Buckeye Blogger NetworkIt’s the bye week, and there’s only one song for the occasion. Well, two… something for everyone.
Nice...
Buckeye 411
This week’s soundtrack takes you back to 1978, well before vampires were sparkly and werewolves were dreamy. Happy All Hallows Eve, folks…
Useful, that.
Buckeye 411
Pointed to the coming storm?
The quiet of this week around Buckeye Nation provides a moment of peace prior to August’s chaos of fall camp and Olympic dreams. It’s completely different than July of 2011… and I don’t hear many complaining.
What I do hear, though, are the thunder and raging winds still swirling from last week’s Freeh Report. Both the national news coverage and the responses from Lion Faithful and PSU alums are clamoring- and, like what passes for dialogue these days, neither side are really listening to the other. Civility seems to be yet another casualty of this situation- although, it can be argued that this merely highlights the fact that it’s been dead for a long while.
So, this week’s SBP will take a look at some of the interesting articles and reflections on this almost indescribable set of circumstances. The view we’ll be taking will be a bit farther out- looking not at the particulars but at the “culture” that’s seems to have been on everyone’s mind lately… although, I’m not sure we’re looking deep enough.
If you’re tired of this story, I hope you’ll at least stick around for the commentary after the jump- there’s a lot to learn and think about from this, even if you’re not Nittany.
Responses to the Freeh Report
Everything about the crimes and the cover up is horrific, so please keep that in mind while you are celebrating Penn State’s coming reckoning. When you pop the champagne tonight in jubilation, try to remember that children were raped and grown men in charge of leading young men allowed it to happen. Then try to think of any reason why a human being should ever be happy that this could happen to a child, let alone children.
…
Don’t let football blind you, because that’s what Penn State did. They willingly let themselves lose sight of of what actually happened to these children, and then somehow found a way to ignore it. Hate Penn State for what happened here all you want, but don’t forget why you feel the way you do. And it should have nothing to do with football.
The Greggster must have gotten what he was looking for, because his next comments on the matter were… get this.. a complete change in tone that went against what others were saying. Read More
It’s hump day, which means the mid-week linkage and notes from around the world of college sports.
Flying High, As Always
Buckeye 411
Mali note: This was written on Sunday night, right before the hamster in my folk’s dial up internet died- as such it didn’t get published. If you haven’t heard this, then it’s news to you.
Reports tonight (yesterday night) are indicating that the members of the Ohio State football team who were suspended on Thursday will be playing in the Sugar Bowl game on January 4th, following a vote of the team’s seniors.
Initially suspended by Ohio State for the game against the Razorbacks, the NCAA informed the Buckeyes that the members of the team would be allowed to participate in the Sugar Bowl. Numerous commentators have been wondering why the coaching staff wouldn’t just go ahead and suspend those involved, either as a response to the transgressions or as an attempt to get the suspensions lessened for 2011 (counting this as “time served”).
It sounds as if this was the plan, but that Coach Tressel chose to allow the team’s seniors to make the final decision at this evening’s meeting following the holiday break. As such, Ohio State will be at full strength in New Orleans.
No Clue At All
The stink from this is going to be on the airwaves for months to come. Five Buckeyes selling their championship gear to earn money – albeit to help their parents out – are allowed to play in a big bowl game and serve their suspensions the next year. The argument is going to go something like this,
Clearly the Buckeyes are more interested in bowl wins than punishing their student athletes!
Certainly seems like a valid argument. The Buckeyes look like they are trading the opportunity to play their guys now for losing them for 5, mostly meaningless games next year.
Consider who the Buckeyes are playing:
Three of those teams stand out. The game at Miami (FL) might not be so bad, especially since they’ll have to deal with having yet another new coach, but they can still play football. Colorado…well, they’re Colorado. But we follow that up with a Michigan State team that I’m certain would love to come into the Shoe and pound us for the 2006 (38-7) and 2008 (45-7) home losses they suffered to us.
Well, seems as if there was something to those reports about Mich1gAAn’s inability to monitor practice time after all. From the Detroit News:
According to an audit, obtained by The Detroit News, the football staff did not submit the practice logs for the 2008 season as required by the university athletic department, which uses the logs to remain in compliance with NCAA rules. The team filed its out-of-season reports after the audit was completed and, as of July, the football staff had still not filed its 2008 monthly logs.
Tate? When you watch all that film, be sure to write it down and make sure that it gets in the mail. Your coaches don’t seem to have the ability to do so.
When the inevitable beatdown happens on Saturday, don’t think that this NCAA investigation, coupled with Bill Martin’s resignation/retirement/quitting and these recent findings of impropriety won’t be a great excuse for scUM to undo what should have never been done, and “reevaluate their coaching staff”.
ESPN just announced that Rich Rodriquez has been linked to a booster that is banned by the NCAA.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — One of the business partners involved in the real estate venture at the root of a federal lawsuit against Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez is an accused felon and banned Clemson University booster.
The partner, Clegg Lamar Greene of Clemson, S.C., was arrested Dec. 29 and charged with multiple counts of breach of trust.
[snip]
When he partnered up with Rodriguez in September 2007, Greene had already been banned twice from being a booster at Clemson. NCAA investigators accused Greene in 2000 of providing a $1,300 loan and use of his boat to two Clemson recruits.
Coming up for the rest of the week, Brian at MGoBlog will write six dissertations about how “these are not the droids you are looking for.”
It’s comical, in my opinion.
Remember the good old days, when Michigan bloggers only had to freak out about a report that said RichRod would be platooning three QBs against Western Michigan? That was four days ago.
Oh, the times, they are a-changin’.
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Oh, and as you hear the whiny excuses over the next few days, keep this in mind…Rodriquez partnered himself with the guy BEFORE he was the head coach at Michigan. Yes, you’ll hear that excuse. Well, why the hell didn’t Bill Martin actually investigate who RichRod was before hiring the guy?
Michigan bloggers freaked out when they learned that their new stud QB was actually a coke dealer and declared “how DARE you ask us to investigate his past before we signed him to play at UM?”
That excuse isn’t going to fly with the guy that makes 2 million a year of Michigan money.
Bottom line – Michigan hired a guy who had partnered up with a felon that had been TOLD not to have contact with NCAA coaches and/or players. That’s at best stupid, at worst, unethical and potentially criminal.
You made the bed. Now lay down.
