^I think 1/3 of bristol graduated from the UNC Journalism school, plus I am sure nike has placed a few calls to not rake the heels over the coals until all of the evidence comes out, plus they are a complete non-issue in the college football landscape. I think its a mix of factors.

10/5/2010 9:28:36 AM

Quote :

"However, i think Robinson made a mistake though in how he handled the whole story. "

I think he probably did as best he could given the time constraints. Keep in mind that no matter what these guys say now, they are going to be painted as liars. Thats great, because they are. But Blake is now the sacrificial lamb.



Here's my take on everything so far. Keep in mind I have no inside sources, but we've all seen shit like this play out before and I'm just connecting my own dots.

So at this point, Blake has been officially thrown under the bus. That means the UNC spin machine feels like it can capably handle any backlash he provides - be it fingering someone else, another sport, whatever.

I honestly think what we are seeing here is John Blake pulling a Wee-bey (The Wire) - he knows he will never coach again once he gets out of jail. He'll never be an NFLPA licensed agent, and no agent will ever hire him. He's basically untouchable, unless he decides to pull a TA McClendon and go work at Bojangles. I'm betting that someone on the UNC BOT or high up in the boosters has offered up some serious "shut your fucking mouth" money for him to roll over and die like this.

Make no mistake - UNC knows their football team is fucked for at least the next 10 years. I think the Athletic Department, the BOT, and the boosters all realize that. What they're more concerned about at this point is having this whole shit spread to another program. How do they prevent that? By shutting up key players. They've found a tutor to pin it all on. Step 1. They're pinning agent-gate on Blake, Step 2. Keep Marvin happy until he gets drafted, step 3.

They're coddling Marvin right now because he's the most dangerous. If he rolls, they are fucked. Hence the "we're trying to get Marvin back" and the painting of Blake as the mastermind. What you'll see next is them distancing themselves from MA, but in a safe way. "oh, he didn't know it was wrong - he was acting under the direction of Blake" and "he's a good kid, he just got caught in a bad situation." Why do it this way? Because all Marvin wants to do is go to the league. It was never about the school for him, it was always the money. Blake paid him, he came. It doesn't matter to him what happens between now and April as long as he stays out of jail (he will) and as long as the UNC folks make it seem like he wasn't a major culprit. He'll get drafted, because NFL teams don't give a shit, and the NCAA's investigation - if not completed by then - will drag on for a while before hammering the football program.

Butch seems to be satisfied with throwing Blake under the bus because right now the muck doesn't reach up to him. He can provide plausible (still very shaky imo) deniability, and still at least take a few years off and come back and coach somewhere. As long as he feels that way, I think UNC feels like they're relatively safe.



Notice how no one is tracking down the tutor now to get her side of the story? That's pretty bad, because tutorgate is where the overall UNC Athletic Department fuckery gets unlocked. We need to be emailing these reporters to sit on the girl and make her feel uncomfortable, because I think at this point, it's obvious that she's on the take. They need to be watching out for new cars on teacher's pay. New houses in swanky neighborhoods that a teacher could never afford. Dads getting new jobs that pay twice as much for half the work. There is going to be some supreme Mike & Mary Easley level sleaze going on, and we need trained folks watching it to make sure it doesn't happen.








That's my 2 cents. Now back to your regularly scheduled BDSin'

[Edited on October 5, 2010 at 9:33 AM. Reason : wow a whole page jump while I wrote that.]

10/5/2010 9:31:37 AM

first of all, sportscenter has made mention of it. i know this because the only time i watch sportscenter is when i walk past a tv tuned to it in the gym, and they were reporting on black santa/dareus connection just yesterday morning.

also, what's coming out right now is just a trickle of daily tidbits. you can bet they'll report more when there's real substantial news. the only time espn reports on tiny tidbits of useless news is when it involves either vick or favre.

if you can find a way to connect vick to this we'll never hear the end of it.

10/5/2010 9:33:14 AM

maybe I'm biased and want it to be a bigger deal than it really is, but it just seems like this is a pretty big fucking deal. like worst instance of university corruption ever. I just figure they would have someone giving daily updates on the latest news, especially with the way new stories have been rolling out every day, and the different areas it stretches across (austin, blake, the tutor, dareus, wichard, etc. etc. etc.)

maybe it'll get more press when the ncaa finishes up their investigation, but i cant help to think if this was a different program, it would be bigger news

10/5/2010 9:41:12 AM

hahahaaha baddour responded to the daily tar heel's article calling for chief's firing

http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2010/10/davis_will_be_part_of_football_team_solutions

[Edited on October 5, 2010 at 10:10 AM. Reason : ]

10/5/2010 10:08:12 AM

imploding



[Edited on October 5, 2010 at 10:10 AM. Reason : d]

10/5/2010 10:10:14 AM

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=122589387795119

10/5/2010 10:12:02 AM

I do tip my hat to the DTH, they've remained surprisingly objective throughout this reviewinvestigation.

I would love nothing more than for Baddour/UNC to stand by Butch Davis through all this, take all the criticism, deal with the bad PR throughout the season, issue more statements as to how committed they are to Butch and how committed Butch is to UNC, then the next day have Butch leave for more money at another school and leave UNC high and dry with sanctions and whatnot. I'm sure that won't happen, but it would be glorious.

10/5/2010 10:15:29 AM

i don't understand why baddour is defending butch. it's not like baddour can come out of this looking good in any way, or is going to keep his job.

if he was trying to look good, you'd think the impression that he is more concerned about the image of athletics than the image of the university as a whole would go over poorly over there.

[Edited on October 5, 2010 at 10:18 AM. Reason : -]

10/5/2010 10:17:44 AM

Dickie is ridin butch because he knows what is about to happen. He and butch are gonna go.

"butch deeply regrets all of this" sure he does. He got caught and that's what happens when people get caught.

10/5/2010 10:22:10 AM

Quote :

"I do tip my hat to the DTH, they've remained surprisingly objective throughout this reviewinvestigation. "

The DTH has a past of shitting on the athletic teams. They definitely lean on the academic side of the University (perish the thought!), and are quick to print negative articles when dumb athletes are involved.

Anyone remember the Jackie Manuel/Daredevil cartoon?? That shit was hilarious.

10/5/2010 10:27:28 AM

Quote from DTH letter to the editor:

http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2010/10/davis_came_to_unc_to_win_not_uphold_integrity

"Butch Davis came to this university to win, not to uphold academic integrity. Although I’m sure we would all like to think he came to make sure everyone on the football team does their homework, I think establishing a foundation for the future of UNC football might be a little higher on the list. If you want academic integrity, go to Duke."

10/5/2010 10:33:53 AM

Quote :

"I dont understand why espn (or more specifically, sportscenter) doesnt talk about this more. they keep bringing up the Tennessee/Bruce Pearl violations, which dont seem to be anywhere near as bad as UNC's violations, but they dont talk about carolina's situation at all"

I'm biased too, but I saw the story on Pearl this morning and I could not believe it. We hear things about UNC and see things on ESPN.com, but the Pearl story has become a MUCH bigger deal on TV, I feel like. Are the two situations even comparable?! That really pissed me off this morning when I saw the story on Pearl but we continue not to see anything on SportsCenter about UNC.

My guess: Yahoo! reporters have the story/sources on Blake/UNC, which ESPN won't report as much if they don't have the story themselves. ESPN/Chris Lowe is getting the story on Pearl, which means they will report it on SportsCenter. Nonetheless, I've wondered the same thing...

10/5/2010 10:38:38 AM

^^

Quote :

"I love Butch Davis, I love UNC football, but most importantly I love the combination of those two. "

no homo?

10/5/2010 10:41:01 AM

Quote :

"i don't understand why baddour is defending butch. it's not like baddour can come out of this looking good in any way, or is going to keep his job."

Because Butchie's got dirt on other programs. It's the only LOGICAL explanation. Especially when they've already established a pattern of throwing people under the bus. Butchie gets to leave quietly at the end of the year, sit in time out a few seasons, and then go coach somewhere else.

10/5/2010 10:59:24 AM

^ that, and they will have to pay off Butch's contract if he's fired. But his contract states it can be voided if there are NCAA infractions, which haven't been officially announced yet. Plus, as soon as Butch goes, all that money for the stadium upgrades disappears. Not saying it won't happen eventually anyway, but I'm sure they want to milk it as long as possible.

10/5/2010 11:21:29 AM

Technically, they've got the money for the stadium upgrade already. They'd need that set aside to get the project permitted.

What they need is the money to replace that money in the budget.

10/5/2010 12:00:46 PM

^^^ wishful thinking, methinks.

10/5/2010 12:04:52 PM

^Wishful in that he has dirt on the bball program. I'm sure there has been shit going on there (maybe someone can link the tutor to them and there's the Ellington house), but I don't think anything will come out on the bball program during all this mess.

However...apparently the baseball program has strong ties to this whole NCAA investigation and will not come out unscathed. Personally, I'll take anything I can get.

10/5/2010 12:13:46 PM

So if Blake is established as an agent or a runner for an agent wouldn't that imply that all of UNC's players have had improper contact? Logically doesn't that lead to forfeiture of everything since Blake started at the program?

10/5/2010 12:57:44 PM

baseball is a whole 'nother quagmire since those guys can have "advisors" while still in school.

10/5/2010 1:03:18 PM

^I'm thinking the academics have hit baseball...or they have had some suspect recruiting (football team is also rumored to have done some really really bad things in their recruiting).

You have to remember that there are like a million prongs to this thing now.

10/5/2010 1:11:47 PM

Butch Davis apologizes!

Quote :

"I'm sorry that I trusted John Blake"

Oh nm, he didn't apologize for shit, he just continued to deflect all the blame away from himself

10/5/2010 1:45:45 PM

http://www.FireButchDavis.com now directs to tarheelblue

HAHA

10/5/2010 1:50:46 PM

It's been that way for a looooong time.

10/5/2010 3:04:30 PM

they are even deflecting this now...
http://www.thecarolinaway.com

10/5/2010 4:07:19 PM

i think it was said earlier: the only logical thing that makes sense is $$$

Butch stands to lose a LOT of $$$ if he can't prove he couldn't reasonably have known about all of Blake's Shenanigans.

I think for UNC-CH fans, the problem is that they are too close to ground-zero to understand just how huge this debacle is, there's no arguing and excusing out of this. If this were uncovered at UVa or VaTech, they too would see just how slimy and rotten it all is. plus they are all functionally retarded anyways

10/5/2010 4:13:23 PM

^^ There's a Facebook Group "Restoring the Carolina Way" set up which is planning a protest before the game Saturday. Has some actual UNC people in there. I wonder who's running it .

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=122589387795119

10/5/2010 8:45:59 PM

so you could say that group is boycotting...the school?

10/5/2010 8:57:51 PM

boycotting the school is certainly one way to put it. It would certainly help if more people joined

10/5/2010 9:01:09 PM

I didn't see this posted, but ABC 11 reported that Wichard had a phone conference with the Secretary of the State's office today.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/sports&id=7708354

10/6/2010 12:02:22 AM

Quote :

" Blake called prized draft pick Suh's family within minutes of calling Wichard By Ken Tysiac and J. Andrew Curliss ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com Posted: Tuesday, Oct. 05, 2010 Phone records released Tuesday show that former UNC North Carolina associate head football coach John Blake last year placed calls to agent Gary Wichard's cell phone at times within minutes of calls to the family of prized 2010 draft prospect Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska. Read more:http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/10/05/1742107/blake-called-prized-draft-pick.html#ixzz11XrUOJ5 P "

[Edited on October 6, 2010 at 7:26 AM. Reason : .]

10/6/2010 7:25:55 AM

Quote :

"This group will work to demand reform those elements within our university which have"

bothers me

10/6/2010 7:32:08 AM

boycotting the school by attending the football game. that makes sense

10/6/2010 7:57:58 AM

10/6/2010 8:09:40 AM

Wow. Called Donkeykong Suh? Shit is about to get real, y'all.

Quote :

"UNC associate sports information director Kevin Best said school officials didn't know anything about Blake's phone calls to Suh before the NCAA review and that the calls never came up during the course of the investigation."

I love that they admit to not doing their due diligence.


"Who was this you called on your UNC issued cellphone?"



[Edited on October 6, 2010 at 8:42 AM. Reason : .]

10/6/2010 8:39:57 AM

man I about shit a brick when I saw the title on the espn homepage of " North Carolina state investigators talk to agent".

Shwew! LOL.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/

10/6/2010 8:42:04 AM

Nebraska says that they contacted UNC about the call. "WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING" sounds pretty weak right now.

10/6/2010 9:38:54 AM

Going to apply for coaching positions. Going to put "WILL KNOW EVERYTHING GOING ON IN MY PROGRAM" across the top, font size 72.

10/6/2010 9:42:42 AM

You won't get hired for UNC's upcoming vacancy that is for sure.

10/6/2010 9:44:51 AM

Quote :

"There's a Facebook Group "Restoring the Carolina Way" set up which is planning a protest before the game Saturday. Has some actual UNC people in there. I wonder who's running it http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=122589387795119"

Your 12 members in the group and 4 RSVPed for the event will make a HUGE impact, I'm sure.

10/6/2010 10:00:36 AM

didn't see this posted

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/unc/story/8403560/

UNC players: "Us against the world"

Quote :

" Nobody would have been surprised if North Carolina were sitting at 0-4 at this point of the season. Although some Tar Heels may have brought all the distractions and adversity on themselves, but that doesn't change the fact that the rest of the players have simply gone out and competed. What's shocking is that the Heels could be 4-0 were it not for a dropped pass against LSU and a fumble in the fourth quarter at home against Georgia Tech. The losses to the Tigers and Yellow Jackets were tough enough, but with a depleted roster and no end in sight to the two NCAA investigations, the Heels' season could have easily slipped completely away. Instead, North Carolina rallied, winning at Rutgers and at home against rival East Carolina. "If we did let it snowball, we could have any excuse in the world and people would be willing to believe it," Donte Paige-Moss said Tuesday. "People could believe 0-4 because we didn't have our veteran leaders, but we weren't going to let that happen." With so much media scrutiny aimed at the Tar Heel program, the Heels players have adopted a simple mantra, "Us against the world. That's it – us against the world," Paige-Moss said. "Everybody has things they want to say about us that don't know the whole situation. Everybody wants to make different accusations. The more people try to take away from us, we get from each other. The more people try to pick on one person, we become closer." It would be easy to understand if there was a division in the Heels' locker room, with certain players clearly putting the team at risk with their personal decisions, but Paige-Moss said that hasn't happened and that the players who have been singled out are still very much part of the team. "It's a brotherhood and we emphasize that everyday. We're a family." The NCAA investigation won't end anytime soon and North Carolina's schedule doesn't let up with Clemson on Saturday followed by road games at Virginia and at Miami – a critical stretch that will determine which direction the Heels go from here. Center Jonathan Cooper summed up the mentality in one sentence saying, "We know people are going to be looking down on us, and it's up to us to prove them wrong.""

10/6/2010 10:23:37 AM

Quote :

"rival East Carolina"

This should piss off a few ass clowns over at IC.

10/6/2010 10:26:27 AM

i love when sports is elevated to the level of life and death and someone has the nerve to say "us against the world". No, its you against yourselves, as in, you guys f'd up and no one else did it to you and you got caught, no one feels sorry for you. i don't even feel sorry for the ones who "didn't cheat" because what's come out in all this is that they all knew what each other was doing and where they were going (EXCEPT butch davis).

10/6/2010 10:26:52 AM

jbtilley's pic from chit chat. needs to be in this thread:



[Edited on October 6, 2010 at 10:37 AM. Reason : s]

10/6/2010 10:37:29 AM

latest from the war room

Quote :

"We continue to get asked if UNC’s ongoing troubles off the field with its football program will impact UNC. The short answer is probably. We have heard in the last week or two of at least three recruits that have reached out to other schools, but we are not able to provide specifics at the moment."

10/6/2010 11:32:58 AM

ITS US AGAINST THE WORLD WHO IS AGAINST US CAUSE WE BROKE A SHITLOAD OF RULES BUT WHO CARES US AGAINST THE WORLD

10/6/2010 11:37:13 AM

excellent chop

10/6/2010 11:40:19 AM

Quote :

"Center Jonathan Cooper summed up the mentality in one sentence saying, "We know people are going to be looking down on us, and it's up to us to prove them wrong.""

well i think a good starting point might be to do your own homework, and then work your way up to winning games using amateur athletes

10/6/2010 12:09:35 PM

set em up

10/6/2010 1:10:42 PM