Will make you weep
You'll cry and cry
And try to sleep.
But sleep won't come
The whole night through,
Your cheating heart
Will tell on you.
[Photo from Goldtimer's GT Blog. Click to enlarge]
Looking around for good anti-GT internets when I stumbled upon this glorious gem written by the Georgia Sports Blog's good friend 81Dog.
The chickens, it would appear, have come home to roost. The NCAA press release concerning GTU's conviction for cheating its fool head off is fairly breathtaking reading. For an "Institute" that brays about its commitment to academics, its integrity, its overall superior standing to other mere colleges in matters of ethics and honesty, this week certainly has been a revelation.
GTU is looking less like MIT on the Connector, and more like the love child of Jerry Tarkanian's UNLV and anyplace ever coached by Jackie Sherill. Read more.
That was good times and good reading. My heart is warmer just having glanced at that.
So I said to myself....What's Next? Sure, I enjoyed reading the official NCAA press release, but I was looking for a deeper analysis. Where would a good Dawg turn to learn the true story behind the story? Why...The Hive where else?
I find it hard to argue that we didn't get what we deserve. The "unintentional" excuse? That veil is getting a bit thin, honey. Just because we didn't mean to do it, doesn't mean we didn't gain an advantage, doesn't mean we didn't screw up in a MAJOR way. And I only listed the subset of problems that jumped out at me!
I love GT, the academics, my former profs, the athletics, the players, the coaches, and on down the line. I am deeply hurt by this. I wish I could jump on the bandwagon, demonizing the NCAA and calling for an appeal, but the agreed upon facts of the case make that impossible for me. Read More
[Can't view to the Hive? Simply log out of Scout.com and view it. You have to be registered to post. Not lurk.]
All ball busting aside, this guy really nailed it. GT got the proverbial book thrown at them in my opinion because of 5 main things:
1. Braine's 2003 edict to NOT look backwards to see if prior violations had been made. Only look forward. This is a clear case of "I don't want to know." Which always draws the extreme ill will of the NCAA.
2. Playing with an ineligible kid again in 2004 after the NCAA had come in and said "You're busted."
3. The competitive advantage gained b/c of WHO the players were and the sheer numbers. Player #6 appears to be Joe Hamilton. As the Hiver linked above said, "How could anyone argue that this wasn't a competitive advantage." (Paraphrase)4. The raw stupidity of trying to retroactively serve an NCAA sanction for lost scholarships that were never available to give in the first place. This bullet point falls under the heading "I told you so" to the guys like Ylojk8 who sent me nasty-grams touting that GT would never get a 79 limit penalty or future year sanctions.
5. Having a staff trained by a guy that didn't know the rules, and hadn't known the rules since 1968.
Looking around the blogosphere there are other great takes on this available from Goldtimer and Nathan .
The reality is that I *am* enjoying this. And I'm enjoying first, foremost and almost entirely because GT fans have been relentless in their pursuit of the moral high ground when the athletic fields were all taken.
The score is now:
All-Time Major NCAA Infractions: UGA 6 vs. GT 4
All-Time Lost Scholarships to NCAA Infractions: UGA 17 vs. GT 24
 |
7 comments:
The best was the guy on The Hive posting a classified add for "One high horse" that he is sad to sell, but cannot ride anymore.
Up until today, I have been on Braine's side. After reading the report, his ass better be bouncing on the asphalt this offseason, and Clough better clean house in a hurry or he can join him.
GT is a school that prides ourselves on academics and integrity, and I think you'll see a very swift reaction by the alumni groups to this. This crap isn't going to fly, and people better step up and take some responsibility for this debacle.
The sad fact is the complete incompetence of it all. A registrar who worked from 1968 until 2000 and only went to NCAA regulations training ONE time because it "conflicted with his schedule"? It's so dumb it can't be cheating, and that's sad.
I think this may be the one and only time you ever say "Thank you Myles Brand"
Reading this morning's AJC story on the "vacations" of Tech's '98-'04 games, it appears that the effect is more analogous to an annulment than a divorce -- those games aren't forfeited to their respective opponents, they're simply wiped off the books as though they were never played to begin with. So Georgia has won only 11 games in a row, as opposed to 14. Oh, well.
Still, I found this line interesting: "Chan Gailey, who used to be 27-20 at Tech, is now officially 14-9 or 13-9."
Even if we go by the 13-9 record, that means the vacated games have actually upped Gailey's winning percentage at Tech from 0.574 to 0.591. The mystery of Gailey's big contract extension is finally solved!
Paul, I honestly can't argue with you for enjoying this. I tried for about two weeks to get our fanbase to quit throwing stones when everybody else got in trouble over the summer, but nobody wanted to listen. Even after the Reuben Houston nightmare and the upcoming probation everybody was content to find any shred of hypocrisy they could in Mark Richt (a coach I have openly said I would take in a time spanning roughly 0 - 1 second) and overlooking any questionable practices we might have engaged in.
Well as Nathan said on his blog, the other shoe has dropped and I can't really try to get in your face for revelling in it. All I can say is enjoy yourself and that I wish Tech fans would take it as a lesson to not get snooty when you guy's have player trouble again, but I doubt it will happen.
Here's my only worry with this whole thing -- if we get to wipe the '98 game and the '99 travesty off the books, do we also have to give up the 51-7 ass-reaming in 2002? Or do we get to say, "Y'all cheated and we still waxed your asses by 44 points"?
I'm pretty sure you get to keep your wins, we just can't keep ours.
So ... over a 6 year period UGA went 3-0 against GT. I *think* that's how it works. Kyle King is the lawyer, we need to get him on this case, pronto.
ROCKIN' ROLL BABY - A GOLDEN OLDIE
Tootsie roll soul and doodle-white shoes
Tech is sure proud of their little bitty rockin' roll baby
Slingin' at the age of two
He could hardly talk now his Georgia Tech fans sing the blues
Little Joe never attended school
Always on the field, he was a skillful little rockin' roll baby
It's the Georgia Tech way, you fool!
Never once on probation, they thought they were above the rules
He became a Jacket hero at Wake Forest and Virginia
But when the school bell rang Joe never had to go
Now he comes home this summer as a modern day Sammy Drummer
Georgia Tech was easy for little Joe!
Bought a new house in Indiana Dunes
Georgie made it big and he did it through his rockin' roll baby
and a little bit of lyin' and booze
He was Notre Dame's coach and never once did he lose
He became a Jacket hero at Wake Forest and Virginia
But when the school bell rang Joe never had to go
Now he comes home this summer as a modern day Sammy Drummer
Georgia Tech was easy for little Joe!
Post a Comment