ESPNs Latest trio

[sandgk]

Playing Clean-Up

First - thanks to our mods for getting the 2 threads joined.

Some loose ends --

This has been asked by many - ysubuck most recently:

Who the hell is Jack Tucker?

He was a 5th year senior on the 2002 roster - wore number 48.

buckeye75:

One question. In the original investigation, did they not interview some of the player on the team? If so, it is plausible that Drew and Pagac have already been interviewed.

Plausible -- probably not. NCAA came in on a narrower focus last time. Unless Carter and Pagac were part of the same class that prompted the 2003 on-campus investigation in re tutoring / Clarett / re-taking tests, there would not have been a reason for such an interview.
Is it beyond the bounds of possibility that they were interviewed, almost certainly not, just not likely.


Personal Note:
I will never begrudge someone having the good luck of getting into a cushy gig.
My best ever summer job consisted of placing orange cones in front of "primo" parking spaces. Parking was tight and the lot was near the commerce center downtown. I reserved spaces for the same individuals each week. These same folks gave me tips when getting to park just where they wanted. The best tips back in the '70s equivalent ranged between $15 and $25 per day per space (nearly a $100 mark in todays money), more often it was $15 to $25 per week - at the end of the week. Not to worry there were enough of these punters to make this "hard work" rewarding. The only hardship was dealing with the hurt feelings of other drivers who saw the "close-to" spaces but knew (from experience) they would have to park at a satellite lot or in a non-primo space. You sat down for most of the day and the other parkers gave you their (regular) fees. A pretty low stress, very high return gig. Oh yes, I also received double the then minimum wage for each day I sat on my ass.
The gig paid for my books for 2 years, lots of dining out and bar time -- plus a trip to the Med. Sweet.

 

[Steve19]

From MinnesotaBuckeye:

I'm the journalism prof. I have marked Mr. Wickersham's article and have given him a "D." (I'm an easy grader.)

See my markings below.

By Seth Wickersham
ESPN The Magazine


The NCAA is now interested in talking with former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett

(Seth, you need to improve significantly between now and the end of the semester, if you expect to pass my course. If you are considering a career in journalism, I suggest you change your mind.)


ESPN The Magazine's Tom Friend and David Fleming contributed to this report.

Steve19 gets a Great Post Award.

Thanks, Mili and IrontonBuck. I didn't realize there was such a thing!

 

[rr1954]

What am I missing?

I'm confused! Are there any NEW facts in this article? Any times, dates, guilty parties? I'm sure jocks are treated well at OSU and every high school and college in the country. So what! JT was in his 2nd year at OSU when the punk hit town. So far I have seen NO names, dates, etc. to link either JT or the program to the special treatment. What matters is not the seriousness of the charges but the veracity of the charges. Here I am not even sure I understand the charges! ESPN is trying desparately to get back up for its stories and they are looking pretty sorry right now.

 

[buckeyefool]

I
But the rest is scary. Ohio State has a responsibility to maintain reasonable control - and if Clarett is driving different luxury vehicles every week, someone is going to notice that. Reasonable control would require the coaches and athletic officials to make some kind of inquiry. .

Who said the coaches didn't? Just because Drew Carter didn't know of the coaches questioning Him having a new car every week doesn't mean it didn't happen. What should tressel and the coaches do? Have a team meeting everytime that a player has a new car a explain to the entire team where that car came from and all the background behind it. I don't think so. I think it's time that We all quit reading into the articles and just wait for the NCAA to make an annoucement

 

[ohiobuck94]

Penn St should be investigated for turning out such lousy journalists Friend or at least offer the students in their jounalism classes tutors to help write legitimate articles. :)

 

[sandgk]

dont worry about disrespect.....this is a major episode and people are going to have opinions....believe me....this subject is only going to get more heated the next couple of month....

just put me in the court of....if something wrong is going on....i want to know about it and i want the osu to be 100% clean....i dont care if other programs are doing it.....

Contrarian opinions should be valued as this unfolds. You are saying things some folks (including me) probably don't like to hear. We should not blindly decry each and every "source" ESPiN drags up. Though I don't agree with you on how bleak things things are -- or may become -- testing the statements made in recent articles demands more than a knee-jerk dismissal.

 

[NoVABuck]

People need to start considering that the see no evil, hear no evil approach is an NCAA violation. The statement by Carter that is the most damaging is when he said that everyone saw Clarett driving different cars, and wondered how the coaches wouldn't have noticed. Assumming that these are accurate statements by Drew Carter (and other than the fact that it was an ESPN story, I have no reason to believe he's not telling the truth), then Ohio State and Coach Tressel would be guilty of lack of institutional control. This is the smoking gun I was scared of... someone without an axe to grind. Tudors writing papers for players and signs of improper gifts in plain sight? This has me very concerned for the first time.

Geiger said that the NCAA already knows about all the cars Clarett was driving. They belonged to his friend, his brother (the drug dealer), his cousin, his girlfriend, etc...

Also, Geiger basically encouraged the "reporters" at his last press conference to look into the Monte Carlo situation. He told them to go ask the people at the Car Store. When will that happen? Wouldn't that make for a fairly decent story since no one really knows what happened? Oh, I guess that would actually require doing some real investigating.

 

[ohiobuck94]

Scapegoating is a system of control by those who have power such as ESpin and those who avoid responsibilty for their actions. It increases fear. It turns person against person. It blames the victim (tOSU)instead of those who violate the rules. It avoids serious analysis of the problem, and it directs blame toward the university, tutors and boosters. It is expressed in the Espin through unsubstantiated claims of cheating, for example, or in the presentation of the university as the one who is responsible for the players's willful actions of violating NCAA, university and team rules.

 

[martinss01]

People need to start considering that the see no evil, hear no evil approach is an NCAA violation. The statement by Carter that is the most damaging is when he said that everyone saw Clarett driving different cars, and wondered how the coaches wouldn't have noticed. Assumming that these are accurate statements by Drew Carter (and other than the fact that it was an ESPN story, I have no reason to believe he's not telling the truth), then Ohio State and Coach Tressel would be guilty of lack of institutional control. This is the smoking gun I was scared of... someone without an axe to grind. Tudors writing papers for players and signs of improper gifts in plain sight? This has me very concerned for the first time.

yep, that is exactly what went through my mind when i read what carter had said. and now i fear, we have turned the corner. we have gone from disgraced cry babies to legit players speaking out.

ok, so the cars can be explained away. ok, so the tutors can be explained away. ok, so the cushy jobs can be explained away. so we have a legit explaination for why every explosion has taken place. this is good and will make the ncaa go away. BUT, no matter how good our explaination and no matter how true they are. it isn't going to take the spotlight away from the raging explosions. trials are determined in the media, not in a courtroom.

we may be facing a situation here where no matter how innocent we are, we're still guilty. perception is reality.

 

[billmac91]

i wander if theres any correlation bewtween chris vance and drew carter.........2 wr's coming out about this

 

[ohiobuck94]

If Espin says it's true then it must be true.

 

[JXC]

I want to know how old these quotes are from other players. I want to know what other out of context quotes ESPN has ready to fire out there in the next few weeks. So far it seems like it is about 50:1 on people players who think this is rediculous and players who think this is the truth. And even those who think parts of this are the truth don't believe it all.

 

[FKAGobucks877]

I want to know why people are so upset about this article - aside from it being one more turd in the pile. I mean, none of these three said they took money. None of these three said they took anything. They admit to working "cushy" jobs. We've already established that isn't an NCAA infraction. Carter as much as admitted that the whole car thing was unusual, as Clarett was the only one driving nice rides. Pagac refers to tutors crossing the line, but the example he gave is not over the line - it's perfectly legit. I'm as worried as the next guy, but I definitely don't have DiHard's "doom and gloom" outlook on this. This isn't new information, it's just info from different sources. And the info itself isn't bad. It's written with espn's typical negative slant, but these players are very obviously talking about rumors. Yeah, they heard of that - who hasn't? I know I have. But I can't give you specific examples. Can they? They don't seem to be willing to. This is just another bullshit story that absolutely no - repeat, NO - substance. This article means nothing, and accomplishes nothing, aside from further tarnishing the reputation of my beloved university.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

This article is like the last twenty I have read, alot of "I saw this and done that" but no connection with the university.

If a tutor gave a kid a rough draft, is that ethical on his part?...no, but is it grounds for OSU to be once again cast in a bad light?

How in the world can the athletic department control what a tutor does for a player when they are aware of the rules and have signed an agreement to abide by the rules, I think it does happen, it happens on every campus nation wide....

The car issue is a non issue, Just because some guys on the team don't know how MOC got his numerous cars, does not mean there was wrong doing on OSU's part, but it has been investigated by the NCAA and no wrong doing was found the first time.

This article more or less is just like the other articles, hearsay, accusations and opinions......I think ESPN is interviewing everyone who played in the last ten years, I am sure they will get a few comments from former players.

Take it for what its worth and thats not much.

 

[gregorylee]

Here is an article that describes a little deeper who Jack Tucker was.

http://ohiostatebuckeyes.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/040300aaa.html

Football Completes Second Practice of Spring


Rain forces the Buckeyes to move Monday's practice inside


April 3, 2000

The Ohio State football team held its second practice of the spring Monday but was forced indoors by the weather. Practice was held in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center indoor practice facility.

The Buckeyes were to practice in full pads Tuesday but will wait until Wednesday to avoid another day of inclement weather.

"I want to make sure we go outside on the first day in pads," John Cooper, Ohio State head coach, said.

Cooper said his squad is coming together well early this spring.

"We have good tempo," Cooper said. "There was quite a bit of carryover from last year. The attitude and work ethic so far has been good."

One of the areas of concern this spring is the tight end position. Cooper said there has been movement to try to find some depth at that position.

"Tim Cheatwood (Jr., Cleveland, Ohio/ Benedictine) and Julius Yeast (So., Harrodsburg, Ky./Harrodsburg) have been moved to tight end," Cooper said. "We are trying to get these two guys ready so they can play."





The offensive unit again worked on a variety of offensive formations, including the option. Cooper said there will be some use of the option but other experiments will be tried as well.

"We have an athletic quarterback in Steve Bellisari (Jr., Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton) so we are going to do some things to take advantage of his ability," Cooper said. "If you are going to do any experimenting, you do it in the spring."

One of the Buckeyes who is getting his first look at spring ball is junior college linebacker Jack Tucker (Jr., Cypress, Calif.) the transfer from Cerritos, C.C.

Tucker said he is getting all the support needs so far.

"When I have questions the coaches are more than happy to help," Tucker said. "The guys also are right there as well."

Tucker said it has been a difficult transition from the junior college ranks academically as well as on the football field.

"It is a lot more intense," Tucker said. "The coaches and classes are much more demanding. There is a lot more learning going in practice. There is so much more going on everyday."

Tucker plans to make his mark on the defensive unit.

"I think I bring a great deal of intensity and leadership to the table," Tucker said. "The linebacker is like the quarterback. You have to take on a similar leadership role."

Another interested party was in attendance Monday getting a look at the 2000 Buckeyes. Former OSU tailback Eddie George (1992-95) took in some of the action. George is back on campus taking classes this spring.