Sports Illustrated’s Wolff Again Attacks The U

You’d think after eighteen years of silence that Sports Illustrated’s Alex Wolff would come stronger when deciding to come out of the woodworks, again “going there” regarding the Hurricanes’ football program.

Wolff, who penned the infamous “Why The University Of Miami Should Drop Football” piece in June 1995 is back this week with jailhouse tales from Nevin Shapiro, or something to that extent, as SI has chosen now as the time for an expose regarding the NCAA’s case against ‘The U’.

Wolff teamed up with SI writer Pete Thamel, discussing the ins and outs of the case, with most of Wolff’s work coming in the form of prison talk with the jailed Shapiro, resulting in more theory, hard-to-prove fact and another dose of sensationalism, as expected.

In regards to the original Yahoo! Sports story that broke in August 2011, whether folks wanted to believe what journalist Charles Robinson put out there, it was still good investigative work, and that’s fact.

Did much of what Robinson wrote hinge on the word of a convicted felon, one who recently admitted to perjury when on trial a few years back? Absolutely. But the work Robinson put into the piece, the research, what was uncovered and exposed and the tale he told, it was old school investigative journalism.

On that tidbit alone, he deserves credit for the work he put into the piece. That being said, he also deserves the fallout for holes shot in the story due to unreliable main source.

WOLFF TAKES SHAPIRO’S BAIT, GETS PLAYED BY A RAT

Regarding Wolff’s latest piece, the complete opposite as it’s nothing more than a rehash of what Robinson came up with, as well as documented mistakes made by the NCAA in their investigation of UM. The only new scoop, Nevin’s rants about inside information he used for gambling.

Wolff opens the piece admitting Shaprio’s lack of credibility. He cites a previous jury duty stint on a drug case when come verdict time the judge advises jurors, to “take your witnesses as you find them”, regarding the shady characters who testified.

From there he quickly admits that for the sake of his piece, his particular shady character was found in a prison cell, doing time for his role in a $930 million Ponzi scheme, but quickly defends his source by reminding readers that Shapiro was also the guy at the “core of the Miami athletic program”, which is why Wolff also labeled him the “ultimate insider”, and is also where this piece immediately goes off the rails.

What makes Shapiro an “insider” and how was this guy at the “core” of anything Miami-related? Shapiro’s story is a tale of Jock Sniffing : 101 and nothing more.

ATHLETES ARE A FAMILY, NO ROOM FOR OBVIOUS OUTSIDERS

Over the past few decades I’ve befriended some professional athletes of all walks. This blog helped opener a door to that world, as did luck, circumstance, some common ground and simple geography. Being a fly on the wall in this world has provided a different perspective on the role Shapiro played, versus the one he believes he did.

The con-man’s gripe and axe to grind comes from the fact that Miami players – guys he thought were his friends – weren’t there for him when his world collapsed?

News flash, Nevin, no one was there because these guys were never your amigos or compadres. Shaprio is, and was, what everyone thought he was; a typical rich booster who hoped to buy his way into an inner circle that guys like him never get into. Nothing more, nothing less despite the countless ways he tries to tell and sell his stories.

Collegiate athletes with professional aspirations, especially guys playing basketball or football, are generally guarded regarding who they let in. Why do you think so many stay to tight with long-time buddies from back home, or teammates and peers they can relate to?

The further one gets into their athletic career and the higher the stakes, the less folks they feel they can trust, based on an outsider’s motivation and what will be expected in return.

I’ve had this conversation with many athletes over the years and it always comes back to the same word; trust. People that were there before the success or when they were defined by their craft, that will always be the inner circle. Anyone who came in after that will fairly, or unfairly, have their motivation questioned.

Understandable in an era when professional athletes are being ripped off by agents, friends and even family, or college-aged aspiring pros are being steered wrong by parents with their own agenda in mind. It’s no wonder these guys are guarded.

Shapiro may have snowed people with his charm and hospitality, but even the richest and friendliest booster isn’t penetrating that elite circle of athletes and teammates. A booster, fan, or friend of a friend will always be on the outside looking in, which made the images from the original Yahoo! Sports story so laughable when presented as some form of ‘evidence’.

Same with this recent SI piece, leading in with a shot of Shapiro and an injured Cornelius Green on the field, moments after beating Virginia Tech in December 2002, securing a Fiesta Bowl berth and a slot in the national championship game.

Shapiro, sporting a green #98 jersey which he probably bought on CollegeJersey.com after the 2001 season, as that’s where all old jerseys wound up after being bought in bulk from UM’s athletic department, is posing with a player, just as any booster or fan that rushed the field could’ve in that moment. Yet for some reason these fan photos have given the impression that they’re friend pics, proving to be the perfect imagery the media needed to accompany both the Robinson, and now Wolff stories.

The biggest “revelation” of Wolff’s piece is Shaprio’s claim that he bet on Miami games in this supposedly sordid era of UM football – and did so with insider information kicked down to him from then Hurricanes players and coaches.

DIDN’T NEED NOSTRADAMUS TO PREDICT 2005 WIN OVER HOKIES

One game Wolff talks about; Miami’s biggest game played nine seasons – a 27-7 win over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg back in November 2005. The No. 5 Hurricanes stormed into Lane Stadium to take on the No. 3 Hokies, setting up as one of those late-game season-defining games.

CBSSports’s Dennis Dodd penned a pre-game piece talking about Virginia Tech blowing past Miami, lapping the Canes up and calling for this showdown to be the final nail in the coffin as the Big East / ACC supremacy torch was being passed from a has-been to a new-power. The following Monday, his mea culpa and hefty plate of crow, as most media outsiders wound up doing.

Meanwhile, allCanesBlog.com called for a 19-16 Hurricanes’ victory – meaning 35 total points scored, a defensive battle and much-needed late-season win, knowing that this Miami team had a stout defense and it was still an era where Hurricane pride accounted for something. In a word, this was precisely the type of game Miami would be ready for, while perennial chokers Virginia Tech were primed to no-show.

The final result, 34 total points and a 27-7 win, with six Virginia Tech turnovers and a late defensive touchdown for Miami (re: a Kareem Brown fumble recovery in the end zone). The Hurricanes rose to the challenge, the Hokies folded as expected, defense was the name of the game and UM prevailed as the underdog.

As for any “inside scoop” from players given to Shapiro? Please. Miami was wearing it on their sleeve that week, old school fans and players alike. It was no secret that UM was headed north to dominate.

“We’re going to stomp them out,” said then-fullback Quadtrine Hill, days before kickoff. “They think they are invincible in Blacksburg, but they have another thing coming.”

“They can’t forget, this is The U. We’ve got something to fight for. Every time we step out on the field, we feel we are good enough to win. Anybody (reporter) predicting us not to win this game needs to re-think their job, because their profession should be on the line.”

Wolff talks about players and coaches having gotten in Shapiro’s ear before that showdown against Virginia Tech? Nevin could’ve gotten the same information from this blog on Wednesday November 2nd, 2005 and cleaned up with his bookies as we called boldly called for a UM win the same way Hill did publicly.

TWELVE SUSPENSIONS FROM FIU BRAWL CAUSED SCARE AT DUKE

The other game touched on in the recent SI piece; a narrow 20-15 Miami win at Duke in 2006, despite the Canes being an eighteen-point favorite.

Wolff goes on about a few players who didn’t make the trip listening to the game on the radio at Shaprio’s place (as it “wasn’t televised”), while the host won in the low six-figures betting that the Canes wouldn’t covered, as if this payday was the result of more inside scoop given.

What Wolff left out, or failed to uncover had he simply read a recap from this showdown on October 21st, 2006? The fact it took place a week after Miami’s battle royale with local rival Florida International, resulting in the suspension of TWELVE Hurricane players for this particular game in Durham.

Miami was also without top receiver, sophomore tight end Greg Olsen, who wasn’t cleared for an in-game concussion received in the 35-0 win over FIU, another set-back for an already anemic offense.

All the ‘inside scoop’ in the world isn’t going to account for the intangible that double-digit suspensions are going to bring against a 4-2 team that was already exposed earlier in the season in a 31-7 loss at Louisville, then eking out a 14-13 win over a sub-par Houston team the following week. Miami also opened the season falling to Florida State, 13-10, proving this squad was no offensive juggernaut.

Miami lost four straight after the nailbiter at Duke, falling to Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Virginia, the latter two played soon after the murder of beloved teammate Bryan Pata, with the team’s focus obvious rattled, though thing were never right after the media fallout from the FIU brawl, with coaches and players alike. (Truly the low point of the Larry Coker era, which came to an end weeks later, culminating in a 7-6 season and a bowl win over Nevada on Boise State’s blue turf.)

To any Miami fan entering that late October game against Duke, there was legitimate fear of an upset due to the recent fight, the suspensions and the inability for coaches to get kids regrouped. Covering the eighteen? This was a game where you just want to get out alive as you knew going into it that the wheels were a few plays from falling off.

As a gambler, this is simply a game you do not touch, or one where you take the underdog and the points because of the intangibles, namely a dozen suspended players and a decrease in overall morale.

Also, did Shapiro not own a computer? Why were players and guests supposedly huddled up in a garage listening to an car’s AM radio instead of watching online as the game was broadcast on the ESPN360.com, now known as ESPN3.com? Sounds like another embellishment and chance to boast about a Mercedes S65 and joke that at the amnenities that one has in a $6.1 million home, an AM radio isn’t one of them.

Of course Wolff never questions any of this and for the sake of the angle he was taking, buys right in and writes about bank records and transactions during football season that made the story “plausible”.

And so it goes, a convicted felon who made almost a billion dollars lying through his teeth earns yet another expose by an enamored journalist, despite no facts to support his tall tales. Just fast talk, charisma and the ability to sell.

STICK TO THE REAL STORY AT HAND; THE CORRUPT NCAA

How come a story supposedly dedicated to everything wrong with the NCAA refuses to focus on the out of control organization Mark Emmert is running, always coming back to Miami, a university which has been paying dearly for these unproven allegations for upwards of three years?

Is there truth to some of Shapiro’s claims? Obviously, or UM wouldn’t have self-imposed two bowl bans, sat out an ACC Championship game, suspended a slew of players, payed back Shapiro’s bankruptcy trustee and change the rules regarding contact between outsiders and student athletes.

There is truth to some of the claims and instead of Donna Shalala and the University of Miami earning some praise for being a cooperative open book in this investigation and an example to other schools, the notion is that UM is “skating” if no more punishment is handed down after this week’s hearing.

UM complied and sat back quietly – for years – until the term Lack Of Institutional Control was thrown around.

At that point, Shalala came out guns blazing and dug in the for the fight and should Miami be hit with anything more than some agreed-upon scholarship reductions (which Al Golden and staff have been preparing for and working within the past few season), one can assume that Shalala and crew will continue their push for what they deem fair and just.

Miami and Shapiro have been the story here for three years, while no reporter seems to have the stones to go all in, fully exposing the NCAA and showing first-hand what “lack of institutional control” really looks like. SI and others have touched on it, but quickly come back to Miami’s crimes, while giving no credit for how the program handled the investigation, self-imposed and has paid a daily price for upward of three years.

Time to take the platform away from a loudmouthed con-man and either focus on the corruption of Emmert and his cronies, or simply pipe down for a few months until punishment is handed down, after this week’s hearing has been digested by the infractions committee.

Last thing anyone needs is more sensationalism and Shapiro-fueled fluff, or Wolff’s opinion on anything UM-related, for that matter.

Christian Bello has been covering Miami Hurricanes athletics since the mid-1990s. After spending almost a decade as a columnist for CanesTime, he launched allCanesBlog.com. – the official blog for allCanes.com : The #1 Canes Shop Since 1959. Bello has joined up with XOFan.com and will be a guest columnist at CaneInsider.com this fall. Follow him on Twitter @ChristianRBello.

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