THE scandal at THE Ohio State University just keeps getting better and better. There seems to be one or two bombshells related to the investigation into their systemic and systematic cheating every week now. Last week, Jim Tressel quit. Then, George Dohrmann (rhymes with "George Foreman") finally released an article in Sports Illustrated with evidence that 28 players have hung out at Ed Rife's tattoo parlor, and that they regularly were provided with free drugs, alchohol, food, and apparently whatever else they wanted.
The next day, as Dohrmann was being interviewed by Dan Patrick, Patrick asked if there is "more." Dorhmann, in a voice that sounded like the most attractive woman in the world had just texted him with amourous intent, said three simple words: "Yeah, there's more." Then, ex-Ohio State player Ray Small said in an interview with the student newspaper, The Lantern, that "everybody was doing it" when he played there. Of course, the "sacred brotherhood" contacted him and he tried to backtrack. Since The Lantern recorded the interview, though, it was a little late to lie.
It was a great week, but following college football now is like watching the Daytona 500: it's a great spectacle, but we are always waiting for the "big one" to happen.
Fast forward to this week. Tuesday, it was annoucned that Jim Tressel sent 77 texts to Pryor's "mentor" Ted Sarniak over a thirteen month period, provinig that he did know what was going on. Tuesday night, we heard that Terrelle Pryor will no longer be playing at THE Ohio State University. Then, the "bombshell" dropped that an ex-friend, who Pryor angered and alienated when, according to the ex-friend, he "became more arrogant," had just told ESPN that Pryor made between $20,000 and $40,000 in 2010 alone selling autographs and paraphenalia.
Then, Sports by Brooks broke the story that the a freelance photographer and a businessman who sells paraphenelia on E-Bay wrote checks to Pryor and that he deposited them in his personal bank account. Then, we found out that the photographer was told to disassociate himself from the program sometime last year.
What all of this has done is to show beyond any doubt that the Ohio State University administration and coaching staff knew about all of the cheating, and that they covered it up. Then, to make things worse, they lied to the NCAA and to Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney about what was going on, and then lied about their knowledge of what was going on.
The Ohio State University is the most corrupt program that we have seen since SMU recieved the death penalty in 1987. The effect of the penalty was so bad that SMU didn't field a team the following year, either. The Ohio State University deserves the death penalty, but it is well-known that the NCAA doesn't want to ever use it again.
Since the NCAA won't give THE Ohio State University the death penalty they so richly deserve, they should at least wipe the entire Jim Tressel era out of the record books. They actually deserve to forfeit all of the games, but under the current guidelines, the NCAA only makes teams vacate them.
The Ohio State University also deserves ten years of probation with a loss of fifteen scholarships a year. Let them sign ten players a year and fill the rest of the team out with walk-ons. They deserve to be on television, though. Let THE Ohio State University field terrible, undermanned teams on national TV as a reminder of what happens to cheaters when they get caught.
The Ohio State University fanbase wanted Michigan to get the death penalty over 15 minutes of stretching. Let them apply their own standards to themselves.
What's really funny about this is that the worst isn't over yet. I would imagine that the IRS is now very interested in Terrelle Pryor and anyone who wrote him a check. I would imagine they are now very interested in any other player who may have cheated. Brent Musburger once said that when the local media get involved in investigations concerning NCAA rules, "it's all over." He was partially correct. When the IRS and/or FBI get involved, it's really over.
I just hope the NCAA punishes THE Ohio State University so severely that it sends a message that schools will no longer profit from ignoring the NCAA rulebook. THE Ohio State University gained an unfair competitive advantage over the rest of the Big Ten for the entire Jim Tressel era becuase recruits signed up knowing that they would recieve a lot of "perks."
For years, OSU has stonewalled investigators, denied everything, and their toadies have made death threats toward those who wanted to come forward with the truth. Everyone was afraid to "rat out" the "Sacred Brotherhood." The Scarlet Wall of Silence and Denial reigned supreme in Columbus. Finally, though, they found out that you can't hide the truth forever. They also found out that you can't intimidate everyone into silence.
And college football is much better off for it.
I just wonder what goodies will be under the tree next week for the continuation of "Christmas in June."
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