NCAA Basketball Corruption Scheme

DWags wrote:Just because Blackwell is no longer in the picture, doesn't mean he didn't do anything or wasn't involved with any shananigans while here.

IIRC, he was involved in a couple of the minor infractions MSU self-reported. Can't remember specifics, and I'm too lazy to search for the article even though it's less than a couple weeks old.

gHost Spartan wrote:

steveschneider wrote:

Sending someone to prison for cheating in college sports just seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me. Just remember our tax dollars paid for this investigation and it will cost a lot to imprison these people as well.

Yeah, so government shouldn't bother prosecuting people who commit crimes like DUIs, burglaries, car theft, etc., because, you know, it's a waste of our tax dollars and just not worth it. Forget about the victims or those who are vulnerable and make poor decisions based on essentially a quick dollar and are unable to think long term. These people are alleged to have committed serious felonies and they should be prosecuted. I really don't see anything wrong with prosecuting (alleged) criminals at all. But maybe that's just me.

Thanks for reading me the riot act.

gHost Spartan wrote:

steveschneider wrote:

Sending someone to prison for cheating in college sports just seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me. Just remember our tax dollars paid for this investigation and it will cost a lot to imprison these people as well.

Yeah, so government shouldn't bother prosecuting people who commit crimes like DUIs, burglaries, car theft, etc., because, you know, it's a waste of our tax dollars and just not worth it. Forget about the victims or those who are vulnerable and make poor decisions based on essentially a quick dollar and are unable to think long term. These people are alleged to have committed serious felonies and they should be prosecuted. I really don't see anything wrong with prosecuting (alleged) criminals at all. But maybe that's just me.

steveschneider wrote:

gHost Spartan wrote:

Yeah, so government shouldn't bother prosecuting people who commit crimes like DUIs, burglaries, car theft, etc., because, you know, it's a waste of our tax dollars and just not worth it. Forget about the victims or those who are vulnerable and make poor decisions based on essentially a quick dollar and are unable to think long term. These people are alleged to have committed serious felonies and they should be prosecuted. I really don't see anything wrong with prosecuting (alleged) criminals at all. But maybe that's just me.

Thanks for reading me the riot act.

What year was the riot act enacted?

Just thinking out loud: It's only been a year since u-m left adidas. I wonder if any of their previous players' names come up in this investigation.

tGreenWay wrote:

DWags wrote:Just because Blackwell is no longer in the picture, doesn't mean he didn't do anything or wasn't involved with any shananigans while here.

IIRC, he was involved in a couple of the minor infractions MSU self-reported. Can't remember specifics, and I'm too lazy to search for the article even though it's less than a couple weeks old.

I'm sure Solari will let us know at some point in time.

steveschneider wrote:

Nordic wrote:



Here is where you and I are going to disagree. There is a big difference between trying to fool the NCAA and fool the FBI. And there is a bigger difference between getting slaps on the wrist from the NCAA to going to "federal pound you in the ass prison".  

Will shit still be dirty? Hell yeah. As long as humans walk the Earth they will try to find a way to get over on something or someone. But coaches and shoe execs are going to think twice about doing this shit. College hoops has been blatantly dirty for years know. We've all seen it.   It's going to get a hell of a lot harder.

I say expand the investigation. Go after the AAU coaches, players, players parents, etc. for tax evasion.  And if that means 5-star hoops players skip college all together... so be it.

t

Sending someone to prison for cheating in college sports just seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me.  Just remember our tax dollars paid for this investigation and it will cost a lot to imprison these people as well.

You have to remember that it's all about money - when one program cheats it's ultimately about making money - money that might otherwise go to an honest program. The cheaters are stealing from those who have the integrity to follow the rules - on a massive scale. As in any crime the good guys have to be protected from the bad guys.  If that doesn't happen the bad guys end up ruling and we are almost to that state now.

Space Lord wrote:

steveschneider wrote:

Sending someone to prison for cheating in college sports just seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me.  Just remember our tax dollars paid for this investigation and it will cost a lot to imprison these people as well.

You have to remember that it's all about money - when one program cheats it's ultimately about making money - money that might otherwise go to an honest program. The cheaters are stealing from those who have the integrity to follow the rules - on a massive scale. As in any crime the good guys have to be protected from the bad guys.  If that doesn't happen the bad guys end up ruling and we are almost to that state now.

There has been cheating in sports for over a century now and I don't buy that it's stealing money from other teams. lions fans, jets fans and Browns fans all prove you can make money and stink.

Jake from State Farm wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:

IIRC, he was involved in a couple of the minor infractions MSU self-reported. Can't remember specifics, and I'm too lazy to search for the article even though it's less than a couple weeks old.

I'm sure Solari will let us know at some point in time.

Damn Solari for doing his job. He should stop that.

steveschneider wrote:

Space Lord wrote:
You have to remember that it's all about money - when one program cheats it's ultimately about making money - money that might otherwise go to an honest program. The cheaters are stealing from those who have the integrity to follow the rules - on a massive scale. As in any crime the good guys have to be protected from the bad guys.  If that doesn't happen the bad guys end up ruling and we are almost to that state now.

There has been cheating in sports for over a century now and I don't buy that it's stealing money from other teams. lions fans, jets fans and Browns fans all prove you can make money and stink.

I have absolutely no clue what your comment has to do with what I posted or even to this topic in general.

gHost Spartan wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:Just thinking out loud: It's only been a year since u-m left adidas. I wonder if any of their previous players' names come up in this investigation.  

It would be fucking hilarious if it turned out the Peppers was on the take with Adidas and went to scUM with a pocket full of money, scUM gets busted, loses scholarships, and Harbaugh splits.....

Jabrill Peppers signs endorsement deal with adidas

Jabrill Peppers Going Pro With Creative Artists Agency

It has been confirmed that Peppers signed with CAA agents Patrick Collins, Benjamin Renzin, Todd France and R.J. Gonser...Collins may have been the closer in CAA landing Peppers. A four year agent at CAA, Collins formerly played football at the University of Michigan and then worked in Football Operations at Michigan from 2011-2013.

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

Jake from State Farm wrote:

I'm sure Solari will let us know at some point in time.

Damn Solari for doing his job. He should stop that.

Hot take!

InTenSity wrote:

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

Damn Solari for doing his job. He should stop that.

Hot take!

You're right - a hotter take is that there is a media bias towards UofM called a fucking "blue wall".

Next piece of journalism that comes out and shines MSU in anything but a positive light we should call "fake news". Now we are onto something!

Space Lord wrote:

steveschneider wrote:

There has been cheating in sports for over a century now and I don't buy that it's stealing money from other teams. lions fans, jets fans and Browns fans all prove you can make money and stink.

I have absolutely no clue what your comment has to do with what I posted or even to this topic in general.

what part confused you?

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

InTenSity wrote:
Hot take!

You're right - a hotter take is that there is a media bias towards UofM called a fucking "blue wall".

Next piece of journalism that comes out and shines MSU in anything but a positive light we should call "fake news". Now we are onto something!

A couple of months ago, if we had said that MSU was losing recruits because they were getting paid to go elsewhere, you'd come out and say that's not true, we have green glasses on, yet it turns out that those conspiracy theories are somewhat true. Why is it so horrible to think that either consciously or unconsciously there is a bias coming out of Detroit? Why is it so bad to think that although MSU might have some dirt on their hands, it probably isn't quite as blatant or bad as other schools, especially the school down the road? You're sounding kind of bitter, and more like a self loathing Spartan.

InTenSity wrote:

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

You're right - a hotter take is that there is a media bias towards UofM called a fucking "blue wall".

Next piece of journalism that comes out and shines MSU in anything but a positive light we should call "fake news". Now we are onto something!

A couple of months ago, if we had said that MSU was losing recruits because they were getting paid to go elsewhere, you'd come out and say that's not true, we have green glasses on, yet it turns out that those conspiracy theories are somewhat true. Why is it so horrible to think that either consciously or unconsciously there is a bias coming out of Detroit? Why is it so bad to think that although MSU might have some dirt on their hands, it probably isn't quite as blatant or bad as other schools, especially the school down the road? You're sounding kind of bitter, and more like a self loathing Spartan.

So you start off with a false narrative and act like I've denied college hoops recruiting being dirty after I already brought up cliff Alexander in probably this thread. Off to a good start - what else did you say....

Now you're somehow connecting me denying that there is a blue wall with me saying MSU is just as dirty as "other" or "these" schools...? So far - this is making no sense, and a terrible post.

And now people who don't think the media is out to get MSU are bitter.

Wow, what a post. Try again. yikes

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

InTenSity wrote:
A couple of months ago, if we had said that MSU was losing recruits because they were getting paid to go elsewhere, you'd come out and say that's not true, we have green glasses on, yet it turns out that those conspiracy theories are somewhat true. Why is it so horrible to think that either consciously or unconsciously there is a bias coming out of Detroit? Why is it so bad to think that although MSU might have some dirt on their hands, it probably isn't quite as blatant or bad as other schools, especially the school down the road? You're sounding kind of bitter, and more like a self loathing Spartan.

So you start off with a false narrative and act like I've denied college hoops recruiting being dirty after I already brought up cliff Alexander in probably this thread. Off to a good start - what else did you say....

Now you're somehow connecting me denying that there is a blue wall with me saying MSU is just as dirty as "other" or "these" schools...? So far - this is making no sense, and a terrible post.

And now people who don't think the media is out to get MSU are bitter.

Wow, what a post. Try again. yikes

My bad for interpreting your vague posts this way. You brought up MSU hiring the parent of a recruit. I made a bad assumption, but again based on how you post acting like any time anyone tries to slightly defend MSU, that somehow that is a bad thing, or you're above it. Its fine, whatever, I should probably read a bit closer, but most the time I'm at work and glance over things.

There are prep schools like Oak Hill Academy in VA that's been around for over 125 years and LaLumiere in IN that was founded in 1963 that weren't established as basketball centric. They didn't start getting nationally known HS players because of their academics.

Those schools and places like Prolific Prep and Findlay Prep are going to have a lot less money or cease to exist if Adidas, Nike and UnderArmor reduce or cutoff their support.

Now we are hearing money people at the shoe companies were using 501c's to get the money to players. The same financial dodge used in US politics so a major donor can remain anonymous and the 501c can fund campaigns or issue adds were used so the shoe companies could be auditied and be above board.

Mark Cuban's basketball academy idea where players like Bowen and others who think they might be one and done could sign with a sponsoring team at a young age like 14 similar to what the English and German soccer systems. They would take away power from AAU coaches and prep schools. It would take away the sham of "amateurism" or elite players who have no desire to set foot in a college classroom.

gHost Spartan wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:Just thinking out loud: It's only been a year since u-m left adidas. I wonder if any of their previous players' names come up in this investigation.

It would be fucking hilarious if it turned out the Peppers was on the take with Adidas and went to scUM with a pocket full of money, scUM gets busted, loses scholarships, and Harbaugh splits.....

Keep talking....

DWags wrote:OTPT are entitled to their opinion.  I guess, for me, it was the day after we beat Michigan 114-63.  We broke all kind of records and Mateen set a school assist record. We won the Conference championship that day.  Sunday, the next day, the News came out with that infamous headline on the front page "MSU riots, revisited one year later". Em, first of all it was 10 months later it wasn't one year, the timing was impeccable that the headline and the front page article would usurp the record setting ass whipping.  That Monday on the old 1130 a.m. radio show the Stoney and Wojo show, Stoney asks Wojo about it and while he didn't out and out admit it, he did say they have stories "in the can" ready to go, and the editors can decide when to run them.  That decision was made after the 114-63 game.   Why?  Wojo didnt' know. 

Call me paranoid, call me whatever, I don't really care, it doesn't affect my life, call it silly to even talk about,  but just don't say it does't exist.   It does.  Probably no where near as much as we believe it does, but that one instance it was blantant.  Dont' see how anyone can deny that.

I think both sides have a point. Yes, the Detroit media puts up some click bait to piss off MSUs fanbase. Yes, there's probably some UofM grads there that set out to slam Sparty.

On the other side, if you go through Rexrodes old chats or MSU best writers Twitter comments you see Spartans fans going off the deepend over shit they should be reporting.

DWags wrote:OTPT are entitled to their opinion.  I guess, for me, it was the day after we beat Michigan 114-63.  We broke all kind of records and Mateen set a school assist record. We won the Conference championship that day.  Sunday, the next day, the News came out with that infamous headline on the front page "MSU riots, revisited one year later". Em, first of all it was 10 months later it wasn't one year, the timing was impeccable that the headline and the front page article would usurp the record setting ass whipping.  That Monday on the old 1130 a.m. radio show the Stoney and Wojo show, Stoney asks Wojo about it and while he didn't out and out admit it, he did say they have stories "in the can" ready to go, and the editors can decide when to run them.  That decision was made after the 114-63 game.   Why?  Wojo didnt' know. 

Call me paranoid, call me whatever, I don't really care, it doesn't affect my life, call it silly to even talk about,  but just don't say it does't exist.   It does.  Probably no where near as much as we believe it does, but that one instance it was blantant.  Dont' see how anyone can deny that.

Yes, yes he are.

Petino is Coach 2. Whatever that means.

GRR Spartan wrote:There are prep schools like Oak Hill Academy in VA that's been around for over 125 years and LaLumiere in IN that was founded in 1963 that weren't established as basketball centric. They didn't start getting nationally known HS players because of their academics.

Those schools and places like Prolific Prep and Findlay Prep are going to have a lot less money or cease to exist if Adidas, Nike and UnderArmor reduce or cutoff their support.

Now we are hearing money people at the shoe companies were using 501c's to get the money to players. The same financial dodge used in US politics so a major donor can remain anonymous and the 501c can fund campaigns or issue adds were used so the shoe companies could be auditied and be above board.

Mark Cuban's basketball academy idea where players like Bowen and others who think they might be one and done could sign with a sponsoring team at a young age like 14 similar to what the English and German soccer systems. They would take away power from AAU coaches and prep schools. It would take away the sham of "amateurism" or elite players who have no desire to set foot in a college classroom.

And it would ruin the lives of thousands of kids in the process.

I'm as big of a soccer fan as you'll find, but as a country we should never advocate this without some MAJOR oversight of academics. There are lots of benefits to the teams, and to the tiny percentage of kids that make it. But what about the vast majority that won't make it as pros? You'll have kids who are going to school for sports and sports alone. How seriously will they take their education? Meanwhile, their school is being run by a business whose sole reason for having the school is to have a couple of kids out of dozens actually develop into professional players. They have no incentive to give a rat's ass about the quality of education or whether the kids are learning.

You think they'll only recruit the elite of the elite? At 14? You can't tell how a kid is going to develop in the next 4, let alone 6-8 years. They'll make the academies bigger to help the odds. They'll tell every kid that they're going to be a star, and kids and their families will believe it. Most won't be stars. Then, keep in mind, that if the academies start at 14, they're going to be looking at kids who are 10, 11, and 12 years old, and trying to "recruit" them to their academy.

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

InTenSity wrote:
Hot take!

You're right - a hotter take is that there is a media bias towards UofM called a fucking "blue wall".

Next piece of journalism that comes out and shines MSU in anything but a positive light we should call "fake news". Now we are onto something!

I don't totally buy into the Blue Wall in that the Detroit media is out to get MSU. But Solari and the other dude are definitely butt hurt over CMD putting the media on lockdown during the rape investigation.

And if you don't think there is any bias towards Michgan over MSU in the Freep/Detnews you are pretty fucking niave.

steveschneider wrote:

Space Lord wrote:
You have to remember that it's all about money - when one program cheats it's ultimately about making money - money that might otherwise go to an honest program. The cheaters are stealing from those who have the integrity to follow the rules - on a massive scale. As in any crime the good guys have to be protected from the bad guys.  If that doesn't happen the bad guys end up ruling and we are almost to that state now.

There has been cheating in sports for over a century now and I don't buy that it's stealing money from other teams. lions fans, jets fans and Browns fans all prove you can make money and stink.

You're right. Cheaters gonna Cheat. We should just turn a blind eye and carry on.

The solution to college basketball's mess? Let players earn their market value

In an Aug. 12 phone call intercepted by the FBI, and released Tuesday in a series of federal complaints involving the arrest of 10 men in a college basketball fraud case, an Adidas executive named Merl Code and sports agent Christian Dawkins were trying to figure out how to pay a high school basketball recruit $150,000 to attend the University of Miami, which is sponsored by Adidas.

The Adidas slush fund budget was a little tight at the moment and no one was happy that a “rival apparel company” had upped the bidding that high in an effort to send the recruit to one its schools. One hundred thousand seemed more appropriate. Code’s boss at Adidas, Jim Gatto, wanted to know if the kid could wait until January, when some cash might free up. Code was worried, though, that “by that point, that number might be 200 [$200,000].”

@ Adidas slush fund being light and worrying about $100,000 here and there.

Nordic wrote:

steveschneider wrote:

There has been cheating in sports for over a century now and I don't buy that it's stealing money from other teams. lions fans, jets fans and Browns fans all prove you can make money and stink.

You're right. Cheaters gonna Cheat. We should just turn a blind eye and carry on.

people have already been doing that for over a century as well. A scandal comes up every so often, people bitch and moan for a little while and then it's back to business as usual.

steveschneider wrote:

Nordic wrote:

You're right. Cheaters gonna Cheat. We should just turn a blind eye and carry on.

people have already been doing that for over a century as well. A scandal comes up every so often, people bitch and moan for a little while and then it's back to business as usual.

I wonder if anything happened with the Panama Papers.

DWags wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:

Yes, yes he are.

you're dumb

You're dumb.

I am surprised we haven't seen this headline yet:

"MSU basketball recruit accused of taking $100k bribe"

Nordic wrote:I am surprised we haven't seen this headline yet:

"MSU basketball recruit accused of taking $100k bribe"

Just saw this in the freep and was going to post in response to ghost's post up above.

"Some schools — like Michigan — chose not to pursue one-and-done-type players because it demands navigating the muck.
And some schools — like Michigan State — eventually waded through it without much success, which is probably fortuitous considering a recruit they chased last winter, Saginaw's Brian Bowen, reportedly agreed to accept $100,000 from Adidas to sign with Louisville."

Guy is ignoring all the infractions UofM had in the 90s and is making them out to be a program with integrity and takes a few shots at MSU in the process.

steveschneider wrote:

Nordic wrote:I am surprised we haven't seen this headline yet:

"MSU basketball recruit accused of taking $100k bribe"

Just saw this in the freep and was going to post in response to ghost's post up above.

"Some schools — like Michigan — chose not to pursue one-and-done-type players because it demands navigating the muck.
And some schools — like Michigan State — eventually waded through it without much success, which is probably fortuitous considering a recruit they chased last winter, Saginaw's Brian Bowen, reportedly agreed to accept $100,000 from Adidas to sign with Louisville."

Guy is ignoring all the infractions UofM had in the 90s and is making them out to be a program with integrity and takes a few shots at MSU in the process.

Totally objective reporting.

steveschneider wrote:

Nordic wrote:I am surprised we haven't seen this headline yet:

"MSU basketball recruit accused of taking $100k bribe"

Just saw this in the freep and was going to post in response to ghost's post up above.

"Some schools — like Michigan — chose not to pursue one-and-done-type players because it demands navigating the muck.
And some schools — like Michigan State — eventually waded through it without much success, which is probably fortuitous considering a recruit they chased last winter, Saginaw's Brian Bowen, reportedly agreed to accept $100,000 from Adidas to sign with Louisville."

Guy is ignoring all the infractions UofM had in the 90s and is making them out to be a program with integrity and takes a few shots at MSU in the process.

Jaylen Brown says hi.

steveschneider wrote:

Nordic wrote:I am surprised we haven't seen this headline yet:

"MSU basketball recruit accused of taking $100k bribe"

Just saw this in the freep and was going to post in response to ghost's post up above.

"Some schools — like Michigan — chose not to pursue one-and-done-type players because it demands navigating the muck.
And some schools — like Michigan State — eventually waded through it without much success, which is probably fortuitous considering a recruit they chased last winter, Saginaw's Brian Bowen, reportedly agreed to accept $100,000 from Adidas to sign with Louisville."

Guy is ignoring all the infractions UofM had in the 90s and is making them out to be a program with integrity and takes a few shots at MSU in the process.

Where is the shot at MSU?