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NCAA discussions tend to veer into pointlessness very early because of everyone’s deeply held biases and lack of time to actually look into specific cases.
I see lots of complaints about the inconsistency in the way the enforcement process, and they are somewhat valid. Different cases do yield different results, but they are handled by different people, too, because the makeup of the infractions committee changes over time.
We usually don’t take the time to look at all the variables because that is inconvenient.
But I do find it silly that so many people mock vacating wins.
Yes, the feelings and memories remain despite a result being overturned, but there is some meaning in removing them from the record book.
If the banner didn't matter they wouldn't put it on the side of the building pic.twitter.com/LAFW6cem7p
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) June 15, 2017
Being able to brag about wins officially does matter — otherwise schools wouldn’t do it.
So while it’s not the biggest punishment, it is something. And the alternative to that is nothing — when people cheat, seems like something should be done, right?
Ohio State goes to great lengths to avoid claiming wins for both the men’s basketball team and the football team that have been vacated.
That is a lasting legacy of Jim O’Brien, Paul Biancardi, Boban Savovic and, yes, Jim Tressel and Terrelle Pryor (among others).
Vacated wins come up whenever we start talking about history, so the whole concept probably is something.
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I’m sure Ohio State would rather be able to claim 11 Final Fours than 10, not to mention 49 wins over Michigan in football as opposed to 48.
(Ironically, Louisville also has 10 official Final Four appearances, but the Cardinals could lose two.)
Most media organizations still count everything even if the schools don’t, which means figuring out which one is “correct” can be a headache (I guess technically it’s both) and there is frequently conflicting information out there as a result.
Maybe this matters more to me than the average person, but like I said…. it’s a slow day…
Earlier this week I wrote about how Ohio State's new men's basketball coach is walking into a similar situation to women's coach Kevin McGuff four years ago.
Yesterday it grew even more similar when Chris Hotlmann suspended Derek Funderburk, a redshirt freshman forward from Lakewood, Ohio.
Funderberk was a four-star recruit last year. He took a redshirt and can be viewed as a potential surprise player this fall for a team that isn’t going to have a lot of options.
RELATED: What Chris Holtmann can learn from Kevin McGuff about jumpstarting Ohio State basketball
The length of the suspension wasn’t announced. It was attributed only to a “failure to meet team expectations.”
McGuff also had to lay out some discipline early in his OSU tenure, suspending Raven Ferguson for the first three games of his first season in 20013-14…
With the Cincinnati Bengals offseason program winding down, Jay Morrison brings us a story about Trey Hopkins.
He might end up being one of the most important players on the team — if he makes the roster.
Such is life in the NFL, especially as an offensive lineman.
READ MORE: Hopkins can be answer for multiple questions on Bengals O-line
Linemen compete for arguably the most exclusive spots in a league where rosters are still ridiculously small, but given the prevalence of injuries, the likelihood your sixth or seventh guy plays significant snaps is high.
Coach Paul Alexander likes the progress he has seen from young tackles Jake Fisher and Cedric Ogbuehi, but it looks like the backup spots are wide open.
With Ogbuehi and Fisher improving and Boling and Bodine firmly entrenched, the best shot for Hopkins – or possibly T.J. Johnson, Christian Westerman or rookie fifth-round pick J.J. Dielman – to fight for a starting spot will be at right guard, where Andre Smith is learning the ropes after playing seven seasons at tackle.
The offensive line might be the most important factor in whether or not this is the last year of the Marvin Lewis era in Cincinnati…
Finally we've reached a big weekend in Cincinnati, where the Pete Rose statue will be unveiled outside Great American Ball Park.
It might be a little bittersweet as this week news that Rose's request to be made eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot has been rejected by the Hall's board of directors.
RELATED: Hall says no to Rose
I’ve yet to see why this decision was made. I see making him eligible for the Hall — with election by no means guaranteed — in a much different light than actually being reinstated for MLB.
What do you think?
Meanwhile, this is also as good a time as any to look toward the future: Here are some of the statistical leaders in the Reds organization, including both current and former Dragons.
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