He spent countless in the gym, practicing his basketball skills, replaying a very hurtful experience over and over in his mind, from when he was cut from his junior high school basketball team back in Stamford. They were a massive disappointment, yes, but also so transcendent for brief moments. Studied Special education at Grand Canyon University. Henry Hill told prosecutors BC forward Rick Kuhn, shooting guard Ernie Cobb and point guard Jim Sweeney accepted money to purposely keep games closer than they may have otherwise been. The Boston College coaches practically lived in our gym. The arresting officer for the second incident took an interest in the young kid, and saw more than just a young man escalating into juvenile delinquency. Man, I was really into bikes, Cobb said. But by the next summer, in 1980, he sparkled while playing for the New Jersey Nets during the pre-season. "I don't need to atone for anything that happened at Boston College," he says, "and I don't need to ask for anyone's forgiveness. It had to cost around $200,000 at the time to defend me.. I have suffered. But I wasnt sure if I was really up to B.C. Select the first team from the drop down menu. He dreamed of walking away from Boston College at seasons end as one of the schools most revered sons before embarking on what he hoped would be an accomplished, financially rewarding career in the NBA. The final player involved in the fix, Rick Kuhn, is . 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. I was a senior in high school when Ernie Cobb was a senior at Boston College and Id heard that he was a very good player, said Lemuel Mills, a Boston area hoops aficionado, coach, community mentor and historian. Old Greenwich was a really rich neighborhood, and theyd have all these beautiful bikes just sitting out there on the lawn. He told me to keep playing and working hard and that one day I might get another chance., When the story first broke in January of 1981, Cobb was in shock. My mom raised me to be respectful, so I never talked back or exhibited any violent or aggressive behavior., But I had an overactive imagination and couldnt sit still, he continued. Jim Sweeney during Boston College men's basketball's 1978-1979 season. Jack McCluskey | Special to ESPNBoston.com, '30 For 30' tackles BC point-shaving scandal, Steve Addazio calls Tyler Murphy clincher vs. USC, Harvard's Zack Hodges gets his shot with Colts, Wesley Saunders helps Harvard recover to capture crucial Ivy win, Beanpot final, consolation moved to Feb. 23, Signing Day Notes: Fences going up for local programs, Boston College unveils 25-man recruit class, Northeastern knocks BC from Beanpot throne. 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. would play a few games each year, Cobb was awash with emotions. 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. 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. Coach Pouncy in only his second year guided the Boys to the 2000 Class "A" Arizona Junior High School Athletic Association State Champs. Couldnt people see how much he loved the game? Choose at least two teams from the menus below to start your trade. In the 1998/99 season he lead the Girls to the top. He traveled throughout the world, getting paid to play the game that he loved. I went into the Caldors department store in downtown Stamford when I was about 12 years old and tried to shoplift one, he said. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis and Brandon Ingram will play outsized roles in how their respective teams close the season. After the four-week trial in 1981, Jimmy Burke was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Paul Mazzei and Tony Perla were sentenced to ten. But as it turned out, the trial was simply one chapter of many in his life, and not the defining one. I knew that I could play basketball with anybody. The filmmakers ultimately dont take a side on who did what, instead presenting at times conflicting accounts and letting the audience decide. He eats it up. It was like this whole new world opened up to him and his desire to succeed was unreal. I never lied about that. A documentary about the Boston College point-shaving scandal is . Please give him a chance. To believe that any of 2023's neo-contenders can become bonafide champs over the next few months is to believe that a once-in-a-quarter-century occurrence is about to transpire. I was excited about school and learning. The tone is set by black-and-white mug shots and film strips from surveillance of mobsters interspersed with BC team photos and action shots from newspaper coverage of the season. A Maryland Dumping Site Was Actually A Black Cemetery. Johnny Bench is a former MLB catcher who played for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983. Id made remarkable strides from being sent to a juvenile detention facility, from not being able to read as a high school freshman, said Cobb. Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude. Not long after that, I was playing Pop Warner football and needed a mouthpiece. I was relishing that moment. I had everything I could have possibly asked for. rick kuhn boston college now 19 3407 . If the diagnosis was available back then, Im sure they would have found that I had ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Select the second team from the drop down menu. 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. And those people had no patience for me. He loved being able to play ping pong, shoot pool and go swimming, but there was one place at the facility that he loved above all others: the gymnasium. City State. A chance meeting in prison. Boston College DL Izaiah Henderson enters Transfer Portal; Most Read Boston College Secures 9th ACC Win Over Wake . You realize that you cant play if you dont do this. He wasnt a trial lawyer, so he brought in his colleague, David Golub. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. The fact that I went to court and fought for my name, that I stood up for myself and cleared my name, that I was exonerated and acquitted, its a travesty that Im still associated with this., My name is indelibly linked to it, Cobb continued. won the gangsters some serious money by falling short of the spread. After he interviewed him, he fell in love with him and told me, Hes innocent. I think it will always be in the back of my mind somewhere. Hes a good person. The film represented something of a white whale for executive producer and co-director Joe Lavine, who for years attempted and failed to get the project green-lighted before finally landing at ESPN. How much his positive life trajectory was propelled by it? It was the first time he saw the game as something that could improve his life, something that could take him places. The point-shaving allegations surfaced during an unrelated investigation into the 1978 theft of $5.8 million from the Lufthansa cargo terminal at New Yorks Kennedy Airport. Perla and Kuhn had gone to high school together and were good friends. He sensed something in that moment, something transformative. . Its one of several seeming contradictions the gangster-turned-informant offers during the film, right along with this doozy early on: I didnt threaten him or nothin, Hill says in the film, I just said, Its hard to play basketball with a broken arm.. We found public records for Ernest Cobb. I went to an all-black school where everyone knew each other, said Cobb. When he finished with his testimony, he made a beeline straight for the restroom. As a freshman, he played sparingly and averaged 4.5 points per game while the Eagles finished with a disappointing 9-17 overall record. My moment had arrived. Ron Tompkins is a former major league pitcher who played for the Kansas . I didnt even know what goals were, said Cobb. His father found work in cement construction as a hard laborer in Stamford, Connecticut, the third-largest city in the state that is situated approximately 30 miles from New York City. He doesnt belong here and I think he can really make something of himself if somebody gives him a chance.. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Boston College (1978-79) Conspirators paid Boston College players, mainly Rick Kuhn and Jim Sweeney, to shave points depending on the spread and opponent. 11. We were looking good as a team and my goal was to be the best player I could possibly be. On Friday morning, March 23rd, the jury came back with a unanimous innocent verdict for Ernie Cobb, exonerating him of all charges. He told him that he had talent, but that wasnt enough. like that until he got there. But when I was about eight years old, they started the busing experiment and I had to leave my community to go to school in the suburbs.. Kuhn was later convicted and served ten years in prison for the crime. The story: Three Boston College players leading scorer Ernie Cobb, forward Richard Kuhn and Sweeney, the team's point guard were fingered by Hill for participating in the point-shaving scheme. He graduated on time with a degree in sociology. By my junior year, it was show-time, said Cobb. Rocco Perla was sentenced to four and Kuhn was released after 28 months. was favored to win a game by ten points, Kuhn had to make sure, if the game was in play with the mobsters and the bookies, that they won by less than ten in order for the gamblers to make money. Javascript is required for the selection of a player. The scheme began with small-time gamblers Rocco and Anthony Perla who devised a plan with the players to deliberately shave points on specific games to win . I was eating Rory Sparrow up, who went on to have a decent NBA career, in that camp. "Fixed" follows the point-shaving scandal of the 1978-79 Boston College basketball team. Henry Hill avoided going to prison, and he went off into the sunset of the governments Witness Protection Program, said Alswanger. All of those guys walkedin his footsteps., He was the African-American guard in the modern era of B.C. We spoke to everybody, whether they ended up in the film or not.. Ernie Cobb joined the scheme for the last five games . To this day, both Sweeney and Cobb admit taking money but say they didn't really participate. On Saturday Morning, March 24th, 1984, a tiny blurb in newspaper sports sections across the nation read Ex-basketball star Ernie Cobb was acquitted Friday of taking part in a point-shaving scandal that rocked Boston College in 1978-1979, and tearfully asked for a fair shot to resurrect his chances at a pro career. 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