University and Trusted Agents taking @Tonnorscalions seriously?
It's 8am and it's quiet here so figured after some stalking on x I'd post this for discussion...
Mods- Do with this as you wish...but I think there are some notable items for discussion. I will not post screenshots out of respect for not blatantly adding fuel to rumors. People can dig as much as they wish. Color me more than skeptical. But...here are some things to consider....
Intriguing reasons to be intrigued...
- His following has gone from 20 people to ~5,300 in 48 hours.
- People we generally trust like Hole, Balas, Scott Bell etc follow him
- Others with big followings follow him ie "a name I cannot mention with 3m followers"
- Michigan insider following and Sam insinuated it's a "trusted person"
- My contact on the medical staff is saying there is "real discussion about this account"
- Maybe the most important...Sarah Hubbard, Jordan Acker and other UM regents seem to be following. I find that odd if this is just a parody bull**** account.
- He is starting to post things that loosely connect the dots, verse just random claims
- It was mentioned on osu radio today and it was somewhat taken seriously...or more of that "I'm kind of joking but concerned" type of talk.
Reasons to be skeptical
- Writes in a borderline cartoonish language. Maybe it's a pet peeve of mine, but it makes the whole thing feel like a skit.
- No major publications picking it up. Maybe it's too early, maybe just not enough there.
- While making some connections, it still seems like random "throw stuff on the wall and see what sticks".
The answer is "just win Saturday" and Michigan already lost this PR battle. BUT...if some of this stuff is more than smoke it really could make a different with public perception and impact what kind of penalty UM is looking at down the road.
If you want to venture just go for @tonnorscalions on x.
November 22nd, 2023 at 8:56 AM ^
None of this is going to matter bc idiot valenti is claiming to know that our issue is more than just sign stealing and we had coaches gambling on games. He says “bet” will be used against us and it’s only a matter of time before the bomb drops..
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:00 AM ^
Who gives a shit what Mr. Batteries has to say about anything. I guess that's what you have to do to fill air time when you can't talk about MSU's bowl opponent for the 2nd straight year.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:08 AM ^
Repeating what that gorp says is stupid. If gambling were involved so would the FBI.
Sparties seem to think Weiss is tied up in gambling for reasons only they know. Meanwhile MSU’s accreditation is under review.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:16 AM ^
Valenti? Dude has had a three week long boner over this story. He’s thrown more conspiracy theories out there than anyone. I think he’s got one of those giant investigation boards with pictures and strings connecting them all over his garage.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:38 AM ^
Stop listening to Valenti and stop advertising with 97.1, it’s a Spartan talk show even the supposed Michigan guy on the show agrees with Valenti on everything he says no pushback, he knows who butters his bread!
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:50 AM ^
Seconded. Boycott 97.1 2-6.
November 22nd, 2023 at 10:02 AM ^
Losing track of boycotts. We need a sticky.
- ESPN
- Freep
- 97.1
- Barstool
- ...
November 22nd, 2023 at 10:47 AM ^
If portnoy puts up money for underwood can we take barstool off this list.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:17 AM ^
I thought there was a sticky for that.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:01 PM ^
B1G Network
November 22nd, 2023 at 3:09 PM ^
One of the best parts of living out of state is going, "Oh yeah Mike Valenti? I forgot about him!"
November 22nd, 2023 at 6:32 PM ^
It's not that hard to avoid Valenti. I find the sound of silence better than him and Rico and the flaccid Wolverine fan they have on there.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:04 AM ^
It’s a bunch of conspiracy nonsense.
It’s entertaining and interesting, but nothing will come from it at all unless this dude actually provides proof, which he hasn’t, and probably won’t.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:04 AM ^
At this point Michigan could present verified audio and visual evidence that Ryan Day personally paid for hookers for his players. The Big Ten would not do anything. Leave the conference now!
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:04 AM ^
The specificity of the claims and his followers make me curious. Something is there. What I don’t know. My curiosity is piqued.
Maybe I am too desperate. Maybe it’s Maybelline. Maybe it’s you. Maybe its me.Maybe it’s Memphis, but it sure felt right.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:12 AM ^
You know, maybe that’s the best way to describe where I’m at…curious.
November 22nd, 2023 at 10:22 AM ^
Friend, you seem like a stickler, so I give you "piqued" though it is true your curiosity may also be "peaking" ...
November 22nd, 2023 at 10:26 AM ^
My friend, thank you. I am indeed a stickler for proper word usage. I am going to correct my blunder.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:09 AM ^
Just win on Saturday and then I couldn't care less how this part of the story all plays out.
Win on Saturday, and OSU will be facing fallout just as bad if not worse than whatever the rumor mill can conjure up.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:28 AM ^
If UM loses the narrative will certainly be lack of Harbaugh played a huge role. All one has to do is look at the four games since the news broke. Two with Harbaugh and two without Harbaugh. UM’s offense has noticeably been less effective since he has been suspended.
I suspect that if UM loses both the Big Ten and OSU will face multiple lawsuits from pissed off fans/alumni of UM. Whatever happens on the field Saturday OSU is going to face a future full of legal and public relations problems.
November 22nd, 2023 at 10:39 AM ^
You’ve been predicting consequences for OSU since this shit started, and I’d love to believe you. But all we’ve seen is Michigan roll over and take it.
November 22nd, 2023 at 10:45 AM ^
Vengeance can take time to manifest.
Perhaps I will be wrong. It is certainly a possibility that OSU will escape consequences for it’s nefarious activities, but I tend to think that as they have enraged a wealthy and well-connected group of people that there will be some form of repercussion for what has gone on since the news broke.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:08 AM ^
Have we ever seen this wealthy and well-connected group of people really do anything in the context of conflicts with the NCAA and/or other schools?
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:18 AM ^
I think those types are basically always responsible for the very obvious stuff that always gets kicked under the rug. Money and power talk and bullshit whining walks. This is why "Michigan is cheating so give CMU the death penalty" is a trope with a basis in reality.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:47 PM ^
I'll believe that when I see it.
If Michigan loses on Saturday, I think a very sizable majority of the narrative will shift to "See, this is what Michigan has ALWAYS been now that they can't cheat." I think ESPN will be happy to take that narrative, run with it, and jam it down everyone's throats as often as it can. You'll have your holdouts like Joel Klatt and Colin Cowherd, but they'll be the exception and not the rule.
November 22nd, 2023 at 2:17 PM ^
Unfortunately, this is correct.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:28 AM ^
I’m so done with this. I just want to watch football.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:29 AM ^
Tell us about that mysterious binder full of dirt in the BoCave underneath Schembechler Hall … is Geraldo available ?
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:32 AM ^
I think it's frankly embarrassing that this is gaining traction. There are probably some truths in it, but there's so much other stuff that doesn't hold up to even basic checks that the whole effort seems tainted. (Example, one of the first "bombs" was that Dr. Yood was some kind of rich insider with Charlie Baker from his days as governor, or wait maybe from his days as a healthcare exec, but campaign donations are public. Baker raised like $30MM and none of it came from Yood. No evidence that they ever worked together, and they're from completely different parts of the state of MA.)
Canes must be a reimbursement for illicit scouting of a Miami game...or maybe they went to the restaurant Cane's, which is delicious and has a ton of locations in Columbus and is exactly the kind of place people in their 20's get takeout from.
If they have actual evidence, or even claims that stand up to simple scrutiny, they should post them. Otherwise we should be better than swallowing this garbage.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:46 AM ^
There are other Venmos screenshotted aside from Canes.
The Yood thing is an attempt at discrediting the kid. I feel uncomfortable about it because he was never arrested or charged with anything connected to the video. Smearing him in this public fashion without direct evidence of the claims is…yuck.
The Catapult claims are much more interesting. If they do have proof as they claim of OSU having stolen PSU practice video OSU is in serious trouble with the NCAA and perhaps legally. Practice video is the property of the universities. Possessing stolen property is a crime.
November 22nd, 2023 at 10:59 AM ^
Sure, but he claims to be an insider. I would expect someone with inside knowledge to go in and find some Venmo's that support whatever he's been told happened. This suggests he's not an insider, is posting whatever he can find, and hoping it's true. Going outside in, instead of inside out.
The catapult stuff could be something or could be nothing. How many people work there? How often do they hire people straight from the video departments at college football programs? What other programs do they hire from? Where did the founders/higher ups come from? What kind of promises do they make to their customers about data security? If they start to present some of that in the right context and it still looks fishy, then sure, let's go wild.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:09 PM ^
I asked for evidence on Twitter and they said it was coming.
What they are doing is not dissimilar to much of the crap surrounding Stallions. I don’t have a problem with it because UM is fighting opponents who don’t care about truth, due process, or ethics.
When in a bar brawl you don’t ask yourself if it is right to use a chair to beat your assailant you just do it and worry about the consequences later.
November 22nd, 2023 at 10:31 AM ^
The thing about Yood is gross in general; that whole situation is awful for everyone involved and while I have no sympathy for Alex Yood if that video about his predation is real, I also am quite dubious of sites that try to charge people to help them catch sexual predators.
As for donations to Baker, you can search the MA financial donations lists and you'll notice most of the big-money donations are from PACs and other organizations, so it would be pretty easy to give money via one of them and still have influence. Again, not saying that's what is happening here but at this point I'd like to think everyone understands enough about campaign finance to not assume the transfer of money begins and ends with what you can Google search. Also, Dr. Yood has practices in suburban Boston and the governor's office is in Boston, so that's absolutely in the same part of MA, to say nothing of the fact MA is pretty small so it's not like he's a time-zone away even on the west side.
Canes is probably just food but there are a number of other payments that line up with UM games. If we all had to hear about Jaybaugh paying Stalions one time on Venmo 3 years ago, this pattern at least needs to be considered as interesting.
Yeah, it's probably all garbage but again, we all thought the Stalions situation was stupid and impossible and then that MFer is in sunglasses on the CMU sidelines. My expectations for stupidity around this situation have been expanded quite a bit.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:07 AM ^
Maybe! But how often do people who haven't made a single donation in the history of the database jump straight to funneling money through Super-PACs? And he practices in the outer western suburbs, while Baker came up in politics way up the coast to the north. My point is that they're very unlikely to know each socially, or have worked together early in Baker's political career.
Maybe they're best friends! Maybe they've known each other since they helped hide a body at a summer camp in 1975! Maybe they were pen pals in 3rd grade. But until some evidence is presented, this is no more credible than saying that Baker is out to get Michigan because Ryan Day worked for Boston College when Baker lived near Boston and they're BFFs too.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:31 AM ^
I agree it's unlikely and that always felt like weird QAnon bullshit. But I mean, I live in Boston proper and his office is Framingham is 18 miles away; that's basically the same distance from Ferndale to Rochester Hills. And Baker graduated from Needham HS, which is 10 miles outside of Boston, and had been the CEO of Harvard Vanguard, which is a major player in the medical space around here. Yood works for Tufts Medical, also based in Boston. Again, I don't think there's any connection here but I'm just saying that the characterization that these guys exist in disparate worlds isn't fair.
November 22nd, 2023 at 1:31 PM ^
Agree. I watched the video and wish I hadn't and now feel like I have to shower. Everyone involved in those little escapades comes off as sub-human.
I don't have any sympathy for him trying to meet a 13 year old, though after arguing for due process, he received none there. He basically cops to doing it in the end, sooooo dunno. Yay, that's totally smarmy all round!?
I really hope there is some evidence that he is the leak and is at least somewhat deserving of what lies in store for him. If he really retaliated against M for firing him...did he really expect any employer to keep him around after that?
November 22nd, 2023 at 2:03 PM ^
I probably should have mentioned this in the summary of allegations upthread: the tweets imply that the Yood connection was made during the interviews last week. The NCAA asked questions that made it clear that he had to be a source of information.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:42 AM ^
https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1727143977374318618
FWIW, Portnoy retweeted from Tonnor once removed, picking up close to 1 million views.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:45 AM ^
Need journalists to pick this up and run with it.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:48 AM ^
Regardless of us losing the PR battle. If what he’s posting (some of it) is true, then they’re fucked with a capitol F. To quote ever asshole out there. “This runs deep”. I’m sure nothing would come of it but it’s a nice distraction.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:54 AM ^
Oh I ventured there and got my popcorn ready.
November 22nd, 2023 at 9:56 AM ^
Yeah, this doesn't seem remotely believable but we also live in a world where the Stalions info broke on some Buckeyes message board a month+ before it was released so who knows. But also, none of this really matters if the NCAA doesn't care to investigate it, and I have a sense at this point they'd prefer if this whole situation just vanished completely. Do I think OSU broke various rules related to advanced scouting on par with, if not greater than, what UM did? Absolutely, but until anything more comes of it this feels like a situation where UM is going to bear the brunt of the punishment while everyone else gets away with a slap on the wrist.
November 22nd, 2023 at 10:34 AM ^
It is important to get it out there in the ether of the internet however true it is or isn’t. We are in a propaganda war. A war for minds if you will. Hence, any information, no matter how poorly supported by facts and evidence, is worth tossing out there to sow doubt in the established narrative and Ohio State’s credibility.
This is very Cold Warish and a deeply unpleasant intraconference conflict that OSU decided to unleash. The existence of the Big Ten as currently constituted is at stake. Do the higher ups fully appreciate how serious this has become? Or are they asleep at the controls assuming that this will fade away? I think the latter is closer to the truth than the former. Hopefully, the networks can see what is going on and intervene before the property they paid so much for implodes.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:21 PM ^
I don't think they do. I think you're right that the rest of the conference is thinking Michigan is mad they got caught and will just move on. Aside from football there are millions of dollars at stake from other sports, CRC, AAU and other collaborative efforts with other universities within the conference that give the other 13 members confidence that Michigan won't just leave.
November 22nd, 2023 at 1:59 PM ^
None of that is going to be impacted by Michigan leaving an athletic conference. Chicago is part of those and they left the Big Ten 80 years ago.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:19 PM ^
Yeah, this doesn't seem remotely believable
None of the specific charges this guy makes would surprise me if true.
Now, whether it leads to anything from the NCAA/Big Ten, I have no idea.
November 22nd, 2023 at 10:00 AM ^
until any of this gets any traction with "legitimate" news sources it's just a bunch of smoke .
November 22nd, 2023 at 10:11 AM ^
As a Michigan fan I want this to be true. As a rational human being, I don’t believe any of it.
The writers have revisited the “Sir Yacht” portion of the storyline - interesting decision but somewhat repetitive.
November 22nd, 2023 at 10:20 AM ^
You have have too be skeptical. Catapult is a company whose focus is on individual sports performance I'm not sure what value there would be hacking that footage.
But who is Hunter st. Peter?
November 22nd, 2023 at 10:26 AM ^
Perhaps “milk” is for an elaborate illegal gambling scheme going on at OSU?? Vegas is not going to be happy with this!