NCAA 2010- No Timmys or Homers allowed!

[Berkut]

Sbr is way too composed about this. 

Yeah he's way too composed and literate to be a real Duck fan.

Hehe, no kidding.

He is taking the high road - a not terrible strategy, even if it makes him look more like an ostrich than a duck.

Nothing to see here! Just normal college football funnies! Everything is a-ok in Duck nation! We won the conference, went to the Rose Bowl, and if embracing a bunch of thugs and scumbags is what it takes, then by god, we will defend them to the bitter end!

[katmai]

In other news, Michigan  broke the NCAA rules on practices.

By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER, Associated Press Writer 29 minutes ago


ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)—The NCAA has found that Michigan's storied football program was out of compliance with practice time rules under coach Rich Rodriguez.

Incoming athletic director David Brandon disclosed the finding Tuesday. He says there were no surprises in the NCAA findings. He also says Rodriguez remains the coach.

Michigan has 90 days to respond and will appear at an NCAA hearing on infractions in August.

The NCAA has been looking into allegations raised last fall that Michigan players practiced or spent time on football-related activities beyond NCAA limits. Michigan is seeing how its internal investigation matches up with the NCAA findings and will consider implementing sanctions.

[sbr]

Uhhh, no, I am from California and Arizona, actually. I don't even think I've ever been in either New Hampshire or Vermont. Is that where St. Chip is from?

Oh, OK.  I haven't been here long but I had the impression you were on the east coast, and specifically the New England area, so nevermind that, sorry.

As far as the Ducks go there isn't much to say that I didn't say before.  The police are still investigating the Masoli and James incidents, or should they be kicked off the team as soon as an accusation comes up?  The rest are stupid college kids; DUIs and stupid Facebook decisions are not in anyway unique to Eugene Oregon, we just have someone here with some sort of blood-feud with the coach who like to mention those while ignoring the arrests, dismissals and suspensions that happen all over the rest of the country.

Because none of them have anything close to the situation where a player sucker punched another player during a game, then tried to attack fans in what is universally seen as one of the most appalling displays ever seen in college football by a player, then have that player get "kicked" off the team, only to come back and play in that very same year.

THEN have this completely incredible rash of players getting into trouble, dissing their own coach, and seeing a complete lack of any kind of institutional control over their football team, which had something of a standing reputation for putting winning ahead of everything even before Blount.

Yeah, other teams have problems - but none of them have had anything like Blount, and none of them have seen the inevitable consequence of how Chip treated Blount and coddled him back onto the team blow up in their faces.

Are you seriously suggesting that there is no connection between Blount and what is going on now? That this is all just a huge coincidence, and there is nothing at all for Oregon fans to be concerned about - this kind of thing happens everywhere?

I don't know if there is a connection or not, you obviously put a LOT more thought into this than I do.  I am not going to discuss the Blount issue, especially with you, and I won't speak for or give my opinions on why or what the athletic department is doing, or not doing.

Every NCAA football program has a bunch of knuckleheads and you can never expect one man to know what 100+ 18-21 year old knuckleheads are doing every minute of every day.  The Oregon football program has as many knuckleheads as every other program, thiers just seem to be their better players.

I just noticed that you actually mentioned something specific about the Duck's program:

"which had something of a standing reputation for putting winning ahead of everything even before Blount."

Do you have any examples of this?  I am not trying to take the piss, or trap you or troll you, this is an honest question.  Before the last couple of years the Ducks program had been successful without breaking many rules and I am really curious what outsiders might see that I apparently don't see.

[Savonarola]

Full article from the FREEP:

NCAA: U-M football made 5 major rule violations
By MARK SNYDER, MICHAEL ROSENBERG AND JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

The NCAA has issued a notice of allegations to the University of Michigan alleging five major violations in its football program. University officials just released the report this afternoon. Incoming athletic director David Brandon said the school would be sticking with head coach Rich Rodriguez.


"We view these allegations seriously," Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman said. "We will make all necessary changes. What we will not do is make excuses."

Among the allegations:

• From January 2008 through this past September, the program exceeded the permissible limit on the number of coaches by five. The NCAA alleges that five quality control staff members illegally engaged in on- and off-field coaching activities.

• From January 2008 through at least last September, the school permitted football staff members to illegally monitor and conduct voluntary summer workouts and impermissible activities outside the playing season. The NCAA also alleges that U-M required players to participate in summer conditioning for disciplinary purposes, and exceed time limits for countable athletically related activities during and outside the playing season.

• Graduate assistant coach Alex Herron provided "false and misleading information to the institution and enforcement staff" during the investigation.

• Coach Rodriguez "failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program and failed to adequately monitor the duties and activities of quality control staff members, a graduate assistant coach and a student assistant coach, and the time limits for athletically related activities."

• From January 2008 through at least this past September, the athletics department "failed to adequately monitor its football program to assure compliance regarding the limitations on the number, duties and activities of countable football coaches and time limits for countable athletically related activities."

In its letter to Coleman, the NCAA stated that "your university should understand that all of the alleged violations set forth in the document attached to this letter are considered to be potential major violations of NCAA legislation, unless designated as secondary." None of the allegations in the accompanying document are designated as secondary.

These are the first major violations ever alleged against the football program. They come in the wake of an August 2009 Detroit Free Press report on alleged rules abuses by the program.

Brandon said the issues have already begun to be assessed internally and corrected including the processes that led to the breakdowns.

Brandon also said, "Rich Rodriguez is our football coach and he will be our football coach next year."

Michigan may be subject under the "Repeat violator" rule, because these allegations occurred within the five years since the NCAA sanctioned U-M for violations within its basketball program.

The university expects to go before the NCAA committee on infractions in August. That committee will determine what sanctions, if any, to impose.

Michigan could self impose sanctions before then, but officials said at today's news conference it was premature to talk about any resolution.

In late August, the Free Press first reported that the Michigan football program consistently violated NCAA rules governing off-season workouts, in-season demands on players and mandatory summer activities under Rodriguez, according to current and former players.

Players on the 2008 and 2009 teams described training and practice sessions that far exceeded limits set by the NCAA, which governs college athletics. The restrictions are designed to protect players' well-being, ensure adequate study time and prevent schools from gaining an unfair competitive advantage.

The players, who did not want to be identified because they said they feared repercussions from coaches, said the violations occurred at the direction of Rodriguez's staff.

"We know the practice and off-season rules, and we stay within the guidelines," Rodriguez said in a statement issued at the time. "We follow the rules and have always been completely committed to being compliant with all NCAA rules."

U-M compliance director Judy Van Horn said at that time that that the athletic staffs and coaches are well-informed of the rules and that spot checks were conducted. She also stated that "We have not had any reason to self-report any violations in this area with any of our sports."

The school announced an internal investigation, and the NCAA followed suit, announcing it would conduct a probe in conjunction with the school.

The Free Press reports prompted passionate responses, from die-hard supporters claiming a media attack on Rodriguez to others who said the allegations sullied the school's reputation.

At the regularly scheduled Monday press conference in the days following the Free Press articles, Rodriguez stood at the podium and gave an extended, 14-minute monologue to open the press conference.

With tears on his face, he said he was "very proud of the way our players have worked." He praised strength coach Mike Barwis, who oversaw many of the off-season activities that were alleged to have violated extended hours.

The investigation continued behind closed doors for the next six weeks, with very few public comments.

On Oct. 26, Michigan released the NCAA's "notice of inquiry," a letter the school had received on Oct. 23, stating that the initial probe had gathered enough evidence to continue digging.

In that notice, the NCAA wrote it hoped to conclude its investigation by Dec. 31. At that point, Michigan referred all queries to the NCAA.

Coleman's only public comments since came at a basketball game on Jan. 14.

"I'm not anxious, I'm not anxious," she said. "I've said all along I want to see what the issues are and we'll deal with the issues. But I'm not anxious."

[katmai]

Uhhh, no, I am from California and Arizona, actually. I don't even think I've ever been in either New Hampshire or Vermont. Is that where St. Chip is from?

Oh, OK.  I haven't been here long but I had the impression you were on the east coast, and specifically the New England area, so nevermind that, sorry.

He lives in Rochester, NY now, but he's an all american boy our Berkut is.

[Savonarola]

And you can't beat the FREEP forums for laughs:

So do all of you Michigan Slaps want to apologize individually to Rosenberg or should we send around a card for you to sign?

You clowns are so pathetic.



I will not apologize to that turd for what he did. Misleading 18 year old kids into being part of a news story to take down their own program is total crap. This was not some random story. The Freep has been working on this since Rich Rod was hired. Just as they did with the Demar Dorsey story. How do you explain one of their writers having interviewed all those people down in Florida within 1 day of Dorsey committing to Michigan and have a 7 page article ready to go? It's all planned out. All of it.

(Mike Rosenberg broke the original story.)

[sbr]

Sbr is way too composed about this. 

Yeah he's way too composed and literate to be a real Duck fan.

Hehe, no kidding.

He is taking the high road - a not terrible strategy, even if it makes him look more like an ostrich than a duck.

Nothing to see here! Just normal college football funnies! Everything is a-ok in Duck nation! We won the conference, went to the Rose Bowl, and if embracing a bunch of thugs and scumbags is what it takes, then by god, we will defend them to the bitter end!

No it is not OK, I never said it was and if Oregon was the only team in the country that had problems I would be upset, but it isn't.  Not by a long shot.  Just because I don't respond to your trolls doesn't mean I am OK with it, but I was a 20 year old male on a college campus and I know I did a lot of stupid things, and I was a nobody.  I am sure I could have gotten into a lot more trouble if I was a football player.

[Berkut]

Sbr is way too composed about this. 

Yeah he's way too composed and literate to be a real Duck fan.

Hehe, no kidding.

He is taking the high road - a not terrible strategy, even if it makes him look more like an ostrich than a duck.

Nothing to see here! Just normal college football funnies! Everything is a-ok in Duck nation! We won the conference, went to the Rose Bowl, and if embracing a bunch of thugs and scumbags is what it takes, then by god, we will defend them to the bitter end!

No it is not OK, I never said it was and if Oregon was the only team in the country that had problems I would be upset, but it isn't.  Not by a long shot. 

But Oregon is the only team with problems the likes of Blount sucker punching another player, then trying to physically attack fans, and then was allowed right back on teh team, followed by a rash of more players acting like utter thugs.

This is NOT like other teams at all - that is the point. Some have more or less issues, and how their coaches deal with those issues says a lot about what the institution and their supporters value.

You asked way back when where I got the idea that Oregon had a reputation for not much caring about what thugs they brought into the program, as long as they won. I didn't have  a good answer then, because it is just their reputation, nothing really concrete to hang it on. But I was content to simply state that the truth would out, and we shall see.

Well, I could not have set it up any better than what ended up happening to prove the point. Kelly let Blount back on the team, showing that his little show of being a hardass was just a facade, and a bunch of other OU players showed that they were in fact a bunch of thugs.

Now you are asking me AGAIN where this rep comes from? Hell, if they did NOT have such a reputation, they most certainly do now! And it is clearly rather well deserved.

Just because I don't respond to your trolls doesn't mean I am OK with it,

Oh please, you respond to my posts all the time - don't pretend like I am a troll and you are ever so above it all. I am not saying anything that everyone out there that follows college football isn't saying.

but I was a 20 year old male on a college campus and I know I did a lot of stupid things, and I was a nobody.  I am sure I could have gotten into a lot more trouble if I was a football player.

Perhaps. However, I was a 20 year old as well, and I didn't steal anything, beat up women, drive drunk, or ever once get arrested. It isn't really that hard to do - in fact, most college students manage to NOT get arrested at all! I didn't even habitually flash gang signs at people, believe it or not.

I am pretty sure you cannot possibly argue that in all these cases, none of these kids would be in trouble if only they were not football players. In fact, at most schools, the vast majority of football players manage to not get arrested! I guess if I went to Oregon, perhaps football players beating up women would be common enough that I would not remark it as well.

So yeah, you certainly DO seem a-ok with it- you are here telling us that it isn't anything that doesn't happen at other schools, which certainly suggests that you think there is no actual problem to be addressed, just kids being kids, amirite? IN fact, you even said you "would be upset" if it did NOT happen elsewhere, "but it isn't". So apparently you are NOT upset, and in fact are ok with it.

[Ed Anger]

The Zookster says its  the Illinois fans fault.

• [Zook] believes gloomy boosters, fans and media are a big obstacle to success:

    "Sometimes I think as a university and as a group of fans, we shoot ourselves in the foot. The negative recruiting, it all stems from us, from our own people. Rather than getting behind the program, they want to start lambasting it.

    "The negative recruiting was the worst I've ever seen it this year. But a lot of that is our own people. There's not enough people that believe this program can be where it can be. You're changing attitudes. You're changing beliefs. 'There they go again. They can't sustain it.' When you go back and look at what's happened the last 25 years, it's going to take a tough son of a [gun] to get through that.
    [...]
    "[Players] read the papers. The e-mails I'm getting, they're probably getting the same things. Pretty soon it's like, 'Damn, does anybody care?'"

[sbr]

Oh please, you respond to my posts all the time - don't pretend like I am a troll and you are ever so above it all. I am not saying anything that everyone out there that follows college football isn't saying.

I have responded to posts in other threads, but before today I had not responded to a post in the NCAA football threads since our initial discussion on Blount's reinstatement.  I don't have anything against you personally, I just have no desire to be the sounding board for your diatribes.

I also have no desire to be a part of your silly little one-sided propaganda war against Chip Kelly and the Oregon athletic department.  You continue to hate them and I will continue to only worry about things that I can control.  If you were ever to want to have an unbiased conversation about the behavior of college football players I will join in.

[sbr]

For anyone who is interested, and didn't see it, ESPN Outside the Lines did an interview with Oregon Head Coach Chip Kelly and a follow up story on the problems the Ducks football program has had recently.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4936765

The story is not flattering to Kelly or the Ducks program at all, but it is a good watch if you are interested in the story, or college football in general.

It is probably a good 15-20 minutes.

[Berkut]

For anyone who is interested, and didn't see it, ESPN Outside the Lines did an interview with Oregon Head Coach Chip Kelly and a follow up story on the problems the Ducks football program has had recently.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4936765

The story is not flattering to Kelly or the Ducks program at all, but it is a good watch if you are interested in the story, or college football in general.

It is probably a good 15-20 minutes.

You should not respond to trolls like this sbr. ESPN clearly is biased, and you should not be a sounding board for their diatribes.

This stuff happens at every school in the country, you know. Why ESPN would go and single out Oregon like they are different is very hard to understand.

[grumbler]

Full article from the FREEP:
(snip)

One of the great things about Rodriguez is that those of us who want to see him replaced by Harbaugh don't need to root for on-field failures - he will doom himself.

Now would be the perfect time to fire him.

[Berkut]

Full article from the FREEP:
(snip)

One of the great things about Rodriguez is that those of us who want to see him replaced by Harbaugh don't need to root for on-field failures - he will doom himself.

Now would be the perfect time to fire him.

Is Harbaugh interested? Didn't he just sign an extension at Stanford?

[grumbler]

Is Harbaugh interested? Didn't he just sign an extension at Stanford?

Yes.  Yes, but we know it has one out.