Ohio St. vs. Terrelle Pryor vs. The NFL

Terrelle Pryor

((ht: espn.com))

This is getting messy. Or maybe we should say messier. Terrelle Pryor and the word violation seem to be going hand in hand these days. And his issues are holding up the NFL's Supplemental draft.

Word comes today, courtesy of Chris Mortensen of ESPN that Pryor and Ohio State are in a bit of a...well...disagreement. Pryor (or at least his attorney since he doesn't speak to media) claims he told the NCAA in May that his so-called mentor Ted Sarniak gave his mother money and took care of his car payments. Which by the way, would explain more than a few things. He also adds (his attorney does), the NCAA was aware of this and told Sarniak to stop.

Ohio State however says no he didn't.

Read Mort's story which summarizes it all RIGHT HERE

I don't know about you, but we smell a rat here. We get the impression this is another ploy to convince the NFL Pryor would be in trouble and thusly be eligible for the Supplemental Draft. Something we might add that many so-called "NFL Experts" say he should be allowed to participate in.

We say no. We say this is a blatant attempt at manipulating the system. We don't have anything against guys who flunk out or get in legal trouble trying to get a shot at the pros. But Pryor's case is different. Yes, he would miss half this season if he stayed at Ohio State, but he CHOSE to leave. He didn't have to. He wasn't, at least on the surface, in-eligible in any way, shape or form other than the "Tattoo Issue". He would have had the opportunity to finish his degree and play the second half of the season.

No, this is a blatant attempt to cash in now and not face the damage he left behind. Plain and simple. And no, we don't think he'll be a success in the pros. He's not head and shoulders above the guys he'd be playing with in the NFL. And he's in for a shock when he realizes it. It's not like the "Little Sisters of the Poor" schedule Ohio State plays in their first 5 games. It's "Big Boy" football. If you are "that" good Mr. Pryor, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to prove it....next spring.

Dashboard cam of Cliff Harris traffic stop: Epic!

((ht: katu))

Cheech and Chong would be proud. And we also have learned that a Nissan Altima can go over 110 mph.

KATU-TV has provided a play-by-play of Harris's traffic in June. In the car with him, star QB Darron Thomas.

Harris tells the Oregon State Trooper at the outset that they "Smoked all the Marijuana". And he got a sobriety test to boot.

The officer doesn't arrest Harris after he somehow passes a field sobriety test and despite not having a valid drivers license on him. And in fact, Harris tells him of a suspended license for driving uninsured in California. But Harris isn't arrested. Eventually Tyrell Irvin, who was in the back seat and had a valid license, was given permission to drive the group home.

Oh, and for what it is worth, the aforementioned Altima was rented by a university employee. An employee that Harris later said "Is my girlfriend"

Read the text version of the arrest from KATU RIGHT HERE

And the KATU TV report. Note the lack of concern from coach Chip Kelly:



Okay, there are several things here that should be questioned, first and foremost how Harris, despite admitting the marijuana use and driving 118 mph, in a car that he had no paperwork for, got away with a citation.

Second the police officers shouldn't be adjusting what the do based on who is in the car. They apparently talk, at length, about the Oregon players in the car. And that is despite the later conversation stating they would never give football players preferential treatment. Imagine if you or I were in that exact same predicament. Where do you think you'd be spending at least the rest of the night?

Third, Oregon coach Chip Kelly appears to be not the slightest bit worried about any of this. And Harris, nor Thomas appear to have suffered any repercussions. Yeah, sure, Harris's "Family" paid the $1100 fine. And in the eyes of the Ducks, that seems to be the end of it. It shouldn't be.

See the entire dashcam video of the arrest from our friends at KATU-TV:

Man sues Mike Gundy for firing him for wearing wrong shirt

Mike Gundy

((ht: tulsa world))

Holy crap, some things you just can't make up. Listen to this:

According to the Tulsa World, a contractor is filing a "Breach of contract" suit against Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy.

The reason...

He showed up to do work on Gundy's house wearing an Oklahoma Sooner baseball shirt.

No, really.

Brent Loveland says he lost money because he turned other jobs down to work on Gundy's house in Stillwater. He's suing, supposedly to recoup that money.

As the story goes in the suit, Loveland was going to do trim work at Gundy's house, he allegedly showed up his 1st day at work wearing the t-shirt. He claims when Gundy saw him Gundy said, "How dare you come into my house and offend my wife"

No really.

Read the entire story from the Tulsa World RIGHT HERE

This is almost too funny for words. 1st of all, Gundy needs to lighten up. But we know, based on his famous "I'm a man, and I'm 40" speech, he's wound pretty tight. Second, Loveland is a moron. Dude, think about what you are doing before you do it. And don't claim you wore the shirt because it was dark and you didn't see the logo.

Really, coaches need to lighten up about things like this. If it's true, Gundy should have just laughed it off. While coaches live, eat and breathe their team and their team only, they need to realize not everybody in the world thinks or is aware of the same things they are.

Because this video never gets old.....(from ESPN/YouTube)

DEVELOPING: Butch Davis fired by UNC

((ht: newsobserver.com))

It had to happen this way. Particularly after he took full responsibility for everything just two days ago.

The University of North Carolina fired head football coach Butch Davis today, just before practice for the upcoming season was about to begin next week.

The University spoke in a press conference at length about "Restoring Integrity" and "Moving Forward", which wasn't wrong.

Really the question is just "Why now?"

Read the entire story from the Raleigh News and Observer RIGHT HERE

There's a long list of problems the program has come under fire for over the past two years. Several players were suspended for the entire 2010 season for alleged improprieties and the list of problems continues to grow.

We suspect this was the first move to show the NCAA that administrators at the school are still in control, but again, the question is, "Why now...?" There's been nothing new since the Michael McAdoo incident...and that was a few weeks ago.

No word on an interim replacement for Davis, but the school is going to have a lot of work ahead to try and restore its reputation and live through what happened over the past few years.

Here's the release from our friends at UNC their ownselves...

University of North Carolina Chancellor Holden Thorp announced this evening that Butch Davis has been dismissed as head coach of the Carolina football program.
Davis was informed by Thorp and Director of Athletics Dick Baddour of the decision.
“To restore confidence in the University of North Carolina and our football program, it’s time to make a change,” said Thorp. “What started as a purely athletic issue has begun to chip away at this University’s reputation. I have been deliberate in my approach to understanding this situation fully, and I have worked to be fair to everyone involved. However, I have lost confidence in our ability to come through this without harming the way people think of this institution. Our academic integrity is paramount and we must work diligently to protect it. The only way to move forward and put this behind us is to make a change.”

Thorp said the decision was not related to any change in the NCAA investigation, but that it was the result of the cumulative damage to the University’s reputation over the past year.

“Athletics and football are an important part of this University, and a successful football program is essential to the overall health of our athletic program,” Thorp continued. “That’s why we have to put this behind us and move forward.” Baddour said, “The last 13 months have been some of the most difficult that anyone associated with the athletic department and football program have dealt with. At this time, a decision has been made to change the leadership of the football program to help the entire University community move forward.

“I want to thank Butch Davis and his family for their four‐plus years of service and dedication to the University and the Chapel Hill community,” continued Baddour. “My staff and I will work with Chancellor Thorp to transition to an interim head coach as soon as possible. It is critical that we do all we can to help our students and other staff members on the football team since preseason training camp begins in just eight days.”

A presser is set for campus tomorrow morning...
More when we know more...

Ohio St. helps Pryor's case for Supplemental Draft

Terrelle Pryor/File

((ht: dispatch.com))

Well, that was easy. No, Terrelle Pryor didn't trade anybody at Staples an autograph for an office product, rather, it was Ohio State doing him a huge favor that should help his case in the next few days to get in a Supplemental Draft.

We reported just the other day that Pryor's eligibility for such a draft was in question because he didn't leave tOSU ineligible or as a hardship, rather, he just up and left.

Not any more.

Pryor's attorney along with Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith have taken care of that question. Smith produced a letter stating that "As of June 7, Pryor was no longer eligible to play football for the Buckeyes." He based that statement on Pryor proclaiming June 7th that he'd would not interview with representatives of the NCAA and Ohio State. Smith says Pryor is no longer welcome around the athletic program for 5-years. (Or until you get caught here--ed.note)

Read the entire story from the Columbus Dispatch RIGHT HERE

Quite honestly, this is an absolute LOAD OF CRAP. But it will work. Pryor was not going to be able to eligible for the supplemental draft without this. The NFL, still hasn't announced if they are going to have one yet.

The school did this specifically so Pryor could be eligible. He had already made the decision to turn pro before June 7th. Long before then we'd argue.

This is just another in the long line of tOSU bending over to help Pryor and in return, they are getting pretty much nothing other than a barrel full of trouble. Sure, they have the right to do this and sure, Pryor's people have a right to ask for it...which they did.

It still doesn't pass a smell test. And no, nobody will get to ask young Mr. Pryor about it, because he doesn't talk to the media out of fear that he'll be asked about the mess he left behind. And before you ask Ohio State fans, we don't buy for a second that your problems were all "Jim Tressel's" fault, they weren't. He got in trouble trying to cover up for the guy in the picture at the top right corner of this story.

Does Alabama have a problem with T-Town Menswear?

Tom Albetar on Sidelines

((ht: al.com))
((outkickthecoverage.com))

This is an interesting story that we are aware of and raises a few questions. For those not in the know, apparently, a Tuscaloosa based business called "T-Town Menswear" was selling and/or distributing items autographed by University of Alabama student athletes.

For those Ohio State fans out there, yeah, this should raise an eyebrow.

This specifically  refers back to a story done by the excellent writer Clay Travis and his new blog "Outkickthecoverage.com".

In a story Travis wrote on July 22nd, he detailed how the store advertised itself with signed jerseys from Julio Jones, Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson during the 2010 season. Those jerseys were featured in the window displays which Travis documents as an NCAA violation, though not a serious one.

Read the entire story from outkickthecoverage RIGHT HERE

Shortly thereafter, Joe Schad of the 4-letter (ESPN), did a story, that didn't credit Travis, stating Alabama had looked into this and found no problems. He and now others mentioned the school had sent a "Cease and desist" letter to the store. And they found no violations or problems.

Hmmmm.

Just yesterday, Travis produced a slew of photos and documentation showing the owner of the Men's store, Tom Albetar on the sidelines, with a sideline pass at a slew of Alabama games. Not something most store owners get when they feel the urge. The indirect inference is Albetar is treated like a booster, not a random store owner.

Oh...and after the 1st "Cease and Desist" letter, Albetar still procured autographs from current Crimson Tiders A.J McCarron and Nico Johnson. The school sent a second letter to him after that. acknowledging that autographs were sold.

You can read that from OutKickTheCoverage RIGHT HERE

Through it all, the school's compliance department maintains the players had no idea the items were being sold. But the school did. Which makes zero sense. Why would they not say anything to the players about this? Why would they tell the guys to "Stay Away" after the first letter was issued?

The biggest question Travis poses, and we concur with is "Why is the NCAA taking Alabama at its word about this?" They were much more aggressive with Ohio State and quite honestly, this sounds, at least on the surface, like the exact same issue.

We think, much like Ohio State, where there is smoke, there is almost ALWAYS fire. The Alabama fans may not think so and the school appears not to think so. But this sounds fishy--at best. Had there not been documented evidence of Albetar flashing his sideline passes and his access to players, it would be less significant.

We hope a further investigation will be launched, but we aren't really confident that it will happen. In part, we believe, because its Alabama. We don't for a minute believe this is a "Program Killer", but it sure sounds like a pattern that needs to be stopped if the NCAA Investigative arm is what it says it is.

We'll be careful in the future, because as crazy as the fanbase is there, they are likely to come after people who criticize. All we are asking is they be treated like everyone else.

In that vein, here's what they call a "Hype Video" for the 2011 season:

Tennesse puts themselves on Probation

Bruce Pearl

((ht: knoxville news-sentinel))

We have an idea of what this means and we are quite sure it is trying to head off far more serious penalties by the NCAA.

The Knoxville News-Sentinel reported last night that the University of Tennessee has imposed a two-year probation on its athletic department. That, according to the paper, is a capper to the other penalties and punishments that have already been placed on the program.

You can read the story, and be as confused as we are RIGHT HERE

Here's what we think it means: Nothing. According to this, the school is of the opinion that no longer having Lane Kiffin and Bruce Pearl along with others on the athletic staff is a good start. They also point to the suspension handed down on Pearl as part of their proactive approach

All the probation essentially means is they will be in trouble if they do something again.

This is all to give the NCAA the message that they know they messed up and are handling it. It may or may not work. It certainly can't help. We certainly don't think this is as serious as the "alleged" violations at Ohio State, but it's already all but been decided tOSU is only getting off with a slap on the wrist. We think Tennessee is probably not going to get much more than that from the NCAA either.

The fine folks at WBIR-TV explain things on the TV side:

NCAA to Auburn: We aren't done yet...

Cam and Cecil Newton/Opelika Times

((ht: nytimes.com/thamel))

Interesting. The normally, somewhat placid SEC athletics meetings last month in North Augusta, South Carolina apparently had a little excitement in them.

No, Mike Price wasn't there, but the NCAA's VP of enforcement, Julie Roe Lach was.

And she had some interesting words with Auburn coach Gene Chizik. Now, in the interest of our Auburn contingent who reads us regularly, this probably is meaningless...but.

According to the New York Times, there was a bit of a testy exchange between Lach and Chizik when Chizik pressed her about the NCAA investigation into Cam Newton and Auburn recruiting. The quote was "You'll know when we're finished and we're not finished".


The Times confirmed this after talking to several people in the room at the time.

Read the full story RIGHT HERE (Might be subscription--just warning you)

Yes, we'll grant, this is news in large part due to the lack of news at the present time. We..and everyone else have gone into great detail of the why and what about the NCAA investigation into Auburn football and Cam Newton in particular.

This, we hope, means the NCAA is serious and not going to rush things just for the sake of it. They need to be sure that things were done right. This is an issue, they already haven't handled particularly well and they need to get it right. With the other outstanding investigations out there, they need for the schools to know they take this type of issue seriously and if you do something wrong, there will be repercussions.

Plancher trial winding down: Dueling doctor testimony ((UPDATE: Jury Begins Deliberation))

((ht: orlandosentinel))

The trial of a now deceased UCF Football player's family versus the University of Central Florida Athletic Association is beginning to wind down.

The trial, which in a somewhat interesting twist, was promised to be over in 3-weeks, is about to hit that magical 3-week mark. And the judge in the case is holding the attorneys for both sides to that timetable.

Wednesday's testimony included a "Medical Expert" and a Boston area "Hematologist". Both testified they did not believe Ereck Plancher's diagnosis of "Sickle Cell Trait" contributed to his death at a UCF Football practice in 2008.

That testimony contradicted the testimony of the Orange County Medical Examiner who said he believes the trait is exactly what caused Plancher's death. Testimony has also included debate as to whether or not there was water made available to players at practice as well.

The Plancher family is seeking damages from the UCFAA and this case should be over soon. Final testimony is scheduled for Thursday and the case could be sent to the jury by the end of the day.

Your re-cap, includes George O'Leary testifying, and is courtesy of our friends at the Orlando Sentinel the one Orlando media outlet that isn't all "Casey Anthony" all the time.

 

PM UPDATE: As of 1730HRS Thursday afternoon, the jury has started deliberations in the case. Steve Yerrid, the Plancher family attorney, told jurors during his closing argument the UCF Athletics Association failed to follow its own policies and do everything possible to save Plancher's life.

UCFAA attorney Kevin Taylor countered there is "no evidence based proof" sickle cell trait caused death.

More when we know more...

Former Tenn. and Alabama football player died from multiple drugs

Aaron Douglas/Courtesy: univ or al./al.com

((ht: wvlt-tv))

Former Tennessee and Alabama offensive lineman Aaron Douglas apparently died May 12th in Fernandina Beach, Florida from a combination of multiple drugs in his system.

That according to an area medical examiner. The autopsy report on Douglas said he had "Multiple Drugs in his body including Methadone and Diazepam."

Douglas, was a 21-year old who played one season at Tennessee and had transferred to Alabama. Interesting if for no other fact than those two schools truly hate each other and have a long history.

The original story from WVLT-TV in Knoxville RIGHT HERE

Douglas had a troubled football career and young life with several scrapes with the law. Those scrapes were a good part of the reason he left Knoxville to go to Tuscaloosa.

Here's some video of Tennessee coach Derek Dooley talking about Douglas leaving the UT Football team. Thanks Knoxnews/YouTube:

Ohio State looks at changes in compliance

((ht: 10tv.com))

It may be a little to little, a little too late, but Ohio State's Board of Trustees have been meeting the past couple of days and one of their main topics of discussion: Changes in compliance.

By now, we all know about the multitude of problems the school is currently facing and there is great fear that the compliance office may have failed the school. At the very least, they may become the fall guys.

Either way, the Trustees want changes, they just aren't sure of what those changes will be....yet.

Our friends at WBNS (10TV.com), explain, RIGHT HERE

We think this isn't a bad move, but as we said, it is way too late. And the fact that nothing will be implemented this year makes it essentially toothless. It appears, to some extent, the school is looking for someone to throw blame for the current mess on and it may be that the compliance office will be the primary target. We'll see.

Here's the TV Story from 10 Investigates (WBNS):

Developing: BMV: Ohio St. players didn't get special deals

Former coach Jim Tressel/File

((ht: dispatch.com))

Well, that is at least one agency clearing them. You'll have to however forgive our skepticism. The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, an agency not known for its efficiency or computerized record keeping (we know this, we live there), has reportedly concluded an investigation stating that no Ohio State football players got a special deal from Jack Maxton Chevy or any other car dealer in the Columbus area.

The investigation by the BMV, which we weren't aware of, concluded that the dealers made a credible profit on the transactions. It also claims no memorabilia or tickets were part of the transactions. However, it did not determine whether there were any "discounts" not given to the public.

And, the report essentially doesn't carry a lot of weight. The BMV is not able to determine, like we said, whether any deals were cut or if the sales were "Appropriate".

Read the entire story from the Columbus Dispatch RIGHT HERE

While we are quite sure the Ohio State folks are patting themselves on the back and rejoicing over this, they probably shouldn't. On paper, and undoubtedly in the headlines, this will be seen as vindication and proof that this was a witch hunt. It's not.

There are still far too many questions still lingering out there, such as how college kids such as Terrelle Pryor could own so many cars in such a short time. We don't for a minute believe he, nor his family, had enough money to fund 6-plus cars in 3-years. Most people making a solid living can't afford that. Think about it.

We still believe Ohio State is in deep doo-doo, and this report won't change that. This is more a "P.R" victory than anything tangible. We are quite sure the "Powers" that be in Columbus are still in great fear of an NCAA "Lack of Institutional Control" warning, and a report from a toothless agency who doesn't keep good records on the drivers in Ohio, much less sales to college football players, will in the long run mean absolutely nothing.

Auburn football team finally get their bling/ring's...

The Rings/Courtesy: Al.com

((ht: al.com))

Well, it took awhile, but then again, if you look at the size and decorations on them, it isn't a total surprise that it took so long for the team to actually get them.

The item(s) in question: The Auburn University National Championship rings. They were given to the 2010 National Championship team at a low key event Sunday night at the school's athletic facilities.

More from Al.com RIGHT HERE

Most college football fans already know the story of the 2010 Auburn Tigers, so we will spare you the pontificating. Bottom line, when all was said and done, they were the best team on the field, period. And, for whatever issues Auburn had on the field, we'd rather see them win it then a team such as Ohio State who seems to have taken the questionable off-the field issue thing to a whole new level.

Ohio State compliance director gets a free car too

Doug Archie/Courtesy: dispatch.com

((ht: wbns-tv))

It must be nice to be in the compliance business.

We fully realize that big-time Universities have business arrangements with a variety of vendors and others within their communities. We also realize many employees, such as coaches and athletic directors and such often have Courtesy Car privilages written into their contract.

But it looks really odd, when the compliance director gets a car. Particularly at a school that seems to be having some issues with players getting the same treatment.

It may be totally above board and at some schools perfectly legitimate, but Ohio State compliance director Doug Archie, he gets a Courtesy Car.

And no, it doesn't come from one of the dealers at the center of the Terrelle Pryor investigation, but it does come from a dealership owned by a former player, who tells our friends at WBNS-TV, that he sometimes employes "Student-athletes" during the summer.

Read the full story from WBNS, RIGHT HERE

Hmmm. There are some serious conflicts of interest in this story--by that we mean the people involved. Yes, we readily admit, the car dealer in question, Miracle Motor Mart, may not be doing anything wrong. But it doesn't leave a particularly good impression either.

And no, Ohio State fans, this isn't ripping for the sake of ripping. Considering the perks that everyone OSU football seems to get, this is a legitimate questions. How can you tell kids not to take these kinds of deals, if you are taking them yourself.

Watch the WBNS story and see what you think:

Lawyer who triggered Tressel/Ohio State-gate in deep trouble

Christopher Cicero--on left

((ht: columbus dispatch))

It appears that Mr. Christopher Cicero, former Ohio State football player and current attorney may not be an attorney much longer.

Cicero, you might remember was the person who e-mailed then Ohio State coach Jim Tressel warning him about his players selling memorabilia for free tattoo's. Cicero knew of the issue when the tattoo parlor owner, one Edward Rife, came to him for legal advice.

Rife came to him for advice after the feds raided his house and found some of the memorabilia. Cicero not only gave Tressel a heads up, he gave him a list of what Rife had and offered to try and get the gear back.

It was the same set of e-mails that Tressel summarily warned Terrelle Pryor's "Mentor" Ted Sarniak about. To put this in layman's terms. It's like a cop tipping off his brother before the brother is arrested. You can't do that.

Anyway, Cicero is facing a complaint with the Ohio Supreme Court's Office of Disciplinary Counsel and may very well lose his law license.

Read more from the Columbus Dispatch RIGHT HERE

This whole thing is a mess and so easily could have been avoided. Cicero, for lack of a better way to put it, was a moron for notifying Tressel and Tressel is equally as stupid for not telling anyone about it until after he was busted.

At this point Tressel has already gotten his reward for what happened, Cicero it appears, won't be far behind. However, perhaps the most blatant abuser in all of this, now former QB Terrelle Pryor, well, he signed with an agent today and while the school is going to suffer greatly for his arrogance, Pryor and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus will be trying to convince NFL teams that it wasn't his fault.

BREAKING: Tennessee Athletic Director Mike Hamilton Resigns

Mike Hamilton

Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton is done. Hamilton is stepping down effective June 30th.
the University of Tennessee is holding an 11:00 presser to announce that their beleaguered AD is resigning.

"My family and I love the University of Tennessee, and we love Knoxville. We have poured out our lives over the last 19 years to try to make this a better community, a better athletic program and a better university," Hamilton said in a statement released by the University. "We will forever cherish our time here and be eternally grateful to Doug Dickey for taking a chance on a young, 28-year-old in 1992. Serving as athletic director over the last eight years has been an incredible daily leadership lesson and a dream come true that I would never trade for anything. I appreciate everyone who has walked along that path with me. We have, without a doubt, the best staff, coaches, student-athletes and fans in America."

Read more from Volunteer TV RIGHT HERE

"The University of Tennessee's athletic programs have experienced great success under Mike Hamilton's leadership. Mike has led our teams to success on and off the field." University of Tennessee Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheeck said in a statement released by the University.

"Mike is a man of high integrity and deep faith. His contributions to our campus and its faculty, staff and students will live on for many decades, especially his positive influence on our student-athletes. We will miss him."

Hamilton has become a target after a series of poor hires. From Lane Kiffin to Bruce Pearl and others, the once vaunted Tennessee athletic department is on a really bad run, including NCAA violations among their problems.

Oh, by the way, the NCAA will be holding a hearing with the folks from Tennessee about all of their issues this coming Saturday.

Hamilton has been in the athletic department since 1993 and been the Athletic Director since 2003.

We will keep an eye on this story and update it when we are able to.

One name possibly floated out there in the earliest of stages is current television commentator Charles Davis. The All-SEC D-back has a history with not only the school where he got his undergrad and Masters degrees, but has ties to the conference through his internship and television work to date...

UPDATE:

Mike Hamilton will still have the funds to pay his bills after resigning. Under the terms of a separation agreement Hamilton will receive three years pay or around $1.3 million, eight season tickets for football and men's basketball for the rest of his life including 2 parking permits.

Click on the link to see the separation agreement. http://www.wbir.com/pdf/6711_hamilton.pdf

Pittsburgh reporter: Stewart wanted dirt on Holgorsen

Bill Stewart

Sigh...

Are we sure we are talking about grown-ups here? According to Colin Dunlap, a reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he was approached and asked by West Virginia head coach Bill Stewart to see if he could "dig up some dirt" on his heir apparent, Dana Holgorsen.

The reveal came during an interview on Pittsburgh radio station 93.7, the Fan late Monday night. Dunlap told the station Stewart said to him "You need to dig up this dirt, you need to get it out on this guy" in a phone call.

This comes on the heels of yesterday's reports that Stewart--or his wife planted reports about Holgorsen allegedly having an alcohol issue in two West Virginia newspapers.

This is a story that appears to have a some legs and will keep developing. We're afraid its going to get even uglier for the people involved. Wisely, Holgorsen is keeping a low profile and hasn't publicly commented on this. He shouldn't. It's just going to feed the machine. He needs to let it play out and what happens, happens. After it does, he can speak his mind.

Here is the interview, Courtesy: KDKA The Fan radio/SportsbyBrooks--


CREDIT: KDKA-FM PITTBURGH by sportsxbrooks

Was Holgorsen story a plant by current coach Bill Stewart?

Bill Stewart

((ht: smokingmusket.com))

**Update**--WVU is now investigating this "incident" and has put the exit contract Bill Stewart on hold until it is resolved.

Hmmm. If it was, we may have been a bit of a victim to it as well. Though we did attribute the report to the reporters in question. A couple of the comments, if what we are now reading is true, we probably shouldn't have made.

You can read the original story RIGHT HERE

It appears that there may be a few "Issues" in West Virginia surfacing from its coaching tree. Last week, we mentioned a report from the Huntington, West Virginia Herald-Dispatch and later forwarded by the Wheeling News-Register, laying out an apparent sequence of events showing that "Coach-in-waiting" Dana Holgorsen has a history of getting tossed from Casino's and bars.

WVU and the Charleston Daily-Mail refute the report RIGHT HERE

Some question has arisen about the accuracy of said report. According to a couple of Blogs in West Virginia, the tip on the story may have come from Holgorsen's current boss Bill Stewart.

Interesting.

Read the story from the Smoking Musket RIGHT HERE

According to the Musket, Stewart has been less than thrilled with the whole hiring of Holgorsen to replace him in 2012 thing. Which, about that, we question the process, as laid out by AD Oliver Luck too.

The question though is why? Why would Stewart try and sabotage Holgorsen like that? Why would he sabotage the integrity of the program like that? Why would he release that info to a couple of selected reporters? And why, if it isn't true, did those reporters, report it?

All legitimate questions. Questions someone needs to answer. For their part. West Virginia has vigorously denied most of the accusations against their coach in waiting, calling the allegations "Blatant Lies."

This is beginning to sound like the script from a soap opera or movie, it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Here's Stewart after the Mountaineers Spring Game--thanks WVU:

Terrelle Pryor's mom: I bought the 350Z

((ht: dispatch.com/wbns-tv))

Good for Thomasina Pryor for "buying" a car for her son. Her son, Terrelle Pryor has become the center of and NCAA investigation and other investigations after being found to have some "issues" connected to the cars he's driven.

It would appear, at least on the surface, that he has a serious "Car Jones", and somehow he and/or his mother have been able to afford multiple cars for him over the past 4-years.

The most recent car in question, the 350Z Pryor was seen driving, rather quickly, off the Ohio State campus on Tuesday, despite apparently, not having a drivers license, apparently was bought for him by mom.

The Dispatch.com story is RIGHT HERE

WBNS-TV, did a little more digging RIGHT HERE

There are still more than a few unanswered questions here: One, we don't cast aspersions on a mom buying her son a car, but we wonder how she and/or he can afford to go from a relatively new Dodge Charger to a Nissan 350Z so quickly. Most people, using a finance term, would be upside down, if they did that, since there is no evidence, the Charger was paid in full.

We still think there is a ton of "Fire" in this story. Precious few college age kids/families can afford to go through cars the way Pryor has. Period. We have no reason to believe his family is inordinately wealthy and can afford a car every year or two, yet that is exactly what they've done. And if "Mom" lives in Columbus, Ohio, what was Pryor driving the Denali to Pennsylvania for?

Anyway, here's your updated TV story from our friends at WBNS, who've been doing an excellent job digging on this story.

More questions about Terrelle Pryor and his fascination with cars

Terrelle Pryor/File

((ht: wbns/10tv.com))

The plot thickens and yeah, you can say it. The media sharks smell blood. We reported Tuesday night about the NCAA opening an investigation into Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor and his usage of not one, but many cars.

Pryor showed up at the Ohio State football offices on Tuesday with a slightly used and not cheap Nissan 350Z. The Columbus Dispatch and Sports Illustrated both mentioned that young Mr. Pryor has been in possession of not one, but possibly as much as 8 vehicles in his 3-years in Columbus.

And while he denies any "Deals" or "Wrongdoing" on his part, the car salesman and dealerships potentially involved say the same thing. They say Pryor has "Test Driven" several vehicles including the 3 he was pulled over in.

Now comes a report from WBNS-TV in Columbus showing Pryor in yet another car and raising the question: Where does a 22-year old college kid get so many cars from?

The WBNS text version of the story is RIGHT HERE

The vehicles in question are all traced to the same people. Car salesman Aaron Kniffin and in this case the Auto Direct car dealership he worked at.

Yes, Ohio State fans, we know this is all circumstantial. But look at the evidence. Do any of you really believe that Pryor had 2-3 vehicle issues a year which left him driving a loner? Would any of you get a Denali loner while your "Used Car" was in the shop and the opportunity to drive it out of state?

Of course "TOSU" declined an opportunity to comment, we just wanted to report this to reinforce yesterday's report and remind you that "T-O-S-U" is in D-E-E-P D-O-O D-O-O.

Here's the TV Version of the WBNS-TV story: