NCAA alleges "major violations" at Memphis under Calipari

Considering the money has already been spent - and I don't think anyone is going to get refunds for a Final Four T-shirt - I'd really like to see the NCAA have a ceremonial lowering of the final four banner at halftime of a nationally televised game.

 

Wish I could say I was surprised, but I'm not.

 

If some DA went after a former player or coach with fraud charges - which any athlete or coach that knowingly breaks the rules for personal benefit could be held liable for - I think we'd see a lot of this stuff go away.

 

Fixed.

 

http://m.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/Mar/19/hard-sell/

In November, the Basketball Times surveyed 10 sports writers who ranked the top 29 programs in the country (based on winning percentage over the past 10 years) on criteria including freshman graduation rates, number of NBA players and program cleanliness. The current coaches of those programs were judged on their ability to win and the rather more subjective "suitability to guide young men."

Calipari was none too pleased when Memphis, largely because of its perceived lack of "program cleanliness," ranked 29th out of 29 teams in the survey. According to Basketball Times editor and survey panelist John Akers, Calipari was also "clearly annoyed" to come in 18th out of the 29 coaches, behind the likes of Southern Illinois' Chris Lowery (sixth), Creighton's Dana Altman (11th), Kentucky's Billy Gillispie (12th) and Xavier's Sean Miller (17th).

Calipari dismissed the survey and its results out of hand when asked about it recently.

"It was done by a bunch of writers who have not been in my corner since I've coached," he said. "If a guy has an agenda, what do I care what he writes?"

Hi, John!

 

Somewhere, Dana Kirk is smiling.

 

What's the deal with Cleveland State? I've seen jokes on here before, but just googled and couldn't find anything.

 

It is a play on what Jerry Tarkanian -- IIRC -- said on the occasion of the Kentucky scandal back in the '80's: that the NCAA was so mad at Kentucky, it was going to put Cleveland State on probation for two more years.
Watching the various watercarriers on teevee tap-dance around this while praising the "great job" their buddy Cal is doing bringing the glory back to Lexington is going to nauseate me for months.

 

Key word is knowingly -- and that would be damn near impossible to prove.

 

But not as much as this guy...

 

The problem is fans don't give a shit.

Take a survey of Kentucky fans or fans of just about every big-time program that hasn't tasted big time success in a while and say -- if you could have four trips to the final four over the next eight years (or whatever) and at least one national title but at the end of those eight years you might be investigated by the NCAA 99 percent would sign up tomorrow.

Yeah, Kentucky got what it wanted and deserved - a whole bunch of years back at the top of the basketball world.

And if it meant holding their noses and turning their heads, so be it.

The bottom line is the NCAA creates its own messes with its silly, asinine, Big Brother-like set of rules.

 

No, I think Dan is on to something. We all know people in the sports world are terrified of the long arm of the law.

cough, danakirkdaveblissplaxicoburressmichaelvicksteroidusersetcetcetc, cough