Making the morning rounds…• Just trying to help the team, Part One. Whoever had "16 hours" in the pool for how long it would take for the public to learn the identity of the mysterious e-mail tipster who initially alerted Ohio State coach Jim Tressel to possible violations involving Ohio State players last spring, collect your winnings: Three sources confirmed to the Columbus Dispatch that "Deep Throat" was Christopher T. Cicero, a Columbus attorney who represents the owner of the tattoo parlor that allegedly bought jerseys, championship rings and other memorabilia from Buckeye players and plied them with free ink. The offending players were dealt a five-game suspension for the start of the 2011 season, and Tressel's failure to disclose the tip – even after the violations had been made public last December – will cost him at least two games and $250,000, pending further sanctions by the NCAA.
Cicero is a former Buckeye himself, a walk-on linebacker who lettered in 1983, Tressel's first year as an assistant under head coach Earle Bruce, and he's no stranger to suspensions: The Ohio Supreme Court suspended Cicero's law license for one year in 1997 for leading colleagues to believe he was having sex with a judge who'd appointed him to defend a client in a criminal case. Later, a mistrial was declared in a 2002 death-penalty case because prosecutors planned to call Cicero as a witness against his own client. Days later, he was accused of striking a different client in the court room, a charge he denies [Columbus Dispatch]
• Ready the bunker. So far, Tressel has enjoyed the unflagging public support of his president and athletic director. Not so much the campus newspaper, which called for his head in a Wednesday editorial. [The Lantern]
• Just trying to help the team, Part Two. In other NCAA news, Georgia has self-reported five secondary violations related to the Jan. 28 commitment announcement for five-star defensive end prospect Ray Drew, who pledged his hand to the Bulldogs while flanked by former UGA stars David Pollack and Randall Godfrey – or, in NCAA parlance, "former letter winners who appear to be representatives of the University's athletics interests." The violations are considered minor and expected to be met with the usual round of internal wrist-slapping. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
• Thank you for your contribution. Huntsville radio host Scott Moore, enthusiastic source for a barely audible recording purporting to be Cecil Newton attempting to solicit money in exchange for the commitment of his immensely talented spawn in December 2009, has apparently been fired from his gig at 97.7 "The Zone." The tapes never made it to air, and Moore is no longer listed among the station's hosts. [WAAY TV, via SBN]
• This is Division I football. New Colorado coach Jon Embree pulled no punches in his diagnosis of his alma mater's prior struggles going into his first spring practice: Dan Hawkins' Buffs didn't play hard, spent too much time looking at the scoreboard and were "awful at situational football." Which sounds exactly right, actually. "We're starting it the first practice about understanding the situations and what it means and why you have to do certain things and think," Embree said. "We don't know how to play the game within the game. We just showed and played last year. It's like recess." Like recess? Or like … intramurals? [Boulder Daily Camera]
• The rap sheet. Incoming Alabama signee Aaron Douglas, a former starter at Tennessee, was sentenced to 48 hours in jail and a year of probation last week in exchange for a guilty plea on first-time DUI charges. Douglas' new coach, Nick Saban, said after Douglas' Dec. 24 arrest that discipline would be handled … internally. [Knoxville News-Sentinel]
Quickly… Nebraska's new offensive strategy: Simplify, man. … Unfortunately named linebacker Michael Hunt is finished at Mississippi State because he "just doesn't like football." … Texas hires Boise State's offensive coordinator, so Bob Stoops makes a visit to Boise State. … Stoops also takes a dig at Oklahoma State. … Randall Mackey clears up a few misunderstandings about his strange speech impediment. … Charlie Sheen takes a weak shot at Ryan Mallett. … Pat White retires from baseball. … And Yahoo's angel of death promises an even bigger bombshell later this summer.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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