Has Scott Moore or Danny Sheridan reincarnated as Sports Agent?

I was listening to Paul Finebaum this afternoon. After being able to tolerate Darrell from Columbus's moronic and most likely meth-induced rants against another idiot caller, Finebaum caught my attention when he brought up Ralph Cindrich. He is a sports agent that resides in the Pittsburgh, PA area. If that name doesn't sound familiar to you already, you're soon going to be familiar with it. Cindrich had some choice words for Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban in 2010 during the agent uproar that led to then-Bama now Buffalo Bill's defensive lineman Marcel Dareus's suspension. I remember contacting Mr. Cindrich about coming on my show around this time....AND....I still have the e-mails from our conversation. I'll get to those later.

Cindrich went at it again, and I'm thinking to a new low. In the aftermath of the Penn State ruling by the NCAA, Cindrich went on KDKA and basically said the NCAA was out to get Penn State. We can try and be objective about this and be fair, but let's face it, he really meant this. I'm not going to stoop as low to say this guy is taking a giant leak on what happened to the victims of the Penn State coverup, but I can understand if you get that impression. Here are some quotes from the interview (courtesy of Don Kausler at al.com) :

Cindrich called NCAA president Mark Emmert "a bozo."

"When he starts talking about values and all the rest with student-athletes and college education and football, he's a hypocrite, and he knows he's a hypocrite."

 "Coming down the way they have on Penn State, and even the statements that they're making, it's not at all about the institution. ... We should be looking at them. There's something that smells about this whole thing. It came down too quickly, in my opinion."

I will say he's right about one thing, It came down real quickly. The conversation I find myself in is whether or not it was in the jurisdiction of the NCAA. You can argue either way, let's continue.

Cindrich was asked who is watching the NCAA.

"That's a very good question, No one's watching them. You want to know who's watching them? Nick Saban. You want to trust Nick Saban? I have enough on Saban right now - and I realize this stuff gets out, and I also realize the truth is a defense. I know what goes on in college football, so cut me a break. ..."Cindrich went on to say there is "garbage thrown out there by Emmert and the rest of academia about college football."

"It is not pure, lily white," Cindrich said. "It is not close to that. It is a professional sport, a billion-dollar industry. Everybody knows the underside of it. If they're out there, if they're around players, around campuses, they know what goes on. It's bad."

Everybody has something on Nick Saban, for God's sake," Cindrich said. "And if he has a problem with anything I say, come on after me, big guy."

WHAAAAAAAT???? Now that right there is a hell of a shot at Coach Saban. He's got something on him.....what's that???? Usually I hear the incoherent rednecks on Finebaum always accusing Nick Saban of paying players, yet there is no proof. Of course one of the hosts does a good job on following up in regards to "what he has" on Saban.

"I didn't say Nick Saban was behind this, or if I did, I apologize," Cindrich said. "I said, 'Like Nick Saban,' or, 'Like the other college coaches.' Let me say this: If you go to a seedy group out there - let's call them the agents out there of professional football players - and you start bringing them in and give them immunity ... you would hear things that make your hair turn gray. ..."Like violations. Like payola. I mean, I testify in these things, guys. There's so much money - are you guys really serious? Are you that naive to think that there really isn't thousands of dollars in payola given to players to play each Saturday?"

So if everybody knows the players are being paid, Cindrich was asked, why has the NCAA never done anything about it?

"Nick Saban doesn't want to lose his $5 million, $7 million (salary) - $5 million is what we know about," Cindrich said.

Cindrich was asked directly if Alabama players are being paid.

"Oh, come on," he said.

"When you get these guys down and you get them under oath, they'll tell you that. Sure.

"The statute of limitations has probably run as far as any criminality was involved to what I was relating to Saban, but I was involved in it. I know what he tried to do. I knWiow what he tried to cover up. If he wants to stand up and say something, I'll bring that up. If it's out of time, I'll go to the nearest agent I know, and I'll bring up about a dozen things that are in time, because that's the way he and most of the big-time schools, particularly in the SEC, operate."

 It seems Mr Cindrich is very confident in his words that there's some shadiness not only in Alabama, but in the SEC. 

1) What does this guy have against Nick Saban that leads to such talk?

2) Will his feet be held to the fire long enough to either site his proof or cower like Danny Sheridan and Scott Moore.

I happen to find some e-mails from 2010 when I tried to contact Mr. Cindrich for an interview for my show (I've blocked out e-mail addresses and contacts because I'm such a good guy. However, I have these e-mails saved):

-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Marks 
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2010 6:59 AM
To: Ralph Cindrich
Subject: radio interview

My name is Jason Marks. I host a Saturday Sports Talk Show in Huntsville, AL. Would you be able to come on my show via phone and talk about the recent events involving NCAA Players, Agents, and your response to Nick Saban's comments?

------Original Message------
From: Ralph Cindrich
To: Jason Marks
Subject: RE: radio interview
Sent: Jul 23, 2010 6:08 AM

They don't still have the Clan down there do they?

Ralph E. Cindrich
Cindrich Law-Business

-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Marks 
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2010 7:25 AM
To: Ralph Cindrich
Subject: Re: radio interview

I think that's Tennessee. You shouldn't have anything to worry about.

------Original Message------
From: Ralph Cindrich
To: Jason Marks
Subject: RE: radio interview
Sent: Jul 23, 2010 6:57 AM

What time Jason?

Ralph E. Cindrich
Cindrich Law-Business
Sports Consulting

-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Marks 
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2010 8:17 AM
To: Ralph Cindrich
Subject: Re: radio interview

Either 10:20 or 11:30 CT.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ralph Cindrich 
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:24:34
To: Jason Marks
Cc: Ralph Cindrich
Subject: RE: radio interview 11.20 Sat AM

OK but I'm not giving my location. Please put in call in number before radio interview in subject area? Also, in case I am biking, can you re-send in the morning so I don't have to search on my Blackberry. Not to big time you but I get a lot of email thru Twitter, Facebook, junk etc.

Ralph E. Cindrich
Cindrich Law-Business
Sports Consulting

-----Original Message-----

From: Jason Marks 
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2010 8:33 AMTo: Ralph Cindrich
Subject: Re: College players/agents Nick Saban comments 11:20a CT Sat.

No problem. (Number censored)
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

-----Original Message-----
From: Jason Marks 
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2010 10:45 AM
To: Ralph Cindrich
Subject: Re: 11.20 am self defense-College players/agents NickSaban

One more question......would you be able to come on this afternoon between 2-5PM today on the Johnny Ballpark Franks show?Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

________________________________________

From: Ralph Cindrich 
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2010 10:09 AMTo: Jason Marks
Subject: RE: cancellation of radio interview

Jason--After consideration, I don't see an upside to playing on your home turf and doing an interview. I would consider another site to answer your questions.

Ralph E. CindrichCindrich Law-BusinessSports Consulting 

-----Original Message-----

From: Jason Marks 
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2010 11:17 AM
To: Ralph CindrichSubject: 
RE: cancellation of radio interview

I can promise you, I'm not out on a witch hunt. I want to give my listeners an insight from an agents point of view. Ask how much involvement and high on priority the NFLPA has issues like these, your solution to the problem, why you disagree with Nick Saban's outlook. I do agree with one aspect of Nick Saban's rant when he said there should be a ban. However, I'm not out to make you out as the bad guy. I want to give you an outlet to express your view of it and how it will be resolved. I may work for a University of Alabama affiliate, but that doesn't mean I have to crucify you.

Jason MarksAssistant Program Director/WVNNProducer/WUMPCumulus BroadcastingHuntsville, AL

------Original Message------
From: Ralph Cindrich 
To: Jason Marks

Let me be clear: I would face you, Saban, Meyers, or anyone else in a public forum and have you for lunch but there is no upside to this except maybe getting the University in trouble. I am passing.

Ralph E. CindrichCindrich Law-BusinessSports Consulting

Now he did want us to make a promise to come on his "show" and referred me and Johnny as "buttholes" (I have that e-mail saved too). Although I wouldn't have had a problem with it, I was still kind of young and gunshy. 

For someone who runs his mouth alot, he seemed very willing to come on with me until I decided to push my luck. It comes down to this, if you're going to make a damning accusation of such, there's going to come a time when you have to present. If you are bluffing Mr. Cindrich, there's plenty of people who are going to go all in and call your bluff. You've opened up the can of worms. It's going to a time when you'll have to present. Otherwise, you'll just wind up being another Scott Moore or Danny Sheridan.

The NCAA opts not to give the Death Penalty, More Like A Life Sentence

I go back to a time in 2002, a 20 year old kid in a new city having a college football conversation with new friends. The subject was the NCAA and sanctions (being from Alabama in the state of GA, I was asked about the probation of Alabama). I jokingly said "Other institutions would have to molest a child to get the NCAA to send a message". Almost ten years later and turning 30 in 5 weeks, I look back on my 20 year old self and wished I could take those words back. Little did we know, that it was actually going on in a deceptful cloak of secrecy in State College, PA.

The NCAA unmercifully hammered on the Penn State program for their cover-up of the sick actions of a sick man. A legacy that spanned over a half a decade was brought crumbling down in a mere 8 months and it seems there is no end in sight.....until now. Penn State football as we've known will no longer exist. No more trips to the Rose Bowl and the white outs in Happy Valley will no longer have the same effect. No postseason for 4 years, and an estimated $73 Million will not see the pockets of Penn State University, but to organizations that help with the cause (child abuse) that the previous administration had an opportunity to stand against.

As we found out in the Freeh Report, the glory of a football program built by a man who was god-like to most young people, is now painted as an egomaniac who turned a blind eye for the sake of his legacy. Joe Paterno can't tell his side of the story, but would we believe it at this point? The man who had the power to stop traffic at State College with a word or a snap of a finger, chose not to stop the monster that scarred the lives of innocent young children. 

The NCAA could have given Penn State the Death Penalty, but they may have given them something worse. They gave State College a life sentence. The $60 Million fine tacked on with civil lawsuits to come, the The Big Ten taking away their cut of the bowl money, bowl bans, and the scholarships are more harmful than just shutting down the program. SMU had to shut down football for one year, which really saved them one year of embarrassment. Penn St has to step out on that field and fans have to watch their once prestige program die a slow and painful death that may take years, if not decades, to recover from.

Bobby Bowden is now the All-Time winningest coach in major college football now that Joe Paterno has 111 wins stricken from the record books. Joe Paterno's legacy may become stricken from record books, but erasing 111 wins doesn't erase what happened to the victims of Jerry Sandusky. It also doesn't erase that Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier, and Tim Curley all turned their back on the people who desperately needed help. 

Is it beyond the NCAA's jurisdiction to rule on Penn State? Could be? Will anyone argue against them doing it? I'm not. They didn't really send a message to USC for Reggie Bush's sins. They didn't really send a message to Ohio State for the sins of tattoo crazed outlaws and a outlaw coach hiding under the deception of a sweatervest. However, the NCAA did send a message to Penn State, and we all heard it loud and clear. My 20 year old self may have been right to say it would take molesting a child for the NCAA to send a message. However, he didn't know that a very crude and juvenile statement would actually be a reality 10 years later. 

SEC Media Days;Penn State: The balancing act of punishment and compassion; I will root against Dwight Howard

Maybe it's because I'm not in Birmingham today, but SEC Media Days doesn't have that exciting feel, or maybe it's business as usual without any drama of Danny Sheridan, wondering if Tim Tebow is a virgin or Phil Fulmer getting slapped with subpoenas. Mizzou and Texas A&M made their debuts at SEC Media Days yesterday. I'll update this post as we go but so far Dan Mullen and John L Smith have taken the podium. Les Miles, Gene Chizik, and Joker Phillips to take the podium soon.

Missouri and Texas A&M coaches Gary Pinkel and Kevin Sumlin addressed the media yesterday. Sumlin had an energy with him as Pinkel looked to be business as usual. Both schools are benefiting from their membership in the SEC with Top 10-15 recruiting classes. Texas A&M will have a tough season, but only because they're in a tough division. A bowl game should be considered an accomplishment. Missouri might be able to make some waves early on the field being fielded in the down SEC East. A win over Georgia could be a huge momentum builder and put Mizzou on the SEC radar other than the laughing stock. I'm interested to see how the spread offenses of both teams (Sumlin bringing his from Houston) will transition into the tough defensive style of the SEC. My favorite moment was when T.J. Moe addressed the media and said (and I paraphrase) "The SEC has 6 straight national championships, but not all 12 teams won it." and then went on to say there were 2 really good teams and the rest were average. I'm sure there will be alot of eyes on T.J. Moe when he takes the field in SEC games this season.

You have to like the confidence of both Mullen and Smith coming into this season. Mullen owns the state of Mississippi while Hugh Freeze is trying to catch up. Smith has a caliber lineup on offense and a defense that is getting better. However, there's one problem. They're in the SEC West.  Mullen thinks MSU is not far from an SEC West Championship, just need to make plays at crunchtime. To be honest, having 40+ scored on your defense against a Cam Newton-less Auburn doesn't strike me as close. However, the team is more comfortable in Mullen's eyes and now the season lies on the shoulders of QB Tyler Russell.

Arkansas has the QB, they have the offense with RB Knile Davis returning. They don't have.....Bobby Petrino. As much of a sleazebag that Bobby Petrino is, he is a damn good coach compared to John L. Smith. If Petrino was returning, Arkansas would be a legit contender for the BCS Title. However, they play in the West with Alabama and LSU. If this was the Eastern division, I'd take them more seriously as a contender. The Razorbacks will have a good season and I wouldn't be surprised if they go 10-2. However, it's going to be another 3rd place finish for Arkansas in 2012.

The hot topic of debate for the last week or so (since the Freeh report was released) has been should the NCAA give Penn State the death penalty. I state on the Tennessee Valley Sports Asylum last Wednesday that I can't go with giving them the death penalty. As disgusting as the crime and cover up is, it seems the court of public opinion is out for their usual bloodthirst fueled by emotion. I don't blame anyone who thinks this and they're not wrong at all. However, they're not being realistic. NCAA President Mark Emmert is leaving that option on the table. The grey area in all of this is this in the jurisdiction of the NCAA or does it go beyond it? If you want to make an argument for the death penalty, you can say lack of institutional control.

You're probably saying "There's a big difference between paying a player and a child being molested at one of their institutions". I will say, you're right. However, if you look at the latest ruling at Ohio State and the tattoo scandal, they merely got a slap on the wrist for almost cleaning house from Coach Jim Tressel to all of the players involved including Terrelle Pryor. Let's take Penn State, Tim Curley, Graham Spanier, Jerry Sandusky, and Joe Paterno are no longer associated with the Penn State program. Joe Paterno can't tell us his side of the story, as much as we want to know the truth. The players at Penn State had nothing to do with these sick acts, so should they be punished and forced to transfer to another school? I don't think so.

Don't get me wrong, should there be a punishment by the NCAA in regards to Penn State? Sure. Multi-year probations and loss of scholarships, and bowl bans could be as punishing as the Death Penalty. Does anybody remember how the Death Penalty affected SMU? Granted, they were doing wrong, however. It was like the NCAA's version of a nuclear bomb wiping out the entire program and took 25 years to fix. The outrage is valid, but it's not reality. As much as we would like the NCAA to drop that nuclear bomb on State College, that's not being real. Compassion will prevail and the NCAA can lay a stiff punishment but also giving them the opportunity to rebuild the culture and tradition faster than what SMU could do after their program died a gruesome death before everyone's eyes.



The Dwight Howard circus looks to continue. Now, reports are the Los Angeles Lakers have started negotiations with the Orlando Magic again. As I watch this whole saga unfold, I think back to all of the offseason drama that LeBron James put us through before he took his talents to South Beach. However, there's a difference. Dwight Howard is still under contract and not only held the Orlando Magic hostage, but got Stan Van Gundy (who has won an NBA Championship) fired. The Magic are going to rebuild regardless, but I see this as a more worse act than what LeBron James "did" to Cleveland. Everyone turned on LeBron, are they going to turn on Dwight? If so, count me in. As much as I like Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, and Steve Nash, if Dwight Howard wears that Laker uniform, I will openly root against the Lakers from winning an NBA Championship. I stuck by LeBron from day one, because I thought his outrage was unwarranted. I will root against Dwight Howard because what he is doing is far worse or more of jerk act than what LeBron did over two years ago