NCAA UPDATE: INVESTIGATING TOLEDO, REVIEWING TEXT RULES

by Orson on Jun 27, 2007 12:59 PM EDT

Two interesting notes regarding the NCAA, your favorite curiously defined regulatory entity, bear some mention here. Both come courtesy of the good people at Miami Hawk Talk, the smartest damn mid-major board in the universe, and both make sense, which means the sun will go dark today and the man in the rabbit costume is bound to waltz into your office and start talking to you about wormholes any second now--because this is the NCAA we're discussing.

The NCAA first has decided to pursue where the FBI has relented in the points-shaving scandal at Toledo, conducting its own investigation into the university's handling of the Harvey "Scooter" McDougle case. McDougle, a running back, had been accused of taking money from a Detroit gambler to recruit others to shave points in football and basketball games at Toledo.

The charges against McDougle have been dropped, but the NCAA presses forward:

"We have had repeated contacts with the university … and have been working collaboratively, including a previous campus visit to interview an individual about a potential sports wagering issue that had been brought to our attention," NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said in a statement to USA TODAY.

Meaning that doing this as a MAC school could get you fucking fried by the NCAA, especially on the heels of the stories of Toledo coaches taking the company card to pay for expenses during trips to Germany to go "recruiting." In Germany. Where the only football played outside of NFL Europe involves guys named Beckenbauer, Voeller, and Ballack.

Second, the NCAA's reconsidering its ban on text messaging and other forms of digital communication. OMG URBN IZ XCTED NCAA WUZ SO NF!!! More than thirty schools filed override complaints in regards to the ruling, meaning it will be reviewed.

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The NCAA is sending a clear message that malfeasance will not be tolerated (by non-BCS schools).

by Herb on Jun 27, 2007 1:43 PM EDT reply actions

Beckenbauer, Voeller, and Ballack. Your knowledge of sports that no one in this country cares about is truly impressive. 100 cocktails to you, sir.

by CKGator on Jun 27, 2007 1:46 PM EDT reply actions

I still like Klose better than Ballack.

by DevilGrad on Jun 27, 2007 1:52 PM EDT reply actions

Tangent alert:
The new uber matchup in FIFA 08 is going to be Munchen vs Barca.

by Robert on Jun 27, 2007 1:59 PM EDT reply actions

100 cocktails to you Orson for the Donnie Darko allusion!

by ness on Jun 27, 2007 2:05 PM EDT reply actions

Where do I send my resume for the position of NCAA Text Messaging Supercop?

by jebushchrist on Jun 27, 2007 2:09 PM EDT reply actions

So what you all are saying is that the MAC sorta serves as the Lee Majors of college football?

A little gem below for those of us that remember UHF…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9m31100AYQ&mode=related&search=

by Neil on Jun 27, 2007 2:43 PM EDT reply actions

We’re still trying to determine if UT “spokesman Tobin Klinger” is related to Maxwell Q. Klinger.

by DevilGrad on Jun 27, 2007 2:53 PM EDT reply actions

If Rudi Voeller hasn’t been in the mix for mustache Wednesday he should be. If you can feature drunk Australian cricketers (redundant, I know) then why not be-permed 1980s German soccer players (redundant, I know).

Also, it’s open to question as to whether occasional appearances for Sibneft FC really count as playing time for Ballack.

As far as the NCAA investigation of Toledo, given their success in chasing down Reggie Bush, then either Toledo has 1) nothing to worry about, or 2) is about to become the SMU of the decade.

by DC Trojan on Jun 27, 2007 3:01 PM EDT reply actions

They can’t become SMU because SMU was actually good.

by Brian on Jun 27, 2007 3:39 PM EDT reply actions

I hold no great brief for the Rockettes, but they’ve gone to bowl games in four of the past six seasons and had winning seasons in 18 out of the last 20 years. By any reasonable standard that accounts for the resource constraints MAC schools labor under, they’ve been — at the very least — good.

by DevilGrad on Jun 27, 2007 3:43 PM EDT reply actions

Oh, sure, DG, just roll out the red carpet for Orson to post a photo of Jamie Farr…

I’ll only add two things to DG’s point in #11:

1. Toledo has one of the more impressive “BCS victims list” of any non-BCS club over the past decade or so (Penn State, Purdue…twice, Minnesota, a #9-ranked Pitt team, Kansas, etc.)

2. Their band has the dumbest “first down” song ever, which mitigates the above accomplishments…

by Papa Lou BSU on Jun 27, 2007 4:09 PM EDT reply actions

Worm-hole conversant rabbit-suited individuals ARE the NCAA… this should surprise no one. The piece de resistance (insert appropriate french accents) is the continued investigation after the FBI dropped all charges…classic NCAA modus operandi…let us find that worm-hole and dive in head first, ensuring the greatest amount of man-hours will be consumed in the effort to pillory an appropriate (relative term) scapegoat. This is how government workers who could not get hired by the government maintain a job.

by sb on Jun 27, 2007 4:24 PM EDT reply actions

100 Purple Dranks to you, sir!

by PW on Jun 27, 2007 4:28 PM EDT reply actions

Didn’t Gerry Faust coach successfully at Toledo? I mean prior to his dramatically impressive run with Notre Dame? Just pokin’, er, askin’.

by sb on Jun 27, 2007 4:34 PM EDT reply actions

The Faust era at ND was very un-Faustian.

by jebushchrist on Jun 27, 2007 4:35 PM EDT reply actions

Faust made the jump directly from Cincinnati Moeller High School to Notre Dame and moved on to Akron after he got pushed out of South Bend.

by DevilGrad on Jun 27, 2007 4:42 PM EDT reply actions

PW, if those 100 purple drank cocktails were meant for me, I will have to take them down in lots of 10…I’m still drying out from last weekend’s attempt at just such a 100 cocktail award…and with friends we were only able to consume 47 over the course of half a day, with assistance from a full bar, a few cocktail books, VanWilder, Wedding Crashers and a few nameless, pointless efforts along the lines of Harold and Kumar, all definitive films of their genre…

Can one high five the attractive girlfriend of a buddy after she has performed a strip-tease in front of the assembled partiers? Or just the buddy? Just askin’.

by sb on Jun 27, 2007 4:58 PM EDT reply actions

Jeebs, Faust was somewhat Faustus-ian in that he appeared to sell his soul to go from a HS coach directly to ND…and then, suffered the same fate…after obtaining all he desired to then fail so miserably. But did Marlowe fake his death and write under the pseudonym of Shakespeare?

DG, I guess there really is a difference between Akron and Toledo…from my southeastern perch they are blurred…my ignorance amazes even me.

by sb on Jun 27, 2007 5:09 PM EDT reply actions

I believe a true Faustian sells his soul for mastery and knowledge, something Gerry was not in possession of.

by jebushchrist on Jun 27, 2007 5:27 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah, Jebus, I was focussing on the sale of a soul for individual aggrandizement, wealth, power and reputation in lieu of mastery and knowledge…it doesn’t hit on all fours, true, and it sucks that a four hundred year old play cannot be made to fit my particular point.

Now about my later point…can you high five a chick who just did a strip tease in front of everyone and her (somewhat drunk) boyfriend?

by sb on Jun 27, 2007 5:33 PM EDT reply actions