NCAA for you on Line 2

Uh-oh.

Just when you thought it was safe to bring out your scarlet and gray pom-poms …

When the NCAA said Ohio State wouldn’t be charged with lack of institutional control, the Buckeyes thought they were past the worst of Tressel-gate.

Now comes word that THE Ohio State has been informed that the NCAA is not through with OSU, and in fact is investigating other issues involving the football program.

Ohio State is yet to publicly disclose that fact, surprising considering how forthcoming the school was throughout the Tressel debacle …

Soul searching? We don’t need no stinking soul searching

Well, give Ohio State trustee Jerry Jurgensen credit — he tried.

"We have a lot to look at in sort of the soul-searching of what is most important in the game of life," Jurgensen said in the wake of the football scandal that cost coach Jim Tressel his job and certainly will cost the school something in the way of NCAA penalties.

"The cracks here weren't really cracks of rules and procedures," he said. "They were cracks in a value system."

How well did that fly in Columbus? You may easily imagine.

"I don't think we have a lot of soul-searching to do, not at all," blurted board chairman and major donor Lex Wexner. "We have a lot of heart-celebrating to do for the good that this university does."

What a clown.

Speaking of clowns, OSU President and Main Bozo Gordon Gee quickly echoed the sentiment of Booster Boy:

"The university is moving forward,” he said, “and we feel very strongly about the fact that we have much to celebrate today."

A little Three Dog Night anyone?

Cel-e-brate … Cel-e-brate … dance to the sanct-ions

You tell them, Coach ... I mean, Ex-Coach ...

A group of fans — some 200 or so — recently trotted over to Jim Tressel’s house to confess their undying love to the no-longer-employed football coach.

There were cheers and signs in support. Pictures were taken. Hands were shaken.

And the man of the hour himself addressed the throng, pointing to Ohio State’s next game with Michigan and saying, "Don't forget: Nov. 27th we're going to kick their ass!"

Because of what Tressel’s players have done, apparently for years, and because of his turning a blind eye to the infractions and then lying about them, OSU’s program is in free-fall.

And all he can come up with is, “We’re going to kick their ass!”

Good for you, Jimbo, good for you. Actually, the school that’s really getting kicked in the rear is Ohio State.

Friday column: Gee’s joke may turn out to be prophetic

A Division I football coach has a single job requirement.

Win.

OK, there is a proviso — without embarrassing the university.

All right, there’s an addendum to the proviso — in a way that precludes plausible denial.

Jim Tressel fulfilled the first clause of the job description: a record of 106-22-0 and one national championship. He found the second clause a little harder to negotiate, but largely succeeded in spite of incidents involving Maurice Clarett and others.

It’s the addendum that finally got him.

The administrative stuffed shirts in Columbus who love to mouth platitudes about integrity and winning “the right way” loved Jim Tressel.

They loved the image he projected and they loved the title of the books he wrote (Life Promises for Success: Promises from God on Achieving Your Best). Most of all, they loved all the wins and all the green the wins generated.

They loved Tressel’s gravy train so much that they didn’t even mind being lied to. Remember the news conference following the revelation that Tressel had known about his players’ rules violations all along but had kept mum, deceiving both the NCAA and his bosses?

Remember school president Gordon Gee’s attempted witticism when asked if he had considered firing Tressel? “I just hope the coach doesn’t dismiss me,” the little man laughed.

Make no mistake: If the empty suits at OSU thought they could have ridden out the storm with Tressel, they would have. You don’t fire a coach who beats Michigan nine of 10 times unless you absolutely have to.

And when the muck gets deep enough that your jobs are in jeopardy, you absolutely have to.

In announcing Tressel’s departure, Gee barely mentioned his coach’s name — the first time in months, wrote ESPN’s Ivan Maisel, that Gee had spoken “publicly about Tressel without sounding like a tween gushing over Justin Bieber.”

As recently as two weeks ago, athletic director Gene Smith still supported Tressel. This week, Smith suddenly went from “You’re still our coach” to “Hate to see you go — here’s your hat.”

For that, we can thank Sports Illustrated, which demolished the last fig leaf Ohio State had: the idea that the five players suspended for trading memorabilia for tattoos and cash were involved in an isolated incident.

Five players and a coach cover-up, that’s one thing, albeit pretty bad. Sixty players? During eight years? Involving memorabilia, school property and possibly drugs? That’s quite another thing. Then there’s the other recent reports that as many as 50 Buckeyes got special deals on cars.

NCAA no likey.

The Buckeyes are going to get hammered and when they do — perhaps even before they do — expect a broom to sweep through Columbus. It will bring a touch of irony with it.

Gee joked about being dismissed by Tressel. When he leaves, that, in essence, will be what has happened. And Gee will have deserved his canning just as much as Tressel deserved his.

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.

Leaders of men

Let’s talk weasels.

Weasel No. 1 is Jim Tressel, who, in case anyone has forgotten, covered up NCAA violations by his players, in part by flat-out lying.

Then when caught, offered a lame excuse.

Then offered a lame apology.

Now that the NCAA has indicated to Ohio State that it didn’t appreciate Tressel’s prevarication and may be coming to Columbus with a hammer, The Vest is avoiding the press more than usual, recently ducking out the side door at an awards banquet and escaping into a waiting car.

(Engine running? The account I read didn't say, but I wouldn't be surprised).

With the pressure rising on OSU, athletic director Gene Smith — Weasel No. 2 — is using a familiar dodge, saying the school would have "no comments until the case is resolved."

And once the case IS resolved — especially if it’s resolved by Tressel’s firing — watch Smith try to duck questions by saying “it’s time to move forward.”

That IS better

Now, Jim Tressel says he wants the same punishment as his players — a suspension of five games, instead of the two-game suspension handed out by his university.

Now, says, "I am very sorry for the mistakes I made," not just for the inconvenience to the program and the Ohio State faithful.

That, finally, is owning up. Better late than never.

We'll see if it will be enough for the NCAA.

Friday column: They said (and didn't say) what?

Ah, this week in words:

What Jim Tressel said was inadequate.

What Notre Dame didn’t say was disappointing.

What Cappie Pondexter said was bizarre.

According to The Associated Press, Tressel, Ohio State football coach, on Tuesday “apologized several times during his first public speaking engagement since being suspended and fined for violating NCAA rules.”

Here’s what The AP quoted Tressel as saying to a group of Buckeye fans:

“I sincerely apologize for what we’ve been through. I apologize for the fact I wasn’t able to find the ones to partner with to handle our difficult and complex situation.

“I also apologize because I’m going to have some sanctions.”

Now, The AP may call that an apology, but it appears to me that Tressel — who violated NCAA rules by lying about the violations committed by his players — apologized for everything except for doing something wrong.

Notre Dame has made it clear that the university did something wrong, accepting responsibility for the Oct. 27 death of a student videographer killed when a hydraulic lift blew over as he filmed football practice.

But the school is hardly clear about who made the decision to send up Declan Sullivan on that windy day.

“I don’t (know) a specific person,” athletic director Jack Swarbrick told the Indiana Occupational Health and Safety Administration. “It is done on the administration side of the football program.”

What does that mean? Or, rather, who does that mean? What about head football coach Brian Kelly?

No, Kelly said, he wasn’t in charge of the photographers.

Perhaps video coordinator Tim Collins is the man. After all, when Sullivan reported to practice the fatal day, Collins reportedly told him that practice would be outdoors “contrary to his judgment.”

But when asked by an OSHA investigator if he thought at the time that the lifts shouldn’t be used because of the conditions, Collins said, “No.” This despite the fact Collins balked at sending up a novice videographer — because of the conditions.

Notre Dame, it appears, is obfuscating.

Cappie Pondexter, on the other hand, is … well, you pick a word.

This is what the WNBA player tweeted on the devastation occurring in Japan:

“What if God was tired of the way they treated their own people in there own country! Idk guys he makes no mistakes.”

As if that weren’t enough, the former Rutgers star later added, “u just never knw! They did pearl harbor so u can’t expect anything less.”

After a discussion with her employer, the New York Liberty, Pondexter eventually tweeted, “I wanna apologize to anyone I may hurt or offended during this tragic time. I didn’t realize that my words could be interpreted in the manner which they were.”

In other words, the problem wasn’t so much what she said but how it was interpreted.

On the sincerity meter, her apology moves the needle about as much as Tressel’s. Which is to say, not at all.

Friday column: He's selling, but I'm not buying

Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel is all about character.

He preaches it to his players.

He talks about it in inspirational speeches.

He writes books about it.

In fact, he was on a book tour to promote his latest tome, Life Promises for Success: Promises from God on Achieving Your Best, when an unfortunate thing happened.

He was outed.

No, not outed like that; outed like this:

Remember when the NCAA busted five Buckeyes for selling Big 10 championship rings, shoes, jerseys and other memorabilia to the owner of a tattoo parlor? That was in December.

When the news broke, Tressel expressed disappointment in his players. He didn’t express surprise; what we didn’t know at the time was that he couldn’t have. Turns out Tressel had been tipped off to the violations in April.

He told the tipper, “I will get on it ASAP.”

Then he did ... nothing.

Didn’t tell his athletic director, didn’t tell his school president, didn’t tell the NCAA — a violation of his contract, by the way.

On Monday, Yahoo Sports broke the story about what Tressel knew and when he knew it. On Tuesday, an embarrassed Ohio State called Tressel back from his book tour so he could lie to the nation’s press.

Whoa! That’s harsh. Maybe Tressel really believes the self-justifying claptrap he offered to explain his failure to tell anyone that star quarterback Terrelle Pryor and four others were committing NCAA rule violations, and that those violations involved an alleged drug dealer.

Maybe he believes it.

I doubt it.

Tressel said he stayed silent because he didn’t want to “interfere with a federal investigation” into drug trafficking. By staying silent, Tressel said, he was trying to protect his players.

He was trying to protect his players, all right — or rather, protect their eligibility — and his chance to get to and win a lucrative BCS bowl game, which the Buckeyes did. Tressel thereby validated his commercial value; he and his program are worth millions upon millions to OSU, which pays him $3.5 million a year in return.

For their actions, the players were suspended for five games in the upcoming season. For covering up their actions, Tressel was suspended two games and fined $250,000, essentially a slap on the wrist.

Asked if he considered firing Tressel for this eminently fireable offense, E. Gordon Gee, the little man who is OSU president, attempted a little humor: “No, are you kidding? Let me be very clear. I’m just hoping the coach doesn’t dismiss me.”

HAHAHAHAHAH.

Actually, Gee’s tiny jest isn’t funny; it’s pathetic, and only too close to truth.

There is something amusing in all this, though — that’s Tressel’s attempt all these years to sell the idea he’s a different breed of Division I football coach.

I wish him luck with his latest book.