Rivalfish's 5 Favorite Scandals in NCAA History
By Dan Raspatello, draspatello@rivalfish.com
"With the once-deceased SMU football program landing a coach using moves apparently as good as Rick Ocasek's, and Reggie Bush spending nights spooning his Heisman, we at Rivalfish are reminded higher education's most universal attribute: Shadiness" - Tello Real
Top 5 Best Scandals in the History of College Sports
5. Boston College 1978-79 basketball season - Mobster Henry "Ray Liotta" Hill and Basketball Player Rick Kuhn:
For those of you who have never seen Goodfellas, Henry Hill is the main character of the film. Essentially he is a main figure in the mob throughout the '60s and '70s before going into the witness protection program in the '80s. In the '78-'79 college basketball season Henry Hill teamed up with BC player Rick Kuhn in a point shaving scandal. According to Hill (who was interviewed by Sports Illustrated later in life) the point shaving was not successful until BC's star player Ernie Cobb got in on it for the last 5 games. Hill claims he made $100,000, and the players only made about $10,000. Kuhn was sentenced to 10 years, but only served 28 months. Although Kuhn got ripped off by the Mob and only committed petty point shaving, he made the list for having the most balls. He worked with a figurehead in the Mafia, and I don't know if you have ever seen a Mob movie before, but the end result of doing business with the Mob (especially gambling) is never rosy. He is lucky they didn't bury him in a cornfield while he was still breathing, break all of his bones, or do something else cool that I can't even think of.
4. Chris Webber, University of Michigan 1991-93:
Throughout the 90s, man named Ed Martin gave Michigan basketball players money ($616, 000 total) like a lonely alcoholic at a strip club. Although he paid multiple players (Robert Traylor, Maurice Taylor, and Louis Bullock) money throughout the decade, I would like to focus on C-Web. I am a huge Michigan fan and what C-Web did against North Carolina in '93 is unforgivable. Hey, C-Web, with all the money you were getting paid maybe you could have purchased half of a brain that would have allowed you to know how many timeouts you had left. In case you're a girl or a Russian, C-Web called a timeout when he didn't have one, thus losing the National Championship. He then cowered off to the NBA.
The whole time he was in school he bitched about how much money the University was making off of him, while he had to live flat broke and see no profits from the revenue he was generating in ticket and merchandise sales. Without pointing out the obvious free education he was getting from an elite University, he was also getting paid better than a coke dealer. C-Web took down a cool $280,000 in gifts and cash from Ed Martin before he went pro after his sophomore year. What was he bitching about? If I had had almost $300,000 for two years of college, I would have had the most fun time you could imagine. I would do weird stuff like host beer pong tournaments, with the winning team would get flat screen TVs, or run up thousand dollar bar tabs like I was one of those rich east coast kids just for shits and giggles. But one thing I definitely would not have done was complain.
3. Marcus Vick, Virginia Tech '03-'06:
Although Vick has had other run-ins with the law, he will be best remembered for endeavors with a 15 year old girl his freshmen year. Marcus Vick was walking into the best life imaginable. He was a top recruit going to the same school that his older brother had become a god at. He was one of the most recognizable players in the country before he even touched an NCAA football, and was living the high life because his brother was making millions in the pros and off of endorsement deals, and at least thousands more gittin' down on some hound pits. So he did what any other college kid would do with that setup. Get a 15-year-old girl drunk and take advantage of her.
Come on, Marcus. At least Mark Chmura got drunk and hooked up with a chick at a post-prom party, where there was a possibility that she could be 18. Marcus, when a girl doesn't have any form of identification she probably isn't 18. When she tells you that you have to sit shotgun when she drives, then she definitely isn't 18.
Marcus got picked up as a free agent by the Miami Dolphins and is battled for a shot at backing up Dante "Sex Boat" Culpepper. While he instead ended up at practice squad WR for most of the season, the Dolphins backfield flirted with ranking #1 in NFL history in QB-to-Sex-Scandal ratio.
2. Lawrence Phillips, Nebraska University 1993 -1995:
In the mid-90s Lawrence Phillips was arguably the best college football player in the nation, and Nebraska was arguably the most dominant program of the time. Lawrence Phillips was supposed to run away (play on words, get it) with the Heisman Trophy in 1995. In the first couple of games in the '95 season he was averaging over 10 yards a carry, and proving why he was the Heisman front-runner. Then after a game against Michigan State, he caught his ex-girlfriend, Kate McEwen (basketball player at Nebraska), in his teammate's, Scott Frost's, apartment. Lawrence Phillips then did what any rational guy would do in that situation; drag your ol' girl down three flights of stairs by her hair. After getting charged with assault, everyone figured that legendary coach Tom Osborne would kick him off the team. But when you can carry a football like that, and your coach really wants to win back-to-back national championships, Coach's got to do what he's got to do. Despite a heavy dosage of public scrutiny, he reinstated Phillips with 4 weeks left in the season. His rationale for allowing The Assaulter back on the team was that there are "occasions every four to five months when he becomes a little explosive."
After retirement, Osborne went on to win Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District in the House of Representatives as a Republican (shocker, a Republican Congressmen in Nebraska). So the geniuses in the 3rd Congressional District voted in a guy to represent them who allows assaulters to sit out a couple of games as a slap on the wrist (as long as they are good enough to help him win a National Championship). When somebody is convicted of murder does Tom still explain that there are "occasions every four to five months when he becomes a little explosive?" I guess that depends on how good the murderer is at football.
1. Maurice Clarett, Ohio State '03:
Clarett is the Michael Jordan of fuck ups. I could write an essay on the amount of scum this guy leaks out of him, but I realize this article is getting long so I will save you the time. After carrying his team to win the National Championship as a freshman, and being mentioned as a Heisman candidate at the age of 18, everyone thought that Clarett was going to be in the national limelight for the next two decades. But then he accepted money from boosters, got suspended, tried to enter the draft early (but after an appeal was disallowed), moved out to LA to live with Israeli gangsters, finally got drafted by the Broncos, demanded a trade, and eventually got cut and wound up broker than MC Hammer. Then a few New Years Eves ago he committed armed robbery in Columbus, Ohio (a.k.a. Ohio State University), and came away with only a cell phone. When the victim was questioned about if he was sure the perpetrator was Clarett, he replied, "Are you kidding? I go to Ohio State; I know what Maurice Clarett looks like." Seriously, Clarett, how dumb are you? That would be like Richard Simmons committing armed robbery at a Gay Pride Parade and thinking he would get away with it.
But wait, we all remember how this eventually ended. Clarett was eventually arrested after trying to outrun police in his car, with 4 guns (one assault rifle, which is like Video Game Cool), a hatchet (he's always been so outdoorsy), wearing a bullet proof vest, and sippin' on a bottle of Grey Goose. My first question was: how the fuck does he afford Grey Goose? This guy is flat broke, and has a baby on the way, but can flip the bill for $50 bottle of the Goose to drive around with? That is about the same as me putting 20s on my '98 Explorer, but still living at my parents' house.
Maurice, your actions make about as much sense as Scientology. In closing, if any of you get a chance, read the article on espn.com by Tom Friend that attempts to make you feel sorry for this fine piece of work. Tom Friend makes it sound like Clarett could rub shoulders with Gandhi and Mother Teresa.
"With the once-deceased SMU football program landing a coach using moves apparently as good as Rick Ocasek's, and Reggie Bush spending nights spooning his Heisman, we at Rivalfish are reminded higher education's most universal attribute: Shadiness" - Tello Real
Top 5 Best Scandals in the History of College Sports
5. Boston College 1978-79 basketball season - Mobster Henry "Ray Liotta" Hill and Basketball Player Rick Kuhn:
For those of you who have never seen Goodfellas, Henry Hill is the main character of the film. Essentially he is a main figure in the mob throughout the '60s and '70s before going into the witness protection program in the '80s. In the '78-'79 college basketball season Henry Hill teamed up with BC player Rick Kuhn in a point shaving scandal. According to Hill (who was interviewed by Sports Illustrated later in life) the point shaving was not successful until BC's star player Ernie Cobb got in on it for the last 5 games. Hill claims he made $100,000, and the players only made about $10,000. Kuhn was sentenced to 10 years, but only served 28 months. Although Kuhn got ripped off by the Mob and only committed petty point shaving, he made the list for having the most balls. He worked with a figurehead in the Mafia, and I don't know if you have ever seen a Mob movie before, but the end result of doing business with the Mob (especially gambling) is never rosy. He is lucky they didn't bury him in a cornfield while he was still breathing, break all of his bones, or do something else cool that I can't even think of.
4. Chris Webber, University of Michigan 1991-93:
Throughout the 90s, man named Ed Martin gave Michigan basketball players money ($616, 000 total) like a lonely alcoholic at a strip club. Although he paid multiple players (Robert Traylor, Maurice Taylor, and Louis Bullock) money throughout the decade, I would like to focus on C-Web. I am a huge Michigan fan and what C-Web did against North Carolina in '93 is unforgivable. Hey, C-Web, with all the money you were getting paid maybe you could have purchased half of a brain that would have allowed you to know how many timeouts you had left. In case you're a girl or a Russian, C-Web called a timeout when he didn't have one, thus losing the National Championship. He then cowered off to the NBA.The whole time he was in school he bitched about how much money the University was making off of him, while he had to live flat broke and see no profits from the revenue he was generating in ticket and merchandise sales. Without pointing out the obvious free education he was getting from an elite University, he was also getting paid better than a coke dealer. C-Web took down a cool $280,000 in gifts and cash from Ed Martin before he went pro after his sophomore year. What was he bitching about? If I had had almost $300,000 for two years of college, I would have had the most fun time you could imagine. I would do weird stuff like host beer pong tournaments, with the winning team would get flat screen TVs, or run up thousand dollar bar tabs like I was one of those rich east coast kids just for shits and giggles. But one thing I definitely would not have done was complain.
3. Marcus Vick, Virginia Tech '03-'06:
Although Vick has had other run-ins with the law, he will be best remembered for endeavors with a 15 year old girl his freshmen year. Marcus Vick was walking into the best life imaginable. He was a top recruit going to the same school that his older brother had become a god at. He was one of the most recognizable players in the country before he even touched an NCAA football, and was living the high life because his brother was making millions in the pros and off of endorsement deals, and at least thousands more gittin' down on some hound pits. So he did what any other college kid would do with that setup. Get a 15-year-old girl drunk and take advantage of her.
Come on, Marcus. At least Mark Chmura got drunk and hooked up with a chick at a post-prom party, where there was a possibility that she could be 18. Marcus, when a girl doesn't have any form of identification she probably isn't 18. When she tells you that you have to sit shotgun when she drives, then she definitely isn't 18.
Marcus got picked up as a free agent by the Miami Dolphins and is battled for a shot at backing up Dante "Sex Boat" Culpepper. While he instead ended up at practice squad WR for most of the season, the Dolphins backfield flirted with ranking #1 in NFL history in QB-to-Sex-Scandal ratio.
2. Lawrence Phillips, Nebraska University 1993 -1995:In the mid-90s Lawrence Phillips was arguably the best college football player in the nation, and Nebraska was arguably the most dominant program of the time. Lawrence Phillips was supposed to run away (play on words, get it) with the Heisman Trophy in 1995. In the first couple of games in the '95 season he was averaging over 10 yards a carry, and proving why he was the Heisman front-runner. Then after a game against Michigan State, he caught his ex-girlfriend, Kate McEwen (basketball player at Nebraska), in his teammate's, Scott Frost's, apartment. Lawrence Phillips then did what any rational guy would do in that situation; drag your ol' girl down three flights of stairs by her hair. After getting charged with assault, everyone figured that legendary coach Tom Osborne would kick him off the team. But when you can carry a football like that, and your coach really wants to win back-to-back national championships, Coach's got to do what he's got to do. Despite a heavy dosage of public scrutiny, he reinstated Phillips with 4 weeks left in the season. His rationale for allowing The Assaulter back on the team was that there are "occasions every four to five months when he becomes a little explosive."
After retirement, Osborne went on to win Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District in the House of Representatives as a Republican (shocker, a Republican Congressmen in Nebraska). So the geniuses in the 3rd Congressional District voted in a guy to represent them who allows assaulters to sit out a couple of games as a slap on the wrist (as long as they are good enough to help him win a National Championship). When somebody is convicted of murder does Tom still explain that there are "occasions every four to five months when he becomes a little explosive?" I guess that depends on how good the murderer is at football.
1. Maurice Clarett, Ohio State '03:Clarett is the Michael Jordan of fuck ups. I could write an essay on the amount of scum this guy leaks out of him, but I realize this article is getting long so I will save you the time. After carrying his team to win the National Championship as a freshman, and being mentioned as a Heisman candidate at the age of 18, everyone thought that Clarett was going to be in the national limelight for the next two decades. But then he accepted money from boosters, got suspended, tried to enter the draft early (but after an appeal was disallowed), moved out to LA to live with Israeli gangsters, finally got drafted by the Broncos, demanded a trade, and eventually got cut and wound up broker than MC Hammer. Then a few New Years Eves ago he committed armed robbery in Columbus, Ohio (a.k.a. Ohio State University), and came away with only a cell phone. When the victim was questioned about if he was sure the perpetrator was Clarett, he replied, "Are you kidding? I go to Ohio State; I know what Maurice Clarett looks like." Seriously, Clarett, how dumb are you? That would be like Richard Simmons committing armed robbery at a Gay Pride Parade and thinking he would get away with it.
But wait, we all remember how this eventually ended. Clarett was eventually arrested after trying to outrun police in his car, with 4 guns (one assault rifle, which is like Video Game Cool), a hatchet (he's always been so outdoorsy), wearing a bullet proof vest, and sippin' on a bottle of Grey Goose. My first question was: how the fuck does he afford Grey Goose? This guy is flat broke, and has a baby on the way, but can flip the bill for $50 bottle of the Goose to drive around with? That is about the same as me putting 20s on my '98 Explorer, but still living at my parents' house.
Maurice, your actions make about as much sense as Scientology. In closing, if any of you get a chance, read the article on espn.com by Tom Friend that attempts to make you feel sorry for this fine piece of work. Tom Friend makes it sound like Clarett could rub shoulders with Gandhi and Mother Teresa.
posted by Rival Room Editor at
1:42 AM
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