by Timothy Weisberg | Mar 22, 2011 | Blog
It took six seasons, and six straight NCAA tournament appearances before the University of Tennessee at Knoxville decided that Bruce Pearl was not the gem for the Volunteers, firing Pearl Monday.
A statement released by the school acknowledged the logistics of the firing, stating that the decision to fire Pearl was a result of “additional violations committed on September 14 and March 2011” by his staff.
The renowned coach who undertook a stagnant Volunteers program after leading the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to the Sweet 16 in 2006 will be packing his bags and join the dubious list of unemployed college coaches.
His predecessor, Buzz Peterson, held a 61-59 record with the Volunteers in four seasons with no NCAA appearances. But under the guidance of Pearl, the Volunteers were once again a well-recognized program, as Pearl boasted a 145-61 record over six seasons, including a No. 1 ranking and Elite Eight appearance in 2008.
But the amongst the popularity of Pearl, from his bright orange suits to showing up to a women’s basketball game bare chested and painted orange, the pressure to win caught up with him.
The events that unfolded in mid-September may have not led Pearl down the road to perdition, but were tall-tale signs of an end to an era marked by deceit, cover ups and NCAA violations.
On Sept. 10, the gem of Knoxville was cracked open, revealing the realities of being a Division I basketball coach: cutting corners in order to win.
Pearl told reporters in tearful remorse that he gave investigators false information when they inquiried about a cookout he held for recruits at his home. Pearl was charged with unethical conduct for misleading the investigators and the NCAA has since charged the Tennessee program with over a dozen recruiting violations, which included impermissible visits and phone calls to potential recruits.
So while the school backed Pearl during the NCAA investigations, the tables turned on Pearl last week when Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton went on a Knoxville radio show and acknowledged that the program was “soul-searching,” and contemplating whether or not it needed to head into a new direction, retracting his comments that backed Pearl during the subsequent investigations.
Complement that with a 30-point blowout loss to Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament where Pearl’s players were accused of quitting on the game, and the inevitability of Pearl’s departure seemed that much more imminent.
But the Tennessee athletic department deemed the risk too great to keep Pearl with the NCAA Infractions Committee hearing set for June and possible severe sanctions ahead for the program.
Boosted attendance to games, a reemergence of a culture that had been dormant in the wake of the success of the women’s program under legendary coach Pat Summit will be all but a distant memory for the Volunteers under Pearl’s direction.
In the end, the charismatic, yet naive Pearl was dealt his fate: even gems can have scratches and cuts that even the best jewelers are unable to fix.
Pearl was once that shining gem that personified a cultural phenomenon among the University of Tennessee faithful and the immediate Knoxville community. Instead, six years of prominence, popularity and success will be overshadowed by possible sanctions that have tarnished and distorted the image that Pearl originally molded and shaped when he arrived in March 2006.
College basketball is about winning and sanctions to a program cripple the ability for the program to excel in such a competitive market. They provide the handicap, but for all the wrong reasons. Pearl was an enabler. The problem is, it might be for the other team.
by Timothy Weisberg | Mar 21, 2011 | Blog
Although it seems counterintuitive to call it “March” madness since games are played up until early April, but the hysteria starts in March. Buzzer beaters, upsets, surprising finishes, the list is endless. So while you enjoy the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, the madness can either be enjoyable, or make you want to burn your brackets.
In the end, experts in bracketology still are unable to decipher who will win and advance, and who will be packing their bags early. The first round saw the atypical 5-12 seed upset, when Richmond send Vanderbilt packing in the first round for the second consecutive year, Morehead State from the Ohio Valley sent four-seed Louisville and Rick Pitino home early. This was the first real bracket buster, but should not be surprising since 13-seed Murray State beat Vanderbilt on a buzzer beater last March. De ja vue at the hands of the OVC. 11-seed Marquette took care of Xavier, and 11-seed Gonzaga dominated the senior-laden St. John’s squad. And so I make my top five list of the best first-round games of 2011. March madness lived up to its name this year…again.
5. 12-seed Richmond stuns 5-seed Vanderbilt 69-66:
No video for this one, but Richmond has already made a reputation for pulling off the upset. In 1991, they beat Syracuse as a 15-seed, and won as a 14-seed in 1998. What we also know is that Vanderbilt likes to lose in the first round. Okay maybe not like, but tends to follow a trend. Last year, 13-seed Murray State knocked off 4-seed Vanderbilt on a buzzer beater. This time it was a floater by the Spiders’ Kevin Anderson with 18.7 seconds remaining that sealed the Commodores’ fate…again. So if you see Vanderbilt as a four or five seed next year, expect an upset. That’s the moral of the story.
4. 13-seed Morehead State reps the OVC in a thriller over 4-seed Louisville 62-61:
Morehead State’s Demonte Sharper hit a three-pointer with 5.4 seconds remaining to give the Eagles a 62-61 lead. Louisville had a chance to win it, but Morehead State center Kenneth Faried blocked Mike Marra’s three point attempt as time expired to seal the shocking upset. Instead, that other Kentucky team from Morehead prevailed over the atypical perennial power Louisville.
Morehead wants more wins
3. 4-seed Kentucky survives a scare from the Ivy League: Kentucky 59-Princeton 57
Kentucky faced Ivy Leaguer Princeton in the first round, but the Tigers but on quite the scare. It was 57-55 Kentucky before the Tigers’ Dan Mavraides hit a step-back jumper with 36 seconds to go to tie the game up at 57. Freshman dandy Brandon Knight then took it upon himself to make a driving layup with two seconds to go to escape another upset. The Tigers are most notably known for their first round upset in 1996 over the defending NCAA champion UCLA Bruins.
The Tigers journey to the dance was quite memorable when they tied Harvard for the Ivy League title and were forced to play a one-game playoff to determine who would receive the Ivy League’s automatic bid. A Douglas Davis buzzer beater locked their bid to the tournament for the first time since 2004 in dramatic fashion, a week after losing to Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. in a game that would have clinched the Ivy League title. Harvard also had the opportunity to head to the tourney for the first time since 1946, but instead the shot by Davis extended that tourney drought.
Either way, the Tigers could not prevail, and Kentucky held out for a hero. Knight’s only two points of the game proved to be the most important.
Kentucky has a \’Knight\’ in shining armor
2. 7-seed Temple wins on an off-balance jumper over 10-seed Penn State 66-64:
Penn State trailed Temple 64-61, but Taylor Battle’s three-pointer from 30 feet out tied the game at 64 with 16 seconds remaining. The saying goes that one great shot deserves another, as Fernandez hit a tough off-balance jumper off numerous pump fakes with 0.4 remaining to knock the Nittany Lions out of the tourney. The Nittany Lions were in the tournament for the first time since 2001, earning an at-large bid mostly because of their surprise run to the Big 10 Tournament final.
Temple escapes the wrath of the Penn
But the win also ended Temple coach Fran Dumphry’s NCAA Tournament record 11-game losing streak. Temple’s last tournament win last came in 2001, and fittingly enough against Penn State.
1. 8-seed Butler prevails over 9-seed Old Dominion on a bit of luck on St. Patrick’s Day 60-58:
It was the luck of the irish for the er…Bulldogs in a first round match-up in the nation’s capital. Matt Howard’s tip-in at the buzzer propelled the Bulldogs into the second round albeit a play that was in the least bit well-crafted. Guard Shawn Vanzant was driving to the basket when he lost his balance and threw the ball toward the basket, the ball was hit up against the backboard, and right to Howard for the tip-in at the buzzer.
While you can almost guarantee that Butler coach Brad Stevens did not draw that play up, Butler escaped a first-round thriller, starting a spiraling process of down-to-the-wire games in another year of the madness that ensues during the month of March.
The Dog Pound is back
by Timothy Weisberg | Mar 11, 2011 | Blog
Known as “The Senator,” the man sporting his signature sweater vest is the Richard Blumenthal of Ohio. While Senator Blumenthal of Connecticut lied about serving in the Vietnam War, and Tressel is not technically a senator, Tressel picked up the state of Ohio and dropped it on his head after lying and covering up major rules violations. Instead of informing the university of misdeeds, Tressel rolled up his sweater vest and concealed the violations.
The end result is a two-game suspension to start the 2011 season and a $250,000 fine. Consider it ironic that the man who emphasized honor and integrity on the field, as well as in published books, would be quite the contrary, but I guess anything is possible these days when you are a Division I-A football coach.
Lies, sorry excuses are now business standard. The people of Buckeye Nation wanted to believe that Tressel was legitimate, he played by the books, and was not cheating like numerous other coaches.
But the damage has been done, the curtain unveiled, the truth exposed. He is just like all those other coaches who cheated the past decade. Even the prestigious are not immune to the virus of deceit. Cheating to win was more important, and yet his job is more safe than sorry.
Although the significant violation involving five players, including star quarterback Terelle Pryor, who received impermissible benefits in the form of tattoos and sold memorabilia for monetary compensation, Ohio State President E. Gordon Lee was stunned when a reporter asked him if Tressel’s job was in jeopardy.
“No. Are you kidding? I’m just hoping the coach doesn’t dismiss me.”
That was a joke right? Because the head coach of a football team is more important than the president of a state institution of higher learning right? Even though the violation could lead to “termination…for cause” in Tressel’s contract, the president of Ohio State University is in more trouble than Tressel himself.
Looks like that “Horseshoe” they call the home of the Buckeyes is wrapped around Lee like a dog collar, with Tressel holding him by a leash.
A nice refresher for Lee might help: Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl hosted a barbeque for high school recruits at his home, then lied about it–he was suspended for eight SEC games and lost approximately $1.5 million in salary.
Tressel knew Pryor and co. violated rules, got some free inkage, and still let them play. But what does the NCAA care. They suspended the five players for five games…next season, and allowed them to play in the Sugar Bowl. Why would you suspend the players when it matters?
So while the NCAA is about as useful as a chocolate tea pot in the disciplinary department, the free-market college football enterprise rolls right along. Tressel will be suspended for the games against Toledo and Akron. If he had any dignity in him, he would demand a harsher punishment and take it upon himself to be accountable.
But he has no dignity, and like the NCAA, might as well make institutional control null and void. What the NCAA will do to the man with the sweater vest are what he should have done if taking responsibility for your actions means anything.
One thing is for certain: “The Senator” can always pull the “Cam Newton defense” and say he never knew about the situation. A deaf ear and a blind eye. Shall we witness the Cam Newton defense?
by Timothy Weisberg | Mar 10, 2011 | Blog
The cameras are on, the stage is Carnesseca Arena, and lights as bright as the Emerald City illuminate St. John’s basketball. The crowd may not be chanting “Go Johnny, Go!,” but the Johnnies are doing exactly that under first-year head coach Steve Lavin.
At the corner of Utopia and Union, it’s not only the street names that are symbolic to a magical season. While a “utopia” may not be the best word to describe a 20-10 team, the union of Steve Lavin and the St. John’s faithful is only fitting.
Did I mention they are the Red Storm? Another microcosm for a team destined to “storm” right into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003. Before Lavin took the johnnies by storm (no pun intended), the Red Storm were 44-53 the previous three seasons, in the stages of recovery when the powerful storm turned against them, decimating the program with NCAA sanctions. Sanctions included the forfeiture of 47 wins over four seasons, the loss of two scholarships, and a two-year postseason ban, a result of impermissible benefits given to a player.
But with a roster boasting the largest senior class in the country of 10 seniors, those three years are nothing but the past, formulating an Emerald City that is a place like home.
“This is so unusual because, as far as we know, it’s the first time in the history of college basketball there has ever been 10 seniors, and I doubt that there will ever be 10 seniors in the future,” Lavin told the USA Today. “If you just think how it could ever happen again; it’s up there with unicorns and Halley’s comet.”
And it seems only natural that winning nine of your last 11 games, and finishing in a three-way tie for third place in the Big East would give Lavin a bit of a sense of humor.
Led by star senior guard Dwight Hardy, the Red Storm are regaining some recognition in the Big Apple. Call it the Emerald City spotlight because even Manhattan’s Time Square is competing for more than 15 seconds of fame.
Hired last March, Lavin has revamped a culture that had been dormant the past three years, along with revamping a coaching career after a seven-year hiatus. Lavin had spent seven seasons at UCLA, guiding the Bruins to five Sweet 16 appearances and one regional finals appearance, but was fired in 2003 after a 10-19 season.
“A shattered point in my life professionally,” Lavin said, calling his tenure as an ESPN analyst and color commentator a “sabbatical” tenure.
But maybe the underlying theme is being cursed and blessed. If one breaks a mirror, they are cursed for seven years. Maybe it was simply coincidence, but it took Lavin seven years to get back into coaching.
Either way, the Red Storm will play Rutgers Tuesday night in the second round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden, the home away from home for marquee Red Storm games.
The “union” of Lavin and the St. John’s basketball program may not create a basketball “utopia,” but mashed together, represent a team at center stage, whether that is Carnesseca Arena, Madison Square Garden, or the new Emerald City that illuminates the site of an NCAA tournament game.
by Timothy Weisberg | Feb 28, 2011 | Blog
As the clock struck 3 p.m. EST on Feb. 24, NBA teams pass around players from franchise-to-franchise like a hot potato, sending the trading carousel into full service.
Teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Charlotte Bobcats, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies were part of marquee trades either as a “salary dump,” filling a void at position, or simply bolstering the roster in hopes of a deep playoff run.
Carmelo Anthony and the “melo-drama” officially came to a close when the Denver Nuggets reached a preliminary 3-team deal Feb. 21 that sent Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Anthony Carter, Shelden Williams, Renaldo Balkman, and Corey Brewer to the New York Knicks for Timothy Mozgov, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton and Kosta Koufos from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves then acquired Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry from the Knicks.
The Knicks took a huge gamble, sending four starters to the Nuggets in exchange for Anthony and veteran point guard Chauncey Billups. The Knicks “won” in the sense that they finally rid themselves of Curry’s large salary by sending the struggling center to the Timberwolves. The Nuggets had been in negotiating talks with the Knicks and New Jersey Nets ever since Anthony rejected the Nuggets’ 3-year, $65 million contract extension this past off-season. The Knicks were the team Anthony most desired, and a team he will most likely sign an extension with after he becomes a free agent at the end of the season.
However, the Nuggets receive four of the Knicks’ five starters, a first-round pick in 2014 or later as well as $3 million in cash. The 3-team deal created a domino effect as the hour glass began to fill up.
The Chicago Bulls sent James Johnson to the Toronto Raptors for Miami’s 2011 first-round pick on Feb. 22, and on Feb. 23 the Nets completed two huge deals, the most surprising of which sent Utah Jazz guars Deron Williams to the Nets in exchange for Devin Harris and rookie forward Derrick Favors.
The Nets had originally proposed a deal with Denver that would have involved a very similar 3-team deal that involved Harris, Favors and Troy Murphy, but the deal fell through. Instead the third party was the Golden State Warriors, who shipped forward Brendan Wright and center Dan Gadzuric to the Nets for the expiring contract of forward Troy Murphy.
The Atlanta Hawks also made moves Feb. 23 sending guards Mike Bibby and Jordan Crawford, along with forward Maurice Evans to the Washington Wizards for Kirk Hiinrich and center Hilton Armstrong. Hinrich was a mentor for John Wall in the nation’s capital, and is a solid veteran who excels in the passing game and on the defensive end.
The Hawks were spiraling downward as of late and looking for a veteran guard to provide a strong playoff push to compete against Eastern Conference powers Boston, Orlando and Miami. They also filled a much needed void at center with the acquisition of Armstrong, a position that was thin over the past three years, and an achilles’ heel that led to early playoff exits.
The Los Angeles Clippers also shook things up by dumping Baron Davis’ large salary to the Cleveland Cavaliers for guard Mo Williams and forward Jamario Moon. This came as a bit of a surprise considering Davis was just starting to settle back into the Clippers’ rotation, but certainly had been a disappointment since signing with the Clippers for five years and $65 million in 2008.
The Cavs are in the process of rebuilding and were really yearning for the Clippers 2011 first-round pick more than Davis. Davis simply allowed them to have their cake and eat it too.
Other trades right at the Feb. 24 deadline included the Charlotte Bobcats, who sent forward Gerald Wallace to Portland, along with Nazr Mohommad to Oklahoma City for D.J. White and Morris Peterson. The Thunder finally received the center they needed to be considered a contender in the Western Conference on a guard-dominated team.
The Memphis Grizzlies also welcomed back Shane Battier, who was reunited with the team that drafted him, and sent the Grizzlies’ disappointing third overal pick from 2009 Hasheem Thabeet and forward DeMarre Carroll to the Rockets. The Grizzlies also received Ishmael Smith from the Rockets.
The Grizzlies also had a deal in the workings that would have sent forward O.J. Mayo to the Indiana Pacers, but the deal fell through. The Rockets also switched guards with Phoenix by sending Aaron Brooks to the Suns for Goran Dragic, who backed up Steve Nash in Phoenix. Once again, the Rockets’ intention here was to grab the Suns’ 2011 first-round pick and dump Brooks’ pretty substantial salary.
Notable teams who did not make any deals before the trade deadline were the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic. However, one could argue the Magic made their major deal earlier in the season when they acquired Gilbert Arenas from Washington and Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu from Phoenix in a three-team deal that sent the bloated contract of Rashard Lewis to the Wizards and Vince Carter to the Suns on Dec. 18.
But it was the Boston Celtics trades that surprised almost everybody in the media. The Celtics took the biggest gamble of all, going “all in” by sending injured center Kendrick Perkins and guard Nate Robinson to the Oklahoma City Thunder for forward Jeff Green and center Nenad Kristic. Perkins played a vital role in the Celtics run to the NBA Finals last season, but injured his knee in game six of the NBA Finals.
Many would argue that the Celtics might have been able to win the title if Perkins was able to play in game seven, but Perkins had not played the majority of this season due to his injury, and the Celtics were already decimated at the center position. Free-agent acquisitions Jermaine O’Neal and Shaquille O’Neal are injured, and Jermaine is not expected to be ready to play until mid-March.
The Celtics also sent rookie forward Luke Harangody and center Semih Erden to the Cavaliers and forward Marquis Daniels to the Sacramento Kings, but these trades seemed less surprising due to the feasability of receiving two second-round picks in return.
The trade deadline usually entails last-minute deals that transpire when teams are exploring options for ways to bolster their rosters. However, it becomes a gamble when the buzzer sounds and the trade deadline is over, knowing the deals are permanent.
Winners of this year’s trades include: Oklahoma City Thunder, Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, and the Los Angeles Clippers. The losers include: Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trailblazers.
The Celtics and Knicks could turn out to be losers, but only time will tell whether or not each team played their cards right.
The Celtics dumped their key starting center from last season, and the Knicks relinquished four of five starters for a superstar that will need time to assimilate into Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni’s system.
The NBA is supposedly where amazing happens. The trade deadline is where gambling happens. And in this gambling game, nobody is bluffing.
Carmelo Anthony traded to New York Knicks
by Timothy Weisberg | Feb 10, 2011 | Blog
The massive influx of Egyptians protesting in front of Tahrir Square managed to migrate to the Parliament building early Wednesday morning, as some 500 people blocked the street that runs in front of Parliament.
What began as a peaceful political protest has transitioned into complete civil unrest. While the protesters intend on controlling Tahrir Square until Hosni Mubarak’s leadership steps down, the reality of the matter is that he will ride out his tumultuous tenure until the September elections.
The Egyptian army has acted as a neutral force, but the blocking of a street in front of Parliament has implored the regime to act, according to vice president Omar Suleiman.
If the protests continue to bleed out from Tahrir Square, Suleiman warned citizens there could be “the dark bats of the night emerging to terrorize the people.”
So while this analogy may or may not imply forceful action from the police, the protesters are skating on thin ice, and have opened up pandora’s box of irrationality.
The Muslim Brotherhood is the largest opposition group, and complemented the rising tension between protesters and the Mubarak regime by accusing the army of arresting and torturing protesters at Tahrir Square.
The army will now be compelled to act against the protesters, starting more political upheaval and possibly bloodshed.
Multiple protests are projected to occur at different locations in Cairo on Friday, the Muslim day of prayer. A peaceful protest might be the ultimate euphemism for a group of people who have resulted to irrational measures in order to make a statement.
Egypt vice president Omar Suleiman
In with one regime and out with another, the extended protests will not solve the problem, and there is no telling what the Muslim Brotherhood would undertake if they were to establish control in Parliament.
Through desperation, anguish and above all, uncertainty, the protesters look to establish an exceedingly long fight.
If only the picture could be so black and white. However, gray areas permeate the distorted visual that encompasses a nation plagued with political instability.
