Basically dunks on someone from Oklahoma City, beats his chest, and then pastes someone in the side of the head with the most flagrant elbow I've seen since Kobe in the 2002 Western Conference Finals!
When are we going to understand that one too many of these incidents and we get another Malice at the Palace, especially with the public riled up as much as it is today?
Get him off the court for good. You should've done that in Indiana!!
Monday, April 23, 2012
If this is true, is there ANYONE left who believes the New Orleans Saints should still exist?
The hits just keep on coming for the New Orleans Saints.
ESPN and Outside the Lines have unearthed this gem:
NEW ORLEANS -- The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana was told Friday that New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis had an electronic device in his Superdome suite that had been secretly re-wired to enable him to eavesdrop on visiting coaching staffs for nearly three NFL seasons, "Outside the Lines" has learned.
According to the report, these were his first three years as GM: Most of the 2002 season, and all of the next two.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have another Spygate allegation.
I'll let you read the rest of this for yourself, but I have one overreaching line of questioning:
If this is true, how in the blue Hell can you allow the New Orleans Saints to field a team next year? How in the Hell can you not seize the Saints franchise and basically dismantle it, if you are the NFL?
Forget just taking away the championship they won -- that should've been done already! If this is true, what else are going to find out about these guys?
ESPN and Outside the Lines have unearthed this gem:
NEW ORLEANS -- The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana was told Friday that New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis had an electronic device in his Superdome suite that had been secretly re-wired to enable him to eavesdrop on visiting coaching staffs for nearly three NFL seasons, "Outside the Lines" has learned.
According to the report, these were his first three years as GM: Most of the 2002 season, and all of the next two.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have another Spygate allegation.
I'll let you read the rest of this for yourself, but I have one overreaching line of questioning:
If this is true, how in the blue Hell can you allow the New Orleans Saints to field a team next year? How in the Hell can you not seize the Saints franchise and basically dismantle it, if you are the NFL?
Forget just taking away the championship they won -- that should've been done already! If this is true, what else are going to find out about these guys?
Thursday, April 19, 2012
So the NHL needs to pump ratings into the NBC Sports Network...
... and someone is going to have their career ended because of it.
Usually, one of the main differences between regular season hockey and the playoffs is that the bullshit of the fighting and the cheapies goes away.
This year, as many have reported, it's gotten bad.
REAL BAD.
And it sounds to me as if the "new transparency" of Brendan Shanahan has been stifled, in the name of trying to prop up ratings for the newly-rebranded "NBC Sports Network", formerly Versus.
Why? Let's take a look at some of the cheap shots just in this first round of the playoffs...
The worst offending team appears to be Sidney's Pittsburgh Penguins, who drew the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Game 3 might've been one of the dirtiest games in recent playoff history. With the Flyers winning the first two games in Pittsburgh, tensions were already high.
A fight breaks out (0:04 on this clip) after Philly scores to even the game, as someone gets a stick to the helmet, creating a brawl.
And then Sid the Kid gets mauled (0:30 on the same clip) and all Hell breaks loose again, leading to multiple penalties and some ejections. (Note how quick the refs try to protect Crosby.) In another clip of the fight, the announcer is heard talking about the "we're screwed" "Thousand-Yard Stare" by the Penguins.
And then a hit which should've gotten a year suspension (1:15): After a clean hit by Brayden Schenn,
Arron Asham appears to crosscheck him in the throat. Not satisfied with that, he then gives Schenn a punch to the back of the head on the ground. (Clear replay at 1:35)
Asham is immediately thrown off the ice -- MATCH PENALTY.
Asham has been suspended for four games.
That shit should've gotten A YEAR. That was a stick to the throat, following by punching a defenseless player.
At 2:10, another brawl, which, given the game and the score, they are VERY fortunate it didn't get to a mass brawl off the benches. (Again, the refs protect Crosby.)
So, what happens? Three players from the Penguins were suspended from Game Four.
Which, basically, was a rig-job as well. Philly won the first three games by a combined 8 goals, only Game 1 being really competitive.
So, what happens? Pittsburgh wins Game 4 by a 10-3 count with EIGHT UNANSWERED GOALS in a fairly clean contest.
Where'd that come from??? Why? Especially with three Pittsburgh players suspended and the series basically out of reach, how does that legitimately happen?
Game 5 Friday night in Pittsburgh. Oh brother...
------------
Another cheapie: This one has the offender banned until a hearing in front of Shanahan directly.
Perhaps he might want to explain how four referees didn't call a penalty on this play, including one right in front of the damnated hit!!
Phoenix and Chicago, in one of the dirtiest hits that friends of mine have ever seen.
First period, Raffi Torres takes out Marian Hossa, leaving his feet right in front of the official. (Replay at about 2:45 if you want to see it directly.) Hossa is taken on a backboard off the ice.
This is Torres' third PLAYOFF SUSPENSION since the start of the 2011 playoffs (see inset). He also left his feet in a January, 2012 incident after the two playoff suspensions for a head-shot that cost him two games.
But the trigger here that something is badly wrong in the league comes from two observations on this hit alone:
A Phoenix Coyote announcer has been death-threatted for defending the hit. His homer call was indefensible: "... as clean of a hit as you're going to get".
Earlier in the series, Blackhawk Andrew Shaw drew a three-game suspension for a shoulder-to-face hit on Coyote goaltender Mike Smith. The clip actually makes it look like a helmet-to-helmet hit!! (Sound familiar??)
------------------
On the NHL page right now at ESPN.com: Boston-Washington and all their cheap shots. The "picture" leading to the video? #19 for Washington taking a stick to his face by a Boston player.
Nicklas Backstrom got one game for a post-game cross-check in that same series after getting a match penalty in Game 3.
And the coaching staff believes that Backstrom, who has a concussion history, is being targetted for headshots.
----------------
And it's not just me who's saying it:
The NHL is
FUCKING
OUT
OF
CONTROL.
It may have started with this hit in the Detroit Nashville series, where it looks like Shea Weber takes Henrik Zetterberg's face into the glass at the end of Game 1. (Replay at 0:37 : Intentional shots to the back of the head and a grind into the glass). Weber got a $2,500 fine.
The ABC News article (linked at "OUT") says it best:
"In January, even as the league was touting the fact that fights-per-game had dropped to low levels not seen since the mid-70s, Toronto general manager Brian Burke groused out loud about having to send his enforcer, Colton Orr, down to the Leafs' American Hockey League affiliate.
Burke, who once held Shanahan's job, said his team was barely able to use Orr — he appeared in just five of Toronto's 39 games — because hardly anyone wanted to fight him. He predicted that abandoning the code that governed who fought and when would result in more players taking cheap shots and seeking revenge in even more dangerous ways.
"I wonder where we're going with it, that's the only lament I have on this," he said at the time. "The fear that if we don't have guys looking after each other, that the rats will take this game over."
Too late. They already have."
TheStar.com (linked at "OF"): "Less than a year after taking over from Colin Campbell and supposedly ushering in a new era of common sense justice for the NHL, it has become clear that Shanahan’s reign will be no more progressive and may in fact drag the NHL backwards."
Shanahan was one of the NHL's goons, to be sure.
The problem with this statement is that the NHL's main broadcast partner (NBC) is in serious, perhaps mortal, trouble -- and has been for some time.
Could the NHL, above Shanahan, have decided to let the "rats" take the game over because that's what people will watch to keep the NBC Sports Network -- and NBC -- afloat?
But it's the one linked at "CONTROL" that probably answers the question: The gang mentality which has taken over the actions of many fans has spread to the players, and The Bleacher Report puts it well -- respect for opponents is at an all-time low.
So low that I have a suggestion for Gary Bettman and Brendan Shanahan: ABOLISH THE POST-SERIES HANDSHAKES. You will get a major incident at one of these.
One famed Canadian columnist, Damien Cox (the TheStar.com link) has it right: The NHL is now looking like "a hillbilly beer league".
Usually, one of the main differences between regular season hockey and the playoffs is that the bullshit of the fighting and the cheapies goes away.
This year, as many have reported, it's gotten bad.
REAL BAD.
And it sounds to me as if the "new transparency" of Brendan Shanahan has been stifled, in the name of trying to prop up ratings for the newly-rebranded "NBC Sports Network", formerly Versus.
Why? Let's take a look at some of the cheap shots just in this first round of the playoffs...
The worst offending team appears to be Sidney's Pittsburgh Penguins, who drew the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Game 3 might've been one of the dirtiest games in recent playoff history. With the Flyers winning the first two games in Pittsburgh, tensions were already high.
A fight breaks out (0:04 on this clip) after Philly scores to even the game, as someone gets a stick to the helmet, creating a brawl.
And then Sid the Kid gets mauled (0:30 on the same clip) and all Hell breaks loose again, leading to multiple penalties and some ejections. (Note how quick the refs try to protect Crosby.) In another clip of the fight, the announcer is heard talking about the "we're screwed" "Thousand-Yard Stare" by the Penguins.
And then a hit which should've gotten a year suspension (1:15): After a clean hit by Brayden Schenn,
Arron Asham appears to crosscheck him in the throat. Not satisfied with that, he then gives Schenn a punch to the back of the head on the ground. (Clear replay at 1:35)
Asham is immediately thrown off the ice -- MATCH PENALTY.
Asham has been suspended for four games.
That shit should've gotten A YEAR. That was a stick to the throat, following by punching a defenseless player.
At 2:10, another brawl, which, given the game and the score, they are VERY fortunate it didn't get to a mass brawl off the benches. (Again, the refs protect Crosby.)
So, what happens? Three players from the Penguins were suspended from Game Four.
Which, basically, was a rig-job as well. Philly won the first three games by a combined 8 goals, only Game 1 being really competitive.
So, what happens? Pittsburgh wins Game 4 by a 10-3 count with EIGHT UNANSWERED GOALS in a fairly clean contest.
Where'd that come from??? Why? Especially with three Pittsburgh players suspended and the series basically out of reach, how does that legitimately happen?
Game 5 Friday night in Pittsburgh. Oh brother...
------------
Another cheapie: This one has the offender banned until a hearing in front of Shanahan directly.
Perhaps he might want to explain how four referees didn't call a penalty on this play, including one right in front of the damnated hit!!
Phoenix and Chicago, in one of the dirtiest hits that friends of mine have ever seen.
First period, Raffi Torres takes out Marian Hossa, leaving his feet right in front of the official. (Replay at about 2:45 if you want to see it directly.) Hossa is taken on a backboard off the ice.
This is Torres' third PLAYOFF SUSPENSION since the start of the 2011 playoffs (see inset). He also left his feet in a January, 2012 incident after the two playoff suspensions for a head-shot that cost him two games.
But the trigger here that something is badly wrong in the league comes from two observations on this hit alone:
- Four officials missed the play completely.
- One was right in front of the incident and should've seen everything -- called NOTHING.
A Phoenix Coyote announcer has been death-threatted for defending the hit. His homer call was indefensible: "... as clean of a hit as you're going to get".
Earlier in the series, Blackhawk Andrew Shaw drew a three-game suspension for a shoulder-to-face hit on Coyote goaltender Mike Smith. The clip actually makes it look like a helmet-to-helmet hit!! (Sound familiar??)
------------------
On the NHL page right now at ESPN.com: Boston-Washington and all their cheap shots. The "picture" leading to the video? #19 for Washington taking a stick to his face by a Boston player.
Nicklas Backstrom got one game for a post-game cross-check in that same series after getting a match penalty in Game 3.
And the coaching staff believes that Backstrom, who has a concussion history, is being targetted for headshots.
----------------
And it's not just me who's saying it:
The NHL is
FUCKING
OUT
OF
CONTROL.
It may have started with this hit in the Detroit Nashville series, where it looks like Shea Weber takes Henrik Zetterberg's face into the glass at the end of Game 1. (Replay at 0:37 : Intentional shots to the back of the head and a grind into the glass). Weber got a $2,500 fine.
The ABC News article (linked at "OUT") says it best:
"In January, even as the league was touting the fact that fights-per-game had dropped to low levels not seen since the mid-70s, Toronto general manager Brian Burke groused out loud about having to send his enforcer, Colton Orr, down to the Leafs' American Hockey League affiliate.
Burke, who once held Shanahan's job, said his team was barely able to use Orr — he appeared in just five of Toronto's 39 games — because hardly anyone wanted to fight him. He predicted that abandoning the code that governed who fought and when would result in more players taking cheap shots and seeking revenge in even more dangerous ways.
"I wonder where we're going with it, that's the only lament I have on this," he said at the time. "The fear that if we don't have guys looking after each other, that the rats will take this game over."
Too late. They already have."
TheStar.com (linked at "OF"): "Less than a year after taking over from Colin Campbell and supposedly ushering in a new era of common sense justice for the NHL, it has become clear that Shanahan’s reign will be no more progressive and may in fact drag the NHL backwards."
Shanahan was one of the NHL's goons, to be sure.
The problem with this statement is that the NHL's main broadcast partner (NBC) is in serious, perhaps mortal, trouble -- and has been for some time.
Could the NHL, above Shanahan, have decided to let the "rats" take the game over because that's what people will watch to keep the NBC Sports Network -- and NBC -- afloat?
But it's the one linked at "CONTROL" that probably answers the question: The gang mentality which has taken over the actions of many fans has spread to the players, and The Bleacher Report puts it well -- respect for opponents is at an all-time low.
So low that I have a suggestion for Gary Bettman and Brendan Shanahan: ABOLISH THE POST-SERIES HANDSHAKES. You will get a major incident at one of these.
One famed Canadian columnist, Damien Cox (the TheStar.com link) has it right: The NHL is now looking like "a hillbilly beer league".
Monday, April 9, 2012
Well Surprise, Surprise, Surprise: Baylor truly joins the big programs -- BUSTED!!!
Baylor's football and two basketball programs combined this year for the most wins in NCAA history -- EIGHTY.
We now know why -- they've been fucking the system for at least 3-4 years now.
They've been under investigation by the NCAA for at least that long, and their all-World women's basketball player (leader of the first 40-win season in NCAA history) appears involved.
ESPN reports that Baylor University has been the subject of an across-the-board athletic investigation by the NCAA for impermissible contacts. You can only contact people in a certain time period a certain number of times, and Baylor (probably in the process of trying to make itself relevant in the NCAA sporting world) decided to circumvent that, the NCAA alleges.
What's more, women's PoY Brittany Griner was the start of all this, as Baylor is alleged to have improperly contacted her and her father when they were recruiting her.
This, alone, should be grounds, if proven, for nullification of this year's national title and all the awards Griner won, since she never should've been eligible to play at Baylor. (They were reported by Griner and her father, so she should've disqualified Baylor and chosen to play elsewhere...)
But isn't it funny... When we get a program who's trying to get "in" (I'm looking at you Boise State football -- thanks for nothing!!!), it always seems to come down to this.
EVERY
DAMN
TIME.
If proven, strip the title.
If proven and you can tie the football program to this, strip this year's Heisman from the soon-to-be #2...
(As of now, it's just the mens' and womens' basketball programs...)
We now know why -- they've been fucking the system for at least 3-4 years now.
They've been under investigation by the NCAA for at least that long, and their all-World women's basketball player (leader of the first 40-win season in NCAA history) appears involved.
ESPN reports that Baylor University has been the subject of an across-the-board athletic investigation by the NCAA for impermissible contacts. You can only contact people in a certain time period a certain number of times, and Baylor (probably in the process of trying to make itself relevant in the NCAA sporting world) decided to circumvent that, the NCAA alleges.
What's more, women's PoY Brittany Griner was the start of all this, as Baylor is alleged to have improperly contacted her and her father when they were recruiting her.
This, alone, should be grounds, if proven, for nullification of this year's national title and all the awards Griner won, since she never should've been eligible to play at Baylor. (They were reported by Griner and her father, so she should've disqualified Baylor and chosen to play elsewhere...)
But isn't it funny... When we get a program who's trying to get "in" (I'm looking at you Boise State football -- thanks for nothing!!!), it always seems to come down to this.
EVERY
DAMN
TIME.
If proven, strip the title.
If proven and you can tie the football program to this, strip this year's Heisman from the soon-to-be #2...
(As of now, it's just the mens' and womens' basketball programs...)
Friday, March 23, 2012
Another #1 Preferred Program Needs the Officiating to Escape
Another rigged game in the Sweet 16.
North Carolina just defeated Ohio University 73-65 in the first overtime game of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Never should've gotten there -- never should've been close -- and the Tarheels needed to go home.
For the second time in this tournament (thought not QUITE as obviously as the Syracuse-Asheville debacle -- oh, by the way, Syracuse is now one of the Elite Eight...), the referees hand an elite #1 seed a completely unjustified victory.
Ohio University ran UNC off the court in the second half to erase a halftime deficit, however:
North Carolina just defeated Ohio University 73-65 in the first overtime game of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Never should've gotten there -- never should've been close -- and the Tarheels needed to go home.
For the second time in this tournament (thought not QUITE as obviously as the Syracuse-Asheville debacle -- oh, by the way, Syracuse is now one of the Elite Eight...), the referees hand an elite #1 seed a completely unjustified victory.
Ohio University ran UNC off the court in the second half to erase a halftime deficit, however:
- We can again begin the trace of this back to the 12:00 media timeout -- in this case, one play before it. After a North Carolina miss (this is after Ohio University had already had two attempts to take the lead for the first time in the game), the ball is ruled to go off the Xavier player, however the replay clearly shows the only guy to touch it was the North Carolina player under the basket.
- By the time 8:06 is left in the game, the foul count is 18 for Ohio U (and 2 players with 4) to 8 for North Carolina. By the end of regulation, it's 20-11 with 3 Ohio players with 4 -- NC is in the penalty (the "Double Bonus"), it takes three minutes of the overtime to get the sixth team foul for the second half called on North Carolina. Funny thing...
- Because with about 5 1/2 minutes left and Carolina up 3, it looks like a guy gets hacked at the basket on a dunk attempt. A second dunk attempt on the next possession cuts the lead to 1, but still...
- But the biggest rigged call of the match, and the one which basically had Ohio U pack it in and go home (the overtime was a freaking afterthought Ohio U scored only two points to Carolina's ten!) was when, with Ohio leading by a point with under 45 seconds left in the game, an Ohio player takes an arm to the eye and goes down. Both coaches are screaming on the floor for a foul -- his player (the one he has to defend) hits a 3 on the other end to put NC up 2, and Ohio can't respond better than to tie into overtime.
Yeah, tell me how these games are on the up and up again?
The Saints had better lawyer up -- Congress is getting involved!!
Dick Durbin is putting together a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Bounty-Gate, and the other sports are being asked to come too.
Here's the thing: I believe we have sufficient laws on the books in the state of Louisiana where felony battery charges could be brought on EVERY PLAYER AND COACH INVOLVED.
Section 34.1 of the Criminal portion of the Louisiana Statute, Revised Statute 14:
"§34.1. Second degree battery
A. Second degree battery is a battery when the offender intentionally inflicts serious bodily injury; however, this provision shall not apply to a medical provider who has obtained the consent of a patient.
B. For purposes of this Section, "serious bodily injury" means bodily injury which involves unconsciousness, extreme physical pain or protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty, or a substantial risk of death.
C. Whoever commits the crime of second degree battery shall be fined not more than two thousand dollars or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than five years, or both."
Durbin is actively exploring whether Federal laws (including those which cover game-fixing (sports-bribery laws)) need to be invoked or expanded to cover this.
There is only one right punishment: SHUT THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS DOWN. And if you won't do it for "bid'ness", Mr. Goodell, the United States Congress just might!
Here's the thing: I believe we have sufficient laws on the books in the state of Louisiana where felony battery charges could be brought on EVERY PLAYER AND COACH INVOLVED.
Section 34.1 of the Criminal portion of the Louisiana Statute, Revised Statute 14:
"§34.1. Second degree battery
A. Second degree battery is a battery when the offender intentionally inflicts serious bodily injury; however, this provision shall not apply to a medical provider who has obtained the consent of a patient.
B. For purposes of this Section, "serious bodily injury" means bodily injury which involves unconsciousness, extreme physical pain or protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty, or a substantial risk of death.
C. Whoever commits the crime of second degree battery shall be fined not more than two thousand dollars or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than five years, or both."
Durbin is actively exploring whether Federal laws (including those which cover game-fixing (sports-bribery laws)) need to be invoked or expanded to cover this.
There is only one right punishment: SHUT THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS DOWN. And if you won't do it for "bid'ness", Mr. Goodell, the United States Congress just might!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
"The Show Must Go On", Part Two: The 2011 Sugar Bowl
Before I do this post, I'm going to bump up, for the benefit of anyone who only reads this every couple of days, a couple of post links to blog posts I've made on:
The laughable "penalties" to the Saints for Bounty-Gate, and what should (but won't) be done.
My original thoughts on Bounty-Gate.
A Tuohy-found article on a survey showing rampant soccer match-fixing in southern and eastern Europe.
------
So, with that light reading material, if you haven't already read it, let me get to the second installment of "The Show Must Go On".
Tattoo Kiss: The 2011 Sugar Bowl Which Never Should've Been Played
(The Game Which Defrauded Another BCS Bowl Without The Rose Bowl's Wrong-Doing)
December 5th, 2010: ESPN applauds itself and the BCS for ensuring the power schools are the only ones who play for the National Championship.
As a subsidiary event to naming Auburn ($Cam) and Oregon (Nike U + their own recruiting-agent scandals) as the two schools who will play for the national title, it also announces that Ohio State earned an at-large bid out of the three-way title for the Big 10 (this was the last year of there being no Big 10 title game) to play in the Sugar Bowl vs. the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Seventeen days later, it is reported that five Ohio State football players, including stand-out quarterback Terelle Pryor, exchanged autographs for tattoos at a local Ohio tattoo shop. This, being an NCAA violation, rendered them ineligible.
The NCAA still allowed them to play in the Sugar Bowl, but that's not the point here.
Their ineligibility, once they began to exchange their persona for services, was up to two years previous (and Tressell knew of this as early as five months before the 2010 season began)! This (and the obfuscation/lying by Jim Tressell) would eventually cost them the recognition of their entire 2010-11 season, the berth in the Sugar Bowl, and Tressell's job at the university.
Since this was actually announced BEFORE the playing of the 2011 Sugar Bowl, one must then ask the question:
Why was this game even played? It was known pre-knowledge that Ohio State had used at least five ineligible players to win their share of the Big Ten championship, which led to their Sugar Bowl bid.
Usually this is investigated and found out after-the-fact (thank you, Reggie Bush), but this was actually found out before the game was played, and, yet, the NCAA actually allowed the game to go ahead, and, worse, allowed the five to play in it!
Ohio State got more points than Arkansas that night on the field (31-26), but is no longer deemed to have won the game.
Here's the kicker to this whole argument: Because of what happened in the Big Ten that year, Ohio State's participation in the contest voided the legitimacy of two BCS bowls that year, not just it's own.
To explain, we must look at the old Big Ten tiebreakers for a multiple-team situation.
The first tiebreaker in a multi-team situation is a mini-league -- head-to-head among all the teams in the tie, as long as all teams played each other!
Michigan State (the third team in the tie) defeated Wisconsin for it's sole pre-Rose Bowl loss in week five, 34-24.
However, Michigan State and Ohio State never played, as the schedule rotation in the Big Ten had the two teams apart that season.
Hence, the tiebreaker had to go to the team which was the highest ranked team in the BCS on Selection Sunday (the aforementioned December 5th).
That was Wisconsin, who lost to TCU in the Rose Bowl 21-19.
But Wisconsin (through no apparent fault of it's own!) never should've been in the Rose Bowl, because of Ohio State's illegalities!
If Ohio State had been properly stripped of it's portion of the championship, Michigan State's win over Wisconsin would've sent it to the Rose Bowl instead of to the lesser Capital One Bowl (where they got rolled by Alabama 49-7!!).
Now, Wisconsin might well have taken Ohio State's place in the Sugar Bowl, but the fact is that, if the pairings were not to be changed, the game would have to be vacated and never should've taken place at all.
Why did it? Bid'ness. $25,000,000 just for ESPN to broadcast it, as part of it's half-billion commitment over the ownership of college football through the exclusive broadcast of the BCS for four seasons.
For even the known ineligibilities, The Show Must Go On.
The laughable "penalties" to the Saints for Bounty-Gate, and what should (but won't) be done.
My original thoughts on Bounty-Gate.
A Tuohy-found article on a survey showing rampant soccer match-fixing in southern and eastern Europe.
------
So, with that light reading material, if you haven't already read it, let me get to the second installment of "The Show Must Go On".
Tattoo Kiss: The 2011 Sugar Bowl Which Never Should've Been Played
(The Game Which Defrauded Another BCS Bowl Without The Rose Bowl's Wrong-Doing)
December 5th, 2010: ESPN applauds itself and the BCS for ensuring the power schools are the only ones who play for the National Championship.
As a subsidiary event to naming Auburn ($Cam) and Oregon (Nike U + their own recruiting-agent scandals) as the two schools who will play for the national title, it also announces that Ohio State earned an at-large bid out of the three-way title for the Big 10 (this was the last year of there being no Big 10 title game) to play in the Sugar Bowl vs. the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Seventeen days later, it is reported that five Ohio State football players, including stand-out quarterback Terelle Pryor, exchanged autographs for tattoos at a local Ohio tattoo shop. This, being an NCAA violation, rendered them ineligible.
The NCAA still allowed them to play in the Sugar Bowl, but that's not the point here.
Their ineligibility, once they began to exchange their persona for services, was up to two years previous (and Tressell knew of this as early as five months before the 2010 season began)! This (and the obfuscation/lying by Jim Tressell) would eventually cost them the recognition of their entire 2010-11 season, the berth in the Sugar Bowl, and Tressell's job at the university.
Since this was actually announced BEFORE the playing of the 2011 Sugar Bowl, one must then ask the question:
Why was this game even played? It was known pre-knowledge that Ohio State had used at least five ineligible players to win their share of the Big Ten championship, which led to their Sugar Bowl bid.
Usually this is investigated and found out after-the-fact (thank you, Reggie Bush), but this was actually found out before the game was played, and, yet, the NCAA actually allowed the game to go ahead, and, worse, allowed the five to play in it!
Ohio State got more points than Arkansas that night on the field (31-26), but is no longer deemed to have won the game.
Here's the kicker to this whole argument: Because of what happened in the Big Ten that year, Ohio State's participation in the contest voided the legitimacy of two BCS bowls that year, not just it's own.
To explain, we must look at the old Big Ten tiebreakers for a multiple-team situation.
The first tiebreaker in a multi-team situation is a mini-league -- head-to-head among all the teams in the tie, as long as all teams played each other!
Michigan State (the third team in the tie) defeated Wisconsin for it's sole pre-Rose Bowl loss in week five, 34-24.
However, Michigan State and Ohio State never played, as the schedule rotation in the Big Ten had the two teams apart that season.
Hence, the tiebreaker had to go to the team which was the highest ranked team in the BCS on Selection Sunday (the aforementioned December 5th).
That was Wisconsin, who lost to TCU in the Rose Bowl 21-19.
But Wisconsin (through no apparent fault of it's own!) never should've been in the Rose Bowl, because of Ohio State's illegalities!
If Ohio State had been properly stripped of it's portion of the championship, Michigan State's win over Wisconsin would've sent it to the Rose Bowl instead of to the lesser Capital One Bowl (where they got rolled by Alabama 49-7!!).
Now, Wisconsin might well have taken Ohio State's place in the Sugar Bowl, but the fact is that, if the pairings were not to be changed, the game would have to be vacated and never should've taken place at all.
Why did it? Bid'ness. $25,000,000 just for ESPN to broadcast it, as part of it's half-billion commitment over the ownership of college football through the exclusive broadcast of the BCS for four seasons.
For even the known ineligibilities, The Show Must Go On.
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