OSU Bowl Ban

So OSU found out their fate this week with the lose of 9 scholarships, 2012 bowl ban and an added year of probation. I found it funny that Gene Smith was shocked about the 2012 bowl ban, Gene what did you think would happen? A slap on the wrist? While what happen at Ohio State is no where near Penn State or Miami alleged behavior, they did have some major infractions and with multiple players.

I am not against players selling or trading personal merchandise for cash, but is against the rules. The players, coaches and university knew this yet did nothing. So in my eyes, OSU got off easy and I am a OSU fan, I view it as one lost season at the beginning of a coaching transition. It will be Urban Meyers first season and he will be playing with JT recruits. So far this has had zero affect on Meyer's recruiting because his first class won't be attending until 2013 anyways.

Gene Smith count your holiday blessings the penalty was not worse, because not only could you have received a multiple year bowl ban, but you could have lost Urban Meyer and the OSU fan base for years and not to mention possibly your job... Merry Christmas -NCAA-

BCS Strips USC and Reggie Bush Of "04" Title

So the BCS finally came down and stripped USC of it's "04" championship. I think the BCS is a load of bull and a money grab anyways, but rules were broken by Bush and usually the school pays the price. A lot of people on Twitter are outraged by this and basically say "what happens off the field shouldn't effect what happens on the field". I understand where they are coming from but can't agree.

In my eyes it is a little simpler than that, a player who violates league and school policies, should be ineligible to play and Bush should not have been playing. It hurts me to say this, but the same should happen to Ohio State if the NCAA and BCS find they also broke policies and rules. Players need to learn that their personal actions not only affect them but their schools. I also think the NCAA and BCS need to step up efforts to monitor players and not put all the weight on the schools and coaches. Coaches are paid to be coaches and not baby sitters, they have no way to monitor their players 100% of the time.  In the last month we have seen players cost schools a championship and a coaches job. The NCAA needs to stop turning a blind eye to some violations and really crack down all around. Maybe paying these student athletes would get rid of some the violations..or would it?

Dot that i....

So as details emerge from Ohio State regarding Jim Tressel and the suspended Buckeye players I wondered what is the big deal…Rules are rules and both parties should be punished for lying to the NCAA, but as I think about it a little more I think some of the items are pretty small. I’ve heard stories from Charles Barkley about magically finding money in magazines while on a recruiting trip and we all know the Cam Newton story by now. First I will address Tressel’s part in this. What is wrong with a coach trying to protect his players? Think about it for a moment, what did Tressel stand to gain from lying to the NCAA? Nothing, this is Ohio State we are talking about it, if the players were suspended they would have just replaced them with equally talented if not more talented players. Yes they may have lost a game here and there, but in the end it would not have been much different. It was coach trying to protect his players from getting in trouble, I mean the guy reached out to Pryor and tried to steer him on the correct path. This is a man who was willing to put all the weight of this on his shoulders and carry on with it. Tressel knew at some point it would come out, how could it not. Tressel is known for his character and how he handles him stuff and the fact that he hired one of the best lawyers to represent him says even more. Usually when the going get’s tough the college coaches get going (see Pete Carrol), but Tressel is standing his ground and will rough it out no matter what the NCAA hands down.

As for the players this one will be much shorter, they all know the rules in regards to accepting gifts, discounts, etc, but where does it say you can not pawn school giving awards for money? I think it is a joke that a player would sell rings or gifts from the school that was awarded to them, but that is another topic.  I mean once you are handed an award isn’t it technically yours? What is the difference with someone selling back their text books?  Taking discounts for items for autographs is a big no-no, but I doubt any major student athlete from any major college sports program has paid for a meal at a local restaurants. The NCAA needs to stop picking and choosing what they go after, either go all in or continue to look the other way…