Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Former Louisville assistant Dino Gaudio’s final play may cost him two years in federal prison

Dino Gaudio’s last play as a coach might cost him more than a basketball game!

“I’ll sue ’em! That’s what I’ll do!” mutters almost everyone fired from a job they enjoyed.

When Louisville assistant basketball coach Dino Gaudio was told to pack a box after a disappointing season season ended in March, he did more than mutter.

Gaudio met with Louisville officials and allegedly told them he would release information to the media detailing NCAA violations that included hype videos for recruits produced by the university if he was not paid at full salary for an additional 17 months.  Later, Gaudio allegedly sent a text message that crossed state lines containing one of the videos to Louisville personnel.

Not only did Louisville possess the damning text message, they recorded the exit interview with Gaudio.

Oops!

The crossing state lines part of the equation turned this into sordid error in judgment into a federal extortion charge, and so Gaudio is facing up to two years in federal prison.

Thinking about the punitive measures that can be taken against a former employer is common. Executing a hastily planned deal to extort money from an employer that runs its own lawyer farm is a different issue.

According to comments from Gaudio’s attorney Brian Butler, it appears he has learned his lesson:

“When he was not renewed, he was hurt, he became angry, and in the course of that he made statements he regrets.”

“Unfortunately, those statements were taped, and he was not given an opportunity to walk them back. They were turned over to law enforcement. Coach Gaudio takes full responsibility for his actions and lack of judgment and the statements he made in a very heated situation. He apologies to his family and friends for his actions and hopes that everyone will consider his 40 years of good and all the contributions he has made.”

Hopefully, contrition keeps Gaudio out of the pokey.  Federal prison is no place for a former coach to spend the first two years of his retirement.

Kwame Brown goes on the attack and turns his formerly modest IG and YT feeds into click farms!

Kwame Brown has figured out how sports media works – insanity plays, for a while.

There is nothing quite like untethered lunacy on social media, and Kwame Brown – the #1 pick of the 2001 NBA Draft – is giving us a bunch of it this week on his Instagram and YouTube feeds.

Brown evidently has had enough of being belittled as the poster boy for draft busts in the media, and is engaging with those who have the temerity to diss him publicly.

If you are offended by anger and profanity, I would stay away from the videos.  Hell, even I was offended by his language, and I am rarely offended by anything.  Because of his temperament and extreme profanity, I won’t post a link here.  You can find it easily elsewhere if you choose to.

Despite a relatively lackluster 12-year career, Brown was able to cobble together $64 million in income.  Responsibly managed, that kind of cabbage buys a lot of things – cars, homes, free time, and a life without oversight.

Minus a boss, there is no immediate consequence for profane vitriol, so Brown can go on his various feeds at his leisure to scream the n-word and threaten media personalities and former players with violence.  No one has given Brown a moment’s thought in the eight years since his basketball career ended – until this week when he went off the rails.

While there is no question his choice of words is suspect, there is a raw honesty to his societal critiques that rings a significant bell.  That ringing is drawing eyes, ears, and clicks.  I just finished watching Kwame live on YouTube along with 4,000 others.  Be the end of the day, that number will likely top 100K – roughly 40% of the viewers for a good day on ESPN’s Get UP!

That’s the way our media society works these days.  Outrage is fun to watch.  Kwame going haywire and threatening to slap ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is very tasty eye candy.

But here is what will happen.  Because Brown is suddenly being watched, someone is going to offer him money to work for their company.  Then he will have a boss who doesn’t want to be held responsible for aberrant behavior and potentially actionable rants.  There will be a meeting where Brown is told to back off the threats and habitual n-word use.  People will stop watching because he will evolve into a clone of every other non-offensive former player who wants fat media cash.

That’s the sports media cycle of life, and Brown is about to take a short spin on that merry-go-round.

 

Hope has come to Bloomington with Mike Woodson, and I can’t help but buy in!

Mike Woodson is the answer to IU fans’ dreams. He is an Indiana player coming back to Indiana to coach

Indiana Basketball fans are living in a dream world where everything is just the way it should be, and none of us wants to wake up.

At least once a week there is great news about the direction of the program.  First, the firing of Archie Miller was celebrated because he was clearly a bad fit and had the lack of NCAA Tournament invitations to prove it.  Some wonderful donor coughed up the cash to buyout Miller’s contract, and the boil was finally lanced.

Next came word that athletic director Scott Dolson was preparing a monster offer to lure Brad Stevens away from the Boston Celtics.  Brad was able to lead Butler to back-to-back national championship games, grew up an IU fan, and played at Zionsville High School and DePauw University.  He was the perfect fit, except for the fact he did not want the job.  That was fine because the next piece of news was that IU legend Mike Woodson was Plan B.

Woodson scored more than 2,000 points for Bob Knight, maintained a great relationship with his mentor, and is an Indiana native who attended Broad Ripple High School.  He also played and coached in the NBA for most of the past 40 years.  He understands the modern player while also demanding consistent effort.  he was seen immediately as the perfect hire because that belief was a lot more fun than assuming the opposite – again.

Shortly after Woodson unpacked, All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis announced he would remain in Bloomington for his junior season.  Teammates followed suit, although Armaan Franklin, Al Durham, and Joey Brunk decided to transfer.  Woodson locked down five-star recruit Tamar Bates, who was recently released from his National Letter of Intent to attend Texas.  Pitt transfer Xavier Johnson pledged, and was followed yesterday by Michael Durr – a seven-footer who had a cup of coffee at Virginia Tech after transferring from South Florida.

Shortly after Woodson was hired, Indiana alum and fan favorite Dane Fife was hired away from Tom Izzo and Michigan State.  Fife has long been viewed as a very acceptable head coach candidate with a strong tether to the Knight era.

Last week, junior Jerome Hunter was asked to vacate the premises.  IU fans used to call that “Creaning,” and when namesake Tom ran the program, it was frowned upon.  Now that Woodson is the coach, fans see it as a return to Indiana-level discipline.  “Set expectations, enforce expectations, issue meaningful consequences,” is the Indiana way!

We don’t know exactly what happened with Hunter, who was briefly suspended in early February for what at the time was described by Miller as a lack of focus.  Fans see Hunter’s ouster as a sign that the dog is again wagging the tail in Bloomington, rather than the other way around.

Of course, we don’t know if any of these changes will result in a single additional win, and while no one weeps for Miller, he is likely not the wretched leader he is painted to be compared to Woodson, who has yet to lead a college team to a single win.  We should also remember he has yet to lose a single game either.

Hey, I’m as over the moon as anyone as we discuss IU Basketball’s future under Woodson.  Johnson and Bates are going to be All-Americans, Jackson-Davis will be the Big 10 Player of the Year, and Woodson will remind everyone of all the good Knight brought to IU without any of the self-indulgent baggage.

Indiana fans are so starved for a reason to hope that every single change over the past two months, including Miller being told to pack a box has been viewed as a reason to place a bulk order for banner fabric.

I keep trying to tell myself to slow my roll, take a deep breath, and allow Woodson to take the time needed to rebuild a program dormant for the majority of the past 20 seasons, but I refuse to listen.

Like thousands of other Indiana fans, I am having way too much fun.  Reality will assert itself soon enough.  Why hurry it along?

Carson Wentz rebuild will be glorious, if Colts follow Philip Rivers recipe

Carson Wentz doesn’t need to be the best QB in the NFL for the Colts to win – just on par with Philip Rivers.

Philip Rivers was old, immobile, and coming off what appeared to be a season that signaled his big slide into irrelevance.  The Colts signed him to a one-year, $25 million deal, and I was very skeptical.

In 2019, Rivers threw 20 interceptions and was sacked 34 times.  The Chargers finished that year 5-11.  Why would general manager Chris Ballard and Frank Reich scoop Rivers up off the side of the road hoping he could lead them back to the playoffs?  It didn’t make sense.

As Rivers turned 39 during the 2020 season, he put up numbers (over 4,000 yards passing and a QBR of 62 while throwing only 11 ints and taking 19 sacks for fewer negative yards than any year in his career) that were representative of the kind of quarterback he had always been – durable, efficient, and smart.  The Colts earned an 11-5 record, played the Buffalo Bills tough during a playoff loss, and validated Rivers as the right signing despite his wayward final season with the Chargers in 2019.

There are a lot of people who feel similar skepticism about Carson Wentz as the replacement for Philip Rivers.  I am not among them, despite Wentz’s terrible 2020 season.  And make no mistake about it – Wentz was brutal as he Led the NFL in interceptions with 15 and sacks with 50 despite playing only 12 games.  The Eagles were a dismal 3-8-1 with Wentz as a starter.

If Wentz’s 2020 sack and pick numbers are replicated, the Colts will be lucky to win five games, but some of those wretched stats were caused by multiple injuries to the Eagles offensive line and wide receiver corps.  That’s not to excuse Wentz for all of the Eagles offensive misery in 2020, but it does provide context as to why Ballard and Reich feel last season was an aberration.

Here are four other reasons for Colts front office optimism (and thus mine):

  • Wentz is only 28.
  • Reich was the offensive coordinator for Wentz’s best season.  In 2017, Wentz led the Eagles to an 11-2 record as a starter and put up MVP type numbers before suffering a season-ending injury.  That season ended with a Super Bowl win.
  • The following two seasons (2018 and 2019), Wentz was still good.  His QBR was a in the 62s during both years – good for a ranking of 12th and 11th among NFL starters.
  • Wentz is not going to be expected to carry the entire load.  The Colts were very balanced last year, ranking 11th in both passing and rushing yards.  With Jonathan Taylor entering his second season and Marlon Mack returning, the Colts promise to be even better running the football.  Wentz should be able to take fewer risks – as did Rivers in 2020.

There are potential complications that could hamper Wentz’s success, such as recently signed free agent left tackle Eric Fisher not being available when the season begins, T.Y. Hilton getting older, and Parris Campbell‘s fragility, but overall Ballard and Reich have earned a little trust with how well Rivers worked out during his final season.  The schedule is quite a bit tougher too with interdivisional games against six of the top eight teams in the league (according to power rankings published by The Athletic).

The deck isn’t stacked against the Colts because they compete against other flawed teams in the AFC South.  The Texans and Jaguars are among the NFL’s worst teams, and the Titans appear on paper to have taken a step back.

Whether or not Wentz gets back to his 2017 level is unimportant.  What he needs to do is manage the offense, muck plays when necessary, and avoid drive-ending, game-changing mistakes as the Colts bludgeon AFC South opponents and go .500 against the other 11 teams on their schedule.

That would put the Colts at 11-6 or 12-5 and make Wentz the favorite to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year.