Noleverine

July 15th, 2011 at 10:54 AM ^

Glad you took the 'no shit sherlock' approach versus the "OMG BREAKING NEWS!!!" approach. A lot of people get riled up about stuff and I can't help but say to myself, "well, duh."

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

July 15th, 2011 at 10:54 AM ^

This would certainly explain why OSU insisted in their report that Tressel was exemplary in this department up until his one "misjudgment."  And it dovetails nicely with their claim that he totally embarrassed the school and because it was all his fault they punished him by waiving his fine.  But they did seek and accept his resignation, after not seeking it but accepting it all the same.

This all makes perfect sense.

jmdblue

July 15th, 2011 at 1:15 PM ^

Oh absolutley.  Tressel was damn near priestlike for his entire life except when he wasn't until he found out about the tattoo parlor where there was information to not disseminate and he and his employee bosses said he wouldn't have changed anything except that he should have and he wouldn't fire his boss but then he would take a two, no five game resignation that wasn't asked for in addtion to a $250,000 fine that need not be paid and the future is one of shameful regret that will land him in the pantheon of buckeye greats.

Hannibal.

July 15th, 2011 at 11:01 AM ^

I think that this is bigger news than people give credit for, because it shows a paper trail that directly contradicts OSU's response to the NCAA, that the Tat 5 was a one time incident from a guy who had an excellent history of complying with the rules.  It also shows that the athletic director is somewhat invovled, since the written evaluations of his compliance ended when Gene Smith was hired.  At this point, anyone with a fifth grade education can't help but be insulted by anything that comes out of OSU.  In addition, it is yet another piece of documentation that demonstrates both a pattern of behavior and lack of corrective action i.e. lack of institutional control.

Noleverine

July 15th, 2011 at 11:04 AM ^

But are you really shocked? I thought we moved past the whole 'Senator Tressel' thing a while ago. I figured everyone knew he was a scumbag cheater. Not a dig at OP, thanks for posting. Just saying I don't think anyone's left breathless due to shock. Except those mouthbreathers from Ohio, maybe.

BlueDragon

July 15th, 2011 at 1:13 PM ^

I was about to post the exact same thing.  Here is the key blockquote for anyone keeping score:

The most-recent written evaluation in Tressel's personnel file was from 2005-06. That's because current athletic director Gene Smith replaced Andy Geiger in April 2005 and began doing verbal evaluations of Tressel, OSU spokesman Jim Lynch said.
He didn't know why Smith moved from written to verbal reviews or whether he does anyone else's evaluation that way. Smith couldn't be reached for comment this morning.

Game over man, game over!

Beavis

July 15th, 2011 at 11:05 AM ^

Lot of hate for ESPN on this board (most of it deserving).

But let me say this - they are grinding their axe against OSU in this case.  So, for that - I love them again.  It's like getting back together with the girl you dated in high school.  

Frank Drebin

July 15th, 2011 at 1:19 PM ^

I have been more and more upset with ESPN over the years as they now seem to create the news as opposed to reporting the news. This is especially true with the Craig James/Mike Leach garbage. And now they have suspended one of their best reporters/bloggers, Bruce Feldman, in a knee jerk reaction to the whole thing. They just seem to be digging themselves a bigger hole every day.

ThWard

July 15th, 2011 at 11:10 AM ^

(1) @Moe Greene: sure does, doesn't it?  Although, it's sort of hard to track the schizophrenic approach of the OSU admin and the fan base these days, isn't it?  On one hand, Tress is a saint - a "molder of men, goddammit!" - who made one debatable mistake in the name of protecting his kids.  On the other hand, the admin sold him out to the NCAA as a rogue coach who the admin is tsk-tsk VERY disappointed in.  On the other hand* admin says he merely retired, and doesn't have to pay OSU any fine.  And on the other hand still** HS coaches want to emulate the dude.  Seriously, I have no credibility re: OSU, but how can any objective observer  find those people anything but fucking nuts?

(2) @ Hannibal: Also agree with you.  I'm not sure what sort of inferences the NCAA COI is allowed to draw, but (a) written evaluations in early-to-mid 2000s chastising Tressel's compliance problems, coupled with (b) Smith stopping the paper trail of evaluations, and the subsequent compliance problems that ensued, seems bad.  But I'm at the point where I expect the NCAA to do very little here.  We'll see.

 

*E-FACT:  OSU fans/admin have three hands.  Genetic mutation most likely.

** E-FACT (CORRECTION): Four hands.  Poor little freaky 4-handed shadesters.

dahblue

July 15th, 2011 at 11:14 AM ^

I love the fact that Smith stopped written evaluations and moved to verbal only.  He's like a low-grade Tony Soprano (or a stealthier/smarter version of Kwame Kilpatrick).  The OSU position is that there is no record of Compliance being aware of the recent Tressel lies...Well, of course not! There is no record because it appears Smith made it POLICY not to maintain a record.

Don't write a letter; don't write an email; don't send a text.  If there is no record, you can waive you hands and pretend it never happened (especially when you just waived a $250K fine to the head coach on his way out the door).  Gangsta!  Gangsta!  Read all about it!!!

C'mon NCAA...this is the definition of "lack of institutional control".  Good times.  Good times.

lexus larry

July 15th, 2011 at 12:33 PM ^

I remember reading that the NCAA was quite unimpressed with U-M's original responses to their questions (late 90's/early 00's) about there being no meeting notes, no paper whatsoever...strictly verbal communications about the whole investigation into the shady dealings of Ed Martin and various players.

I think U-M MBB paid it's penance in a very "lack of institutional control" manner, though ours was as much self-inflicted (or self-suggested to the NCAA, and they agreed) as mandated by the NCAA in the first place.

(My recollections may be fuzzy, but that's the gist of what I remember.)

chrs5mr

July 15th, 2011 at 11:26 AM ^

OSU cut the deal with Tressel - take the blame for this and we'll waive your fine and let you "retire".  Retirement allows Tressel access to all benefits.

Which is why you have the 360 from OSU, they are building this as good as they can that Tressel was an out of control, renegade, acted on his own and we knew nothing about it.  Which is why they are releasing Tressel's university file.

Its the cover-up to the cover-up.

True Blue Grit

July 15th, 2011 at 11:32 AM ^

like blatant homers in this case.  And this article further adds to the body of evidence that TSIO has exhibited a lack of institutional control and created an atmosphere of knowing non-compliance to NCAA rules.  At least Geiger attempted to do something about it.  This Smith guy sounds like a complete joke and part of the problem.  IMO, if the NCAA doesn't up the self-imposed penalties with something much harsher, they're going to lose a lot of credibilty.  Hopefully, they "get" that and are working on a huge hammer with OSU's name on it as we speak. 

Feat of Clay

July 15th, 2011 at 11:47 AM ^

It's a wonder to me that more coaches don't get in trouble for small violations.  So many regulations, it would seem it's pretty easy to run afoul of small ones.  You must have to have a lot of checklists and stuff in place to make sure you don't f*ck up, especially given all that head coaches have on their plate.  I wonder how many coaches have things like this in their files.

I'm not defending that stupid ass Tressel--especially given how he handled the tattoo situation (inexcusable and beyond stupid).  It's just an observation about the vast tangled list of regulations.

Those are some firmly worded letters, too.  Golly.

74polSKA

July 15th, 2011 at 12:12 PM ^

Could Clarett end up being to the tosu story what Canseco has become to the steroid story in baseball?  Everybody laughed off his claims at the beginning and pointed to his lack of character and credibility.  But in the end he was more right than wrong.

74polSKA

July 15th, 2011 at 3:33 PM ^

I don't want to start a big racism discussion, but I am amazed at the comments some people think are ok to make.  I work for local government and hear some really offensive stuff from time to time.  We have between 300 to 400 employees in our city and no minority employees (that I know of).  If there were any, I think we'd have a lawsuit in about a week.  People need to stop and think before they speak and if you can't think then please shut your mouth (or stop typing).

Mr Miggle

July 15th, 2011 at 12:47 PM ^

The final paragraph of the Dispatch article follows.

Other records from Ohio State were heavily redacted, censoring vital information. For example, in a May 6 email to Smith from the compliance office, the university blacked out the number of football players who had purchased cars from particular dealerships over a three-year period.

Is there any legitimate reason for redacting that information?

Yeoman

July 15th, 2011 at 10:12 PM ^

If the number of players cited in the report happened to be precisely the number of players on the football team over the three-year period, they could claim that anyone reviewing the document could determine which players had purchased cars from the dealer.

Otherwise, no.

Chi Go Blue

July 15th, 2011 at 12:49 PM ^

While none of this surprises me, I think its really interesting that the Ohio BMV only looked at the legality of the player car deals. OSU halted their investigation after the report, but it seems to me that they never truly looked for any NCAA violations. Hopefully the NCAA picks up on this and conducts their own investigation, especially after reading the records of the OSU compliance office's thoughts on car deals in years past. The case keeps building for Lack of Institutional Control.

Wolvie3758

July 15th, 2011 at 1:19 PM ^

when reading thru the article I noticed that TP, Posey and others filed Police reports for missing cleats from the lockeroom?   Hmmmm the same gear they traded for cash and tats?  The Coach AD new nothing about this either?  Id like to know more about THIS...a nice elaborate scam wouldnt you say...take stuff from the OSU locker room...trade it for tats and cash  file police reports saying it was stolen.....School knows about it..heck maybe even got reimbursed via insurance....anyone know anything more about this

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

July 15th, 2011 at 10:35 PM ^

Certainly fails the fourth-grader test, doesn't it?  Oh yes, I bet it's a total coincidence that three of the guys suspended for being tattoo addicts are the same guys that reported a bunch of equipment stolen.

I do not trust that the NCAA is smarter than a fourth-grader.

justingoblue

July 15th, 2011 at 11:59 PM ^

It would be awesome to learn that Pryor & Co. did that. A criminal trial with Tressel, Pryor and Posey on the stand (and Pryor and Posey facing six months/ $1000 for each count, not that they'd get it) would do wonders for Orville Redenbacher stock.