Henry Mertens

Friday, April 29, 2011

It appears a jab Wichita State basketball coach Gregg Marshall threw at Kansas earlier this month may be enough to prevent the Jayhawks from agreeing to schedule the Shockers next season.

Asked during a Q&A session with the Lawrence Rotarians whether Kansas would consider playing Wichita State next season, athletic director Sheahon Zenger was not enthusiastic about the possibility. According to the Lawrence Journal World, Zenger said all scheduling decisions are made in consultation with coach Bill Self, but Marshall referring to the Jayhawks as "chickenhawks" at a recent pep rally certainly didn't help.

"You need to think about what you say, Mr. Marshall," Zenger said. "Don't be flippant about your remarks about the flagship institution."

It's understandable that Kansas would take offense at a barb from Marshall, but perhaps Zenger should be more conscious of the context.

In reinforcing that Wichita State is just as good as many major-conference teams during a rally in honor of the Shockers' NIT championship, Marshall asked the crowd if vanquished foes Alabama and Washington State would like some of his players? Some fans then began yelling that Kansas would also want some of the Wichita State players and one waved a sign that read "Rock Shock Chickenhawk," prompting Marshall to read aloud what he saw.

Even though a series between Kansas and Wichita State would be exciting for fans of both programs, the Jayhawks have every right not to schedule a dangerous in-state foe if they don't believe it's beneficial.

However, to blame it on a comment Marshall made at a pep rally? That seems like a flimsy excuse.

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Tressel’s contract offers Ohio State a clean cut, and all the cover it needs

Whatever happens from here in Ohio State's quest to salvage the 2011 season, the short-term future of the program and the professional viability of its embattled head coach, its chances of restoring Jim Tressel's cred as an honest, upstanding leader who exudes integrity have left the building. On the heels of formal allegations by the NCAA that Tressel repeatedly, deliberately covered up knowledge of violations by multiple players last year, even Ohio is split down the middle on whether "The Senator" should stay or go; the rest of the country has no such doubts.

While the Ohio State haters are out for blood, though, there's more at stake for Tressel than just his team and reputation: The man's on the verge of losing his paycheck, too. And you can forget all that "buyout" business ? if the university sees fit to fire him for cause, it won't owe Tressel a cent:

Jim Tressel could lose a ton of cash ? $3.7 million a year ? if he resigns or is fired over his role in the Tattoogate mess at Ohio State University.

Tressel is scheduled to earn that much annually through 2014, according to his contract obtained by Columbus Business First from Ohio State, but the university could be off the hook for paying him if the coach is found to have violated any of its termination-for-cause provisions.
[…]
Besides the $3.7 million in annual pay, plus other benefits, the contract promises him a job as associate athletics director, at an annual salary of $150,000, when he retires as football coach. It also includes a provision that says Tressel is not entitled to further compensation or benefits if he is fired for cause.

Recall for a moment exactly what it is Tressel is accused of ?�failing to report specific knowledge of likely NCAA violations by multiple players for at least nine months, at one point signing a compliance form that stated he had no knowledge of any possible violations and later keeping his mouth shut when the violations were brought to Ohio State's attention from outside the program last December ? and then note some of the specific provisions in his contract that would allow the university to fire Tressel with cause:

? "Fraud and dishonesty in performance of his duties or responsibilities under this agreement."

? "Fraud or dishonesty in preparing, falsifying, submitting or altering documents or records of Ohio State, NCAA or the Big Ten conference … or permitting, encouraging or condoning such fraudulent or dishonest acts by any other person, provided that Coach had actual knowledge of such fraudulent or dishonest acts or reasonably should have known about such fraudulent or dishonest acts."

? "Counseling or instructing by Coach of any coach, student or other person to fail to respond accurately and fully within a reasonable time to any reasonable request or inquiry concerning a matter relevant to Ohio State's athletic programs…"

? "Failure by Coach to report promptly to the Director in writing any violations known to Coach of governing athletic rules or Ohio State rules and regulations by Coach, the assistant coaches, students or other persons under the direct supervision of Coach."

? "Commission of or participation in by Coach of any act, situation, or occurrence which, in Ohio State's reasonable judgment, brings Coach into public disrepute, contempt, scandal or ridicule or failure by Coach to conform his personal conduct to conventional standards of good citizenship… including but not limited to, acts of dishonesty, misrepresentation, fraud or violence that may not rise to a level warranting criminal prosecution by the relevant authorities."

Tressel signed his current deal in 2006, shortly before Ohio State was ordered to pay $2.4 million for wrongful termination of ex-basketball coach Jim O'Brien, who was fired in 2004 after admitting to loaning a recruit $6,000. I suppose that's what you get when you negotiate a contract at the same time your employer is in the process of losing a court case against a former rogue employee: Boilerplate that reads like a university lawyer looked into the future and described every conceivable offense from half a dozen different, equally damning perspectives.

Ohio State doesn't go before the NCAA Committee on Infractions until Aug. 12, by which point it will be effectively locked into Tressel for at least the 2011 campaign, and it won't learn the actual damage until months later, likely after the regular season. Once the verdict is in, the university will have a decision to make. But if that decision is to drop the ax, it doesn't take a visionary lawyer to see it has the justification it needs to protect the coffers.

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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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Breakfast Buffet: Impact transfer considers Kansas, West Va.

1. Either West Virginia or Kansas could land a potential impact transfer. Former LaSalle power forward Aaric Murray, who averaged 15.2 points and 7.7 rebounds last season as a sophomore, will transfer to either the Jayhawks or the Mountaineers, CBSSports.com reported on Saturday.

2. Dion Waiters, a reserve guard with a promising future, may not return to Syracuse for his sophomore season. Speaking at a clinic at Manhattan College on Saturday, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said Waiters' return to Syracuse is "up in the air" and will be resolved in the next few weeks.

3. Joseph Uchebo's decision to seek a release from his letter of intent with NC State should spark a feeding frenzy for his services. Expect the promising Class of 2011 big man to receive interest from every program with a vacant scholarship and a need for a post player to shore up next season's frontcourt rotation.

4. Even before Klay Thompson announces whether he'll turn pro or return to school, Washington State has lost a significant member of its starting lineup. DeAngelo Casto, the Cougars' best big man last season, will pursue a professional career in part because he needed to make money to support his young son.

5. This Kansas City star piece on Josh Selby may not change your mind about the Kansas freshman's decision to turn pro after a disappointing season, but it will at least help you better understand his choice. Selby hails from a particularly rough part of Baltimore and intends to help make a better life for his mother.

Former Villanova forward Will Sheridan clearly didn't have Guns N Roses in mind when he created a music video entitled "Welcome to the Jungle." Sheridan's "Welcome to the Jungle" is an African-inspired rap that's light on lyrics and hooks and heavy on rhythm.

"A friend called me and told me what was being reported. I was like, 'What? What are you talking about?' I was shocked, just shocked. Just disbelief, total disbelief that those three individuals were involved." -- Former San Diego coach Brad Holland on the point shaving scandal involving two of his former players and a former assistant coach. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Rick Pitino doesn’t expect to have Terrence Jennings next year

Rick Pitino expected Samardo Samuels to return to school last spring even after the center initially entered the draft without an agent, so it surprised the Louisville coach when the projected late second-round pick announced he was NBA-bound.

As a result, Pitino said Tuesday that he's approaching Terrence Jennings' flirtation with the NBA differently than he might have previously. Instead of assuming Jennings will return to school since he's projected to be selected in the late second round if at all, Pitino said he's not expecting to have the junior center back next season.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's not coming back," Pitino told reporters Tuesday. "That's the way I'm looking at it. Last time I talked about Samardo, I said, 'No, don't worry about it.' So as far as I'm concerned, this is the way I'm looking at all these situations."

The comments from Pitino are in stark contrast to what he said about Jennings as recently two weeks ago. On April 13, Pitino told the Louisville Courier-Journal that he believed Jennings would return to Louisville since a lack of an NBA summer league and a condensed training camp would make it more difficult for someone in Jennings' position to make a roster.

"(Jennings) would have to have great workouts for him to go," Pitino said at the time. "I fully expect him to be back. His situation, unlike Samardo's, is not where his parents are in dire need financially."

That Jennings would enter the NBA draft even without an agent came as a bit of a surprise since he averaged a pedestrian 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds on a balanced Louisville team this past season.

Pitino said he'd emailed every NBA general manager telling them to contact him if they have any interest in Jennings. The 6-foot-9 junior has until May 8 to decide whether he'll remain in the draft or return to Louisville for his senior season.

Perhaps one of the reasons Pitino isn't lobbying Jennings to stay another year is because he knows the Cardinals aren't hurting for depth next season, especially in the paint. 6-foot-10 center Gorgui Dieng showed promise off the bench throughout his freshman season and highly touted 6-foot-10 freshman Zach Price also appears capable of making an immediate impact.

"We're very strong at that position," Pitino said. "We've got two outstanding five men in Gorgui Dieng and Zach Price. We're fine with that. And if another young man wants to come and join that, that's fine as well."

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Super Bowl 2011: Christina Aguilera defends national anthem gaffe

? Aguilera repeated line in Star Spangled Banner
? 'I hope the spirit of the anthem still came through'

Christina Aguilera has pleaded for forgiveness after the singer fluffed her performance of the American national anthem at last night's Super Bowl.

Instead of singing "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?" in the four-versed Star Spangled Banner, the pop star sang "What so proudly we watched at the twilight's last gleaming?", changing "hailed" to "watched" the second time around.

Amid a growing Twitter storm, Aguilera said in a statement: "I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through."

According to the Daily Mail, her gaffe matched erroneous lyrics published on Wikipedia, which have since been corrected.

At the Super Bowl in 2004 Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's half-time show created controversy when Timberlake ripped a piece of Jackson's top, revealing the singer's right breast.

Green Bay won their fourth Super Bowl last night with a thrilling 31-25 win over Pittsburgh at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

James Callow

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Super Bowl sees high calorie snack parties ? even at the White House

Barack Obama hosts Super Bowl party after a live interview with one of his biggest critics, Fox News's Bill O'Reilly

Barack Obama is famous for healthy eating, once revealing a liking for arugula ? or rocket ? salad. And Michelle Obama has it made her main mission as first lady to encourage health eating, leading by example in tending her own White House vegetable plot.

But all that went on the back burner for the Super Bowl.

On the menu for the 100 friends, members of Congress and celebrities invited to watch the game with the Obamas were lots of salt-laden, cholesterol-filled goodies, the kind of snacks the bulk of Americans would be tucking into in front of their televisions too.

The menu, released yesterday afternoon by the White House, hours before the party, read: bratwurst, kielbasa, cheeseburgers, deep dish pizza, buffalo wings, German potato salad, Snyder's crisps and pretzels, twice-baked potatoes and ice-cream. The single concession to Michelle's healthy-eating campaign: salad.

Beers on offer were from the home state of the Green Bay Packers ? Wisconsin's Hinterland Pale Ale and Amber lager ? and the Pittsburgh Steelers ? Yuengling Traditional and Light Lager.

Before joining the party, Obama sat down for a 15-minute live interview with Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, as part of the build-up to the Super Bowl. Given the estimated 100 million who watched the Super Bowl last year, O'Reilly claimed it would be "the most watched interview of all time".

Although O'Reilly is near-hysterical in his hostility towards Obama on his nightly show, he was relatively restrained and polite in his questioning, which ranged from Egypt to the state of the economy.

Both men only seemed to come to life towards the end when they began to talk about the Super Bowl. O'Reilly seemed to suggest that Obama, a basketball fanatic, did not know much about football. Obama was insistent that he did and, unlike Tony Blair's unconvincing claim to be a Newcastle fan, demonstrated in detail that he knew all about 'black and gold' and 'cheeseheads'.

O'Reilly asked if the president would be able to devote his full attention to the game, given he had invited 100 people ? including the likes of Jennifer Lopez ? to the White House. Obama said he would mingle with them until the game started and then that would be it: the focus, he said, would be on watching the game.

Ewen MacAskill