Post by DanMcQ on Mar 30, 2016 9:56:13 GMT -5
gazette.com/klee-enjoy-the-final-four-then-wash-your-hands/article/1573110
BOULDER — Just so we're clear on how the sausage at Syracuse is made, let's review how the Orange cooked up this five-star puke-fest of a Final Four appearance.
Try not to vomit.
When the NCAA completed its investigation into Syracuse's crooked basketball program, the governing body of college athletics found that a member of Jim Boeheim's staff had used a player's password to exchange emails with a professor — as if the staffer had been the player himself — to keep the star athlete eligible. There was also an instance or three where a secretary wrote papers for a player, and another where up to 10 players violated the school's drug policy and were allowed to practice and play anyway. Go Orange!
It's enough to make you lose your lunch.
Oh, the NCAA punished Syracuse, if you can call it that: One year later, Syracuse is playing in the Final Four. If that time frame sounds familiar, rewind a few years. In February 2011, the NCAA ruled that Jim Calhoun's Connecticut Huskies had a list of major infractions - and two months later UConn reached the Final Four and won a national championship. So if you're a Syracuse fan, you're feeling pretty good about your chances this weekend at NRG Stadium in Houston. If you're a fan of programs that win clean, you might be wondering: When programs like UConn and Syracuse can mock the rules and still reach a Final Four within the next year, shouldn't it be clear the punishment isn't enough?
The notion that Boeheim was dealt a rough hand when he was suspended for nine games (a penalty that actually aided their at-large chances, as the selection committee must have taken a coach's absence into account) and forced to vacate 108 wins (that nobody cares about, let's be real) is as laughable as the idea Syracuse's motivation is to graduate players.
One of the national semifinals Saturday is the NCAA's worst nightmare and a disturbing testament to a sport where it pays to cheat: One program on probation (Syracuse) vs. another program under investigation for academic fraud (North Carolina). At this rate, the CBS producers who splice together tournament highlights for "One Shining Moment" can substitute "Ridin' Dirty" and call it a day.
Try not to vomit.
When the NCAA completed its investigation into Syracuse's crooked basketball program, the governing body of college athletics found that a member of Jim Boeheim's staff had used a player's password to exchange emails with a professor — as if the staffer had been the player himself — to keep the star athlete eligible. There was also an instance or three where a secretary wrote papers for a player, and another where up to 10 players violated the school's drug policy and were allowed to practice and play anyway. Go Orange!
It's enough to make you lose your lunch.
Oh, the NCAA punished Syracuse, if you can call it that: One year later, Syracuse is playing in the Final Four. If that time frame sounds familiar, rewind a few years. In February 2011, the NCAA ruled that Jim Calhoun's Connecticut Huskies had a list of major infractions - and two months later UConn reached the Final Four and won a national championship. So if you're a Syracuse fan, you're feeling pretty good about your chances this weekend at NRG Stadium in Houston. If you're a fan of programs that win clean, you might be wondering: When programs like UConn and Syracuse can mock the rules and still reach a Final Four within the next year, shouldn't it be clear the punishment isn't enough?
The notion that Boeheim was dealt a rough hand when he was suspended for nine games (a penalty that actually aided their at-large chances, as the selection committee must have taken a coach's absence into account) and forced to vacate 108 wins (that nobody cares about, let's be real) is as laughable as the idea Syracuse's motivation is to graduate players.
One of the national semifinals Saturday is the NCAA's worst nightmare and a disturbing testament to a sport where it pays to cheat: One program on probation (Syracuse) vs. another program under investigation for academic fraud (North Carolina). At this rate, the CBS producers who splice together tournament highlights for "One Shining Moment" can substitute "Ridin' Dirty" and call it a day.
