. This all disgusts me, it's reprehensible. They'll probably reduce OSU's self imposed "sanctions". What a sad day for the integrity that once was college football.

MGoCooper

July 22nd, 2011 at 4:18 PM ^

I've lost all respect for the NCAA. Their motives are so crystal clear that it's borderline criminal. This all disgusts me, it's reprehensible. They'll probably reduce OSU's self imposed "sanctions". What a sad day for the integrity that once was college football.

wile_e8

July 22nd, 2011 at 4:30 PM ^

The NCAA is so confident in their decision that they decided to wait until late Friday afternoon to give notification. But apparently OSU quarterbacks aren't the only people who can take multiple test drives to different states.

 

EDIT: If I was a USC fan I would be furious. What happen to "High profile players require high profile compliance"? Now it's ok as long as no one bothered to find out about it.

brewandbluesaturdays

July 22nd, 2011 at 4:20 PM ^

Let's not give the buckeye faitful any MGoSchadenfreude... This is like the teacher having to punish his favorite student. Scold them for a second look at them smile and let them off the hook, except the rest of the class sees right through this and knows and that the favorite student is a fucktardy douchebag....

James Burrill Angell

July 22nd, 2011 at 5:25 PM ^

Believe me, I'm not at all happy but I'm not 100% surprised. With Tressel and Pryor gone, the scumbag owner of the tat parlor pleading out and everyone else playing stupid, there just wasn't much of a trail.

 

I must admit, I'm a little surprised there wasn't some kind of failure to monitor involved. At what point is the coach deemed part of the monitoring rather than just allowing the University to say, "it was the coach's fault and now he's gone."

True Blue Grit

July 22nd, 2011 at 4:24 PM ^

when they let off one of the biggest cheating schools of the last decade?  If what TSIO did was not a textbook example of "failure to monitor" and "loss of institutional control" then I don't know what is and the phrases have no meaning I guess.  The NCAA is going to take severe hits in the media nationally for this.  The cretins down south of the border must be laughing their heads off right now.  Makes me want to puke. 

markusr2007

July 22nd, 2011 at 4:26 PM ^

It doesn't seem appropriate at a time like this, but...

Come on, we just knew this would happen, right?

No need to lock up the state-funded university-administered equipment room anymore. The NCAA says it's ok to sell it all on ebay.

 

Beavis

July 22nd, 2011 at 4:48 PM ^

I agree.  I started to feel the impending doom about a month ago when OSU fanboys on their paysites began to comment that they won't get hit very hard by the NCAA.  

I still think losing Tressel and bringing in Hoke will change the game.  It's probably for the best they won't get hammered.  We will beat them without sanctions.

M-Dog

July 22nd, 2011 at 6:19 PM ^

Yes, let's all calm down a little. 

You know, we used to beat OSU all of the time when they were at full strength.  Now that we intend to field a Defense and Special Teams to go along with our Offense, we will do it again. 

It doesn't matter what OSU or the NCAA does or does not do.

 

vegasjeff

July 22nd, 2011 at 4:51 PM ^

OSU screwed up and they'll pay for it, but I'm not with the majority here rootinjg for some kind of global thermonuclear punishment. It's not like they bought recruits. The coach lied to protect his players and lost his job. The players sold stuff and got suspended. The team got probation, lost a 12-1 season, a co-Big Ten title, a Sugar Bowl win. They may still get a one- or two-year bowl/conf. title ban and may get scholarship reductions. Losing Tressel was an enormous hit.

But I don't get the rabid hunger for tougher punishment. Michigan should be at the very least competitive with Ohio State on the field and doesn't need to rely on NCAA sanctions to get there. Good recruiting, coaching and playing will get Michigan back on top.

Michigan doesn't need OSU to fall -- Michigan just needs to rise to its familiar place.

 

Go Blue Eyes

July 22nd, 2011 at 10:42 PM ^

I concur.  They were allowed to play in a BCS bowl game when in all probability had their players been declared inelgible that became a bowl game they probably would not have been able to qualify for. At a minimum a one year bowl ban is in order to make up for the Sugar Bowl from last season.

Already tOSU fans I know are telling me "so what" to the vacated wins and the season.  So for no bowl games to be lost basically justifies Tressell's lies.

BlueHills

July 22nd, 2011 at 6:20 PM ^

I agree with this post. One problem with the articles I read was that the later accusations were somewhat nebulous. Lots of posts here were that readers were disappointed and underwhelmed with the things that came out in, say, the SI article.

Michigan needs to win on the field. The court of public opinion and the NCAA's punishment of Ohio State matter a whole lot less than what our guys can do in competition.

BRCE

July 22nd, 2011 at 8:42 PM ^

Normally, you'd be right when saying Michigan doesn't need NCAA sanctions to be competitive with Ohio State, but we have dug ourselves a hole in this rivalry with terrible program management in the last 5-6 years and OSU being put at a natural disadvantage is the quickest way out of the hole.

 

Purkinje

July 22nd, 2011 at 4:31 PM ^

May the NCAA be dissolved and replaced with an organization that will not reward blatant cheaters. Nearly every school that has had great success in the past decade has done so only with an accompanying NCAA investigation that finds hard evidence of rule breaking and coverups, and only one such school has actually been hit hard (if you can count what USC got as being hit hard.)

The end is night, worthless suits.