Pooka

[CrimsonNBlue]

Pooka vs. No-Pooka is probably worth half a win to a full win in terms of season prediction. It's just huge for the non-con games.

[NewtonHawk11]

It's nice knowing that he'll be there for the BC game. KU for sure loses that game without him. With him, they have a better than decent shot at an upset.

[pdub]

Yup.
Getting that DI Coastal win is key.
On the road @ Boston College though - I don't know if Pooka will be enough to change that outcome.

[jfish26]

Pooka vs. No-Pooka is probably worth half a win to a full win in terms of season prediction. It's just huge for the non-con games.

To state the obvious - we have pretty recent evidence of what a difference Pooka makes in non-con games.

[pdub]

Yup.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/r ... =401013048

[holidaysmore]

Welcome back, Pooka.

#Pooka4Heisman2020

[pdub]

He made it ( duh ) on the All B12 Preseason list.

[NewtonHawk11]

Along with a punter.

KU has 2.
kstate has 1.

Suck on that taters.

[pdub]

The games sandwiched around Halloween seem prime for the goalposts to come down.
Tech and ksu in Lawrence.
Please.

[pdub]

On kind of a barely related note, single game tickets go on sale Thursday.

[holidaysmore]

Talked to a buddy of mine yesterday who bet his friend from ISU that KU would get five wins. Three in the non con and two between WSU, Tech and KSU. Seems overly optimistic as I took KU at 3 but it doesn't sound crazy either.

[Deleted User 266]

So..... At KU you can get arrested and charged with domestic battery for punching a woman (A FELLOW KU STUDENT) and grabbing her throat - and plead not guilty and yet later admit to it - and only miss a single non-conference game.
Moral of the story is what?

[holidaysmore]

This is big time college athletics. There are no morals.

[CrimsonNBlue]

So..... At KU you can get arrested and charged with domestic battery for punching a woman (A FELLOW KU STUDENT) and grabbing her throat - and plead not guilty and yet later admit to it - and only miss a single non-conference game.
Moral of the story is what?

That's not what happened.


I think 1 game is light, but given the entirety of the circumstance, 2 games would have been appropriate. 3 at max. In other words, we're not talking about a big difference here.

[NewtonHawk11]

Exactly.

Also, as bad as it may sound, the punishment for doing this at age 19 should be different than a professional athlete at say 23.

I said 2-3 from the start. I think 1 is too light, but I can see the reasoning behind it being 1 game.

A lot of state fans are brining up the difference between Rison and Pooka. Rison was basically told he won't play and transferred out. Hadn't been charged yet with anything. I personally think that him basically being kicked off the team is way too harsh. I agree with how KU went through this. Away from team for 7 months, let legal process work itself out and on top of that, he is on probation both legally and with the school (Until he graduates) and has community service, awareness classes and a monthly meeting with an officer.

Honestly, one of the best things that Pooka and KU did was release the Title 9 findings and disciplinary actions. That record can be sealed, but it shows that KU is serious about this and will hold him accountable. This isn't just a slap on the wrist and the school saying they'll handle it internally, this is Pooka having to take action and follow through or he won't be here if he doesn't follow through on obligations.

[jhawks99]

So..... At KU you can get arrested and charged with domestic battery for punching a woman (A FELLOW KU STUDENT) and grabbing her throat - and plead not guilty and yet later admit to it - and only miss a single non-conference game.
Moral of the story is what?

That's not what happened.


I think 1 game is light, but given the entirety of the circumstance, 2 games would have been appropriate. 3 at max. In other words, we're not talking about a big difference here.

I must have missed what did happen. Last I heard the story pretty much matched up to what "Paul" said. Did new news come out?

[CrimsonNBlue]

So..... At KU you can get arrested and charged with domestic battery for punching a woman (A FELLOW KU STUDENT) and grabbing her throat - and plead not guilty and yet later admit to it - and only miss a single non-conference game.
Moral of the story is what?

That's not what happened.


I think 1 game is light, but given the entirety of the circumstance, 2 games would have been appropriate. 3 at max. In other words, we're not talking about a big difference here.

I must have missed what did happen. Last I heard the story pretty much matched up to what "Paul" said. Did new news come out?

DA offered a diversion and he took it. It's different than probation legally, which gives KU more wiggle room.

If Pooka keeps his nose clean, the charges are dismissed. No conviction, no plea, etc.

[jhawks99]

That's not what happened.


I think 1 game is light, but given the entirety of the circumstance, 2 games would have been appropriate. 3 at max. In other words, we're not talking about a big difference here.

I must have missed what did happen. Last I heard the story pretty much matched up to what "Paul" said. Did new news come out?

DA offered a diversion and he took it. It's different than probation legally, which gives KU more wiggle room.

If Pooka keeps his nose clean, the charges are dismissed. No conviction, no plea, etc.

Thanks, I guess the question is then, did he punch her and choke her? To me, the legal outcome is secondary to what actually happened. I think KU has an obligation to act on what actually happened rather than the legal standing. I wasn't there and am not trying to judge, the school obviously has more info than I do and should make their decision based on the facts they have and not "how do we reduce this charge so he can play" if he did actually hit an choke her.

[CrimsonNBlue]

I don't know what exactly happened that day. Hell, KU might not fully know either. Gutter certainly doesn't either.

But, I agree, legal ramifications aren't the end-all be-all when it comes to suspensions. However, that's not to say they don't have some impact. Especially PR-wise. And, the wiggle-room I cited was meant to be PR-wise. If Pooka admitted he did choke and hit her (he did not), or took a plea deal for probation (he did not), I would expect that to affect the suspension.

I am going to assume that KU did its due diligence in investigating the claims and came up with what they thought was an appropriate suspension based on all of the information they acquired. I don't really have any reason not to.


FWIW, I personally would have been fine with any level of harshness of a suspension all the way up to kicking him off the team. Sports have for too long shied away from domestic violence.

[jfish26]

I don't know what exactly happened that day. Hell, KU might not fully know either. Gutter certainly doesn't either.

But, I agree, legal ramifications aren't the end-all be-all when it comes to suspensions. However, that's not to say they don't have some impact. Especially PR-wise. And, the wiggle-room I cited was meant to be PR-wise. If Pooka admitted he did choke and hit her (he did not), or took a plea deal for probation (he did not), I would expect that to affect the suspension.

I am going to assume that KU did its due diligence in investigating the claims and came up with what they thought was an appropriate suspension based on all of the information they acquired. I don't really have any reason not to.


FWIW, I personally would have been fine with any level of harshness of a suspension all the way up to kicking him off the team. Sports have for too long shied away from domestic violence.

It is also true that KU football is so fucking irrelevant right now that whatever reputational damage was going to be done was done when the news broke in the first place. You will not find much in the way of emotion about his reinstatement locally, let alone regionally or nationally.