The New JOMBO™ Is Out! (Iowa Gambling Crisis)

THE NEW JOMBO™

Fans of Jombo McFeedstore™ rejoice! The new strip is out! Moreover, on account of a recent downturn in the NFT marketplace we've marked down the price to only one million dollars (US). 

That's right! 

For less than the amount that Jeff Bezos makes in 20 minutes of work* during his so-called workday, you can have this treasured family heirloom in digital form. Pass it on to the next generation and watch it grow in value. 

Get your very own Jombo™ Today! 

THE STORY BEHIND THE STRIP

Although we usually don't like to put our strips into context as that takes away from the joke, we would be remiss in this instance. That's because in this instance there's an actual story involved and not simply the usual Jombo™ hijinks.

Apparently, there were six Iowa Hawkeye wrestlers who placed bets with an online gambling service. This is forbidden by the NCAA because of policy reasons such as the potential for point-shaving, the throwing of games or matches, and the threats of gambling addiction, blackmail or "squeezing" and so on. 

It has been reported by sources that Tony Cassioppi, Abe Assad, Nelson Brands and Cobe Siebrecht have been suspended for a full season. Cullen Schriever and Pat Kennedy received partial suspensions. Nelson Brands took to social media to post this: 

Brands subsequently removed these posts. Wise move. Confessions should not be posted on the internet! They should happen in a well-appointed study with all of the suspects and a dapper but determined police detective present. He might have a coffee stain on his jacket. 

WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW

Here's what we know or think we know right now: There are allegations that the gambling rings at both ISU (Paniro was involved) and Iowa were discovered because a college baseball player for Iowa used his mother's betting account to place some wagers. The mother, suspecting that she'd been hacked, asked the betting site to investigate. 

The site apparently turned the information over to the commission in Iowa that handles gambling. From there, it would've gone to the universities and then the NCAA. 

Subsequently, geo-tracking was used to determine if gambling was taking place in Ames and Iowa City. Of course it was. What're we supposed to do there, ya moron? 

A significant milestone in the investigation has already occurred. Student athletes lost a year of NCAA eligibility, some of them a lesser punishment. The next significant milestone was a decision made by the NCAA after an appeal by an Iowa football player. 

The NCAA upheld the year-long suspension. 

That, of course, means it is likely that the NCAA will uphold the suspensions of the Iowa wrestlers, some of whom placed more bets. For Cassioppi and Brands, this means that they no longer have NCAA eligibility. Assad and Siebrecht retain what's left of their NCAA eligibility minus one year. Thus, all four will likely have to sit out the upcoming season. Cass and Brands can't come back. The length of the suspensions for the other two is unknown. 

THE NEAR FUTURE IMPLICATIONS

The Hawkeyes will be without two former All Americans, including one (Cass) who was a legitimate title contender. Abe Assad was a legitimate threat to AA, and Siebrecht a threat to score B1G and NCAA tournament points. 

With the addition of Jared Franek and Michael Caliendo as transfers from NDSU, they will somehow manage to survive. There will be a younger Ferrari on the roster as well, but AJ Ferrari just had his court case in Oklahoma continued from today's date to another hearing in October. 

Now, remember the tight dual in Iowa City last year? This year it will be in the State Farm Center, and Cass won't be there to close it out for the Hawks. Luke Luffman will be in the circle ready to close out the dual for the ILLINI. 

THE NOT-QUITE-SO-NEAR AS THE NEAR FUTURE IMPLICATIONS

At some point, recruits, especially ILLINOIS recruits, have to realize that there are too many landmines lurking under the Iowa City soil. Take Jacob Warner for instance. This fellow had an absolutely amazing wrestling career that included an NCAA Finals and four All American finishes. He won 113 varsity matches for Iowa! 

Yet, he was constantly spit on by their message board fans. 

We're not going to get into Spencer Lee because he didn't come from ILLINOIS.

But what about Cassioppi and Assad? Cass is finished, and Assad will be shown the door a year early. Vince Turk, spit on. Joey Gunther had to find a home at the University of ILLINOIS. Jason Renteria and so on. The last Land of Lincoln kid to get a truly fair shake at Iowa was Tony Ramos--but then they turned on him because of Gilman and Lee! 

An ILLINOIS wrestler who came to the ILLINI and had a career like Warnerov would be in the Hall of Fame, and he would be talked about in awed and grateful tones. 

SEPERATE PATHS

The way we see it, the ILLINI and Iowa are on separate trajectories. The young, explosive staff at ILLINOIS have secured the State Farm Center for duals, have gathered Top Thirty recruits like Kannon Webster, Braeden Scoles and Will Baysingar and are on the trail for more (Shhhh! It's eth-Say endoza-May), and they've cultivated the kind of powerhouse donor base that will allow them to put up a new state-of-the-art wrestling facility in the shadow of the Assembly Hall. 

The ILLINI Regional Training Center was instrumental in placing five wrestlers on the USA World Team. How many did Iowa get on that team this year? With private wrestling instructors abounding in the Chicago area, as well as Southern and Central ILLINOIS, there will be even more and even better recruits. That's not to mention what Beat the Streets is doing with ILLINI alumni coaching (or assisting in coaching) the show. 

All signs point up for the Orange and Blue. Can't say the same for the Chickenhawks. 

*This is literally true. However, other sources claim Bezos only makes $1.49 million per day.