Mo Purify pre-trial diversion

from the Omaha World Herald:

LINCOLN - Nebraska receiver Maurice Purify has been authorized to
participate in a pre-trial diversion program, which would make it unlikely that
formal charges would be filed against him in Lancaster County court for his
arrest nearly four weeks ago.

Chief City Prosecutor John McQuinn said his office, after reviewing police
reports, agreed to pre-trial diversion at the request of Purify's attorney, Jon
Braaten. As of Wednesday, however, McQuinn said nothing has been arranged
yet.

Purify is scheduled for a June 7 appearance in Lancaster County
court."

At the present time, we assume that he won't be going to court if he
participates in pre-trial diversion," McQuinn said. "If something should happen
and if he elects not to participate, then our office would probably reassign him
a court date."

It's unclear how pre-trial diversion might affect any team discipline
handed down by Nebraska coach Bill Callahan. In a statement after Purify's
arrest, Callahan said he was "very concerned about this current situation" but
wouldn't comment further until the matter went through the legal process.

Lincoln police charged Purify with two counts of assault, resisting arrest,
trespassing and failure to comply after a May 5 incident at a downtown Lincoln
bar. Purify allegedly threw a man over a table and hit him several times, and
allegedly also struck the victim's girlfriend.

Purify was the Huskers' second-leading receiver last season, catching 34
passes for 630 yards and seven touchdowns.

MY THOUGHTS:
I had hoped that this case would actually go to trial so that the truth could come out and Purify could be exonerated in public. With pre-trial diversion, people (both locally and nationally) will think that "another Nebraska football player got over on the justice system".

From what I've heard from people with knowledge of what really happened, the only place Mo was in the wrong was refusing to offer his hands to the police when ordered to do so. He resisted arrest in that manner, but that is all that he did wrong from the reports I've heard.

He did not start the altercation, and he did not hit the woman.

There were multiple witnesses willing to testify to those same facts also, which I'm guessing is why Lancaster County is not pressing the issue. They know they have only one charge - resisting arrest .

I guess Purify is correct to take that pre-trial diversion, because even though it's a "non-violent resisting arrest" (my term, not legal), it would still go on his pemanent record and follow him the rest of his life.

I just wish he could have been publically exonerated on the more serious charges that he was crucified on in the court of public opinion.

May 31, 2007 - Who's juicing and Griffey vs. Bonds?

As we go from May to June, we pass the 1/3 mark in the MLB season and the college baseball regionals take shape. It is officially baseball season! Predictably the Devil Rays are in last place - albeit tied with the dreaded Yawnkees.

Yes, the Yawnkees are in last place and officially "circling the drain". And despite their sitting in the basement, the biggest story today is "Stray Rod" and his stripper/hooker/"friend". This is what the Yawnkees have devolved into - they're a sideshow, not a World Series contender.

IMO, even the great (HGH-ridden) Roger Clemens can't save them this year. I have no proof that Clemens is juicing, but then MLB has no proof that Barry Bonds is cheating either. Everyone know it, though. How else can a 40-something continue to perform at that level?

Historically athletes performance level has declined as they aged. That's still the case in the NFL, NBA, and NHL - but in MLB players improve with age? Riiiiight!

It's just a coincidence, right? MLB players just take better care of their bodies than other athletes, right? That's been the case historically - look at Babe Ruth, John Kruk, Cecil Fielder, etc. (heavy sarcasm intended)

Baseball professionals spend more time on the road eating in restaurants and sleeping in hotels than any other sport's athletes. That lifestyle alone would contribute to declining health.

They have to be juicing to stay at that high level, and it's pissing me off! Look at Bonds compared to Ken Griffey, Jr. prior to the 2000 season. Keep in mind that Bonds is already older chronologically than Griffey by five years.

BONDS:

• From 1986 to 1999 - 445 homers with a high of 46 in 1993. Averaged 29.66 HR/year.
• Since then he's hit 301 with a high of 73. Averaged 43, and missed an entire season!
• When he's played a full season, he's been right at his previous career high (46 in '02, 45 in '03, and 45 in '04).
• He played only 144 games in '05 and '06 combined and hit another 31.
• This year through 46 games he has 12, which is a pace for 42.

GRIFFEY:

• From 1989 to 1999 - 398 homers with a high of 56 in both 1997 and '98. He also hit 45 ('93), 48 ('99) and 49 ('96). That's an average of 36.18 HR/yr - over 6 more than Bonds.
• Since then - after injury - he's hit only 176 with a high of 35 in 2005.
• Injuries have robbed Junior of 435 games during that span.
• At the pace he hits them when healthy since 1999, Junior would still have hit another 107 homers. That would put him at 681 total - just 65 behind Bonds.
• If he "improves" like Bonds did after 1999 and his pace increased by the same number, Junior would have been hitting 49/year (Bonds went from 29.66 to 43, an increase of over 13/year)
• That would have put Junior at 343 since 1999, and a total of 741 - only 5 behind Bonds with five years on him chronologically.

So is Bonds juicing? What about Junior?

Here is a shot of Bonds in 1992.

Here's today.

Here is a pic of a 1992 Griffey baseball card.

Compare it to what he looks like today here Numbers would seem to indicate that Bonds=Yes and Griffey=No. If Junior were juicing with HGH or steroids, don't you think he'd be able to recover from the injuries he's suffered - or avoid them altogether as Bonds seemed to do until the BALCO report came out and he missed all of '05 and most of '06?Judge for yourself.

What Barry Bonds is doing to one of MLB's most hallowed records is a sham and a shame! He's far from the greatest slugger in the history of baseball, and really not even the greatest of his generation. Junior is a better hitter and slugger, and has done it without cheating.

Want further proof? Look at how Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's numbers declined late in their careers.

SOSA

• Before 1998, Sosa hit 207 homers in 10 MLB seasons (7 full seasons and 3 shortened either by minor league call-ups or injury). He had a season high of 40 to that point.
• From 1998 to 2002, Sosa hit 292 homers with a LOW of 49!
• Since then he's hit 99 in 3 1/2 seasons with a season high of 40 in 2003.

McGWIRE

• Before 1998, McGwire hit 387 homers in 12 MLB seasons (10 full with one lost to injury and one September call-up). He had a season high of 52 with another year of 49.
• From 1998 - 2001 (the end of his career) he hit 196 for an average of 49. In '00 and '01 he played a total of 186 games - barely over a full season - due to injury.
• His numbers declined due to injury those last two years - hitting 32 and 29 respectively.

Evidence would seem to suggest that both of these guys were "enhancing" their bodies (and subsequently their games) artificially.

Look at the differences in body shape and head size - eerily similar to Bonds.

Sosa 1990

Sosa 1998

Sosa 2004

McGwire 1991

McGwire 1998

I see this as evidence of cheating. You decide.

May 29, 2007

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and had an opportunity to reflect on why it's called "Memorial Day". I had a chance to explain things a bit to my 9 and 7-year olds, and I think (hope) they understood.

Anyway, with the Huskers making the NCAA draw and heading for Tempe (Ariz.) this week to battle for a regional championship, and with the Rays actually winning more than one game in a row, things are looking up!

That being said, I'm stealing my blog today from the poster RojoGrande from HuskersIllustrated.com's Red Sea Scrolls. This will further serve to explain just exactly how far things had fallen in Big Red Land under Frank Solich, and why Bill Callahan's nearly completed the turnaround.


The most important part of our recruiting. And a confession.

The most important part of our recruiting is how we rank compared to the rest of the Big 12-North.

National recruiting rankings lack meaning---simply because so few of those teams play one another. But you always play your conference teams.

For us…. handling the the Big 12-North is the most important part of getting to the Big 12 Championship game. Head-to-head recruiting results within the North matter.

Take a look.

Nebraska Recruiting Rank in the Big 12-North:

Callahan ’07: #1
Callahan ‘06: #1
Callahan ’05: #1
Callahan ’04: #2
--Nebraska #27---behind… #18 KSU
Solich ’03: #4
--Nebraska #42---behind... #19 Colorado, #28 Missouri, and #39 Kansas
Solich ’02: #5
--Nebraska #40---behind… #10 Colorado, #14 KSU, #29 Missouri, and #30 Iowa State.

The Bottom Line:1) “You won’t out-work Bill Callahan.” North teams feel the heat. The pressure to keep up is now relentlessly in place---year-after-year.

The productivity of Cally & Company is hard to match.

2) On Solich’s getting out-recruited by most North teams.... The hand-writing was on the wall.

Many of us chose to ignore it. We defended Frank to the end. I was among that group.

Loyalty is good….. Unless it’s blind.

Time and looking back help to clarify things...

Just some things to think about….

May 24, 2007

Elijah Dukes.... WTF!?!

I'm a Rays fan, and I want them to win badly. With Rocco Baldelli on the DL (again) and with how Dukes' bat has been heating up lately it sure would be nice to see him patrolling center field. However, if the allegations against him from his wife then the Rays need to cut ties immediately with him.

It's not exactly like Dukes has a spotless past, so the charges by his wife that he threatened her and her children's lives are believable. However unless she brings formal charges by filing a police report there is nothing the police can do.

St. Pete Times (2007.05.24)

Law enforcement officials, however, said they would not pursue
charges unless his estranged wife, NiShea Gilbert, filed a complaint, which she
reiterated Wednesday evening she does not intend to.

And unless Dukes were to be charged with a crime, it doesn't sound like the Rays will do much else. Their actions are limited because of an agreement between Major League Baseball and the players union, which has successfully overturned past disciplinary actions. The agreement also limits how the Rays can investigate Dukes.

Here's the problem. The Rays already have enough public relations problems without housing criminals on their roster.

• Their payroll is the lowest in baseball.
• They've got one of the worst records in baseball the last 10 years (their entire existence).
• Their former owner Vince Naimoli was a public relations nightmare in his own right.
• They let troubled former top pick Josh Hamilton go this spring and he's now tearing things up in Cincinnati.
• The highlight of their existence thus far is a FOURTH PLACE finish in 2005.

With his obvious talent (and the Hamilton experience) I can see why they'd be hesitant to dump Dukes hastily. However, Dukes' past shows a significant pattern of (shall we say?) 'questionable' behavior.

St. Pete Times again:

• According to court and law enforcement documents, Dukes has several arrests.
  Hillsborough deputies were called to break up a fight between Dukes and NiShea Gilbert on Dec. 8, 2003, shortly after the birth of their child. According to an arrest report, Dukes threw a remote control at Gilbert and was arrested on an assault charge. Formal charges were never filed.
• He was arrested again on Dec. 25, 2003, and accused of obstructing an officer without violence. Prosecutors allowed him to enter an intervention program.
• On Oct. 12, 2004, Dukes was charged with misdemeanor battery. The case was never prosecuted.
• He was arrested again on a charge of battery on Jan. 18, 2005. He did not contest the charge and the judge withheld adjudication, sentencing Dukes to one year probation and $549 fine.
• According to the Tampa Police Department, one of Dukes' ex-girlfriends filed a sworn request for prosecution against him on Jan. 24, 2005. The ex-girlfriend, Zanquesha L. Jefferson, told police that Dukes choked her with his right hand and forced her into a chair. He squeezed her cheeks while demanding a kiss, the records show. The outcome of the complaint could not be determined Wednesday.
• Dukes' most recent arrest was in January, when he was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession. He pleaded not guilty.

So will the Rays dump Dukes? Who knows? I think they'll risk alienating some fans if they don't, however legally there is no reason for them to cut him loose without official police involvement in the case. Unless Gilbert files a police report, Dukes will continue to be a Ray (for better or worse).

May 23, 2007

Big 12 baseball began today, and after watching Nebraska in person this season I began the day less than optimistic about their chances to win the tournament. Of course my concern was unwarranted, as the 'Skers used a better start from Tony Watson and solid relief from Matt Faust to overcome a potent Texas A&M lineup (and painful home plate umpiring) to post a 5-3 victory in Oklahoma City.


Less than a week after posting his shortest outing in a Husker uniform (1 2/3 innings), Watson pitched into the sixth inning. Faust allowed only one run on four hits (two infield singles) in 3 2/3 innings to finish the game.


What does the 1-0 start in the tournament mean for the Big Red? It probably ensures that they'll get a bid to a regional, but that was pretty much in the bag before today's game.

The big question is can they get a home regional? It's very doubtful unless they can win the tournament without a loss. They do have a strong RPI and their schedule strength has been rated the toughest in the nation at times, however 23 losses doesn't usually lead to a home regional. With a tournament sweep they would be 33-23 on the year.


Of course as Jim Rose said on the radio broadcast today, Bricktown Ballpark has been NU's "personal playground". After today's victory, the Huskers are 24-4 in tournament play there.

More important than a home regional would be the momentum that could be gained from winning the tournament or even just advancing to the title game. That would likely mean beating Texas, which would be a tremendous confidence boost to the team. Baseball can be a funny game, and a team on a roll in May/June is a good thing to have!

Will we be looking at this type of celebration at the end of the weekend? Who knows?

NU now advances to face No. 8 seed Kansas State at 7:30 PM CDT Thursday before taking on top-seeded Texas at 1:00 Saturday.