OT: Yahoo Report now ties MSU Asst. Dwayne Stephens to ASM via Email

My best guess in the other thread (which is now blued out for me for some reason) is the FBI has weak cases for their primary targets so they're trying to dust up cooperation from either those currently facing charges or some of those named in the leaks. Otherwise, why leak before 1) discovery or 2) filing new charges? This is a rather large info dump so it's clearly strategic.

Cris Carter was their guest speaker at last years coaching convention.

This is a good question that the article doesn’t address. Obviously if the kid is getting an impermissible benefit, that’s a violation. But can the coach persuade him to sign with a certain agency?

This is a good question that the article doesn’t address. Obviously if the kid is getting an impermissible benefit, that’s a violation. But can the coach persuade him to sign with a certain agency?

Those contracts have significant value to agents. That's what the rules (and laws) address, not just specifically cash payments.

Agents giving anything of value to students before signing a contract is against the law and against NCAA rules. So is signing them to a contract and not disclosing it to the student's university.

Asking coaches to steer their players to an agent in exchange for something of value is bribery. Delivering recruits obviously qualifies. Breaking the law to get recruits is against a general NCAA rule. Further, no coach can credibly argue that he thought an agent offering bribes wasn't also paying the recruit involved. No one believes agents have the power to deliver these recruits otherwise.

If you combine this with the gifts given to other recruits, he's trying to secure recruits to steer to certain universities if the coaching staff agrees to "trade" current players to his firm as agent. The fact that coaches from these universities are talking to him under these circumstances is really the indicator that this is just the surface of whats going on.

about getting in the middle of this mess. I am sure that he checked with Izzo to make sure he was clean before he accepted the interim presidency.

than it currently is.  That place is trash.

OT: Yesterday I took the family to Ann Arbor for the whole day.  Hands-on Museum, walk around campus, dinner, then the hockey game.  On the way back, my kid was effusive in her thanks for the day and praise for how awesome U of M is.  She's 9, but she's already decided it's her top school.  Today my wife (MSU grad) is taking her to MSU for what sounds like an awesome engineering/mathy type event for kids.  On the way home, while my daughter was buzzing with excitement, my wife was discussing how MSU is a cool place too.  
As much as I have tried in the past to be neutral in discussions that involve the two schools in front of my kid, I simply couldn't do it last night.  The best I could muster was saying how all college campuses have something unique and cool about them.  In my head, I was just thinking "It'll be your choice, kiddo, but there is no fucking way I let you go there without a fight."

TL;DR I will happily pay for my kid to go out of state before I send her to MSU.

Hell deny knowledge as long as possible. He's already issued a statement, and the university just directed reporters back to his statement when more evidence was released (this thread), so just expect more of this ( from the freep article referenced in the op article): “While we will cooperate with any and all investigations,” Izzo said, “we have no reason to believe that I, any member of our staff or student-athlete did anything in violation of NCAA rules.”

Too bad Tom doesn't have a good wartime consigliere, as he desperately needs one. 

Five families of corruption and  moral bankruptcy.

 

for old times sake?”

Izzo will have a good defense claiming ignorance, he is a Spartan after all and the fans will eat it up wholesale.

He has been lying for a long time now.

I have been reading comments from fans on this very blog that Stevens was Izzo’s bagman. There was never any details or concrete evidence provided, so I reserved judgement. Now, Yahoo confirms coach Stevens as the MSU contact. If Michigan fans have known this for years, there is no way that Izzo didn’t know that this was going on.

You know he's ready for some real defense! Then we'll know he's done for as the FBI and NCAA go in for an easy layup.

He isn't. Right now, he's using the "it didn't happen" defense. Once it is proven to have happened, he'll use the "I didn't know" defense.