Dirty Laundry

-The irony of The Sweater Vest's plight will not go unnoticed. He's literally already got the scarlet letter on his Chest.

Jim Tressel, who projects himself as a shaper of young men, a symbol of what is right in big-time college athletics, a champion of the student-athlete, has THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY is deep ish.

Terrelle Pryor was/is the most heralded recruit that the Buckeyes landed under his reign. This is saying something considering the number of players drafted and the overall success of the program. So win or lose, the coach's legacy would forever be tied to the performance of the dual threat QB + consensus #1 player in the 2008 class(who was also a top 25 basketball prospect). And now it most definitely will....

On a day when nobody was paying attention(always drop bad news on holidays) OSU asked arguably the best coach of the decade(Sorry, Saban, Meyer and Petersen) to take a hike. After rampant speculation that there could be more to come after he admitted that he previously lied to investigators,and today's news that the number of players who sold memorabilia is more like 28, then the 5 that Tressel told the authorities. Also, this spread over the last ten years, or his entire stay with OSU.  He of the .827 winning percentage, 9-1 record vs, ahem, Michigan and 2002 National Chapionship, which culminated with a win in the 2003 Orange Bowl, which is regarded by many of note as one of the best games ever. Including MOI. Even more, Tressel didn't even come clean. His transgressions only came to the surface when his players' actions overlapped with a federal, yea FBI, investigation into a local tattoo parlor's criminal activities. Yes, the same tattoo parlor where OSU athletes past and present sold/traded their memorabilia (including the famed gold pants

signed game jerseys, and bowl rings) in exchange for cash, discounted tattoos and weed. Now excuse me for being shallow, but if a star-athlete didn't receive extra benefits, he's not a star, LOL! In the old days, in the movies, Biff always got the girls cause he played football. Almost 20 years ago when Penny and Shaq played themselves played star high-school basketball prospects on the take in Blue Chips, i barely even batted an eye as a kid. As they say, IT COMES WITH THE TERRITORY. And as a BUCKEYE, Columbus, hell, OHIO is their territory. Marcus Camby got a rapper chain. Chris Webber and friends took over a half-million from booster Ed Martin; Derrick Rose and Lamar Odom allegedly had someone take their SAT/entrance exams for them. Reggie Bush/Cam Newton anyone?

I don't begrudge Pryor and the Buckeye players because seriously, the OSU kids did what any college student does when they can: they got the Hook-up. However, this situation was poorly handled by Coach Tressel. It's one thing when a few, well a bunch, of kids run amok of the sometimes faulty NCAA bylaws. But Tressel, the leader, went as far as sweeping under the rug the actions of his 5 starters instead of taking a chance to make this a lesson(you know part of the education he supposedly advocates) in order to protect his job. And because of that, he lost his job!

As far as Terrelle Pryor is concerned, he probably cost himself the chance to try to be a QB at the next level. With this Sports Illustrated article released online today, chances are he has played his last game at QB for the Bucks, his impending 5-game suspension seems meaningless now. Once touted as the new and improved Vince Young entering college, he was expected to be to Ohio State what Cam Newton WAS to Auburn. Now after 3 uneven seasons, and surrounded by questions about his football and personal life, he will only be drafted due to his immense physical talents and it assuredly won't be as a QB. Maybe a highly decorated TE in the 2011(or '12)supplemental draft...................