Oregon State football players are getting as b@t$h!t nuts as their Oregon counterparts

In the Civil War, Oregon State will not be outdone by Oregon…and that includes the police blotter as well.  Back on March 14, former OSU players Lyle Moevao and Keaton Kristick and current Beavers defensive tackle Brennan Olander commandeered an athletic department golf cart, went for a joyride and then wrecked it.

For Olander it was his second run-in with the law since coming to Oregon State.  Back in January he pled guilty to second-degree theft stemming from an incident in May of 2009 and was ordered by the court to complete a diversion program.  As a result of his Jackass-esque golf cart ride he’s now on the hook for court-ordered community service.  Until he wraps that up, Beaver head coach Mike Riley says he can’t participate in practice.

Things really started heating up for the Beavers in April, though.  Redshirt freshmen John Braun and Tyler Thomas were cited on minor in possession charges on April 10 for partying with too many underage drunks in their house.  Then walk-on freshman Kaua Olds, who is no longer with the team, was arrested on May 2 on charges of interfering with a police officer, resisting arrest and being a minor in possession.

But it’s not a party until a quarterback gets involved, so Peter Lalich got into the mix on May 7.  That’s the day he was arrested by the Shasta County Sherriff’s Department on suspicion of boating DUI, here’s the incident report:

The problem for Lalich was that he was dismissed from Virginia for two alcohol-related incidents and only ended up at Oregon State because Virginia’s coach at the time, Al Groh, vouched for him with Riley.  After thinking about it for a few weeks, Riley decided today to kick Lalich off the team.  Here’s his statement to the Corvallis Gazette-Times:

“I’ve delayed this decision because I’ve been thinking about this a long time,” Riley said. “What avenue will we have for Pete to continue football and his education? What we have in place, it wasn’t going to work here. I talked to him about it. The summary was he wasn’t going to have an opportunity to play at Oregon State.” (Corvallis Gazette-Times)

Minnesota spends a ton of cash to burn a bridge

Back in 2007, Oklahoma State assistant coach Jimmy Williams met with Minnesota coach Tubby Smith in an Atlanta hotel room during the Final Four.

During that conversation Smith offered Williams an assistant coaching position. For Williams, who was then a grizzled 60-year old veteran of the coaching game, the offer represented a career coming full circle.

He had worked at Minnesota from 1971 to 1986, assisting both Bill Musselman and Jim Dutcher during that time. He even had a stint as interim head coach for the Golden Gophers during the 1985-86 season.

Williams flew back to Stillwater, resigned his $200,000 a year position and put his house on the market. But as he prepared to make the move to Minneapolis, he encountered a tiny hitch: there was no job waiting for him.

Minnesota athletics director Joel Maturi pulled rank on Smith and blocked the hire. It seems that during his previous stint with Minnesota, Williams may have had a hand in committing as many as 15 major NCAA rules violations.

I can understand Maturi’s point of view in the matter, even though it represented a heckuva screw job on Williams. I once got back together with my ex-girlfriend from college, despite the fact that she screwed me over the first time around. Guess what happened the second time around? Oh yeah, she screwed me over again.

I learned my lesson and I never even stayed friends with an ex-girlfriend after that. Hell, since then I’ve burned bridges as if there were flesh eating zombies on the other side of the river. Now if I had taken Maturi’s approach with that ex from college, I would never have been in the position to be screwed over a second time.

So I totally get it, no AD wants to bring a coach back to his school who had previously been involved in improprieties. In his mind, Maturi probably thought Smith was inviting a fox back into his hen house.

The AD’s sensitivity was especially heightened because the transgressions during Williams’ tenure at Minnesota didn’t represent the only black eye the program has had over the past few decades. Remember that little matter of academic fraud back in the late 90’s that sank the career of Clem Haskins? It took the program years to recover from that.

But just as I can see it Maturi’s way, I can see it Williams’ way as well. Since leaving Minnesota he’s had stops at San Diego State, Nebraska, UL-Lafayette as well as Oklahoma State. During that time period he’s apparently been a solid coaching citizen who’s kept his nose clean. It’s not like the NCAA has stamped a show-cause on his record or anything.

In that hotel room, he was sitting across from one of the biggest name coaches in the business, a guy who’d won a national title while he was at Kentucky. So if a coach with the stature of Tubby Smith doesn’t have the authority to hire and fire within a program, who does?

Williams took his word on the offer and subsequently acted like a guy who was transitioning into a new job. When that offer was rescinded, he did what anyone in his position would have done: he sued. His lawsuit, which also named the university as a defendant, sought $1.7 million in lost income.

Minnesota’s defense in the matter rested on the notion that as athletics director, it was Maturi and not Smith who had the ultimate authority to hire assistant coaches. Smith chimed in that if Williams had mentioned those violations during that conversation in Atlanta, then he would have immediately been dismissed as a candidate.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Smith went a step further and testified that he never officially offered Williams a job and most certainly didn’t tell him to pack up and leave Stillwater.

Williams’ attorneys contended that their client’s reputation was severely damaged by the ordeal. According to them, the fact that he hasn’t coached since resigning his position at Oklahoma State was proof of that.

In the end, the jury sided with Williams and awarded him nearly $1.25 million. As evidenced by what he told reporters, he was understandably jubilant after the verdict came down. “I’m just happy right now that the jury saw that I was telling the truth, and now I can move on with my life and my career,” Williams said. “Hopefully in the near future I’m going to be back doing what I love, and that’s coaching.”

Despite losing in the courtroom, Smith and Maturi probably feel like they came out ahead in the grand scheme of things. To them, the university having to pay $1.25 million is in essence paying off a tab from 2007 that ensured that the program wouldn’t have a hint of impropriety. In the end, they get to man that citadel sitting atop the moral high ground.

That’s all well and good, but if morality is that much of a concern to Smith, shouldn’t he do some background checks before talking to prospective assistant coaching candidates? All of this could have been avoided if he had done a little homework.

For Williams, the aftermath is a little more complicated. In his mind, his name is on the way to being cleared after he had his day in court and won. Getting a ton of cash doesn’t hurt, either.

But if I’d venture to take a guess, I’d say that his coaching days are done. I don’t think any school is going to be in a hurry to hire a 63-year old guy who’s sued a former employer.

What did we learn from all of this? Well, we learned that some coaches need to brush up on their information gathering techniques. We also learned that while there are second chances in the coaching business, going home again is easier said than done. But most importantly, we learned that a burning bridge can be a very good thing.

Extremely well off ex-Kentucky player helps out formerly mega rich ex-Kentucky player

That thud you heard today was Antoine Walker’s financial freefall hitting rock bottom:

Mr. Walker, 33, lists liabilities of $12.74 million vs. assets of $4.28 million in the bankruptcy filing. Mr. Walker’s 2006 NBA championship ring, valued at $6,000, is listed among his assets, according to the Chapter 7 filing May 18 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Southern Florida.

The bankruptcy and foreclosure suit are the latest in a series of legal and financial woes for Mr. Walker, who reportedly earned more than $110 million during his 13-year NBA career, which included three trips to the All-Star game. Mr. Walker was arrested last July in Las Vegas, where he was accused of writing 10 bad checks for casino markers totaling $1 million, according to published reports. Late last year, a Las Vegas court deferred criminal charges and agreed to a payment plan for Mr. Walker. (Chicago Real Estate Daily)

To me, the most fascinating part of the story was this:

The petition also lists $646,900 of gambling losses in 2008 and 2009, and shows that Nazr Mohammed, a Chicago native and center with the Charlotte Bobcats, paid $10,000 earlier this year to the law firm now representing Mr. Walker in the bankruptcy. (Chicago Real Estate Daily)

For a guy who made more than $100 million during his NBA career but can’t afford a lawyer these days, it helps that you have an old Kentucky teammate who’s made $50 million so far during his own NBA tenure.  You read that correctly, Nazr’s carved himself out a solid career as a role player and made $50 million in the process.  Better yet, he’s managed his money well enough that he can help bail out old teammates.

I guess Antoine didn’t bother calling Ron Mercer or Tony Delk for help with his lawyer bill. Mercer made a measley $35 million during his playing days, while Delk made a microscopic $19 million off the NBA.

In the heat of the Eastern Conference finals, why not get a neck tattoo?

The Celtics’ Nate Robinson has had plenty of time to chill out and think about his off the court endeavors during this year’s playoffs.  He’s only seen action in eight of Boston’s 15 postseason games to this point.  Hell, I was a little surprised when he checked into Game 5 of the ECF against the Magic last night.

It totally escaped me, but Knicks blogger Seth Rosenthal did notice there was something different about Nate:

That’s right, Nate Robinson went and got his neck tattooed before Game 4, check it out:

Maybe I’m being silly, but it seems like an awfully strange time to get inked up. I mean really, just wait a couple of weeks and the season will be over, then you can do what you like.  As for his choice, well, I’ve previously stated my view on female neck tats, but they’re just as goofy on dudes, too.

All things considered, has Rick Pitino been a failure at Louisville?

Compared to the expectations the fan base has and what has actually transpired, could Rick Pitino’s tenure at Louisville be considered to be somewhat of a failure?  Granted, the guy has produced a Final Four appearance (in 2005) as well as two other Elite Eight appearances.  That’s not exactly chopped liver right there.

But a national title hasn’t been forthcoming, and at a basketball school that hasn’t climbed to the top of the mountain since 1986, that’s an awfully long time to wait.  Think of every traditional basketball superpower out there - Duke, UCLA, Indiana, North Carolina, Kentucky - and you’ll find they’ve all won titles since Louisville last turned the trick, with some of those schools having done it multiple times.

You see, here’s the slippery slope in judging a coaching job, you just can’t take into account the number of wins.  If Pitino had put up the same numbers he’s put up at Louisville at a school like Georgia Tech or Stanford, he’d be a legend in those towns.  But in college hoops, where you’re winning is almost as important as how many you’re winning when it comes to judging performance.

While I don’t doubt that Louisville fans love the guy (despite the slip ups in his personal life), I don’t get the sense that too many of them are putting Pitino ahead of Denny Crum in their hearts.  After all, in nine seasons at the school (damn, doesn’t seem that long) he’s got one more 13-loss season (3) than he has 30-win seasons (2).

In Pitino’s previous coaching stop, at hated rival Kentucky, he generated one of the fastest reclamation projects the sport has ever seen.  Don’t kid yourself, the 14-14 mark he put up in his first season on the job there in 1989-90 was one of the best coaching jobs of the last quarter century.  That program had been gutted, and in four years, he had it back in the Final Four.  And the 14 losses in 89-90 were the only time he cleared the double digit mark in defeats while in Lexington.

You can’t help but compare his teams at Kentucky to the squads he’s coached at Louisville.  And in doing so, one thing jumps out at me when making the comparison:  star power.  In eight seasons at Kentucky, he had three players who ended up being consensus All-Americans: Jamal Mashburn, Tony Delk and Ron Mercer.

In nine seasons at Louisville, Pitino has yet to coach a player who was a consensus All-American.  Heck, John Calipari had two at Kentucky this past season alone, and they were both true freshmen (DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall).  That lack of star power has also translated into a dearth of Pitino’s Louisville players making a splash in the NBA Draft.

If you look at the first 20 players selected each year going back to the 2002 draft (which is the draft that took place after his first season at Louisville), Pitino’s only generated three draftees who fit that criteria:  Reece Gaines was the 15th pick in the ‘03 draft while Terrence Williams was picked 11th and Earl Clark was picked 13th in last year’s draft.

Compare that to Calipari, who’s had five players go in the first 20 picks over the same time span.  And in next month’s draft, Wall is the likely top pick, marking the second time in three years that a Calipari-coached player is taken first overall (Derrick Rose was the other back in 2008).  Counting Tyreke Evans last year, this is the third straight year that Calipari’s generated a top five pick.

In terms of recruiting, it wasn’t exactly a banner 2010 for Pitino.  While Calipari inked another stellar group of newcomers, Louisville’s recruiting haul wasn’t quite as well received.  Rivals ranked Kentucky’s class number one while Louisville didn’t make the top 25.  Last season, Calipari’s first Kentucky class was also considered the nation’s best by Rivals, while Pitino’s was picked 16th.

Whatever the reason, Pitino’s not bringing in a constellation of stars, and with his team moving into a new 22,000 seat arena, expectations have actually managed to increase, as if that was possible. I’m just throwing this out there, but it doesn’t appear that a national title is in the program’s near future. Maybe Pitino feels the same way, because it just so happens his house is on the market.

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