Summary from previous thread(s)
Brohio:
Re: Chris Balas
Since I've learned that there are supposedly Fort members here in these threads, why don't we do this. Why doesn't one of you members ask Chris these questions:
1. Did you know for a fact it was Connor on the CMU sidelines for months while you were publicly casting doubt to your audience that it was him?
2. Have you known for months that Connor was freelancing for and being paid by CMU?
3. Have you known for a fact since 2023 that Jesse Minter's digital fingerprints are all over the sideline videos of opponents signals despite continually telling your audience that no other coaches were involved?
4. Do you know for a fact that Connor freelanced for and was paid by the Baltimore Ravens?
I'm not asking "what evidence is gonna come out" or "what's gonna be in the documentary" like Balas tried use as a deflection tactic this weekend. I'm well aware of the answers to both of those questions. I'm in the documentary lol. I can tell you far more about what's in it than Dan Wetzel is telling Balas. I actually showed up to my interview and didn't leave a full production team holding the bag in San Diego while I stood them up because I was scared to lose my access to the Michigan program like Balas did.
So to make this clear, I'm asking if Chris Balas knows those things I just mentioned above. Not "whats gonna come out" and "whats in the documentary" like he will try to use to tap dance his way out of answering. Does Chris Balas personally know those 4 statements to be true? If his answer is "no" or "I don't know" to any of those questions, well then it might be time for some more of my "art projects" like the one I posted on Sunday so I can show you all for a second time that Chris is full of shit.
Fort members, let me give you some advice. If you want to be lied to, there are plenty of places on the internet that will do it for free without you having to pay this dipshit $10 a month. I may be a Buckeye fan, but I'm at least aware of many places you can go to get Michigan news from people that will give it to you straight instead of withholding things because they're scared of making the Michigan Football powers-that-be mad. And look, we have our own snake oil salesmen in Ohio State media too. Stop giving these people your money.
And Speaking of Wetzel....why don't you guys have Chris tell his buddy Dan to either grow a pair and drop the multiple B1G team ticket exposé article that Chris has been telling everyone behind the scenes that comes within 10 feet of him about for 6 months or shut up about it. If y'all have the goods, what are you scared of? Scared nobody is gonna take it seriously when one of the teams involved is noted B1G football powerhouse Indiana? Or are you so scared of what's coming down the pike for Michigan that you're holding onto the article for future damage control? Because that's what "journalists" do right?
Hmm. that info wasn't on the Fort...I guess I technically don't know about it since that's where I get all my info lol
Connor/Ravens recap:
TLDR: Connor was paid by the Ravens to consult, and not in a sign stealing capacity. There's nothing illegal about it, but it becomes very hard to explain how a playoff NFL team full of Michigan coaching connections paid a $55k "recruiting analyst" to work with their team if "no other coaches knew what Connor did"
And as I mentioned on Sunday, if we can speak hypothetically, boy it sure would be crazy if an ex player from the Ravens was interviewed for the Netflix doc about that very thing and Netflix's lawyers got scared of the NFL and cut it. Hypothetically of course. It would be so strange if many of the Michigan media that are friendly with Connor are hypothetically very aware of Connor's consulting with the Ravens and suspiciously have never mentioned it
PremierDrum:
I've heard this several times over the past few weeks but could never second source it, but Ken reporting news tonight that Stalions was on the sidelines for a *Western* Michigan Friday night game in 2022.
And if my sourcing is correct, there are at least one or two more still to come out.
This particular NOA is imminent, but this is far from over.
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For quite a while now one of my guys has been adamant that Stalions was in attendance to scout 3 additional non-UM games beyond what's been reported. The 2022 WMU/MSU game has been on his list from the beginning. If his information is correct - and it's important to note that I've not been able to 2nd source any of it - for at least one of these games he may have been credentialed to be in the press box.
With things ratcheting up over the next few weeks, the chatter is going to get louder and louder. Sourcing is important, as lots of talkers are all going to try to break new angles to "own" a part of this story.
I keep saying to buckle up, and this is why. The drums of war are getting louder.
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The NCAA essentially erected a wall between the Stalions scouting operation and the computer access crimes, even though there is obviously some evidence that crosses over - so that the Impermissible Advanced Scouting Scheme investigation could carry forward while the criminal process plays out. We are closing in on 2 *years* since the Weiss investigation began, and it is still both open and active.
The NCAA won't be doing anything with the Weiss stuff until the criminal investigation is complete. I do expect charges against Weiss (and a couple others) in that mess. I can't say for sure if the NCAA will wait until those charges are adjudicated before they push forward, but I somewhat doubt it.
The Boob Salad Salsa Boys lost their minds the last time I mentioned the Weiss investigation, and it's clear they're sensitive about it. The Stalions stuff they can explain away as a "lone wolf, rogue staffer" who was providing "no real on-field benefit." The Computer Access case, however, is much more damning.
I am very comfortable saying that it definitely happened. Sources at the WHAC know it happened. Sources in AA know it happened. I'm also pretty confident in saying folks in Los Angeles, Maryland, Athens, Seattle, and Tuscaloosa know for a fact that it happened.
(Big Boom for the Practice Footage Truthers like myself)
Way back when all this started, one of the first substantial leaks was that "50 hours of OSU practice video was found on Weiss' computer." When people starting tying the Stalions and Weiss matters together, UMPD and AAPD quickly stated that they were "completely unrelated" and separate investigations. That's when BlueAnon started pushing the Catapult story, again painting themselves as the victims of cheating by OSU. Those claims were quickly and unequivocally debunked by Catapult itself, the pseudo-denial from UMPD and AAPD kept people from pushing more on the initial Weiss claim.
While I can't verify the exact "50 hours on a harddrive" claim, 22 and I have compared notes and I can say with confidence that OSU's remote video server was illegally accessed by a member of the UM coaching staff utilizing a stolen login and password. The digital breadcrumbs seem to connect at minimum Weiss and Minter directly to the material illegally accessed, and possibly others. I understand that a fairly recent exchange between the FBI and OSU brass confirms this.
A lingering question for me - and something I hope we get the answer to when all is said and done - is which was first? Did Weiss start by hacking coeds' iCloud accounts to nudes, later realizing that he could use a similar strategy to get into OSU's remote video server? Or did he start by getting into the WHAC footage and then decided to go carnal?
22Buck:
I've been surprised the practice footage theft hasn't been reported by any of the major media outlets. I've posted about it here for months as it was discovered when Weiss's devices were seized back in January of 2023. I heard about it through sources at Michigan, so they certainly know about it. I assume (but can't confirm) that the NCAA knows about it, too. Why haven't they included this in their draft NOA? Perhaps because there are criminal investigations underway for the theft of the footage.
Weiss's computer had evidence of both the footage and how Michigan was able to get it. But he wasn't the only coach implicated -- Minter was also apparently involved. And I believe (but again can't confirm) that the footage was loaded on to a Michigan cloud server and there are activity logs showing other coaches accessing it.
Activity logs will also serve a useful purpose in the sign-stealing investigation. They will show that other coaches not only knew what Stalions was doing but were using his material.
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I don't know how Michigan got them but the login credentials for an OSU staff member were found on Weiss's computer. As were dozens of hours of OSU practice footage.
Reminder of some of the punishments (but not limited to as things are rapidly changing) being discussed:
- 2 year postseason ban,
- At least partial vacations of the 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons (potentially targeting schools that were scouted by the impermissible scheme),
- Significant sanctions against current and former coaches,
- Scholarship reductions and recruiting restrictions,
- No longer recognizing the 2021-2023 B1G titles (the league could do this on their own but the NCAA can elect not to recognize them)
- Fines and increased probation.
