Bribery Scandal - FBI Probe - Book Richardson Involved

[ChooChooCat]

Well or welp, choo?

I just like using welp, nothing to see here thankfully. From what I understand Arizona is sticking to its Us Against the World stance by sticking with Sean Miller and will continue to flash a middle finger up at the world as we continue to land big named transfers and recroooots.

JB

Not a done deal, but we're in there for sure.

[TheCat]

Riding with Sean........in the end there is much more evidence against Kansas than Arizona. You have multiple coaches on tape with Adidas and a player that has been suspended for two years that played while ineligible. We will see how it shakes out.

One last thing ....that asshat Vitale stumping for Pitino is a joke. What about his constant harping that you are responsible for your assistants conduct. Ever hear of HOOKER GATE my one eyed trouser trout????:

[CatFanOneMil]

This whole week is basically like finding out idiots are not giving their kids measles shots and then someone you've heard about says they might have been exposed to measles...

If you've been vaccinated you MIGHT still get measles (about 1 in 100 chance)...IF you've been exposed and IF your system has discarded your own immunity...but if you've ever HAD measles you're safe regardless...

UofA has had their shots, and HAS HAD THE FUCKING MEASLES...aka as having the FBI on campus combing through our recruits, going through Millers stuff/our records EVERYTHING has been gone over with a fine tooth comb by INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION FROM AN OUTSIDE LEGAL FIRM (who typically represent billion dollar corporations and small countries for impropriety)...

Last I checked the UA has spent over 1.4 million in legal over this...

1.4 million buys a better legal team than that fuckwit Haney...

1.4 million for a high powered legal team is basically the equivalent of getting the measles AGAIN...

1.4 million in todays legal system buys you a fucking whole lot of innocence...(sorry but thats the reality)

1.4 million tells the ABOR to suck their own penis...

1.4 million vs Mark Schlabdongsuckers "inside source/aka Haney"...its basically Derek Williams vs Dukes reputation...

Get the fuck out of the way and let the 1.4 million dollars play.



This whole week has been NOTHINGFUCKINGBURGER...because regardless if Miller paid recruits or not we paid for legal to make sure the program moves forward...guess what...in todays court system that kind of money ALWAYS wins.

[goslingswagg]

Well or welp, choo?

I just like using welp, nothing to see here thankfully. From what I understand Arizona is sticking to its Us Against the World stance by sticking with Sean Miller and will continue to flash a middle finger up at the world as we continue to land big named transfers and recroooots.

I could not be more excited to shit in the mouths of every other program in the country next year. Wish we could do the same to ESPN, Yahoo, and the others, but I think this will have to suffice.

[EVCat]

For the record:

I don't think we should fire Sean Miller based on what we know.

If we know more, and he is dead to rights...then fire him with cause and fight it out. But then, I wonder if Heeke can survive.

Robbins is in that mix, too, but Robbins is a fantastic president, athletics or no. He inherited the Hart-Weaver/Byrne AD and did what he thought was right. He is unimpeachable in my mind.

Heeke would have a tough time of surviving regardless if Sean Miller came out tomorrow and said he paid every recruit he's ever landed or Sean Miller came out tomorrow with a halo over his head and donated his entire bank flow to charity.

If Arizona wanted to fire Sean Miller it needed a literal smoking gun. Book Richardson talking shop wasn't a smoking gun as badly as the media wanted it to be.

So Heeke is nearly a dead man walking.

This, with any sense, doesn't flow all the way to Robbins (we are already paying presidential "buyouts").

[HiCat]

News of Deandre Ayton's payments from Arizona's Sean Miller backfired – Sean Farnham | Get Up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siZ9qxJX6cQ" target="_blank

[ChooChooCat]

Look at this headline and then read the story. Quality journalism is dead, it's god damn dead, don't any of you tell me any different, because you're fooling yourselves.

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/defendant ... 41264.html" target="_blank

[prh]

News of Deandre Ayton's payments from Arizona's Sean Miller backfired – Sean Farnham | Get Up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siZ9qxJX6cQ" target="_blank

STAN VAN GUNDY

[Postmaster]

Most surprising thing is that Mike Greenburg is still employed.

And Ron Jeremy tosses schaublock in front of a bus.

[EVCat]

News of Deandre Ayton's payments from Arizona's Sean Miller backfired – Sean Farnham | Get Up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siZ9qxJX6cQ" target="_blank

STAN VAN GUNDY

He said what we have all said. And no one went with it.

Yes, the NCAA has to do an investigation based on what is on those taps. 100%.

Let me know when they find something. Then...I will change my tone.

[EVCat]

And Ron Jeremy tosses schaublock in front of a bus.

Then backed up over the body.

Sean needs to start working his friends in the media/former coaches and run this campaign silently. Any and everyone. It's a safe position...it doesn't say "there's nothing here". It just says "wait...I read a story that said X, and that this is on tap, and I haven't seen anything like that."

To quote the esteemed Johnny "Rotten" Lydon in Winterland... "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"

[Longhorned]

Look at this headline and then read the story. Quality journalism is dead, it's god damn dead, don't any of you tell me any different, because you're fooling yourselves.

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/defendant ... 41264.html" target="_blank

It was good in the old magazine days, though local sports pages have always been hit-or-miss. ESPN though a wrench into sports journalism, and it's affected how reporting works in the 24-hour internet news cycle. The source of the problem is that ESPN is an entertainment conglomerate focused on sports, and not journalism with its usual standards of documentation. Yahoo Sports builds off what ESPN reports when it makes "news."

[Gilbertcat]

So in reality, the article last year should have been this "Assistant head coach is on a wire discussing how he thinks Miller paid Ayton $10k a month". (Very different tone)

Did the FBI look at the bank records of Ayton and Miller? Sure it could have all been in cash but was Ayton sleeping on it? Does anyone remember running into him in Tucson and all was doing was making it rain? 10k every month builds up, especially for a college kid (at least it would have for me).

[Spaceman Spiff]

So in reality, the article last year should have been this "Assistant head coach is on a wire discussing how he thinks Miller paid Ayton $10k a month". (Very different tone)

Did the FBI look at the bank records of Ayton and Miller? Sure it could have all been in cash but was Ayton sleeping on it? Does anyone remember running into him in Tucson and all was doing was making it rain? 10k every month builds up, especially for a college kid (at least it would have for me).

No, the article last year should never have happened.

The current allegation is directly opposite the allegation from last year. Last year, it was Miller and Dawkins on the phone talking 100k for Ayton. This year, it's Book and Dawkins on the phone saying they think Miller is paying 10k a month for Ayton.

The analogy would be, if you published a claim in 2018 that Miller said he robbed the Wells Fargo bank in downtown Tucson. Then, in 2019 an allegation emerges that two people who know Sean Miller say he was selling drugs in the Circle K parking lot on the East Side of Tucson at the same time the bank robbery happened.

Most people would recognize those are two separate things in every way. Mark Schlabach and Dick Vitale would claim victory and say "I told you Sean Miller was a criminal."

[Gilbertcat]

15 Months ago:

According to people with knowledge of the FBI investigation , Miller and Dawkins, a runner working for ASM Sports agent Andy Miller, had multiple conversations about Ayton . When Dawkins asked Sean Miller if he should work with assistant coach Emanuel "Book" Richardson to finalize their agreement , Miller told Dawkins he should deal directly with him when it came to money , the sources said .

Really need a PR guy to come out, use this line, and state how this entire article was false.

[CalStateTempe]

Will never happen but I would love the UofA/miller to sue espn/yahoo for damages and lost revenue for legal fees.

[Chicat]

Switched on the Will Cain show on ESPN Radio and he was talking like it was a proven done deal that Miller paid Ayton.

Then he asked, "Do we know how he paid him?" And his producer jumped in with, "Had to be bags of unmarked bills, right?"

I mean, I get it. It's sports talk radio where the only bad take is the one you don't make. But come the fuck on! If you don't know how these supposed payments were made, how are you fucking talking about them like they were a real thing??

Fuck ESPN and the rest of these bloodthirsty assfucks. I hope they're all falsely accused of doing something and everyone just talks about them like, "Oh, Will Cain? The guy who peed on that girl scout who was trying to sell him cookies?"

[YoDeFoe]

Switched on the Will Cain show on ESPN Radio and he was talking like it was a proven done deal that Miller paid Ayton.

Then he asked, "Do we know how he paid him?" And his producer jumped in with, "Had to be bags of unmarked bills, right?"

I mean, I get it. It's sports talk radio where the only bad take is the one you don't make. But come the fuck on! If you don't know how these supposed payments were made, how are you fucking talking about them like they were a real thing??

Fuck ESPN and the rest of these bloodthirsty assfucks. I hope they're all falsely accused of doing something and everyone just talks about them like, "Oh, Will Cain? The guy who peed on that girl scout who was trying to sell him cookies?"

Combo "everyone in sports media has to have a hot take" with "many people are talking about Miller" and you've got the current state of mind of the sports media dialed. They're chasing their tail yelling "I've almost got it this time!"

[pc in NM]

Will never happen but I would love the UofA/miller to sue espn/yahoo for damages and lost revenue for legal fees.

I'll bet Miller, his coaching staff, players and U of A administrators would just love the depositions, eh???

Think before you post!!

[ChooChooCat]

I truly can't believe that out of the entire national sports media the only guys who have our back at the moment are Wilbon and Kornheiser.

[UAEebs86]

To be fair, most announcers kept calling him "Packer-Jackson"

I thought it was Jackson Parker-Cartwright?

Signed,
Bill Walton

[Chicat]

I truly can't believe that out of the entire national sports media the only guys who have our back at the moment are Wilbon and Kornheiser.

And Stan Van Gundy. Also there are those like Screamin’ A Smith who don’t give a shit and don’t even mention it.

[ChooChooCat]

I truly can't believe that out of the entire national sports media the only guys who have our back at the moment are Wilbon and Kornheiser.

And Stan Van Gundy. Also there are those like Screamin’ A Smith who don’t give a shit and don’t even mention it.

Actually Smith said Ayton was bragging about getting paid because Smith needs the attention, so he's gotta find a way to make something up to be a part of the story.

[TheGreatCatsby]

Here was the crux of Schlabach's original story, and with all the testimony done, his story was defamation of Sean Miller:

"FBI wiretaps intercepted telephone conversations between Arizona coach Sean Miller and Christian Dawkins, a key figure in the FBI's investigation into college basketball corruption, in which Miller discussed paying $100,000 to ensure star freshman Deandre Ayton signed with the Wildcats, sources familiar with the government's evidence told ESPN."


None of this was proven to be true, not even close. There was never an FBI phone call of Sean Miller discussing paying Deandre Ayton $100,000. Yet, virtually every casual fan now believes that to be true. Journalism is officially dead.

[CatFanOneMil]

From the trial:

Cross of Dawkins has begun—and been tense, loud and contentious at points. Before cross began, Dawkins was broached on direct about his relationship w/ Sean Miller + asked about Miller paying players, but multiple objections were sustained. Dawkins never answered...

So here's the scenario...Dawkins is on the stand in his own defense, so his lawyer goes first...(called "direct" in the Matts tweet)...

Dawkins testifying for himself, his lawyer asks him about the relationship with Sean Miller and asked about Miller paying players...

THE GOVERNMENT...AKA as the FBI/Prosecutor in this case OBJECTS...and has their objections sustained by the Judge...in layman's terms it probably went like this:

Dawkins Lawyer: So you are tight with Sean Miller?
FBI: "Objection, Not relevant, has no bearing on this case"
Judge: Sustained, dumb question move on mr Lawguy...
Dawkins Lawpunk: "So you know if Sean Miller paid players?"
FBI: "Objection, not relevant, making up crap is not a defense"
Judge: "Sustained, stop asking stupid shit and get on with it"

Of course this is speculation, but it is the main thrust of what Dawkins lawyer was trying to do...

So think this through...you're the FBI prosecuting this case, you have ALL the evidence, ALL the tapes, and in testimony you want to keep Millers relationship out of the case because it adds nothing to the prosecution...the Judge who has ALSO seen and heard all the evidence and (also decided that Miller would not testify, and he did this as an impartial interpretation of the case vs law) has sustained ALL of the prosections objections...

The Judge and the Prosecution are not buddies here...the Judge is basically a ref in a case, he simply lays out the rules of the game and two sides compete for the juries vote....so when the Judge sustains objections or quashes a subpoena it is not some "siding with the prosecution" it is an impartial reading of the case vs the relevance of law and what each side is trying to do...

Basically what my take away is, is that Dawkins was trying his best to make the case about college basketball and the unfairness to players and then bring in head coaches who would prove that he had never bribed or paid a head coach...but there was never a tape with Miller talking about paying for Ayton, there was never a tape with Miller and Dawkins that was anymore than Miller telling him to take a hike, (even if that)

I seriously doubt there is even a tape of Miller and dawkins at all because of the timelines or wiretap/vs Ayton and the way the FBI has gone out of their way to shield Miller from being involved...if was actually involved beyond some short phone call where he told Dawkins to fuck off then the Judge would have allowed his testimony to be entered into the docket...and chances are Miller would have HAD to testify.

There.Is.No.Fucking.Tape.With.Miller.&Dawkins.Talking.Ayton.

It would have been either damning evidence AGAINST Miller, or exonerating evidence FOR Dawkins...it would only be one of those two and based on those issues IF it existed it would have been powerful testimony one way or another and a Judge could not simply throw it out it would have been admissible...there is no motion for a mistrial by Dawkins lawyer...so the tape does not exist.

[TucsonClip]

I truly can't believe that out of the entire national sports media the only guys who have our back at the moment are Wilbon and Kornheiser.

No kidding. The only guys who arent buying the story are Sean's friend (Stanimal) and two old timers who have certainly seen their share of scandals and money changing hands going back decades. They knew form the jump that this didnt smell right. No head coach is dumb enough to fucking pay a recruit on their own dime. Furthermore, they might have been the only ones who actually understand what hearsay is and credible sources are.

[Chicat]

I truly can't believe that out of the entire national sports media the only guys who have our back at the moment are Wilbon and Kornheiser.

And Stan Van Gundy. Also there are those like Screamin’ A Smith who don’t give a shit and don’t even mention it.

Actually Smith said Ayton was bragging about getting paid because Smith needs the attention, so he's gotta find a way to make something up to be a part of the story.

I stand corrected.

[Irish27]

Anyone notice that Vitale has not tweeted anything about the trial today?

[Irish27]

Anyone notice that Vitale has not tweeted anything about the trial today?

Wow, Dick must be reading this website because he just tweeted about the basketball program. Gotta love what he tweeted.

[UAEebs86]

Fuck Hansen and fuck Vitale

[Longhorned]

Hansen lost his credibility when he went on the radio and lied. He’s never once entertained the factual inaccuracies central to the story. He just runs with them.

[IrishAzCat]

[Chicat]

I’m going to the Cubs game tomorrow. I would be willing to bet that if I spent the 3+ hours of the game asking everyone I see what Greg Hansen, Adam Zagoria, and Dick Vitale think about the Dawkins trial, I wouldn’t be able to find one person who could tell me. Hell, I might not be able to find more than 5 people who knows who two of those three people are.

In other words, fuck these little dick motherfuckers. They need Sean Miller to be guilty so they can sucker in a couple more twitter followers.

[UAEebs86]

[TheCat]

I was trying to think of a parallel to this case. Damning facts produced in conversations but not testified to. Paper's condemn all involved. Some of the information just didn't pass the sniff test (like Miller paying ten grand a month...there has to be some evidence right?). I came up with one. Many of you probably will have to look it up but the ole Bucky McMartin trial. See Bucky's trial is the most expensive in California history. I think it went on a year. It ruined Bucky and his family without question. So what happened to Bucky? He was exonerated on every charge (there were about 100) and it was all just made up. I was sure Bucky was guilty.....hell he looked guilty....his name alone shouted guilt. It was when I learned to think on my own. To listen but question and USE common sense.
ESPN will push this narrative because they have a vested interest in the outcome. Somewhat like the Attorney General's office in Calif. I hope we have a president that is strong enough to hold his ground and I hope the fans demand proof before action.

[azcat49]

Seth Davis basically backed our stand this morning on the Dan Patrick show. Basically said show me the proof of Miller having paid players and there has been none shown.

[NYCat]

Seth Davis basically backed our stand this morning on the Dan Patrick show. Basically said show me the proof of Miller having paid players and there has been none shown.

[ChooChooCat]

That interview just shows how little the media really knows what's going on with that trial. Dan Patrick's retort to Seth was that Christian Dawkins or Book (couldn't tell who he was referring to) said under oath Miller paid Ayton 10k a month, which is bullshit, and Seth didn't correct him either. It was a wiretap where nobody was under oath. The media has no responsibility to actually know the facts of this story and they discuss it on every show out there. It's a joke.

[Olsondogg]

First thing I noticed too Choo

Also, it’s odd for me to agree with Seth Davis for the most part.

[ChooChooCat]

Also, it’s odd for me to agree with Seth Davis for the most part.

You and me both brother.

[CatFanOneMil]

Seth Davis basically backed our stand this morning on the Dan Patrick show. Basically said show me the proof of Miller having paid players and there has been none shown.

Pretty good response from Seth here, don't tell me what you know, tell me what I can prove...

I'll say it again and again...this is the equivalent of my grandson telling me he "almost" saw Bigfoot once...

The entire idea that there is tons of money and ALL these top players are getting paid is bullshit...its almost seeing Bigfoot because there is not one shred of proof that it has happened...

And lets play this song in the head of an 18 year old NBA superstar WANNABE who is on the same team with Zion or Ayton or Bagley...

Do you really think those guys in the locker room are not flashing bling and trying to out-CASH one another every damn day?

Did you forget what juvenile adrenaline and testosterone looks like in a hypercompetitive world of college basketball one and dones and their peers?

We all like to believe that these guys are just quietly getting $10K a month and NO ONE IS JEALOUS???????

Not one guy in 368 schools who ALSO wants to be a NBA star is jealous and maybe leaking info to his posse about how much Zion is getting under the table?

Do you know how quickly these guys would turn on one another for a chance to be a starter????

Can I remind you of all the sour grapes served up by guys who transferred OUT of Az and have never said a word?????

Use some goddam logic people...it ain't happening, or if it is, it is so minimal as to be almost negligible.

[HiCat]

Seth Davis basically backed our stand this morning on the Dan Patrick show. Basically said show me the proof of Miller having paid players and there has been none shown.

Thumbs up on this. Glad to hear.

[TheCat]

As I have stated from the beginning. FOLLOW THE F'N MONEY. So Sean paid Ayton $10K per mo? If your not an idiot you can check this out easily. Banks are required to inform you of any forms the IRS needs when you are making any qualifying transactions. If you make a cash or check deposit or PAYMENT of $10,000.00 or more in one transaction, then the bank must make you fill out and file IRS form 8300. Well did the bank report 12 transactions from Sean of $10K or more.

If Sean was smart and he made 5 pmts of $2K each that has to be reported by the bank also. Unless you believe Sean held $120K in cash at home then the banks helped.

Come on guys this is a slam dunk to check. I will bet you U of A's lawyers checked before they ever let Sean deny in public. They looked at all his bank records, phone records, listened to the FBI wiretaps and what they said was let him deny it on camera with the U of A's backing.

[Longhorned]

There’s no proof that Miller broke the senseless rules of a ridiculous organization that exploits his players.

What are we even talking about here? Why is Hansen arguing Miller is a stain on the university?

[zonagrad]

[quote="Longhorned"]There’s no proof that Miller broke the senseless rules of a ridiculous organization that exploits his players.

What are we even talking about here? Why is Hansen arguing Miller is a stain on the university?[/quote]


It's really too bad that Tucson is no longer a two newspaper town. A writer like Jason Scheer could easily take the logical view and write, "show me some damn proof that Sean Miller is dirty other than hearsay." Period! That would be in direct opposition to the Daily Star and the combo of Hansen and Pascoe.

It's amazing that the Star has consistently bet on the wrong horse involving Arizona basketball. I don't get why they're always hot for controversy without vetting possible explanations. It's not even about taking sides. It's about following the rule of law. The Star wants so bad for Miller to be dirty.

This same shit happened in the 80s with Lute and the Star. They jumped the gun and ran a defamatory article. It's really not much different.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm ... story.html" target="_blank

You wouldn't want to be anywhere near this town next week should basketball coach/hero/savior Lute Olson decide to leave the University of Arizona to take the head coaching job at Kentucky.

The people of Tucson are steamed, and it isn't because their beloved coach would think of abandoning a program he turned around after just two years.

They're angry because Olson is seeking employment elsewhere, he says, owing to a damaging article that appeared in the Arizona Daily Star last Wednesday.

The copyrighted story, featured prominently on the front page of the paper, claimed that Arizona had purchased uniforms for its basketball team from a company that had hired Olson as a consultant.

If true, it would have constituted a conflict of interest.

But it wasn't true. The Daily Star ran a front-page retraction the following day that absolved Olson of guilt. It reported that the company for which he was an adviser did not own the uniform manufacturer when the purchase was made in September of 1983.

Daily Star Managing Editor Jonathan I. Kamman called the error "grievous and deplorable."

Writer Rich Dymond and sports editor Sam Pollak resigned rather than accept demotions to lesser positions.

But that was hardly the end of it.

Olson, who had said last Tuesday that he wasn't a candidate for the vacant Kentucky job, changed his mind the next day, he says, because of the article.

"Given the circumstances of the day," Olson told the city's other daily paper, the Tucson Citizen, "I think there's a definite need for me to be available for talks with Kentucky. . . . When people can come out with a flat-out character assassination with fabrications through and through, then I owe it to my family to look at what other people have to say."

Olson, as is the case with many successful college-town coaches, is treated like royalty in Tucson. He took over a team that had gone 4-24 in 1982-83 and coached it to an 11-17 record the following season. This season, Arizona was 21-10.

So it shouldn't be surprising that the Daily Star story touched off a rage throughout the city. There were several bomb threats at the paper last week, not to mention hundreds of angry calls. Some Arizona fans picketed in front of the Daily Star in protest, holding up signs such as: "Send the Star, Not Lute, to Lexington," and "Cancel Your Subscription."

There are rumors that businesses in the community are thinking of pulling their advertising out of the paper in protest.

"This has been the most difficult week I've ever been through," said the Daily Star's assistant executive editor, Steve Auslander. "Morale is very low."

Auslander also said that he didn't think Olson used the story as the perfect reason to leave for Kentucky.

"I have to believe what he said," Auslander said. "I think he has great integrity."

Wednesday, March 27, was a dark day for the Arizona Daily Star.

The two Tucson papers, the Daily Star and the Citizen, operate out of the same building, though most everyone will tell you their philosophies are different.

In a town where local television newscasters refer to the University of Arizona as "we" and "us," the Daily Star has long been considered an adversary of the university by boosters and fans.

"I don't think they (the Daily Star) were out to try and get Lute," said Jim Sakrison, president of the 3,000-strong Wildcat Booster Club. "But it seems their philosophy is that if they can find something negative, they'll print it. . . . The Citizen is much more responsible. I think they are more objective. Maybe I'm biased."

The Citizen is where you'll find headlines such as "Courageous Comeback Falls Short" in describing an Arizona game.

It hasn't made journalism easy for those at the Daily Star. The University of Arizona consumes much of the daily sports pages, and rightfully so. The city of Tucson has a population of 367,280. Thirty-thousand students attend the university.

"We never saw ourselves as adversaries of the university," said Pollak, who in May would have celebrated his fifth year as sports editor of the Daily Star. "But if something was there, we did it."

In 1981, Daily Star writers Bob Lowe and Clark Hallas won the Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles exposing irregularities in the football program at Arizona.

This year, it was the Daily Star that wrote a story about a freshman basketball player who had quit the team. It was also the Star that wrote a story asking why there were no black players on the baseball team.

In the recent listing of Associated Press Sports Editors' awards, the Daily Star placed among the top 10 Sunday sections for papers with a circulation of 150,000 or less (the Star is at 75,000).

But the Daily Star has long had the image of wearing the black hat in this community.

"I don't think they deserve the bad-guy image," said Dale Walters, managing editor of the rival Citizen. "They get it partly for stories like this and partly because boosters think there should only be positive stories."

The problem with doing hard-hitting stories in a town where the focus is narrow and coaches are almost gods occurs when a mistake is made, especially one of this magnitude.

Auslander is hoping the community will someday be able to forget last week's article on Olson.

"I think that most people understand that we make mistakes," Auslander said. "We lost no time in saying we were wrong. We talked to Olson about it. . . . We're not trying to run anything into the ground. This is our home; we don't want to see things like this happen. The simple fact is we screwed up."

Sam Pollak has a wife and three daughters. And now he's out of work. He started at the Daily Star in 1980. He worked at the Dallas Times Herald before that. Pollak didn't write the story that eventually cost him his job.

"As sports editor, though, I have to take responsibility," he said. "It wasn't my mistake, but my mistake was not asking the right question."

It seemed like a great story when a disgruntled uniform salesman called the paper and told Pollak how MacGregor Sporting Goods, which pays Olson $3,000 a year to serve on its advisory board, owned Medalist Industries, the company that provided the Arizona basketball team with its uniforms.

Pollak assigned Dymond to the story.

But had Pollak asked when MacGregor actually purchased Medalist Industries, he would have discovered that it wasn't until April 1, 1984. The team purchased the uniforms in 1983.

Pollak and Auslander admit that the Daily Star rushed the story and should have examined it more closely, especially because it implicated the popular Olson.

"Is that (one mistake) worth five years of a good sports section?" Pollak asked. "That's not for me to decide. . . . This is a college town, and Olson is immensely popular. The Star felt it had to do something. That decision was not made by me. The shame of it is that we have a terrific sports section."

Pollak and Dymond were asked to take lesser positions at the paper and to take salary cuts.

Pollak said there was never a question what he would do. He resigned.

He said he and his family will head back to the East Coast, where he hopes to find a job.

The most difficult part might just be getting out of town.

Said Pollak: "As soon as I see them boiling the tar and plucking the chickens, I'm going to get out of here."

[Spaceman Spiff]

There’s no proof that Miller broke the senseless rules of a ridiculous organization that exploits his players.

What are we even talking about here? Why is Hansen arguing Miller is a stain on the university?

Sensationalism and clicks. The easy, sensational route is Sean Miller bad.

To actually address the issue with nuance, insight and depth winds up being harder.

[HiCat]

Jay Bilas - hmmm

By Kevin Zimmerman | May 3, 2019 at 9:28 am
UPDATED: May 3, 2019 at 10:41 am

Jay Bilas was among the first defenders of Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller when his program was first dragged into the FBI investigation of college basketball corruption.

The arrest of Arizona assistant Emanuel “Book” Richardson, however, was only the first of a long string of references of the Wildcats’ involvement since the investigation began in late 2017.

This week, audio collected on a wiretap was played at the federal trial. It caught Richardson alleging that Miller paid former Arizona star Deandre Ayton $10,000 a month. Beyond that, no, there’s no proof it happened.

But well before this week, the constant references to the Arizona program, multiple assistants and players it recruited has since changed Bilas’ opinion.
“You would have to have your head buried very deep in the sand and do some pretty tortured mental gymnastics to try to suggest that there was no improper NCAA activity on the part of Coach Miller and the Arizona program,” Bilas told Doug & Wolf on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station. “The idea, somehow, that his former assistant that was his current assistant at the time that these recordings were made … what sort of motivation would Book Richardson have to make those claims (if untrue)?

“If Book Richardson had made those claims to the NCAA, this would be over. This would be an open and shut infractions case.”

While there has been no audio of Miller himself played during any of the trials thus far, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, said Bilas, who also has a law degree from Duke.

But considering Miller is very much responsible for the actions of his then-assistant Richardson, either coach’s involvement could be up for punishment under NCAA rule. Former agency runner Christian Dawkins has also been captured on a secret video claiming that Richardson told him Miller was involved in allegedly impermissible actions by NCAA standards.

“For those who say, ‘Hey, we see no proof,’ that’s a very shallow view of this in my judgment,” Bilas said.

“I am not naive. You would have to be either fanatical in support of the Arizona program or painfully naive to believe everyone here is lying. It’s not credible and it’s not logical to take that route.”

Miller has already been interviewed by the FBI and has said he didn’t pay Ayton. There is potential for NCAA infractions to be found down the road, be it Miller’s or Richardson’s doings. Other programs likely pay players under the table to keep the NCAA’s veil of amateurism alive, for sure.

Bilas doesn’t like it either. He thinks college athletes should be paid.

Arizona is just the team that’s been in the headlines this instance, and regardless of any more evidence coming out, Bilas believes, if he were in charge of the University of Arizona’s athletic department, this would be over with already. Miller would have been fired.

“We have those rules now and I believe in rules,” he said. “If I think the speed limit should be changed, I don’t think everybody should be able to drive over the speed limit with impunity.

“The idea that you have administrators who fall all over themselves talking about integrity all the time, ‘We believe in the rules’, who are just standing by (until proof is found) … I find that unconscionable.”

http://arizonasports.com/story/1929453/ ... -argument/" target="_blank

[Spaceman Spiff]

Jay Bilas - hmmm

By Kevin Zimmerman | May 3, 2019 at 9:28 am
UPDATED: May 3, 2019 at 10:41 am

http://arizonasports.com/story/1929453/ ... -argument/" target="_blank

Respectfully to Bilas, if you believe the word of Dawkins, Sood or Book is evidence without more, Arizona is far from the only program to sanction. Zion Williamson was directly mentioned, as was Duke, in Week 1.

So what's your line? If you base NCAA sanctions on word without the underlying corroboration, do it honestly for everyone, IMO. Kansas has direct word and suspended people in connection.

[zonagrad]

Jay Bilas - hmmm

By Kevin Zimmerman | May 3, 2019 at 9:28 am
UPDATED: May 3, 2019 at 10:41 am

Jay Bilas was among the first defenders of Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller when his program was first dragged into the FBI investigation of college basketball corruption.

The arrest of Arizona assistant Emanuel “Book” Richardson, however, was only the first of a long string of references of the Wildcats’ involvement since the investigation began in late 2017.

This week, audio collected on a wiretap was played at the federal trial. It caught Richardson alleging that Miller paid former Arizona star Deandre Ayton $10,000 a month. Beyond that, no, there’s no proof it happened.

But well before this week, the constant references to the Arizona program, multiple assistants and players it recruited has since changed Bilas’ opinion.
“You would have to have your head buried very deep in the sand and do some pretty tortured mental gymnastics to try to suggest that there was no improper NCAA activity on the part of Coach Miller and the Arizona program,” Bilas told Doug & Wolf on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station. “The idea, somehow, that his former assistant that was his current assistant at the time that these recordings were made … what sort of motivation would Book Richardson have to make those claims (if untrue)?

“If Book Richardson had made those claims to the NCAA, this would be over. This would be an open and shut infractions case.”

While there has been no audio of Miller himself played during any of the trials thus far, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, said Bilas, who also has a law degree from Duke.

But considering Miller is very much responsible for the actions of his then-assistant Richardson, either coach’s involvement could be up for punishment under NCAA rule. Former agency runner Christian Dawkins has also been captured on a secret video claiming that Richardson told him Miller was involved in allegedly impermissible actions by NCAA standards.

“For those who say, ‘Hey, we see no proof,’ that’s a very shallow view of this in my judgment,” Bilas said.

“I am not naive. You would have to be either fanatical in support of the Arizona program or painfully naive to believe everyone here is lying. It’s not credible and it’s not logical to take that route.”

Miller has already been interviewed by the FBI and has said he didn’t pay Ayton. There is potential for NCAA infractions to be found down the road, be it Miller’s or Richardson’s doings. Other programs likely pay players under the table to keep the NCAA’s veil of amateurism alive, for sure.

Bilas doesn’t like it either. He thinks college athletes should be paid.

Arizona is just the team that’s been in the headlines this instance, and regardless of any more evidence coming out, Bilas believes, if he were in charge of the University of Arizona’s athletic department, this would be over with already. Miller would have been fired.

“We have those rules now and I believe in rules,” he said. “If I think the speed limit should be changed, I don’t think everybody should be able to drive over the speed limit with impunity.

“The idea that you have administrators who fall all over themselves talking about integrity all the time, ‘We believe in the rules’, who are just standing by (until proof is found) … I find that unconscionable.”

http://arizonasports.com/story/1929453/ ... -argument/" target="_blank

But Duke is clean. Crystal clear. Above reproach. Corey Maggette. Chris Duhon. Hell, Zion was "implicated" as well if you want to go on hearsay. Such bullshit. Bilas can go fuck himself.

[MountainCat]

With Bilas being a lawyer and all I can only respond with one thing.... ....Stick to basketball and quit pretending you are a practicing lawyer - knowing it all. Even the best lawyers know when to say nothing. This will come back to bite him and his alumni... If you know what I mean?