If you aren't cheating, you aren't winning

Anyone that has been following sports can tell you that cheating is prevalent. Whether it is in the professional ranks, college, high school, or even youth leagues. It is simple, you can't get away from it.

That being said, I'm always amazed at the hypocrisy of fans of other college teams that really believe that their team is above cheating. I get it all the time. See, I'm a Kentucky fan. Which subjects me to daily posts from other fans, friends, and family members that tell me how rotten John Calipari is. Seriously, I've heard it all.

"Your coach is a cheater" "Snake oil salesman" "Slimy Coach Cal" "Caliban" "UK has sold their soul"

Trust me, those are just the basic generic ones. But I've got to tell you, I laugh at it really. Look, I'm not here proclaiming Calipari to be an angel or anything. I completely realize that he operates in the gray areas. Some say, he's the master of the gray areas. OK, sure, we'll say that he is. UK fans are always quick to point out that he's never been tagged with anything on his record, but that is quickly debunked by other fans that say they are just blind and are going to cover for him at any cost. OK, let's say that's the case.

My biggest issue in everything is that fans act as if their own team (poo) isn't cheating (don't stink). Let me tell you this....YOU'RE DEAD WRONG.

Case #1

See the guys above? Those guys are the notorious (in AAU circles) Pump Brothers and they are at the center of a brewing scandal at Kansas involving basketball tickets and overall shady practices. The story is best summarized in this great article on Yahoo Sports, but it basically comes down to this. A number of individuals in the Kansas Athletic Department and Basketball Office worked to get tickets for the NCAA Tournament and Big 12 Tournament that were then sold to the Pump Brothers for higher sums of money and scalped (or given away) by the brothers Pump. In exchange, the Pump Brothers AAU programs were potentially helped and the players on those programs (which include the children of Coach Bill Self and Danny Manning) were likely told favorable things about Kansas. The last is just an implication, but one would think that in addition to the money that changed hands for tickets, some advantage for KU basketball would have been expected.

While nothing huge is likely to come from this event (although a number of Kansas staffers have already resigned) it showcases the seedy underbelly of AAU basketball and its effect on college sports. Guys like the brothers Pump (who run teams that are called “Pump & Run”, which was has made me laugh every time I have seen it) are everywhere in AAU basketball and their power is great. Media types and Kentucky rivals’ fans all focus on World Wide Wes and what evil things he might be doing, but they have no clue how the real system works. Every school, or at least most every school, has guys like the Pump Brothers, who have relationships with the University in some unofficial capacity and help in the recruiting process. Go to a big AAU tournament and you will see these guys and if you are at a Final Four somewhere, they will be seeping out of every pore in the city. Add these guys to the scalping of tickets (which is a dirty secret that involves officials and assistant coaches at MANY schools) and you have a recipe for a scandal.

This is my favorite quote from the article...

“Not going there,” Freeman said. “One of them was about 250 pounds and he [expletive] talked like [he had a New Jersey accent]. You seen Goodfellas? I don’t know who the [expletive] they were. I can honestly tell you, I don’t know who the [expletive] they were. It was ‘This is the room you go to, this is the guy you need to see.’ There were no [expletive] names. The door would open and a guy would be standing there with a gun. You walk in, do the deal and you’re out.”

Really? A gun? For basketball tickets and AAU basketball? Surely this couldn't be happening at Kansas? This stuff only happens under Cal's watch right? Wrong.

The hard reality for Kansas however may be this. When the “We Want to Pump…You Up” Brothers got involved in the ticket scalping business with the Jayhawk staff, they will become the fall guys for a much more systemic problem.

Case #2

Cheating at UCONN? Not the great Jim Calhoun. He couldn't possibly know about it or have facilitated it. In the words of the great Lee Corso, "Not so fast my friends."

Gary Parrish writes in his article about how UCONN has absolutely cheated. He states....

"The school released the notice of allegation letter Friday following a 15-month investigation into the recruiting of former player Nate Miles. The eight alleged violations include improper phone calls and text messages to recruits, giving recruits improper benefits and improperly distributing free tickets to high school coaches and others. Coach Jim Calhoun was cited for failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance."

They'll charge them with failure to monitor and move on. But once again...UCONN? This couldn't happen there. It only happens under Cal's watch.

These are just two examples of major programs that have been involved in cheating. And if you think that the coaches (Bill Self and Jim Calhoun) didn't know about this, I've got some clean florida salt water to sell you.

So, whether it's Oklahoma, USC, IU, Kansas, Kentucky, UCONN, or anywhere else. Cheating is going on. You may think it isn't, and if that's the case, I'll gladly come and kick you in the butt while your head is stuck in the sand. So the next time you hear a fan run their mouth about how your team is cheating, look at them and laugh. That's what I do