Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[hack]

They knew what Tressel was all about when he was hired. They knew this was coming. They were enabling this, not giving reason for pause.

[Dr. Strangelove]

..... not really. I agreed with talent then when he expressed contempt for the NCAA rules about profiting from the sale of memorabilia and receiving benefits. I agree with him now with respect to Manziel ..... stupid rules.

The issue for me with osu was then and still is now the top down cover up and lying.

I would have been much more forgiving of what went down with Tatgate if the deciders had preemptively dismissed major violators from the team, meeting out lesser penalties to the minor violators. Everyone in charge new what was going on and could have put a stop to it, or at least given those thinking about rule breaking reason for pause.

Well, you basically are saying that you don't really have a problem with Manziell getting paid or cashing in on his fame. But you also say that OSU should have immediately dismissed everyone from the team that had traded rings for tats

Why the sympathy and understanding for what Manziell supposedly did versus throwing the OSU players out of the sport?

I'm assuming this isn't just an "I hate OSU" thing, so please explain what you perceive to be the difference.

[Rob F]

heh

I'm willing to admit it. Everything I post here is somewhat "colored" by my hate for The ohio.

There. I said it. And proud of it, too!

;-)

[lineygoblue]

I have no problem equating the acceptance of fees for autographs with what the OlieO's did.

I just think the NCAA should get it right this time and permanently suspend him immediately.

Jamal Crawford was, in effect, kicked out of college basketball by the NCAA, because a family friend bought him a $1500.00 beater to drive around town. I don't see where Manziel deserves any better treatment.

Unless the NCAA wants to keep a white Heisman winner on the field .. and we know they wouldn't do that ....

[Ghengis Jon]

What I see in all of this is an ethical hypocrisy. While I agree that profiteering by players should be verboten, I also think that yanking the non-profit status of sports programs is completely in line. The tax-free benefits only encourages maximizing profits as quickly and as steeply as possible. One only has to look in our own backyard to see how a simple college football game and its pagentry has morphed into a shameless wring every last dime from everything attitude that transcends all. (Brandon = non-profit?!?) If athlete enrichment is 'bad' for the game, so is AD-corporate enrichment. This is, after all, amateur athletics.

[Hannibal]

This stuff needs to be "decriminalized" by the NCAA. Then the discussions about paying players will become irrelevant.

[Optimus Prime]

DSL, let's hope you are done feigning outrage over JM.

Much like Gee, I've got just two words for you and they rhyme with "Duck Flu".

[Optimus Prime]

Good Luck NCAA, after the Ohio St. & Newton transgressions, nothing surprises me.

Besides it appears JM comes from a wealthy family. BTW, just wondering is that the same State of Alabama that ATM plays on September 14th? Is there another?

Why Nothing May Come Of The Johnny Manziel Autograph Scandal

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel is under NCAA investigation for allegedly selling his autograph, according to an ESPN report.
If the NCAA proves the accusation is true, he could be declared ineligible.
But there's still a long way to go before that happens, and considering the specifics of the allegations, the NCAA's limited investigative powers, and the Manziel family's financial ability to defend itself, the NCAA is facing an uphill battle.
Here's the entirely of the evidence against Manziel right now:
Two sources told Darren Rovell of ESPN that Manziel got a "five figure" payment for signing a bunch of memorabilia for Florida broker Drew Tieman last January. Both sources specified that they did not see the alleged transaction take place.
One source told Joe Schad of ESPN that Manziel's assistant told a broker in Alabama that Johnny Football would no longer sign autographs for free. That source specified that Manziel was not given money for his autograph.
There's also a photo, uncovered by ESPN, of Manziel signing an autograph in a hotel room. It's important to note that there is no NCAA rule against signing autographs, or even signing hundreds of autographs at a time at a shady memorabilia broker's house, as long as you don't take money for it.
If you wanted proof that Manziel has signed an autograph before, you could have just checked out the dozens of authenticated items on eBay.
So while this photo seems to imply ILLICIT ACTIVITIES, this is entirely meaningless:
Alleged Johnny Manziel autograph "proof picture" broker claims he shot pic.twitter.com/RR7oExSp4o
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) August 5, 2013
In short, there are currently zero people who claim to have seen Johnny Manziel sell his autograph.
To prove that Manziel sold his autograph, the NCAA would have to find that alleged five-figure payment in Manziel's bank records or, by some miracle, uncover video of him getting passed a stack of hundred dollar bills as he slides a signed mini helmet across the table.
The NCAA doesn't have subpoena power. NCAA investigators aren't officers of the law. While they can look into Manziel's bank records, they can't force people to testify or dig into the financial lives of people like "Uncle Nate" — Manziel's 20-year-old friend and assistant who might play a key role in the scandal.
Under NCAA rules, family and friends aren't required to cooperate with any investigation, only the student in question is.
Another issue for the NCAA (as Dan Wetzel points out in his column on the issue) is that the Manziel family is going to be totally lawyered up.
The school already hired the same law firm that defended Cam Newton when he was under investigation at Auburn, and the Manziel family is wealthy enough to pull out all the legal stops.
The NCAA is going up against a wealthy family who knows its rights, they have no witnesses to the alleged violation, and they can't legally compel people to talk to them.
That's a tall task.


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-no...132353972.html

[hack]

Keep 'em coming. Nothing bad comes of this since it's either an opportunity to actually enforce the rules or it's just another nail in the coffin of this dysfunctional era.

[Mike]

The NCAA might be able to build a case. Another broker claims to have paid JM $7,500 for autographs when the player was in Conn. for a Walter Camp Foundation event.

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/9544137/broker-says-johnny-manziel-took-7500-autographing-helmets

On the videos, which the broker said were recorded without Manziel's knowledge, ESPN heard Manziel say "you never did a signing with me" and that if the broker were to tell anyone, he would refuse to deal with him again in the future. Manziel, who appeared comfortable throughout the video recordings, also said if asked, he would say he had simply been approached by various autograph seekers.

At one point, ESPN heard a broker ask Manziel if he would take additional cash to sign with special inscriptions, but Manziel declined, indicating he had done that before and it led to questions. The video does not show Manziel accepting cash, which the broker alleges happened three times. The broker told ESPN that Manziel said he wanted money for new rims for his vehicle.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Sounds like it's getting more and more damning. Way too much smoke

[entropy]

4 games

[entropy]

Something that links both our states..

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20130806/NEWS01/308060035/?nclick_check=1

[Jeff Buchanan]

Well, you basically are saying that you don't really have a problem with Manziell getting paid or cashing in on his fame. But you also say that OSU should have immediately dismissed everyone from the team that had traded rings for tats

Why the sympathy and understanding for what Manziell supposedly did versus throwing the OSU players out of the sport?

I'm assuming this isn't just an "I hate OSU" thing, so please explain what you perceive to be the difference.

I have a problem with it to the extent that it is against the exiting rules. if it is against the existing rules then those responsible with enforcing them, namely the institutions, have a responsibility to act.

For example, if aTm has substantiated information that JM took cash for autographs, and I think they do, suspend or dismiss him until such time as he is cleared or found to be guilty of violating the rules and the NCAA acts. The University has authority under any number of regulations and procedures to kick JM's ass out of school.

This has nothing to do with whether I agree or don't agree with the rules and I've made it clear I don't agree with them. That's another discussion.

osu was in the same position. tressel had substantiated information that players had accepted benefits; there is no doubt in my mind he reported this up the chain of command. Instead of taking action (reporting it and then doing nothing is a cop out), osu officials stonewalled it. They waited for the NCAA, which they knew was a weak organization incapable of assembling a body of evidence that would survive a due process claim, to levy some meaningless penalty.

osu bet on the come line and although, in the end, tressel was let go - no small price - they won in the long run. Nicely calculated and played. In fact, it's pretty clear that there was a plan to conceal (lie about) the details of the benefits received by pryor, et. al so he and others would not be declared ineligible for the bowl game.

All in all, the behavior of adults involved in tatgate stinks. I suspect aTm officials will act in an equally despicable way to protect aTm relying on the same successful tactics as osu did in avoiding major NCAA penalties.

[Rob F]

Something that links both our states..

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/a...nclick_check=1

I haven't heard anything about that case in a couple of decades and had no idea she had relocated to Michigan back in the 70's when she was paroled from prison after serving 18 years for her part in the murders. But I immediately recognized her name and especially the name of Starkweather. Pretty famous case that is often compared to Bonnie and Clyde.