Re: Point Shaving in the WCC

by **DaTruRochin** Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:03 pm

Just spotted this:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/12/eight-arraigned-usd-sports-bribery-case/

Goes into the arraignment for 8 of the accused (all plead not guilty).

I found this section kind of curious:

USD continued its silence on the issue, telling coaches, players, administrators and even some alums connected with the basketball program not to speak publicly about the case. Holland, the former USD coach who was fired in 2007, did not return phone messages.

And SI's take on the arraignment:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/ncaa/04/12/usd.hearing/index.html?xid=si_topstories

(Johnson has yet to be arraigned, but will be done so later in the week in Houston, where he was taken into custody)

And here's the link to the Andy Katz blog which covers the decline for Grier (and has the OTL video discussion regarding the situation):

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/6336682/the-collapse-continues-bill-grier-usd

by Geezaldinho Wed Apr 13, 2011 1:19 am

At least it's staying interesting.

Trumaine doesn't have time for a judge in his own case, but he's OK with talking to chron.com about BJ.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/college/7519201.html

by ekrauss Wed Apr 13, 2011 4:44 am

There's been something funny going on with betting and WCC basketball games, perhaps the scope of this is slightly bigger than current news reports. I remember some thread from earlier this year on this site where someone noted unusual interest by gamblers in some of UP's WCC games this season. And one time when the live game stats weren't working on the UP website, I went to ESPN to check the score of one of the Pilot games and the on-line chat room for the game (which usually draws no interest) was filled with comments by people worried about the point spread as the game progressed. At the time, I thought it was a little peculiar, but now it seems even more so.

by **DaTruRochin** Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:43 am

At the bottom of that article OTF Posted:

When his son was born in May 2007, he said he considered transferring to Mississippi State to be near his family. But after speaking with his coach, he stayed.

Obviously pure speculation, but it seems like having a mouth to feed at the age of 19-20 might give one pretty big incentive to earn some cash on the side while stuck in the "amateur athlete" role. Not to say I condone it, but I definitely understand.

And as far as the online gambling, that isn't really limited to WCC chat rooms, I've watched a couple on ESPN for some smaller east coast schools and have been shocked with the amount of the chatter dedicated to gambling and whatnot. In a lot of ways I'm sure it's probably easier to get action AND more favorable odds/spreads on the games between smaller schools (Because the spread isn't necessarily predictive of the score, it has more to the score to get an equal amount of betting for either side.)

by blacksheep Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:58 am

Purplegeezer wrote:Is it just me?
Or is anybody else having second thoughts about a Vegas tournament?

That's just crazy talk. Don't end the Vegas tournament because of this.

The teams are pretty sheltered while in Vegas. They do everything as a team and don't get to just go wander the strip. There is almost no opportunity for someone to approach an athlete about point shaving. I think it would be easier for a bookie to approach a student if the games were on the campus of one of the schools.

Betting on sports takes place in every city. The only difference about Vegas is that it is done in the open.

by **DaTruRochin** Wed Apr 13, 2011 11:19 am

Yeah, and furthermore the Vegas officials and whatnot love having the tournaments there for financial gain obviously. They are going to do everything in their power to keep the NCAA satisfied that a legal/positive athletic environment can be maintained. I mean there will be shady gamblers and whatnot in Vegas, but you'll find them everywhere else too. I think the model still works way better than the host gym system we had be using previously, especially since only half the conference had gyms that could reasonably accommodate the tournament (And that was BEFORE the inclusion of BYU). While yeah there will be that elephant in the room for the next few years, at this point it really is the best option...

by **DaTruRochin** Wed Apr 13, 2011 12:36 pm

Back to possible family motivations for Johnson, this article touches on that situation:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/12/family-financial-pressures-may-hold-clues-to/

Brandon Johnson attained fatherhood before he became USD’s all-time leading scorer, and he felt that responsibility so keenly that Toreros coach Bill Grier sometimes wondered whether Johnson would return from visits to his son in Texas.

and then even worse, this:

Former USD professor Caley Cook cited these pressures — specifically, Johnson’s son and a then-pregnant girlfriend — in a short-lived Twitter message posted Monday alleging that the player once attempted to bribe her for a better grade.

Pretty poor form on the professor's behalf to tweet something like this, especially with a criminal proceeding. And then follow it hiding behind the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act seeking legal help. I mean I understand people mess up using social media, but this is pretty awful.

This situation just keeps getting uglier pale

by Geezaldinho Wed Apr 13, 2011 1:34 pm

It seems the tweet is a clear violation of FERPA, and should be dealt with.

Is this the same Caley Cook who was a pole dancer at the Acropolis ? Very Happy

( there, how did that feel)

Universities who's employees violate FERPA are at risk of loosing federal funding. Bad for Allegheny College, where she works now. Tsk tsk

by blacksheep Wed Apr 13, 2011 2:12 pm

Purplegeezer wrote:
Is this the same Caley Cook who was a pole dancer at the Acropolis ?

Maybe if you had a picture of Professor Cook, we could see if we recognize her?

by Geezaldinho Wed Apr 13, 2011 5:35 pm

blacksheep wrote:

Maybe if you had a picture of Professor Cook, we could see if we recognize her?

Point Shaving in the WCC - Page 2 Cook_headshot11

different glasses, at least....

by **DaTruRochin** Wed Apr 13, 2011 5:40 pm

Wow, and that's the official one from the Allegheny website, how hip!

by Rochin54 Wed Apr 13, 2011 6:22 pm

Holy Christmas Tree! This is freaking classic stuff. I don't even know what else to say....

by Geezaldinho Wed Apr 13, 2011 8:53 pm

Research Fields of Interest:
Image of the Journaist in Popular Culture, Media and Journalism Economics, Intellectual Property Law, Pedagogy, Rock Criticism, Music Culture, Media Ethics

by Geezaldinho Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:04 pm

i think I'd like her classes if they were like her articles.

http://www.sdcitybeat.com/sandiego/print-article-1968-print.html

by **DaTruRochin** Thu Apr 14, 2011 10:33 pm

According to the Andy Katz twitter feed:

USD will address FBI investigation at 11 a.m. PDT Friday. Coach Bill Grier and other University officials will attend.

Should be very interesting... I could see this either being total regurgitation of what we already know OR the fecal matter hitting the rotating air displacing unit (OR if you prefer the NSFW version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYxvVe9y5NQ)

by Geezaldinho Thu Apr 14, 2011 10:40 pm

No hat?

You mean that's not you behind the wheel?

This version is nice

by **DaTruRochin** Thu Apr 14, 2011 10:44 pm

I would give up many things to be able to grow a stache of that magnitude... No but seriously, my stache growing ability makes Adam Morrison's look like Rollie Fingers.

by **DaTruRochin** Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:31 am

This article speculates that the player solicited this year may have been playing double agent for the FBI:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/14/threat-alleged-usd-bribery-case/

If this is the case, I would consider it a "good" thing seeing that it wouldn't effect the current squad nearly as much. I really hope so, while I'm sure the NCAA will serve due punishment, the more the issue can be isolated with Johnson the better for the program moving forward as far as I can see. And wow, if that's the case that kid is guttsy for two timing these hoodlums (Somehow I don't see that happening if the Gambino family was running the racket...)

Also curious that they used the Portland game as the example of one that might have been fixed.... The timeline works, but USD most definitely did not hold back in that game (which would make sense if the player didn't actually fix the game). But the performance at the following GU game was pretty atrocious, I mean Gonzaga is a way better team but just look at the pathetic USD #s in the box score: http://usdtoreros.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2010-2011/usdmbb29.html

Butler-esque! Neutral

Side note: This entire situation is absolutely fascinating, it saddens me greatly to see a fellow WCCer going through it, but I just can't get enough for some reason.

by Geezaldinho Fri Apr 15, 2011 9:15 am

The only college kid in the witness protection program.

That's Shazy, by the way, in the first article.

But Brandon didnt play in either the Portland game or the zag game, so...I'm new to this....

How do you shave points from the bench?

You aren't saying he got to Sam Haddad, are you?

by **DaTruRochin** Fri Apr 15, 2011 9:55 am

I wasn't referring to the 2010 games... Just the ones from this season that Johnson allegedly approached players to fix, as were referred to in the article.

by **PilotNut** Fri Apr 15, 2011 12:08 pm

Nothing new here... LINK

USD president supports athletic director, coach

USD President Mary Lyons on Friday expressed "unwavering support" for Athletic Director Ky Snyder and basketball coach Bill Grier in the wake of a sports bribery scandal involving two former Toreros players and one ex-assistant coach.

Speaking at a campus news conference, Lyons said Snyder and Grier also had the support of the school's board of trustees.

"We're extremely disappointed in these allegations and the questions of integrity it raises in our intercollegiate program. It is not who we are," Snyder said.

Snyder said he learned of the federal investigation at 7 a.m. Monday from Grier, who said he was visited by two FBI agents at 6:30 a.m. Monday.

Former University of San Diego players Brandon Johnson and Brandon Dowdy, along with ex-assistant coach Thaddeus "T.J." Brown, were among 10 people charged in federal court with conspiracy to commit sports bribery, to operate an illegal sports bookmaking service and to distribute marijuana.

Snyder said the school was cooperating with the investigation and "will not be commenting on the investigation."

"I remain fully committed to Coach Grier and this team," Snyder said.

Said Grier: "If the allegations are true, I am deeply disappointed and feel betrayed."

Asked if he feared the allegations could hurt the program's reputation and recruiting, Snyder said, "The reputation of the university and the way we conduct ourselves will win out over time. In the short term, I think everybody is going to have questions."

Grier said he had not heard from any current Toreros players that they were interested in transferring.

by **DaTruRochin** Fri Apr 15, 2011 1:05 pm

At least they said SOMETHING, even if it is basically nothing. But I guess we learned no players are interested in transferring...yet.

by Geezaldinho Fri Apr 15, 2011 1:30 pm

DaTruRochin wrote:I guess we learned no players are interested in transferring...yet.

No, we just learned that if there are any such players, they haven't talked to Bill.

by **DaTruRochin** Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:27 pm

Johnson was arraigned and plead not guilty on Monday:

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/30198/ex-usd-star-arraigned-pleads-not-guilty

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/25/former-usd-basketball-star-arraigned-monday/

Trial settling starts in about a month. That not guilty plea leads me to believe that we are going to learn a LOT more about how bad this situation got than we would if he had reached a plea bargain.

Here's a workup of what we know thus far about the case, including dossiers and some lovely venn diagram style graphics explaining the interconnectedness of the suspects:http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/16/border-patrol-stop-2008-tied-usd-bribery-case/

This is going to get really interesting...

by Geezaldinho Wed Jun 08, 2011 8:10 am

The USD student who didn't get involved in the point shaving scandal was revealed to be Ken Rancifer.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jun/07/sources-identify-usd-player-who-declined-bribe/

The tone on the investigation has changed a bit. It just made it more confusing. Which one is "Weeny" and which one is "Slick Rick"?