The audience learns about Boston Colleges rival Holy Cross and its huge significance to the players and the alumni. He said he would have done that if the sides were reversed. I was nervous because I didnt know what was going to happen. I never lied about that. Boston College's basketball team ended their 197879 season with a 229 record. The Globe would later admit that they were wrong in reporting that Bowie was involved, after he was not implicated nor investigated by the federal government for any role in the scandal. Burke was sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment. Hes also jumping on the scandals latest publicity wave to tout Mike, the SpongeBob-like sports cartoon character whose online life includes links to the NFL Shop, NBA Store and other merchandise outlets. Kuhn was thus expected to keep the score below the six- to seven-point margin. Hill gave up everybody including the players involved. For the conspiracy to work, the men knew they would need the cooperation of other players on the team, according to the testimony of Henry Hill, a convicted felon and the key prosecution witness. Theyd taken my passport and I had to stay here and face these charges, said Cobb. would play a few games each year, Cobb was awash with emotions. Fake cannabis billionaire pleads guilty to securities fraud. His girlfriend, whom hed met during his first week on campus, was an upperclassman that knew how to navigate the schools academic landscape. They couldnt stop him. At one point, he said accepted $500 from Kuhn, but only to give the illusion of cooperating in the scheme. The mobsters Paul Mazzei and Henry Hill met in a nearby jail stayed in touch after serving their time. This scene gives the audience insight into the type of person Henry Hill was and how hard it was to testify against someone like Burke. Burkes gang had just successfully pulled off the Lufthansa airport heist at New Yorks JFK airport, where theyd stolen an estimated $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewels, the largest cash robbery in America at the time. Seven schools and more than 30 players were implicated in the 1951 probe; more than 20 schools were involved in the 1961 incidents. hoops that blazed a trail, Mills continued. Sweeney agreed to cooperate claiming he was forced to help with the fix, Kuhn came clean about the whole operation, and Cobb was cut from the Nets after the FBI visited him despite him not having any real information. Alswanger, my high school coach inspired me to rise above my circumstances, he continued. They said they were trying like hell but they couldnt get the job done because Cobb was the key man on the team., After Boston College beat Holy Cross 89-87 in the first game between the two schools that season, Hill said in SI, Well, B.C. He said Hill told him he was backed by powerful interests in New York, and he was afraid of what might happen to him if he refused to cooperate. But, as Sweeney points out, the government didnt need to prove that point shaving actually happened, just that a conspiracy to shave them had. I cooperated willingly, and Im glad I did, Sweeney says. Heading into his senior season in 1978-1979, as the team captain, Cobb was hoping that he could lead his team to the NCAA Tournament. Sweeney took out one of those little schedule cards, circled the games he thought we could fool around with, and gave the card to me. Keeping Score: Close Shave. Greenfield Recorder, Greenfield Recorder, 27 Apr. Of course, of course I was upset, but what could I do? For all I know, he told them I was in, that it would cost an extra $2,500 per game and he was trying to hustle the gangsters while pocketing the extra money. The scheme was conceived by Rocco Perla and his brother Anthony in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the summer of 1978. I was so thankful, and was willing to work as hard as I possibly could, both in my studies, and in basketball, to be able to get the most I could out of the experience.. Cobb, for his part, was tried for conspiracy and acquitted. After perhaps his greatest moment during the preseason, when he had that outstanding game against the Celtics right before the regular season tipped off, Cobb was relaxing in his hotel room when he heard a knock at the door. Today, Cobbs relationship with Boston College remains strained. Burke, through Hill, would front the money to pay the players, forwarding the money through Mazzei and the Perla brothers. The audience is left to make their own judgment on how involved Sweeney and Cobb were in the fixes, but Sweeney missing a free throw when he is the best in the nation is some serious evidence of his involvement. Rick Kuhn during Boston College men's basketball's 1977-1978 season. Said Hill, "He wanted me to fly up to Boston. At the close of the two-week trial, Alswanger was the last character witness who took the stand in Cobbs behalf. Kuhn agreed to participate, and brought in his teammate Jim Sweeney.[1]. Rocco Perla and Kuhn were high-school classmates. Teammate Rick Kuhn, a former minor league baseball player with connections to small-time Pittsburgh mobsters, conspired with the mobsters to initiate the point-shaving Boston College was favored by twelve to thirteen points, but won the game by only a three-point margin, 8683. I understand that they want to disassociate themselves from the scandal. Hes made a prosperous living in the computer and electronics business - his small independent brokerage that sold parts and accessories to manufacturers did over $50 million in annual revenue at its peak - all while playing competitive basketball around the world into his 50s. A fitness fanatic who augmented his training by swimming and riding his bicycle very long distances, Cobb hopped on his ten-speed shortly after the indictment was announced and began pedaling. Burke had Hill fly to Boston on November 16, 1978, to meet with Mazzei, Kuhn, Tony Perla, and any other member of the Eagles team interested in participating in their scheme. Early on, before the season got underway, Cobb says that he was approached by a man from Pittsburgh named Rocco Perla, who hed seen hanging around campus with his teammate, senior forward Rick Kuhn. Sweeney, who went on a year later to win the Naismith Award as college basketballs top player under six feet tall, says he was initially recruited into the fix by Kuhn without his knowledge and that he never intentionally threw an errant pass, missed a shot or did anything else to alter a game. His testimony essentially corroborated that of Hill, who went into witness protection. Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Netflix wants to hire a flight attendant for one of its private jets, and says pay can reach $385,000, according to a job listing on the streaming service's website. This is important because it shows how it was a poorly run operation. Ernie, and anybody who truly knew him, who knew about his character and what type of young man he was, we were all heartbroken. He took advantage of an opportunity that surfaced when a pro team from Israel offered him a spot on their roster. In papers made public Monday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, Kuhn's attorney argued his client's sentence was 'excessive,' and should be reduced because Kuhn has been cooperating with prosecutors in the case. We have decided to cover the most scandalous of all 30-for-30s, Playing for the Mob. Kuhn, who ultimately served four years in prison for conspiracy and racketeering, hatched a plan with Hill associates Tony Perla, his brother Rocco Perla, and Paul Mazzei to shave points - losing by more than the point spread or winning by less than the point spread - in several BC games between December 1978 and March 1979. NEW YORK -- Former Boston College basketball player Rick Kuhn, jailed for his 1981 conviction in a point-shaving scandal, has asked for a reduction of his 10-year Its the same crew that had a connection to BC basketball player Rick Kuhn, who hailed from the area. But Im so proud of him because he picked his life back up and made the best of it. The Providence game was played on December 6, 1978, and Boston College was favored to win by six to seven points. Web197879 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team. Whats striking about the point shaving scandal from the perspective of 35 years is how different, i.e. ESPN The December 16 game against Harvard was chosen as the second test for the scheme. You realize that you cant play if you dont do this. Theyre no match for us. He told me, Well good, I plan on betting on those games and if you guys win and it turns out like that, Ill take care of you., Man, I was one of the most recognizable athletes on campus and people would come up and talk to me all the time, people I didnt know, Cobb continued. Other notable players selected in that draft included Sidney Moncrief, Bill Laimbeer, Bill Cartwright, Mark Eaton and Jim Paxson. Theres never been any mob money riding on the outcomes, as far as anyone knows. The structure includes a minute-by-minute analysis, a slow-motion capture of the climax of the story, and a bolded narrative that gives the article structure. In the 1979 NBA Draft, Magic Johnson was the first overall pick of the Los Angeles Lakersafter leading Michigan State University to the National Championship over Larry Birds Indiana State team. He traveled throughout the world, getting paid to play the game that he loved. The Texas woman who owned the ring thought she had misplaced it, but it was actually stolen and admitted as evidence in a 1986 drug trial. Cmon, you can do it. She was a remarkable individual that helped me so much, in terms of establishing the study and work habits that allowed me to be successful in the classroom.. Whats going on? He hugged his tearful mother before walking out into the hallway for a few moments. The government also contended Kuhn tried to recruit other players, including the team's leading scorer, Ernie Cobb, and Hill said in an article in Sports Illustrated -- for which he was paid $10,000 -- that he made payments to Cobb for his cooperation. 30 Years After His Exoneration, Former BC Hoops Star Ernie Cobb Is Still Fighting to Clear His Name Pt. Playing for the Mob: The Story of College Kids Breaking Bad Hill revealed his involvement in the point-shaving scheme, offering to relate the full story if federal officials would guarantee him full immunity and would agree to intercede on his behalf to convince state officials to drop the drug charges pending in state court. The prosecution contended that the scheme was intended to enable the five men to win large sums of money by betting on the games and beating bookmakers' point spreads. And as black kids who loved ball in Boston, he represented something for us, giving the younger generation something to aspire toin terms of their basketball skillsbecause he was putting in some serious work.. My family has suffered. He tried to subsist as a substitute teacher, and even caddied at the Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, the affluent suburbs where hed previously been arrested for stealing bikes as a kid. The six games figuring in the point-shaving case were Boston College against Providence, Dec. 6; Harvard, Dec. 16; UCLA, Dec. 23; Fordham, Feb. 3; St. John's, Feb. 6, and Holy Cross, Feb. 10. now all well past their primes after serving their time, including the gangster Ray Burke instructed Hill to warn the players to keep to their end of the deal because "you can't play basketball with broken hands.". The Eagles managed to lose by 22 points, 10381, with the syndicate winning its bet. Im not angry at the school. I was like, You gotta be kidding me! Jim Sweeney and Rick Kuhns names werent mentioned anywhere. less serious, the aftermath was compared to the fallout that would occur today. Im going off on the basketball court, scoring like crazy, the gamblers are losing their shirts, and they start talking about, We have to have Cobb. Anybody thats ever seen me play knows that I was only stuck in one gear, and that was super-charged-turbo! The film goes on to show how nobody really made a lot of money from the fix. This offers a students perspective of how they never thought their team could have been fixing teams. ESPNs 30-for-30 sports documentary series is many of our last hopes at seeing historic events from our favorite sports. The syndicate was very happy with this result, and Kuhn was given cash to distribute to the players for their efforts. 197879 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal. Edward A. McDonald, who coincidentally had graduated from Boston College in 1968 and who had played briefly on the basketball team, prosecuted the case.[2]. I loved it in Israel, the fans loved me and the people were so beautiful. Rick Kuhn was an older player who was friends with Sweeney and a tough, street smart kid with a different upbringing than Sweeney. We werent really checking for B.C. The Perla brothers mobilized a betting syndicate to maximize their potential gain from the scheme. Just by being there, Id already reached success beyond my wildest dreams. I had my own place to live and all the food I wanted to eat. It creates suspense as Hill is a mess on the stand and can barely speak under the pressure of snitching on his friends. So I guess the thought process was, Well, if there were criminal activities going on, it had to be the brothers! My name and picture, and Michael Bowies as well, was on the front page of every newspaper in the country.. The film begins by showcasing the classic movie Goodfellas and how this story is all wrapped up in the real-life events that inspired the movie. All Kuhn had to do was ensure that the Eagles fell short of the point spread in the games that they bet on. This is a BETA experience. I was like, Yeah, whatever. Sure enough, a few weeks later, he hands my girlfriend an envelope. Boston College Accused of Point Shaving, was the big headline on the UPI wire. Walgreens settles West Virginia opioid lawsuit for $83 million. Same here, and yet when they did their list of greatest sports scandals a few weeks back (when Miami broke) they didn't have it on there the first day. His lifes dream of making it to the NBA, which was where he belonged, was taken away from him. There were a lot of rich kids who went to Boston College. They could have probably gotten away with the fix if they handled certain things better. He was a murderer and a horrible human being. He made other African-American ballers feel like they could go there and really showcase what they could do on a national level. But Kuhn was a player of limited ability, so he recruited his roommate and best friend, who also happened to be the most important player on the floor, the teams senior point guard, Jim Sweeney. The phone calls flooded in from his friends and family in Boston and Connecticut, with despaired voices on the other end asking, Did you do this? It was national news that brought Cobb, Sweeney, and Kuhn under massive headlines. The Worst Fix Ever. ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 3 Oct. 2014, www.espn.com/espn/chalk/story/_/id/11633538/betting-chronicling-worst-fix-ever-1978-79-bc-point-shaving-scandal. Riper, Tom Van. The intense music, clues in the audience that this is where it all comes out. The fixing begins to wear into Sweeney, who confides in his roommates but never seeks out the proper authority. Jim Sweeney admits that Kuhn gave him cash. I was relishing that moment. They mentioned the $1,000 that Rocco Perla gave my girlfriend and I told them the truth. So I didnt even go on trial with Kuhn and the mobsters that put the whole thing in motion.. Visser became the NFLs first female beat writer in 1976, when she was assigned by the paper to cover the New England Patriots. They left, and that was that. He really set the tone in terms of being a strong, dynamic, willful player that wondrous talents like John Bagley, Michael Adams and Dana Barros, all of whom went on to play ball in the NBA after their careers at B.C., followed. I didnt think anything of it. . But I know that its not really in vain, because I know the truth.. Sweeney had enough of that over a few months 35 years ago to last a lifetime. like that until he got there. While Jim Sweeney is also introduced, hes the other captain from a better upbringing: the poster child for BC. (Rick Kuhn, Photo Credit: bostonglobe.com). Golub was a brilliant lawyer, and he told me that hed have to interview Ernie first to see if he was gonna take the case on. Rick Kuhn, 55, passed away peacefully on September 12, 2022, in his home in West Fargo, ND, surrounded by his family. Its gonna be no contest. We get footage of the games and the scheme continued, but no one knew just how much the fixers made. He turned to me and said, Coach, Im glad youre sticking up for your kid. When one of his links leads to a purchase of, say, a LeBron James Fathead, he gets a 15% commission. The documentary, narrated by Ray Liotta (who portrayed Hill in the film), was set up so that the viewer needed to watch Goodfellas beforehand to understand many of the references in the story. On Friday morning, March 23rd, the jury came back with a unanimous innocent verdict for Ernie Cobb, exonerating him of all charges. They were touting me as the next sub-6-footer to have an impact in the NBA. The government contended that Kuhn was paid $2,500 per game to manipulate the spread in six games and also was given cocaine and Quaaludes. I saw Ernie score 28 points against the Celtics in one of the final pre-season games when he was with the Nets, said Alswanger, Cobbs former high school coach. Everybody involved in the scandal got sentenced except for Hill and Sweeney. Sweeney describes his side of the story, claiming he is invited to dinner with Kuhn and Tony, where he meets Henry Hill who threatens to kill him if he doesnt begin fixing games with Kuhn. He turned to me and said, coach, Im glad I did, Sweeney, Kuhn. Whats striking about the point spread in the scandal got sentenced except for Hill Sweeney. Last hopes at seeing historic events from our favorite sports and Im glad youre sticking up for your.... Basketball 's 1977-1978 season the fans loved me and said, coach, Im glad I,. I did, Sweeney says expected to keep the score below the six- to margin. 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