HBO’s Real Sports will save college athletics with creative “reporting”

So on the latest addition of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, four former Auburn football players (Raven Gray, Stanley McGlover, Chaz Ramsey and Troy Reddick) said they were paid to play football for the school. If you haven’t seen it, well, I’ll provide a recap: four guys with axes to grind spilled their guts, but provided very little in the way of proof.

McClover told fantastic tales of book bags full of money being left by Auburn “boosters” (none of whom he could actually name) and recruiting trips to Ohio State where he was free to bang any chick in sight. Reddick went further, not only saying that he was paid (he couldn’t name his benefactor, either), but also alleging that Auburn coaches forced him to change his major. He even threw this nugget in:

Reddick: “I sold my SEC Championship watch right off the stage as we were celebrating in Toomer’s Corner.”

Kremer: “Why did you sell it?”

Reddick: “Because it was useless to me. I had to sell all my championship rings to help my sister not go into debt as her house was about to be foreclosed on.”

Wait, hold on a second.  If Auburn was so free and loose with the cash, couldn’t some of it had been thrown at Reddick’s sister to help her in her time of need?  Hell, Oklahoma boosters bought Marcus Dupree’s mom a trailer once upon a time, so I’m sure the legion of nefarious Auburn boosters could’ve helped Reddick’s sister get right with her bank again.  You know, because they’re evil and stuff.

On the telecast, Reddick could barely contain his hate for Auburn, it was practically dripping from his nose. Could some of that have something to do with the fact that he was turned down after he applied for a Graduate Assistant coaching position at Auburn last year? Hmmmm…

Ramsey also had stories to tell, like receiving $100 handshakes after Auburn football games. Curiously, he spent much more time making those allegations than Kremer did telling us about his lawsuit against Auburn.  You know, the lawsuit that motivated Ramsey to even be on the segment to begin with.  I’ll fill in the blanks on that:

Football coaches are expected to push their players to give the most they can give.

Did Nall and Gamber push too hard? Against doctor’s orders?

The lawsuit alleges that they did.

The lawsuit alleges that Nall and Gamber forced Ramsey to do too much too soon after his first back surgery on April 21, 2008.

The lawsuit alleges that Ramsey reinjured his back in the weight room on June 2, 2008, and that injury led to the second surgery, on Jan. 21 of this year, and ended his career. (Birmingham News)

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson thought so much of Ramsey’s lawsuit that he dismissed it this past February.  Ladies and gentleman, that sound you hear is Ramsey grinding an ax.

Getting far less publicity than the Ax Grinding Four is the fact that several more Auburn players are saying they didn’t really see this stuff going on.  Four year starter Lee Ziemba provided the following to the Sporting News:

“No, I absolutely did not (receive money),” Ziemba told Sporting News. “In fact, it was the other way around. Everybody is complaining about (not having) money in college. I remember trying to figure out—I was just talking to my girlfriend about this yesterday—I just got my first credit card yesterday and I was talking about how nice it was not to have to choose between eating food and putting gas in my truck for once. Even though now I have money, I told her that would be helpful back when I was in college. That’s the way things were. They were late giving us our scholarship checks, we were getting money on the 17th or something like that, late on our rent checks and stuff. We struggled in college. As much as you whined and complained and tried to get money, you weren’t getting a dime. So I don’t know where all this is coming from.” (The Sporting News)

So a guy who started from the day he stepped on campus and helped Auburn win a national title says he didn’t get paid?  Wow, it appears that Auburn’s got this whole system ass-backwards.  They seem to be paying guys who are on the fast track to being has beens instead of hooking up their actual contributors.  Strange stuff, man.

It would’ve been nice if Ziemba had been part of this particular Real Sports story, you know, to provide a little bit of balance.  But it appears that HBO was never interested in that.

Weeks ahead of the story, rumors circulated that HBO officials were beating down doors trying to hunt down former college athletes who could provide tales of being paid to play.  In his Twitter account, former Ohio State basketball player George Reese shared his experiences with the folks from HBO (start from the bottom and work your way up):

You see, here is where this thing gets goofy. HBO was never reporting on a story, they were turning over rocks looking for one. And that’s questionable journalism at best.

When Auburn was nailed by the NCAA in the early 90’s courtesy of Eric Ramsey’s tape recordings, that was a story that was actually reported on. You see, Ramsey lawyered up and went to the press himself. There were names and dates and times and actual dots to be connected.

HBO, on the other hand, put the spotlight on a few bitter guys who could provide nothing along the lines of the proof Ramsey had nearly two decades ago. In essence, they just beat on enough doors until they could find a few Auburn guys to plug into a piece. And that’s supposed to be journalism?

Forget the goofy reporting, in my opinion, Real Sports jumped the shark a few years back when they carted out Jim Cramer to tell the world that Lenny Dykstra (LENNY DYKSTRA?!?!?) was a financial wiz. How much credibility can the show have after airing a piece of shit story like that?

These guys could’ve save a little face this week by actually reporting on a more timely recruiting scandal, like the one involving Willie Lyles. Here you have a street agent who’s getting MULTIPLE schools in hot water, but instead, HBO went with Chaz Ramsey and the Has Beens. Wow.

Speaking of Lyles, here’s former Texas A&M assistant Van Malone broadsiding the dude in a piece of video from ESPN:

I’m not sure how much more hot water that Oregon or LSU will get into over Lyles, because the whole world seems to STILL be more preoccupied with nosing through Auburn’s closet in the aftermath of Cam-gate. Hell, all of Mississippi State’s money men were exposed in that fiasco, but I guess HBO wasn’t interested in chasing those leads.  If only they’d have come to me, I could’ve provided contact info: John Bond, jbond@eutawconstruction.com.

What my tweeps are saying (3/28)

Everything I need to know I learn from my tweeps. Here are today’s highlights:

◊ You love his snarky audio contributions on this site, but @EhudHoops is equally as snarky on Twitter.  Here he has the nerve to call America’s new favorite college basketball coach a douche:

◊ Here’s @aritemkin of 1530 AM in Austin sharing what they’re talking about on The Adams Theory, which is basically Rick Barnes getting more grief for another March failure:

◊ Barnes wasn’t the only Texas coach who caught it on the chin in my timeline. Here’s @LandThieves finding hilarity in Mack Brown’s spring football attendance wishes:

◊ Noted college football blogger @KegsnEggs had a brush with greatness today.  He sounds like a giddy schoolgirl:

◊ It would appear that @lesliemplt is enamored with VCU, so much so that she’s gone all Joe Namath about it:

◊ The hiring of Cuonzo Martin by Tennessee was on @mac_b_from_tn’s mind today, namely the backlash from some amongst Vol Nation:

◊ I need to have a long DM talk with @TheEndZones about the douchebags he’s following on Twitter:

Jim Tressel and Ted Sarniak: Email buddies for life

Ruh roh, instead of going away, the Email-gate saga at Ohio State is actually getting worse. I’ll let Adam Rittenberg provide the details:

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel forwarded to a mentor of quarterback Terrelle Pryor emails that had warned the coach his players were in trouble, but Tressel did not forward the emails to school officials, The Columbus Dispatch reported Friday.

Multiple sources told the newspaper that Tressel sent emails to Ted Sarniak, a businessman from Pryor’s hometown of Jeannette, Pa., who has known Pryor for years.

Tressel received emails from a Columbus attorney in April 2010 stating that Pryor and a teammate had been selling memorabilia items to a local tattoo-parlor owner under federal investigation.

The Buckeyes coach didn’t share the emails with any Ohio State staff members or NCAA officials investigating Pryor and five other players, resulting in an NCAA violation. Tressel has been suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season, in addition to being fined $250,000. (ESPN.com)

So who the hell is Ted Sarniak? Glad you asked, because this guy sounds like a character. The business that he owns is Jeanette Specialty Glass:

Look, if you need Fresnel Lenses, then Ted is your guy.  He also appears to be extremely adept at making problems with the DA magically disappear:

The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office has cleared a Jeannette businessman and a police officer of a bribery allegation after the officer failed to charge the man with drunken driving and refusing a blood test following an accident.

Ted Sarniak, who owns Jeannette Specialty Glass/Oceana, crashed his car into a utility pole in Jeannette on Oct. 28, 2006. Police did not arrest Sarniak, even though he smelled of alcohol and was uncooperative with police, according to District Attorney John Peck.

Peck said there is no evidence that Sarniak’s subsequent donation of $4,000 to the Jeannette Police Department to purchase Taser guns was a reward for escaping arrest on a drunken-driving charge. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Not for nothing, but if I crashed into a utility pole while reeking of booze and then gave the cops some static, I would probably be beaten up Rodney King-style. Have you ever met a cop who DIDN’T want to take out his or her night stick and crack someone in the skull over the tiniest provocation?

So the fact that Sarniak walked away from that situation without (A) being clubbed or (B) having anything go on his record is mighty, mighty curious. But at least this particular story had a happy ending for the Jeannette cops who let him go. That’s because they got to tase the hell out of people not long after that, courtesy of good old Ted.

Is it any wonder then that Jeanette’s biggest Taser donating businessman is all kinds of wrapped up with Jeanette’s favorite football playing son? Sarniak has been referred to by various media sources as being Pryor’s “mentor.” Uh huh, when it comes to big time college football recruiting, the title of “mentor” doesn’t exactly have a totally positive connotation. Sure enough, Sarniak was extremely involved in that chapter of Pryor’s life:

Tressel forwarded the information to Ted Sarniak, a mentor to Terrelle Pryor, after the coach received emails warning that Pryor and at least one other player had sold memorabilia to a local tattoo-parlor owner who was under federal investigation for drug trafficking, multiple sources have confirmed to The Dispatch.

Sarniak, 67, is a prominent businessman in Pryor’s hometown of Jeannette, Pa. He befriended the quarterback years ago and accompanied him on recruiting trips to Ohio State and other universities. (Columbus Dispatch)

I’m surprised that Tressel just forwarded the emails to Sarniak instead of sending original notes that used some secret code, maybe something along the lines of:

“Hi Ted, this is Vest, the extremely valuable piece of glass that you sold me is not as crystal clear as you told me it would be. It’s developed some recent imperfections that we should discuss, call me at your earlier convenience.”

We saw Bruce Pearl go from being a disgraced coach to a suspended coach to a coach who got fired.  It appears we’re seeing the same saga play out with Tressel, who might not even make it to the five game suspension he’s supposed to serve to start the 2011 season.

As for Sarniak, that guy got into the wrong business because he’s got a name that is custom made for pro wrestling.  Say it with me: TED SARNIAK.  It just sounds a little menacing, like Stan Stasiak, the master of the heart punch:

Is this the most underappreciated play in sports history?

With North Carolina and Marquette set to meet in the Sweet Sixteen, older fans of both teams can’t help but recall the most important game played between the schools. That was in 1977, when Marquette overcame North Carolina in the NCAA title game in Atlanta by a 67-59 count to close out the Al McGuire Era.

But there are those who’ll tell you that maybe Marquette shouldn’t have even been playing in that game at all. I’ll fire up the time machine and let Dick Enberg and Billy Packer explain why:

Let me provide a little background as to how that particular Final Four game between Marquette and Charlotte (then known as UNC Charlotte) got to that point. With 1:44 left in the contest, Marquette was down 47-44 before consecutive baskets by Butch Lee and a free throw by Gary Rosenberg gave the Warriors a 49-47 lead with 13 seconds to play.

Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell (still one of the greatest nicknames in hoops history) responded with a 10-footer for the 49ers to tie it up with a scant :03 left on the clock. That’s when Lee threw the length of the court pass that Whitehead converted for the score.

Whitehead’s game winner remains significant not just because it was a buzzer beater in a playoff setting. As Enberg and Packer alluded to, the sequence is also memorable because it was tinged with controversy. As you can see in the clip, it sure as heck looked like Whitehead touched the ball while it was still in the cylinder.

Could you imagine if that play occurred in this year’s Final Four? ESPN would replay it no less than 30 times an hour, Twitter would literally blow up and the kid making the shot would become an instant cult hero.

Yet, strangely the Whitehead play is largely forgotten. Every year around this time you see clips of Christian Laettner’s miraculous buzzer beater that propelled Duke past Kentucky in the 1992 East Regional final. But despite being an extremely similar ending, I bet that’s the first time you’ve seen the way Marquette sank UNC Charlotte’s fortunes.

In terms of meeting a very specific set of criteria, that being an important playoff contest decided by a controversial final play, I think Whitehead’s buzzer beater should at least be in the conversation with this gem:

If you ask any Raider player who was on the field for the Immaculate Reception, you’ll get not one but three reasons why Harris’s reception should have been disallowed:

• They insist the pass touched the Steelers’ Frenchy Fuqua, which according to the rules of the time would have nullified Harris from catching the carom.
• Many former Raiders insist that Harris didn’t actually catch the ball before it hit the turf.
• Linebacker Phil Villipiano insists he was clipped after Harris caught the ball.

The controversy surrounding the Immaculate Reception lives on despite the fact that multiple NBC cameras were in Three Rivers Stadium that day.  Incredibly, none of the images captured by those cameras could provide a definitive angle on whether or not Fuqua touched the ball or if it hit the turf before Harris gathered it in.

Which brings me back to Marquette’s buzzer beater.  Despite a camera obviously pointing right at the play, it’s hard to definitely tell if Whitehead touches the ball while it’s in the cylinder.  And to add another layer of mystery to it, did Maxwell possibly touch the ball?

Regarding the clip itself, I have still more questions.  Why did Billy Packer have such a bad case of crazy eyes that night? And where did he buy that sportcoat?:

Opulence: Bruce Pearl had it

Man, Bruce Pearl was living large not so long ago.  The guy had the Three F’s that damn near every middle aged guy longs for: fame, fortune and a full head of hair.

In a era when fans can become fickle overnight, he enjoyed almost universal support from the folks at Tennessee. Sure, some of his players could be giant knuckleheads from time to time, but that was easily forgiven in the midst of Pearl’s teams winning a lot more than they lost.

But in the past seven months, Pearl pissed it all away like a sorority girl who’s just finished drinking three too many Long Island iced teas. That’s the span of time it took for him to go from the penthouse to a crappy studio apartment.

With his firing this week, Pearl’s saga hasn’t yet drawn to a conclusion. The now former Tennessee basketball coach still has to go before the NCAA infractions committee in June, at which time he could be slapped with a show-cause.

Coaches fear the show-cause the same way a supermodel fears gaining a single pound or the way Gina fears Martin’s mom. It’s the NCAA’s scarlet “A,” and once it’s slapped on a coach, every school in the country will shun him.

Think I’m exaggerating? Todd Bozeman got an eight-year long show-cause back in the 90’s for his role in the Jelani-gate fiasco while he was coaching Cal. It would be two years after the show-cause ended before one of college basketball’s most remote outposts, Morgan State, would hire him.

That’s right, after a show-cause, the best college job a coach can hope for is the hoops equivalent of an Arctic radar station. And that’s if he’s lucky.

How did Bruce Pearl get to this point? How does a guy go from being a school’s cult hero to teetering on the brink of being out of the sport altogether?

By now, we all know it wasn’t because he improperly hosted some recruits at his house for a barbecue. That onto itself was an infraction the NCAA could have lived with.

It’s the fact that Pearl initially lied to the NCAA about it that started the wheels in motion. It prompted the powers that be at his school and at the SEC to levy sanctions against him, which included a reduction in pay and an embarrassing in-season suspension that forced him to miss his team’s first eight conference games.

Once all that happened, the NCAA was hypersensitive to Pearl’s every move. So when it came to light that he had possibly had improper contact with a junior recruit at Oak Hill Academy back in September, which is known as a “bump,” the NCAA treated it as a major infraction. That’s because that contact had supposedly occurred just days after Tennessee had levied those sanctions.

In the eyes of the sport’s governing body, Pearl was a cheater of the highest order. Still, Tennessee continued to support him right up until a few weeks ago. The reason that support eroded was partially explained in a statement put out by Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton:

“The cumulative effect of the evolution of the investigation combined with a number of more recent non-NCAA-related incidents have led to a belief that this staff cannot be viable at Tennessee in the future,” Hamilton said. “Therefore, it is in the best interests of our institution to move in a different direction.” (New York Times)

Whoa, “recent non-NCAA-related incidents” is a real eye opener. ESPN’s Andy Katz provides more details:

The non-NCAA related incident, according to multiple sources, was a violation of the Tennessee athletic department substance abuse policy by UT senior forward Brian Williams. Williams missed the last two regular-season games at South Carolina and at home against Kentucky due to what team officials said was a bad back. (ESPN.com)

With all things being considered, Pearl had become too hot a potato for Tennessee to hold onto. You have to wonder if the NCAA has indicated to the school behind the scenes that any penalties that might be levied against the basketball program this summer could be less severe if Pearl is no longer around.

In the end, Tennessee agreed to pay Pearl a total of $948,728 in salary and benefits as part of his dismissal agreement. That’s a nice chunk of change for him to live off of while he waits to see what the NCAA has in store for him this June.

I’m of the opinion that the NCAA might view Pearl’s transgressions in a harsher light when you consider the guy’s background as a whistleblower. In the early 90’s when he was an assistant at Iowa, Pearl kickstarted an NCAA investigation of Illinois by claiming that school had given Deon Thomas improper benefits.

I can just picture the ten members of the Committee on Infractions rolling their eyes in unison and saying things like, “Wow, people in glass houses.” I doubt the CoI will have much pity on Pearl, who in the span of twenty years morphed from a champion of virtue to being an H.R. Haldeman-esque cover up artist.

I invoke the name of Haldeman because I really do think Pearl has a Richard Nixon quality about him. Tricky Dick had it so good in 1972, which is why the Watergate crap was so utterly unnecessary.

The same thing goes for Pearl as well. It’s as simple as not having those recruits over to your house in the first place. Why risk a dream gig for something so trivial?

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