Michigan Cheated – How the Rest of the B1G Did Too

Photo: Sports Illustrated

The Big Ten has a cheating problem; but who doesn’t?

If I have to hear the name Connor Stalions one more time I’m going to go full Vincent van Gogh. Yes, the entire saga is hilarious. He’s a total dork who is obsessed with Michigan football to potentially unhealthy levels. Each day the evidence continues to pile up that he went all out to help Jim Harbaugh and his coaching staff cheat.

My question is…who isn’t cheating?

If you’re involved in big money sports, with your and others jobs and livelihoods on the line, of course you’re going to gain whatever competitive edge you can get to win. Michigan definitely went overboard with it, but there’s a lot of glass houses throwing stones in this whole scenario.

So, how could each team in the B1G have maybe “bent the rules” to find any type of advantage they could?

Illinois – Brett Bielema showed Iowa recruits his tattoo to get them to de-commit from the Hawkeyes and come to Champaign.

Indiana – made empty promises to players in the transfer portal that if they came to Bloomington they’d automatically get a spot on Shark Tank.

Iowa – confirmed fair and balanced decision making on playing time; denounced nepotism in all its forms.

Maryland – claimed that there is more to the state than crab cakes and football.

Michigan State – forged documents into showing Sparty the Spartan has never taken PEDs.

Minnesota – assured us all that PJ Fleck definitely isn’t a cult leader.

Nebraska – wondered aloud why the other 132 D1 football coaches don’t wear very cool smocks.

Northwestern – continued to swear, under oath, that they are Chicago’s Big Ten team, despite four other conference team’s alumni being in the top 10 in Chicago’s population.

Ohio State – Ryan Day persisted in his vow that he doesn’t color his hair and beard.

Penn State – promised their fanbase that it’s totally normal for a giant cat to be completely naked other than wearing a tie.

Purdue – leaked text messages from Ryan Day asking Coach K about his hair care routine.

Rutgers – “would be a real shame if you didn’t let the Knights cover here…”

Wisconsin – shut down any investigations that they’re working in an underground lab on another batch of high-motored athletic freaks using a certain family’s genes.

It’s really that simple, everyone cheats. It’s a widespread misdemeanor that is prevalent in big time college sports. Anyone with a few minutes and access to Google could find out all of the above-mentioned elusiveness of NCAA bylaws.

Sunday State of Mind: March 21st-March 27th

Photo: Adobe

We did it, basketball fans. We’ve found ourselves with a Final Four in this year’s March Madness tournament. In this week’s SSM, we outline the blue bloods, Cinderellas, and others left in the tourney.

Villanova is first, a familiar sight
Wildcats never wrong when their coach is Jay Wright
Had a hard path bracket, beat Houston’s tough D
Coach Wright looking for championship number three

Guess who’s back, back again
Duke is back, tell a friend
You heard that right, Coach K still alive
Even better than Wright, K wants to add to his five

Blue blood number three, the Kansas Jayhawks
Continue to win in this college playoff
Bill Self and his fake hair are are ready to roll
He’s two wins away from the ultimate goal

They killed Cinderella, those stupid Tar Heels
Ended St. Peter’s run, stopped their wheels
UNC, Final Four, what an absolute shock
We all wanted to see those feisty Peacocks

Sunday State of Mind: March 14th-March 20th

We made it, folks. Not just to another Sunday State of Mind, but to March Madness. We dedicate the latest edition of SSM to college basketball’s annual tournament.

Only place to start, the St. Peter’s Peacocks
Fifteen seed came to play, major rising stock
Beat second seed Kentucky, and then Murray State
A classic Cinderella, what makes March Madness great

A big name eleven seed making a little noise
Juwan Howard and Michigan, showing some Madness poise
A bad regular season, turning it on at the right time
Seems like only yesterday, the open hand slap crime

It happens every year, dreaded 12-5 upset
This time around Iowa and UConn won’t forget
New Mexico ended UConn, Richmond nipped the Hawks
That’s why when doing your bracket you just can’t go chalk

Hate it or love it, The Dukies still alive
Coach K beat Coach Izzo, the Blue Devils survive
This retirement tour does just not seem to end
With every win Coach K’s career extends

Coach K, Bob Baffert, Brad Stevens: Who Will You Miss Most?

Enormous exodus day on Wednesday. All in a span of approximately six hours, three of the largest names in the coaching/training profession announced that their respective runs were coming to an end.

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who has lead the Blue Devils since 1980, announced next season would be his last. After Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for performance enhancers, Churchill Downs suspended Bob Baffert, horse racing’s most notable name, from entering any races at their track for two years. Lastly, and potentially most surprising, the Boston Celtics announced Brad Stevens would be leaving the bench as head coach and moving to the executive suite as their new Head of Basketball Operations.

All three moves are surprising, some more than others. These three are at the very top of their professions. Any time one of these names are the subject of movement it would be a big deal. We got all three in one day.

But one question remains: who will you miss most?

The thought of a Coach K farewell tour honestly makes me ill. Not to take away from five national championships, 12 Final Fours, and three Naismisth Coach of the Year awards…but can we all agree that the guy is a little full on himself? Like the time he (while on medical leave) brought his team to his house to rip them, or lecturing opposing players in the handshake line after a game, or answering student reports with max smarm and condescension.

What about Bob Baffert? Surely can’t take away from his impeccable resume; seven Kentucky Derby winners, same number of W’s at The Preakness, three victories at the Belmont Stakes, and most importantly two Triple Crowns. CNN does a great job outlining his shady history here, same with SI here, and Horse Racing Planet here. TLDR; the guy always seems to find himself in trouble.

Now Brad Stevens…this is a different story. Widely appreciated as a top basketball mind, Stevens will take on the new challenge of putting the team together off the court instead of coaching them on it. He’s had a pretty high level of success at both the collegiate level as well as the NBA. He made a Final Four/NCAA Championship game with Butler (yes, Butler), and made the playoffs in seven of eight seasons in Boston, three of those years making it to the Eastern Conference Finals. The guy doesn’t even have a “Controversy” section in his Wikipedia page for God’s sake, he’s clean as a whistle.

This seems like a pretty clear cut decision here. Coach K and Bob Baffert can kick rocks, they can both take their weird old guy hair (I’m just bald/jealous) and get the hell out of sport fans’ lives. But Brad Stevens…sweet, innocent, nerdy Brad Stevens…we will all miss you. Even though you’ll still be around, you’ll be behind the scenes, and not trolling the sidelines with a pocket protector and suspenders. We hope that this new position absolutely blows up in your face and you decide to get back on the court and in front of the camera soon, you sweet, baby-faced little scoundrel.