Sampson rides again....

[Sky]

The NCAA notified IU that there are possible major violations related to Sampson making recruiting phone calls

The NCAA sent a notice of allegations to Indiana University last Friday detailing major violations in the men's basketball program, multiple sources told ESPN.com.

Larry MacIntyre, assistant vice president for university communications at Indiana University, confirmed to ESPN.com that the school did receive documentation from the NCAA last week.

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday night that the school will make the allegations public on Wednesday. University trustees president Stephen Ferguson told AP that school officials this week reviewed the report, but that the NCAA is not expected to make its ruling until this summer.

"There won't be a hearing till this June," Ferguson told AP. "It's just been reviewed, and I think everyone is analyzing it now."

MacIntyre said he was unable to provide any more information. But MacIntyre said he was working on providing a copy of the documentation in a request made by ESPN.com through the Freedom of Information Act.

But ESPN.com has learned over the last week that the NCAA uncovered new information since Indiana self-reported violations under second-year head coach Kelvin Sampson in October. That new information helped result in a major violations tag that could put the season of Indiana (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 13 AP) under a cloud of uncertainty and the career of Sampson as well.

ESPN.com made multiple efforts to reach Indiana athletic director Rick Greenspan over the past week and he never returned calls. Sampson didn't return a message Tuesday.

Indiana will have 90 days to respond to the letter. The committee on infractions has a hearing in April, but because of the 90-day window the hearing isn't expected to take place until the June meeting. That means Indiana may not have closure on the matter until late into the summer.

"The report came out in October, the university filed its response and there's really not been anything happening [on the board] in the last five months," Ferguson told AP. "There have not been any discussions."

A postseason ban for the Hoosiers would only come into play if IU decided to self-impose such a measure since the committee on infractions won't meet until June. According to multiple sources, a postseason ban would only occur if there were an issue with the eligibility of any current student athletes, which ESPN.com has been told isn't an issue yet.

The NCAA investigation came after Indiana made an announcement in October that Sampson had made 100 impermissible phone calls while he was on probation for illicit calls he made while he was the coach at Oklahoma from 2000 to 2006. During that time, he made 577 impermissible calls.

Sampson was penalized by Oklahoma by not being allowed to travel for recruiting. Indiana imposed the same penalty in his first season at IU. He was also banned from making calls and going off campus to recruit for a calendar year. He wasn't banned from text messaging since it was allowed during that year. But it was during that year that he made the impermissible calls.

Sampson wasn't allowed to take part in three-way calls, originated by anyone on the staff. In October, Indiana made public that former assistant Rob Senderoff initiated three-way calls. During the October news conference, Indiana said that Sampson said he was unaware he was participating on a three-way call. Senderoff, who was forced to resign, said he didn't let Sampson know he was on a three-way call, either. Prior to being forced out, Senderoff was told he couldn't recruit off campus for a year or make a phone call. The same restriction was put on Dan Dakich, who has since been moved up to an assistant position from director of basketball operations.

Sampson was hit with more penalties by the school, forfeiting a $500,000 raise, and a scholarship was taken away from the team.

Multiple sources told ESPN.com that the NCAA was looking into whether or not any untruths were told during Sampson's answers to whether or not he knew of the three-way calls.

When is he going to learn?

[MuchoBulls]

When is he going to learn?

Maybe when he gets fired.

[Mustang]

Embarrassing. Really. For centuries, Bob Knight rode herd over basketball in this state and even though he was an ass at times, recruiting violations were light years from the radar screen. Now? Violations at IU? Wow. Thing coach Knight is giggling somewhere?

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

What kind of douche needs to committ recruiting "violations" at Indi-fucking-ana? Christ. The place recruits itself.

Nice going Sampson.

[Arch Angel]

Couldn't happen to a better school. Bruce Weber and Matt Painter are smiling now.


He tarnished a school deep in tradition.

[Sky]

Indi-fucking-ana...... The place recruits itself.

Thats the best point there....its like Dean Smith and John Wooden committing violations in their latter years.

[RumpleForeskin]

Indi-fucking-ana? Christ. The place recruits itself.

Ask the 'Bama football program.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

I just thought that's how they rolled down there.

[buckeye_in_sc]

^^^^^^^^

no they just don't like air travel...that is why the Rose Bowl refuses to take an SEC team I guess...they figure that 1500 mile jaunt or whatever is just too taxing on them...

I can't believe Sampson did this to IU...I guess Shine can't pick on OSU anymore...reap what you sow bitches...

(disclaimer that was more meant for the masses who hapred on OSU for O Brien and what not)...

[King Crimson]

sounds like he was trying to use the "ambiguity" of the 3 way call to beat the letter of the rule.

[MuchoBulls]

Thing coach Knight is giggling somewhere?

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks he knew something was up and that is why he resigned. Myles Brand isn't there to prohibit him from coming back now. It won't happen, but it would be cool seeing him back in Bloomington.

[Adelpiero]

the biggest bullshit was the punishment OU got, and how he got to ride away on his own merit.


he had over 300+ phone violations at OU, plus other violations. 300???? are you kidding me? slap on the wrist for 300? 40-100 are excess, 300 is a joke. Punish a university for 40 phone calls???? Gotta love the NCAA.


i do love how when there was rumblings about him che4ating to get Gordon(?), that Shine sockled Sampsons nut, oh, ill wait and see. bah, once a cheater, always a cheater. it's no shocker, and i will wager that the gordon kid will be one part of a violation. From Illinois insiders, they said his dealing was dirty as they come. Sampson got away with a lot, and noone at IU or their administration gave a fuck!

Nothing but karma to Indiana, fuck them, the General will always look like a saint when it comes to how they handled him. He ran a class program, parents sent their kids to him to be given tough love, he gave it, and his kids graduated. they were student athletes, student being the key word here!



Buwahahahah

[Arch Angel]

From Illinois insiders, they said his dealing was dirty as they come. Sampson got away with a lot, and noone at IU or their administration gave a fuck!

RACK!

....and the Loosiers fans called me a whiner because I stated that something was up. I knew that slimy cheating bastard broke the rules. He fucked up our program for this year because Gordon basically ran all our other recruits off when he said he was committing to Illinois. We would have gotten another decent player to fill the void. Cellvin Scumpson knew what he was doing sabotaging our program this year.


Can you hear me now? Good!

[Adelpiero]

these 2 ass hats i know, who are illinois insiders, swore to me shit, that would make your skin crawl. Shit Nois had done or did in past and shit done to them in recruiting process!


NCAA might never find out everything about Gordon, but it was dirty as hell.



Insiders are not small boosters, they are people who directly are contacted by AD and Head Coach about booster stuff and on their opinions on the program, direction, and stupid shit. These 2 guys are asshats, drive bmw's, have orange sun tans all year around, act like dirtbags, etc but they are legit. For them to say anything is dirty is huge, when a dirtbag himself thinks its dirty, you have to wonder!

isnt myles brand the head of IU?


PS these insiders are scumbags, which i guess is the norm for people with $$$ who want to run a program.

[Degenerate]

Pat Knight will be available before too long.

[Mustang]

Thing coach Knight is giggling somewhere?

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks he knew something was up and that is why he resigned. Myles Brand isn't there to prohibit him from coming back now. It won't happen, but it would be cool seeing him back in Bloomington.

Oh, I thought about that too....way in the back of my mind. And I have to think there are a ton of fans around here thinking about the same thing. This whole thing is so Un-Indiana. Kind of tarnishes the decent season they're having right now.

[Adelpiero]

5 Major violations


and caught lying to NCAA



buwahahahahaha karma on IU.

[buckeye_in_sc]

STAY AWAY FROM matta...

[Shine]

Of course I have to chime in on this. I also must preface what I'm about to type by saying that I feel that Sampson should be fired (actually I think he should resign) AND that the AD Greenspan should go out the door with him.

It continues to amaze me how ill informed so many people on this board are on subjects they have strong opinions on. The NCAA didn't catch Sampson making any violations, IU did. Back in October. An intern in the compliance office noticed an oddity in a phone record of calls to a recruit, did some digging and unearthed a mess. So IU did their own investigation with the help of a local law firm and turned in their findings to the NCAA. What has just come out IS NOT the NCAA catching IU (rather Sampson) doing anything but simply their response back to IU's own internal investigation. There are 4 differences the NCAA had versus the report IU turned in (yes I read all 14 pages of the NCAA report having read all the pages of IU's own report back in October):

1- The NCAA found more instances of Sampson himself violating the sanctions he was under as opposed to the 10 3-way calls IU had found him to be directly involved with.
2- The NCAA found 1 instance where IU had improper contact with a recruit and gave him improper benefits.
3- The NCAA has determined that the violations are major violations as opposed to IU classifying them as secondary.
4- The NCAA has determined Sampson either lied to or misled IU and NCAA investigators as to his role in the violations.

On point 2 I am extremely pissed that the NCAA has the audacity to label that a major violation. IU spoke with a kid prior to his involvement in the camp he was attending on the IU campus being over with and you aren't allowed to speak with them until the camp is officially over. By 1 day they talked to him too soon. And they gave him an IU t-shirt and backpack. Certainly a rules violation but a major one, give me a fookin break. I have a real hard time accepting that when you have crap like Roy Williams committing multiple violations of a similar rule with no punishment, USC football players being over the salary cap with no punishment and on and on.

Point 1 starts to damn Sampson because being involved in a handful of 3-way calls (okay by NCAA rules just not his sanctions) can be viewed as sloppiness. Especially considering IU had to go to the NCAA for clarification on the rule. But when the NCAA says Sampson engaged in speakerphone conversations initiated by assistants or had assistants call a kid and then hand him the phone, he is essentially spitting in the face of the NCAA. They don't play that shit. Touching on point 3, the bump from secondary to major stems only from the fact that this was a repeat violation of phone call rules. Again what Sampson did was clean by NCAA rules but was a violation of his sanctions.

Point 4 is what IMO will ultimately prove to be the nail in the coffin of Sampson's IU coaching career, and possibly his coaching career. The NCAA was pissed at Sampson for the violations at OU because they deemed him to be unremorseful about what he had done. Turning around and doing the same shit as soon as you get to a new place and then trying to cover up what you did, well that's about as bright as shoving your dick into a light socket. I am amazed that Sampson would have the arrogance and/or the stupidity to not be on the 120% up and up upon arriving at IU. He had a golden opportunity to coach at basketball royalty and establish a legacy as a great and now he is simply Kelvin Sampson, cheater.

Maybe I'm being overly myopic and optimistic but I really do believe IU will (and should) receive minimal punishment for these offenses. Again, the violations themselves are NOT major it is the repetition of them that is the cause of the labeling. The NCAA has given IU their opening by in writing stating that Sampson lied to the IU administration and investigators. If (see: when, best guess on Wednesday) IU fires Sampson they will have a great case to plead.

Dear NCAA,

We turned ourselves in when we caught what Sampson and staff were doing. We got rid of the assistant who made the bulk of the illegal calls and punished Sampson again. We kept him because we thought it was only an oversight on his part until you told us he lied to us. When we found out we were lied to we got rid of Sampson as well. Seeing as how we're only talking about phone calls and a t-shirt we think it would be silly and overly harsh to punish us too hard.

Sin,

IU

Of course that overall sentiment will be spelled out in legaleese over 147 pages. Again though, Greenspan needs to get the boot as well. IU had plenty of time to conduct a coaching search after Davis was shown the door. The schmuck even paid 60K to a search firm to help with the selection process. Ultimately he rolled the dice on a guy who was awaiting a ruling from the NCAA for violations. There wasn't a question of if Sampson had done anything or not, it was 100% known at the time of the hiring. When you make a move like that your future, for better or for worse, is tied to your new hire. Well the future is now and the dice read snake eyes.

As for the Gordon stuff being brought up by scorned Illannoy fans I seriously can't do anything other than laugh. Yes the kid with an NBA paycheck awaiting him in 1 year from an affluent family was certainly bought and paid for. I'd go into more details but the accusations are four steps beyond silly so it's not worth the effort. Illannoy fans are the biggest conspiracy theory, "they're out to get us" fans in the country.

BTW Arch, you all landed McCamey AFTER Gordon had switched to IU. And maybe if your drunk driving player hadn't taken himself and his teammate out of the mix for this year things would be different.

[King Crimson]

Sampson's actions just defy explanation, IMO.

Point 4 is what IMO will ultimately prove to be the nail in the coffin of Sampson's IU coaching career, and possibly his coaching career. The NCAA was pissed at Sampson for the violations at OU because they deemed him to be unremorseful about what he had done.

i posted it before i post it again. my dad, who is a lawyer who has been close to the U of Oklahoma and it's AD and legal apparatus for 30 years said it wasn't so much the infractions that fucked OU with the NCAA but Kelvin's "unrepentant" attitude about it*. that got him in trouble with OU's AD. if what my pops says is true....Kelvin was not EVER gonna get another raise at OU minus winning the whole thing.....and was politely asked to get another job. David Boren is a lot of things, good and bad....but he doesn't like being embarrassed.

i liked Kelvin, and he was always nice to my mom....who could care less about OU basketball.


*edit--he told me this at least a couple months before the NCAA made a decision. he said word for word, "Kelvin won't admit contrition, and the NCAA is going to bury a hatchet in us". this was at a dinner at Denver's venerable Blue Bonnet Mexican restaurant when he was in Denver for a USGA rules seminar.

if you wanna search, i bet it's there.

http://www.theoneboard.com/board/viewto ... =4&t=25397

[the_ouskull]

For the record... I'm not avoiding the board on this issue or anything like that. My own team just won District last night. Later this week, we're on to Regionals. Go Lady Buffs! :D

(Quick Take On Kelvin: From everything that I've heard about this, it doesn't seem like a) that big a deal other than he's Kelvin Sampson, and b) he should be fired, or "asked to step down" because of it. However, if they DID fire him, I could see their side, and I'd only have, "Coach, don't make ANY calls. Either that or make sure that you guys are all in a room together when you call and only those who are allowed to speak DO speak. This way everybody knows when every call is made so that nobody goes over the limit because they didn't consult with someone else.")

the_ouskull

[Mook]

I have a real hard time accepting that when you have crap like Roy Williams committing multiple violations of a similar rule with no punishment

I believe the Roy Williams gifts were to players who had graduated and completed their eligibility....considerably different than dealing with recruits....IMHO.

[TheJON]

I agree with Skull here. He's in trouble because he's Kelvin Sampson. Once you get caught once, the NCAA watches your every move.

As for Roy Williams, I'm not all too familiar with what he did, but there's no way in hell the head ball coach at UNC or Kansas will ever get in trouble unless they're a coach that has already had some runins with the NCAA in the past. Like I said in a thread that was uneccesarily locked, Kelvin's main mistake here is stupidity. You get caught once, you have to go on the down-low for a couple of years until the NCAA is off your back. Then you go back to breaking the rules and because you're at a program like IU, you'll get away with it.

Take USC for example......is anyone on here really dumb enough to think Pete Carroll is clean? But Petie has no history of NCAA violations before going to USC, so he can get away with whatever he wants since he is at an elite program. Just like Roy Williams and Coach K. Reggie Bush gets a house, the NCAA turns their backs. Kelvin Sampson makes a bunch of phone calls to recruits and he faces "major" violations? Come on now, that's just retarded.

Let me pose this question......

Since we know that these are breaking the rules, which of the following should be considered a more serious recruiting violation?

A.Making a bunch of phone calls to recruits (Kelvin Sampson)
B.Giving away a house for a star player, and having your star quarterback's dad pay for housing for a star wide receiver (Pete Carroll)
C.Visiting with recruits at summer all-star camps (Coach K, and yes, this is well known to be true)
D.Loaning a star running back a car and other things (Jim Tressel)

Of those 3, the only one even facing violations is Kelvin Sampson. I don't wanna hear any bullshit about this deposition statement Reggie Bush is going to make next week. Nothing is going to happen to USC. So any talk about them facing violations is just plain ridiculous. The NCAA won't touch Petie. So how is it fair that the only one facing violations is Kelvin Sampson? Of those 3, I'd say without a doubt his violations are the LEAST serious. There is something wrong with that.

But yeah, IU has to fire Sampson. Fair or not, you can't keep him. If they get rid of him now, they probably avoid major infractions, but if they keep him the NCAA will drop the hammer on IU. Like I said, Kelvin is doing nothing more serious than many college coaches, but IU cannot afford to keep him around. It would be program suicide.

[buckeye_in_sc]

Please link me up to the actual findings of tOSU guilty for loaning a car, you know the guilty verdict from the NCAA and all...

Let's see:

internal investigation turns up nothing
NCAA investigation (yes asswipe they were on campus for a while) and turns up nothing


but because the Iowa version of TRIX says so it must be true...

fuck off and quit shitting up the College Basketball Forum...

[buckeye_in_sc]

I stand corrected...

Thanks Mace

[TheJON]

If you think Tressel is clean you're just plain dumb. The topic is Kelvin Sampson here anyways......I was only using Tressel as part of my comparison. There's no need to get into a stupid argument about whether or not Jim Tressel is a cheater, because anyone with slighty less than half a brain knows the answer to that. Don't be stupid Buckeye, just admit it. It's okay, everyone knows. Look at the success you're having. 3 championship game appearances, 1 national title, and 3 BCS bowl victories. You don't have to defend your coach. Just because he's a cheater doesn't mean the dude can't coach. Enjoy your success, but don't be so naive son.

[TheJON]

What in the fuck does Iowa have to do with anything here? I'm saying that Tressel is a cheater because they beat Iowa? Yeah, you're right, excellent take.....

Am I on here claiming Randy Walker was a cheater? In case you didn't know, we never could beat that guy. Or Lloyd Carr? We were like 2-9 against him.....don't see me calling him a cheater.

Your argument that the NCAA found nothing in the Maurice Clarett allegations proves nothing. Did they find nothing or did they TURN THEIR BACK ON THE TRUTH??? A school like Ohio State isn't going to get caught doing anything. Just like nothing will come of these PROVEN Reggie Bush allegations because it was at USC. The NCAA finding nothing doesn't prove nothing happened.

Tressel is not clean. Ron Zook is not clean either, I guarantee it. Winning doesn't mean you're a cheater. A lot of coaches that win do it within the rules. But the fact is college athletics has become a cesspool and many coaches are cutting corners and it's really not that hard to figure out who is doing so. You can't always be certain who isn't, but I'd bet my left nut I could throw out a list of 20 guys in college hoops or football that I think are cheating and I bet that nut I'd be right on at least 15-16 of them.

I threw Ron Zook's name out there as a cheater, Mace, so I assume I'm only saying that because he beats Iowa, right?? Oh yeah, that's right.....he's 0-4 against Iowa. Idiot.

[FLW Buckeye]

You can't always be certain who isn't, but I'd bet my left nut I could throw out a list of 20 guys in college hoops or football that I think are cheating and I bet that nut I'd be right on at least 15-16 of them.

Based on your record of claiming locks in the CFB forum, "Righty" would be your new nic.

Just sayin'.

[SunCoastSooner]

^^^^^^^^

no they just don't like air travel...that is why the Rose Bowl refuses to take an SEC team I guess...they figure that 1500 mile jaunt or whatever is just too taxing on them...

I can't believe Sampson did this to IU...I guess Shine can't pick on OSU anymore...reap what you sow bitches...

(disclaimer that was more meant for the masses who hapred on OSU for O Brien and what not)...

Sorry but of the three football programs that I perceive travel the best Bama is one of them; Nebraska, Bama, and Oklahoma would go to Somolia if that's what it took to seetheir teams on the field.

A few years ago when Bama came to Norman it was like a whole entire community of RVs had invaded Norman (at least they were fuckin' crimson)!

[TheJON]

Epic take as always Mace. And by Epic, I mean lame as fuck.

Dude, seriously, do I really have to shut down your BS argument that I only call coaches cheaters that beat Iowa again?? I thought I just did that. Again, I'd bet my left nut Zook is a cheater. I suppose I'm calling him a cheater because he beats Iowa??? Answer that fucking question, dickwad.

Or Coach K?? He beats Iowa??? Really?? We haven't played them in 13 fucking years and we actually beat them that year.

Pete Carroll beat Iowa once and I think he's the most crooked coach in college football. I suppose it's me being bitter about a ball game 6 years ago, right?? Oh wait, I didn't call him a cheater until about 3 years AFTER the OB. So, nope, that can't be it either.

The only coach on the list I mentioned that beats Iowa is Tressel. 1 out of 5. Gee, great take, douche! Did I call Dan McCarney a cheater? Shit, we couldn't beat that guy. Randy Walker.....couldn't beat him. Bill Carmody, he pretty much owns us too. Lloyd Carr.....same thing. Remind me exactly when I called these guys cheaters????

I like how you try and figure out my agenda, as if I have any fucking agenda whatsoever. I'm not even going to respond to your next take unless you answer back with some sort of response to my above takes. You spouted your fucking mouth like the little fucking twatlips that you are claiming I have some sort of agenda, and I just shot down that take. Now you better have a decent comeback. If you're gonna call someone out like that, back it up with facts. Either that or shut the fuck up.

As for me having the inside scoop. I don't recall claiming that. I am, however, in certain ways connected to the sports media. You can take that for what it's worth. Doesn't mean I have inside knowledge on players being bought or coaches cheating. But I can tell you without a doubt that if you polled 100 random college football/basketball "experts" in the media for a list of 20 coaches they think are cheating, there lists would be relatively similar to mine because it's really not that hard to figure out who is cheating. Open your damn eyes. If you think coaches aren't cheating, you're just fucking dumb and that's the end of this argument. Anyone that thinks most big-time coaches are clean is too dumb to even justify having a conversation with. So if your answer to the question "Do you think the majority of big time college coaches are clean?" is "yes" don't even respond.

As for the "bandwagon" thing. Yeah, you're right, I'm a bandwagon fan. If by "bandwagon" you mean the most loyal fan in the world. Were you at Carver on Tuesday night? I was. A few rows behind Conan O'Brien errrrrr Bill Carmody. If driving 2 hours on a freezing cold Tuesday night to see an 11-15 team play an even shittier team isn't loyal, I really don't know what is. I've been to 6-7 games this year to see the worst Iowa team I can ever remember.......how many have you been to Mr. Loyal Fan?? 0?? 1??? You don't know what being a loyal fan is until you root for the Kansas City Royals. Think about what you're saying here......you're calling a Kansas city Royals fan a fairweather fan. Think about that for a second and realize just how dumb that sounds. Do you know how many people show up for games in KC in August and September after we've already been mathematically eliminated in the division? Not very many. But do you know who is there? Me, asshole. And, for the record, they are my favorite team........not Iowa. Always have been, always will be. Iowa is a close 2nd, but baseball is my favorite sport and so KC is my favorite team. But I'm fairweather......come on now, saying that just makes you sound retarded. And let's not forget, who was on these boards first pimping the Hawkeyes? That would be me, cockstain. When did I make my first appearance on here, you ask? 1999. When we were 1-11.

Right now you're batting 0 for 2. Better step up your game, son. I call out coaches for cheating because they beat Iowa.......swing and a miss. I am a bandwagon fan.........swing and a miss- at a slider in the dirt. Keep trying, Mace, you only make me look that much more intelligent.

[TheJON]

One more thing.....

Bobby Bowden. Mace, remind me the last time he beat Iowa. I'm thinking way back.......and it was.......wait, never.

Thank you, go fuck yourself.

[buckeye_in_sc]

^^^^^^^^

TREX of the B Ball forum...wow

[TheJON]

I didn't know T-Rex had takes that good.

[indyfrisco]

I didn't know T-Rex had takes that good.

Like you, he thought he did.

[Killian]

JON, if you want to throw out things like "less than half a brain" etc., step back from your glass house.

Take a deep breath, because you might start to hyperventelate:


Kirk Ferentz cheats. So does Steve Alford. So does Charlie Weis, Mike Brey, and every fucking coach in every fucking sport. So stop with your high and mighty bullshit, calling out other coaches. Some are more blatant than others, but they all do it.

You don't like Carroll and Tressell, fine. But they have creative ways about cheating that insulate themeselves from problems. So does most every coach. Where you get in real trouble is with stupid shit like this (Sampson and his phone) because that shit is easily confirmed by a mouth breathing GED holder with an IQ size smaller than my shoe size.

Do you really believe that every coach doesn't have a local alum with a car dealership who gives out cars to kids? They do it on a lease basis, have someone co-sign and everything is kosher. Sampson gets in trouble because phone records are very easy to obtain and trace. Same if you keep fucking records of payoffs like Steve Fisher did.

And you know who one of the biggest cheaters ever was? John Wooden. Bags of cash would be left on players door steps. Now, he's looked at as the Yoda of college basketball.

Everyone cheats, and most are good at it. This shit is like Capone getting busted for tax evasion. Paper trails kill you, not the actual murders/pay offs.

[SunCoastSooner]

I didn't know T-Rex had takes that good.

I'd say they're better...

[buckeye_in_sc]

and the pile on continues...

Basketball Mods can we get a 2008 Board Bitch of The Year up in here...I nominate THE Jon...



how could Kirk Ferentz cheat...with 85 first rounders and all...just sayin...

T REX takes > THE JON

oh the horrah

[TheJON]

Buckeye,

I thought a year ago we both agreed that suicide was not only the best option for you personally, but the greater good of society? Don't tell me you're one of those tards that cuts their wrist for attention but don't have the cajones to actually finish the deal off. It's not that hard Buckeye, just jump off the top of a tall building. It will last a matter of seconds. Suicide really is an underrated method for idiots. Just sayin'......

and Killian,

When did I ever say no way that Ferentz cheats or that I think I'm high and mighty? I'm sure in some ways nearly every coach cheats. That's why I only call out coaches like Bowden, Carroll, Krsyzkja;kjseiuhewski, and Zook that commit serious violations. That's why I said I think Kelvin is getting a bad rap because the only thing he did that is really all that bad is the fact that he didn't cover his trails or go on the down-low for a couple of years until the NCAA is off his back. I do not agree that every town has a car dealership that loans nice rides to star players. That may happen at some places, but not at most. I think the NCAA's rules are far too tight, so I don't have a problem with bending the rules to an extent. But paying players or giving them houses/cars/etc, that's unacceptable. But I can guarantee you there's no cars loaned to Iowa players. You could never get away with that in a fishbowl town like Iowa City. It would be impossible to get away with. We've got beat writers at the Cedar Rapids Gazette and Iowa City Press Citizen that seem to spend their entire day searching for stuff like that so that they can bust the Hawks. We're talking about a couple of newspapers that print front page articles about a 20 year old basketball player that got a $20 fine for being within arms length of an open container at a bar. And these same papers thought they had completely busted the Iowa program because our starting CB got a free cell phone from a local Sprint store in exchange for an autograph or something like that. They go store to store trying to find out who in the Iowa athletic program is purchasing what from where. For fucks sake, the Eastern Iowa newspapers found out that Ferentz' son was using his scholarship money to live in Section 8 housing. I'd agree with them that the son of a coach making $3 million a year shouldn't be living in Section 8 housing, but still.....it just goes to show you just how far the papers over there will go to find anything negative about the Hawks. If an Iowa player showed up at ANY car dealership, it would be researched by the media here. No way could we get away with it. And Steve Alford.....god I hope he wasn't cheating. Our recruiting the last few years was so bad, we have quite a few guys that couldn't make it in the MEAC! Todd Lickliter inherited a team full of D-II talent. So based on that I've come to the conclusion Alfraud never cheated. Besides, Alfraud is too dumb to get away with cheating. If he cheated, we'd know about it.

[Killian]

Did you ever see the football players or basketball players driving around? Were they ever in anything other than a nice ride? There is way around everything. You don't think it would make national fucking news if an ND player was driving around in an Escalade? Well they do. And I bet Notre Dame, IN is a smaller fishbowl than Iowa.

[TheJON]

I don't go to school there anymore and the only time I'm in Iowa City is for a game, so I don't see anyone drive around.

Robert Gallery drove a beat up Buick. Everyone knew about that. Pierre Pierce had a black SUV, people made a big deal out of that but he's from a decent Chicago suburb and his parents had money, so I'm not sure why that talked about here as much as it was. I saw Drew Tate driving a black pick up truck once, but it was nothing special. Besides, just because an athlete has a nice rig doesn't mean he got it from the coach or boosters.

I can't say that South Bend is or isn't equal to Iowa in terms of it's fishbowl environment because I've only been there a couple of times driving through during the summer. But it would be pretty hard to top iowa City. Remember, we're a state with no pro teams. Iowa and Iowa State are everything to this state. And so what does the media here have to do during the offseason? Dig for stories. You can only breakdown Iowa and Iowa State's outlook for the upcoming season so many times. Like I said, if the papers are breaking stories about players getting a free cell phone, how hard do you think it would be to find out if they were getting a free SUV? While South Bend obviously isn't a pro town, at least the media has something other than Notre Dame football/basketball to cover in the offseason. You've got Chicago sports less than 2 hours away, you've got Colts/Pacers in that state, Indy 500, etc.... The sports writers in this state really have to stretch for stories. Obviously, if a Notre Dame player was found to be driving an SUV given to them by a coach/booster, it would make huge national news. It would at any major college university. But the question is do the reporters in Indiana dig as far for stories as they do in Iowa?