MAC POINT SHAVING SCANDAL

[The Hip Zip]

Boys, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I remember reading about some behind the scenes investigations back awhile ago but I discounted it. It appears that this may be quite real and quite ugly.iToledo RB charged in point-shaving scandalStory Tools: Print Email Blog This FOXSports.comPosted: 50 minutes ago University of Toledo running back Harvey "Scooter" McDougle Jr. has been charged with recruiting football and basketball players in order to shave points and fix games for a Macomb County gambler, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit said the scheme was spearheaded by a man identified only as "Gary."Allegedly Gary invited players to gamble and eat at Greektown Casino in Detroit. The complaint stated that one player was offered $10,000 to sit out a football game. Other players were given money and food among other gifts.Even though McDougle told the FBI he received a car, telephone and other gifts from Gary, he insisted it never changed the way he played to affect the outcome of games.McDougle, 22, was expected to appear in U.S District Court in Detroit on Friday and could not be reached for comment. There was no immediate response from school officials.It's uncertain how many other athletes were implicated in the scheme because no other players or teams at Toledo were named in the complaint. At this point, it's also unclear if other schools are under investigation.While there was no indication in the complaint that players threw any games because of the scheme, the document alleges that Gary, McDougle and others bribed Toledo athletes to impact the final score of specific games, so bets could be made on the games with illegal sports bookmakers."Once Gary and the players knew the line, they would decide if they could beat the spread," the complaint said. "If they were picked as an underdog by 10 points, they would decide if they could beat the 10 point spread. If they were picked as a favorite by a certain number of points, the players would decide if they would most likely win by that much."__________________

[The Hip Zip]

Found the article I read last football season, it appears that their suspicions were spot on.BOOKMAKERS HANG DARK CLOUD OVER MAC GAMES, ESPECIALLY TOLEDO… While bookmakers have no evidence of wrong doing they are still focusing a tremendous amount of attention to what they say are strange betting patterns in the Mid-American Conference, especially those involving Toledo.Bookmakers say there has been a tremendous amount of line manipulation in the MAC this season and they point to two Saturday games as examples of that. Toledo opened a -10 road favorite at Central Michigan and has been bet down to -7½. In a second game they are watching, Western Michigan opened a -4 home favorite over Can't State and has been bet out to -7.Pointspread shifts such as this are not uncommon but bookmakers say it is happening too often on MAC games and they have the evidence to prove it, as they have been hit hard by “middle” bettors. For those not familiar with the term, a “middle” bettor is one who bets both sides in the same game, laying different prices and then hoping the game falls between that which he gave and that which he took. When that happens he collects both bets.For instance, if the Toledo-Central Michigan final score falls on an 8 or 9-point difference middle bettors will win on both sides. If the Can't State-Western Michigan falls on a 5 or a 6, they will also collect both bets.Bookmakers have already been stung twice this season with Toledo—first in the Rockets game at Temple on September 17 and again on their game at Ball State two weeks ago.In the Temple game, Toledo opened a 30-point favorite and was bet down to -24½. The final score was 42-17, which meant the Rockets won by 25 and the game fell in the middle. This game costs bookmakers tens of thousands of dollars.In the Ball State game, Toledo opened -19½ and was bet out to -23½. The Rockets won that on by 20 points, 34-14, again putting the game in the middle and cost bookmakers another small fortune.ODDS AGAINST SAME TEAM PRODUCING MULTIPLE MIDDLES ASTRONOMICAL… Bookmakers say the odds of one team producing two middle winners during a single season are astronomical and the heavy two-way action on both games was traced to a small group of individuals, all of whom knew one another."We may look stupid, but we're not," said one bookmaker from Antigua, "And we will get to the bottom of this."The mechanics of middle betting tell the entire story, since a middle gives a player 20-1 for his money in a world where most bets return even money on a winning wager. Here is how the middle works, using the Temple-Toledo game as an example. Bettors would take Temple +30 and then bet in a manner that gave the appearance of continued action on the underdog. When they felt their actions had driven the number as far as it would go, they would step in and bet Toledo -24 ½.The math is simple: If a person bet $110,000 to win $100,000 on Temple +30 and then made a similar bet on Toledo -24 ½, he is risking just $10,000 to win $200,000 because it is impossible to lose both bets. If the game falls in the middle of the +30 and the -24 ½, he collects $200,000, or gets 20-1 for his money. Bookmakers have their own crew of investigators studying every aspect of any game with a suspicious betting pattern; from who officiated the games to how touchdowns were scored and if there were bogus penalties or turnovers at key points of the game.We will keep you informed, but in the meantime, this is one handicapper who is staying away from MAC games. It is an understatement in the world of sports betting to say rather safe than sorry.

[zip37]

Shades of the basketball scandals of the late 40s and early 50s, Some schools involved then were NYU LIU BKLYN COLL CCNY KENTUCKY and others I can't recall. Gambling a victimless crime-- no it could ruin college sports. And what's the NCAA doing? Worrying about team names/mascots!

[timmyboy]

SOOOO.... does this mean the NCAA will investigate and put them on probation,like they have teams in the past. I do remember someone form toledo coming onto our board sayin how this RB from toledo (Harvey "Scooter" McDougle Jr) was such a great football player, and he was the best RB to come from Toledo since the Guy who is now playing for the minnesota vikings. Isnt it great..... Big Mighty Toledo will be thin at RB (since morgan williams wont qualify this year, or maybe ever).... while Akron Is LOADED!

[Zips fan]

This is bad news for the entire MAC. This will put a black eye on our conference as a whole. The last thing I want is a scandal that will bring questions about the validity of MAC games. I hope Toledo does a very thorough investigation and gets rid of anyone remotely involved. I also hope that this is restricted to a player incident and not an institutional incident. If no coach or administrator had any knowledge and acts appropriately now that information is found, I don't think Toledo will suffer huge penalties from the NCAA.

[you am i]

for some reason, it doesn't look like this story is registering nationally yet, which seems strange. no mention of it on the espn or cbssportsline web pages, at least that i counld find.my understanding also is that the ncaa hands out penalties against the school only where there is wrongdoing by the school, and not just by the player, although the player could lose eligibility. mcdougle is an east cleveland kid from shaw high school. if true, what a waste.

[UADavid]

for some reason, it doesn't look like this story is registering nationally yet, which seems strange. no mention of it on the espn or cbssportsline web pages, at least that i counld find.

Agreed. I saw this last night on the ESPN crawl at the bottom of the screen. It was on all their channels but still not a big story nationally.

[UADavid]

Article from the toledo paper. http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...EWS02/703310439

[GP1]

I'd be willing to bet that there is at least one kid on every D-1A football team betting on their own team. Maybe not point shaving, but at least placing a bet.Each year, athletic departments give a lecture to the kids about betting on sports. The athletic departments know that it is/could be a problem so they try to address it. There were always rumors about UofA basketball a few years ago and players betting on the games.

[ZachTheZip]

There are hints of this being a cross-sport scandal. Supposedly Toledo Basketbal players were involved as well. Did they blow the MAC semi-final against Miami?That just gave me a disturbing thought. What if the timekeeper for the championship game was involved as well? I'm not saying it's true, but this thing puts alot of stuff into question. They did say that they were having trouble with that timekeeper for the whole tournament. Maybe that NIU player let Hixon catch that pass at the MAC championship game. We just don't know anymore. This conference is getting worse and worse by the day.

[zipboy]

A very sad and explosive situation. This is not how I want to see any of our competitors go down. From the initial article, I doubt that anyone in administration at Toledo would have known or helped this. But if other players names surface, this could really hurt Toledo. And it is a huge blackmark for the league.I heard about it 1st thing last night on a national sports call in show. Caller interest was moderate, between this and the final 4. Rasor had a link to the Toledo Blade article on it which had a lot of info.

[zippyrifle32]

sports betting is a VERY big deal in the ncaa, and if you're caught as an athlete 1. making wagers or actively participating in point shaving or game throwing; or 2. provide information about a team, player, whatever to a sports better that could impact a game (injuries to breakups) you're banned for life. period. sports betting is one of the most serious violations in the ncaa and there is "depends how much was bet." so, if i said to my buddy, "i'll buy you dinner if akron loses this game and you buy me dinner if we win." bye bye eligibility. i believe the exact rule says something along the lines of: no wagering of anything with material value on any sport the ncaa holds a championship in. horse racing - ok, bowling - not ok. on the topic of the lecture, we were lucky enough to have michael franzese come in and give a lecture on sports betting and gambling. as an ex-mofia boss, it was really interesting to listen to how he used to rope in athletes and get them to point shave or throw a game, and the importance of not even getting started gambling.

[rocketfootball]

SOOOO.... does this mean the NCAA will investigate and put them on probation,like they have teams in the past. I do remember someone form toledo coming onto our board sayin how this RB from toledo (Harvey "Scooter" McDougle Jr) was such a great football player, and he was the best RB to come from Toledo since the Guy who is now playing for the minnesota vikings. Isnt it great..... Big Mighty Toledo will be thin at RB (since morgan williams wont qualify this year, or maybe ever).... while Akron Is LOADED!

Wow, you are so cool. In reality Toledo is in big trouble right now, but based on what we know it looks like the bulk of the trouble is going to go to Scooter and possibly one or two others and the institution itself won't be in much trouble. It could get worse though.Scooter was a very good player for UT in 2004 as we won the MACC. Then he hurt his knee and had a couple of surgeries. He hasn't been the same since and has hardly even got on the field.As for UT's depth, there are 8 players on the depth chart right now. That doesn't include incoming freshman Morgan Williams (he probably won't play this fall and you are right about that, but don't knock too much because Akron offered him a scholarship and wanted him), Hosea Simpson, Gordon Warner, and Adonis Thomas (originally committed to Kansas State before signing with Toledo). In all, Toledo signed three different running backs that were rated 3 stars by either Rivals, Scout, or both.Jalen Parmele will be a senior this year, with Richard Davis a junior, DaJuane Collins a sophomore (possibly the next great back at UT), Dontae Jones a redshirt freshman (3 star recruit from Orlando, Fl that was a Florida Top 100 player), and Bruce Frieson a redshirt freshman from Cleveland Glenville. Anyone after those guys are so far back on the depth chart they won't likely play. I wouldn't worry about UT's depth at running back.Back to this scandal. UT fans are ashamed that this has happened at UT. It's embarrassing and we want anyone involved to be removed from campus immediately.

[Dr Z]

I wouldn't worry about UT's depth at running back.

So, who are you betting on to be the starter?Bet you click here if you want more information

[rocketfootball]

I wouldn't worry about UT's depth at running back.

So, who are you betting on to be the starter?Bet you click here if you want more information

Funny play on words. Parmele rushed for over 1,200 yards last year and will be our starting running back again this fall.There is another article on ESPN, different than the one you linked to, that talks to the guy in Vegas that tipped off the gaming commission and the NCAA. He says that Toledo and another MAC school had unusual betting patterns in their games in 2004. Then all of a sudden the other MAC school, which he declined to name, stopped having the unusual betting patterns but Toledo's continued through 2005. He and his associates watched all the game film on UT's games and couldn't find where any player, coach, or referee did anything wrong to fix games. But because of the unusual betting patterns (Vegas was losing large money on these games) they contacted the NCAA and gaming commission anyway in October of 2005. In November of 2005 the FBI wire-tapped "Gary's" phone so I have a feeling that the NCAA or gaming commission then contacted the FBI after receiving the information on unusual betting patterns.

[timmyboy]

I wouldn't worry about UT's depth at running back.

So, who are you betting on to be the starter?Bet you click here if you want more information

Funny play on words. Parmele rushed for over 1,200 yards last year and will be our starting running back again this fall.There is another article on ESPN, different than the one you linked to, that talks to the guy in Vegas that tipped off the gaming commission and the NCAA. He says that Toledo and another MAC school had unusual betting patterns in their games in 2004. Then all of a sudden the other MAC school, which he declined to name, stopped having the unusual betting patterns but Toledo's continued through 2005. He and his associates watched all the game film on UT's games and couldn't find where any player, coach, or referee did anything wrong to fix games. But because of the unusual betting patterns (Vegas was losing large money on these games) they contacted the NCAA and gaming commission anyway in October of 2005. In November of 2005 the FBI wire-tapped "Gary's" phone so I have a feeling that the NCAA or gaming commission then contacted the FBI after receiving the information on unusual betting patterns.

I knew Toledo didnt have a 1200 yard rusher last year so i double check and i was correct. Parmele had 1131 yards last year (according to the MAC website and 1,170 according to toledo's), and an average of 94.2 YPGGarrett Wolff was the only MAC player to top 1200 yards last year ( 1,928 rushing yards and 148.3 YPG)Akron RB Dennis Kennedy was the 5th best RB in the league last season with 914 rushing yards (999 according to akrons site) and an average of 83.1 YPG.......... and this is playing over 1/2 of the year injured!Next time you are going to throw stats up on the board rocket, make sure they are accurate

[rocketfootball]

I wouldn't worry about UT's depth at running back.

So, who are you betting on to be the starter?Bet you click here if you want more information

Funny play on words. Parmele rushed for over 1,200 yards last year and will be our starting running back again this fall.There is another article on ESPN, different than the one you linked to, that talks to the guy in Vegas that tipped off the gaming commission and the NCAA. He says that Toledo and another MAC school had unusual betting patterns in their games in 2004. Then all of a sudden the other MAC school, which he declined to name, stopped having the unusual betting patterns but Toledo's continued through 2005. He and his associates watched all the game film on UT's games and couldn't find where any player, coach, or referee did anything wrong to fix games. But because of the unusual betting patterns (Vegas was losing large money on these games) they contacted the NCAA and gaming commission anyway in October of 2005. In November of 2005 the FBI wire-tapped "Gary's" phone so I have a feeling that the NCAA or gaming commission then contacted the FBI after receiving the information on unusual betting patterns.

I knew Toledo didnt have a 1200 yard rusher last year so i double check and i was correct. Parmele had 1131 yards last year (according to the MAC website and 1,170 according to toledo's), and an average of 94.2 YPGGarrett Wolff was the only MAC player to top 1200 yards last year ( 1,928 rushing yards and 148.3 YPG)Akron RB Dennis Kennedy was the 5th best RB in the league last season with 914 rushing yards (999 according to akrons site) and an average of 83.1 YPG.......... and this is playing over 1/2 of the year injured!Next time you are going to throw stats up on the board rocket, make sure they are accurate

Oh my God are you an anal bast***. It was just over 1,100....not 1,200. That's a really big difference. For the way Toledo's offense played last year 800 yards would be good. Parmele gained most of his yards in the last 5 games of the season when Toledo finally decided to stop throwing the minus one yard pass to the tight end on every play and decided to run the ball.Parmele is going to be a serious force this year, and I know that scouts are looking at him for a NFL career after the 2007 season is over.I'm so glad you're Kennedy dude was 5th in the MAC in rushing. I know he had a very good game against UT, rushing for 119 yards and 5.0 ypc average so I know that he is a very good running back.Interestingly enough, Akron as a team had a 3.1 ypc average against Toledo in that game and Toledo had a 3.5 ypc average. Kennedy had 119 yards and a 5.0 ypc average and Parmele had 145 yards and a 5.4 ypc average. QB sacks hurt both team's overall total rushing stats. Toledo did have rushing touchdowns by 4 different players in that game though, while Akron had just by 1.Jalen Parmele averaged 5.5 ypc for the season last year, and DaJuane Collins averaged 5.6 ypc for the season as a redshirt freshman. Richard Davis, another running back for us, had 21 receptions (3rd on the team in receptions) and added 282 yards rushing for us. Those three guys alone make us pretty deep at running back. Combining the three of them comes to 42 receptions, 1,674 yards (4.9 ypc average) and 14 rushing touchdowns.In contrast, Akron's entire team (taking out QB sacks) rushed for just under 1,200 yards (3.7 ypc average) and 13 touchdowns and 46 receptions. I hate to say it, but take out Dennis Kennedy and you have no one with any valuable DI-A experience and that is what depth is about!

[timmyboy]

I wouldn't worry about UT's depth at running back.

So, who are you betting on to be the starter?Bet you click here if you want more information

Funny play on words. Parmele rushed for over 1,200 yards last year and will be our starting running back again this fall.There is another article on ESPN, different than the one you linked to, that talks to the guy in Vegas that tipped off the gaming commission and the NCAA. He says that Toledo and another MAC school had unusual betting patterns in their games in 2004. Then all of a sudden the other MAC school, which he declined to name, stopped having the unusual betting patterns but Toledo's continued through 2005. He and his associates watched all the game film on UT's games and couldn't find where any player, coach, or referee did anything wrong to fix games. But because of the unusual betting patterns (Vegas was losing large money on these games) they contacted the NCAA and gaming commission anyway in October of 2005. In November of 2005 the FBI wire-tapped "Gary's" phone so I have a feeling that the NCAA or gaming commission then contacted the FBI after receiving the information on unusual betting patterns.

I knew Toledo didnt have a 1200 yard rusher last year so i double check and i was correct. Parmele had 1131 yards last year (according to the MAC website and 1,170 according to toledo's), and an average of 94.2 YPGGarrett Wolff was the only MAC player to top 1200 yards last year ( 1,928 rushing yards and 148.3 YPG)Akron RB Dennis Kennedy was the 5th best RB in the league last season with 914 rushing yards (999 according to akrons site) and an average of 83.1 YPG.......... and this is playing over 1/2 of the year injured!Next time you are going to throw stats up on the board rocket, make sure they are accurate

Oh my God are you an anal bast***. It was just over 1,100....not 1,200. That's a really big difference. For the way Toledo's offense played last year 800 yards would be good. Parmele gained most of his yards in the last 5 games of the season when Toledo finally decided to stop throwing the minus one yard pass to the tight end on every play and decided to run the ball.Parmele is going to be a serious force this year, and I know that scouts are looking at him for a NFL career after the 2007 season is over.I'm so glad you're Kennedy dude was 5th in the MAC in rushing. I know he had a very good game against UT, rushing for 119 yards and 5.0 ypc average so I know that he is a very good running back.Interestingly enough, Akron as a team had a 3.1 ypc average against Toledo in that game and Toledo had a 3.5 ypc average. Kennedy had 119 yards and a 5.0 ypc average and Parmele had 145 yards and a 5.4 ypc average. QB sacks hurt both team's overall total rushing stats. Toledo did have rushing touchdowns by 4 different players in that game though, while Akron had just by 1.Jalen Parmele averaged 5.5 ypc for the season last year, and DaJuane Collins averaged 5.6 ypc for the season as a redshirt freshman. Richard Davis, another running back for us, had 21 receptions (3rd on the team in receptions) and added 282 yards rushing for us. Those three guys alone make us pretty deep at running back. Combining the three of them comes to 42 receptions, 1,674 yards (4.9 ypc average) and 14 rushing touchdowns.In contrast, Akron's entire team (taking out QB sacks) rushed for just under 1,200 yards (3.7 ypc average) and 13 touchdowns and 46 receptions. I hate to say it, but take out Dennis Kennedy and you have no one with any valuable DI-A experience and that is what depth is about!

why am i an anal bas****? becaus ei pointed out that you were wrong about stats that you posted? next time do some research before you post on this AKRON ZIPS board.

[rocketfootball]

why am i an anal bas****? becaus ei pointed out that you were wrong about stats that you posted? next time do some research before you post on this AKRON ZIPS board.

First, the laugh icon after the anal bast*** thing was meant to show it was a joke.Second, your last reply makes you sound like an arrogant OSU fan that feels you are above me.............AKRON ZIPS board!Third, I was off by a few yards and it is only because it wasn't a big deal to get the exact numbers. Does everyone that talks to you have to use exact words? Are you one of those kind of persons? Now, you made a mistake too but I didn't say anything about it because it really isn't a big deal. But since you want exactness........You said that the MAC site says Parmele rushed for 1,131 and the UT site says 1,170. The UT site also says 1,131. The 1,170 you saw on the UT site is under the Gain category, with 39 yards on the Loss category and 1,131 on the Net gain category.Perhaps you should make sure you are smart enough to do the proper research before attempting to slam someone else.

[timmyboy]

Second, your last reply makes you sound like an arrogant OSU fan that feels you are above me.............AKRON ZIPS board!

doesnt toledo have their own board? JW why your on this one, that is why i said this AKRON ZIPS board

[bobbyake]

Boo Hoo, an oddsmaker lost money.

[rocketfootball]

Second, your last reply makes you sound like an arrogant OSU fan that feels you are above me.............AKRON ZIPS board!

doesnt toledo have their own board? JW why your on this one, that is why i said this AKRON ZIPS board

timmyboy, have you never seen an opposing fan come to the Akron board? I've provided some recruiting information over here from time to time and I have never come over here and said anything bad about Akron, so I don't understand your problem with me. You seem to be the only one with that problem though. Kind of makes you wonder.Toledo has 3 or 4 active message boards to be honest and Akron fans are completely welcome on at least a couple of them.

[zippyrifle32]

WHO CARES!!! it's a freaking estimation or typo at the least. it's so freaking annoying when people try to be so nit picky on message boards.

[rocketfootball]

New updates on this scandal today.This White guy from Vegas now says that he did not contact the NCAA and Las Vegas Gaming Commission in October of 2005 like he originally said. Now he says he did so in the summer of 2006.The NCAA has said that they never received any type of contact from him and did not hear anything about this until Toledo contacted them late last Friday after UT heard about it for the first time from the FBI when they told UT's President that Scooter was being charged.The Las Vegas Gaming Commission says they found no evidence of anything and closed their investigation in December of 2006, but said that other agencies were investigating the issue at that point. I assume that is meant to be the FBI.An adult neighbor of Scooter's told the Toledo Blade that she never saw any nice cars at his house and doesn't know where he could have put this car he supposedly received because the only car he ever had and drove was his sister's car.Scooter's parents say they received a call from his position coach at UT on Friday afternoon because Scooter was not at practice and he never misses practice and he wanted to know if they knew why he wasn't there. His parents say that the FBI did not permit Scooter to call home until Saturday afternoon, so they heard about his arrest and charge from his high school coach who read about it on ESPN Friday evening.This is getting really weird. People are contradicting themselves. Neither the NCAA nor UT appears to have known anything until Friday when the FBI contacted UT. You have to think that Scooter is at least guilty of taking bribes and gifts, but maybe the car part at least isn't true. I imagine that something bad has definitely happened, but will we ever know exactly what and to what extent? Who is telling the truth here? Man is this frustrating as a UT fan right now.