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I am beginning to wonder if the bad news is ever going to stop coming from the University of Maine... Today's News: In a press conference yesterday in Orono, UMaine president Fred Hutchinson supported Mike Plosek, Maine's AD, who has been suspended without pay for the upcoming week. As Steve T reported earlier, Woody Carville accused Plosek of trying to coverup the latest fiasco in Orono in a story in the Maine Sunday Telegram. Today's Portland Press Herald prints a copy of both memos Carville sent to Plosek, and a chronology of the events in the case since Wednesday, February 16, the date on which one of Carville's assistants found the error. I am not going to take up a lot of space by posting the memos in their entirety, I'll just summarize, if anyone wants to read the memos, I'll be glad to email them to you. First, the chronology of events: On 2/16 one of Woody Carville's assistants discovered the infraction and reported it to Carville. The following day Carville informed Plosek of the incident. Plosek immediately informed Hutchinson, who told Plosek "to investigate the extent of the problem and look into possible remedies". On Friday the 18th (while the UMaine hockey team is in Boston, preparing to play BU) Carville claims that Plosek told him that the matter was being handled "in-house", and that "there was no need to get anyone else involved" Carville says that he informed Plosek that two of the five athletes in question (including Pat Tardif) were about to play during the weekend, and claims that he tolf Plosek that not informing the NCAA of the violations immediately would be "professional suicide". Later in the day, Plosek and Hutchinson met with George Jacobsen, UMaine's NCAA faculty representative. According to Hutchinson, it was still unclear as to whether or not NCAA rules had been broken and Plosek was told to continue persuing the issue and report back to Hutchinson on Tuesday. This is the date on which Carville's first memo is dated (again, this is not the entire memo, only portions of it):This violation occured because I utilized the the number of hours of registration to be a University minimum full-time load, rather than the NCAA requirement. Each week (we) check the printout listing hours of registration for each student, but because the first week was inaccurately checked, the mistake perpetuated each week. I realize the ramifications of this violation, especially in light of our other violations and will accept complete responsibility for the mistake. Do you want me to draft a letter to the NCAA? end of memo On Saturday, February 19 Hutchinson told a group of business and opinion leaders from throughout the state that "yet another serious issue" was facing the UMaine athletic department, but he said he could not disclose details pending resolution of the matter. [Ed. note: This is what Hutchinson considers to be a key part of Plosek's and Hutchinson's defense against the "cover-up" charge by Carville. "This is not a statement that anyone would ever make if they were contemplating a coverup" I would agree with that.] Also, Carville's second memo is dated Saturday the 19th, this is where Carville claims "Mike, you immediately gave me the impression that you were hesitating about a self-report" to the NCAA. He also says that he "reminded you [Plosek] that Patrice [Tardif] and Allison [Lowell], both competing this weekend, were both under registered and should not compete". On Monday the 21st, Carville presented Plosek with the two memos. Then, on Tuesday the 22nd, Plosek admitted to Hutchinson and Jacobsen that he had failed to prevent the two ineligible players from competing over the weekend. [Plosek himself described this as a "bonehead" move] On the 23rd, Carville met with Robert Whelen, Hutchinson's executive assistant, to discuss the violations. Whelen told Carville that Hutchinson had been briefed on the problem. On February 24th, Hutchinson and Plosek met with Carville, who was told the violations would be reported to the NCAA, and that he was being removed as the compliance officer. Later, Plosek announced his own one-week suspension without pay at a newsconference. And on Saturday the 26th, Carville accused Plosek of contemplating a coverup and knowingly playing ineligible athletes. Everyone follow that? I think I need a flow chart or something. It looks like it is going to take some time to piece together who is telling the truth and who is trying to protect his hide. I feel bad for my friends who are still working in the UMaine athletic department (including the assistant who uncovered the mistake) because this reflects badly on all of them, when only a few people are at fault. I am not going to pass judgement on Plosek or Carville yet, because I am sure there will be another headline tomorrow with even more disturbing information from Orono. I still believe that President Hutchinson is going to do whatever it takes to clean up the program, but it may take longer than we had been hoping. For the record, the chronology posted was printed in the Portland Press Herald today, and was compiled from both the chronology which Hutchinson gave the media at a press conference last night, and from the interview conducted with Carville on Saturday. I have to leave on a positive note, it is now almost 99% guaranteed that the Wonder Twins (aka Chris and Peter Ferraro) will be back this week for UMaine. According to the AP report in the PPH, both are enrolled in classes and plan to attend. And thats the news from Black Bear Country. John Forsyth The Scandals in Orono: They keep coming and coming and coming and coming (Enter the Energizer Bunny)