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Michigan has become the biggest story in college football — not for the dominance it has displayed this season with arguably coach Jim Harbaugh’s best team, but possibly how it got there. Since news broke a week ago that the NCAA is investigating Michigan for off-campus signal stealing, information has been flowing fast and furiously.

As ESPN first reported, low-level staff member Connor Stalions is at the center of the NCAA probe. He purchased tickets to games involving other Big Ten teams and Michigan’s potential College Football Playoff opponents, and sources say he led an “elaborate” system of scouting and sign stealing.

Michigan on Friday suspended Stalions with pay, pending the outcome of the NCAA investigation. Harbaugh, already under NCAA investigation for recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period, has denied directing any staff member to conduct off-campus scouting and denied having any knowledge of illegal signal stealing within the program.

On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that an external investigative firm tipped off the NCAA with evidence of signal stealing it had obtained from computer drives accessed by Michigan coaches, setting off a new set of questions.

How elaborate was the scouting system? What will the NCAA and Big Ten ultimately do, and when? As the NCAA investigation continues and the Big Ten looks on, having the authority to act, Heather Dinich, Adam Rittenberg and Mark Schlabach look at what we know so far.

What details have emerged about how the alleged scheme worked?

ESPN reported Tuesday that Stalions purchased tickets to games at 12 of the other 13 Big Ten schools; the one that didn’t find his name in its records doesn’t have access to StubHub and other secondary markets. ESPN also found that Stalions purchased tickets for games at four schools outside of the Big Ten that were either in College Football Playoff contention or playing contenders.

There also are records of Stalions buying tickets to the 2021 and 2022 SEC title games, sources told ESPN. The tickets to the SEC title games were purchased on the secondary market. In total, ESPN found that Stalions purchased tickets to more than 35 games at 17 stadiums around the country. He has used a network of at least three people who lived in various parts of the country who were forwarded tickets to attend games.

The Washington Post reported that the investigative firm that discovered the scheme found records that indicated Michigan planned to send scouts to more than 40 games featuring 10 opponents this season at a cost of more than $15,000. The schedule included as many as eight games involving rival Ohio State and four or five in which two-time defending national champion Georgia was playing.

The firm didn’t present any evidence to the NCAA that showed Harbaugh was directly involved in the sign-stealing scheme, the Post reported, citing two people familiar with the investigation.

According to the Post, the firm provided NCAA officials with photographs of people it believed were scouts working for Michigan, including current students who were working as interns inside the football program. Videos the scouts purportedly took while attending games were then uploaded to a computer drive “maintained and accessed by Stalions as well as several other Michigan assistants and coaches,” according to the Post.

How the firm obtained access to computers being used by Michigan’s coaches — and who might have hired it to conduct the investigation — are among the most important unanswered questions.

“All I know is that no reputable private investigation firm is going to sit down with the NCAA and show them information without being able to explain how they acquired it,” a person familiar with the Michigan case told ESPN. — Mark Schlabach

What have we learned about Connor Stalions?

Stalions, a 28-year-old graduate of the Naval Academy and a die-hard Michigan fan, had been around the Wolverines program for years and officially joined the staff more than a year ago.

Stalions was hired as an off-field analyst at Michigan in May 2022, according to a bio on his LinkedIn account, which has since been deactivated. In the bio, Stalions wrote that he attempts to “employ Marine Corps philosophies and tactics into the sport of football regarding strategies in staffing, recruiting, scouting, intelligence, planning and more.”

Among the skills Stalions boasted about on LinkedIn were “identifying the opponent’s most likely course of action and most dangerous course of action” and “identifying and exploiting critical vulnerabilities and centers of gravity in the opponent scouting process.”

The son of two Michigan grads, Stalions enrolled at the Naval Academy and was a student assistant for the Midshipmen from 2013 to 2016. After being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 2017, Stalions worked as a graduate assistant at Navy before beginning his military training, according to his LinkedIn account.

While he was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California, Stalions wrote, he served as a volunteer assistant coach at Michigan from May 2015 to May 2022.

On Wednesday, Sports Illustrated published text messages that it said Stalions exchanged with a student attending a Power 5 school who wanted to get into coaching. The text messages were reportedly sent between January 2021 and February 2021.

SI reported Stalions claimed to have a Google document of between 550 and 600 pages that was his blueprint for the future of the Michigan program. According to the report, he referred to the document as a “movement more than a plan” and called it the “Michigan Manifesto.” Stalions claimed to be working with other low-level staffers at Power 5 schools to come up with a long-term plan for Michigan’s future. — Schlabach

Where do things stand with the NCAA’s investigation? What is a realistic timeline in a case like this?

After receiving the information from the investigative firm, the NCAA enforcement staff notified Michigan officials and the Big Ten about the allegations Oct. 18. ESPN reported last week that the NCAA sought access to Stalions’ computer.

If further investigation is needed, the NCAA would issue a notice of inquiry to Michigan. According to the NCAA website, there are four potential resolution methods:

  • A negotiated resolution, in which enforcement staff and the school agree on the facts of the case, the level and classification of the violations, and appropriate penalties. According to the NCAA, this is the fastest track, yet it still took an average of 368 days to complete, according to the NCAA’s 2021-22 annual report on infractions.

  • A summary disposition, in which the NCAA and school agree on the facts but not on the level of violations and the punishment. The parties would submit a report to the committee on infractions (COI), which would reach a decision and decide punishment. The parties can request an expedited hearing, and the school can appeal the COI’s decision.

  • A written record hearing, which occurs when the parties have limited disputes about the facts or level of violations. A written report is submitted to a COI panel. The COI would focus on the disputed parts of the case and issue a ruling and penalties.

  • A full hearing would occur in major cases, and the parties would provide the allegations and written responses to the COI. Michigan would receive a notice of allegations and have 90 days to respond. The parties would argue their sides during a full hearing with the COI, which would issue a ruling and penalties.

The NCAA enforcement process has been notoriously slow despite the governing body’s efforts to speed up the process. For instance, Michigan received a notice of allegations involving recruiting violations allegedly committed during a COVID-19 dead period on Jan. 5 and still doesn’t have a resolution.

According to the NCAA’s most recent annual infractions report (2021-22), the enforcement staff spends an average of 10-12 months on a case, and the committee on infractions then spends an average of seven days to four months on it. A contested hearing track — the longest process — took an average of 921 days.

More than likely, the new case wouldn’t be fully adjudicated until sometime in the summer of 2024, if not later. — Schlabach

Could the Big Ten step in before an NCAA ruling?

Yes. The Big Ten can impose discipline before the NCAA investigation concludes, as long as the league determines there is enough concrete information to act. The league also could initiate its own investigation into potential violations of its sportsmanship policy, which states that “actions that are offensive to the integrity of the competition … are punishable.” Commissioner Tony Petitti has the exclusive authority to determine whether a sportsmanship violation has occurred and to impose discipline.

If discipline rises beyond the standard level, Petitti can propose more serious penalties to an executive committee filled with representatives from Big Ten schools. The committee must approve the discipline for it to be imposed; it can also deny or lessen it but cannot increase proposed penalties for a school or individuals.

Although the NCAA is the lead investigating body, the Big Ten has so much direct involvement because its members are impacted. Upon learning of the NCAA investigation, the league notified its members that are scheduled to face Michigan. There also has been no shortage of additional information coming out, through media reports or other channels, for the Big Ten to access and, possibly soon, act on.

“We obviously have an interest in this situation,” a Big Ten source told ESPN. “Included within that is getting as full a picture of the facts as we can. That’s where we’ll be interested in the outcome of the NCAA’s investigation. But we would not be required to wait until that process came to its conclusion if we deemed it appropriate for us to take action before that happened.”

If Petitti elects to initiate an investigation, Michigan would have the opportunity to present its position on the alleged infractions. But disciplinary decisions cannot be appealed. — Adam Rittenberg

What kind of violations and punishment could Michigan be looking at?

It’s difficult to say what potential penalties the Wolverines or Harbaugh could face, if any, because there’s never been a sign-stealing case of this magnitude brought before the enforcement staff.

Harbaugh already faces NCAA charges of failure to cooperate and head coach responsibility related to the COVID-19 recruiting violations case. The COI rejected a four-game negotiated suspension for Harbaugh in that case, and Michigan self-imposed a three-game suspension. A violation by a member of his coaching staff in the new case could trigger another charge of head coach responsibility, which could be a Level I violation.

The Big Ten has two tiers of discipline under its sportsmanship policy. Standard actions can rise up to a $10,000 fine and a two-game suspension, but any action against Michigan likely would fall under “major disciplinary action,” which requires approval from an executive committee made up of representatives from around the league. — Schlabach

Could this affect Michigan’s CFP ranking?

Not yet, if the selection committee members follow the written protocol the committee chair reminds them of at the start of each meeting. CFP executive director Bill Hancock has told ESPN that as long as a team is eligible to participate in the postseason, it is eligible to be ranked by the committee. If the NCAA or the Big Ten levies a postseason ban, the Wolverines are out.

ESPN reached out to past committee members to understand how the topic will be handled in the room.

“Because these things take so long, I think the committee tries to do things based on their criteria, based on the letter of the law, and I really don’t believe this would come into discussions during our meetings,” one former committee member said, “and if it did, it would be shut down really quickly because it doesn’t go with our standards. If for some reason it was fast-tracked, and they vacated wins during the season, obviously that’s a different story.”

That doesn’t mean, though, that committee members won’t be talking about the allegations against Michigan outside the room.

There will likely be some “private disgust and conversations away from the table about how this is a kick in the gut to sportsmanship and, especially among coaches, kind of sacrilegious,” the same former committee member said.

There are several former coaches and players on the committee who might feel more strongly about it than the sitting athletic directors. Former Nevada coach Chris Ault is on the committee, along with former Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe, Hall of Fame coach Joe Taylor, Hall of Famer Will Shields and former Notre Dame linebacker Rod West.

“I think this is totally against everything that is fair and ethical about college football,” another former committee member said.

Another former member said “it’s almost worse” if a committee member penalizes Michigan because he or she thinks the school might have done something.

“That’s not a metric, right?” the person said. “That could end up really adversely affecting the other rankings, and that’s not right, either.

“I would say at this stage the committee should rank them as they deem appropriate,” the same committee member said. “Keep an eye on their eligibility. But I think they’d have to rank the team based on what they see. There’s plenty to question outside of the alleged cheating. They’re doing everything they’re supposed to against the schedule they’re playing, but there’s not a lot of meat on the bone as far as their opponents yet. So that may be more of a discussion point.”

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel is on the committee and must recuse himself during any discussions about where his team is in the ranking.

“He’ll lean on the fact the NCAA says you’re not supposed to discuss it,” another former committee member said. “It’ll be awkward and uncomfortable.” — Heather Dinich

What are coaches at other schools saying?

Coaches in the Big Ten have long suspected Michigan is stealing signals; even acknowledging that the Wolverines are hardly the only team doing so, their proficiency stands out. Stalions also is a known figure around the league, often positioned right next to defensive coordinator Jesse Minter or other Michigan assistants during games.

“What people are [speculating] about is [Stalions] has got a whole group of people that they sent to games to get all the signals,” a Big Ten coach said. “That’s why, the last two years, they’ve been all over it. Some people try to steal signs in-game or take it off the TV copy, but to send people to games to get video, that’s pretty bad.”

A Big Ten coach who suspected Michigan of off-campus signal scouting raised a question echoed by others: “Did they need to?” While coaches acknowledge the advantage of knowing an opponent’s signals before games, their opinions vary on how much the intel helps. A Big Ten coach said Michigan has the best team he has seen and predicted Michigan would have 20 players selected in the NFL draft off of its current roster.

Coaches note how reliant some coaches and teams have become on knowing the opponent’s signals. A Big Ten coach noted that it appeared Michigan didn’t have TCU’s signals before facing the Horned Frogs in the CFP semifinals last year and that it became “desperate” during a 51-45 loss that didn’t resemble any other Wolverines game that season.

“There are a good number of staffs out there, offense and defense, that can’t call a game without knowing what the other team’s doing, a good percent,” an ACC coordinator said. “I am fired up that everybody’s going to have to coach football the same, hopefully, moving forward.” — Rittenberg

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Burnham Square wins Blue Grass for Derby spot

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Burnham Square wins Blue Grass for Derby spot

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Burnham Square chased down East Avenue from the back of the pack and won by a nose in the storm-delayed $1.25 million Blue Grass at Keeneland on Tuesday, earning enough points to qualify for next month’s Kentucky Derby.

The 101st running of the Blue Grass was postponed from Saturday because of heavy rain and deadly flooding in Kentucky. The upcoming Lexington Stakes on Saturday is the final derby qualifying race.

Burnham Square, ridden by Brian Hernandez, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:51.33 and paid $10.48, $5.18 and $3.34 at 4-1 odds.

The Ian Wilkes-trained gelding also earned 100 points from the Grade I race and has 130 overall toward the 151st Derby on May 3 at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Sandman is one point behind, and Santa Anita Derby winner Journalism is third with 122.5.

“I’ll watch him. He’ll tell me what I need to do,” Wilkes said. “But we have to keep the foot on the gas — got to keep the foot down on the pedal — because we’ve got to get a little better again. It’s going to be very deep waters, and we’ve got to get a lot better.”

East Avenue returned $6.42 and $4.26 for second and earned 50 Derby points, while Todd Pletcher-trained favorite River Thames finished third, paying $3.24 and receiving 25 points.

Admiral Dennis (15 points) was fourth beneath substitute jockey Manny Franco, who took the mount after veteran Luiz Saez was injured from a fall in the second race. Saez was in stable condition at a hospital after Fateful Lightning on Keeneland’s turf course.

Burnham Square lagged far behind as East Avenue led seven horses entering the backstretch before steadily moving up and saving his best after rounding the final turn. He stalked East Avenue from the outside and the horses were even in the final yards before Burnham Square edged East Avenue at the line for his second stakes victory in three starts this year.

“When we turned for home my horse had a full head of steam, and I was pretty confident we were going to able to run (pacesetter East Avenue) down,” Hernandez said. “So right at the wire I had an idea that we got our neck in front of him.”

He won the Grade III Holy Bull at Gulfstream by 1 3/4 lengths in February before running fourth in the Grade II Fountain of Youth on March 25.

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Jockey Saez hospitalized after fall from horse

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Jockey Saez hospitalized after fall from horse

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Veteran jockey Luis Saez, who earned his second Belmont Stakes victory in June aboard Dornoch, is in stable condition at a hospital after falling from his mount at Keeneland on Tuesday.

The multiple graded stakes winner was injured after falling from Fateful Lightning in the second race on Keeneland’s turf course. The horse tripped over the rider but was uninjured, a statement from the track said. Saez lay on the track for several minutes before being placed on a board and into an ambulance.

The statement added that Saez was being evaluated by UK HealthCare Medical Services and removed from remaining mounts on Tuesday including Brad Cox-trained colt Admiral Dennis in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Blue Grass feature, which awards qualifying points toward next month’s 151st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

Jockey Manny Franco was scheduled to replace Saez aboard Admiral Dennis in the Blue Grass.

Saez won the Belmont in 2021 aboard Essential Quality before riding Dornoch to a half-length victory over Mindframe last year in the 1½-mile third jewel of the Triple Crown. He was a three-time Blue Grass winner, mostly recently aboard Tapit Trice in 2021.

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Ex-MLB pitcher Dotel dies in nightclub tragedy

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Ex-MLB pitcher Dotel dies in nightclub tragedy

Former major league pitcher Octavio Dotel was among those who died after the roof of an iconic nightclub collapsed in the Dominican Republic early Tuesday morning, the Dominican National Police confirmed.

At least 44 people were killed, including Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi and sister of seven-time MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz. Another 160 people were injured.

The collapse occurred around 1 a.m. during a merengue concert, which drew athletes, politicians and others to the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, the Dominican capital. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the roof to collapse.

The Professional Baseball League of the Dominican Republic also confirmed Dotel’s death on social media.

Dotel, who logged 36 saves for the Houston Astros and the Athletics in 2004, was pulled from the rubble about six hours after the collapse and was transported to a hospital.

“Dotel was taken to one of the designated hospitals. On the way there, his condition worsened and he died,” Dominican National Police spokesman Diego Pesqueira said.

Dotel, 51, started his major league career in 1999 with the New York Mets. In 2011, he helped the St. Louis Cardinals win a World Series. During his 15 years in the majors, Dotel recorded 109 saves and logged a 3.78 ERA.

Nelsy Cruz had called President Luis Abinader at 12:49 a.m. saying she was trapped and that the roof had collapsed, First Lady Raquel Abraje told reporters. Officials said Cruz died later at the hospital.

“This is too great a tragedy,” an emotional Abraje said.

President Abinader, who was at the scene, wrote on X that all rescue agencies are “working tirelessly” to help those affected.

Nearly 12 hours after the top of the nightclub collapsed down onto patrons, rescue crews were still pulling out survivors from the debris. At the scene, firefighters removed blocks of broken concrete and sawed planks of wood to use them as planks to lift heavy debris as the noise of drills breaking through concrete filled the air.

“We have faith in God that we will rescue even more people alive,” Abinader told reporters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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