Tressel and Ohio State could be in trouble

I doubt there will be a free pass in Columbus.

 

A former coach -- with stops at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida on his resume -- is said to be buying a house in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

Hmmm....

 

Another model of decorum and discipline...

 

Anyone who thinks Tressel will lose his job over this would be advised to turn on the TV next Saturday when Jim Calhoun takes his Connecticut Huskies to the floor for the Final Four, two years after Yahoo Sports spoonfed the NCAA more than enough evidence to run Calhoun out of the game. With any luck, he'll be facing John Calipari, he of the prodigious NCAA resume and even more prodigious paycheck; and if all goes well he'll make the championship game against Kansas, which was so easily able to sweep that ticket scandal under the rug less than a year ago even though Yahoo pointed out how it enriched so many shady and university-affiliated characters, including the starting guard's dad.

They'll just let the air out of the ball on this like they always do, wait for the rage to subside and then open the cash registers in time for football season.

 

If the Buckeyes lose one of the five games and it costs them a shot at a BCS game - THEN there will be calls for his head. Sure seems that everytime you see a successful coach run out of town with hint or stench of a scandal, it's after a disappointing season, not after a great one.

 

Unlike Calhoun and Calipari, the KU ticket scandal didn't help the Jayhawks land recruits or make them any better on the court. It simply robbed the athletic department of anywhere between $3 million to $5 million. And the people involved aren't on the coaching staff, nor on the court. They were in administration offices and now they're actually in courtrooms, being sentenced one after another for the past couple months, and probably for another year or so.

Calhoun and Calipari, there are similar stories there. The KU ticket scandal is something different. Not sure how Self could be compared to Tressel here, or how Brady Morningstar should be responsible for his dad's actions, or why it should effect whether he plays.

 

Mmmmm hmmmm, and why should Reggie Bush be punished just because his parents got a house? Or Cam Newton if his dad got the church fixed up real nice? Players' parents can't get extra benefits, but Roger Morningstar raided the ticket stash for years.

I know you think Kansas does no wrong and Bill Self is one of the good guys, but there is a stink coming off that program.

 

KU has done wrong, and I'm not naive to think it won't do wrong ever again. I've seen KU players do wrong on campus. There's no denying certain things at big-time NCAA schools. Given KU's last two ADs -- Al Bohl and Lew Perkins -- it shouldn't be a surprise to hear some of the transgressions in Lawrence. And that's not to mention Roy Williams' NCAA rules violations and all things Mark Mangino. Even with the players on this team since they arrived on campus, you have Mario Little's assault back in the fall, the Morris twins' bb gun incident, Morningstar's DUI, Taylor's long list of drama, the fight with the football team, etc. It's not all flowers. Never has been.

However, your comparisons are off completely. Calhoun and Calipari broke NCAA violations to get recruits, to get better on the field/court and improve their paychecks and job security. The KU ticket scandal didn't help a single team and cost the athletic department somewhere between $3 million and $5 million, depending on whose estimates you believe. I'm sure Self -- not to mention all the other coaches -- would've loved to have seen that money put to use to make their own programs better, as opposed to making certain white-collar employees rich(er).

Also, your Morningstar/Bush/Newton comparison is laughable. With two of those players, the suspicion is that money and benefits that broke NCAA rules happened in an attempt to gain favor, to land a player who could elevate a program. And it did, both won the Heisman Trophy and a mythical national championship. I'm pretty sure what happened with Morningstar's dad had absolutely nothing to do with the recruitment of a kid who's now a 25-year-old guard, because -- and you might have noticed this -- he's nowhere near the impact player Bush or Newton are. If the actions of Morningstar's father had nothing to do with his recruitment or the team, then it's simply a crime without NCAA ramifications.

 

Wondering if the Feds are exploring any obstruction of justice charges against Tressel since he in effect tipped players off to Federal investigation.

 

Resigns: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2011/05/30/ohio-state-news.html?sid=101

 

For sale, cheap, a buncha scarlet and grey sweater vests.

 

http://twitter.com/#!/georgedohrmann/status/75318450758746113
My best guest on when my Tressel/OSU story will go up on SI.com is between 7:30 pm and 8 pm EST.