M-Borg vs. THE Flavortown U Thread, Orig. by Buckeye Paul, absconded w/by talent.

[Jamie H]

Buckeyes adrift in a sea of lies:

http://www.foxsportsohio.com/05/26/11/Buckeyes-adrift-in-a-sea-of-lies/landing_ohiostate.html?blockID=528862&feedID=3631

Similarly, Tressel's sterling 9-1 record against Michigan would be a middling 5-5 mark if adjusted to reverse games won with headline players (Clarett in 2002, Troy Smith in 2004, Terrelle Pryor in 2009 and 2010) who were in violation of NCAA rules at kickoff of those games against the Wolverines.

The clear message Ohio State is sending by retaining Tressel, despite the lying Ohio State admits he engaged in, is that winning — even if it requires cheating — is preferable to playing by the rules.

[Pasadena Blue]

No matter how long you wag your finger, as the tears stream down your face, and you plead with the world to ignore your failures, they really did happen. ON THE FIELD.

They remain losses for LIFE. Deal with it.

Look, I realize what's going on here. After enduring the misery of Hangin with Coop to the tune of 2-10-1, you felt like the damage had been reversed completely by the 9-1 'Vest era. You anticipated that M fans were feeling the same pain you endured and you took joy in that. But alas, the carpet has been pulled out from under your feet. I totally get it and I don't blame you.

I am satisfied to sit back and see how this all plays out.

[Jamie H]

I don't even care how many games the Buckeyes have to forefit. I'm just glad to see that scumbag Tressel get his whole fake "I'm such a good guy" act blown out of the water. The current shitstorm around him has been a LONG time coming.

[Dr. Strangelove]

That's right, he can't possibly be a good man. Because good men don't ORDER their players to intentionally cripple their opponents (which he apparently does) and good men don't have emotionally unstable pussified opponents searched by bomb-sniffing dogs (which was all his idea).

And if any wins are vacated (extremely unlikely that anything beyond 2010 could be) Michigan doesn't get a win added. It's just as if the game wasn't played.

[Rocky Bleier]

The toothpaste is out of the tube. Tressel's reputation around the nation is that of a cheater. The Good Christian act has been exposed. No amount of spin can change that. Enjoy.

[Optimus Prime]

With waves of scandal hitting OSU, I think Gee and Smith will ultimately have to set their hubris aside and fire Tressel or force his retirement ASAP. There is no upside to keeping him especially if OSU allows this embarrassment to continue.

Imagine each Saturday's ESPN broadcast opening with a 10 minute expose featuring the "Cars, Cash & Courtesans" stench that has forever poxed Columbus?

Imagine the long-term damage should OSU choose to roll the dice again and allow this charade to drag out this fall?

[Jeff Buchanan]

I actually think the deciders at osu have decided to try to keep him as unbelievably stupid this appears to be.

To be fair, allegations do not equate to findings of fact and in the case of how the NCAA works, osu hasn't yet confirmed it has broken any rules with respect to the car deals. They have acknowledged the misdeeds of the tat 5 and the by-laws they have admitted to breaking (10.1) along with the by-laws (several) that apply to players receiving inappropriate benefits, were self reported and penalties (not insubstantial) have been imposed.

All the rest is smoke at this point. So, I think Michigan fans may be putting the cart before the horse here.

However, it is very difficult, under the current circumstances, to see how the NCAA cannot stiffen osu's self imposed penalties after the COI in August. I don't see how osu or tressel's lawyers can argue that tressel did not try to gain a competitive advantage by playing ineligible players he knew were ineligible and lied about on two occasions to the NCAA in 2010. It was not good for osu that USC's appeal was denied .... shows a determination on the part of the NCAA to hold programs accountable but still.

[geo weidl]

With waves of scandal hitting OSU, I think Gee and Smith will ultimately have to set their hubris aside and fire Tressel or force his retirement ASAP

That is the interesting part, saint jim is still owed I believe 3.5 million dollars on his contract. IMO that is something that jt will not walk away from.

[Jeff Buchanan]

He has already failed to perform on his end. If osu didn't have the kind of stuff that most schools have in their contracts voiding performance requirements on the part of the second party because the first didn't abide by the specifications stipulated in the contract, they are dumber than I thought they were.

tressel, by lying, has already failed to perform thereby probably voiding every thing osu has to do including paying him anything.

[geo weidl]

tressel, by lying, has already failed to perform thereby probably voiding every thing osu has to do including paying him anything

And that is why everyone has their own lawyer.

[lineygoblue]

I don't care if O-Lie-O has to vacate any wins at all. The FACT that Saint Jim LIED to the NCAA in order to keep his star players eligible says all we need to know about his character. One of many things that is common amongst crooks and other dishonest people, is that when they are caught, its probably not the first time they broke the law. This only happens to be the time they got caught.

And when it comes to the bomb sniffing incident, there would have been a very classy, and simple solution for Saint Jim to proceed with. Upon receiving Coach Carr's concerns about player and fan safety, Saint Jim could have simply picked up his phone, and called Coach Carr to assure him that the law enforcement agencies of the fine state of o-lie-o would make the safety of Michigan's participants each year a top priority, and that he personally would speak to the leaders of each agency to be sure it gets done. After all, with Saint Jim's absolute respect for "the rivalry" and all it means to the fans, students and alumni of both universities, he could do no less than to be sure that the visiting contingent is safe in its trek to Columbus every two years.

But instead, he made a mockery of Coach Carr's concerns, and sent out the bomb sniffing dogs, then lied about it. And never even offered a token apology.

Such a classless man.

[entropy]

Federal prosecutors have charged the tattoo parlor owner who bought Ohio State football memorabilia with drug trafficking and money laundering.

More...

[Jamie H]

I don't care if O-Lie-O has to vacate any wins at all. The FACT that Saint Jim LIED to the NCAA in order to keep his star players eligible says all we need to know about his character. One of many things that is common amongst crooks and other dishonest people, is that when they are caught, its probably not the first time they broke the law. This only happens to be the time they got caught.

And when it comes to the bomb sniffing incident, there would have been a very classy, and simple solution for Saint Jim to proceed with. Upon receiving Coach Carr's concerns about player and fan safety, Saint Jim could have simply picked up his phone, and called Coach Carr to assure him that the law enforcement agencies of the fine state of o-lie-o would make the safety of Michigan's participants each year a top priority, and that he personally would speak to the leaders of each agency to be sure it gets done. After all, with Saint Jim's absolute respect for "the rivalry" and all it means to the fans, students and alumni of both universities, he could do no less than to be sure that the visiting contingent is safe in its trek to Columbus every two years.

But instead, he made a mockery of Coach Carr's concerns, and sent out the bomb sniffing dogs, then lied about it. And never even offered a token apology.

Such a classless man.

Exactly. Classless. Liar. Cheater. Fraud. These will be the adjectives associated with Tressel (and by association, OSU Football during the 00's) forever.

[Ghengis Jon]

Response to Ray Small's accusation that 'everybody does it' at osu in today's McNews:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2011/05/ohio-state-players-dont-hold-back-in-response-to-ray-smalls-comments/1

Hartline's comments show the command of the English language as imparted by an osu education.

[Jeff Buchanan]

In the article entropy linked us to I though it interesting that Rife's lawyer mentions that his client's situation is not related to what is going on at osu and that he's just a great osu fan.

What that means to me is that the Feds aren't going to muscle him into testimony that might confirm any rule breaking of NCAA by-laws by tressel, complicit osu employees or osu players.

In the case of Michigan Basketball the Feds were able to leverage Webber to provide testimony against Martin which then implicated (but only indirectly) Michigan. Ultimately, M admitted guilt (probably way more than was necessary) and the NCAA did there thing. Similar situation with USC ..... there was federal testimony implicating Bush and USC coaches from an unrelated Federal criminal investigation.

Absent something solid that either the NCAA discovers (emails, phone logs, etc. and note well that this is done in collaboration with osu officials) that goes beyond a smoking gun and is absolutely a slam dunk conviction of osu, its players, the AD, compliance personnel, jt himself, osu may skate further punishment because the NCAA simply does not have the power it needs to compel testimony. This is notwithstanding any future articles that may or may not be released by SI.

Michigan fans need to reconcile themselves to the fact that this may be exactly what happens after the COI in August and come October when the NCAA makes it's findings in the osu case public.