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: May 29th-June 4th

Photo: Wallpaper Access

While we all anxiously await Game 2 between the Nuggets and Heat, why don’t we kill some time with a little SSM?

Big hockey blog, talk about it all the time
First game of the Stanley Cup, simply was sublime
Vegas dominated Florida in a bad game one
Hope the Panthers win tomorrow, keep the series fun

Speaking of Sin City, Raiders in the news
Tom Brady’s a part owner now, guy just cannot lose
The question’s always there, makes defenses perspire
Will TB12 come back again, or will he stay retired?

Remember Caitlin Clark? Legend is still growing
Playing in a PGA Pro-Am, yeah she’s going
In the age of NIL, hope she got the bag
She’ll go from hunting buckets, to hunting pin flags

Sunday State of Mind: March 27th-April 2nd

Photo: Reddit

Caitlin Clark’s run is done, Opening Day came and went, and more in this week’s SSM.

Women’s hoops got all the shine, and it was well deserved
Caitlin Clark’s a superstar, her ending threw a curve
LSU just could not miss, rolled on the Hawkeyes
Bayou Bengals are the champs, to the top they rise

In the other bracket, the men were playing too
Aztecs beat the Owls, and UCONN beat the U
The final is tomorrow, Huskies looking strong
If SDSU end up champs, wouldn’t it feel wrong?

Baseball’s back and holy shit, are the rule changes great
The pitch clock makes the pitchers hurry up to the plate
Other changes too have sped the game up big time
If they keep this up the sport will be back to sublime

In the NBA, rough look for Minnesota
If their goal was being bad, Sunday they met their quota
The biggest loss in history, an L to the Trailblazers
Might as well just sell the team, someone call the appraiser

Sunday State of Mind: February 20th-February 26th

Photo: Wallpaper Crafter

We’re writing about anything other than another dumbass Jake Paul fight in this week’s SSM.

Manny Machado, got himself the bag
Eleven for 350, waive all those green flags
Staying with the Padres, not going anywhere
Sending him a DM now to ask if he will share

Crazy week in basketball, college and the pros
Sixers and the Celtics is the first place that we’ll go
Jayson Tatum hit a dagger with 1.3 left
Embiid’s shot went in, but late, 70 foot heft

Earlier this week, Kings and Clippers scored a bunch
Went to two OTs, almost played ’til brunch
Three hundred fifty-one points were scored between the two
Kings won in a thriller, Clippers were subdued

In the college game, Iowa just did it all
Huge comeback for both teams, hero basketball
The men came back from 13 with 1:34 left
Caitlin Clark a buzzer beater, Indiana effed

Sunday State of Mind: August 29th-September 4th

Photo: Wallpaperup

It’s a special Labor Day edition of SSM! Take a break from the unofficial end of summer and look back at the week that was in sports.

The biggest story of the week, college football is back
Full slate of games during week one, games we did not lack
We’ll dive in more below, but are just glad to see
Tailgates, school bands and football all over our TVs

Weirdest and most on brand game, the Iowa Hawkeyes
Worst offense of the week, they surely won the prize
A final score of 7-3, a close game with no ease
Even stranger, no touchdowns, one field goal two safeties

Biggest matchup of the week, Irish and the Buckeyes
Game was closer than we thought, ND a nice surprise
Ohio State overwhelmed, finally pulled away
Won 21-10, but both teams came to play

Poor Virginia Tech, upset city in week one
Old Dominion hosted them and got the job done
The Hokies may have overlooked and thought it’d be a breeze
The Monarchs took advantage, brought them to their knees

Our final note this week, we saved the best for last
Serena Williams is now done, her career in the past
She lost the US Open, made it to the third round
Even without a tourney win, she still deserves a crown

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

Calvin Ridley Even Tweets Like a Bettor

The house always wins.

Some wild news dropped late Monday from the NFL; the league released a memo in which they announced a minimum yearlong suspension for Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley for betting on games last season.

Ridley had been on leave from the team while the alleged betting took place, so there’s not a whole lot in terms of him receiving inside information or having any distinct advantage. Even still, this is a huge no no for an active player to bet on a game in any league. We all know how Pete Rose has been blackballed from the baseball Hall of Fame for his wagering history. Ridley, of course, is not exactly at the level Rose was, but still a major infraction.

If anyone payed an ounce of attention to Ridley’s Twitter account, we could have seen this coming. The guy tweets like all of us regular schmucks who love gambling but have no idea what we’re doing.

Everyday gamblers can feel the highs and lows of Ridley’s betslip with each tweet:


We’ve all felt this. When you’re in such a bad slump, all you can do is laugh. Show me a bettor who’s gone 0 for his last 6 and I’ll show you the human embodiment of the laughing crying emoji, usually paired with an “I mean, all you can do is laugh at this point” as a cherry on top.

If you’ve gambled for any amount of time or been around those that have, you know that everyone has their own rules. I, for example, “never” bet on my favorite teams. Additionally, if you’ve gambled for any amount of time or been around those that have, you know these rules are always broken. We all say we learn from our Ls, Calvin; but how am I supposed stay away when Iowa’s getting 5.5 at home against Michigan State?!

Gambling responsibly is key. If you choose to dabble, please do so within your means. When you’re not seeing the board as well as you’d like, walk away. You’ll feel better and your account will remain fuller. But you’ve got to have the confidence to know you’re going to be a better gambler when you decide to jump back into the pool.

According to his Twitter account, Ridley claims he only bet $1,500. Plenty of money for a lot of us, but when your career earnings are a shade over $11 million, maybe not the biggest concern. Adam Schefter reported that Ridley “placed multi-legged parlay bets involving 3, 5 and 8 games that included the Falcons to win.”

If that’s indeed the case and he walked away after doing so, vaya con dios…and never bet on the Falcons again.

Sunday State of Mind: November 29th-December 5th

Photo: Wallup

Why isn’t the weekend five days, and the work week two days? Who knows, but we know this week’s SSM is now live.

Conference championship weekend in college football
Some teams show up, and others just fall
Utah, Bama, and Michigan were among the winners
The amount of football left keeps getting thinner and thinner

Our long national nightmare has ended, my friends
The Detroit Lions losing streak ends
A squeak out win over Minnesota
The Lions have now met their season win quota

Minshew mania, back and better than ever
Taking over Philly, Gardner’s new endeavor
A good start for him, but maybe hedge your bets
His first start and win was against the Jets

We’ve got a lockout in the MLB
Owners and players could not agree
On a new CBA, no baseball for now
Between the two sides, who will kowtow?

Best game of the season, in our opinion
OKC versus Memphis, and the Grizz went in
A record setting blowout, 73 point win
When you watch that game tape, where to even begin?

Sunday State of Mind: October 25th-October 31st

A spooky, after dark edition of SSM this week. We take a scary hayrack ride through the week that was in the sports world.

Those scrappy bad guy Astros, just keep hangin’ ’round
The Braves could have been World Series champs, no king yet has been crowned
Atlanta still up 3-2, one more win on the way?
They’ll get a chance to become champs this coming Tuesday

The Jets have won a game! What a New Jersey dream
Even more impressive, they beat a first place team
Tough loss for the Bengals, hopefully a minor stop
In what would be a great season while rising to the top

Sticking in the AFC East, but opposite result
Dolphins lose their seventh straight, total football insult
The Bills bounce back for a win, after a Monday loss
Come playoff time, Bills Mafia will not be crossed

The NBA is in full swing, the sports world has no lulls
The Eastern Conference has been surprising: Knicks, Hornets, and Bulls
Out in the Western Conference, Clippers are 1-4
Hope it will get better, a start the Clips ignore

Got an in state battle, down in East Lansing
Sparty came out, beat big brother, totally did their thing
A tough loss for Michigan, but they’re still top 10
Another ranked opponent beating Jim Harbaugh again

A really tough two weeks for Iowa football
Number two two weeks ago, since then been all fall
After losing to Wisconsin, another unranked foe
Hawkeyes fall to number 19, there their playoff dreams go

Caleb Williams and the Sooners, rolled up Texas Tech
Six touchdowns through the air, Red Raiders saying “what the heck?”
Incredible start to a career, the young man is a battler
Continues to be special and play over Spencer Rattler

Sunday State of Mind: October 4th-October 10th

We saw anything and everything this week in sports. We look back fondly in the latest edition of Sunday State of Mind.

A rarely seen building raid, in the NFL
Washington Football Team, what in the actual hell?
Head trainer got busted, DEA involved
Wonder what the charges are, once this all gets solved

Another rarity in sports, a big time title fight
Fury/Wilder III, a boxing fan’s delight
Fury did his job, retained the title belt
A crushing blow to Wilder, to whom defeat was dealt

Number three vs. number four, in college football
Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes, big defensive brawl
Iowa losing early, came back from down 14
Huge win over PSU, a storming the field scene

Another storming happened, down in College Station
Texas A&M pulled the upset for Aggie Nation
Such a rarity to see Alabama lose
Anytime it happens it’s legit breaking news

Playoff time in baseball, division series round
Most series are tight, good matchups can be found
At the time of writing, only the White Sox down 2-0
Getting swept after their year would be a major blow