The Heat is on: LeBron dispatches Bulls

And while he hasn't vanquished them from the Eastern Conference finals yet, he's now only one game away from doing it.

LeBron James scored 35 points, Chris Bosh chipped in 22 and the Heat took care of the young Chicago Bulls in game 4 of their series Tuesday night, winning 101-93 in OT.

The Heat did what was necessary to win. The hit each of their final 24 free throws in the game. They played defense too, limiting league MVP Derrick Rose to 23 points, and it took Rose 27 shots to get those points.

Game 5 in the series comes Thursday night, as the Bulls try to stave off elimination in Chicago.

Your highlights from SI.com/NBA.com:

Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and the Bulls cool the Heat

Taj Gibson over Dwayne Wade

The NBA's feature Finals series didn't exactly live up to the hype Sunday night. The Chicago Bulls continued their dominance of the Miami Heat, winning game one of their best of seven series 103-82.

As always, the bulls were led by league MVP Derrick Rose who is more and more impressive every time we see him play. Rose dropped 28 on the Heat, but it was the Chicago Bench and particularly Taj Gibson on the bench, who gave the Bulls the boost they needed.

Read your game report from the Chicago Sun-Times RIGHT HERE

The Heat version from the Ft.Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel RIGHT HERE

We don't think this series will end quickly. It should go 7 games. These are probably the two best teams left in the quest for the NBA title. Though if Chicago continues playing this way, they'll be the one left standing.

Well, they've taken down the embed code for the game highlights. But NBA.com does have video of Taj Gibson posterizing Dwayne Wade of the Heat.

Check out the video:



He added this one a little later, for good measure:

Memphis Boosters Chapped At Ruling... Is NCAA Playing Faves...???

((HT: MyFoxMemphis))

Tealy Deveraux tracked down one of the high-falootin' boosters for the Tigers and got his take on the ruling handed down from the NCAA.

See if you can guess what OSG researchers went after post-posting...???


Okay... for those of you who guessed the reference to Corey Maggette, give yourself a gold star.

Retreating to a Dan Wetzel piece from Yahoo!Sports in 2004, we revisit Wetzel's question...

Two days after the piece was published, the NCAA came out and said there would be no sanctions against Duke in the case. This is after Maggette admitted taking $2,000 from Myron Piggie. He, initially, said that he had not...

The NCAA's decision claimed that Duke was "unaware Maggette should have been ineligible." They were not aware of any payments between Maggette and Piggie.

Quoting David Price, NCAA Vice President of Enforcement, in April of 2004:

"After a lengthy investigation, we came to the conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to determine Maggette knew or should have known, and we believe firmly that the institution did not know and should not have known."

If we take the last half of the paragraph and apply it to Memphis' situation, there may be investigative precedent for the university- and this is regardless of what happened in the Duke case, truth or otherwise... that Maggette "knew or should have known" what he did was wrong.

From Dan Wolken's work in the Memphis Commercial Appeal...

Memphis claims Rose’s academic transcript was certified by the NCAA clearinghouse and came into question only after the 2007-08 season had been completed.

Memphis also claims it took all reasonable steps to ensure Rose’s eligibility after questions about his high school transcript arose in October 2007. Athletic director R.C. Johnson said Rose was questioned by four school officials about the SAT and that the school was comfortable with its investigation, which found no evidence that he cheated.

Taking that at its face value, this would fall equal to the Duke assertions in the Maggette investigation. Duke didn't know. Memphis thought they had done their due diligence in the case.

Is there a difference in one case to the other...???

The NCAA's retroactive investigation with Duke came up with a student-athlete who took money from a middle-man before he was enrolled at the university where he played basketball.

The investigation around Memphis has followed a test taken so a player COULD enroll at a university to play basketball. The university, technically, "was unaware" Rose should not have been eligible if they wrap themselves in their cloak of "due diligence."

Duke's investigation took the better part of four years to conclude no wrong-doing.
John Calipari's UMass investigation took seven weeks.
Missouri's 1996 case took about a month.
The Memphis case took about seven months...

Should Memphis have any leg to stand on here...?
Or, when the NCAA finds something, are you screwed...???
Regardless of the "when" and regardless of your own detective work in the matter in question... and even if your info and recon eventually falls one way or the other...

Those of us at OSG HQ think it's the latter, and Coach Cal's past at UMass didn't help matters.

Memphis Vacates, Gets 3-Years Probation, Appeals Instantly...

((HT: MyFoxMemphis))

Here's the full report from the NCAA...

From the Dan Wolken article in the Commercial Appeal...

The report states that the infractions committee “did not need to make a determination as to whether (Rose) engaged in unethical conduct” because the subsequent cancellation of his test score by the Educational Testing Service was a “strict liability” situation.

During the NCAA teleconference, questions about the time and place of Rose's SAT were asked multiple times and in each case, Dee said that once the NCAA's testing arm determined that the score had been canceled, the time and place of the test became irrelevant.

The penalties for Memphis include a reduction of scholarships for the women’s golf program, whose former coach was found guilty of providing extra benefits to players.

The report states that Memphis must return its 2008 Final Four trophy to the NCAA and that all school records must reflect the vacating of wins, meaning that former coach John Calipari is no longer the winningest coach in school history and the record is returned to Larry Finch.

Dr. Shirley Raines, the President of the university, has already announced that there will be an appeal of the decision. RC Johnson, the Athletic Director at Memphis, has already said that the banners that represent the wins of the program and its successes will remain in the rafters at the FedEx Forum while the appeal goes on.

Here's your highlights from the press conference with RC Johnson, President Raines, and University Chief Legal Counsel Sheri Lipman:

The three years probation covers all sports within the university's athletic department.

RC Johnson would argue that John Calipari did not have "unlimited control" as head coach. Johnson is also confident of the way the University is handling things currently. He would hire Calipari again if the situation were revisited. Johnson is not sure the university is taking a hit nationally- he feels "some people are in our corner nationally."

President Raines believes that, going forward, the university will be as diligent as "we believe we have." There will be a system of checks and balances that will ensure proper responsibility within the university. Raines feels the penalty was "unfair" as the university did its proper due diligence. The reputation of the school, while it may come to wins and losses, the university will be viewed by "how we play by the rules."

Coach Calipari's bonuses are part of the appeals proces as well. Coach Cal got $300,000 for performance, but if the appeal fails that money will have to be paid back.

The university also would have to pay back $85,000 immediately for performances in the post-season tournament and $530,000 in future disbursements.

Johnson admitted, that if the appeal fails, the banners would come down from the rafters at the Forum and the 61-game conference win streak would be wiped from all record books and publications.

The university will have their initial appeal done within 15 days, and their written appeal will be in the hands of the NCAA within 30 days.

Here's coverage of the presser from our friends at MyFoxMemphis/WHBQ-TV

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted... Vacation, Have To Get Away...Memphis Catches Hell From NCAA...

((HT: Memphis Commercial Appeal/Wolken))

The University of Memphis is expecting the release of a report from the NCAA Committee on Infractions on Thursday in which it will be forced to forfeit its record 38 victories and 2008 Final Four appearance, a source close to the situation confirmed to The Commercial Appeal on Wednesday.

ESPN.com first reported the story Wednesday, citing several unnamed sources.

Memphis' basketball program was accused in January of major violations, the most serious of which was that former Tiger point guard Derrick Rose ((pictured, thanks Mike Brown/Commercial Appeal)) had a stand-in take his SAT for him. Memphis also was cited for failure to monitor its charter travel system, as investigators found $2,260 in unpaid expenses by Rose's brother, Reggie Rose.

Memphis appeared before the Committee on Infractions on June 6.

This will mark the second Final Four appearance that Memphis has been forced to vacate, joining Dana Kirk's 1985 squad. Only the 1973 team's trip to the NCAA title game under coach Gene Bartow will stand in the official NCAA record book.

It will also be the second vacated Final Four for former coach John Calipari, whose 1996 trip with UMass was expunged after it was revealed that former star Marcus Camby had taken money from an agent.

Penalties that would impact the program going forward, such as scholarship losses, are not included in the report, according to a source.

Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal tries to remind us all that the ruling is less about Memphis, and more about who they had running the team at the time...

Here's coverage at the time everything initially hit the fan from our friends at MyFoxMemphis/WHBQ-TV. Earle Farrell had your standard reaction from fans...


Those of us at OSG HQ think Kentucky got just what they deserved...

The University of Memphis came out of their investigation not finding anything wrong-Naturally...

The joke now being that Calipari took two teams to the "Final Three..."
Nice...

Source: Memphis Knew About Ineligible Player

((HT: ESPN/Andy Katz))

One month after Memphis lost to Kansas in overtime on April 7, 2008, in one of the most thrilling national championship games in recent memory, the Tigers were rocked by an e-mail from the NCAA.

It was then that Memphis was first notified that star freshman point guard Derrick Rose, who helped the Tigers to an NCAA-record 38 wins and was soon going to become the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA draft by his hometown Bulls, had an invalidated standardized test score the previous year at Chicago's Simeon High School, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the e-mail.

The University of Memphis' legal counsel, Sheri Lipman, would not identify the student-athlete as Rose, but said Monday, "for the student-athlete, whoever that was, the first indication that we got was in early May [2008] that his score was being invalidated."

Memphis' administration knew that if this were indeed true, then coach John Calipari's ((pictured, thanks Memphis Commercial Appeal file)) team rode the superstar exploits of an ineligible player to an extraordinary season that was stopped just short of the program's first national title.

"It certainly came as a surprise," Lipman said of the e-mail.

Was it odd to be notified of a test score after the "student-athlete" played his freshman season?

"Absolutely," Lipman said. "That's when we started with the NCAA, looking into the case."

Details of Memphis' investigation into the alleged fraudulent SAT are in the school's response to the NCAA's notice of allegations received January 16, Lipman said. Memphis' response, which was requested by various Tennessee media outlets through a Freedom of Information Act request, could be forthcoming as early as Monday night or Tuesday morning, according to Lipman. The NCAA committee on infractions has a hearing in Indianapolis on Saturday.

Lipman said the response would add more depth to the Rose report and "put more paint on this canvas."

Rose's attorney, Daniel E. Reidy, issued a statement last week that said, "Mr. Rose is aware of the allegations recently reported in the press. Mr. Rose cooperated fully with the University of Memphis athletic and legal departments' investigation of this issue when he was a student and that investigation uncovered no wrongdoing on his part. At this time, Mr. Rose sees no reason to engage in further discussion regarding this matter and will instead focus on his career as a professional basketball player."

According to multiple sources, Rose's camp did tell Memphis that he took the SAT in question.

The NCAA's notice of allegations states that "it is alleged that [redacted] prospective men's basketball student-athlete failed to deport himself in accordance with the generally recognized high standards of honesty and sportsmanship normally associated with the conduct and administration of intercollegiate athletics for his knowing fraudulence or misconduct and administration of intercollegiate examination. Specifically, on [redacted] an unknown individual completed [redacted] SAT, with [redacted] knowledge, which was used to obtain his admission into the institution and to certify his NCAA eligibility. [Redacted] subsequently competed for the men's basketball team through the 2007-08 season, which included his participation in the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship."

On Monday, Bulls executive vice president for business operations Steve Schanwald said the team stood by Rose.

"Where the truth lies, who knows?" Schanwald told Comcast SportsNet Chicago. "But Derrick says it didn't happen, and I take him at his word."

According to a source, Calipari was floored that Rose could have been ineligible as a freshman.

So, too, was the university's legal counsel, which is fighting the NCAA over finding out about the "student-athlete's" invalid test score, after the season concluded and after he had been cleared by the NCAA clearinghouse to compete the previous fall.

Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson has said throughout the past week he doesn't anticipate the case will affect new coach Josh Pastner's program, either in scholarship reduction or any kind of postseason ban. There is a possibility that Memphis' 38 wins and its national championship appearance could be vacated by the committee on infractions if Memphis is not able to provide enough evidence to refute the charge that Rose was ineligible during the 2007-08 season.

Here's Katz explaining himself to Robert Flores...

RC And Josh Can't Get Facts Straight

((HT: WHBQ-TV))

Former Memphis Tiger Derrick Rose appears to be the key player in the NCAA investigation into the Tigers Basketball Program, and it turns out, this isn't the first time Rose's academic transcript has come under scrutiny.

The Chicago Sun Times is reporting that someone with access to Rose's records back at Simeon High School changed a "D" to a "C" on his transcript, and then changed the grade back after his transcript had been sent out to the schools rose was interested in, including the University of Memphis.

There's no telling how that news may influence the NCAA investigation, and whether it could turn out to be good news for the University of Memphis.

Kansas had a similar situation with Darrell Arthur's high school transcript last summer, and walked away clean-- maybe the Tigers will as well.

Also, there are some conflicting statements from Tigers Athletic Director R.C. Johnson and Tigers head coach Josh Pastner.

While Pastner told FOX13 he had no prior knowledge of the NCAA allegations, Johnson stated "we talked some about it."

Regardless of who told who, who told what, and when anything was said, the fate of the Tigers' 2007-2008 record and title could all be determined at the NCAA hearing June 6.

Here's the story from our friends at MyFoxMemphis with Matt Stark and Greg Gaston leading the way...


Here's the entire interviews with RC Johnson and Coach Pastner
In the biz, we call them "raw tape..."

Gaston then followed up his early piece with some talk from high-falootin' booster types...