Crosstown Shootout: The Aftermath Debacle

December 12, 2011 Leave a comment

So yesterday I am sitting at home on the couch watching the Crosstown Shootout with Xavier hosting Cincinnati in their annual rivalry game that has gone on for 79 years now.

So the game is a blowout and I am switching back and forth between a few games. It starts to get a little chippy between the players right before halftime. I make a mental note to turn back to the game for the last few minutes on the clock to see what happens at the end of the game.

Me and a few members of the family watching the game make a few comments and wagers on if there is going to be confrontations after the game. The opinions range from a fight on the court to a few players getting shot in a parking lot in the wee hours of the morning after the game.

I turn back to the game with 3:03 left on the clock. We all know what happens next. The point of this article is to discuss the outrageous errors of the coaching staffs and the Universities decisions after the altercation not to point out the obvious lack of sportsmanship and court safety shown by both teams.

What was Coach Mack thinking letting two of his players (Holloway and Lyons) talk to the press in a post game news conference?

For that matter what were the two coaches doing talking to the press without seeing the video evidence of the confrontation and having the answers?

Next we have Coach Cronin taking a hard-line stance and telling us that players will not be on the team if the video shows evidence of them being out of control.

Finally today the Universities announce the suspensions of the players involved in the altercation.

I am not going to go into the individual suspensions because it is not necessary to make my point. The bottom line is that the most severe punishment is a six game suspension.

First of all NO ONE should have said anything after the game!

Both coaches should have declined an interview until the situation had calmed down and the facts could be attained. Then all players on both teams should have been advised by the coaches that after they watch the video evidence of the altercation there will be players that won’t be apart of the team for the future.

Coach Cronin claims he told all his players to take their jersey’s off after the game because he was ‘embarrassed’. He should have told them to turn their jersey’s in and if they were on the team for the future he would hand them back at a later date.

The Universities should have given both coaches a 3 game suspension to start with.

Next all players that threw punches, kicks, or were uncontrollable by the coaches should have been immediately dismissed from the team. Then the players that were mouthing off and inciting the situation should have been suspended accordingly. If that means the teams need to forfeit a few games so be it.

The principle of sportsmanship and court safety should be the only thing that matters to both Universities.

Since obviously the Universities can’t get their acts together the NCAA needs to step in and dish out some justice.

I am all about being able to defend yourself and demand respect. But when you are blowing out a team by 20 points and they are mouthing off, you just walk off the court and let your play speak for itself.

WE SPEAK OUR MIND! NO PUNCHES PULLED HERE!

 

 

 

Filed under #fansopinion, College Basketball, NCAA Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Stop The Lynching! You don’t Know All The Facts!

November 12, 2011 1 Comment

So if you have a TV or a Radio all we have been hearing about for the last week are the terrible sexual abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky.

I have read a few sports blogs who have written scathing reports and opinions about how ‘despicable’ Joe Paterno was as a head coach and that his 61 years of coaching are out the window. That his character as a builder of men, his honesty, and his overall reputation during his coaching career is all a sham.

I am going to make my opinions very short and to the point. Everyone who is chastising Joe Pa at this point is an ignorant moron! The fact is we don’t know what Joe was told on that day back in 1998.

You are relying on grand jury testimony of a man who say’s he saw a 10 yr old little boy being anally raped and did not try to stop it. Not only did he turn and walk out of the room he never called the police. He say’s he called his father.

So who knows what he told Joe Paterno or anyone else on the football staff at the time. Once Joe Pa was told of an ‘incident’ he reported it to the AD at the time.

Should Joe Pa maybe have investigated it further knowing what we know now? YES!

Joe Pa has been the only person with character during this whole scandal. He actually admitted that he probably should have done more knowing what he knows now. He apologized to the victims and asked everyone to pray for them.

So until all the facts of this investigation come out stop lynching the character of the greatest American Football coach in our nations history. The man has 61 yrs of character building in thousands of young men. Do not be so quick To jump on the ‘lynching bandwagon’.

Instead lets spend out time being productive and actually spend some time educating people about the aftermath of sexual abuse. Lets lend a hand and an ear to someone who has been violated by a rapacious monster ,pedophile, child molester.

Wear a little light blue in support of sexual abuse victims and lay off Joe Paterno until you know the facts of the case.

WE ARE PENN STATE!

Filed under #fansopinion, College Football Tagged with , , , ,

The Old Ball Coach Say’s “Pay the players”

June 3, 2011 2 Comments

 

What would college football be without straight forward coaches like Steve Spurrier? Steve has never worried about what the public or his bosses thought about what he said, he always speaks from his heart. To me as a  sports fan it is refreshing to hear a coach tell it like it really is.

Steve announced a proposal to pay 70 players on the team a $300 stipend per game in the SEC. He has other SEC coaches that support the proposal. Spurrier, Alabama’s Nick Saban, Florida’s Will Muschamp, LSU’s Les Miles, Mississippi’s Houston Nutt, Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen and Tennessee’s Derek Dooley signed the proposal.

Mike Slive, SEC commissioner called it a “generous gesture’.

Spurrier say’s the average head coaching salary in the SEC is 3 million dollars a year. Paying 70 players $300 dollars a game would add up to $300,000 dollars a year out of the coaches salary. Steve has done the math and has prominent coaches in the SEC on board. ”A bunch of us coaches felt so strongly about it that we would be willing to pay it — 70 guys, 300 bucks a game,” Spurrier said. “That’s only $21,000 a game. I doubt it will get passed, but as coaches in the SEC, we make all the money — as do universities, television — and we need to get more to our players.

Steve Spurrier being the visionary he is realizes the way to stop the problem of players running to boosters and agents for money is to help the players that are struggling by paying them a stipend. Will this end the corrupt nature in college sports? No. There will always be a criminal element when it comes to sports. But this play will help the honest college athlete pay for their everyday bills and give them a little spending money. The coaches and universities are making so much money off the athletes playing the games they can help support the athletes with their bills and the cost to live in the college communities. ”I just wish there was a way to give our players a piece of the pie,” Spurrier said. “It’s so huge right now. As you know, 50 years ago there wasn’t any kind of money and the players got full scholarships. Now, they’re still getting full scholarships and the money is in the millions. I don’t know how to get it done. Hopefully there’s a way to get our guys that play football a little piece of the pie.”

Is this the perfect plan? I do not think so personally. But I believe this opens up a door of dialogue between the NCAA, coaches, and the schools that are giving out the college scholarships. I feel the NCAA should start a stipend into the scholarship plans for every sport being offered by the colleges in the NCAA. This is not to pay the players and give them an income. This stipend is to give the players money to over bills encured by living in a community as an adult. If you drive a car you have to pay for car insurance. If you want to go out to eat with your friends you need money. If you want to go on a date with your boyfriend or girlfriend you need money. I think you are getting the idea of where I am coming from.

There is an argument that the average college student has the same problems the student athletes are facing and are surviving. The average college student does not create billions of dollars in revenue for the school. The average college student does not have a sports agent or booster following them around waving cash in their face. The temptations these athletes face is extraordinary. Every moral character trait instilled in these young men and women growing up are constantly used to turn down the bribes. Some of the athletes that accept the bribes are great people. They are just struggling with everyday life problems and need a temporary way out.

Lets start and end to the problems in college sports. Lets pay our student athletes on scholarship a stipend. It’s the same argument being raised in the war on drugs. If you legalize the drug and take away the supply problems the cost will go down,  the criminal violence and crime will go down also. If we pay these athletes a stipend and give them a little money to live their everyday life the student athletes won’t be in a struggling situation where they are more susceptible to accepting a bribe.

The old ball coach has the general concept right. But we need to start it in every NCAA division across the board.

WE SPEAK OUR MIND!

 

 

 

Filed under College Football, NCAA Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If I were a Head Coach!

May 22, 2011 Leave a comment

It seems like throughout the NCAA today there are many highly recruited Division 1 athletes transferring to second or secondary schools due to academic problems or just plain getting in trouble.

The amazing thing is that there is always a school or coach ready to soak up these athletes and give them a free scholarship. What makes them think that if the athlete could not handle the academics of the first school they attended that the athlete would be able to handle the education level at their school? Unless they are admitting that their academics are not up to standard or maybe they are having a tutor do the schoolwork for the athlete.

There was an article posted on ESPN.go.com by Joe Shad detailing the transfer of Duron Carter (son of former NFL receiver Cris Carter) from Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College to Alabama University coached by Nick Saban. Carter was originally recruited by The Ohio State University. Carter played in his freshman season and caught a touchdown but had to leave over academic issues. So after a year at Junior College where he had 44 catches for 690 yards and 10 touchdowns for Coffeyville he wanted to transfer back to a Division 1 school.

So of course a lot of the top programs began drooling over Duron Carter. Carter considered Oregon, LSU, Miami, Auburn. Just ask yourself if any of these schools have been in the news lately with allegations of recruiting violations? I am not saying that Duron Carter is doing anything wrong by trying to better his career.

I am just saying that the top-tier universities that are in the BCS year in and out are lowering their standards of recruiting for top talent. I believe that character counts. I do not believe it is fair to the great athletes through High School and into college who watch their character, their grades and are outstanding citizens.

These athletes are bumped from a free scholarship spot by an athlete that has natural talent but can’t keep up with the academics or just plain does not care about their academics or character on or off the field.

If the schools and universities held all the athletes to a higher standard without waiver I believe the athletes will have to conform. An athlete will know that if they get arrested in High School for shoplifting that it will mess up their opportunity to play at Alabama. They would have to play their career at a Junior College.

Now I understand the reason these schools and universities buckle to the athletes is because of the extreme pressure to win and the amount of money for the school or university on the table if they win. But I also know the  concept of building anything is starting with an exceptional foundation.

I challenge all out top-tier BCS teams to build a great foundation of vented quality recruits who care about their academics and character on and off the field. And if there is an issue deal with it  across the board. One set of discipline policy’s (not different from the backup punter to the starting quarterback) carried out with zero tolerance.

If we vent the athletes better in college better character athletes end up in the NFL. We will not be reading about a star linebacker getting arrested for marijuana possession every other week!

WE SPEAK OUR MINDS!

Filed under NCAA, NCAAFB Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

For the sake of Justice : FIRE JIM TRESSEL NOW!

May 19, 2011 Leave a comment

Is there a more visible head coach in the NCAA that has admitted to knowing about violations committed by the players on his team, admitted to not reporting the violation, sent an e-mail to a mentor of a player proving his knowledge, and covering up the situation then Jim Tressel? WHY DOES HE STILL HAVE A JOB AS A HEAD COACH IN THE NCAA?

Some coaches and players might view his actions as being loyal to his players and University at all costs. But I view it as a coach who has lost his moral attributes and now will do anything to win. If Tressel will cover up knowledge that his players took improper benefits and that the FBI was investigating the Tattoo shop that provided those benefits than what will he hide next?

This is not a situation where the NCAA needs to fine him and suspend him for a certain amount of games. This calls for a ban from coaching in the NCAA for the rest of his life. The NCAA needs to make an example out of Jim Tressel here. There have been to many coaches violating the rules without significant consequences.

Lets look at the recent Bruce Pearl, former Tennessee Vols coach, and his violations. Pearl hosted a cookout for recruits, made impermissible phone calls to recruits, and had incidental contact with a recruit. By NCAA standards these violations are not that heinous. But his fatal flaw was lying about them to an NCAA investigator. His denials started to unravel when a snapshot of the cookout surfaced and the phone calls were dug up by Comply and Verify technology. Once caught he gave a tearful apology at a press conference but the damage was already done. Tennessee University should have fired him on the spot but they chose to fine and suspend him and let him coach into the NCAA Basketball Tournament before firing him after the blowout loss to Michigan.

Now if Ohio State University did not learn by the fallout in the press and by fans all across the nation that the Bruce Pearl situation caused then I guess they will never learn. It is not a matter of if Jim Tressel will be punished and how much. OSU should immediately terminate his contract for cause. If the University won’t do it then the Governor of Ohio should since Tressel is a state employee.

As I stated earlier the NCAA needs to ban Jim Tressel for life from coaching in the NCAA at any level for life. This will set an example of what happens when you try to cover up major NCAA violations. So far the NCAA has been inconsistent in issuing punishment on coaches who have violated the rules and admitted it after the fact. This is not a case of a coach finding out about violations and then reporting them and accepting the consequences that follow for acknowledging it happened on his watch. This is a situation where he deliberately did not report what he knew his star players were doing and essentially covered it up.

We as college football fans are part of the branch of justice that holds the NCAA and the coaches to uphold their rules and moral standards. We need to send a clear message to the NCAA and the OSU that we will not stand for this anymore. The NCAA needs to clean up college sports on every level and do it consistently. Once the standard is in place it does not matter if you coach at a Division III level school or if you coach at the number one ranked school in the nation the rules are the same. You can’t suspend a Division III coach for a season and the coach of the number one ranked school 3 games. That’s not justice.

I implore the NCAA to set up a program to where every single program that participates in their system be investigated and audited over the next 5 years. Establish a tier system of violations and proper penalties for each tier. If violations discovered then deal out the punishment in a swift way. If it means that we ban popular coaches from never coaching in the NCAA again then so be it!

AS FANS WE ARE SICK OF THE DIRTY SPORTS PROGRAMS ACROSS THE NCAA! I am not naïve enough to think that the NCAA can eradicate all corruption in college sports. But they can definitely change it and show the American public they really care about the issue and are done with just slapping programs on the wrist for violations!

Filed under NCAAFB Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Cam Newton: LIAR?

April 25, 2011 Leave a comment

Cam Newton Lie Detector Cam Newton has a chance to clear his name and take a big pay check doing it. A fan launched a website called Cam Newton Lie Detector and offered Cam Newton 1 million dollars if he could answer ‘no’ truthfully to 4 questions.

Attention Cam, pass a professionally administered lie detector test
by answering “No” to these 4 questions..and $1,000,000 is yours
  1. Prior to signing with Auburn, were you aware your father was “shopping” you to Mississippi State or any other school?
  2. Did you tell Dan or Meghan Mullen that you signed with Auburn because of the money because you truly believed Auburn had paid for your commitment?
  3. Did anyone on the Auburn coaching staff/athletic department instruct you how to answer questions from the NCAA by lying or avoiding the truth?
  4. Did you or your family ever receive any impermissible benefits from Auburn?

This is a LOCK for me! If I had nothing to hide I would take the test and take easy money! People are saying he is going to sign a 30 million dollar contract and he would never take the measly 1 million offer. Well to me that is just absurd and proves the childish nature of Cam Newton if he can answer them truthfully. I am sure there are plenty of charities that would love to have 1 million dollars to help them is Cam Newton does not want or need the money!

I think the real reason Cam Newton won’t take the test is because he knows he would fail. Where there is smoke there is fire! Cam Newton left Florida after stealing a laptop and being involved in an Academic Cheating Scandal. He was later shopped by Cecil Newton his father to Mississippi State for 100-180 thousand dollars.

Lets just look at the decisions Cam Newton made while he was at Florida. He stole a laptop computer. I guess theft is a good character trait to have in a truthful college athlete. He was later involved in an academic cheating scandal. Wow cheating is the next best trait to theft in a truthful college athlete. Do you see where the smoke is leading us?

Then you have a son of a father who tried to sell the athletic services of his son for 100-180 thousand dollars. Do you think the apple fell far from the tree? After looking at his record in Florida I would say no!

The end of the story is in Cam Newtons court! He could have an attorney draft a proposal send it to this company and give the proceeds to his favorite charity. He would clean up the history books of college football and be charitable to society at the same time. Cam if your innocent take this fools money and run! But if your guilty fess up now and save some dignity. Your college career is over now anyway. The truth always comes out in the end!

WE SPEAK OUR MIND!

Filed under NFL Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.