UPDATE (Sept. 21, 2011, 12:36am PT): The ASSOCIATED PRESS corrects the record, noting that Dennis Talbott did not cite his affiliation with This Week In Football - or Icon SMI - when obtaining a sideline media credential under the name “Jay Talbott” for the Sept. 3 Michigan-Western Michigan game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

(Website? Dormant. Talbott Facebook page? Awash in Michigan pics!) 

Instead, Talbott duped Michigan into gifting him a field pass by noting his affiliation with the website OhioSportsWeekly.com. What Talbott neglected to tell UM when he obtained his precious credential on August 31 was that he himself owned the OhioSportsWeekly.com domain - and had slapped up an empty storefront at the web address designed only to persuade media relations personnel into thinking Talbott was a member of the working media.

In the three weeks since Talbott shot the Michigan-Western Michigan game, he has added dozens of photos of the game - including one of himself shooting the action from the sideline - to his Facebook page. Yet the so-called media outlet Talbott claimed as his sole reason for being at the Big House, OhioSportsWeekly.com, not only hasn’t been updated since the UM-WMU game, the site has remained virtually unchanged since Feb. 1, 2011.

UPDATE (Sept. 20, 2011, 1:05pm ET): Michael Rothstein of ESPN reports that after learning from the SbB report below that Ohio State-blacklisted photog Dennis Talbott had gained sideline media access for the Sept. 3 Michigan-Western Michigan football game at Michigan Stadium, the school announced today that Talbott “has been banned by the Michigan athletic department.”

(Talbott fallback? Shooting rogue OSU booster’s favorite high school coach)

Rothstein reported that Talbott used an “unfamiliar” name while claiming affiliation with the very same publication that scored him sidelines at Ohio State beginning in 2009 - and access to the high school coach who has sent the most players to Ohio State the past decade, Cleveland-Glenville head coach Ted Ginn, Sr.

- - -

Three months ago an anonymous source alleged to ESPN that Dennis Talbott, a Central Ohio-based businessman with a sudden, new-found love for photography, “made at least 35 payments to [Terrelle] Pryor in 2009 and 2010 for signing memorabilia, for a total payout of between $20,000 and $40,000.”

(Banned By Ohio State, Talbott Now Employing Northern Exposure)

Following the ESPN report, SbB revealed details of those transactions and an eBay account and now-defunct company from which Talbott sold dozens of collectibles featuring the signatures and likenesses of then-current Buckeye football players.

So how did Talbott acquire the access needed to enable such a “business“?

One way was to affiliate himself with a small Ohio-based online publication called This Week In Football. Talbott struck up that relationship in large part to (somehow) obtain photographer media credentials from Ohio State - despite having never shot as a professional photographer until 2009. Talbott actually stumbled upon the idea of posing as a pro photog after snapping some pics from the sidelines of 2008 Fiesta Bowl.

Starting with the 2009 Ohio State football season, armed with sideline access provided by Ohio State, Talbott accumulated his own product - which he reproduced for signings  and sales - while also gaining the acccess needed to develop personal relationships with players like Pryor, DeVier Posey, Doug Worthington and Thaddeus Gibson.

It wasn’t long before Ohio State-licensed memorabilia dealers caught on to Talbott’s “photography” con thanks to his prior reputation as an unafraid purveyor of the sale of unlicensed OSU product - along with his alleged penchant for forging the signature of a head coach known for his flagpin affinity.

It was that steady stream of beefs from upstanding memorabilia dealers, not anyone at Ohio State compliance or within the athletic department, that caused Talbott to eventually be stripped of his prized, Ohio State sideline pass. Between that loss, his eBay account being outed and the 2011 ESPN reports, Talbott’s trafficking of Ohio State current player memorabilia, save a stealth eBay account or three, seems to have ground to a halt.

Sufficiently shunned at the ‘Shoe, there was only one thing left for a hopeless black-marketer like Talbott to do.

Work MGOBLUE.

(All of Talbott’s shots from the Michigan-W. Michigan game on Sept. 3)

Thanks to his previous association with a small sports photo distribution company called Icon SMI - derived only from the legitimacy provided by OSU sideline access - Talbott was given sideline photographer media credentials by Michigan for its opening game of the season against Western Michigan. A staggering fact of which, if Talbott’s profile photo on his personal Facebook account is any indication, he’s quite proud.

As he’s paid by Icon SMI only for individual shots bought by media outlets, Talbott’s relationship with company has always been more about accesss to players than actual compensation. So it was gravy for him to be paid - albeit a modest sum - by SPORTS ILLUSTRATED for this shot of Denard Robinson from the Sept. 3 game:

(Okay I added the inset)

Probably not a coincidence that Talbott’s prize-winning shot was of Denard Robinson, considering the seeming vast demand (and supply) of “Denard Robinson-signed” items for sale online. (Here’s another sweet 16 shot from the artist formerly know as “D. Jay Talbott” - coming to an eBay auction near you!)

So far there’s no obvious indication that Talbot transacted monetary gain from UM media access like he did Ohio State, but remember, our favorite fake photog isn’t a trader - he’s an investor!

Don’t believe me? Ask Thaddeus Gibson and Doug Worthington.

While still current Ohio State players, Gibson and Worthington were receiving a wide variety of NCAA-rule-violating benefits from Columbus-based NFL agent Brad Cicala as Talbott was employing his photography-fueled grift. So if Talbott wanted a Pryor-like arrangement with Gibson and Worthington, he’d have to go through an NFL agent.

Below is a shot from an ESPN’s Outside The Lines investigative piece in which Talbott was seen - coincidentally or not - outside the office complex where Cicala’s Columbus agency was located.

(More from ESPN’s exhaustive reporting on Talbott)

Cicala also currently reps journeyman NFL player and former Buckeye Roy Hall. It was Hall who helped Cicala connect the NFL agent with then-current Buckeye Worthington - who helped Cicala get in with Gibson, a former Cleveland-area high school star. Cicala later signed Gibson as an NFL client, a coup considering Gibson’s Ohio State position coach at the time was Luke Fickell - who has long been known for his close relationship with Cleveland-area NFL agent Neil Cornrich.

Helping Cicala land Worthington and Gibson was benefits like sweet seats to the Oct. 28, 2009, Jay-Z concert in Columbus, an actual recording studio in Gibson’s Columbus apartment and, of course, Cicala’s arrangement with Talbott.

But then again, who’s to say Worthington and Gibson wouldn’t have signed with Cicala anyway!

Just look at OSU booster Bobby DiGeronimo, who enjoyed the company of dozens of Buckeyes over the years at his annual charity event in Cleveland despite providing them no benefits of any kind.

Why, I still can’t believe Bobby D. threw away his 30-year relationship with Ohio State because, in a completely isolated case, he felt like paying three Ohio State football players $200 each at his 2011 charity event.

Three players who’d never started a game.

With envelopes.

Did I mention it was a one-time deal?

Brooks can be reached on Twitter, Facebook and directly at sportsbybrooks@gmail.com

Earlier this week I reported that current Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller was at the 2011 charity event hosted by rogue OSU booster Bobby DiGeronimo.

(Then-Ohio State high school recruit Cardale Jones top-right)

Miller signed with Ohio State roughly three weeks before the fundraiser though he had already enrolled at the school when he made the Cleveland benefit scene where Buckeye teammates Jordan Hall, Corey Brown and Travis Howard pocketed cash envelopes from Bobby D. and then-teammate Terrelle Pryor.

The same can’t be said though for current Ohio State prized signee Cardale Jones, one of the top quarterback prospects in the country.

Jones signed with Ohio State last February and was still attending Glenville high school in Cleveland when he was photographed with his high school coach, Ted Ginn, Sr., at the exact 2011 fundraiser that cost Hall, Brown and Howard two games of eligibilty.

Jones is now attending Fork Union Academy and expected to enroll at OSU soon.

Current Ohio State player Christian Bryant was also photographed at DiGeronimo’s now-infamous annual event in 2010 two weeks after signing with Ohio State:

(Current Ohio State players Boom Herron and Christian Bryant in 2010)

Like Jones, Bryant was still in high school - and wearing his Glenville High School letterman’s jacket! - when the above photo was taken on Feb. 20, 2010. Bryant in seen in the picture with current Ohio State running back Boom Herron, who also attended the Cleveland event hosted by booster DiGeronimo in 2008 and 2009.

Ex-Ohio State players Pryor (below) and Thaddeus Gibson (above) were also at the 2009 Cleveland charity event hosted by DiGeronimo.

(2009 Bobby D. Event photo of Pryor from OSU Student Newspaper!)

Ohio State head coach Luke Fickell has yet to comment on the record about the revelation that Miller, Jones and Bryant were all at the Cleveland charity event where a 30-year OSU booster has admitted to paying Buckeye football players with envelopes containing cash. (Jones and Bryant were in high school when they attended the booster-run benefit.)

Perhaps Fickell just wants to be sure he has his facts straight before he addresses the subject in public.

For that, he can always call his current rep, NFL agent Neil Cornich, since previously the NFLPA-censured (twice) Cornrich was also photographed at the 2010 and 2011 Buckeye benefits host by Bobby D. in Cleveland.

On June 23, 2008, Liz Mullen of SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY reported of the Cleveland-based Cornrich:

An NFL Players Association committee has voted to issue letters of reprimand to nine agents, including veteran agent Neil Cornrich .. for allegedly violating a new regulation prohibiting agents from contacting underclassmen.

Cornrich also reps former Ohio State football stars Robert Smith, Ted Ginn, Jr., Beanie Wells, Troy Smith and former Ohio State head coach John Cooper - with the previous quartet regular attendees of Bobby D.’s Cleveland charity events.

Oh, Cornrich is new Ohio State assistant coach Mike Vrabel’s agent too.

Handy.

Brooks is on Twitter, Facebook and at sportsbybrooks@gmail.com

EXCLUSIVE: In his Ohio State debut against Akron two weeks ago, freshman Buckeye quarterback Braxton Miller passed for 132 yards and a touchdown in OSU’s 42-0 shutout of the Zips.

After the game, Ohio State head coach Luke Fickell was asked if he planned to continue both playing Miller and fellow quarterback Joe Bauserman, who started against the Zips.

We know we need them both, and I think that’s the most important thing. Those guys work great together. They’re not going to be distracted by the things that are outside and all the outside influences. We know we’re going to need them both. We’re just going to give them all the ability to put them in situations and see how they handle it, and still continue to let them compete. They know we have confidence in them, but they’re willing to work together and we’ll see how it grows.

Seven days later against Toledo at Ohio Stadium, Miller failed to play a down. After the game, Fickell was asked why the highly-touted quarterback remained on the sideline - and if an injury was the reason:

We don’t have any regrets. I don’t think we are going to look back and regret it. Obviously you look back every week, and try to find ways that you can get better, but Braxton was dinged up a little bit, practiced more so on Thursday and a little bit on Wednesday, but you know, we had a plan going in that maybe it didn’t quite happen exactly how you do.

You’ve kind of got to adjust on the run. And you know, we are not going to look back on it. We know that most importantly, we’ll make sure that those guys mind are right and they understand the situation we are in. We communicated with them so that there’s no guesswork involved and to me the most important thing is that they can stay focused and move forward and not dwell upon the past.

Moments later at the presser, Fickell was asked, “Just to clarify on Braxton, his health did play a role in the decision on Saturday?”

Fickell:

I didn’t say that. I said that he was dinged up a little bit early in the week and we had a plan going in, maybe we adjusted the plan a little bit, but most important thing is that, hey, we’re all moving forward with it. We understand it, those guys understand it. You have a plan going into the game and as long as you communicate with them, we’ll make sure we all handle things the right way and most importantly we have to do what’s best for the team.

Benching Miller wasn’t the only adjustment Fickell made when it came to playing time before the game in question.

Tuesday before the Toledo game, Fickell indicated Ohio State players Jordan Hall, Travis Howard and Corey Brown would likely be available to play after serving a one game suspension for taking envelopes containing cash at a Cleveland charity event last February. But the Friday before the game at Ohio Stadium against the Rockets, the NCAA released a statement blocking the reinstatement of the trio.

A day later - to the surprise  of many - Miller took the same number of snaps against game as Hall, Howard and Brown did: zero.

In its original report to the NCAA detailing the violations committed by the aforementioned trio, the NCAA noted that two additional “current student-athletes” attended the same charity event where Hall, Brown and Howard received $200 each in envelopes utltimately provided by longtime Ohio State booster Bobby DiGeromino.

On [redacted], 2011, five current football student-athletes and two former student-athletes attended a charitable event in Cleveland. Three of the current student-athletes received impermissible monies at the charitable event - a violation of NCAA Bylaw 12.1.2.1.6. Further, a violation of NCAA Bylaw 12.5.1.1.(a) occured since the student-athletes did not receive prior written approval for attending the event this year.

Ohio State also noted in its original, Sept. 1, 2011, report to the NCAA of the two “current student-athletes”:

.. they did observe [redacted] carrying several envelopes during the event.

The two “current student-athletes” referred to by Ohio State in its report to the NCAA - with the names redacted by the the school in its release of the report to the media - are Braxton Miller and current Buckeye football player Nathan Williams.

Williams also sat out of the Toledo game and will miss the Miami game due to a knee injury.

Though I cannot confirm Fickell didn’t play Miller against Toledo because the QB was named in the NCAA report - particularly after the NCAA’s last-second Toledo game blockade of Hall, Howard and Brown - you can’t help but wonder if it was a contributing factor.

Brooks can be reached on Twitter, Facebook and directly at sportsbybrooks@gmail.com

In the Sept. 1, 2011, report to the NCAA from Ohio State that resulted in the suspensions of Buckeye football players Jordan Hall, Travis Howard and Corey Brown, OSU reported that the violations were “discovered” by the school on “August 31, 2011.”

As of Sept. 13, 2011, Terrelle Pryor’s last Tweet was … wait for it … August 31, 2011.

For all we know, Ohio State “discovering” seven month-old NCAA violations the exact day Pryor began an indefinite Tweet-free streak is complete coincidence.

Along with the fact that Pryor is currently appealing a five-game NFL suspension - after filing paperwork with the league on August 26.

But considering Pryor did indeed recently rat out his former Ohio State teammates to the NCAA in a brazen bid to curry favor with the same intercollegiate body to which the NFL ceded - blocking Pryor’s immediate admission into the league - it’s not unreasonable to think that’s why Pryor is hiding from the public. (And his former teammates in Columbus.)

(Pryor: Sold Out His School Only To Aid NFL Appeal)

Especially ironic when you consider Pryor was one of the guys who helped round up Hall, Howard and Brown for the charity event that cost them their eligibility - but only after Pryor sold them down the river!

Okay, maybe it isn’t ironic.

Brooks can be reached on Twitter, Facebook and directly at sportsbybrooks@gmail.com

EXCLUSIVE: Ohio State football players Jordan Hall, Travis Howard and Corey Brown remain suspended after the school recently reported to the NCAA that the three received $200 each - from envelopes - at a Cleveland charity event last February.

(Smith in ‘08: Non-compliant at same event Buckeyes were paid in 2011)

As part of its report to the NCAA, Ohio State Associate Athletic Director for Compliance Doug Archie noted:

All of the current student-athletes Incorrectly believed that their participation in the event had been approved by the OSU compliance office, The OSU compliance office did not approve participation in the [redacted] 2011 event, but did approve the same event on [redacted] 2007 and [redacted], 2011. Please note that there was nothing impermissible about the event because It meets the provisions of NCAA Bylaw 12.5.1, but the student-athletes did not obtain prior approval from the institution to attend the event as Is required under the NCAA legislation.

Rusty Miller of the ASSOCIATED PRESS reported today that the NCAA has since responded to Ohio State’s self-reported violations by submitting questions to the school about the charity event in question - and that OSU has since “responded with some answers.”

(Then-current Buckeye Terrelle Pryor @ 2011 event where players paid)

As Ohio State noted in its report, the current football players obtained clearance from OSU compliance for the 2007 and 2010 annual charity event, but not for the same event that was held in 2008.

(Browning, Wilson (track suit), Rose, Gibson, Lane Broke NCAA Rules in 2008)

Though from photos from the latter charity gathering, then-current Ohio State football players Beanie Wells, Lawrence Wilson, Shaun Lane, Bryant Browning, Thaddeus Gibson, Branden Smith, Nate Oliver and Jermale Hines and current Ohio State player Daniel “Boom” Herron can be seen in attendance at the same Cleveland fundraiser - in 2008 - in which current Buckeyes Hall, Brown and Howard were given cash in 2011. Read more…

Akron football coach Rob Ianello scolded rookie Ohio State football coach Luke Fickell at midfield after the Buckeyes shutout the Zips 42-0 today in Columbus.

(Video Credit: ESPN / ESPN3.com)

Moments before the customary postgame handshake between the coaches, Fickell chose to run out the clock with three consecutive running plays with Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde as the ball carrier. ESPN broadcaster Chris Spielman noted at the time that it appeared Ohio State was attempting to give Hyde a chance to reach 100 yards rushing for the game. Spielman:

“It’s interesting you have Carlos Hyde in the football game. Let me tell you the reason why. I think they’re (Ohio State) trying to get him 100 yards. .. It’d be nice to get Hyde 100 yards.”

Hyde finished with 93 yards on 19 carries with his final three rushing attempts - spanning the final 1:41 of the game - netting only seven yards.

When Akron Coach Ianello and Ohio State Coach Fickell met at midfield Ianello said to Fickell:

“I don’t think that’s real good sportsmanship but good luck the rest of the year.”

Before Fickell could respond, Ianello abruptly brushed past the rookie Buckeyes coach, who moments later was seen saying something unpleasant, though unintelligible, in Ianello’s direction.

The exchange was aired live on ESPN-TV and ESPN3.com.

Brooks can be reached on Twitter, Facebook and directly at sportsbybrooks@gmail.com

The honorable folks at Ohio State remind you that at tOSU, cheaters (who we throw under the bus after our coverup is foiled by a Yahoo Sports reporter) never prosper.

Unless of course they beat Michigan with star players they know to be ineligible - then we enshrine them on a wall of the Ohio State football facility in devotion to our priorities. (When we aren’t lying about them.)

Brooks can be reached on Twitter, Facebook and directly at sportsbybrooks@gmail.com

On Dec. 23, 2010, Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith announced that multiple Buckeye football players, including Terrelle Pryor, Dan Herron and DeVier Posey, Mike Adams and Solomon Thomas had been suspended for five games in 2011 for receiving extra benefits in the form of tattoos and cash from Columbus tattoo parlor owner and convicted drug dealer Edward Rife. A sixth player, Jordan Whiting, was suspended for one game for similar activity.

(Rife’s Facebook messages to tattgate Buckeye remain to this day)

During his remarks, Smith said of the situation:

“There are no other NCAA violations around this case. We’re very fortunate that we do not have a systemic problem in our program. This is isolated to these young men, and isolated to this particular instance.”

Thanks to the NCAA’s subsequent Notice of Allegations (NOA) sent to Smith and Ohio State on April 21, 2011, we now know that Smith’s “isolated” claim about the case was flatly untrue.

The NCAA reported in its April 21, 2011, NOA to Ohio State that an Ohio State football player, whose name was redacted by OSU officials despite his no longer being a student at the school, received the following extra benefits from Columbus tattoo parlor owner and convicted drug dealer Edward Rife “between November 2008 and May 2010“:

1) Received $1,500 from Rife for a 2008 Big Ten championship ring
2) Received $250 from Rife for a 2008 gold pants charm for a victory over Michigan
3) Received $250 from Rife for a 2009 gold pants charm for a victory over Michigan
4) Received $150 from Rife for a game helmet from the 2009 Michigan game
5) Received $30 from Rife for a pair of game pants from the 2009 Michigan game
6) Received $250 from Rife for 2010 Rose Bowl watch
7) Received a $55 discount from Rife on two Fine Line Ink Tattoo Parlor tattoos
Received $100 from Rife for obtaining current Buckeye player autographs on two collectible Ohio State football helmets
9) Received a $2,420 discount from Rife towards the purchase of a 2003 Chevy Tahoe
10) Received a $800 loan from Rife for vehicle repairs

NCAA-estimated cash value of benefits received from Rife: $5,805

The unknown player? Read more…

Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith, who 10 months ago OSU President Gordon Gee called, “the best athletic director in the country,” appeared Tuesday on SiriusXM’s College Football Playbook with Mike Leach & Jack Arute.

(March 8: Nothing wrong with former ND football player Smith’s blocking skills)

Here’s an excerpt from the SiriusXM interview with Smith:

Jack Arute: “There are some, specifically in the media, that are calling for mininally, at least your resignation as well over this Gene. .. I want to give you the opportunity to state whether that was ever considered or why you don’t think it’s applicable. You’ve got the floor sir.”

Gene Smith: “That’s definitely a thought that some people would have in this situation and I respect that. But from a performance point of view, I‘ve done nothing wrong. .. We basically had a small group make individual decisions that they are ultimately are paying a significant price for and there’s casualties as a result of their decisions. .. But I wake up every day knowing that I did the right thing relative to my job every single day.”

Jack Arute: “Gene did you ever at least consider it [resigning]. Did you look at it and say, ‘this happened on my watch’ .. did you have to go through a process to think about ‘whether I should stay or go?’”
Read more…

On June 12, 2011, Ohio State President Gordon Gee described the exact nature of Jim Tressel’s May 30 departure from the school to the COLUMBUS DISPATCH:

Tressel was not told he would be fired if he didn’t quit, Gee said.

“He was not given an ultimatum.”

Gee said Tressel originally was supposed to meet with Smith about the growing scandal after Memorial Day, but mounting public pressure, including the knowledge that a number of media outlets were working on stories about other potential violations, pushed up the timing.

On May 30, 2011, Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith concurred with Gee’s version of Tressel’s OSU ouster:

“Jim Tressel decided to resign.”

In the school’s July 7, 2011, response to the NCAA’s April 25, 2011, Notice of Allegation (NOA), on four different occasions Ohio State reported to the intercollegiate governing body that Tressel had not voluntarily resigned.

In its “introductory statement“, Ohio State reported on the opening page of its response to the NCAA:

As a result, the institution has imposed significant corrective and punitive actions upon itself and sought and received the resignation of Tressel. 

On pages I-9 and 4-2 of its response, Ohio State reported the following “punitive action” to the NCAA:

Sought and accepted the resignation of Tressel on May 30, 2011.

On page I-10 of its response to the NCAA’s April NOA in a section titled, “Reasons These Actions Are Appropriate”, Ohio State gave its official justifiction for the penalties it had previously assessed on itself:

Regarding Tressel’s penalties, the institution’s analysis was that Tressel’s penalties should reflect the seriousness of the position in which he placed both himself and the University. One of his penalties was suspension for the first five games of the 2011 season, which was the same as the student-athletes’ penalties.

The University also intended to prohibit all of his off-campus recruiting activities for one year, which reflected the seriousness of Tressel’s failure to report. The University eventually determined that it was in the best interest of the University and Tressel for Tressel to resign, and he agreed to do so.

Of that justification:

1) On March 8, Ohio State initially announced a two-game suspension for Tressel. Of the exact number of games Tressel was suspended, OSU AD Smith said at the time:

“[The number of games was] kind of a sweet spot based upon this particular case. .. We just felt like the combination of a two-game suspension and the financial fine was kind of in line with cases that we were familiar with.”

Ohio State has since announced that Tressel will not have to pay the $250,000 “fine” Smith referred to on March 8.

On July 8, the Columbus Dispatch reported of Tressel’s exit settlement with Ohio State:

Instead, the university will pay him $52,250 - the equivalent of the salary and benefits he would have earned through the end of June 30th.

OSU’s decision to drop the fine goes against an assertion by Gee last month that Tressel would be required to pay no matter what the other terms of his departure were.

“We’ve levied a $250,000 fine against the coach, and he will pay that,” Gee told The Dispatch on June 11th.

Gee could not be reached this afternoon

Tressel also will collect his unpaid sick and vacation time up to 250 hours and will be eligible for health-insurance coverage for himself and his family under the plan available to all state retirees, according to the settlement.

2) OSU never publicly indicated Tressel would be suspended for “all of his off-campus recruiting activities for one year.” Read more…