Ohio State: You've Got It All Wrong, Mr. Herbstreit...

Photo Credit: Jay LaPrete/Ap

When ESPN college football analyst, Kirk Herbstreit, was asked what advice he would offer to Ohio State regarding Jim Tressel—who is currently still the head coach of The Ohio State University football team—he said "stop recruiting guys like Maurice Clarett and Terrelle Pryor into your program".

Really, Kirk? I hope you didn't have Terrelle Pryor on speed dial or anything because while Maurice Clarett clearly had issues—and still does—I'm not sure how you can place Terrelle Pryor in the same boat with him.

However, never mind that, let's talk about the actual piece of trash that you've chosen to place on the pedestal here—Jim Tressel. How about you advise The Ohio State University to get rid of him because he's as much the problem as the guys he's recruited.

At this point, no one should be selling Tressel as some sort of a martyr. He knew what was happening in his program, allowed it to continue happening, and then lied about it AFTER the cat was let out of the bag. It was only after there were no more rocks to crawl under, or football games to hide behind, that he decided to come forward with his version of the truth—this guy isn't blameless, he's a cheater, so let's just tell it like it is.

Tressel is not a victim of deception or poor recruiting judgment, but rather an example of what happened when a grown man makes a bad decision. He did all of this to himself—don't shed any tears for him—he was complicit in the acts of Pryor and the rest simply by keeping his mouth shut. His inaction tells us all we need to know about his priorities so spare us the 'poor coach gets took by his players' story because we're not buying. 

Has Tressel been a winner at Ohio State? Sure, there can be no doubt about that, he's done a fine job keeping the Buckeyes in the spotlight. However, moving forward, if Ohio State continues to break out the knee pads for this sweater vest wearing liar, then the integrity of their university—what little it still has left after Tressel's monumental embarrassment—will definitely leave a scar as long as Lake Michigan on the football program and any attempt it makes at a championship with Tressel leading the way.

He should have been fired when this whole business came to light and, if not then, certainly now. 

"Stop recruiting guys like Terrelle Pryor and Maurice Clarett"?...Wow, if that's code for stop bringing in liars and cheats then Pot meet Tressel.

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Jim Tressel: Playing The NCAA Like A Fiddle

Photo Credit: Marvin Fong/The Plain Dealer

Listen to this: Jim Tressel has decided to increase his suspension from the paltry, pathetic, and laughable two games that he initially felt was fair to five—like his players.

For those of you who don't remember the story, here's the recap: in January, five of Ohio State's football players were suspended by the NCAA for the first five games of the 2011 season for accepting tattoos in exchange for signed memorabilia. Tressel, at the time, feigned ignorance and said he had no knowledge of what his players were doing. He admonished them for their actions and moved on from the matter with no further commentary.

However, it was recently discovered that not only did Tressel know what was going on with said players, but he hid what he knew from the public as best he could by lying. His reasoning for doing so, he "feared" for the safety of his players.

Ohio State's response to finding out what Tressel did was to suspend him for two-games and fine him $250,000.

Well, obviously, the NCAA isn't looking for anymore criticism from the college football pundits of the world because they told Ohio State and Tressel to shove that two game suspension and come up with something better. Tressel's response, get this, he'll accept five games. The hell you say?...You'll accept five?!? Is that a joke? Surely, Tressel has to understand that his punishment, by virtue of his stature and crime, should be worse than that of his players.

After all, he did lie to the NCAA. Quite frankly, in my humble opinion, anything less than the a season-long suspension isn't worth talking about.

There should be no mercy for him or Ohio State because this isn't a case of, "aw, man, I had no idea". Tressel's actions were committed with full-knowledge of the consequences and he should be held to the fire for his actions.

Now, before we get the folks who'll scream, 'Hey, Lady, you think college football is a clean sport? You think Tressel is the exception and not the rule', let me make this clear, I don't care about the perception of college football. Perception is not the point.

We all understand that coaches break rules, teams cheat, and players can be bought—this isn't me living in a Utopian paradise where those kinds of things never happen. But, if the NCAA doesn't address this situation more forcefully, then why bother having the rules in the first place?

You have to start making an example of coaches at some point and, if that lesson begins with Jim Tressel—so be it.

Tressel should be forced to sit out the season for what he did, anything less is a joke.

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• Jim Tressel hit with two-game suspension, $250K fine (collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com)

Jim Tressel: Your Only "Fear" Was Getting Caught—Period

Listen, full disclosure here, this post is not an attempt at being fair or balanced. No, the approach here is simple: to call a spade a spade. 

Upon reading Jim Tressel's "apology" for failing to report the violations of his players—which, by the way, if you're buying that whole "feared for their safety argument", then I have a wonderful piece of sandy real estate in the north pole to sell you—I only have two observations: 1) Tressel is only sorry he got caught, and 2) Tressel is about as honest as an Amway salesperson if he tries to spin it any other way.

While I won't profess to know all of Tressel's intentions, his decision to withhold information about  the impermissible activities of his players cannot be accepted as an omission prompted by any so-called "fear" of restitution by any third-party. On the contrary, based on the emails exchanged between Tressel and the informant, his players engaged in the behavior, willingly, on multiple occasions—at some points even soliciting Mr. Rife via cell phone contact—and Tressel's response didn't seem to elicit anything more than a passing curiosity as to how he might curb their behavior.

At the press conference, Tressel stated "I have had a player murdered. I've had a player incarcerated. I've had a player get taken into the drug culture and lose his opportunity for a productive life...it was obviously tremendously concerning. Quite honestly, I was scared."

Well, not to sound insensitive, but there are more than a handful of coaches in the college football ranks who share in that experience with Tressel—it explains nothing.

And, even if anyone was naive enough to buy Tressel's stab at emotional sympathy, those same persons would be smart to ask the following question: why not blow the whistle on the whole enchilada once the shady dealings were finally exposed in January? Surely if there were ever a time to let the information highway flow freely, it was then because, well, the cat was out of the bag. Yet, instead, he continued to keep the information to himself—why?

I'll tell you why, he kept it a secret for the same reason then as he did in April of 2010,  he knew he was in deep crapola if any one found out. He was simply trying to protect his and his players backsides—nothing more.

However, the more appalling behavior, in my opinion, comes not from Tressel (unfortunately, dirty coaches appear to be in fashion right now), but from the Ohio State administration in general. Do they honestly believe that a two game suspension coupled with a $250,000 fine is enough?...Seriously?

First of all, the Buckeyes play scrub one and scrub two in the first two games, so it's not like Tressel would have done much coaching in the first place and, furthermore, university president, Gordon Gee, sounds like he's just moments away from grabbing a set of knee pads for ol' Jimmy (good grief, Mr. Gee, could you BE anymore of a sniffer, "I'm just hoping the coach doesn't dismiss me."...is this guy for real?), so it wouldn't surprise me if the $250,000 fine doesn't come out of Tressel's pockets—per se.

NCAA President, Marc Emmert, has already proven to be a complete moron in the way he handles such blatant violations as this one (see Cam Newton as well as the Ohio State Five), so all eyes will be on him again with this latest turn of events and, for his sake, I hope he finds some intelligence in making a ruling on a real punishment for The Ohio State University.

They should be forced to forfeit the entire 2010 season and Jim Tressel should, in my homer humble opinion, be required to sit out more than just a couple of meaningless football games in 2011. The stuff should hit the fan for Ohio State and, if it doesn't, expect most of hell to not only break loose, but to take up permanent residence in Indianapolis—starting with the office of the president. 

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