well, phil i'm 10 years *older* than you -- a college senior to be

exact.

what you did was that you violated the Rules of Ethics -- series of

unwritten laws that must be upheld regardless of situation.  The number

1 violation of the Rules of Ethics is cheating.  If you get caught, you

will pay full penalty, even if the occurrence happened only once.  It

doesn't matter if you are 13 or 33 -- the DCI doesn't give a damn about

player's age.

When you put a player that didn't actually played in the event as if he

played, you WERE CHEATING.  It might happened once, but you got caught

red-handed because there are trained employees at DCI that review each

and every tourney report that TO's submit.

Well, if you get caught cheating in college, not only you automatically

flunk the class -- you lose your right to play on academic teams due to

NCAA regulations AND you risk getting expelled from that college for

academic dishonesty.  If the case was due to plagiarism, certain states

have laws that prohibit anyone caught for plagiarism are banned from all

colleges and universities in that particular state.  When you're banned

from getting an higher education -- you lose your chance of getting that

education so you can have a good paying job.  Well, my mom *never* went

to college -- for the past 12 years she has been working a minimum wage

job at a fast food restaurant with no benefits.  According to her, work

is a living hell as she is often forced to work with people that spent

time in jail for various crimes.  I have to work and balance college at

the same time just to make ends meet -- and this cuts out of my money to

play Magic and MLB Showdown.  This is not an easy task, esp. when you

must work the night before a major exam or when a 50-page paper is due.

I would rather be busted doing "sleight of hand" tricks than changing

tourney reports.  Getting busted for those tricks only gets you a one

year ban from the DCI; changing tourney reports can net you 5 years.

There is only one thing that can net you a longer banishment: assault.

Recently, an player from Portugal got a 10 year ban for assault.  In

1998, Massimo got lifetime banishment for not only running corrupt PTQ's

in Italy with several friends but for apparently attacking someone at an

event in Paris.

The bottom line is that you were stupid for submitting false tourney

reports.  STUPIDITY ENDS CAREERS.  There are several former CEO's

rotting away for the next 5 years in federal prison for "white collar"

crimes such as bribery, collusion, and stealing.  When they get out,

they will never return to even the entry level positions because their

record is *permanently* tainted for those felonies -- and it will not

come off until the day they die.  When you return to sanctioned play on

July 21, 2005, your DCI record will still be tainted.  Getting busted at

any event will not only get you suspended again -- but the length of

suspension will be DOUBLED.  For example, Casey McCarrell got busted at

US Nationals for his sleight of hands tricks on his opponent.  The

suspension usually is 18 months -- but due to a previous suspension --

the punishment became 3 YEARS.

The message is this: "If you can't do the time, you shouldn't done the

crime."  Those words are from the song "Don't Do The Crime" by The Urge

from an album released in 1989.

zelda78

ps: if you come into #mtgwacky on efnet -- be prepared to get yourself

chewed out.