I know what Sports Illustrated's Sign of the Apocalypse for this week is going to be: Cal tech being sanctioned by the NCAA. Cal tech is cheating like the football powerhouses? They don't even have a football team. Their basketball team won a conference game for the first time in God knows how many years last year and it was big new in LA. They even had a press conference to discuss the victory. I went to one of their basketball game a few years ago because they were playing a school near my house. I just wanted to see how bad they were. They had Asians on the team that I was better than when I was in college. I was annoyed that the local school hardly subbed their starters even though they were up about 40 points. Then I found out later they actually started their scrubs and kept the regulars on the bench the whole game to keep the score down! So now I wonder if Cal Tech will have to vacate their one conference victory last year. What has the world come to?
I see that the Knicks got Raymond Felton and Stephen Smith is all over Jeremy Lin saying that the Knicks lost confidence in him when he did not play the last playoff game so they are not going to match Houston's offer. As I said before Stephen Smith is an idiot and if the Knicks feel that way then they are idiots also. The Knicks were not going to beat Miami with Lin or even Kobe Bryant so why risk a young player's career by playing him when he is not 100%? That is just so stupid! But the Knicks must have doubts about Lin because otherwise they would have offered first, say, 15 million for 3 years and then if Lin wanted to test the market then it would not be their fault if they don't match. Now I think they were not all sure that Lin would be worth a multiple year contract. So once again Lin is being slighted.
But this time he is wanted by someone. I think Houston may be a better fit. He would be the main focus there unless somehow they get Dwight Howard. In NY Carmelo Anthony and Amare are going to hog the offense anyway. I don't think that Jason Kidd would be such a good role model. He just got arrested for drunk driving and don't forget his brush with domestic violence a few years back. If Felton is good enough why did the Knicks traded him a couple years ago? He also had a bad year this past season. I think the Knicks are going to be totally dysfunctional. Houston does not have much a roster left, having lost Scola, Lowry and Camby. So I think Lin will run the offense there and the expectation will be low. So there will be less pressure. So it may be a blessing in disguise.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
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It'll be interesting to see how this Lin thing shakes out. I have a feeling the Rockets didn't expect to keep him after signing him. If he ends up in Houston, at least he'll get some playing time but won't be the national story like he would have been in New York.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand what the Knicks are doing. It seems to me that the coach has tried to say that Lin is the starter but he didn't sound sincere about it. If the Knicks don't match, then it's bad PR.
I have nothing to add about Cal Tech except that if you could have played on that team, then they must really stink. Why is Cal Tech being sanctioned? Do you expect anything to happen with Penn State now that the investigation has become public?
-LBOAYM
Cal Tech has this policy where a student can take a class for 3 weeks without registering so to see if he can handle the work load. (This is because some classes are very hard). But according to NCAA rules they are not full time students since they did not register. Of course I never understand why Matt Leinart was considered a full time student in his last year at USC when he only took ballroom dancing. Although I can see that maybe ballroom dancing is a more difficult class for me than the Cal Tech classes. Anyway Cal Tech's new athletic director saw this and self reported. But instead of looking the other way because this is not a real violation, NCAA slapped Cal Tech with 3 years probation. They also stripped them of victories that they had not won, conference titles that they have never obtained and banned them from off campus recruiting which they had never done! The only thing Cal Tech fans were worried about was that their one conference basketball victory last year not be taken away. Turned out no athlete from that team took the courses without registering so that victory stands!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if the NCAA has the power to sanction Penn State for this horrific act. But if I had the power and the accusations are proven then I would be inclined to give them the death penalty, ie ban the football program for at least 7years, maybe more. I think it was the protecting of the football program that led to this coverup so I think the football program should suffer the worst consequences. I think that is the only way to send a loud and clear message that sports is not above the university, the law and morality.
I am not sure giving Penn State the Death Penalty does anything. My interpretation of what NCAA sanctions are for is to prevent other institutions from repeating similar offenses. I don't know if there are other schools that have a serial child molester on their payroll.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to see is allow Penn State to continue its football program and ban it from post season play for at least 4 years and make all proceeds from football go to a local institution that deals with child molestation. Of course this must not be the one that Sandusky ran!
I'd also like to see them be put on probation for the amount of years that this was covered up, so we're talking over 12 years at least.
I would order all of Joe Paterno's name and statues be taken down as well.
With the proceeds going to charity, Penn State would not have the money, which hurts them, but they are at the same time, doing good in the community. If football is banned, there would be no revenue coming into the university and I doubt that the university gives as much money to charity.
-LBOAYM
From a pragmatic point of view, your idea of the Penn State punishment is excellent. It certainly would have a lot more economic benefit than my idea. In fact mine would be horrific for economic reason. All those people depending on PSU football to make a living will be devastated. And I think NCAA, if it could, would do something along your idea. Although I doubt they will advocate the charity part. I am coming only from a moral standpoint if I am King of the world. If SMU was given the death penalty because of "institutional lack of control", I don't see how PSU do not get the death penalty. You can't get more lack of institutional control than this. While punishments are often cited as preventing future crimes, the death penalty in real life has not prevented murders and penalties imposed by the NCAA have not prevented cheating. So I think in this the death penalty fits the crime not as a deterrent. However, I believe that whatever penalty, if any, the NCAA hand down would be such that PSU football will still be able to make enough money to support the other athletic programs of PSU. Just like the big banks, football is now too big to fail.
ReplyDeleteSo Lin is now officially a Rocket. He will now control the ball unless he falters. The Rockets are so gutted that Earl Boykins is on the team roster. Yes, the same Earl Boykins from EMU who is the only NBA player shorter and older than me. Well, almost. Under the best circumstance Lin will get a chance to develop in the next two years and with the Rockets unlikely to make the playoff, they can get couple of good lottery picks so that by the third year, when his salary goes way up, they would be a good team and his deal is justified. If he does well, he will continue to be an international phenomenon even if he is not in New York. The worst case scenario, the Rockets become the Bobcats and Lin is blamed. What is your guess?
I don't know how good Houston will be the next few years. I just hope that the fans embrace Jeremy and that he does well.
ReplyDeleteI truly believe that the Rockets didn't think they would get Lin and I think that they thought the Knicks would match.
It's just ironic that Houston could of had Lin for much cheaper had they just kept him last year.
I just don't see Penn St. get any kind of death penalty. It's pretty much proven that the NCAA protects its big schools.
I wish there was a good way to help the victims, but what is done is done and I am sure they will get their "justice" with some big pay outs in the next couple of years. Maybe the leaders involved should see jail time. I don't know.
I still think that Penn State needs to move quickly from a PR standpoint and donate money or build a facility for victims and they need to take down Paterno's name at some point, if he was guilty for covering it up. They did a good thing by tearing down the locker room but more must be done.
-LBOAYM
It appears that we have a reader that has powerful influence on the NCAA. LBOAYM's proposal for punishing PSU appears to be the blue print for the actual punishment handed down by the NCAA today. PSU is banned from bowl games for 4 years and fined 60 million dollars and proceeds going to help victims of molestation. All of these were advocated by LBOAYM. With the loss of scholarships and no chance for post season play it will be impossible to recruit top players. As one pundit said, PSU will be the Vanderbilt of the Big Ten for years to come. I am satisfied with that. Even though I think the NCAA violated its own bylaws by not doing any investigation of its own, I don't think it will be to PSU's interests to drag this out by appealing.
ReplyDeletePSU also listened to LBOAYM by removing Paterno's statue. I wish you would have told the authorities to hand down more appropriate punishments to AIG, Countrywide and big banks for their roles in the economic crisis!
I WISH I had influence in this world, but maybe I just have finger on the pulse of things sometimes. A blind squirrel gets a nut every once in a while, as the saying goes.
ReplyDeleteActually, I called for more to be done, like having the next 4 years of football earnings be donated. I would like to see Penn State create a center for abused children. Sure this is window dressing, but it must be done.
I like Paterno vacating the wins in that period of time as well.
The one thing I am not happy about is that the NCAA did not follow its usual timeline and it did not create a committee of its own to investigate. What happens if some of the findings were wrong? What if Paterno actually didn't know.
These are things that needed to be considered before making quick decisions.
Did you hear the backlash from Knicks fans that are mad that Lin went to Houston? I've read some comments where they called him a traitor and over-rated.
One thing I've learned over the years is to not get caught up in the players for your home team. These guys are paid mercenaries and go where ever the money is. So don't blame Lin for going where the money is. The Knicks had their shot and had said all along that they would match, but they were the liars.
OK, if you're out there AIG and Big Money and Big Oil...quit screwing the little guy! If I see another exec. steal money from the common man, then I think they should spend the rest of their lives paying back every cent they owe to the investors. With great power comes great responsibility. So stop screwing the common folk!
-LBOAYM
Having thought about it some more, I think PSU got off easy. USC got 2 years of no bowl games and lost 30 scholarships, so PSU got 2 more years and lost 10 more scholarships than USC! Look at it another way, Cal Tech got 3 years post season banned, lost victories, for going to tough classes! They couldn't lose scholarships because they don't give out any. So no wonder PSU will not appeal!
ReplyDeleteI am not surprise some fans are angry at Lin. There are always people who are misinformed and quite frankly not very bright. I have more problems with so called experts, like Stephen Smith, who makes idiotic comments. Another so called expert, Forbes magazine, named Lin the dumbest Harvard graduate ever because he left the media capital of the world. But Forbes failed to realize that if Lin does well, he will be making tons of money from Asia and New York will be irrelevant. If he does poorly it would have been much worse in New York. And it is obvious that getting endorsement deals is not his first priority as he turned away many deals while Linsanity was going on. So I call Forbes the dumbest economic magazine ever!
Who will come out ahead, Michael Phelps or Ryan Lochte?
Well, you have to give the edge to Phelps who is the defending Gold Medalist. But I wonder if he has the hunger to go after the gold. It would be tough but if he is in shape, I believe he still has the talent to win more gold.
ReplyDeleteHow do you think the U.S. women's gymnastics team will do? I am watching it a little closer this time because Jordyn Weiber from DeWitt, which is near Lansing is considered the top gymnast on the team.
I am not sure how much basketball I will watch. This team is uninteresting to me and the uniforms bug the crap out of me.
What is your take on the Ralph Lauren suits being made in China? I wonder if there would be as much backlash if they were made in another country.
-LBOAYM