Go Bucks!

My apologies to non-sports types for today’s blog –as I will revert to hyper-fan mode a couple of times each year.

I’ll deal with the Patriots’ march to another Super Bowl soon. As a die-hard Redskin fan, you unfortunately won’t see anything about the ‘Skins the rest of this year (sob)

Tonight, it’s the BCS Sugar Bowl, pitting my alma mater Ohio State Buckeyes against the Razorbacks of Arkansas. And while I cannot deny my passion as a proud Buckeye fan, I am somewhat used to disappointment in Bowl games (especially for the national Championship)—and even a partisan like myself is dismayed by what I feel is a tainted game before the ball is even kicked off.

More on that in a bit—right now, a quick highlight reel of Ohio State’s big moments in the last decade or so:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u6nGD1t3lo

As for tonight, I’ll be rooting for OSU, but am not confident that off-field distractions will not affect the Buckeyes performance---to the point that I feel that despite the “favored team” status by Vegas bookmakers (and the pregame “ranking” of the teams), a loss seems to be the most likely outcome.

For those not aware of what has happened in Columbus, here is a rough sequence of misdeeds:

· Six Ohio State players, including star quarterback Terrell Pryor were sanctioned for NCAA violations, specifically for selling personal memorabilia and/or receiving services (tattoos) at a substantial discount because of their celebrity. It was noted that the players made these transactions before being informed of the NCAA parameters, but that they failed to disclose these actions after the fact.

· As punishment, the NCAA suspended 5 of the players (including Pryor) to a 5 game suspension at the start of next season, but ruled that they would be eligible to play in the Sugar Bowl tonight. One player was suspended for one game.


· It was learned later that the President of the Sugar Bowl Paul Hoolihan lobbied the NCAA to keep the affected players on the field for the Bowl game- a successful effort, it would seem. The NCAA justified the harsher than usual penalty (5 games instead of 4) because of the timing of the violations and the fact that the players did not disclose their actions after the fact. As for keeping the players eligible for the Sugar Bowl, the NCAA defended their decision on the fact that the players “may not have been aware” at the time of their actions that they were, indeed, in violation of the rules and regs.

· Coach Jim Tressel of Ohio State, now faced with the moral dilemma of either sitting these players for the Bowl game as the “honorable” thing to do—or allowing them to play, struck a compromise that has, in itself, become a center of controversy. He extracted promises from all the players that they would return to Ohio State for the 2011-12 season in exchange for the right to travel to New Orleans. All the players accepted this deal, thus averting a likely byproduct of the NCAA scandal: namely, that “punishing” the players would likely do nothing of the sort—as most would defect to the NFL and multi-million dollar contracts. It would instead be the Ohio State Football program that would absorb the true punishment, losing several top players.


That’s about it—and there is plenty of blame to go around.

No one knows if the players really were aware of the impropriety of their actions in advance, but it is likely they were. At the same time, should the NCAA have any say over the sale of personal property? I mean, if Terrell Pryor sold, say, a motorcycle (as opposed to a championship ring) to a third party for a price either at or above the market value, would their transgressions be thought as severe? The players sold “gold pants” for winning the Michigan game—and Big Ten Conference championship rings—the sum total for each player just a couple thousand dollars—in some cases sent to the players families to support them.

To me, the NCAA smells the most in this debacle. Colleges routinely sell jerseys with players names and numbers and the athletes see none of this revenue. It’s true that many will go on to lucrative NFL careers---but many will not—and the value of the scholarship is perhaps adequate compensation (given tuition costs!) but we should remember the place where these players are RIGHT NOW.

Forget about the future and the promise of big dollars. For every player that makes it, there must be a dozen or more who do not—either through the relative lack of talent—or perhaps they are just a split second away from a career-ending tackle that will seal their fate. Coming out of high school, many of these kids are from destitute families. Future contracts don’t pay the bills today—and the lure of favors, perks and the like from well-meaning alumni and prospective agents are hard to resist when the player comes from an environment of need.

What would have been a better resolution? Were I in charge of the NCAA Violations Committee, I would advocate for the following:

1) Assuming the “guilty” parties were indeed confirmed as having broken the rules, I would have suspended the players for THREE games: The Sugar Bowl and the first two games of the following season.
2) I would also bar the offending players from entering the draft prior to that season. A five game suspension (nearly half the season) is excessive—the bowl game, with all of its own attractions and perks—and two games in the next season is a punishment that fits the crime—and keeps the integrity of an organization that now seems guilty of bowing to the pressure for ratings and dollars connected to the bowl game. Shame on the NCAA!

A simple and equitable solution that exacts a stinging punishment to the players without being excessive or making the college take the brunt of the pain via the exodus of players to the NFL.

No doubt the scandal will dominate the telecast tonight. Arkansas fans will probably sport some interesting signs in the stands. “Hey, Terrell, sell me your pants!” and “The Razorbacks will REALLY Tattoo you!” come to mind.

I’ll attempt to block it all out as I cheer for my alma mater…..

GO BUCKS!!!

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