After a decade of 10-win seasons and playoff appearances, Indy went 2-14 this season without Peyton Manning under center. Now Bill Polian is gone, Jim Caldwell is gone, Rob Lowe is causing Twitter firestorms with suggestions that Manning is retiring…and it all has Peyton feeling a bit out of sorts, as he described to Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star.

In addition to determining Manning’s playing status for next season, the other big decision the Colts must make is who their head coach will be. Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel’s name has been bandied about, but as our Chris Callaway wondered last week, why not Manning as player/coach? As absurd as the idea sounds (and is), is it any more absurd than Manning attempting to operate under the ultra-conservative direction of Tressel?

These thoughts, and a few choice photos of lovably eccentric Colts owner Jim Irsay, coalesced into our latest photo story.

If for some reason the image below does not load, click here to view in a new window.

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If you enjoyed this photo story, be sure to check out our other photo stories that have featured Peyton Manning and/or Jim Irsay. There are a number of them. There’s just something about those hilariously photogenic, high-profile Colts that always seems to make them a compelling topic.

• “Desperate Measures” – Peyton Manning’s Frantic Quest To Save The Colts’ Season
• “Sucks For Luck” starring Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, and musical guest Jim Irsay

Update: Thanks to Twitter, this post caught the attention of Gatorade president Sarah Robb O’Hagan (@SarahRobbOh). She enjoyed our rundown of the funniest Gatorade baths ever, and she also sent me the wall mural from Gatorade’s headquarters with some of their favorite Gatorade baths of all-time. It’s very cool. You’ll see it at the end of the post.

The Gatorade bath is a tradition like few others in sports.

After most monumental wins in football – specifically Super Bowls, national championship games, especially important and/or meaningful bowl games, or season-ending victories over hated rivals – such a celebration can be expected. The tradition began with the New York Giants in the mid-1980s and continues into today with no signs of slowing down.

While the sentimental among us enjoy the Gatorade bath because it symbolizes the triumph of a team of men on the field of athletic battle and the ultimate moment of shared jubilation and respect between coach and player, I enjoy Gatorade baths for a far different reason.

Pictures and videos of them can be laugh-lout-loud hilarious.

So here is my personal ode to the Gatorade bath, with the 28 funniest Gatorade baths of all-time, presented in no particular order other than saving the best ones for last.

Bob Stoops

Image source: AP Photo/LM Otero via Boston.com

Urban Meyer

Image source: SBNation

Nick Saban

Zombie Ken Whisenhunt

Image source: Revenge of the Birds

Kirk Ferentz

Image credit: AP Photo/Lynne Sladky via Boston.com

Jim Tressel

Image credit: Photo by Harry How/Getty Images via The Part Time Jock

Image source: Eleven Warriors

Gary Patterson

Joe Gibbs

Image source: Here

Tony Dungy

Image source: Stock Lemon Blog

Bill Parcells

Image credit: Peter Read Miller/SI via Hot Clicks

Greg Schiano

Image source: Today’s ACC Headlines

Image credit: Dill/AP via NY Daily News

Steve Spurrier

Image source: Eric Campos via GoGamecocks.com

Dave Doeren

Image credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE via Chicago Tribune

Some Confused Ohio Bobcats

Mike McCarthy

Image source: Here

Cito Gaston

Image source: The National Post

Bill Curry

Image source: MTV.com

Rick Stockstill

Image credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images via Boston.com

Frank Beamer

Image credit: Phil Coale/AP via Statesman.com

Image source: Boston.com

Eric Mangini

Les Miles

Image source: Here

Image credit: A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images via MTV.com

Image source: SECTalk.com

And I saved the best image last…

Marty Schottenheimer…like a boss

But no Gatorade shower can or will ever be quite as funny as the one in this video, all things considered.

Guy Morriss

Update: Actually, I was mistaken. I’m not quite sure how I forgot about one of my favorite Gatorade bath pictures of all time, but I did. Thankfully, loyal Tweeters like @jimkanicki are here to remind me of the error of my ways. For goodness sakes, this pic is the background of Spencer Hall’s Twitter page!

Here is the great Howard Schnellenberger (the man who laid the foundation at The U, for those too young to remember) being doused by his team at Florida Atlantic.

Random thought: I suppose I should change the number in the title to 29 considering that there are technically now 29 images and videos with the addition of the Schellenberger picture, but since one of the pics is an elephant peeing on Les Miles, we won’t count that as a Gatorade bath.

Update: And here is the picture of the mural at Gatorade HQ sent to me by Sarah Robb O’Hagan:

The NCAA decided to cite Ohio State “for failure to monitor, preferential treatment and extra benefit violations,” which got them a postseason ban for one year. Not only will they not be allowed to participate in postseason play next season (including Big Ten championship game) but the NCAA also slapped them some additional penalties as well. Ohio State was placed on three years’ probation and a must give up nine scholarships in that amount of time.

People surrounding the Ohio State football program were stunned that they got such a harsh penalty, but with their history of breaking the rules they received the proper punishment.

* – Jim Tressel and Terrelle Pryor photo credit: Bleacher Report

Ohio State Infractions

Here is part of the NCAA report that that illustrates some of the infractions by Ohio State (a complete transcript of the NCAA public infractions report can be found here).

According to the facts of the case, eight football student-athletes received more than $14,000 in cash payments or preferential treatment from the owner of a Columbus, Ohio, tattoo parlor. In addition to free or discounted tattoos and cash for memorabilia received by these student-athletes, one football student-athlete received a loan and discount on a car.

The committee also found the former head coach concealed these NCAA violations when he was notified of the situation, which led to his unethical conduct finding.

Of great concern to the committee was the fact that the former head coach became aware of these violations and decided not to report the violations to institutional officials, the Big Ten Conference or the NCAA, the committee stated in its report.

Specifically, the committee noted that the former head coach had at least four different opportunities to report the information, and his failure to do so led to allowing several football student-athletes to compete while ineligible. Many of these student-athletes were key contributors to the team’s winning 2010 season.

Ohio State had realized that there had been some violations of NCAA rules and decided to give themselves a self-imposed punishment on their football program.  This self-imposed punishment included vacating all of their wins from 2010, including the Sugar Bowl, and two years of probation.  The only problem with Ohio State’s self-imposed punishment was that it did not include a postseason ban or loss in scholarships, which are key components for punishments that arise due to violating NCAA rules.

There were many violations of NCAA rules that occurred at Ohio State under Jim Tressel, and incidents go as far back as 2002 with Maurice Clarett. Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith also violated NCAA rules with his “$500 dollar handshake”, which got him suspended for the Alamo Bowl in 2004 and the first game of the season in 2005.

Proper Punishments

With the culture of violating NCAA rules that had surrounded the Ohio State football program, the NCAA issued the proper punishment for them. The sanctions might have been a bit harsh for Ohio State’s liking, but with their history of breaking the rules, they needed some type of action to prevent this from happening again.

There are numerous football programs that have made headlines by violating NCAA rules, and these stories have dominated the news over the past few years. This is a problem that has been plaguing college football, and the NCAA had to step in and make an example of a program.

Hopefully this incident will help continue to clean up college football, and hopefully players will think twice about their actions towards accepting improper gifts. Players, coaches, and boosters should now realize their actions can have major effect on a football program.

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Before Pryor became eligible for the Supplemental Draft, Roger Goodell made it known that Pryor would be suspended for the first six weeks of the season. Yesterday, it was announced that Jim Tressel would similarly miss games during the first part of the season. This is good and a trend that needs to continue.

Pryor’s suspension includes practices as well as games. This suspension was one that he would have served if he stayed at OSU, so Goodell made a smart decision in suspending Pryor. Why should he be allowed to escape suspension by going to the NFL? He committed an infraction, and Goodell made sure that he served the penalty.

Pryor was picked up by the Raiders, who are not known for their great decisions regarding quarterbacks, in the Supplemental Draft.

Next in line for a job came Jim Tressel. He has been a visible figure at several teams’ training camps, as he was seen in Cleveland and in Indy. It was Indy who decided to give him a job, with his title being a game-day consultant on video reviews.

Tressel was just recently hired, but a suspension quickly followed. This time it came from the team itself, the Colts. The Colts suspended Tressel for the first six games of the year. He would have likely been suspended by the league anyway had the Colts not done it first.

The idea of committing major infractions in the college game and going to the NFL to escape the penalties should not be allowed by the NFL. It is an easy way out for those coaches and players who ruin the future of their respective programs.

Pete Carroll was one of these people, but he got out before the infractions were discovered. These infractions were largely brought upon by Reggie Bush, whose only punishment was to return his Heisman trophy. This is a tough penalty, but it has not had any effect on his NFL career.

So while Carroll and Bush both have their jobs in the NFL, USC is currently under a postseason ban that is in its second year. This is not fair for the program, but it is too late for the NFL to punish either of the two.

Hopefully the suspensions of Pryor and Tressel with set a precedent for any other players or coaches who are in the same situation. Punishments in college should not be escaped by heading to the NFL, and the sometimes unpopular commissioner Roger Goodell understands this.

Bax (pictured below), who played hockey for Ohio State, gives his take on Jim Tressel, the future of Ohio State football, the Thrashers’ move to Winnipeg, and Beavis and Butt-Head‘s return.

Click here to subscribe to Away From the Action on iTunes.

Music notes:

• The opening song is “Smooth Disturbance” by my old band, the National Biscuit Company.
• The closing song is “Numbers” by another of my old bands, Three Hit Combo.
• (I use my own music so that I don’t have to worry about rights and such.)

Specifically, the age old question:  Is it time for NCAA athletes to start seeing some of the massive financial pie?

The key to this argument is the idea of exploitation.

We are all smart enough to understand that colleges are making lots of money off of college athletes. The students, in exchange, receive a “free” education. As long as no one is being unfairly exploited, the system works, and the discussion is over.

So what, then, is exploitation? Exploitation is when “one individual gains something by taking an unfair advantage of another individual.” ¹

It is important to point out that all exploitation is not necessarily bad. Some exploitation is mutually advantageous for both parties. Supporters of the current system would argue this point to the death.

“The athletes are getting a free education!”
“The athletes get to be on national television!”
“They are getting paid!”
“The athletes agree to the system! You can’t be exploited if you agree to the process!”

While there is a lot of truth in these arguments, the question has to remain, “Is each side getting fair treatment?”

Let’s say I needed someone to build a 1000 square foot deck for me and I offered you $5 to build the entire thing. Let’s also say that you are out of work, and really have no other options to make money, so you agree to the deal. Does exploitation exist, even though you agreed to the deal and you were getting compensation for it? Of course it does. Why? Because the entire deal was unfair.

This is exactly what’s going on in college athletics. There are two huge problems with the current system, and both issues lead to the blatant exploitation of the college athlete.

The Myth of a Good Education

Believe it or not, colleges were not initially intended to be massive money makers. Sports were not even played on college campuses until the mid-1800s when classes began organizing their own teams (for example, the freshmen would team up and play against the sophomores) for class pride. Ironically, most school authorities were against athletics in the 1850s when intercollegiate teams began forming. But as sports got more popular, college presidents realized that they could manufacture additional income by charging fans to come watch.²

The next steps were easy to predict. How could a school garner more prestige and money? By winning more games. How could a school win more games? By getting the best players.

Immediately, schools began accepting players who never would have been admitted previously. In the 1870s, colleges began to offer financial assistance to students who would play sports for their school.³

It wasn’t long before schools even began giving small cash considerations to players in order to lure them to their particular institutions. In fact, these “arrangements” got so bad that the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States was formed in 1906 in order to curb the “dangerous and exploitative athletics practices of the time.”⁴

So from their beginnings, athletic scholarships were used primarily for the school’s benefit, not the student’s. In addition to that, guess what these players were called? That’s right, they were called employees. It wasn’t until 1956 when the NCAA modified its constitution and coined the term “student-athlete.”⁵

Of course, nowadays, universities try to justify what they are doing by proclaiming that “Now, students who would not otherwise receive an education are able to go to college.” Even though this doesn’t by any means pass the “smell test,” they were actually right – for a while. Even if the whole goal of paying a kid to come to college was to exploit him for money and prestige, at the end of the day, the student was still getting to go to college for four years and get his degree.

That is, until 1973, when the NCAA ruled that athletic scholarships could be terminated at the end of every year, for pretty much any reason.⁶

This may be good for the school, but it could clearly be detrimental to the player. It’s extremely possible (and happens quite often) that a player would travel all the way across the country to play a sport for a certain school, get injured, lose his scholarship, and have a hard time getting into any college anywhere.

The fact is this: if the NCAA was serious about educating its athletes, scholarships would be valid until the student graduated. Instead, the institution is protected, and the student is exploited.

So let me just recap. Universities never saw the usefulness of sports until they realized they could make money off of them. Immediately, they lowered qualifications, and decreased the educational atmosphere of their institutions in order to gain money and prestige. Other colleges began “cheating” in order to get ahead, so the schools built an institution that would “even out the playing field” for everyone. However, all this institution really did was make clever new titles for their players and create leverage for the universities at the students’ expense. At no point did the actual education of the student-athletes ever come into play.

To me, exploitation can’t get any clearer.

But it gets worse.

While college athletes have been exploited for years, it was only recently that we could begin saying that they weren’t receiving their fair slice of the financial pie. And why aren’t collegians getting paid? Because of the the next point.

The Myth of Amateurism

What is amateurism? Well, it basically means that athletes do not receive remuneration – outside of anything that is specified in the sport’s regulations – for their athletic services. ⁷

To most people, there is some sort of utopian and idealistic view of amateurism. It supposedly represents sports in its purest form.

In theory, amateurism is good – so long as no one is being unfairly exploited. The idea of amateurism worked in the 70s when schools simply weren’t making money on sports. Even icons like John Wooden only made $35,000 a year (the most he ever made was $38,000).⁸

It’s hard to believe how far sports have come, even in thirty years, but the revolution has been mind-blowing.

In 1967, the average Major League Baseball player made $19,000.⁹

Today, the average is over $3.3 million. That’s an increase of over 17000%. Over the same time period, NBA salaries have gone up 29900%, and salaries in the NFL have risen 5160%. If that’s not crazy enough, just think about this: in 1981, Larry Bird led the Boston Celtics to the NBA Title…and most of America didn’t see it live because it was on tape-delay.¹⁰

Professional athletes did not start becoming rich until the sports that they played began earning that money. It only makes sense, the bigger the financial pie is, the more each player can have. Unless we are talking about college sports. The amount of money that is driving college athletics has risen just as much, yet college athletes have not seen a dime of the profits.

For instance, the NCAA made $4 billion last year…JUST OFF OF VIDEO GAMES.¹¹

Yes, you read that number correctly. Many schools’ annual revenues reach above $260 million.¹²

The NCAA itself, a “non-profit educational organization,” has an annual budget of $32 million. Whether it’s a 14-year, $10.8 billion contract with CBS for March Madness, or the entire BCS system, everywhere you look, the dollar amounts are staggering.

And who is the reason for this unbelievable growth? Here’s a hint…it’s NOT the NCAA. Brown and Jewell used data from the NFL and NBA drafts to discover that the average draft-quality college football player earns $406,000 in revenue, EVERY YEAR, for his college. The average draft-quality basketball player makes even more, earning $1.194 million for his school.¹³

The point is this: in 1968, when Lew Alcindor was playing for the UCLA Bruins, the modestly paid John Wooden could look him in the eye and honestly tell the big fella that he wasn’t making gobs of money off of the kid.

Could Nick Saban, the $4 million-a-year man, really look at Mark Ingram and tell him the same thing?

Could EA Sports really tell Terrelle Pryor that the 6’6”, black QB #2 with a speed rating of 92 that plays for the Ohio State Buckeyes in their football game isn’t him?

Over the past 40 years, inflation has hit nearly every aspect of the entertainment industry. Professional athletes make more money. Actors and actresses make more money. Writers, singers, and entertainers are just reeling it in hand over fist.

However, only one of these industries has a governing body lording over making sure that the money stays within the very small tier of rich people at the top of it – the NCAA. Andrew Zimbalist was right when he called the NCAA a cartel – a joint group of members that creates a policy in order to promote the mutual interests of its members.¹⁴

As time goes on, the NCAA seems to be getting bolder and bolder in its hypocrisy. The undermining idea seems to be that anyone in the NCAA can make money…as long as it’s not one of the athletes.

Take, for example, AJ Green. The standout wide receiver from Georgia was suspended for four games last year for selling his football jersey to an agent for $1,000. ¹⁵

However, the very same year, the University of Nebraska put star quarterback Taylor Martinez’s jersey on the internet for auction. Ironically, it ended up being sold for around the same amount. It’s all good…as long as the money is going into the pockets of the cartel. ¹⁶

One of the biggest problems with all of this exploitation comes back to the law of opportunity costs, which states, “Every time you choose to purchase one thing, you are choosing against purchasing something else.”

Playing a sport for your university practically makes it impossible to get an off-campus job. In fact, many coaches prohibit their athletes from getting a job. If a student came to school on an academic scholarship, he would simply need to keep his grades up in order to keep his scholarship. Once his studying was over, he could get a job on or off-campus, and actually make money while in college.

However, an athlete is spending the majority of his time in practice, the weight room, or the actual game, and he is actively making his school money. He is denied the opportunity to make any money on his own working somewhere else. We don’t need to pay these players $50,000 a year, but the least we could do is give them a stipend that would be comparable to the amount of money that they would make in an average job.

Another important point to realize is that there are many athletes who are not on scholarship. NCAA schools are allowed to use 85 scholarships for football. However, this past year, the USC football team had 109 players. That means that there were 24 players that were basically paying to play football and probably not allowed to work on the side. Yes, it was their choice to play, but you better believe that USC absolutely loved milking these walk-ons for every drop they could.

Now I know what some of you are thinking. “Most colleges don’t even make money on athletics. How do you expect that we pay them?”

Well, first of all, making money should not be the sole purpose for having sports.

I coach soccer at a small private school. We don’t even come close to making money with the program. But that’s fine, because our overall purpose in having a soccer team is not to make money. Instead, we want to teach our kids how to appreciate camaraderie and teamwork. Most importantly, we want to force them into pressure situations and see how they respond.

To be honest, if the only reason a school had sports was to make money, than the only college sports that would exist would be men’s basketball and football. Non-profit sports are not a waste of time, but since these athletes are not making their school any money, they are not getting exploited – that is, neither side is being unfairly taken advantage of.

But secondly, if a sport is making the school an inordinate amount of money, the athletes that are participating should be compensated in some manner.  The reason that most schools aren’t making money off of athletics is because they have adopted the socialistic tendencies of our welfare society by using their profits from football and basketball in order to fund all of the other sports. When you build an institution, you understand that certain parts of your program will make you more money than others. However, it is unfair to the basketball and football players, aka, the players who are making the school all the money, to refuse to pay them – just because you have to fund the less popular sports that aren’t making money.

That is why we should not pay everyone, just the football and basketball players.

You might ask, how come? Is that really fair?

Well, simply put, because that’s how America is supposed to work. If you make money, you deserve to get paid. On the other side, if you create a business that nobody wants or likes, you don’t receive money “for trying.”

Even though they end up losing the school lots of money, the non-revenue sports still add a lot of important things to a school. And honestly, if we stop funding their programs with our football/basketball surpluses, I bet they would waste a lot less money. The girls’ volleyball team doesn’t “deserve” to go on cross-country trips just because the boys’ football team got to go to Hawaii for a bowl game. They can still learn about camaraderie and teamwork by playing schools in their own conference twice a year.

In conclusion, it all comes back to one thing – is somebody getting exploited by being unfairly taken advantage of?

In the case of NCAA sports, especially basketball and football, in the year 2011, the answer is a resounding yes.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that the NCAA is some gracious organization that is traveling the country, seeking to give poor, troubled kids the education that will change their lives.

Don’t be hypnotized by the idea of amateurism and the myth that it leads to a simpler and purer game.

The NCAA has you right where it wants you: reaching into your wallet and putting the money into their pockets.

It’s time the NCAA did the right thing and stopped exploiting their employees (ahem, “student-athletes”).

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Special thanks to Tony Miller, who put in countless hours researching and laying the groundwork that it took to write this column.

Image credits:

• Heisman with cash: TheFasterTimes.com
• EA Sports College Football ’12 Cover: AP via MockingTheDraft
• Football with money: Bold Sports Talk

Footnotes:

¹ Wertheimer, A. “The exploitation of student athletes.” Ethics in sport. 2007.

² Flowers, R.D.  “Institutionalized hypocrisy: The myth of intercollegiate athletics.  American Educational History Journal. 2009.

³ Ibid.

⁴ http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/About+the+NCAA/Who+We+Are/About+the+NCAA+history Yes, that’s right.  The NCAA’s very own website admits that from the start, schools began to exploit their players.  I should just end my argument right here.

⁵ Byers, W.  Unsportsmanlike conduct:  Exploiting College Athletes. 1997.

⁶ Sander, Libby.  “Justice Department Examines NCAA Scholarship Rules.”  http://chronicle.com/article/Justice-Department-Examines/65430/ 2010.

⁷ “Definition of amateurism.”  American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. 2000.

⁸ Henderson, John.  “Wooden’s Wisdom.” The Denver Post.  http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_5351758

⁹ MLBPA Average Salary Report.  http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=563&Itemid=42

¹⁰ “1981 NBA Finals.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_NBA_Finals

¹¹ Laird, Sam. “Shoe Marketer who Enriched NCAA Takes on His Creation.” 2011.

¹² Meggyvesy, D.  “Athletes in big-time college sport.”  Society. 2000.

¹³ Brown, R.W., Jewell, T.  “Measuring marginal revenue product in college athletics: Updated estimates.” In J. Fizel and R. Fort (Eds.). Economics of College Sports. 2004.

¹⁴ Zimbalist, A.S.  Unpaid Professionals:  Commercialism and conflict in big-time College Sports. 2001.

¹⁵ “NCAA Upholds AJ Green’s Suspension.”  http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5585220

¹⁶ “Nebraska Offering Pre-Sales of Game Worn Jerseys.”  http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/nebraska-offering-pre-sales-of-game-worn-jerseys/

Michigan fans have beaten down by Jim Tressel and their rivals to the south for an entire decade, and now the time for exacting revenge is nigh.

Thanks to today’s Hot Clicks I came across the video below (via The M Zone), which is about as cleverly perfect a visual representation of Tressel’s trouble in Columns as I can imagine. Well done.

This is a picture taken of Tressel immediately after viewing Vestocchio. Apparently he liked it too.

Now check out today’s other must-see video.

Speaking for nearly all of OSU fans, all I can say to him is “don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

Before this news was reported, there were two ways to look at Pryor. One way would be to see him as one of many players who participated in activities that led to Jim Tressel’s resigning. The other way to look at Pryor involved seeing him as the major reason why Tressel had to go. Either way, Pryor was involved and was a main factor in Tressel’s resignation.

Coming into OSU, Pryor was expected to be the next big thing. He was the top recruit in the nation and chose OSU over that hated team up North. He seemed like a good enough kid who had the body to be a future NFL quarterback, and this gave Buckeye fans a new sense of hope; but many now wish that he would have taken his “talents” to Ann Arbor.

In 2008 the starting QB for OSU was Todd Boeckman, who many wanted out in favor of Pryor. They split time early in the year, but as the year went on Pryor began to see most of the playing time. He was helped by star running back Chris “Beanie” Wells, who took the pressure off of Pryor. Pryor finished 2008 with 12 passing TD’s and a loss to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl. After that tough loss, Buckeye fans could not wait for 2009 to come around.

2009 was a good year for Pryor, but still not a great one. He went 10-2 with a Rose Bowl win over Oregon, but his weaknesses began to be apparent to many OSU fans.

First off, he never seemed to get enough zip on the ball when he threw a pass. He tended to lob passes, even ones into tight spaces. However, this did not matter during his fantastic Rose Bowl. He went 23-37 with 266 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also rushed for 72 yards en route to OSU’s 26-17 win over Oregon. Many analysts said that he would be an early Heisman candidate in 2010, which only made OSU fans forget everything that they didn’t like about Pryor.

2010 came around and OSU had another solid year. It was also Terrelle Pryor’s best year statistically, but maybe his worst mechanically. He finished the year with 27 TD passes and 2772 yards. The downside of his performance is shown by his 11 interceptions. He also threw at least one interception in every Big Ten game except the one against Indiana. The season ended with a win in the Sugar Bowl, but this came after the controversy began.

In reality, Pryor and the other OSU players caught receiving illegal benefits should not have been allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl. I am an OSU fan, but the NCAA made a joke of itself by allowing these players to play. It was clearly all about the money; that goes for the NCAA and the players.

As time went on, things only got worse for the Ohio State program. Pryor and the other players were suspended for the first five games of next season, along with then-coach Tressel. Once Tressel left, it was only a matter of time before Pryor left, which many OSU fans began to call for after he was seen driving around Columbus in a brand new car while he had a suspended license.

Did I mention that the car did not have a license plate on the back? This showed how ignorant Pryor truly is, and this announcement that he is leaving is great news for fans of OSU football.

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* – Terrelle Pryor image source: LifeSource

The first was Mike Fish’s piece on ESPN.com about the ties between A-HOPE, the Indiana Elite AAU program, and IU basketball, which interests me as both an alumnus and a native Hoosier.  The other was George Dohrmann’s Sports Illustrated report on Jim Tressel’s pattern of willful ignorance and potential violations within the Ohio State football program, which I follow as a condition of my residency in Ohio.

Whatever your feelings are about either of these schools or teams, what struck me most was the contrast in both the quality and factual content of the reporting as well as the conviction of each writer in the aftermath of their stories.

Fish’s series of pieces on A-HOPE and Indiana Elite was the result of five months of research and investigation.  While Fish drew connections between Mark Adams, who founded A-HOPE and is the director of Indiana Elite, and a recent string of verbal commitments to IU, the net result of his research could generally be labeled as circumstantial evidence.  Fish insinuates that Adams’ connection to the players and his son Drew’s brief employment as an entry-level member of the Indiana staff led to a pipeline of recruits heading to Bloomington.

Many pro-IU sites have taken the time to poke holes in Fish’s argument by pointing out the relatively low number of A-HOPE and/or Indiana Elite players who have committed to IU in the past, and the reality is that even some of the current Indiana Elite players don’t have lengthy ties to the program.

Most fans are most concerned with potential illegal benefits Adams provided to 2012 commit Hanner Perea, namely an iPod, a laptop and plane tickets to his native Colombia.  Depending on what you read, Adams may be Perea’s legal guardian in America, which has a significant bearing on the magnitude of potential violations.  It’s unclear what the final punishment might be for accepting these benefits, although you could use the case of Josh Selby from last season as a potential barometer.  Regardless, Mark Adams doesn’t deny having given the items in question to Perea, so while the eventual outcome of the case is unknown, there is no contention as to the facts surrounding it.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time thinking about what to make of this as both a fan of the program as well as college basketball, and I think the findings are neither as damning as Fish had hoped nor as innocent as most fans want to believe.

It strikes me as very little concrete information tying Adams or the university to any misdeeds, but given the recent history of violations at IU in the Kelvin Sampson era, it concerns me to see the program potentially wrapped up in something unscrupulous.  In the end, you are the company you keep, and if Adams’ motives are not as altruistic as he wants us to believe, IU is leaving itself open to this type of criticism and insinuation whether they’ve done anything wrong or not.  Beyond the IU landscape, the potential influence of boosters through non-profit organizations is a loophole the NCAA is behind the curve in closing.  Adams himself has stated that the parameters governing organizations like A-HOPE are a work in progress.

Ultimately I have no doubt that Fish put a significant amount of time and effort into uncovering something during those five months, but the number of concrete facts and associated violations or illegal activities is less than most would expect after that kind of time investment in researching and interviewing.

That, along with what has surely been a vicious backlash from IU fans, may explain why Fish came off the way that he did during a recent interview with JMV of 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis.  During the roughly 15 minute interview, Fish came off as defensive and at times argumentative.  He ultimately appeared thin-skinned and didn’t project an air of confidence related to what his eventual findings proved.

At one point he denied any provocation from Baylor to investigate A-HOPE without the subject even coming up, which struck me as odd.  The Bears’ recruitment of Perea earned headlines based on text messages from an assistant coach claiming that they would have Perea deported if he didn’t commit to Baylor.  Whether they tipped Fish off on A-HOPE or not, the volunteering of this information while not even being questioned about the source of the investigation was puzzling to say the least.

Another interesting claim by Fish was that the only notable history of A-HOPE and Indiana Elite was within the last couple years, and anything preceding that could be and should be ignored.  Given that Mark Adams has been involved with both over a relatively lengthy period of time, it seems foolish to willfully ignore the overall track record of the players associated with both organizations over that time span.  If a basketball player had a 10-year career, you wouldn’t look only at the last two years to formulate an opinion on their legacy.  You’d look at the entire body of work.

In contrast, Dohrmann researched the Ohio State situation for roughly six weeks according to a chat he held on Twitter using the #sichat hashtag.  Despite spending a week of that time on vacation and spending roughly six or seven days in Columbus, the amount of detail and the number of different sources referenced created a significantly more compelling story than the one Fish portrayed despite having spent roughly four times as long compiling information.

A review of Dohrmann’s article shows a series of violations that followed Jim Tressel over the span of about 25 years.  He publishes statements from at least 10 people associated with Tressel and the various players associated with at least half a dozen separate issues.  While you can certainly question the moral credentials of some of those he interviewed, Dohrmann managed to confirm their accounts of the situation through additional sources or research.  In the end, he produced significantly more specific evidence to support his case, and his writing relied far less on the reader’s ability or willingness to draw their own conclusion.

I would argue that by the end of Dohrmann’s piece, some of those who vehemently supported Tressel had seen another side of him and potentially softened their stance.  Some may still see him as ultimately a good guy who made bad choices in the interest of looking out for his players, but it’s tough to completely exonerate Tressel from any wrongdoing in light of the mountain of evidence presented.

With Fish’s article, I tweeted last week that it would do little to change people’s mind about Tom Crean and the overall direction of the IU program.  Those who question Crean’s ability to return the program to glory were given ammunition to question his integrity, while those who support him were given no explicit facts that would force them to reevaluate their stance.

As you would expect, Dohrmann made the rounds on the ESPN shows (Mike and Mike, The Herd, and The Scott Van Pelt Show) as well as Jim Rome in the wake of his article’s release.  In the interviews I heard, Dohrmann spoke confidently about the facts he and his colleague David Epstein had compiled for the article and was steadfast in his indictment of Tressel and his history of using plausible deniability as a defense.  He seemed poised to receive the venom and backlash from those who wanted to discredit his reporting of the events but ultimately hung his hat on the facts compiled during his investigation.

While I don’t fancy myself to be the caliber of either Fish or Dohrmann as a writer, there is much to be learned from the reaction to these investigative pieces.

It’s not easy to undertake a barrage of criticism about a piece you worked hard on, and if you don’t believe that, try writing a sit/start article for fantasy football.  People won’t always agree with what you have to say, but the dialogue that ensues after an article posts is one of the best parts of writing.  That’s one of the reasons I have always made it a point to respond to any email or comment readers have passed along.  Two-way conversations are always more rewarding than the one-sided ones, and in the end, embracing the positive and negative feedback from what you write only enhances your perspective and builds credibility with readers.

The fanbases for these two programs are among the most passionate, proud, and intense in the country, so naturally many questioned whether either Fish or Dohrmann had an axe to grind against their respective teams.  In both cases, that’s an absurd argument, but if that was, in fact, the case, it’s clear to see who spent more time sharpening their blade.

Feel free to leave comments below or message me on Twitter.

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* – Hanner Perea photo credit: Inside the Hall

Brilliantly, SI waited until around 8:00 pm CT to release the article on SI.com. There is no telling how many additional pageviews they received from sports junkies like me, obsessed Bucknuts around the world, and other college football fans who were eagerly anticipating reading it.

For those of you who have not yet read it, here it is.

You can read and form your own judgments. All I’ll say is that whoever edited the article did a great job of ending the first two pages with strong statements:

For more than a decade, Ohioans have viewed Tressel as a pillar of rectitude, and have disregarded or made excuses for the allegations and scandal that have quietly followed him throughout his career. His integrity was one of the great myths of college football. Like a disgraced politician who preaches probity but is caught in lies, the Senator was not the person he purported to be.

The Clarett and Baker scandals were further evidence that Tressel was, at best, woefully ignorant of questionable behavior by his players and not aggressive enough in preventing it. At worst, he was a conduit for improper benefits, as Clarett alleged. The latter interpretation is suggested by a story that has long circulated among college coaches and was confirmed to SI by a former colleague of Tressel’s from Earle Bruce’s staff at Ohio State in the mid-1980s. One of Tressel’s duties then was to organize and run the Buckeyes’ summer camp. Most of the young players who attended it would never play college football, but a few were top prospects whom Ohio State was recruiting. At the end of camp, attendees bought tickets to a raffle with prizes such as cleats and a jersey. According to his fellow assistant, Tressel rigged the raffle so that the elite prospects won — a potential violation of NCAA rules. Says the former colleague, who asked not to be identified because he still has ties to the Ohio State community, “In the morning he would read the Bible with another coach. Then, in the afternoon, he would go out and cheat kids who had probably saved up money from mowing lawns to buy those raffle tickets. That’s Jim Tressel.”

Just saw this tweet from friend of MSF Glenn Moore of The Dugout Sports Show:

According to Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel has resigned.

The same sentiment is echoed here by 10TV.com.

Update: Here is the official report from The Dispatch.

Excerpt:

The Dispatch has obtained a memo Gee sent to OSU trustees this morning:

“I write to let you know that later this morning we will be announcing the resignation of Jim Tressel as head coach of the University’s football program. As you all know, I appointed a special committee to analyze and provide advice to me regarding issues attendant to our football program. In consultation with the senior leadership of the University and the senior leadership of the Board, I have been actively reviewing the matter and have accepted Coach Tressel’s resignation.

“My public statement will include our common understanding that throughout all we do, we are One University with one set of standards and one overarching mission. The University’s enduring public purposes and its tradition of excellence continue to guide our actions,” Gee wrote.

Wow. Was not expecting this on Memorial Day. Looks like Ohio State fans may need to hold a memorial for their program. Something tells me things will be getting a lot worse before they get any better.

If I learned anything from the mess we’ve dealt with an Indiana over the last few years, it’s this: leopards don’t change their spots, as they say. Tressel got into trouble for extra benefits being passed around at Youngstown State, and it looks like the same type of thing will be his undoing in Columbus. He’s not a bad guy, and he’s certainly not a bad coach, but his arrogance and willingness to play games with the truth ultimately forced he and the Buckeyes to pay pretty close to the ultimate price.

Buckeye fans, you’ll always have this:

I deleted my Facebook account this year and exclusively post personal thoughts, links, quotes, information and anything else relevent to life or that day’s events to my Twitter account. It was a good move on my part. At least Conan O’Brien or a fake Hawk Harrelson account can entertain me at least once a day. Not to mention there are great bloggers I have found through Twitter, as it is an an exciting way to gain multiple perspectives and links to solid writing.

This is way better than my social media fix being spent scrolling through Facebook status updates about being tired and needing coffee every morning or some crappy local band having another local bar show. My choice; I don’t loathe people on Facebook. I just like twitter a lot.

I also hate Twitter.

Sounds scizophrenic, I know, but hear me out.

I see what is trending and occasionally read what exactly people are posting about an item. “Jim Tressel” was trending recently so I naturally wanted to see comments from the general public. While it would be nice to live in a bubble and only read Terrelle Pryor’s tweets about how much he loves his coach, that is too shallow for my nature. I have strong, one-sided opinions, but I always educate myself on the who, what, where, and why of others’ opinions whether I agree or not.

With that said, I saw nothing on Twitter recently that links to the reality and only stuff that is being overblown in the sports world. All I see are uninformed, hateful comments about Coach Tressel.

• “YES Jim Tressel is a goner”
• “Now those last 7 losses don’t feel so bad b/c they were CHEATING!!”
• “Jim Tressel is screwing tOSU over!!”
• “Between #Obama and Jim Tressel its a TIE for biggest arrogant douchebag”
• “Jim Tressel is a dumbass!”
• “FIRE JIM TRESSEL NOW!”

And my favorite:

• “Jim Tressel putting the ‘vest’ in investigation”

The last tweet is funny and might be true, but the fact of the matter is the notice that Ohio State received recently from the NCAA has not brought anything new to table against Jim Tressel. Everything that has already been admitted in Ohio State’s self-imposed sanctions about Tressel’s handling of the violation is agreed upon by the NCAA in the notice. They only have a few more questions that Ohio State must answer by July to see if anything additional should be pitted against the football program after an August 12th hearing. And unless you had not been following this situation at all, you knew the NCAA could add sanctions to the already self-imposed ones.

Are there further measures the NCAA could rule against the Buckeye football program? Yes, of course.

But will Tressel be fired this year? Doubtful.

The NCAA cannot make a school fire someone, and a school firing a coach in trouble does not reduce penalties that the NCAA will impose. So at this point the University has no motivation to fire a coach who is 9-1 against Michigan. Being from Columbus, it is hard for Ohio State to find motivation for a firing a successful coach unless it involves a senile physical attack on another team’s player.

It is standard for sanctions from the NCAA to happen and then for a school to make its decision on the head coach’s job status. The only thing that would make Jim Tressel leave his job at this point is a death penalty ruling from the NCAA or a shameful early retirement by the coach himself. The SMU-type ruling from the NCAA is not going to happen according to their verbage in the notice to Ohio State. Yet the fact that there was a notice handed over to the University right before the spring game made it great fodder for pundits recently.

Let’s dissect below what the NCAA could further impose against Tressel and Ohio State, which might not end up being as horrible as some want. No matter how much some people may want to lump it in with the Bruce Pearl situation, Pearl was fired after getting smoked by 30 points in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament.

And yes, sorry, that does matter in collegiate athletic decision making, no matter how much the NCAA wants you to think differently.

Let it be known that the suspensions against the players involved in this tatt-gate case are already open and shut: five-game suspensions for the players this year, end of story.

Buckeye Nation could also be forced to watch more games added to the five that Coach Tressel must currently sit out this year. They could also be forced to vacate all of the wins from the 2010 season. Vacating wins seems hypocritical and perhaps even unlikely, as this ruling would make the NCAA’s decision to let the players involved still compete in the 2011 Sugar Bowl as a mistake. If vacating all of their 2010 wins is such a big deal then why would they ever have been allowed to play in the Bowl game in the first place?

But I would not put it past the NCAA to make such a ruling, if not to save face or make an example. It would be kind of like USC’s current situation, except Tressel is not bailing on his school for the NFL like Pete Carrol did. Don’t put it past the NCAA to give a coach like Tressel the benefit of the doubt for NOT bailing on his school.

Soap Box Moment: If the NCAA really cared about the problem that is student-athletes selling personal items for profit while in college, they would just make these schools hold on to said items until graduation or an NFL declaration by a player. This solution is not bureaucratic or illogical enough I guess. Remember that the real problem is the NCAA rule book, not Tressel’s decision to protect the interest of his kids and the football program.

Moving on, a loss of scholarships and bans on future postseasons is possible. If The Ohio State University thought this was reason to fire Tressel then they could, but by all accounts firing the Senator would set back the program further than any of those potential NCAA sanctions. And like I said, a firing would not likely lessen the severity of any decisions made by the NCAA. Hiring a replacement would be a tough task that the school would like to avoid if the sanctions are too steep. On top of that, hiring a new coach within the current coaching tree would keep the risk that comes with “Oh…can’t trust him, he is a Tressel guy” for whoever cares. Recruits, donors, local papers, and other media providing their image might be damaging. But has that not happened already?

Back to the Interwebs, where you have people who rush into opinions after hearing about the NCAA notice – including this site – and you have people who look further into the situation without the gall to lambaste Tressel at every opportunity.

Coach Tressel is far from perfect, but he could never foresee their “illegal” actions in advance. To call Tressel a scum bag after this notice from the NCAA is not legit and has zero perspective on the NCAA process.

Point is, no matter how much everyone wants to talk about these troubles in the offseason, the call to fire Jim Tressel are rehashed calls we heard over a month ago. Same with the “news” about the NCAA notice that was sent to Ohio State last week. Realistically if he was going to be fired by the school it would have happened already. I know that’s a tough thing to swallow for people who want everyone else but themselves to be held accountable for their actions, but that is the truth of the matter.

If you want Coach Tressel fired it is the same old story that has only been told by very few programs over his tenure: beat his teams on the football field. 2011 and beyond could be that opportunity. Until then, this is a hot mess that Columbus will continue to be cold blooded about.

Could I be wrong with some of my arrogance as an Ohio State fan and the tone of this article? Yes. Since Paul Brown there has not been an Ohio State football coach who has gracefully left on his own terms. But everyone wants to predict the future of Ohio State’s head coach with the negative light that Tressel will be canned in the near future because of his current troubles with the NCAA. Everyone’s reasoning for Urban Meyer’s shot at coaching the Buckeyes is utterly unrealistic at this point. At this date, with the information we know, it is a pipe dream if you think Jim Tressel WILL be fired this year. Any foresight into what is GOING to happen before this October is pure speculation and is mostly just something to talk about in the offseason, this article included.

Comment below for further discussion.

The NCAA informed Ohio State on Monday that the school and Tressel face potentially major violations in connection to Tressel withholding information and lying to the NCAA. Five Ohio State players have been suspended for the first 5 games of the 2011 season for accepting improper benefits from a tattoo parlor owner. Tressel was suspended 5 games also and fined $250,000 for failing to notify the university of violations. Unfortunately for Tressel, that may just be the beginning for him.

Along with his school-imposed five game suspension, Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel faces more punishment by the NCAA.

Because he fielded ineligible players in 2010, it is very likely that the entire 2010 season will be vacated. In addition, the NCAA could extend Tressel’s suspension or even issue more sanctions against him.

Personally, I was very surprised when this story came out. Jim Tressel always seemed like he was clean and greatly stressed good morals to his players. He always seemed highly regarded by everyone across the nation, whether you love or despise Ohio State.

I’m not going to pretend that I don’t hate Ohio State, because I do. I bleed Wisconsin Badger red, and watching the Badgers beat “THE Ohio State” when they were ranked #1 in both basketball and football this past year was pure awesomeness. But I always admired and respected Jim Tressel and the way he ran his football program.

My opinion of him has greatly changed in the past few months.

He went from being the gold standard of college football coaches to being a shady character at best. This entire situation has blown his reputation to shreds, but he could have made a move when this first came out that may have helped him salvage his reputation.

When the NCAA pathetically announced they would suspend the five Ohio State football players for the first five games of the 2011 season, but not for the upcoming Sugar Bowl, Tressel had a chance to make a move. The fact that the NCAA didn’t suspend the players for the Sugar Bowl all for the sake of ratings was definitely a travesty, but Tressel could have, and probably should have, made a statement by suspending the players from the Sugar Bowl himself.

As we all know, he didn’t, and the Buckeyes beat Arkansas to finally beat an SEC team in a BCS bowl. Ironically, now it probably won’t matter because that game will likely be vacated by the NCAA.

I personally think the NCAA needs to redeem their spineless move in not suspending the players from the Sugar Bowl by bringing the hammer down on Tressel, and part of me thinks they will. The NCAA definitely frowns upon coaches lying to them, and they usually come down hard on coaches who do. I doubt this time will be any different.

As for Ohio State, they’re in a tough situation.

Jim Tressel has obviously done a tremendous job at the school, and he has given a lot back to the Columbus community. He has compiled a 106-22 record at Ohio State, including five BCS bowl game wins and a national championship. Only the legendary Woody Hayes and Tressel’s predecessor John Cooper have won more games at the school than him.

But, does the university think it’s worth sticking with a guy who has violated their trust by hiding information from them? If the NCAA deals Tressel serious sanctions, Ohio State will at the least have to consider firing him.

If you would’ve said this a few years ago, many people would have laughed and called you insane; but now it’s a situation that’s all too real for the Buckeye faithful:

Jim Tressel’s job is in serious jeopardy.

In today’s edition, Brittany Snow says hello, you get to LOL at a baby LOL’ing at half speed, vultures continue to circle Jim Tressel in Columbus, Mickael Pietrus shows off his goofy side, and the Internet regales you with the “Morgan Freeman Chain of Command.”

Best of MSF

Yes, for the third straight Today’s Best I am going to promote our MLB Trivia Challenge Podcast sponsored by Generational Equity. Make sure that you get your answers in before Thursday to be eligible for the Quiz 1 prize – a $20 gift certificate to Chili’s.

If you’ve already completed the trivia challenge, then hope over to an article posted this past weekend by Patrick Suley. He counts down 34 life rules for men and women, and I have to say – they’re pretty good rules.

Today’s Best Beauty

Before today I must admit that I was not familiar with the work of Brittany Snow. And seeing as how she has never been in anything that I’ve really watched, I suppose I’m still not that familiar with her “work.”

However, because of Drew’s recommendation, I have made Ms. Snow Today’s Best Beauty, because in terms of being photogenic her work is rather impressive.

If you would like to peruse an assortment of Brittany Snow pics, click here for a gallery.

Links

Sports

Things keep getting worse for The Sweater Vest. On one of the few bright sides in Buckeye Land though, freshman QB Braxton Miller appears to be legit.

Ever what happens when you catch a Major Leaguer’s first home run ball? The Baseball Collector shows you.

The NFL Draft is Thursday night. Here is a retrospective on how the top prospects were rated coming out of high school. There are a lot more 2- and 3-star guys than I would have expected.

Speaking of the draft, will the “ghost of Braylon” haunt the Browns into passing up AJ Green on Thursday night?

And further speaking of the draft, we went from possibly no prospects attending it to a record 25 scheduled to be on hand. Wha-what?

LeBron really needs to start making some of those clutch shots.

What makes a good NBA coach? Who the hell knows.

I just love the headline here from The Onion: “Peyton Manning To Spend Several Weeks With Newborn Twins Before Naming Starting Child.” It actually does not sound that far-fetched.

I’m sure you know that tall pitchers have inherent advantages over short pitchers. But do you know why? Now you will.

FYI…Tony LaRussa’s daughter cheerleads for the Oakland Raiders.

Non-Sports

Did we find the “God particle?”

You know, if they were just going to waste all of this beer, I’m sure MSF Nation would have been happy to take it off of their hands.

Agree or Disagree: “Shutter fraternities for young women’s good.”

This article entitled “Obama’s Problem With Business” is highly speculative, but make some interesting, cogent points…and just may onto something rather important.

This advertisement has apparently won some awards. It is certainly interesting, but I can’t tell if I like it or hate it yet. As a commenter says, “How come the souls can pass through thick steel, but not the seatbelt?” It’s a valid question.

Taking a picture with an iPad does look pretty silly.

Pics & GIFs

I don’t know what to say about this Mickael Pietrus animated GIF. Goofy dude.

Source: Reddit

I couldn’t find any other particularly interesting photos today, so for no good reason I’m posting this classic piece of Internet humor:

DYK

Did you know…that someone was in a coma for 20 years before “waking up”? Damn that’s a long time.

Did you know…that the running of the Olympic Torch is not an ancient Greek Tradition. You might be surprised and perhaps disappointed to learn its origins.

Videos

When I saw the description for this video – “Baby laughing at half speed” – I was prepared for it to be a little odd and disconcerting. And it is. But it made me LOL quite loudly and multiple times, so I’m posting for your enjoyment.

The Walker, Texas Ranger lever is one of my favorite Conan gags ever. This is apparently before he instituted the actual lever, but it’s perhaps the most unintentional hilarious Walker clip of them all.

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As always, we end Today’s Best by paying homage to the original inspiration for this post: Hot Clicks by Jimmy Traina.

We also encourage you to follow Today’s Best on Twitter and on Facebook. Also, if you like Today’s Best but hate everything else on MSF, then subscribe to just Today’s Best here.

Send tips to: tb@midwestsportsfans.com

If you would, please give me a little time here, and deal with a little rambling, as I start out as an obnoxious Buckeye fan but try to gain some perspective so that I can offer a reasonable opinion on what the suspension for Coach Tressel should be and why.

This kind of thing takes time. You see, nothing rational comes out of Buckeye Nation’s collective mouth less than 72 hours after the fact. It takes the public flogging in the sports world for a whole week to realize your do no-wrong-coach actually will do wrong.

And for once with Jim Tressel, I am not talking about any BCS losses.

Image credit: Getty via The Big Lead

See, Brutus the Buckeye has it right. And we always trust Brutus. I mean every time he throws up an O in the air we yell Ooooooo!!!! If he mispelled O-H-I-O you would have a whole arena of people yelling for the OiHo State Buckeyes to beat another higher educated university.

Anyway, Brutus tweeted/quoted about Bobby Knight (Ohio State alum) having Jimmy Tressel’s back in all of this. See even Coach Knight cheated and lied when he coached! (Just kidding @JerodMSF.)

In reality, the “not knowing the rule” defense is not seen as legit by the majority. Facts being, JT refused to focus on his contractual obligation and NCAA rules and follow due process. And Bob Knight is apparently okay with this. And it makes sense; being a stubborn ass, looking out for the safety of the kids (star players), a similar pension for red sweater tops, and whatever else…Knight and Tressel have a lot in common and Knight will have Tressel’s back.

I, for one, have Tressel’s back because he won a National Championship in my lifetime and is 9-1 versus Michigan. Why? Because my first memories growing up in Columbus are of my first kiss to a girl named Angelique and Earle Bruce getting canned but still beating Michigan the following Saturday. What proceeded from there? Angelique moved away forever and I suffered through the John Cooper era (2-10-1 versus Michigan) while he called Ohio Stadium “Buckeye Field”. That said, I deserve Jim Tressel as Ohio State’s head football coach. In Tressel We Trust I say! He was looking out for the safety of the kids. What a great guy. AN S.E.C. COACH WOULDN’T DO THAT

But…those with this opinion are a dwindling faction in Buckeye Nation now.

Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch, analyzes the number of fanatic Buckeye Nation emails he has gotten since the press conference. He found the “In Tressel We Trust” defense was only 20% out of them all so far, with plenty of ridiculous reasons the emailers trust him now and probably forever (as in the as long as you beat Michigan forever sense of forever). I have to say I am in the same boat. And that’s what makes me a Buck Nut. I bet the majority of us live in a bubble in Columbus though. Nationally I bet about 1% of the public would ever use the “In Tressel We Trust” defense. And Ohio State pumps out a lot of alumni every year.

So what is the most significant detail in all of this that a Buckeye fanatic should look at to gain perspective? I found it in the emails. (Here are clearer images from NBC4 if you need it for mobile device or print outs, you crazy investigative web journalists)

May the BCS crush Dan Wetzel from Yahoo and the others for all that their novelty store detective disguises are worth! I’m still waiting for the AOL investigative team to report something that everyone already knows. (“Source: Charlie Sheen Goes On Benders.”)

Sherlock Wetzel

Seriously, at what point when Wetzel and his Yahoo team are digging someone for information, will people starting zipping their mouths shut? Simple answer here is, probably never. And if you read the April emails between attorney Christoper T. Cicero and Jimmy Tressel, Cicero seems to take the situation way more seriously than any of the Sweater Vest’s responses.

In one, the former Buckeye walk-on goes on a little rant about how sacred the championship rings and the golden pants awards for beating Michigan are that were sold. So when Tressel publicly said he was first made aware of the situation in December, Cicero must have felt a little betrayed. He probably was more than willing to give his story to the Yahoo team after that. It’s not that he wants to bring down the whole program, he just wants the truth out there and does not like the Tressel, Sweater Vest, Senator, do no wrong, oh golly-gee, facade.

Being a walk-on at Ohio State in the 80s, Cicero really does think the items sold were more than just memorabilia; to him they are sacred artifacts to cherish between family members forever. Cicero even makes the point to JT about keeping these awards and rings within the family and that they should never be sold for profit.

But this probably happens at many schools, and it probably irks other old school guys like Cicero, so yes, we will probably see more Yahoo news stories divulging lying and cheating in NCAA athletics. Let’s hope it is not for a long time. I feel for a guy like Cicero after reading his emails and seeing how Coach Tressel handled the timeline of events.

As a Buckeye fanatic trying to maintain at least some perspective, I say this to the NCAA: suspend Jimmy T for five games like the kids are suspended. How is that not a fair punishment and one that could help put an end to public outcry against the NCAA? (see Newton, Cam; Bryant, Dez; etc.)