*Not really 37. But a lot.
Merry Christmas from your local tattoo parlor. Supposedly...allegedly....the latest Internet rumor is....anywhere from 7-10 Ohio State players, to include QB Terrelle Pryor and RB Daniel "Boom" Herron might have run afoul with the NCAA by allowing their pictures, jerseys, and autographs to be displayed at a local Columbus tattoo parlor in exchange for some free ink.
If true, I'm sure the NCAA punishment will be swift and harsh. In the past, Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant lost 4 games in what turned out to be his final season of eligibility over eesentially the same thing. Just substitute "game jersey" with "tattoo" and you've pretty much got exactly what we have going on here. Allegedly. The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that there could be some sort of punishment, and it could range anywhere from suspensions for the Sugar Bowl to delaying the punishment until the start of the 2011 season.
I don't claim to know the innerworkings of the NCAA and their archaic, ridiculous, and completely arbitrary way to mete out punishment, and there's no conclusive proof that something wrong has happened here.
I find it hard to believe that there will be any punishment, because the NCAA has already set the monetary floor for suspensions at $180,000. Well, it's actually higher than that, because Cam Newton is still playing, so it's at least $180,000 in illegal gifts before the NCAA will care. And there's no way this beats that.
Right?