MONEY MATTERS

Patrick Creighton: What Is the FBI really looking for in NCAA probe?

Patrick Creighton: What Is the FBI really looking for in NCAA probe?
Sean Miller's name has come up in FBI probe. Wikipedia

This is something that has been bothering me since the first reports of the FBI investigating college basketball began to surface: Why does the FBI care about the NCAA?

The FBI, normally completely tight lipped in an investigation, has suddenly sprung more leaks than the Titanic.  We continue to get more and more leaked information regarding coaches, players, universities, shoe company execs, etc. The common thread:  Andy Miller, Christian Dawkins, and ASM Sports.

As more stories leak about athletes being paid money to A) become a future client of ASM B) become a future client of Adidas C) align with a particular financial planner D) attend a particular university or E) all of the above, one thing remains clear here.  None of these actions are illegal, so why is the FBI involved?

An agent can pay an athlete, advance an athlete, loan money to an athlete, whatever language you want to use, whatever money they want.  It’s not illegal. In fact, today on Nate & Creight we had longtime agent Carl Poston on the show, and he confirmed as much.  So if these actions are not illegal, they are just NCAA violations, why is the FBI wasting taxpayer dollars acting as the NCAA’s watchdog?

Poston said he believed the FBI was gathering information.  What potential one-and-done kid is getting a payday to attend what school hardly seems like something that should be the FBI’s concern.  Then he raised a point that at first didn’t seem to matter but the more I thought about it, the more it did.  There’s a lot of kids, a lot of coaches, and A LOT of money.

Poston then gave the example of if you falsify documents on a loan, you break laws.  If the money gets wired interstate, its federal law being broken.  Again, my first reaction was “Adidas doesn’t need to take out a loan to pay anyone,” but what if all the money wasn’t coming straight from Adidas?

What if the money was coming from ASM?  Where did they get the money?  Did they take out short term loans that were obtained using falsified information?  Did they skim off the top? Did they use money that belonged to other clients or to investors without their consent? Did they employ a host of other illicit or illegal maneuvers to obtain those funds?

The most recent bombshell news involved University of Arizona head coach Sean Miller allegedly discussing making a $100K payment to an athlete who eventually came to play ball for Miller at Arizona on a wiretap.  The wiretap was ordered on Dawkins’ phone. Therefore, it’s Dawkins, Andy Miller, and ASM Sports that are the real targets in the probe, and the NCAA guys are collateral damage.

There are some people already facing wire fraud charges by the FBI, and based on what we know right now, there’s probably very little chance those charges really stick, because again, the show company or the agency transferring money to these athletes is only an NCAA violation, it isn’t breaking a law. How that payment money has been obtained has been the quiet part of the case.

While realistically we can only speculate on what the FBI is really doing with this NCAA probe, peeling the onion back shows this isn’t really an NCAA probe, but an ASM Sports probe. The only real legal issue seems to be the money trail.

We have all been looking at NCAA coaches and athletes and trying to see where the money trail ends.  Maybe the FBI is looking at where that money trail begins?

Patrick Creighton is the host of Nate & Creight heard weekdays 1-3p on SportsMap 94.1 FM & Sports & Shenanigans Sundays 12-5p CT nationwide on SB Nation Radio.  Follow him on Twitter: @pcreighton1

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The Texans will look to get back on track this Sunday against the Colts. Composite Getty Image.

C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are looking for answers after their passing game couldn’t get going in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Houston’s passing attack had been a strength all season, and the Texans ranked fifth in yards passing per game through their first six games. But on Sunday at Lambeau Field, Stroud was limited to a career-low 86 yards in the 24-22 loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak.

Stroud was 10 of 21 and didn’t have a touchdown pass for the first time this season. The second-year player was under duress for much of the day and was sacked four times and hit seven other times.

“We have to go back to the drawing board and see what those issues were,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “As we watch the film, we’ll see what happened, starting for me the communication and just guys being on the details of the job.”

The Texans scored a season-high 41 points in a win over New England a week earlier in which Stroud threw a season-best three touchdown passes despite being without star receiver Nico Collins.

They were unable to replicate that success Sunday with Collins out for the second of at least four games after a hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve.

Stefon Diggs led the team with five receptions against the Packers, but they only amounted to 23 yards. Tank Dell, who the Texans expected to step up with Collins out, was targeted four times but didn’t have a catch.

Stroud discussed the importance of getting Dell more involved in the offense.

“We have to find a way to try and get him the rock early and often and then go from there,” he said. “It has to be a focus for us, not only just him, but the whole offense clicking early. That is really my job to get the ball out on time and to where it is supposed to go. So yeah, that definitely has to be fixed.”

Ryans spoke about his confidence is getting Dell going.

What's working

The Texans have forced seven turnovers combined in their last two games after they hadn’t caused any in their previous three games.

Houston scored 16 points off three turnovers Sunday. The Texans had two interceptions and recovered a fumble on a punt. In their win over the Patriots, they scored 17 points off a season-high four turnovers.

What needs help

The Texans won’t get to where they want to be this season if Stroud doesn’t get back on track. Before Sunday, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year was averaging more than 262 yards passing a game, giving the team confidence that the problems in the passing game are fixable.

Ryans knows the line must give Stroud more time to throw and said the coaching staff will focus on improving in that area this week.

Stock up

RB Joe Mixon continued to shine Sunday in his second game back after missing three games with an ankle injury. Mixon, who is in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati, had 25 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay.

Mixon is confident the Texans will rebound this week if they quit making mistakes.

“Does it look I’m worried? I’m not worried at all,” he said. “Like I said, we got a ... good football team. At the end of the day, we are our own worst enemy.”

Stock down

Dell was unable to help Stroud get the passing game going. The second-year player had a solid rookie season with 709 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg. But he hasn’t been able to build on that success this year and has just 194 yards receiving with one score in six games.

Injuries

LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), LB Henry To’oTo’o (concussion), CB Kamari Lassiter (shoulder) and S Jimmie Ward (groin) all missed Sunday’s game and it’s unclear if any of these starters can return this week.

Key number

3 — Safety Calen Bullock had his third interception Sunday to tie Dunta Robinson and Jumal Rolle for most interceptions by a rookie in franchise history through the first seven games. He leads NFL rookies in interceptions this season and is tied for third-most among all players.

Next steps

The AFC South-leading Texans (5-2) return to division play Sunday when they host the second-place Colts (4-3), who have won two in a row and four of five.

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