Miles Bridges pays $40, clears NCAA violation
According to the report on ESPN, Bridges' family members had a dinner paid for by Christian Dawkins without his knowledge, and that was the extent of his violation. He paid back the $40 value of the dinner and is now clear. Amazing how the NCAA solves some situations so fast while other important ones take far too long (there were also expense reports documenting further payment from Dawkins, but since Bridges and MSU deny the payment, the were dismissed. Go figure).
February 27th, 2018 at 11:16 PM ^
You could just stop reading these threads? Clearly, you need to step back for a bit.
February 27th, 2018 at 9:17 AM ^
Why doesn't Michigan have the balls to be like MSU? Deny and dare the NCAA?
We can all sit here and laugh and joke about the poor kid that is trying to act like a Blue Blood, but why?
February 27th, 2018 at 9:33 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 9:42 AM ^
internally
you didn't hear anything about Nasser for a long time either
don't be so naive
February 27th, 2018 at 9:44 AM ^
The sexual assault issues are far more damning.
His actions give the impression that he is a win at all costs type of coach, so when allegations like this come along, he’s not getting the benefit of the doubt. Nor should he.
And by the way, he still refuses to talk about Appling, Payne, Walton, etc. But they sure did work hard to clear Bridges in one day.
February 27th, 2018 at 9:49 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
Clearing Bridges in a day because he and his mom said it wasn’t true, etc. Oh and because it’s a week before the tournament.
Appling and Payne playing for 4 years is more than enough to cast doubt on Izzo. He should not be getting any more free passes at this point.
February 27th, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^
we are still waiting on the other alleged gang rape with the asst coach and two other players that occurred a few months before the appling/payne incedent. i have to believe those details will come out soon.
February 27th, 2018 at 12:15 PM ^
If there's anything to release, a news outlet would be wise to wait until Selection Sunday for max effect.
February 27th, 2018 at 9:48 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 6:49 PM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 10:18 AM ^
Obviously you haven't been paying attention...
February 27th, 2018 at 10:27 AM ^
Head back to RCMB, troll.
February 27th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
Before Izzo landed the 2016 class, he made a speech about changing the ways he's been doing things
SInce then, he has landed 3 5*'s and 3 4*'s
The 2016 class is 3rd with 2 5* and 2 4*
that 2017 class ranking is 49th, because MSU only signed 2 recruits, a 5* and a 4*. Don't act like that is a bad recruiting class with Jackson and Tillman.
February 27th, 2018 at 9:35 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 10:27 AM ^
Yours? Mine?
Maybe we should have followed the law as morals/ ethics are ambiguas. MSU was certainly immoral and unethical (by common society's standards) but did a coach at MSU break the law? Do their alums/ boosters care?
I think MSU is handling this, meaning Nassar, cheating, rape culture... amazingly and wish UM had an AD as smart as Hollis.February 27th, 2018 at 9:37 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 9:41 AM ^
Immacultae compliance record intact!
February 27th, 2018 at 9:56 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 10:29 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 11:04 AM ^
It’s a poor look for a program currently under the microscope for failing to monitor their student athletes.
February 27th, 2018 at 11:18 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 9:56 AM ^
The FBI investigation, which we still haven't seen in full because it's ongoing, paints a graphic picture.
Anyone doubting there are secretive systems in place on behalf of many big name coaches to compete for and keep players in your program with benefits to the player's family, is choosing not to see what that investigation is doing. The FBI is looking at an issue the NCAA wouldn't or couldn't and forcing the NCAA's hand to do real investigations and issue real penalties. The pressure will come from the schools who aren't being named.
We can parcel out Izzo's weaker recruiting classes all we want and say that's evidence of him being clean. We can also note that without a horse like Bridges or Gary Harris recently, his teams are outgunned against everyone else grabbing all the elite talent. So therein is his motivation.
The FBI deal right now is only a current and very limited snapshot. It's not yet completed. Whether they are finding "crimes" in the penal code sense means less than the fact that there is now light on how big time college basketball operates. It's not going to let the story be told by phony BS coaches like Coach K and Roy Williams and their lecture tour lingo about hard work and character.
It's the beginning of what hopefully will be a cleansing and an evening of the playing field.
People saying Bridge's paying $40 made this all stop are as full of it as people claiming Izzo was aware of people writing a specific check for a specific recruit. There is a truth somewhere in the middle that is yet to be revealed. Not just about him, but all these rock star coach types.
If you would rather not read, go watch "Blue Chips" with Nick Nolte. Check out how the top recruits suddenly start flowing to his school in one class. The coach knows it can be done, is glad it's done, and is kept just clear of the details so he can play dumb to his fans.
It's a movie, but that's what the FBI is unraveling.
February 27th, 2018 at 12:12 PM ^
I'm quite a bit more cynical than you on the eventual end game but you summarized what's happening right now excellently.
February 27th, 2018 at 10:00 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 10:16 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 10:45 AM ^
Absolutely. The double standard in the local press just drives me batty.
February 27th, 2018 at 10:17 AM ^
Izzo got pissed when he learned a player he'd been recruiting since middle school wound up committing to Michigan. Now, if you are recruiting at the middle school level and following kids through high school, you aren't going to be dealing directly with the target himself but his family. And if you are maintaining regular contact that long with a particular family and his son, there is a greater likelihood that they will pursue representation and perhaps seek outside counsel from an agent. There is also a greater likelihood of untoward stuff happening to improve that relationship
College basketball at one time in the past was vastly more popular than the pro game. And then point-shaving ruined the game. There have always been scandals associated with recruitment.
Certain scandals permanently wrecked the future of many once dominating urban basketball programs, which, had they not succumbed would have benefitted from the rise of inner city black talent like Lew Alcindor. Most of the great college coaches came out of NYC and then used that influence to grow the game in the ACC.
When you watch Bill Raferty announce games, remember he came from that era. He knew the pitfalls of college basketbal and where all the bodies are buriedl. Back in the day as a kid growing up in Jersey, I saw his awful Seton Hall teams play at MSG. Basketball in NY used to be king. It was huge.
In my lifetime, there hasn't been an era of college basketball not tainted by scandal.
I mean there has been sketchy recruiting and player eligiblity in the game from UCLA to UNC. The NCAA was hired to give cover to college sports and show that it's intent was to compete honestly with the veneer of sanctity in the form of outside regulation because the schools themselves could never be counted on to do it without question.
As things stand today, the NCAA receives almost its entire annual funding from one source: its basketball tournament. So, from an organizational standpoint do you think that it is going to jeopardize that, billions in generated revenue, by removing key players from the most prominent basketball programs on the cusp of the most anticipated and watched yearly tournament in the land? I don't think so.
You will see lip service paid to this FBI investigation and the Yahoo disclosures by those in the game and by NCAA's tournament partners. Expecting anything else just isn't realistic under the circumstances.
February 27th, 2018 at 10:18 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^
Even at that, my favorite story is still the two players in the Big XII that had to shell out something like $3,50 each because they ate pasta over and above their allotment lest their eligibility be threatened....over pasta.
The NCAA is a strange, strange organization indeed.
February 27th, 2018 at 10:27 AM ^
I also think the focus on whether Izzo, Roy Williams, K, Dantonio or any other coach stays employed is totally misplaced focus.
The universities are going to do what they do in each case. When they make certain choices to double down on this coach or that coach, they suffer consequences in reputation that will live on for year's past whatever coaches' tenure.
That's the real penalty even while keeping the coach. A university reveals itself or what it is and everyone outside of sports fans thinks it's a perversion of priorities.
Beilein has played Dr. "Survivors" to a draw for nearly a decade. A bounce here and there and Dantonio has dropped 3 straight to Michigan. Let them stay. Let them go. Whatever..... But these schools and college basketball particularly needs to be cleaned up.
February 27th, 2018 at 3:10 PM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 4:07 PM ^
Thanks for the data - and generally I do think that it's been close to that especially when you look at the non-Harbaugh years.
I don't really want to go down the hypothetical hole here or say things should have/could have happend differently (rather I'm looking at the contention as a whole) but isn't that a bit self-fulfilling? For the most part, the winner does better because teams with more wins finish better.
Take 2015, presume that the punt gets off and no TD like is the statistical expectation, and UM is 11-2 and MSU is 10-3*, right? In which case, the "better team" still wins in your criteria, but that seems like the "better team" is simply being driven by that single play rather than an attempt to determine who actually was the "better team." Which is exactly what the guy you're responding to was saying.
*They lose to UM (+1 loss, -1 win), and they don't go to Big 10 championship to get a win against Iowa (-1 win).
February 27th, 2018 at 4:39 PM ^
February 28th, 2018 at 9:18 AM ^
Yeah, good point on the Bama game I had that in my head when I was writing it, but didn't account for it when actually typing it out. It'd be 10-2, not 10-3 as I originally wrote (L: Nebraska, UM, no L v Bama, no W v Iowa). MSU would be 6-2 in Big Ten, and OSU would go to Big Ten championship v. Iowa at 7-1.
February 27th, 2018 at 8:10 PM ^
February 28th, 2018 at 9:28 AM ^
TOP for 2015 was 30:11 v 29:49. That's not a significant enough gap that it should be read as "predicting a win."
In any event, the same stats can be pointed to as "predicting" a win for UM in 2017. Michigan led in TOP, yardage, and first downs.
What both games have in common is that the opposing offense wasn't doing much - MSU struggled v. UM's defense in '15 and O'Korn struggling throwing the ball in the monsoon in '17.
So both teams turtled a bit to grind out a win. MSU did it in '17 though UM had a shot at the end. UM did it and obviously lost in a spectacular, incredibly flukey play.
February 27th, 2018 at 10:38 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 10:42 AM ^
joint?
February 27th, 2018 at 10:43 AM ^
Regarding all these MSU issues/scandals/problems they seem to keep getting away with or successfully burying ...
It reminds me of something my aunt used to say: Give 'em enough rope and they'll hang themselves.
February 27th, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
February 27th, 2018 at 11:58 AM ^
cut off one head, two more grow back. if the institution doesn't get fixed, it doesn't really matter who is in charge.
February 27th, 2018 at 12:20 PM ^
is hercules when you need him.
February 27th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^
what happened and how the NCAA does nothing about it. The obvious truth here is the Tournament (March Madness) is their cash cow and they will do whatever it takes to make sure all the top teams and players are cleared and free to play without fear or obstruction of playing.
Nothing is going to change except they will probably allow players to get jobs or get paid. Either way that will escalate out of control. They stopped the players from getting jobs because top athletes would get a "job" at a booster's or donor's business and get paid lots of dollars and never show up.
They need to crucify a few top programs to clean this up, but that will never happen. Just like MSU will get no penalty and Izzo and Dantonio will come out unscatheed and coach for as long as they want to.
Reality, not being negative
February 27th, 2018 at 11:52 AM ^
by not including UL as a top program.
February 27th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^
This dinner wasn’t last weekend...
February 27th, 2018 at 11:52 AM ^
No, it only is once the instituation becomes aware and until the charity amount is paid, if the value is under $200:
16.01.1.1 Restitution for Receipt of Impermissible Benefits. Unless otherwise noted, for violations of Bylaw 16 in which the value of the benefit is $200 or less, the eligibility of the student-athlete shall not be affected conditioned upon the student-athlete repaying the value of the benefit to a charity of his or her choice. The student-athlete, however, shall remain ineligible from the time the institution has knowledge of receipt of the impermissible benefit until the student-athlete repays the benefit. For violations of Bylaw 16 in which there is no monetary value to the benefit, violations shall be considered institutional violations per Constitution 2.8.1; however, such violations shall not affect the student-athlete's eligibility. (Adopted: 11/1/01, Revised: 8/5/04, 1/19/18)
Source: NCAA Bylaw 16.01.1.1 (Link)
February 27th, 2018 at 11:26 AM ^
MSU basketball has now reached the point of no return.
Any other violations that may come to light from the FBI investigation and were not reported to the NCAA over the weekend should result in some Jim Tressel like sanctions.
Unless of course Tom Izzo has early onset Alzheimer's.