Next notch in North Carolina
We have covered the allegations of academic fraud at UNC in this space before.
There are not any new details beyond the reports of a two-decade stretch of fake classes and roughly 3,000 students getting made up grades. Of course, many of those students were athletes, especially basketball players like Rashad McCants, who helped the Heels win a title.
Rinse. Lather. Repeat.
UNC is fighting the charges, because in part if found guilty the litany of punishments could include forfeiting at least one national title. The NCAA is investigating as much as the NCAA wants to investigate a basketball powerhouse, considering that the NCAA makes 90-plus percent of its revenue from the tournament, which counts on basketball powerhouses like UNC.
Like we said, rinse, lather, repeat
Well, here's the new twist as of this morning. Late last week, Maryland president Wallace Loh dropped this quote at a University of Maryland senate meeting, according to the Raleigh News & Observer: "For the things that happened in North Carolina, it's abysmal. I would think that this would lead to the implementation of the death penalty by the NCAA. But I'm not in charge of that."
Brother. (Of course a Maryland spokesperson later said that Loh's comments were "not a reflection of personal beliefs about the university or leadership." And that's like saying, man that it's ugly woman, but then clarifying that we were not speaking about appearance or personal beliefs.) Here's the ESPN.com story.
Death penalty. Wow, that's a heavy phrase, and one that we believe will never happen. But this is the first step toward the one thing that could save the level playing field that used to be college sports.
The NCAA will never police its money-making schools until other money-making schools demand it. This is not to endorse the NCAA's questionable decision to allow immunity to student-athletes at rival schools who cooperate, like what is happening in the Ole Miss investigation. Rather, this is leadership at other power-five schools looking for accountability.
UTC forward Makinde London reacts during a game against The Citadel at McKenzie Arena in January. London is among the players expected back for the Mocs next season as they begin their first season under coach Lamont Paris.Starting over?
Kudos to TFP UTC beat ace, Mean Gene Henley, who has been all over the story of the highly regarded UTC basketball signees who wanted out of their letters of intent.
Here's the latest, detailing that new coach Lamont Paris has a lot of needs to fill. UTC granted Jalen Crutcher and Terry Nolan Jr. - each high-profile, three-star guard recruits -their releases, and it was the prudent move.
UTC operates in a world that ideally they keep hiring rising star head coaches, and are going to be faced with re-hiring a rising star in two to four years.
Not allowing these kids a release would be a pretty big negative in the always-changing college hoops recruiting landscape. Nevermind the fact that if a kid doesn't want to be there, do you really want him there - especially considering that the downfall of UTC hoops last season was not talent but rather chemistry. Now couple this with Mean Gene's report that sources are telling him that Chuck Ester likely will not play next season, and a team that won 48 games in Matt McCall's two years has some serious holes in the roster.
That leaves Paris with a lot to do between the start of the April signing period this week, which goes until May 17.
Welcome to town, Coach. Now go find some players. (And truth be told, we believe that Paris, with his direct and easy style, will do just that.)
Spring game recap
We spent some time on Press Row on Monday recapping some of the spring games.
We will spend some more time on it today, as Will Sammon, who covers Mississippi State for the Clarion-Ledger, will join us around 4:10 to discuss the bizarre ending to the MSU spring game. That scrimmage ended with a Bulldogs defender targeting a Bulldogs running back. And Dan Mullen blowing an O-ring.
Elsewhere around the country, we did see some things that are worth noting. And yes, all of these come with the caveat of "Well, so-and-so had three sacks, so that means our O-line stinks." We choose to stay in the positive, so there's that.
Purdue better enjoy the two years of the Jeff Brohm era. The former Western Kentucky coach opened his first Boilermakers' spring game with a fake flea flicker, as in the running back stopped and faked the pitch back only to turn and run up the middle. It worked to perfection, and here's betting that Purdue is a) much more entertaining this year, b) much more competitive this year and c) Brohm is somewhere like UCLA in two years.
Jarrett Stidham looked the part. The Auburn quarterback looked awesome. Yes, it was against the back-up secondary, but he made the AU wide outs look good and that's a job in and of itself. Ole Miss will be able to sling the football. Shae Patterson is really good, and the collection of wide outs - A.J. Brown, Van Jefferson and D.K. Metcalf each had at least 98 receiving yards in the spring game - is legit.
Oklahoma has a lot of skill-position depth. Yes, replacing Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon will be tough but the stable of backs looked good. Also of note, Baker Mayfield - one of the preseason Heisman favorites - is back at QB, but he was out-played in the spring game by former five-star recruit and Texas A&M transfer Kyler Murray, who was 9-of-13 for 144 yards.
Kevin Sumlin to the white courtesy phone. In need of a quarterback, Sumlin watched as his three leading contenders went 22-of-52 for 335 yards, and that was after Nick Starkel started 3-of-3 for 56 yards.
This and that
* Despite the rain and the delays, last night's celebration and banner hanging at Wrigley Field was cool for the defending champion Cubs. And yes, that is a phrase we were never sure we'd write. (Along with major champion Sergio Garcia, NBA champion Cleveland Cavs and Super Bowl champ Atlanta Falc Oh yeah. Scratch that last one.)
* Masters viewership was down. Significantly. The 7.6 overnight rating Sunday was down 11 percent from last year, 21 percent from 2015 and was the lowest since 2004. Yes, it is a little puzzling, but also of note, according to sportsmediawatch.com, households using televisions were down 10 percent all weekend long. (And yes, they gauge that stat, and yes, that stat will become more and more used - it's known as HUT among the sports media folks - in the days ahead.)
* Cavs lost at Miami in overtime last night. That, coupled with the Boston Celtics' win Monday give the Celtics the inside track to home-court advantage in the East with one game to play.
* Speaking of the Cavs, Skip Bayless is always quick to point out LeBron's negatives. That is always followed by a reality numbers check from the SI Sports Media writer. Bayless tweeted: "No surprise Kyrie out tonite w lingering soreness in his surgically repaired knee. But LeBron suddenly has a strained calf muscle???" Followed by this reality bite: "Last Wednesday the Bayless-led Undisputed drew 106,000 viewers. On the same day/slot: a 1994 episode of Martin drew 219,000 on BET."
* Wil Myers hit for the cycle last night, becoming the second Padres player ever to do it. Coolest part: He needed the triple when he batted in the eighth, and laced one into left-center field. The way he shot out of the box after he hit it, Myers had only triple on his mind. (Side note: Of all the great Padres hitters - and by that we mean Tony Gwynn - the only other San Diego player to hit for the cycle is a name you do not associate with the club. That would be Matt Kemp.)
* And finally there is this. We have heard that Marshawn Lynch wants to come back to the NFL, and we fully believe that Beast Mode will be beastly for at least one more year. Now comes the report that if a deal with his hometown Raiders doesn't work, Lynch wants to play for wait for it the Patriots.
* We are rightly celebrating the individual statistical greatness of Russell Westbrook this week as he becomes the second player to average a triple-double for a season. A lesser-known but almost as equally impressive all-around performance comes from Milwaukee's silent star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Barring a late assist push from Kyrie Irving, the Bucks' Greek Freak will be the first player in NBA history to finish in the top 20 in total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks for a single season. Let that sink in. (Please note that is not averages, but totals.)
Today's questions
It is a True and False Tuesday. So there's that.
But first, did you know that on this day in 1921 the first sports broadcast on the radio happened? Did you know that Apollo 13 was launched on this day in 1970?
The Apple I computer was born on this day in 1976. This was the day in 2004 that Lefty ended his time as the world's best golfer without a major. And to quote Joshua from "War Games," "Shall we play a game."
True or false, the most important goal in spring football is staying healthy.
True or false, the Cavs win the East.
True of false, the two former UTC basketball signees will end up at UMass.
True or false, Giannis Antetokounmpo will be the bets player in the NBA in five years.