My Thoughts on the tOSU Suspensions

The NCAA did not suspended the players for Jan. 4 Sugar Bowl against the eighth-ranked Razorbacks because the "student-athletes did not receive adequate rules education during the time period the violations occurred."

This excerpt from the AP release (I'm reading the WSJ report here) on the Terrell Pryor suspension is the biggest crock of chickenshit I have heard since their Cam Newton decision.

If I have this straight, the five players at Ohio State received a standard four game suspension for the sale of various team paraphernalia plus a one game suspension for:

 ...not immediately disclos[ing] the violations when presented with the appropriate rules education.

Fair enough.  This seems consistent with the AJ decision (b/c he apparently was upfront about it - hence no extra game), although such a ruling should be easy enough to make for the NCAA considering the two scenarios are almost identical.  The only true difference I see is that the OSU players sold more swag.

But they're playing in the fucking SUGAR BOWL?  You're shitting me.  The justification we're given is that the players weren't educated well enough about the rules.  "Mea culpa," says Kevin Lennon, NCAA VP of academic and membership affairs.  How merciful, o gracious NCAA.  It took a lot of balls to admit your mistake back there, Kev.

Okay, so the NCAA's at fault a little bit 'cause they didn't let Pryor and his buds know, back in '08 or '09 about how they shouldn't be selling their stuff and the kids get cut some slack.  Perhaps knock off the  extra game suspension that was tacked on because the kids were lying?

Not when the NCAA is beholden to the interests of Sugar Bowl money.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised, (cash reigns supreme in every other facet of life, too) but to hear such a half-assed and transparent excuse for their actions is just laughable.

All in all, the Sugar Bowl gets it's untarnished top ten matchup, the advertisers still get all the eyeballs they were entitled to before the sanctions were levied, the NCAA remains "tough on crime," while the players never sit a game because they're in the NFL making ched.

All in the name of Amateurism