Clarett gone from Ohio State??

[ArkDem]

Is it true that he won't be reinstated? This is being reported by WJW in Cleveland.

[joeybee12]

1. I think he's gone

Read something elswhere about it--maybe MSNBC

[sidwill]

3. He may be found to have been

INELLIGIBLE for the 03 Fiesta bowl!

Oh well, they won that game on a bad call from a corrupt official anyway.

[DrGonzoLives]

7. Oh, please

You can't grab a receiver when going for the ball. Please acquaint yourself with the rules.

It's amazing how long Miami fans can whine and bitch about losing...

[AWD]

17. Even funnier...

is that both people whining about the call cannot spell 'ineligible'.

Speaks volumes, doesn't it?

[Scurrilous]

24. I'm a Miami fan..

...but I went to the University of Florida. Hence the spelling error.

[AWD]

27. OK, I understand

"I'm a Miami fan.."

...but I went to the University of Florida.

OK, so I'll type using words with only one or two syllables.

[trumad]

36. And you saw him grab the receiver Doc...

No you didn't because the replays clrarly show him hitting the receiver after the ball hit the receivers hands. The ref closest to the play waived the pass imcomplete and it took the Big 12 ref Porter 4 fucking seconds to throw the damn flag.... It was truly one of the worst calls ever but I will not blame the call for Miami losing...

I blame Miami's turnovers and Jim Fassell for coaching an excellent game...

Here's a little piece about that ref written by a Buckeye fishrap!

http://www.centralohio.com/ohiostate/stories/20030105/football/713479.html

[JackDragna]

38. I'm not a Miami fan..

..and that receiver pushed off the defensive back with just as much vigor as the defensive back used in covering him. But, of course, in today's modern era of football, big receivers push off all the time to get themselves open, so I'm not shocked you see no problem with the call. :)

[Scurrilous]

9. If Clarett was found to be inelligible..

...does that mean University of Miami would be '02 champs by default? If so, that would have to be one hell of a Karmic slapdown (in light of OSU's gift do-over from the Big 12 officials).

[AWD]

13. You don't really want to do this, do you???

Because sasquatch, Ohio Dem and I will be happy to post the pictures of the interference, alongside of the pictures of the UNcalled holding on 3rd down with the clock running out.

Or, you could stop crying and admit you got beat by a team you were warned about.

By the way, did you enjoy watching your team get 0 yards when they had it 1st-and-goal at the one with the National Championship on the line?

Zero yards
Incomplete pass
Zero yards
Incomplete pass

It was beautiful.

[Scurrilous]

22. Speaking of beauty...

From post #10:

"If the benefits were received last year, there is a chance that Ohio State could be forced to forfeit the national championship, NewsChannel 4 reported."

Beautiful. :)

[AWD]

26. Not bad

You managed to spell everything right.

I was worried that "forfeit" would trip you up, but you cut-and-pasted your way to safety.

[Scurrilous]

32. Here's something else my ignorant self ....

...managed to cut and paste.

AOL: AOL Sports: NCAA Football News: Latest AP Poll.

Miami Jumps to No. 2 in AP Poll.

By JOSH DUBOW
.c The Associated Press

Miami used a thrilling 23-point comeback against rival Florida to move past the Buckeyes into the No. 2 spot in the Associated Press college football poll released Sunday. Oklahoma, which held off Alabama, remained No. 1.

Damn, it just keeps getting worse. :)

[AWD]

33. Yeah, I saw that too

Hell of a comeback you made.

Say, weren't you in front of us last year too???

[cmd]

35. Is it 2002 again?

I heard all these rankings last year. They don't mean a thing until the end of the national championship game.

Clarett is gone. Coach Tressel dealt patiently with him last year. He is a great talent. His time at OSU is up. I wish him luck somewhere else in the world.

Go Bucks!

[trumad]

37. Oh quit bitching about the 3rd down holding call....

There were horrible calls all night on both sides.... Were talking about that one play and why it took 4 fucking seconds for that Big 12 ref to throw the flag... Why did the ref closet to the play waive it incomplete? The pics you have come after the ball hit the dudes hands...I've seen the replay 50 times and it clearly shows no contact before the ball arrived... Hell...all the pundits say the contact came after...BUT the ref says it happened before the ball arrived...Yah right! Then why did it take you so long to throw the flag....

[bunk76]

5. E.S.P.N....

"uncomfirmed report,that he will no longer play for O.S.U.,Jim Brown
quoted as saying "he knows nothing about this"?

[DrGonzoLives]

2. It's not been confirmed yet

Both the Cleveland and Columbus papers are reporting it, but the AD this morning denied it.

[frylock]

6. if the athletic director has denied it..

then it's a sure thing that he's gone!

[playahata1]

4. The latest from ESPN.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1612026

[bamademo]

8. Cash Payments rumored

If so, NCAA nazi's will be knockin' on the door.

[cmd]

10. From Columbus Channel 4 noon report

You might as well hear it from a Buckeye fan:

http://www.nbc4columbus.com/sports/2465270/detail.html

Charges To Be Filed Today Against Clarett

Evidence Of Thousands Of Dollars Reportedly Uncovered

UPDATED: 12:31 p.m. EDT September 9, 2003

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A spokesman for the Columbus City Attorney said a criminal charge is to be filed this afternoon against Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett.

A source tells nbc4columbus.com that the charge will be falsification, which is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable with up to six months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine. The charge should be filed at about 2 p.m.

(snip)
If the benefits were received last year, there is a chance that Ohio State could be forced to forfeit the national championship, NewsChannel 4 reported.


MORE

[frylock]

12. this guy should fit right in with the nfl!!

[AWD]

15. He's an idiot...

...he had it all working for him, and he blew it.

This is the type of player I don't want on my team. I'm glad Tressel kept him out of practice and didn't wait for the NCAA to rule. That just shows me that he's the type of coach you want to have.

[ArkDem]

42. My guess is that he will still make plenty of

money in the NFL. That is one talented back. The best I've seen in a long time. I'm sure his absence November 22 will turn the tide for Michigan.

[bamademo]

11. Clarett is Gone

Will NCAA make OSU forfeit National Championship? That's really too bad if they punish the whole school for the actions of one player.


ATLANTA (SI.com) -- Maurice Clarett's days as an Ohio State Buckeye are done, according to a report by Cleveland TV station WJW.

The station reported on Monday that the school's internal investigation revealed thousands of dollars in extra benefits that Clarett received, and as a result the school would not seek his reinstatement by the NCAA.

The Columbus Dispatch reported Tuesday that Ohio State is ready to recommend Clarett's status be moved to "indefinite suspension," which would make Clarett ineligible to play for the foreseeable future. However, Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger would not confirm the report.

The sophomore, who piled up Ohio State freshman records of 1,237 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns while leading the Buckeyes to the national championship in 2002, had not played this season while the investigation was underway. The Buckeyes won their first two games in his absence.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/football/ncaa/09/09/clarett.tease/?cnn=yes

[northzax]

16. first off, they are not punishing the school

they are punishing the football team, for the actions of a football player, and the star of said team no less. Are you telling me that no one noticed Maurice Clarett driving a nice car? no one noticed him wearing designer clothes? not one person connected to the team noticed? please. If that's true then Tressel's staff should be summarily fired for negligence. rules are rules, as stupid as they might be, and it was the football program's responsibility to ensure that it's players followed the rules.

It's like the Michigan basketball program. no one noticed that Robert Traylor was driving an 80,000 SUV, registered to his Aunt (who lived in a housing project?) please.

Who do I feel sorry for? the fans, who believed that the program was clean, the other players, the ones who worked hard and played their roles well. but the school? the program? nope.

If Clarett was taking payments during the season last year, and if there was a reasonable possibility that the coashing staff looked the other way, then the team should forfeit every game affected by this violation, and return all money made from it. College sports at this level are dirty, and need to be cleaned up. If that means the death penalty for teams like Baylor, then so be it. There should be blacklists for coaches involved in scandals, any player not involved should be allowed to transfer without penalty, and programs should be hurt.

[underpants]

18. Oh please you might as well shut down Div I and I-AA

Do they get something on the side? Probably yes.

Cars can be "leased" from suports dealerships for $1 a year.

Florida State is so damned corrupt there is no way they shouldn't have gotten slammed in the off season.

[northzax]

20. ok, let's shut it down

I would support that, if it's what it takes to clean it up. If the country can support big time college athletics that aren't crooked, then ok, if not, then we should eliminate them.

I guess we shouldn't try to get the Mafia out of construction or many unions, since we might as well shut them down as well, right?

or get rid of corporate corruption, since we'd have to shut down how we do business?

Can you lease a car for a dollar? will your local dealer let you 'borrow' a car for a year?

[AWD]

19. Wow, you're angry

..the kid got caught, and the team suspended him almost immediately. Please note that the punishments being handed down right now are being handed by Ohio State. the NCAA is still investigating and making no comment.

But all of a sudden, you're calling for no more OSU football and every coach to be banned from coaching again.

Go look at Bobby Bowden. Then talk to me about the rules. Don't forget to note that they let their Heisman candidate return to the team after a Kaufmann's shopping spree, but kicked out his accomplice.

[northzax]

23. mm, they sure did suspend him

right after he won them a national title.

that's kinda like kicking the prostitute out of bed and refusing to pay her after sex, ain't it?

This is in reference to the illegal payments during the season, not the accident thing. Are you really telling me that no one noticed him driving a new car? not one coach said, "Hey Maurice, nice wheels, where'd you get 'em" no one noticed him driving a car with DEALER PLATES? This is the type of thing a program should be following, don't you think?

[AWD]

25. Maybe you should contactthe NCAA

...since you seem to have the inside info into when the car was driven and when payments (if any) were made.

Gee, with all this inside info, it's amazing you're not working for Miss Cleo.

[northzax]

28. gee, here I thought

I was referring to an ongoing NCAA investigation and used a big IF the payments were going on, and IF he was doing it during the season. The program has handled the break in and false report admirably, but that does not absolve them of responsibility if there was malfeasance during the season, does it?

[AWD]

29. I keep reading it....

...but I don't see an "if" in your accusation here.

This is in reference to the illegal payments during the season, not the accident thing

[northzax]

30. try post 16

If Clarett was taking payments during the season last year, and if there was a reasonable possibility that the coashing staff looked the other way, then the team should forfeit every game affected by this violation, and return all money made from it.

I've put the if in bold for your ease of review.

[AWD]

31. Like I said...you're very angry

...you later (and I don't need bold typeface to point it out to you) that you advocated eliminating all victories. It didn't matter to you that no word has been mentioned beyond speculation that anything happened prior to June.

It was shocking that you didn't advocate giving back 2001's wins because we recruited the kid that year, or that we dig up Woody Hayes and kick him because his name is in the locker room where the kid once dressed.

[northzax]

43. you're right, I am angry

and I'm not even and Ohio State fan. I'm shocked that you aren't even angrier than I am. I'm angry that a top flight university feels so compelled to win a game that they will, at the very least, look the other way when violations of the rules happen until something so egregious happens that they are forced to act. I'm angry that a school of the quality, tradition and reputation of Ohio State or Michigan feels compelled to cheat to win ball games. Clarett thought he could get away with it. something gave him that impression, don't you think? If the WJW report is accurate, and Clarett received 'thousands of dollars in extra benefits' don't you think the University knows a: where those came from and b: that it was happening? Did anyone connected to the Program ever tell the players not to take benefits? did they check up on them? or were they so eager to win that they neglected to due any due diligence?

Let's face it, football and basketball players especially are prone to being approached by so-called boosters who are eager to bend the rules. At every school. You can't tell me that Jim Tressel doesn't know who these guys are. Was it a car dealer in Columbus who makes a practice of 'loaning' cars to players? is it really fair to expect young men, many from poor backgrounds, to be celebrated and feted and turn down a little something extra? Every school has people eager to bend the rules for some short term success, I believe it is among the responsibility of the million dollar coaching staff to ensure that doesn't happen.

And yes, if Clarett, or anyone else, was taking illegal benefits, the team should forfeit every game he played in while it was happening. The same should apply to every other school. If Miami had a player on someone's payroll, they should forfeit every game. If that's what it takes for schools to start acting like schools and not corporations, then fine. Michigan forfeited every basketball game played by Chris Webber since he was getting paid by a 'booster' SMU took the death penalty for allowing benefits to players. If you play a player who is breaking the rules, you lose the game. seems fair, no? MAybe then coaching staffs and players would have some responsibility to PREVENT rule-breaking, not ignore it until they get caught. That's the way it works in every other field. If you cheat on a securities transaction, you give back your ill gotten gains. If you commit fraud when selling your house, you give back the proceeds. if you rob a 7-11, or say, lie on a police report to get more insurance, they don't let you keep the proceeds and tell you not to do it again, you give back your ill-gotten gains. If I plagiarize a term paper, I fail that class, not the next semester. Shouldn't sports be held to the same standard? or is the success of your beloved Buckeyes so important that you are willing to overlook transgressions?

Obviously, we don't need to dig up Woody Hayes. I don't think his teams were ever investigated by the NCAA, were they? I'm sure he's already spinning in his grave that his beloved Bucks have sunk to such lows. You are the one spitting on his memory by not demanding the highest ethical and moral standards for his team. (no, I don't have blinders, I'm sure much the same thing happened under Woody) but I don't think he'd be impressed if it turns out his team had to9 cheat to win a title, do you?

[VermontDem2004]

34. Hold up

Sportscenter this morning said the NCAA concluded it's investigation and once the evidence was known the Ohio State athletic directer suspended him for the entire season immediately, I don't know much more then just that about the situation.

[AWD]

21. Nah

They'll not likely do anything about last year.

If so, Miami and FSU will be hiding their trophies for crimes of the past.

But I'll almost guarantee you that this is why Tressel wouldn't wait for the NCAA to investigate. he most likely knew that this year's games would be in jeopardy, so he sat Clarett.

Good for him.

Hit the road, Maurice. You could have been a contender. But now you're a bum.

[AWD]

14. It should be noted

That WJW is a TV station 150 miles away from the scene...and is a FOX news station.

[ArkDem]

39. So he is going to play?

?

[AWD]

40. No, he's been suspended for weeks...

....but I'd always take WJW's words with a grain of salt.

[ArkDem]

41. So they are right?

I'm confused.