Will Bob Stoops Stay in Oklahoma or Head to Ohio State?

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It seems everyone wants to give their opinion on Jim Tressel and Ohio State. Did Sweater Vest really do something wrong? Is Terrell Pryor really going to remain with the school for the 2011 season? But those are not the biggest questions facing the Buckeyes' football program.

The one question on everyone's mind is who will be the next head coach at Ohio State University? If you have spent a lot of time around the blogosphere over the past few weeks you've read names like Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini, Boise State head coach Chris Petersen, former Florida Gators' head coach Urban Meyer and a few others.

But one name who continues to be mentioned in connection with just about every big job that comes open is Oklahoma Sooners' head coach, Bob Stoops.

When Meyer decided he was done at the University of Florida, rumors began flying that Stoops was going to be the man to replace him. A rumor Stoops quickly shot down.


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No matter how many big jobs come open, Stoops has continued to stay loyal to the University of Oklahoma, making me wonder if there really is a college football or NFL job that would finally uproot the long time Sooners' head coach from Norman.

That one position may have just come open. Say what you want about the previous coaching vacancies at Florida, Michigan or even the Dallas Cowboys, a job he was also rumored to have interest in, none of these jobs were big enough for Stoops to leave where a place he's become all too familiar with.

But after all the drama in Columbus and after Tressel's shocking resignation, the head coaching position at THE Ohio State University could be one that's too tempting for Stoops not to consider.

The man in Norman is 129-31, seven Big 12 championships, and one National Championship. But not only that, you might remember Stoops dismissing star quarterback Rhett Bomar in 2006 after he was involved in a scandal. Showing he's not afraid to kick star players to the curb for the betterment of the university and the program itself. Something Tressel failed to do.

Fans in Norman fear the day their head coach leaves for greener pastures but most of them have gotten to a point where they don't believe Stoops will ever leave. They sweated the Florida job for awhile until he came out and denied he was going anywhere.

Now that Ohio State is available, all Stoops has to do is show just a little bit of interest in the job and it may as well be a foregone conclusion. He is one of the best college football coaches in the game right now and arguably one of the best in college football history.

The one thing which could keep Stoops from even stepping foot in Columbus is how hard the NCAA is going to come down on the program. Does he want to take over at Ohio State when he could be limited to how many scholarships he can offer recruits or a ban from post season bowl games for a set amount of years?

There may be too much going on in Columbus and too much drama for Stoops to put all of their problems aside.

The head coach at Oklahoma University has a good thing going in Norman, Oklahoma and it's a job he's been comfortable in since he was hired back in 1999. He's turned down opportunities in the past to leave and prove he can win somewhere else.

Will Stoops accept the challenge if Ohio State comes calling or will they be just another big job he turns down?

Is Dez Bryant Considering Suing the NCAA Over His Suspension from Oklahoma State?

Dez Bryant just can not keep his name out of the news.

After being kicked out of an upscale mall in the Dallas area to owing several thousand dollars to a jeweler, it just seems wherever Bryant is drama is not far behind.

On Friday morning, according to a report from The Ben and Skin show on 103.3 FM ESPN Radio in Dallas, Bryant is apparently kicking around the idea of suing the NCAA over his suspension from Oklahoma State.

It apparently has to do with all the NCAA violations at Ohio State and head coach Jim Tressel only getting a give game suspension for withholding information and lying about what he knew. Bryant seemingly did the same about a relationship with former NFL star Deion Sanders and got handed a 12 game suspension.

If this is something he is seriously going after it's absolutely the wrong move. It will not do him any good to pursue this right now and it won't change the fact he was suspended and virtually forced to jump ship from college to the pros.

The NCAA is not going to apologize for the suspension they handed him and it's not going to change anything in how they handle the Ohio State situation. Nothing good comes of this so I'm hoping this is nothing but a rumor.


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Jim Tressel's Apologies, Mistakes Will Be Swept Under the Rug

Jim Tressel lied. It's really as simple as that.

Over the last few weeks, I've watched my twitter feed and have seen everything from those who believe the Ohio State head coach should be fired to those who think this is a "non story."

At first, the university wanted to suspend him for only three games until Tressel felt the heat from the media and subsequently put himself on a five-game suspension. The same amount of games his five players were suspended for selling merchandise to Edward Rife, the owner of a tattoo parlor, who at the same time was being investigated for drug trafficking.

Even with Tressel's self-sanctioned suspension, those outside the university couldn't imagine the NCAA would allow him to set his own time away from the sidelines. It would set a bad precedence. Wouldn't it?

During his first press conference, Tressel seemed to be apologizing because he had to not because he truly felt remorse for not telling anyone he knew about his players selling the merchandise more than eight months before the sale took place. It was almost like he couldn't believe this was a big deal.

He wasn't alone as Ohio State fans took to twitter and every other social media outlet to voice their support, claiming people wanted to see him fired.

Um, he lied.

So here was Tressel sitting in front of media cameras right next to athletic director Gene Smith and gave a half hearted attempt at explaining why he never said anything in the first place. Nevermind the fact the US Attorney's office came to Ohio State to let them know the merchandise had been found in Rife's possession during their investigation.

Tressel could have easily come clean right then. He knew full well where the merchandise had come from and he knew who sold it to him. Yet he still remained quiet.

Chris Cicero, a Columbus based attorney and former Ohio State player in the 1980's, emailed Tressel to let him know quarterback Terrelle Pryor and four other teammates had not only sold the items but had received free tattoos from Rife's store.

Tressel was asked about those emails during his first press conference and whether or not he had forwarded them to anyone else. He nodded his head but was cut off by Smith before Tressel could elaborate.

Now we find out Tressel did in fact forward the emails he received from Cicero. In fact, they were forwarded to Ted Sarniak who is the Pryor's mentor and a local businessman in Pryor's hometown of Jeannette, Pennsylvania.

He lied. Again.

So, another press conference was held by Ohio State with Tressel, Smith, and interim head coach Luke Fickell who will take over the coaching duties for the first five games of the 2011 season.

Except this press conference wasn't to address the head coaching lying for the second time in a matter of a few weeks, it was only to address the team's positions heading in to spring practice. Though Tressel did apologize for "letting people down," the school made it clear they would not address the NCAA's ongoing investigation.

What happens from here? Well, popular opinion among those who root for Ohio State and those who see them from afar is this will be swept under the rug, the NCAA will keep the self-imposed five game suspension on Tressel, and we won't hear anything else about it.

There are others who believe this will or should cost the head coach his job but I think we all know that isn't going to happen.

Recruiting violations are a big deal to the NCAA. Lying to them, twice, apparently is not.

This is what we've come to expect from a governing body who does everything but. There will never be another "death penalty" like was levied upon SMU. Something the school is still trying to recover from almost 25 years later.

They won't make an example of Jim Tressel and the school won't fire him. He's too important to both parties.

This will just be a slap on the wrist and a stern, "don't ever do it again."


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Auburn's Pay-to-Play Should Not be the Start of a New Trend

The Auburn Tigers are in trouble again though I'm not sure I'm all that surprised.

According to ESPN's Chris Low, four former Auburn football players said they received thousands of dollars in cash from boosters from not just Auburn but other schools as well.

"Somebody came to me, I don't even know this person and he was like, 'we would love for you to come to LSU and he gave me a handshake and it had five hundred dollars in there," said Stanley McClover one of the players who alleges being paid by the Tigers.

An HBO special, set to air tonight, talks about McClover along with Chaz Ramsey, Troy Reddick and Raven Gray being paid as part of a pay-for-play at Auburn University.

This news has once again started a debate about whether or not players should be payed, legally, to play the game. Those who are for it seem to only want to pay the top recruits. What they don't understand is the snowball affect it would cause.

Let's start out with the fact these athletes, at least the best recruits in each sport, are given full ride scholarships to these schools. According to a USA Today report, an athletic scholarship in some of the top FBS schools holds an average value of $27,923.

That same report also says the players are also given complimentary tickets to family and friends, tutoring, and other academic support.

Here's where the argument takes a turn that most either don't or refuse to think about. You can't start a "pilot program" to only a certain amount of universities and pay just a few select players.

The moment schools start paying players is the moment a court battle ensues over why they aren't paying every student athlete on campus.

All the talk right now surrounds college football athletes. Whether it's Auburn, Ohio State, USC, or any other school around the country, this is where the conversation currently lies. Sure there will be media members who will tell you it's time to start paying athletes, but the "athletes" they're referring to are football players.

They won't tell you softball, volleyball, track and field, and other sports we may not think about should be paying their athletes. You won't find one major name in media saying something like that on Twitter or anywhere else.

Here's another part of the argument. How many schools can really afford to pay their players? Half? A quarter of them, perhaps?

Most schools wouldn't have to kill off other sports just to be able to afford what most are talking about. Is that fair to the athletes who went from having a full ride scholarship in their respective sport to scrambling just to be qualified for student loans?

We can debate this topic all we want but it's not something that will ever happen and for one simple reason. The moment universities start paying players in one sport or two, there will be a court battle that will ensue because you can't just pay this sport or that sport and not pay all the rest.

Schools don't have the money for this and the NCAA will never put this into affect. The USA Today report I cited earlier made a great point. If you start paying these players they go from students to employees.

It sets a dangerous precedence colleges don't want to even approach.

The one question no one has been able to answer, no matter how many times it's asked, is how much do you want to pay these athletes. On top of the scholarships, worth roughly $30,000 per year, how much are you wanting to pay them?

That's a question which may never be answered. There will never be a dollar amount put on the value of the average college athlete.

The moment that happens is the moment the college experience changes forever.


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