The University of Michigan football sign-stealing scandal is back in the news. The Detroit Lions are back in training camp with high hopes. And the high-flying Detroit Tigers are suddenly slumping.
Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined host Doug Tribou to discuss those stories on Morning Edition.
Doug Tribou: The commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, Tony Petitti, says the University of Michigan's football program should not get any additional punishment for its sign-stealing scandal in 2023.
Petitti sent a letter to the NCAA Committee on Infractions in June. This is according to reporting done by ESPN and the Associated Press that was published this week. He made the case in that letter that when the Big Ten suspended then coach Jim Harbaugh for three games in 2023, that was enough. What stands out to you about all of this news?
John U. Bacon: Well, the overall silliness of this nonstop saga, that's one thing. But two, this is a powerful letter from a powerful guy with no particular power over the situation. But it does say that the Big Ten is done punishing Michigan. It does say that Petitti is done fighting with Michigan, and it probably suggests that the TV rights behind it, Fox, etc. kind of want this whole thing to go away. That's my guess.
"This is not Watergate. This should not be that hard to adjudicate."John U. Bacon on the NCAA's ongoing investigation into sign-stealing by the University of Michigan football program in 2023
DT: The NCAA still has not issued its final ruling and doesn't have to abide by any recommendations from the conference. And also, Michigan is still expected to suspend current head coach Sherrone Moore for two games in the upcoming season. That's because Moore deleted his text messages with Conner Stalions, the Michigan staffer who worked on the sign stealing.
The NCAA will now have to decide if that self-imposed sanction is enough to address the allegations that Moore failed to cooperate with the NCAA investigation. What do you make of that aspect of this story?
JUB: Well, we're down to nobody knows anything. The NCAA can do whatever it wants, as you point out. There's no real sentencing guidelines here, so that's another issue as well. Charlie Baker, the president of the NCAA, did say at one point that nobody believes at this point that Michigan did not win the national title fair and square. It seems pretty unlikely they're going to lose wins based on that comment. But again, they could do anything.
And what is striking also is how long the whole thing has taken. This is not Watergate. This should not be that hard to adjudicate. And, you know, it's July 25th right now, for crying out loud [Laughs].
DT: [Laughs] Also might be a sign that Charlie Baker hasn't been to Columbus, Ohio recently.
JUB: Or perhaps East Lansing [Laughs].
DT: The Lions are in training camp. They started a little early this summer because Detroit's scheduled to face the Los Angeles Chargers in the Hall of Fame game on July 31. That's a preseason game in Canton, Ohio.
The Lions have seemed especially focused under coach Dan Campbell over the last few years, and this year their goal is the same as last year: get to the Super Bowl and win it. How do you like their chances after the team's best regular season ever last season, which was followed by a weak showing in the playoffs?
JUB: Well, they're still quite good. They're ranked fifth right now in the Las Vegas odds. But as you and I have discussed, a lot of changes. The offensive line, as Shawn Windsor wrote in a great Detroit Free Press column, they've got a rookie at center, a second-year starter at left guard, and a veteran trying to regain his form at right guard. Other than that, they should be great. [Laughs] So, there's your problem.
Second of all, they've got a lot of new coaches. A new offensive coordinator, John Morton, a new — how about this title — passing game coordinator, that's David Shaw, the former Stanford University head coach. So those changes could be significant as well. The main thing they've got to do is what they did not do last year... and that is stay healthy for the playoffs.
DT: The Tigers have been in a long skid. The team had a six-game losing streak that wrapped around the Major League Baseball All-Star break. Then they won one. Then they were swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates this week in a three-game series. They're still in first place in their division, but what's going on with this team lately?
JUB: Good question. It's what we said earlier this summer when they were winning. The Tigers are 7th in pitching and 10th in hitting. So how are they the top team in the major leagues for most of the summer? They know how to win games. They know how to win games by one run and lose them by five. And that's how you are the top team with those stats.
So the question now is: are they simply coming back down to earth, or do they have the magic still in them and this is just a bad streak?
Editor's notes: Some quotes in this article have been edited slightly for length and clarity. You can play the audio of the full interview near the top of the page.
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