Ohio States Suspends 3 More Players For Akron Game

Well, in another "surprise," Ohio State has reported more violations. Apparently 3 players received "benefits of $300 or less" in the report from CBS Sports. The players involved were Jordan Hall, Travis Howard, and Corey Brown. Hall and Howard are both starters and were expected to contribute much in the wake of the previous suspension of 4 Ohio States players (it would have been 5, but Terrelle Pryor left for the NFL).

What is most "surprising" about this announcement was that this was virtually the same violations that Jim Tressel failed to report before last football season. Ohio State is currently in the process of reporting these violations to the NCAA and receiving their punishment.

Though full details on this in regards to the previous investigation have not been released, Ohio State's self-imposed sanctions of a 1 game suspension are sure to have little impact since it is against Akron. Ohio State is listed at more than a 34 point favorite over Akron.

Let's hope that the NCAA is able to look past Ohio State's scandal and get to the facts of the investigation. If Tressel was the person to blame for the past violations, then why are they still occurring? There obviously appears to be some sort of lack of institutional control within the athletic department. And if so, Ohio State's punishment is sure to be more severe than first speculated.

In fact, the Big Ten recently confirmed that if a team is banned from the post season, (bowl games) they will be unable to play in the Big Ten Championship game. This is important because if Ohio State was hypothetically banned from a bowl game, they would be unable to win the Big Ten for at least a couple years, ending their current Big Ten Championship streak.

Terrelle Pryor Is Drafted By the Oakland Raiders.

ESPN has just reported that Terrelle Pryor was drafted by the Oakland Raiders as the 18th pick in the 3rd round of the supplemental draft.

Though he is unlikely to receive significant playing time, this is still a major step both for Pryor and Ohio State. Now that he has a place in the NFL, at least for the conceivable future, there will be much less pressure on him from fans, the media, and the university.

He seems to be a great fit for the Raiders (I think we all know the reason) and Michigan fans can only hope he avoids anymore trouble. Surely he may prove to be more of a gain for Michigan than he ever was for Ohio State, especially considering a huge portion of his playing time has already been voided.

Link here:

ESPN

Terrelle Pryor eligible for Monday’s supplemental draft

Terrelle Pryor is eligible for Monday's supplemental draft the other shocking announcement from the NFL on Thursday is that Pryor’s five-game suspension will carry over to the NFL this season. So whichever team drafts him — and you have to figure someone will — won’t be able to use him for the first five weeks of the schedule. More importantly, Pryor will not be able to practice or receive pay during that five-week period. For more on this story at ESPN college link below:

ESPN

Buckeye's whistleblower about to check in!

  As I reported in last weeks article : "Mr. Ellis could break  "ohio" fans hearts" link below : 

 

http://everythingmichiganandmore.blogspot.com/2011/08/mr-ellis-could-break-ohio-fans-hearts.html

 

This week the NCAA could have more ammo to use against "ohio"? On Thursday August 18th  Michael Ellis is to produce his famous pictures and have private talks with the NCAA! Ellis was one of the key sources George Dohrmann used in his S.I. article to break the "ohio" story. It is also being reported that Mr. Ellis will  bring someone else to the meetings to back his allegations up! 

 

With the story breaking on Miami University yesterday on yahoo sports the NCAA could be very busy in the coming months? link below:

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/investigations/news;_ylt=ApdGbXwSM8nKTxow45evo.g5nYcB?slug=cr-renegade_miami_booster_details_illicit_benefits_081611

 

"Ohio" was informed that investigations were ongoing and that there could be a chance of new charges being brought to the table. This may be the reason for the ongoing investigation? The NCAA was informed sometime before the August 12th meeting in Indianapolis that Mr. Ellis had more information to provide. Prior to this week Mr. Ellis had no intentions to speak with the NCAA. But as negotiations fizzled out with the sale of his pictures to media outlets he decided to speak with the NCAA. This is obviously attempt on his part to wrap this saga up. In  tweets this was mentioned.  Please read the following Tweets by Scott Torgerson below! He is a radio DJ in Ohio that has been reporting on this story and has access to Mr. Ellis. He is on the Common Man & The Torg show 97.1 the Fan.

link below:

 

http://www.971thefan.com/live/content/podcasts/index.html

 

 

myguythetorg the torg

 

Mr ellis the si source informs me he will b in indy thurs w/ his lawyer+ will interview w/ 3 investigators + is showing them all the pics

 

myguythetorg the torg

@

@FUnkymoses17 no the ncaa said nothing new at this time. This will b something new and not good. I hope those players told the truth

 

myguythetorg the torg

@

@bg4545 he wanted money for the pics and si backed out after the article was out now he doesn't care about the money just wants it over with

 

 

 

 This is an update that I found on MGBLOG that relates to this story. I found it very interesting and gives much insight into what the NCAA may be investigating on!

by  George Dohrmann; (George Broke the S.I. story on ohio)

Ellis showed SI pictures of players -- Pryor, Gibson, Herron and Solomon Thomas -- being tattooed or showing off their artwork. Rife appears in one photo with a player. Ellis also produced a photo of 11 plastic bags filled with what appears to be marijuana; he says the photo was taken at Fine Line Ink. The letter the DOJ sent to Ohio State in December stated, "There is no allegation that any of these players were involved in or had knowledge of Mr. Rife's drug trafficking activities." Ellis says that is true but that he did witness four other Buckeyes trade memorabilia for weed. Three of those transactions involved a small amount of the drug, he says, but in one instance a player departed with what Ellis was told was a pound. (Rife's lawyer denies that his client provided marijuana to any players.)

 Thanks to Picktown GoBlue at MGOBLOG for posting this! http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ellis-talk-ncaa-investigators

Ohio State May Face Further NCAA Charges

Today, in a report from ESPN, the broadcasting network posted that Ohio State will be receiving another set of allegations against Ohio State's football program in the coming weeks. This comes as a surprise since just a few days ago the NCAA stated that Ohio State would avoid the most serious rule infractions.

Some of the new information that has surfaced includes things such as thousands of dollars worth of merchandise being sold by players, free games of golf, and special auto deals specifically designed for players.

The NCAA's current allegations against Ohio State are primarily linked to Jim Tressel and the previous coaching staff. If the new allegations contain things such as the infamous "failure to monitor" allegation, Ohio State could face much stiff penalties. This is because the "failure to monitor" allegation implies that the entire athletic department and school is to blame for the rule violation.

Typically, if a school is found guilty of the "failure to monitor" charge, there are stiff penalties for the program and entire athletic department. For example, USC received this rule infraction recently and was forced to accept scholarship reductions, a postseason ban, and the vacation of a NCAA championship. However, USC's violations were linked to the entire athletic department. If new allegations against Ohio State continue to focus solely on Tressel and the coaching staff, Ohio State may get off much lighter on its penalties.

This can be seen in the NCAA investigation regarding Tennessee. Instead of placing blame on the university, the NCAA opted to blame Lane Kiffin (head coach at the time) and the coaching staff for recruiting violations. Though Tennessee still had to incure some punishments and the tarnishment of its reputation, the penalties would likely have been much worse if the NCAA had accused the university itself of a "failure to monitor."

If ESPN's reports are accurate and the NCAA is primed to add new allegations to Ohio State including a "failure to monitor" charge, there could be serious penalties including scholarship cuts and bowl bans. If these types of penalties surface, the Ohio State football program will take a major step back. Recruiting will take a significant hit (there's already much speculation that a bowl ban will spur several high profile recruits from Ohio State to Michigan), Ohio State will have fewer scholarship players on the field, and be incapable playing in nationally viewed bowl games.

There has been some speculation that this sudden "change of heart" by the NCAA was driven by Terrelle Pryor's testimony, but I'm hesitant to believe these rumors. Pryor may be in tough waters to be eligible for the NFL Supplemental Draft, but assuming he's trying to cough up information that will directly harm his college team may be a little too speculative. Over time we have clearly seen that Pryor has some questionable standards, but as of now, these rumors are, well, just rumors.

What we do know is that the NCAA investigation is continuing and seems very likely to be headed for new allegations against Ohio State. Whether the NCAA will postpone Ohio State's appearance before the Committee On Infractions is also still uncertain, but I think it's safe to assume that whatever allegations will reach fruition by the end of the 2011 season.

How does the OSU scandal affect the UM recruiting?

We, the Maize and Blue, have seen some interest from players who have previously been potential OSU recruits. Many of those are afraid to commit to a team that has a very real possibility to not have post season play for several years. As much as OSU has tried to spin things to make it look like they didn’t break laws, the legality of their actions are not in question at the moment, we are only discussing the NCAA rules. High school recruits know this, and now they are looking other places. UM has picked up interest from people who have said OSU was the top choice (prior to the scandals). Brady Hoke, who is in his first year of coaching our beloved Wolverines, has had much success with talking to the high school kids. The reason for this are; Michigan’s high academics, Michigan’s winning tradition, and having Mattison ( ex NFL coach) come aboard doesn’t hurt either. Hoke does not have to bash OSU or any other program as some have claimed, all he has to do is stick to facts. The facts are UM has a great recruiting class, he has worked on our weakness (defense), and he doesn’t bash. Hoke really does care about kids. How do I know, simple logic. Erik Magnuson followed him from California.

I have heard rumblings that Hoke is bashing OSU. I would like to hear this supposedly negative stuff Hoke is saying? Sports Illustrated is doing a lot to attack the Buckeyes, but where is the Hoke saying negative stuff coming from? The only people I hear saying anything are bitter OSU fans who haven't been able to take the reality that OSU has been breaking NCAA rules from 2002. The SI article, and the many that have followed, have never mentioned anything bad being said by any UM coach. Many fans of many universities have said things about OSU, including Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, and as far away as Arkansas. So to say that UM is negatively recruiting is both wrong and a cop out. Was Wisconsin negatively recruiting when OL Kyle Dodson committed to them, or Nebraska when they took DE Greg McMullen?

Why when a school gets caught doing something bad, they are in denial? Why can’t your team mess up? The fact is that OSU did something so bad, that a high school student can tell that it’s a major issue. Why do OSU fans not get what a high school student knows? I don’t know how to make people in denial face reality. I wish I could. Couldn’t the kids be turned off by the cover up, the lies, and the fact that they are looking for leadership? If you feel you can’t get it, wouldn’t you look someplace else? The kids are choosing to leave on the actions and words of OSU and its people in charge.

http://www.lostlettermen.com/6-23-2011-brady-hoke-negative-recruiting/
My post is in response to this post.

Go Blue

The Ohio State news just keeps Coming!!!

I am a Die Hard Michigan fan but I live in Ohio. To be honest I get more news here about OSU then in the rest of the country. It is amazing to me how the media around here is willing to take down there own University. But, ok then I will roll with it. I love the sharks circling. The news is always fresh here and never gets old to me! I just sit back and smile. And think to myself ......WOW!!!  What fools! Your taking down your own team!!! And much more! Gotta love it!!! If you are a Michigan fan.
I will start today with some more turmoil involving Ohio State University. First I read several of Ohio State's athletic administrators workers are driving  courtesy cars that are provided by local car dealers, including the director of NCAA compliance. Ok I will just hit on this story for a second. I am sure other Universities allow this as well but I feel that this is not a very good practice if you want your players to follow the rules. "Practice what you preach Ohio State". This does not look good at all for Ohio State because more problems  may stem from this investigation. Talks of game tickets for cars are also spreading around the net. If this is true. The staff is no better then the players and I'm sure the truth will come out if that is the case. Bad...Bad...Bad... You can read more on this story at http://www.10tv.com/live/content/teninvestigates/stories/2011/06/16/stor...


 The next story that caught my eye was that Ohio State seems to be losing a lot of coaches lately. The latest to get out of Dodge is one of there Basketball staff. Hmmm What is really going on in Columbus?

 Brandon Miller, who has been an assistant to coach Thad Matta for six of Matta's seven seasons at Ohio State, resigned yesterday.You can read more on this story at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2011/06/16/0616-ohio..

On This story I will ask you one thing  What usually happens after a coach resigns? We will have to wait and see what this brings. But my guess is more news for me to write about! GO BLUE FOREVER!!

More trouble may be coming for OSU this week

Scandal

Reports from Dave Hyde that the NCAA will be coming to South Flordia this week to investigate several High-school football stars and the methods of several colleges and there recruiting practices. One of the colleges in question is the OHIO STATE University. When will it end for OSU???If they don't have enough problems. As I posted today in a earlier article OSU had it's first commit cut ties with Ohio State because of all the turmoil. I think if the problems keep happening you may see many more commits to follow. For more on this story click the link below!

Hyde5: NCAA in South Florida investigating recruiting