This quote from the illiniboard pretty much sums it up:
UI is having a nightmare year... football stinks, they want to take the Chief away, Self left, Livingston went elsewhere after teasing everyone wearing IL jerseys to school and hanging out with the team after the scrimmage and now this.
DVDgate 2003:
Here is the latest shocking (and really bad) news:
http://www.news-gazette.com/story.cfm?Number=14942
(Although it is all a must read) Here is the really interesting part:
The students originally told Piland they didn't want to press charges against Head or Spears, Brown said.
But in recent days, Brown said his son, whom he did not want to identify, and his roommates began to reconsider that decision. One of the reasons for that change, Brown said, was a published report Thursday in which Bo Delaney, Head's stepfather and high school coach at Chicago Manley, said the players were suspended for accepting stolen goods they weren't aware were stolen.
After reading that report, Brown's son and his roommates met again with Piland, Brown said.
"My son went and talked to the state's attorney again, and (Piland) said, 'You can still press charges,' " Brown said. "They read this thing in the Chicago (Tribune) about Head's (step)dad saying they received this, and it just makes them really mad."
Observations:
1. If Head's coach had just kept his big mouth shut then maybe this story would have never broke
2. If they did break into the apartment there is no way that they can stay on the team in my opinion
3. Bill Self would have been able to make this thing go away without breaking
4. Andy Crewell suggests that the "friends of the program" should have been paying this guy to shut up. While I agree with that in principle the fact remains that then if that somehow becomes public then we are talking reduced scholarships and no NCAA tournament for a couple years
5. I probably would have done the exact same thing this kid did, initially didn't say anything because he is a basketball fan and loves Illinois, then got pissed when I read the quotes from Head's high school coach, then went back to the police.
6. Aaron Spears is a huge guy, who does he think he is trying to break into apartments.
7. If Spears and Head really wanted all that stuff then they should have just asked boosters.
8. What is McBride's connection to this sordid affair?
9. This is not the way to start off a year.
10. We are really thin down low now. Nick can only play so much, Auggie will get in foul trouble, Ingram may or may not be a Big 10 caliber player, and Warren Carter weighs 130 pounds.
11. One of the worst parts is now we are no better then the likes of Iowa and Pierre Pierce, another reason why if they did break into the apartment they should not be allowed to stay on the team
That is all for now.
I know you have some comments on this huge story (how could you not) so leave a comment and maybe an intelligent discussion will begin.
So I just heard about the suspensions at U of I and like the comic book guy on the Simpsons, I was on the internet in moments to register my complaint. Here is the story for those of you that don't know:
llinois Head Coach Bruce Weber has announced a four game suspension for three Illinois players: Junior Luther Head, Redshirt Freshman Aaron Spears, and Freshman Richard McBride. Head and Spears suspensions are retroactive and include the two exhibition games they have already sat out. Rich McBride's suspension will start when he is cleared to play medically with his sore foot.
Now here is the unconfirmed rumors through the grapevine:
Someone broke into an apartment and stole stuff and then the players had DVDs that were stolen but they say that when they got them they didn't know they were stolen. Supposedly this story was first broke by Luther Head's high school coach
Now here are my thoughts:
obviously, I don't know the full (or probably even half) the story but, I think they should not be suspended unless they are being officially investigated by either the police or the university (and maybe they are for all I know). However, all the reports I've read say that they are not going to be charged. You have got to trust your players, if they say they didn't know that the DVDs were stolen, and so far there is no official evidence then they should be allowed to play. The fact that McBride's suspension isn't starting until he is healthy also sucks. This is big time college sports, it has nothing to do with being fair or morally right, you count every game that he misses as a suspended game no exceptions! So far Bruce Weber is off to a real bad start and he is going to need to prove himself RIGHT AWAY or he will be in a lot of trouble with Illinois fans. Weber's small-town stuff isn't working in this medium-sized town
On a separate note:
Andrew Bogut of Utah... he is awesome
Nothing But Crappy Games So Far -
The Preseason NIT is underway and so far none of the games have really been worth watching. Well, I take that back, I probably would have watched UConn just to see if they were worthy of the number one ranking but I was not around. They only ended up beating Yale by 10. On another UConn note, there are rumors circulating that Charlie is going to be suspended by the NCAA for some recruiting violations. Lets hope the suspensions are long. Tonight ESPN has Georgia Tech and the Ragin Cajuns of Louisiana Lafayette and then Texas Tech-Davidson. Yawn. My favorite name for a school Mount St. Mary (what is that some sort of suggestion?) is playing, but they are not on TV.
I did catch a decent game the other day in the second day of the Coaches vs. Cancer classic, St. Joe's and Gonzaga, a matchup of two ranked mid-major squads. St. Joe's controlled throughout and won the game. It really is too early in the year to take much from this game, obviously Gonzaga could still have a fine season and/or St. Joe's could end up not being great. However, one thing was apparent from this contest, Jameer Nelson is one of the premier players in college ball. Despite being only 6 feet he is big (190) and he dominated the game.
Tomorrow (or whenever I get to it): Big 10 Preview
