A Thought About The Rick Pitino Extortion Case

As we are still waiting to get more details about the extortion, I have been thinking about the woman charged with the extortion.  To put it nicely, Karen Sypher seems to be an interesting lady.  According to nearly everyone involved with the case, she is quirky, unreliable, and not all that smart.  She keeps ignoring her attorney’s advice to shut up as this case moves forward.

AP Photo

But what she is talking about is what grabbed my attention.  She claims that she is not getting a fair shake in all of this.  That the media is portraying her falsely and all this attention is ridiculous.  She doesn’t feel like she has a lot of rights now and that the truth will set her free.

What truth?  Even if Pitino is guilty of something, it doesn’t change the fact that she tried to extort money from him.  That is not legal either Ms. Sypher.  If you didn’t want all of this attention, coverage, and feeling like you don’t have rights, don’t break the law.  I have no sympathy for any person who does something wrong, then complains about it when they get caught.  You want to be happy?  Don’t do things that lead to the media knocking on your door and the FBI charging you with crimes.  But I guess I’m just old fashioned that way.

Northeastern University Violations

I saw this story about Northeastern University committing recruiting violations.  The violations include benefits to a player and illegal activity by a booster.  Most of the violations were related to the recruiting of an international player.

Obviously this stuff happens more than we know.  We like to think that schools run clean programs and everything is perfect.  The bottom line is that some (not all) programs are willing to bend or break the rules to get top talent.  Violating these rules is not always as obvious as the Michigan “fab five” team.  That was so blatant it was almost funny.  Sometimes the violations are as small as extra money for food, grade considerations, or some new clothes.  That’s why it is so hard to police all the schools.  When your caught, its usually because you made big mistakes or someone leaked the information.

I’m not going to crucify Northeastern for the infractions.  It’s sad to see and reminds us that the sport isn’t perfect.  My only beef with Northeastern is if you are going to violate rules, shouldn’t you do better than 19-13.  Especially in a weak conference like the CAA.  I say if you lack the ethics to play by the rules, cheat big and have something to show for it.  In this case, they cheated and played just over .500 ball.  And that, is sad.

Pitino Update: Woman Charged

Joe Robbins/US Presswire

This Rick Pitino story keeps getting bigger and bigger.  Today the FBI charged Karen Sypher with federal extortion charges.  The strangest fact though is that there are still very little facts released.

Exactly what Sypher was using against Pitino to attempt to extort him is yet to be released.  However, what she was attempting to get in exchange for keeping her mouth shut was released today.  She wanted Pitino to give her two cars (of her choice of course), college tuition for her kids, $3000 a month, and she wanted Pitino to pay off her house.  She later consolidated those demands to a cool $10 million.

Whatever Sypher thinks she has on Pitino must be pretty good for those types of demands.  Recently, Sypher’s mother said that Pitino is a bad man and has done bad things to Karen Sypher.  That seems a little unrealistic considering Karen’s husband Tim is still associated with Louisville basketball, he is the equipment manager.  Tim Sypher has also backed Pitino during these bizarre string of events.

The court documents from today don’t shed much more light on the situation except that Pitino thinks that all of this stems from an encounter in 2003.  Although Karen Sypher seems to be very unreliable, the fact that Pitino could narrow the problems to one event makes me wonder if he may be guilty of something as well.  Or at the very least, less than innocent in the whole matter.  The good news is that this story has taken off and gained the media’s attention.  More details should become available rather soon.

Oklahoma Adds Internet Rules

In an era of extravagant internet use, Oklahoma University has devised a set of policies for their athletes to follow.  Although it is probably not the first school to institute such rules, their efforts are commendable.  Especially in the wake of the infractions that both the football and basketball teams committed.

The basketball infractions were mostly committed by former coach Kelvin Sampson and his staff.  The infractions included hundreds of illegal phone calls and text messages.  Although a new staff is in place, the basketball team is on probation until May of next year.  Side note, the fact that the school is on probation makes this past season even more impressive.  But that is a different column for a different day.

In an effort to be proactive about their violations and lay out guidelines for their players, the school has devised the electronic policies.  The policies include proper behavior on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.  One policy is that “‘Partying,’ ‘drinking,’ and ‘getting wasted’ do not qualify as real hobbies or interests.”  Although this may seem obvious to you or I, these are college kids who like to post the “good times” they are having.  The last thing the school needs is a drunk student athlete on a website and all the negative press that comes with that.

The school may also implement a software that will detect improper web use on school computers.  Improper sites are those that involve gambling or academic impropriety.  This may seem very “Big Brother” of Oklahoma but they are certainly allowed to monitor school computers.  The program will not monitor students’ personal computers.

This policy is a step in the right direction.  It may seem like these schools are just adding more and more rules but these kids need to know where trouble lurks.  Although they should have an idea of what is right or wrong, some things seem harmless until they are out of control.  With clear rules about internet and computer use, there is no ambiguity.  The student athletes who know right from wrong will have nothing new to worry about.  The less aware athletes will now have guidelines to follow to keep them out of trouble.  Good job, Oklahoma.  Now keep out of trouble and see how good your basketball team can be when you get off probation.

Isiah Thomas Hire Paying Off

As expected, the Isiah Thomas hire at Florida International University is paying big dividends.  Not in wins and losses yet, but in ticket sales and recruiting.  The bottom line is that ticket sales and recruiting will lead to more wins and less losses.

Nick Laham/Getty Images

FIU Athletic Director Pete Garcia announced today that the school  has received over 1000 calls about tickets for next season since the Thomas hire.  The school’s average attendance at home last season was 693.  Clearly, the attendance will be much higher this season.  People want to see Thomas in person, get his autograph, and see what he can do as a coach.  If the team doesn’t win, the interest may wane, but the initial surge in sales will be lucrative enough to justify the hire.  Of course, Thomas is donating his first year’s salary, so any attendance is worth it.

The attendance probably won’t dip though because the team will win more games under Thomas.  In addition to the extra calls about tickets, the school has received over 350 calls from players with interest to play under Thomas.  Obviously, these aren’t all top notch players, but they are certainly better than the players that are currently winning well less than half their games in a very weak conference.

Assuming Thomas doesn’t implode like he did in New York, he will be successful at FIU.  Of course, there is far less pressure at FIU, so he should be fine.  The team will be better and the program will be stronger for some time to come.  That is until Thomas dumps the school to move to a higher profile job once he has proven himself in a few seasons.

Pitino Extortion Update

The bizarre Rick Pitino extortion story is slowly becoming more clear.  The FBI is expected to release the details of their investigation this week.  Perhaps their revelations will shed some light onto just what has been happening in Louisville the last few months.

AP

The FBI is investigating Pitino’s claim that Karen Sypher and possibly some accomplices tried to extort money from him.  Karen Sypher is the estranged wife of Louisville equipment manager Tim Sypher.  The very few details of the extortion and relationship of Tim and Karen Sypher can be found in a recent blog.

The new information about Karen Sypher’s interview with Louisville Fox affiliate WDRB is very intriguing.  Sypher gave WDRB anchor Candyce Clifft a two hour interview recently in which she (Sypher) laid out her allegations against Pitino.  The interview was conducted by Clifft in the presence of WDRB’s general manager and news director.  WDRB has not released the details of that interview.  The station is unsure if it will ever release any of the interview because they are not sure if Sypher is credible.

Karen Sypher must have an incredible story.  She approached WDRB about doing an interview.  WDRB set up the interview at the station, with top level management, and a polygraph test.  Both practices are highly, highly irregular.  News directors rarely sit it in on interviews and general managers are never there.  A polygraph is unusual behavior by a news station as well.  The results of the polygraph were inconclusive.  Whatever Sypher told them lead them to take these actions as a precaution.  It must be really juicy stuff.

The FBI investigation may give us some insight into what Karen Sypher knows.  Perhaps after they release their information, she will add more details.  Whoever has that tape at WDRB better hide it in a safe place because there will be several lucrative offers to leak it.  This should be a real interesting week in Kentucky, and the horses aren’t even running yet.

Willie Warren Staying At Oklahoma

Despite a lot of pressure to enter the NBA draft, Oklahoma guard Willie Warren has decided to stay in college for at least one more year. Warren and coach Jeff Capel sat down on Saturday to discuss what Warren can work on next season at Oklahoma. Warren’s decision is refreshing in an era when players can’t wait to get to the NBA and cash big checks.

April L. Brown / AP

Last season, Warren’s freshman year, he averaged nearly 15 points per game and gave Oklahoma a much needed outside presence to go along with star Blake Griffin. His performance was spectacular enough to make him a top 10 prospect in the NBA draft. Instead, Warren will return to school and work on his game. He will improve on his weakest elements and make himself an even better pro prospect next season.

In a recent blog, I argued that some players need to stick around for a few years to develop their games and their maturity. Some guys, like LeBron James, are ready for the NBA immediately. Other guys, like Chris Wilcox, leave school early and get lost in the shuffle because they didn’t take the time to improve their game. Warren’s decision shows a high maturity level. Mentally, he is probably ready for the NBA but his game still has a few flaws. He will work out those flaws next season and make more money because of it.

Bruce Pearl Is Awesome

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

I can’t think of another coach in the country who is more fun than Bruce Pearl.  He has pulled some shenanigans over the last few years that have certainly given his University of Tennessee plenty of publicity.  His latest antic, a rap performance, may top them all.

With Pearl, you can always expect the unexpected.  From hanging out in the student section, to wearing orange suits, to painting his naked upper body orange for a lady vols’ game, he is a riot.  If you are looking to play for a coach who likes to have fun, Tennessee is the place to be.

At a Tennessee awards ceremony last week, Pearl added to his lure.  During an onstage rap performance, Pearl made a guest appearance.  In what can only be described as awesome attire, Pearl showed off his rap skills.  No word yet if he wrote his own lyrics.

Some people criticize Pearl’s behavior.  They say it is unprofessional and embarrassing.  I say relax and enjoy it.  If his behavior was truly unprofessional, the school would have punished him by now.  He is having fun with his team and his school which he loves.  If anything, his behavior does wonders for the school.  Better players are attracted to the school because it appears that they will have some fun there.  It is the exact opposite of the John Chaney years at Temple when he was famous for making his players practice at 5 a.m.  Also, Pearl is keeping Tennessee in the news and relevant.  The school was best known for women’s basketball and Peyton Manning.  Now there is a buzz about the men’s basketball team as well.

Kudos Bruce Pearl for having some fun and doing your job at the same time.  Check out the video below and determine for yourself if Snoop Dogg should be worried.

Rick Pitino Extorted?

An extremely bizarre story is coming out of Lousiville.  Apparently Louisville head coach Rick Pitino was the target of an extrotion attempt.  The investigation is still in process and few details are available at this time.  Pitino though is approaching this dilema like any basketball game, he isn’t messing around.  The case has been turned over to the FBI.

Brian Spurlock/US Presswire

The extortion scheme is related to team equipment manager Tim Sypher and his estranged wife Karen.  Karen Sypher gave an interview to a Louisville Fox affiliate, WDRB, in which she detailed her claims about Pitino.  WDRB has declined to release the details of the interview at this point.

Tim and Karen are in the midst of divorce proceedings which is most likely related to the extortion events.  This story goes to show you that living in the lime light isn’t always what it is cut out to be.  Yeah you are famous and make a lot of money, but you have to put up with a lot of nonsense like this.

More to come as details are released.

Hasheem Thabeet Is Overrated

Bob Child / AP

That’s right.  I said it.  The 7-foot-3 Uconn center is not nearly as good as everyone says he is.  He has declared for the NBA draft and some team will make a huge mistake and draft him early.

Thabeet was known in college for one thing:  shot blocking.  And he did that quite well, averaging more than 4 blocks a game.  He altered countless other shots.  But that is about it.  He averaged 13 points a game, but I submit that that is somewhat pathetic.  He was usually at least 4 inches taller than the tallest player on the opposing team.  He should have accidentally averaged at least 18 points a game.  He missed countless short range shots and forget about anything outside of 12 feet.

He is soft too.  His coach, Jim Calhoun, said that he is “one of the most dominant defensive players in the history of college basketball.”  Really?  Everyone saw how he was dominated by the much shorter DeJuan Blair when Pittsburgh beat UConn at UConn.  The NBA is full of DeJuan Blairs just waiting to abuse Thabeet.  He has no athelticism and if he was 4 inches shorter, we probably would have never heard of him.  There isn’t a center in the NBA that can’t dominate Thabeet every night.

His other big flaw is that he is uncomfortable away from the basketball.  In the NBA, big men are athletic and can play 20 feet from the hoop.  They can take their defenders off the dribble and are capable of hitting outside shots.  Thabeet was consistently beaten in college when the opposition could get him away from the basket.  He will have to work extremely hard on his offensive and defensive perimeter game if he is going to have a shot at playing well in the pros.

As of now, Thabeet is projected to be the number 3 pick in the draft.  That means he will be paid a ton of money and will be expected to produce quickly.  But that is not Thabeet’s style.  He is not a game changer, he is a complimentary player.  He almost seems like a much better Manute Bol.

Unless Thabeet gets stronger, quicker, and much better, he will be a failure in the NBA.  Good big men are hard to find, just ask Portland and Greg Oden.  Thabeet would pout when the competition got the best of him.  Go look back at the Pittsburgh games and you will see what I mean.  Write it down, Thabeet will be an NBA bust and may be out of the league in 4 years.