Wisconsin is having a fairly easy time of it in today's Big Ten Tournament game against Michigan, but there was one little glitch during the first half, when Badgers coach Bo Ryan got a technical foul for yelling at his own player, Brian Butch:
After Butch was out-played in the paint, Ryan got up off his chair and yelled at Butch. But referee Steve Skiles though Ryan was yelling at him, and gave him a technical foul. Here's how ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews explained it:
"Bo Ryan was screaming to Brian Butch, 'Be strong. Stay strong inside.' Skiles thought he was talking to him, and when he came over and explained it to Bo Ryan, he said, 'It wasn't what you said, it was the fact that you stomped your foot.'"
ESPN announcer Steve Lavin said, "That must be a new amendment to the rulebook, no stomping of the feet. We're never going to get through a game if that becomes a rule."
If Ryan actually stepped foot onto the floor while play was in progress, I could understand giving him a technical for that. But if the technical was just for stomping his foot while yelling something to one of his players, well, that's pretty dumb.
Appearing on ESPN2 this morning, Dick Vitale asked the obvious question about the recently fired Indiana basketball coach, Kelvin Sampson:
"My big question, that day when I did the game, is why?" Vitale said. "Why in the world would you take a chance with phone calls that really aren't going to change the complexion of your recruiting? ... Why in the world would Kelvin Sampson, who can motivate, he can inspire, he can X-and-O, he can coach, jeopardize that opportunity after he was under penalties at Oklahoma? I just don't understand, but again, you have to get into the psyche of what makes a guy, I guess."
That's the question I can't figure out either. Why does Kelvin Sampson simply have no interest at all in following the rules of the NCAA? I can understand why Sampson might not agree with the rules, but I can't understand why he would allow his contempt for the rules to ruin his coaching career. As Vitale said, you have to get into the psyche of what makes a guy, I guess.
Here's the way ESPN's Brent Musberger signed off on Tuesday night's Indiana-Purdue game:
"We certainly hope that we see coach Sampson Saturday, still on the sideline with the Indiana Hoosiers," Musberger said, referring to Indiana basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, who is expected to be suspended or fired in the next three days because of the multiple rules violations the NCAA says he has committed.
Let's unpack that quote a little bit. If Musberger wants to see Sampson coach on Saturday, that means he doesn't want Sampson to get suspended or fired. So either Musberger doesn't think Sampson committed the violations the NCAA has accused him of, or he doesn't think these violations are offenses worthy of firing a coach.
If it's the former, Musberger is sitting on a huge story. All of the ESPN reporters who have investigated this story, led by Pat Forde and Andy Katz, have given strong indications that Sampson did, in fact, commit the violations he's accused of. If Musberger has information that his colleagues haven't reported, why hasn't he shared that information with ESPN's viewers?
If it's the latter, Musberger ought to explain himself a bit better: If Sampson did break these NCAA rules, repeatedly and after being warned, why on earth shouldn't Indiana fire him? Does Musberger just believe coaches shouldn't be held accountable when they break the rules?
Either way, Musberger's statement doesn't make a lot of sense.
The most frequent criticism that ESPN basketball commentator Dick Vitale faces is that he's too positive: Every player is sensational, every coach is brilliant. But at least that means you know that when Vitale criticizes someone, that person really deserves it. And since Vitale is calling for Indiana Athletic Director Rick Greenspan to get fired, you know Greenspan really deserves it. Here's what Vitale said this morning:
Vitale said of Greenspan's decision to hire disgraced coach Kelvin Sampson, "The athletic director needs to be held accountable as well. ... When you're an athletic director and you hire a guy from a school that has already had penalties and you know that ... and you're an unbelievably prestigious university like Indiana in the world of basketball, you hire that guy and now he goes out and does it again, you've got to be held accountable."
Vitale also correctly called Greenspan's claim that he's not the only one who was involved in hiring Sampson "a cop out." The buck stops with Greenspan, and if Sampson deserves to get fired then Greenspan deserves to get fired.
I'm on the record as saying that not only should Indiana basketball coach Kelvin Sampson lose his job over his latest NCAA rules violations, but so should Athletic DirectorRick Greenspan. Many in the basketball media have said the same, but ESPN analyst Doug Gottlieb disagrees:
Although Gottlieb, like everyone, thinks Sampson is about to get fired, he defends Greenspan, saying, "People like Dick Vitale and Jay Bilas are saying that Rick Greenspan needs to be broomed as well, I disagree with that ... Who possibly could have thought that Kelvin Sampson, a bright man, a good basketball coach -- it's one thing to have another NCAA violation, but to do the exact same thing is dumbfounding, he's going to be out by the end of the week, but I think Greenspan should keep his job."
I like Gottlieb as an analyst, but he couldn't possibly be more wrong here. The entire reason Greenspan should have seen this coming is that Sampson has done it before. To answer Gottlieb's question, "Who possibly could have thought?" I would merely say: Anyone who has followed Sampson's career.
OK, Erin Andrews. I realize that ESPN didn't hire you for your ability to deliver scathing commentaries on the controversies of the day. And I realize you need access to do your job, and the more favorable your reporting, the more access you'll get. But you wouldn't seriously refer to Kelvin Sampson as "very honest," would you?
Yes, you would:
Sampson, Indiana's beleaguered basketball coach, allowed Andrews to sit in on today's practice. Afterward she went on SportsCenter and gushed about Sampson, who will almost certainly be fired because, the NCAA says, he violated recruiting restrictions and repeatedly lied about it.
"Coach Sampson, very honest," Andrews said, "in saying, 'Look, this has been a difficult couple of days, how could it not be'. He spoke about the meeting that he had with his team right before that Wisconsin game on Wednesday. He said it was one of the most difficult times he's ever had in addressing his team."
Actually, nothing Sampson says is "very honest." When he gives an account of a meeting with his team to Andrews, he's not being "very honest," he's making a desperate attempt to elicit some sympathy because the whole world thinks, correctly, that he's a liar.
Thanks to Brahsome for posting this video from last night's Illinois at Wisconsin game, demonstrating, once again, just how popular ESPN reporter Erin Andrews is among fans of college sports:
You have to listen closely, but you can hear the Wisconsin fans chanting "Erin Andrews" as she does her report. I then find it a little awkward when Brent Musberger and Steve Lavin proceed to talk about her popularity, with Musberger saying he wants to go to the Playboy Mansion with her. I'm not sure if it's appropriate for a man to talk about wanting to go to the Playboy Mansion with a female co-worker young enough to be his daughter.
The kids with the slappin' and the fightin' and the jello.
Yesterday, the Detroit Free Press reported a drop-dead date for cable providers interested (or not interested, more likely) in carrying the Big Ten Network:
Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany recently told conference athletic directors that he set a negotiation cut-off date of Nov. 15 in the ongoing battle with cable giants Comcast and Time Warner regarding Big Ten Network distribution.
"The commissioner told us that we needed to establish a deadline to try and get something done (for the basketball season)," Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis said Saturday. "And if we couldn't get it done by then, we're probably looking at waiting until sometime next year to get a deal."
Meanwhile, either the folks in Iowa are getting a different message or Mediacom has not been given the same ultimatum:
Mark Silverman said there isn't a deadline for Mediacom and the Big Ten Network to come to an agreement to carry the new channel, and the two sides are still talking.
It's not like the talking has been particularly productive; Silverman describes the two sides as "not close."
Do we have another Antonio Gates here? Probably not, but Illinois forward C.J. Jackson did received attention from SEC football powers. Says Illinois football coach Ron Zook:
"We offered him [a football scholarship] when I was at Florida; most of the Southeastern Conference schools offered him one in football.
His football commitment sounds serious, as he will likely switch from a basketball scholarship to a football scholarship in the fall. Additionally, the coaches are sounding as if his basketball contribution is more voluntary than mandatory.
If Jackson makes the football team, he will be on a football scholarship and [Illinois basketball coach Bruce] Weber will have an additional basketball scholarship to offer.
"We wouldn't do anything right now," Weber said when asked about the scholarship that may be available. "C.J. is a great kid and we want him to be happy. He approached us and we told him to go after football, spend some time with them in the weight room and see what happens. He asked if he can come back [to basketball] after the football season. We told him when we get to December, if Coach Zook is OK with it and if everything is going well in the classroom, we'd love to have him back with us."
Stay tuned, but at the minimum it looks like the Illini have quietly added an SEC-level offensive player to their roster.
Do we have another Antonio Gates here? Probably not, but Illinois forward C.J. Jackson did received attention from SEC football powers. Says Illinois football coach Ron Zook:
