ESPN 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.. We werent really checking for B.C. It was a tragedy that he never got another chance to play in the NBA., Kevin Loughery never gave me a firm reason why the Nets were letting me go, said Cobb. The whole team is confused as Sweeney hides on the bench. In this case, while the spread was as high as 5, the syndicate was able to lay just 2 points, and therefore pushed when Holy Cross won by 2. Kuhn grew up to be 6-foot-8, and signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds right after finishing high school. The government won convictions against Burke, the Perlas , Mazzei and Kuhn thanks in part to testimony from Sweeney, who was neither charged nor offered immunity. [3] Kuhn was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment,[4] later reduced to 28 months. I got through it on my own, and I didnt get whacked, is how he sums it up. 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. She helped tutor me, and encouraged me through some rough spots. Although Cobb and Sweeney received money and were a part of the scandal, the FBI did not prosecute them in the first round and were primarily focused on getting the mobsters. It was like a paradise to me, coming from where I came from. I continue to feel like I have to defend myself, all these years later, even after the government tried their case against me and I was found innocent. Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The husband accused in the New Year's Day disappearance of Massachusetts mother of three Ana Walshe made a series of Internet searches about dismembering bodies and disposing of them, prosecutors said in court Wednesday. I never lied about that. But, as Sweeney points out, the government didnt need to prove that point shaving actually happened, just that a conspiracy to shave them had. Justice Department files complaint after officer fired for opioid use disorder. And after they put my name out there, and after I admitted to taking that $1,000, they didnt have enough evidence to prosecute me. The campus was so beautiful. But I know that its not really in vain, because I know the truth.. Black Test Car orA Dark Machine of Destruction? Of course, of course I was upset, but what could I do? Needing an inside man, the brothers wanted to recruit Rick Kuhn, a high school friend of Rocco who was entering his senior year at Boston College and was expected to be a key member of the 19787 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. Boston College was favored by twelve to thirteen points, but won the game by only a three-point margin, 8683. He didn't want to be bothered with these kids anymore." Kuhn went on to live a quiet life only talking about the scandal to high school students encouraging them to not make the same mistakes. 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 Boys of Dunbar, A Story of Love, Hope and Basketball. A witness is interviewed and says, The rat one.. Hill stated that, at the time, he and Burke were watching the game on television at Burke's home in Queens, and Burke put his foot through the television in anger at having lost $50,000 ($186,700 today). 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. He talks about the fix and how Jimmy Burke participated even though he wasnt the ringleader. When one of his links leads to a purchase of, say, a LeBron James Fathead, he gets a 15% commission. When he arrived on campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Cobbs internal mantra was, I gotta stay eligible. With those persistent affirmations dancing through his mind, he took his academic responsibilities seriously from day one. I was nervous because I didnt know what was going to happen. Whats going on? Cobb, for his part, was tried for conspiracy and acquitted. I dont know if the losses can ever be made upnot the losses me and my family and friends have suffered. I never got to realize my dream of playing in the NBA, but Ive been all over the globe and have experienced so many different and beautiful cultures. 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! won the gangsters some serious money by falling short of the spread. But my high school coach got his friends to take my case, pro bono. She also recalled Kuhn saying that Cobb was too into his own game to cooperate with the betting thing, but the New York gangsters were adamant about getting him involved. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. He says that Hill once referenced his girlfriend Maura (now his wife) in one of his threats, asking Sweeney how would your honey feel if she saw your --- hanging in a bracelet? He also says that other mob clichs like references to cement shoes are not just the stuff of Hollywood. After he interviewed him, he fell in love with him and told me, Hes innocent. Professional wrestler Jay Briscoe dies in car accident at 38, Sister Andre, world's oldest living person, dies at 118, Ukraine's interior minister, other officials killed in helicopter crash near school, Qantas flight lands safely after engine trouble prompts mayday call, Meditation may alter gut microbes, study of Tibetan monks suggests. Other notable players selected in that draft included Sidney Moncrief, Bill Laimbeer, Bill Cartwright, Mark Eaton and Jim Paxson. They contacted a local friend, Paul Mazzei, who was known to have influence within major New York gambling circles. 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 scores 8 points in the last minute of the game only to be blocked in the last seconds of the game. He traveled throughout the world, getting paid to play the game that he loved. ESPN Looks Back On Boston College Point Shaving Scandal And A Player Speaks Out. Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 1 Oct. 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanriper/2014/10/01/espn-looks-back-on-boston-college-point-shaving-scandal-and-a-player-speaks-out/#3f03989d26b8. He continues to be involved in sports and is in an older mens basketball league that competes around the world. He jumped in the air, as if soaring for a rebound, as cheers filled the courtroom. The Providence game was played on December 6, 1978, and Boston College was favored to win by six to seven points. After winning a few and losing a few, Hill and his gang came to view Cobb and Sweeney as unreliable game-fixers and eventually gave up the scam. The fixers changed the original plan and bet on Holy Cross, but the players were told this right before the game. Des., University of Florida; MArch, Harvard GSD Professional interests: My passion lies in all things design but specifically in higher education, cultural and civic projects. . 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. Kuhn and two money men were And look what he did to the lives of those kids. In 2014, the ESPN-produced 30 for 30 series debuted Playing for the Mob,[6] the story about how Hill and his Pittsburgh associates, and several Boston College basketball players, perpetrated the point-shaving scheme during the 197879 season, an episode briefly mentioned in the movie Goodfellas. Rick Kuhn, 55, passed away peacefully on September 12, 2022, in his home in West Fargo, ND, surrounded by his family. Supreme Court mulls questions about students' accessibility rights. In early February, Boston College was scheduled to play two New York State teams, Fordham and St. John's. Jim Sweeney is a happy guy. Henry Hill avoided going to prison, and he went off into the sunset of the governments Witness Protection Program, said Alswanger. For over 30 years, hes been living in Clearwater, Florida, married to his college sweetheart. In this case, while the line may have opened, or at one time gone to two, because of the heavy betting on Holy Cross, the syndicate had to lay as many as seven points, and therefore lost their bet. I had a relentless type of game.. Ernie, and anybody who truly knew him, who knew about his character and what type of young man he was, we were all heartbroken. We were looking good as a team and my goal was to be the best player I could possibly be. Just by being there, Id already reached success beyond my wildest dreams. 197879 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal. It is unclear how much money the players involved in the point-shaving scheme were paid. would play a few games each year, Cobb was awash with emotions. Mazzei in turn contacted Henry Hill, a Lucchese crime family associate from New York who had befriended Mazzei while both men were serving sentences in a federal prison. I understand that they want to disassociate themselves from the scandal. 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. FRANK OBRIEN/GLOBE STAFF/FILE 1978 Sweeney, Cobb, and WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court hears Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools to rule on financial compensation for a deaf student who was not provided proper learning support. I told him, I think were gonna blow them out, we look really good. I was reading about the Boston College point-shaving scandal of the late 70s and I was wondering whatever became of Rick Kuhn in his later life. The scheme continued to work successfully in the December 23 game against UCLA. With Roccos high school buddy Rick Kuhn entering his senior year at Boston College, where he was expected to be a contributor to the schools basketball team, the brothers figured they could make a ton of money. All Kuhn had to do was ensure that the Eagles fell short of the point spread in the games that they bet on. With the focus limited to the specific players involved, BCs basketball program didnt suffer at all. In the time of COVID-19, sports fans everywhere are trying to find ways to pass the time. Hes now happily at work on his latest project, a sports cartoon character named Mike (as in microphone) that appears on his daily sports blog and in 35 comic books downloadable on Amazon. They showed me these pictures of these mafia guys and were asking me, Do you know him? He talks about how he wanted to be an NBA player. She knew the terrain in terms of what I needed to be doing, said Cobb. ESPN's latest 30 for 30 film tackles the Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal. I loved it in Israel, the fans loved me and the people were so beautiful. Today, any coach would be a goner for sure, cited at the very least for that catchall sin, lack of institutional control. Just ask former Ohio St. football coach Jim Tressel, who lost his job in 2011 thanks to a few players swapping some used cleats for free tattoos at a local parlor. Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. I felt like, You put my name out there, so let me clear my name! When they investigated me, I told them straight up about the $1,000 that Rocco Perla had given me. Prison, and that was super-charged-turbo ever seen me play knows that I was only stuck one. 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