After reading the latest on the A&M football scandals, I started to wonder just where are Ozcat, Mr. Mo Jo Rising, and their fellow travelers.  It's been many a moon since there's been a live sighting of them.  Have they left the Buckeye State?  This would be consistent with the internet rumor that they've moved to Michigan and are now disguising themselves as weasels in blue and yellow clothing.  

[Note: Wolverines are the biggest members of the weasel family.]

I used to argue against that kind of rhetoric. However after last year's beat-down, I don't have much to say.

If you're going to stand at the top of the pedestal and scream your loyalties to the masses, you should be there to help with the clean-up when it crumbles too.  The silence tells you all you need to know about "The Best Fans in the Land"...

For the record, I absolutely expect Toledo to have a real shot at winning that game.  There have been examples in the recent past that a MAC / O$U game has come down to a single series, bad call or fluke play (Miami, BG, Marshall, Ohio)...Teams like Navy have taken them to the wire too.

With either a True Freshman or Bauserman at the helm and very litle experience at WR (not to mention the fact that their fan base is well known to not deal well with adveristy during games ) they are vulnerable. 

What do you expect an OSU fan to say on a hostile board, I keep out of any OSU discussions cause there is nothing to be gained by it.

But yeah it does suck to see this happening and you wonder how much is true or false and what else is waiting in the shadows.  It also sucks because you know other schools probably have had similar instances happen that haven't been reported, but as it is OSU they are under a tighter microscope and due to their success it created more memorabilia into the hands of their athletes.  You would assume that at a school where you might have only cashed in once in your fours years that you would probably be more apt to hold on to it than sell it.  What ends up coming out of the car thing will probably really be the nail in the coffin though if things come out as people expect.

I personally believe that Tressel was worried more about his players getting caught up in the drugs part than anything, but he still made a grave mistake and unfortunately for him his players put him in such a position that he would be the main victim of their choices.  However I don't fully blame him because in a town like Columbus you know that shady and gray area stuff has been going on for decades, its not his fault there was already a culture here and it shouldn't be his job to stamp it out.

As for the future success of OSU I see them taking a slight downturn, but nothing on the level of Michigan, as long as they end up keeping the current coaching staff.  Because OSU is always going to draw talent because of their success in getting players drafted and having them be successful in the NFL.  Of course any post-season ban will be the real tester, but I doubt they will be out more than 2 years which shouldn't affect a recruit all that much, the current players would be hurt more by that.

Do people in Columbus (aka Buckeye fans) still think this is about tattoos?  Are they that clueless?

As I stated in another thread that you have been active in -- This is not about tattoos.  This is about lying and cheating.  Tressel cheated and then he lied about it.   He played players he knew had jeopardized their eligibility.  He played players knowing that had the NCAA known what he knew the players would not have been allowed to dress.  This is not about players selling merchandise.  This is about a coach playing players that should have been on the sidelines.  This is about a coach hiding information in order to give his team a better chance on winning.  This is about lying and cheating.  Tressel lied and cheated.  OSU lied and cheated.  Had they admitted from the beginning about the trading of tattoos for merchandise there would have been a slap on the wrist to the players (3-4 game suspension) and that would have been the end of it.  But they lied about it - which put Tressel in the cross hairs, and that gave reason for the NCAA to dig deeper.  Which has now led to (at the least) what appears to be "car-gate" - which will lead to the harshest penalties because of LOIC.  

Tattoos?  Do you really think the NCAA would be looking at USC level punishment for tattoos?

Well stated CC...

It's also about an entire administration purposely "not knowing"...Walk up to any student on campus and they can tell you the car thing has been going on forever bc they see what the high profile players are driving.  The fact that Doug Archie is still sitting in his seat as Compliance Director and Gene Smith is still the AD, tells you all you need to know about how serious Gee is about "scrubbing" the system.  They've been completely exposed and still spit out meaningless propoganda.  The new NCAA leadership isn't going to sit still for the arrogance any longer...The hammer is coming...

We will just have to wait and see on that.  As Piney posted on another thread, some of you hoping for USC type penalties may be very disappointed. 

Which is it? 

I was just saying that in one breath you said it was going on everywhere but at the same time there may be nothing to find at O$U.

I understand there are "good deals" made all the time to extend the dealerships relationships, but those deals should be similar to those that family / friends of the delaership already get.  I loved how everyone was celebrating when the Dispatch had to report that Gibson did indeed pay for his Chrysler 300.  Problem is he paid literally $10K less than the value of that same car if it were purchased today all these years later.

And good deals still doesn't touch on Pryor / Clarett's "loaners"...I don't care how anyone wants to justify it...That situation is simply not something the normal public has access to...

So we all agree, it is not about tattoos.  Car gate withstanding, if Tressel had played it straight he would have a job and the players would have a slap on the wrist for the tattoos.  But he didn't, OSU didn't.  They lied to the NCAA and in doing so, allowed themselves to play players that should have had a seat - thus cheating - and that is what has led to today.  It is not about tattoos.  It is about lying and, in doing so (regardless of the rationale for lying), gaining (or given some of the competition) maintaining a competitive advantage.  OSU hopes it is not about cars in anyway.  The lying and cheating will get them close to "USC" sanctions.  My guess is if it is lying, cheating and Pryor's cars - they will equal USC sanctions.  Car-gate will put OSU above and beyond USC sanctions.  We'll have to wait and see.  I'd expect the AD to be gone as part of the "bargaining/scrubbing."  But enough with it is "only tattoos."

Athletes (football) are barely given enough to cover their housing expenses off campus, and their meal plan is not nearly enough to feed them (especially my kid).   If they manage their funds closely they may have a little bit left over after housing expenses  to offset what is lacking on the meal plan.  These guys are not able to get a job due to school and training schedules.    It is no wonder these guys are tempted by the easy money.

I see alot on this board about how these guys are getting a "free" education.  Believe me, it is far from free.  These guys work their butts off.  Also to note that their scholarship is not "guaranteed" it is re-evaluated on a yearly basis.

+1. The "free" education thing is complete malarkey. They are indentured servants. In the case of TOSU the athletes bring in HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of dollars per year for the university. In exchange they are excused from paying tuition and given a meager stipend for year-around grueling work. I think it is pretty obvious that this system has evolved such that it is no longer sustainable. I'm not sure how this can be done, but somehow the players have to be compensated for their efforts. Or, perhaps a NFL minor league is needed.