U of M thread (in the Lions Forum) :)

[Mainevent]

Think of it this way, driving 70 MPH isn’t illegal in an of itself, but if you do it in a school zone you’re going to get busted. It’s not what they were doing but how and where they were doing it that matters.

Wyld Stalions was supposedly not only going to games but also video recording the other teams sidelines - two things that are expressly forbidden. The media is focusing on the stealing signs because again, that’s the only real value that can be gleaned from this type of activity and it is an easy concept to grasp. Ultimately whatever punishment the NCAA hands down will likely stick to the letter of the rules and penalize them for doing in person scouting and using electronic equipment to record the other teams.

[froot loops]

I knew a guy who worked on the Toledo staff when Matt Campbell was the coach and he was one of the guys who had to go to exchange tapes. The coaches would meet at a diner and exchange tapes. This was not that long ago, maybe 8 years ago. The advent of hudl had just started. The rules on this are horribly outdated, but change in college is glacial.

The other teams in the big ten seem to be really pissed about this because they don't seem to do this at least at level Michigan was doing.

[JGSpartan]

I do think it comes down to the difference in how much can be learned from recording an entire game of signals vs significantly less from a TV broadcast or having to figure it out while it's ongoing.

Also, everyone does it is the go to excuse any team gets caught cheating. I'm sure there is a lot of cheating that goes on that goes uncaught. That doesn't mean teams shouldn't be punished when they do.

Obviously I'm a Spartans fan but my best friend loves Michigan. While I always want to see the Spartans win on the field I don't wish for things like this to happen. I do think they'll get punished and the people who really lose are the fans and the new players.

Also fuck Ohio State. Just because.

[Mainevent]

Game tape and All 22 isn’t going to be trained on the bench all the time, so you only be able to get bits and pieces. It’s still no easy task once you record it to then decipher it and match it up with the sequences of game action.

The talk about TCU flipping the tables on M I enjoyed a bit, even as an M fan. That’s some good gamesmanship. And if Big 10 teams suspected anything and didn’t do some similar stuff, that’s on them.

[edindetroit]

Obviously I'm a Spartans fan

You are? I never would have guessed.

[jaadam4]

TCU is full of shit about being sly on sign stealing. They just beat Michigan like a drum that game. Michigan had no healthy RBs and they lost because they didn’t play well.

[chemiclord]

Yeah, they didn't play well because they didn't know what TCU was going to run any given play.

[froot loops]

Don't worry Jad, nothing will come of this. No need to have a nervous breakdown. The NCAA and Big Ten are so mad at Michigan that they will give Cleveland State a other year of probation.

[chemiclord]

I do expect fairly little to come out of this.

At the end of the day, that particular rule is one that the NCAA had entertained dropping entirely not terribly long ago because they weren't convinced it gave teams terribly much of an advantage (and no doubt because damn near every team was trying to break that rule in spirit if not in letter). There's also a bit of an expectation that if you're honestly using the same signals from week to week that you're rather asking for trouble anyway.

They're going to get a slap on the wrist. Stalions will probably be banned from any scouting. No wins are going to be vacated. Fans of other teams are going to grumble. By the end of the year, everyone will have moved on.

[Mainevent]

I don’t think they will vacate wins or championships or punish the current kids. But I think Harbaugh could see some not insignificant punishment. Of course, if he skips off to the NFL it won’t matter much.

[jaadam4]

Yeah, they didn't play well because they didn't know what TCU was going to run any given play.

I know it’s a chess match but Michigan would have caught on that plays were different. Harbaugh is a world class coach not some rookie peewee hook line and sinker.

TCU beat the hell out of Michigan fair and square

[jaadam4]

Don't worry Jad, nothing will come of this. No need to have a nervous breakdown. The NCAA and Big Ten are so mad at Michigan that they will give Cleveland State a other year of probation.

Not having any nervous breakdown. If it’s found that they broke the rules they can pay the consequences but it’s Fucking bananas that players have been bought for decades and the NCAA never cared then. Especially basketball, it’s a shit show but I guess they don’t have independent outside firms coming to them with information.

[JGSpartan]

I wouldn't say they've never cared. I'd say they have sporadically cared.

[jaadam4]

Wow. I have no idea whether Michigan was involved with this or not but I've never in my life seen an investigation get handled so swiftly and a punishment be handed out. That has to be the fastest ones on record. I love how they wait for the team to be in the air headed to Happy Valley to suspend him

Harbaugh certainly pisses off people in a crazy manner.

[chemiclord]

Probably because he's a habitual rule breaker, and eventually people find that irritating, no matter how minor the rules are.