tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28698908550143922012024-03-13T07:56:35.451-05:00Sports and StuffA commentary based website focusing primarily on sports, although a number of other subjects may be discussed.BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-50848895378614293822011-07-06T13:53:00.000-05:002011-07-06T13:53:03.170-05:00Day 130 - The NCAA (Not Capable At All)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</style> <![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal">It’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to spout off my opinions on Life, the Universe and Everything (RIP Douglas Adams, one of the funniest authors of all time). The summer months have brought about some changes in my day to day habits and have caused my time spent indoors to be severely limited. What all has changed since I last updated? Well, in a nutshell; not much. Everyone seems to still be in an uproar over the “Lack of Institutional Control” continuing to be displayed by college athletics governing body….The NCAA (<b><i><u>N</u></i></b>ot <b><i><u>C</u></i></b>apable <b><i><u>A</u></i></b>t <b><i><u>A</u></i></b>ll).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">It seems like every time we turn around another big time program is being thrust into the spotlight for indiscretions surrounding their athletic programs. We started this downward spiral off with North Carolina and their snuggles with an agent. We then moved on to a couple of smaller schools grabbing a few headlines for violating this rule or that one. We saw the “Vested One” have his ever so shiny image tarnished beyond repair at Ohio State. This one continues to grow in most every aspect even now. The fallout from the tOSU scandal made it blatantly obvious that Delany and the Big 10 needed to be sweeping around their own door instead of taking cheap shots at the SEC. Oregon’s Coach Kelly started trying to cover his tracks a bit late in the Will (Willy) Lyles recruiting scandal. <span> </span>Most recently, Nebraska has opted to out themselves in a text book scandal similar to the one that the Crimson Tide was in trouble over just a few years back. And then there is Auburn….</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">While it is no secret that my opinion of the powers that be at Auburn University is not a very high one, I must say that I have spoken with some very level headed Au fans that are sick of all of the controversy themselves. Granted, there is a much more vocal crowd of Au supporters that like to employ the 3D method of Deflect, Deny and Deter, but there are those Au fans that just want whatever is going to happen to happen. The numerous allegations being leveled at Au are not going away. While many of the Au faithful try to paint those of us who feel sure Au has been playing dirty as “Tin-Foil Hatters” or “Disgruntled Updykes”, they have had no success at changing anyone’s mind. Sure there have been smear campaigns aimed at the Scott Moores of the world, but overall; Au is viewed by the rest of the country as being dirty. Nothing new to me, however; I’m not going to rehash previous entries on this site regarding the suspected improprieties of Au and its administration. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I am going to ask some questions though. I want to know why it is that it takes media outlets like Yahoo Sports to get any type of real reaction to allegations from the NCAA? Charles Robinson (The E.F. Hutton of Sports Reporter’s) seems to be our best bet at getting the NCAA to act on something. Based on previous reports by Mr. Robinson and the resulting fallout, I contend that he should be the President of the NCAA. How is it that the NCAA interviews Will (Willy) Lyles for 6 hours, yet do not bother to even ask him about the ins and outs of Lache Seastrunk and LaMichael James recruitment at Oregon? I mean, why waste 6 hours of the man’s time if you aren’t going to ask him about the meat of the subject at hand? It took the likes of Charles Robinson and Dan Wetzel to ask those questions. Speaking of Wetzel, I nominate him as Robinson’s Vice President of the new NCAA. Does the NCAA just not want to know? If the answer to that question is yes, then why even have a governing body? The NCAA repeatedly has more egg on its face than can be found in a 100 Waffle Houses. The very people that buy the tickets to all of these sporting events have ZERO faith in the NCAA’s ability to get anything right. Selective penalties, looking the other way, downright ignoring glaring facts are all things the average fan has come to expect from the NCAA. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Are these problems because they are under staffed? That’s probably part of it, but it is not a valid excuse. Hire more investigators and make sure these investigators know what questions to ask. It’s not like the money isn’t there to hire as many investigators as they need. AHHHHH!!!! Therein lies the problem….MONEY. Do you suppose that dollars are the reason that tOSU has been allowed to play dirty for so long? Do you suppose that dollars are why Will (Willy) Lyles was not asked the pertinent questions in his interview with the NCAA? Do you suppose that dollars are the reason that the NCAA did not want to react on the allegations they were most definitely aware of concerning the two teams that played for the National Championship? YES to all of the above. What we have here is a governing body that is made up of its member institutions, not unlike your Neighborhood Housing Committee that gives you that phone call if your grass is taller than ankle high. The very schools that are corrupt pay the salaries of those that govern them. <span> </span>No wonder they don’t want to do anything about corruption. The solution? See above and let a 3<sup>rd</sup> party organization that is paid off of fines levied at rogue institutions, bowl game revenues and endorsements govern college sports. This would take the conflict of interest away that is currently the real GOVERNOR of college athletics. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Make the “<b><i><u>N</u></i></b>ot <b><i><u>C</u></i></b>apable <b><i><u>A</u></i></b>t <b><i><u>A</u></i></b>ll” become the “<b><i><u>N</u></i></b>ot Complacent <b><i><u>A</u></i></b>nymore”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">RTR</div><div class="MsoNormal">BamaSon25 </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i_t7zsguqLo/ThSs20RGVlI/AAAAAAAAACo/NmiHmFGNOmk/s1600/Bamason25sig.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="146" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i_t7zsguqLo/ThSs20RGVlI/AAAAAAAAACo/NmiHmFGNOmk/s400/Bamason25sig.png" width="400" /></b></a></div>BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-16475620850395860462011-06-06T10:47:00.000-05:002011-06-06T10:47:57.939-05:00Day 100 - Mountaineer's Worries /Gus Malzahn<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</style> <![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal">So, here we are again….another two weeks or so have passed since I have slapped the world with my opinions. Again, I’ve just been busy with things outside of the World Wide Web. The state of college football continues to spiral downward with regard to cheating. It appears that Au’s slogan of, “Everyone does it, so we do too” may not be too far off base. We have Au and mass allegations being leveled at them. We have tOSU and the “Tattoo Bunch” featuring the “Vested One”. We have Oregon and their ties to the 7 on 7 play we have heard so many bad things about. We have NC and a lot of other schools who’s troubles now seem to pale in comparison to the stories of today. Now, add West Virginia to the list.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">West Virginia University Head Coach in waiting, Dana Holgorsen has the WVU administration and fans fuming. It appears that there have been several (6 is the number that seems referenced the most) instances of Coach Holgorsen having alcohol related incidents at various casinos. According to the chatter, Holgorsen has had run-ins with Casino and Hotel management as well as the police for being way too intoxicated at several different venues. It should be noted that there have not been any charges filed against Holgorsen. So, we have a future head coach that has been accused of having a drinking problem and a penchant for gambling? Each one of those stigmas can create a volatile situation on their own merit, but having issues with both at the same time is a recipe for disaster. The whole thing reminds me of former Alabama Coach Mike Price. His two ingredients seemed to be alcohol and strippers, again; not a very good combination to put on as the main face of your University.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">So, what’s next for the Mountaineers? After doing a bit of internet sleuthing, I’ve come to the conclusion that WVA has some of the same “good ole boy egos” that seem to run rampant in the SEC. Current Head Coach Bill Stewart has been accused of leaking Holgorsen’s drinking incidents to Chuck Landon (a reporter who, according WVA message board posters, takes great pleasure in making WVA look bad) in effort to sabotage the WVA program. There are also rumors of the offensive coaching staff and defensive coaching staff not communicating at all. Well, all of this in and of itself doesn’t appear to contain any NCAA related violations. From down south, it looks like there is a ton of internal turmoil going on within the WVA athletic department, but I’ve seen no evidence of any illegal activities. There are some rumors out there on twitter and on blog posts that do mention Stewart in relation to some NCAA rule breaking, but I’ve seen nothing that mentions details on them. As us Alabama fans know all too well though…Where there’s smoke, there usually is fire.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I guess a question I’ll be asked is, “Why the heck do you care what is going on in West Virginia?” There are a couple of reasons for my interest, but the main one is one of the rumors from the WVU supporters that is making the internet rounds. That is that Au’s Gus Malzahn will be leaving for the Head Coaching position at WVU. I’ve heard nothing about this down here and it may be that there is absolutely nothing to it. Sure there are few mentions of it on SEC message boards, but I suspect they are gathering their information from the same places I am. One other noteworthy rumor surrounding this situation is that WVU athletic director, Oliver Luck, has been told that if Holgorsen receives anymore negative publicity while at WVU, that Luck himself will be looking for a new job. This statement (if true) explains all of the sudden talk of Stewart being fired and Holgorsen no longer being the next Mountaineer Head Coach. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">While at this point the Malzahn speculation may be premature, I do question why Malzahn is one of the main names being floated and not some of the other, more experienced coaches that are out there? I think Malzahn is going to be a successful head coach at some point and I think he would be a good fit at WVU, but I’m not sure that’s who I would go to if I were Oliver Luck. I mean, considering the fact that the reason for a coaching change at this point would come from Luck trying to get away from negative publicity; I don’t think Malzahn would be a wise choice. With the amount of negative publicity Au has received since playing Cam Newton in the Georgia game, I don’t think Luck would want to take that gamble. A bad hire for him at this point would surely mean the end of his tenure at WVU. I’m not saying that Malzahn has done anything wrong at Au, but the allegations leveled at Au, its administration, athletic department and coaching staff and the confirmation of an ongoing investigation by the NCAA most likely would taint a Malzahn hire in this situation.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Another reason for my interest is the mention of the breaking of NCAA rules by current WVU Head Coach, Bill Stewart. As already mentioned, the details I have been able to find on these alleged violations are non-existent, but should there be anything to it, I want to watch closely to see how things are handled. I have a large interest in seeing college football cleaned up. I don’t really care what school is involved if improprieties have taken place. I want to see them addressed in a fair, consistent manner (something I have never seen the NCAA do). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I look for a change to the entire landscape of college sports and its governing body. I see no way around it. It’s big money and regardless of its label, College Athletics are not amateur in nature. If it isn’t amateur, then it has to be professional. So, what do we do from there?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">RTR</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">BamaSon25</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sBZYIobn99s/Tez1OBG8apI/AAAAAAAAACk/Xpyk3QXAWhg/s1600/Bamason25sig.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sBZYIobn99s/Tez1OBG8apI/AAAAAAAAACk/Xpyk3QXAWhg/s400/Bamason25sig.png" width="400" /></a></div>BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-67140144531553658722011-05-18T15:09:00.001-05:002011-05-18T16:05:34.388-05:00Day 81 - Keep Helping / Brooks is Clueless <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Hey Everybody, I’ve been on a bit of hiatus with the website for a couple of weeks. Various reasons have kept me from inflicting my opinions upon the world. The storms of April 27<sup>th</sup>, 2011 have wreaked such havoc across the Great State of Alabama and the rest of the South that I have been a bit busy with things outside of this site. I’ll talk a bit more about those storms and some of my opinions regarding the support this state has received. I’ll touch on a few Alabama and Auburn related things. I’ll laugh out loud at @banditref (<a href="http://www.banditref.com/">www.banditref.com</a>) and I might even weigh in on my good buddy, Brooks. And….We’re Off…..</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The storms of April 27<sup>th</sup> have decimated my state. As everyone is well aware of by now, Tuscaloosa was nailed as well as Birmingham, Huntsville and numerous smaller communities and towns throughout North and Central Alabama. I’ve mentioned the devastation in Phil Campbell, AL in a previous entry, but since that time I have had the opportunity (or should I say bad luck) to see the complete and total destruction of people’s lives first hand. There are children without parents, parents without children and both without homes. There are environmental concerns that could cause the chore of rebuilding some of these areas to be further complicated. There are con artists taking advantage of the good nature of the people that have already had so much taken from them. The situation in Alabama is still dire and I do not want the rest of this country to forget it. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">While I have witnessed so many bad things over the last couple of weeks, I have also seen some wonderful, wonderful people jump at the chance to help. My buddy @banditref has made a couple of trips to Tuscaloosa with his local church from Jacksonville, Florida to help begin the rebuilding of that wonderful place that I hold so dear to my heart. Some friends of mine from an online gaming community (<a href="http://www.renegadesclan.com/">www.renegadesclan.com</a>) have taken it upon themselves to aid people that they do not even know. The leader of the community (Ski) has taken up donations and sent them to Alabama to help individual families. He has also taken it upon himself to gather donations to help from people he knows outside of the gaming community. The great thing about it all is Ski lives in Wisconsin and I assume he has never even been to Alabama. Furthermore the members of The Renegades community are from all over this country and even overseas. These people who do not know a soul in Alabama (other than me) have all given their thoughts, prayers and dollars to aid the rebuilding of people’s lives. That, in itself, is amazing. So, I want to personally thank @Banditref, Ski and the Renegades Gaming Clan for what they are doing for the people of my state. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then you also have thousands of other people who have consistently done every little thing they can to make sure the need for help stays at the forefront of everyone’s mind. There are people like @dbldeeisme who I know only through twitter (I’ve never even spoken with her). I can tell you this about her though… If there is a tweet out there about someone needing something to aid the victims of these storms, then she is all over re-tweeting it to make sure the information gets to as many people as possible. She spends a lot of time making sure these tweets get around and thus is contributing to the overall effectiveness of the entire relief effort. It’s because of people like her that “Name Your Foundation Here” that was out of water 1 hour ago, has more than they need now. I want to thank you for your continued efforts Ms. @dbldeeisme , it hasn’t gone unnoticed. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have to also mention Toomer’s for Tuscaloosa, an Auburn University based relief effort that has been a huge factor in helping the people of Tuscaloosa through this dark, dark time. I don’t know what the most recent dollar figure is that Toomer’s has raised is, but I want to point out that these Auburn fans have contributed much more than a few dollars here and there. They sent crew after crew to Tuscaloosa to help with the cleanup. They’ve sent truckload after truckload of medical supplies, toiletries, shoes and clothing to the very heart of the Alabama campus. It really is sad that the disaster of April 27<sup>th</sup>, 2011 was needed to get many of us to understand that there is a lot more to life than the Alabama verses Auburn rivalry. These Auburn fans have been wonderful at loving their fellow man and after all, isn’t THAT what it is all about?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">While I would like nothing more than to put all of this Tornado talk to bed for good, I’m afraid that I can’t promise that. Seeing what I have seen and hearing the firsthand accounts that I am hearing lets me know that Alabama will be under this dark cloud for some time to come. I’ll try to lighten things up by talking about some different topics, but this event has impacted me severely which will compel me to make sure that the need for help stays at the forefront. The national media did a phenomenal job covering the events that occurred for about 30 seconds….then poof, it’s like we all magically healed. Not a word mentioned on any television station outside of the South. Initially they reported that the devastation was on par with what Katrina brought to the Gulf Coast, yet I have seen nothing that even resembles the outpouring of national media attention that was garnered from that storm. Why is this? Any valid answer would be appreciated. CNN…you’re based in Atlanta…DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On to some Crimson Tide related stuff. Once again, my buddy, my friend, my pal….Brooks from the sportsbybrooks website has decided to beat on a dead horse. Once again, from the sunny skies of California, Brooks has his stethoscope on the very heartbeat of SEC sports. Amazing how he only posts the side that supports his claims, yet completely ignores the facts surrounding the story. If he can get some clicks on his site, that’s all he is worried about. It doesn’t matter who it hurts, if the information is correct or if it has already been proven to be a moot point; if Brooks can get you to click on his website, he will. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This week’s latest tirade by Brooks is in regard to Alabama’s Nick Saban and his supposed penchant for a practice in the college football recruiting world referred to as “Over signing”. The practice is referring to signing more potential college athlete’s than will be allowed to be on a team’s roster when the actual season starts. Every team is allowed to have 85 scholarship athletes on the roster per season. Saban has been accused of signing kids, having them work with the strength coaches over the summer and then (depending on their performance) either telling them there wasn’t room on the roster and asking them to leave campus and come back the following January or kicking another existing, less productive player off of the roster to make room for the new talent. This story has been hit 1000 times, yet Brooks feels the need to bring up quotes from Saban as far back as 2008. Ok Brooks, I’ll try to put this into terms you can understand. The great thing about posting it here is that I don’t have to worry about you censoring the post.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Brooks, instead of picking on Nick Saban, why don’t you check the facts elsewhere around the SEC and see exactly who is “over signing” these kids? While Saban is guilty of “over signing”, he by no means is the only one doing it. He isn’t even the one doing it the most. I guess the consistent underachieving by your favorite (UGA Coach Mark Richt) has put you on the war path. Are you taking classes from Au’s 3D (deflect, deny, deter) Department? Why don’t you write about how UGA has been poised at least 3 times in recent years to make a run for the SEC Championship only to be lucky to pull off winning seasons? Don’t get me wrong, I like Richt and I think he is a class act. It’s YOU that I can’t say the same about.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Below are the numbers to once again prove you are a dimwit:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">From the years 2007 through 2011, Nick Saban signed the following number(s) of athletes:</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">2007 – 25</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">2008 – 32</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">2009 – 28</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">2010 – 26</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">2011 – 23</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">That is an average of 26.8 signees per year. You failed to mention in your article the normal average numbers of players lost to attrition, career ending injuries, academic casualties and willing transfers. You also failed to mention this next set of numbers:</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Ole Miss Signees from 2007-2011:</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">2007 – 22</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">2008 – 31</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">2009 – 37</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">2010 – 26</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">2011 – 28</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">That is a yearly average of 28.8. Ole Miss is the school guiltiest of “over signing” in the SEC West. Alabama didn’t even win the West, so why exactly is Saban on the receiving end of your cheap shot? Let’s dig a little further (for the sake of saving space, I’m just going to give averages from here on out).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">1.) Ole Miss – 28.8 players per year</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">2.) Auburn – 28.6 players per year</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">3.) Arkansas – 28.2 players per year</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">4.) Miss. State – 27.00 players per year</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">5.) Alabama – 26.8 players per year</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">6.) LSU – 25.6 players per year</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Uh Oh Brooks, did I just put Alabama in 5<sup>th</sup> place in the rankings of the SEC West? OOOPS again for you man. Come on Brooks, if you’re going to enter into a battle of wits, at least have some.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">You did quote Saban as saying that it wasn’t fair to label him as a chronic “over signer” without knowing the history and details of these cases. He is correct, you don’t have a clue. Star Jackson (QB) transferred from Alabama. Was he asked to leave, no he wasn’t. He was told that the chances of him beating out those in front of him were slim and Jackson made the decision on his own. That was the truth. I guess you are insinuating that Saban pushes these kids off the team to favor the new, younger talent. The problem I have is that you do not know what he is doing and to make the insinuation is sub par for a (and I use this term very, very loosely) “journalist. “ Even if your insinuation proved to be true, why are singling Saban out and not Nutt? I eagerly await your reply Brooks (but be careful, I have the power to censor you here).</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Guys, if you want to laugh, go check out <a href="http://www.banditref.com/">www.banditref.com</a> . @banditref ‘s latest flow chart regarding Au’s 3D effect is sure to get at least a chuckle…even out of the Auburn fans. </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">RTR</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">BamaSon25</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VZ8OxQLgi7E/TdQkGbBrOXI/AAAAAAAAACg/f3gwDtHhid4/s1600/Bamason25sig.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VZ8OxQLgi7E/TdQkGbBrOXI/AAAAAAAAACg/f3gwDtHhid4/s320/Bamason25sig.png" width="320" /></a></div>BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-62380990932991789222011-04-28T11:37:00.125-05:002011-05-01T09:45:44.335-05:00Day 61 - Tornado Relief / Please HelpPlease people, give the Google advertisements a click. Google will pay me a few cents every time one of you takes the time to click on one of their ads on this site. When I first put the ads up, I thought, "Well, maybe (over time) I'll get enough clicks to buy myself something that I normally wouldn't be able to get." Now, in light of the devastation that has cast such a dark cloud over my state and the rest of the south, I am hoping to speed up that process and use the money to help those that really need it. <br />
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As I am sure everyone knows by now, the storms that came through Alabama earlier this week left a trail of destruction, despair and doubt in their wake. While Tuscaloosa is the largest city that was hit, therefore garnering the majority of the media coverage; it is important that we realize there were so many other areas that were completely demolished by these storms. Close to home for me was the Phil Campbell area. A friend from work is from Phil Campbell and while he and his immediate family escaped both harm and material loss, he did lose several friends and a cousin.<br />
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Phil Campbell is what is often referred to as a "one horse town." A small down town area that consisted of a couple of shops, a convenience store, an ice cream parlor, a grocery store, a high school,a Masonic lodge and a couple of other buildings all kept in order by two traffic lights hanging over a 2 lane Alabama state highway. It is no more. While a couple of the buildings survived well enough to still be standing, for all practical purposes the town has been leveled. The tragic stories I am hearing from my friends and loved ones in my area concerning what they have seen and heard from those that survived the storms are horrific.<br />
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Phil Campbell was populated by roughly 1000 people. The way of life in this small area on top of an overgrown hill (that is lovingly referred to as a mountain by those of us who grew up here) consists primarily of about three job sources. Everyone is either a farmer or working in one of the plants (many mobile homes are made in this part of the state as well as a lot of furniture) or they commute to "The Shoals Area" for work. The people of this small Alabama town may not be as sophisticated as the New York City Slickers or as educated as all of the Washington DC bureaucrats, and they wouldn't have it any other way. They understand what a hard day's work consists of, they know what it means to be an American and as evidenced by the aftermath of the tornado, they know what it means to help each other.<br />
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Currently the death toll for this small community stands at 26 but others are still missing. Nearby Russellville, Alabama is the home of the closest hospital for Phil Campbell residents. After speaking with a nurse that volunteered to help the night of the storm, I can tell you that many, many of the people in Phil Campbell were injured. Some with life threatening injuries. This storm has had an enormous impact on my state and my psyche, but nothing compared to that of the residents of Phil Campbell. In my nurse friend's 25 years of nursing she said that she had never seen anything like what she saw in the Russellville Hospital. She said they were forced to send people with injuries that definitely needed further medical attention on their way because of the sheer volume of people with more pressing injuries. It's a scary thought, but I also understand that these types of decisions had to be made to save lives. She likened the scene to that of a military field hospital which, in itself, should give you a good idea of the scope of havoc that has been reaped on this small town.<br />
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A friend of mine who happens to be one of the best photographers I've ever seen, made the grim trip to Phil Campbell to take some supplies for those that needed them. While driving, she struggled with documenting what she found with her camera, but eventually felt that it was important for people to see what she had seen. Her website contains more pictures of the Phil Campbell area as well as a lot of her other work. The pictures attached to this article were all Taken by Amanda. Please go visit Amanda's site as well. Her ability to tell a story with a lens is truly remarkable. She can be found at: <br />
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<a href="http://www.amandachapmanblog.com/">Amanda Chapman Photography</a><br />
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Tuscaloosa is a city that holds a special place in my heart and I know that they too are in dire need of assistance. The death toll continues to climb in Tuscaloosa and several hundred are still missing. My point is that we need to remember that it was not only Tuscaloosa that needs help. Another small community (Hackleburg) was completely demolished by the same tornado that hit Phil Campbell. Harvest, Alabama (a Huntsville Suburb) was leveled by another April 27th, tornado. Alberta just outside of Tuscaloosa, Pell City outside of Birmingham and the list just goes on and on were all hit hard by these storms. Then we can add to that lives lost in Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee to make this one of the darkest days in the history of the United States.<br />
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I am proud to be an Alabamian for many reasons, but one of the largest ones is being displayed everywhere I have looked over the last couple of days. The people of this state are donating money, time, clothes, water, gasoline and their most heartfelt sympathies for their fellow Alabamians that have lost so much. I cannot fail to mention the outpouring of "love for your fellow man" being shown by Americans everywhere. Penn State has organized drives to help out those in Tuscaloosa. Former Alabama coach, Gene Stallings was photographed cooking food for emergency workers. Even Alabama and Auburn fans have put aside their ongoing feud to help those that need help. Regardless of the tragedy this state is dealing with, it is comforting to know that people all over this great country do still care.<br />
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Lastly, PLEASE CLICK the Google Advertisements. I made a post at www.hogville.net (an Arkansas Razorbacks Message Board Community) asking for their help by clicking the ads. From that one post on that one site, I garnered 40 ad clicks and raised $30.81 through my Google Associates account. (Thanks Douglas and the rest of you Hawgs. You all are a class bunch.) By clicking on the ads, you are NOT agreeing to buy anything. It just takes a moment of your time and it is a way to help those who need it without costing you a dime. My intentions are to give all proceeds to the Red Cross. I am going to make sure this is done in a way so that the money is used in all states, not just Alabama. In all honesty, my communication is very limited right now due to the storms, but I will find a way to evenly distribute the monies. If that means writing a separate check to the Red Cross branch in each state that is what I will do. I will keep this site updated on what is happening with the money and how much we have been able to raise. If you have any questions, feel free to reach me at Bamason25@gmail.com or on twitter at @bamason25 . Please spread the word and try to get some clicks for these people who are in dire need.<br />
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EDIT: 5/1/01 - WWW.TIGERDROPPINGS.COM (a LSU fan site) and WWW.HOGVILLE.NET (A Arkansas Razorbacks fan site) Have been instrumental in getting people to click the google ads on this site. I can't thank them enough. Many other people have helped me via twitter and facebook. If everyone can just get a person or two to come here and click a google ad, we will be able to make a decent donation to the Red Cross. Keep up the good work, we've got a long road ahead of us. <br />
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RTR<br />
BamaSon25BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-69995314839525527402011-04-25T17:57:00.000-05:002011-04-25T17:57:18.693-05:00Day 56 - Alabama's Governor Did What? Trooper Taylor Did What?Alright everyone, I'm back to ramble on about a few things. There has been a little movement in BingoGate. There has been mud slinging from the plains. Brooks of SportsbyBrooks is still wrong more than he's right. Bobby LOUDER has somehow retained power at Auburn University. John Parker Wilson finally broke down and got a twitter account. AND.... Will Ferrell is still hilarious.<br />
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This past week, Gilley (one of the original Bingo - Eleven) plead guilty. In more than one instance he directly implicated Milton McGregor as being another to bribe Alabama State Officials for their votes to legalize gambling in the state. Gilley's guilty plea has set off a firestorm in both the media and the message board world. What exactly does Gilley's deal mean? That's anybody's guess. Regardless of what Milton McGregor's attorney (Joe Espy) would have us believe, it can't be good for Uncle Miltie. To me, Espy's statement of, "Nothing has changed." is about as convincing as Au's 2010 National Championship being on the up and up. How can things not have changed? One of the "co-indictees" has fingered Espy's client by name as being a party to bribery. Things have changed and this very well could be the beginning of the end for a lot of different people. Espy seems to think the Feds coerced Gilley's plea because of Gilley's personal situation (IE: In jail, sick wife, injured son, broke, cat is old, needs new tires, etc, etc, etc,). I hate to break it you Joe, but I think Gilley jumped on the deal knowing that if he did so first he would most likely get the most leniency when sentencing day rolls around. He's in the front of this roller coaster, but Mcgregor is the one with his hands up and screaming at the top of his lungs. Don't worry Uncle Miltie, you may have screamed at the first little dip, but I bet the next big one gets you some screaming company.<br />
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On the other hand, it is possible that Espy is 100% correct. Nothing has changed. If you will remember, back during the whole Healthsouth debacle, founder and CEO Richard Scrushy was directly implicated by several different people in the organization, yet was acquitted on all counts. They ended up backdooring Scrushy so he is at least in jail, but he just almost got away with it. If Uncle Miltie walks, Espy is right, nothing has changed. Corruption still runs rampant in the Alabama government.<br />
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Speaking of corruption in the Alabama State government. How about Governor Bentley's stamp of approval for Bobby LOUDER being reappointed for another term as a member of the Au board of trustees? What? Did I just actually type that? No, it can't be. Why in the world would a governor anywhere condone the appointment a guy that is expected to be indicted at any time in connection with the 3rd largest bank failure in the history of the United States? What politician in their right mind would make such a move? Well, hang on to your seats everyone as the answer to that one might be a bit startling. The answer? NONE. There isn't a politician anywhere that would back this guy UNLESS.... he felt sure nothing was going to happen to him or that the connection to the future jailbird would be minimal. That's a little scary to me. Does Bobby LOUDER have that much power? I think he thinks he does and he may be able to talk the game well enough to convince people like Bentley that all is going to come up perfect at the end of the day. I think the variable here is the FEDS in general. While I by no means think that the Federal Government is void of corruption, I do not think that LOUDER will have near as much control over the outcome of any possible upcoming proceedings as he appears to think he will. At the state level, he may have a scary amount of power, but on the federal level; I suspect LOUDER would be considered a peon. Of course, this is purely speculation on my part and I am open to anyone giving me a good reason as to why Bentley would continue to back him given the current circumstances. Campaign contributions aside, it just doesn't make sense. The not completely silent minority of normal fans, faculty and alumni from Au (yes, it is true, they aren't all raving lunatics) have balked at this and I sure hope that some of their "open letters" garner some national media attention. <br />
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Another bit of Au news? Surely not. What else can happen down there? Believe me folks, I think things are just getting going good down on the plains. The latest OSU / Tressell revelations may be giving the Plainsmen a bit of a break, but I sure wouldn't get out of my foxhole yet if I were them. The most recent Au commitment, Zeke Pike, had a very interesting article published a few days back. In that article he claimed he wasn't worried about the accusations being leveled at Au because Gus Malzahn Turned down $15 million, to stay at Au. MY question is from WHERE? Let's take it a step further. He also claimed that much maligned and accused Au assistant coach Trooper Taylor turned down a job with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys to stay at Au. MY response...PROVE IT. I've been told from several different directions that the Cowboys did not offer Taylor a job of any kind. So, if someone out there has information to the contrary, I would love to hear it. Otherwise, I'll file this in my ever growing collection of "Au Recruiting Trail Bull Crap." <br />
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On to Brooks... my favorite reporter wannabe. Oh Brooks, when will you ever learn? I find it hilarious that he outed the University of Tennessee for being a co-conspirator in all of the racial hate that Colonel Reb (Ole Miss' former mascot) supposedly brought to the SEC. Sorry Brooks, the Volunteers moniker has nothing to do with the Civil War. I'm an Alabama fan and know that the Vols take their name from the state's nickname of The "Volunteer" State. This is in reference to the war of 1812 and more specifically the Battle of New Orleans where Volunteer Soldiers from Tennessee played a major role. Come on Brooks, is your Google broken again? Did your UGA ties not help you out on this one or have they all disowned you too? Someone retweeted a post from you saying that you didn't blame the Tennessee fans for being mad at you. Well, what do you expect with the half-assed reporting you continue to do from of all places, LOS ANGELES, CA? The state that I and every other SEC fan are sure to turn to first when looking for information pertaining to the South. Everyone knows that Los Angeles is known for it's prowess on having a thumb and forefinger on the very pulse of the Southern states. DUDE.... write about something you have a clue about and even if you don't have clue at least try to actually "look into it" before you publish it. A reporter with Jeff Lee as a source, a reporter that censors opposing views (that actually prove what a dimwit you are), a reporter....YEAH RIGHT!<br />
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Former Alabama QB, John Parker Wilson finally got rid of his Nokia Bag phone and has joined the world of Twitter. You can find him @jpwilson4. Bama fans, add him and let him know we haven't forgotten him. JPW was crucial to turning the Alabama program around and while I must admit that he sometimes raised my blood pressure 20 points, he always gave everything he had. JPW is a winner and I am thrilled to see him get an opportunity at the next level. I have every bit of faith that he will eventually leave is mark at the next level as well.<br />
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I have no idea if @wilIferrell is the real Will Ferrell, but whoever it is; that guy is hilarious. Worth the twitter follow for sure.<br />
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My buddy the @BandiRef over at www.banditref.com is doing a major overhaul at his site. Keep an eye on it as it's about time for another one of his Toons to go viral. Show the love and remember to click an advertising link or two while there. It's a lot like tipping your waitress for guys like us. It only takes a second and actually does help us out.<br />
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RTR<br />
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BamaSon25BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-69661932757945804772011-04-19T07:27:00.003-05:002011-04-19T09:02:55.347-05:00Day 50 - Mark Ingram / Alabama's A-Day<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> The University of Alabama has beaten its own record for spring game attendance. I was going to do an article on it but my Buddy over at <a href="http://www.banditref.com/">http://www.banditref.com</a> beat me to it. His article does a fantastic job of looking at spring game attendance numbers from around the SEC. By comparison, there isn’t a school that even comes close to Alabama. Go read Bandit’s article to see exactly what I would have said. Click on an advertising link or two for him while you are there. It really does help guys like us out when you all do that.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So, we have now established that Banditref stole my idea and has left me with nothing to talk about. Thanks a lot man. We could talk a bit about the same old Auburn stuff, but I don’t feel like getting a bunch of hate mail today. We could talk about sportsbybrooks, but he would probably just try to find a way to censor it. We could talk about Mark Ingram. Hey, that’s an idea as Mark seems to be spending his days stuck in various airports around the country. We could also talk about what I saw at Bryant-Denny this past Saturday. So, off we go….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve tweeted Mark and asked for an interview. As busy as he is these days, I completely understand him not responding as yet, but Mark, just so you know; I will hit you up for it down the road. I am assuming that since Mark is in Boston he has been there to speak with the Patriots. Let me preface something here… I’m a huge Patriots fan. How can a guy from Alabama be a Patriots fan? Well, to make a long story short, when I was kid my Dad took me to buy one of those Miami Dolphins letter jackets that were so prevalent back in 70’s and 80’s. Upon arrival at the sporting goods store, I was saddened to see all of the Dolphins jackets were gone, leaving me with nothing but the Raiders, the Steelers and the Patriots to choose from. My Dad (not wanting to make another trip back for the Dolphins jacket) said, “You should be a Patriots fan son. They are red, white and blue…All American.” Well, from that day forward, I was a Pats fan. Keep in mind this was when they were horrible. They had some good players, but could never get it together, save maybe the 1985 season where the Bears trounced them relentlessly in the Super Bowl. They had players like Steve Grogan, Sam “Bam” Cunningham, Mosi Tatupu, Irving Fryar, Russ Francis and everyone remembers Darryl Stingley. I loved them then, so you can imagine how easy it has been for me to be a Pats fan these days. So, if there are any Patriots coaches, staff or administrators that happen across this blog, you need Mark Ingram. Trade up, do whatever you have to do, but get him. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Mark Ingram is being ripped off by Charlie Sheen on the whole winning thing. Mark Ingram is a winner period. I was lucky enough to meet Mark a couple of years back and was as impressed with his off the field demeanor as I was with what he did on Saturdays. In that meeting, Mark was surrounded by at least 100 other Alabama fans, but he did one thing that sticks out in my mind. I was trying to tell him something (exactly what it was I don’t remember. Probably just something about what a good job he had done earlier that day or any of the 1 billion comments like that he has to endure everywhere he goes).That day, Mark held his hand up (as if to say, “Give me just a second.”) and continued to listen to what I was trying to say. He could have grabbed the picture I was getting signed for my son and shoved it back to me while already getting to the next fan, but he didn’t. He took the time to appreciate me and what I had to say. I was already a Mark Ingram fan, but that day I became THE MARK INGRAM FAN. Add to this that the guy won the Heisman Trophy, runs like a cannonball and never, ever quits. He has fantastic hands and would fit perfectly in the Pats offense. He could contribute immediately and they need that. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">On to A-Day…. While some seem to think that A-day should be another closed scrimmage because the team could get more accomplished towards their goal of being Champions, I love the A-day game. I see the point and cannot disagree that an extra closed scrimmage would allow the coaches and players a chance to garner more valuable information to be used against the teams we will face in the upcoming season. On the other hand though, I love every second of it. The basic play book, (we don’t need Saban showing too much, too early do we?) the chances for kids that most likely will not get to play on Saturdays to get in the game, the atmosphere and our first glimpses of the new faces that will be sporting that Crimson Jersey in the upcoming years. I also think that A-day can and does provide some valuable insight to the coaches and the staff. It’s a chance for them to see how some of the younger kids are going to react when they are expected to perform in front of 93,000 people. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Quarterback Battle – McCarron or Simms? From what I saw Saturday, both are able to lead the Tide and neither separated themselves from the other. I’ve seen more scuttlebutt saying that Simms looked better than McCarron, but I just didn’t see it that way. I think they are neck and neck still. In my opinion, McCarron looks to be the safer bet in that he makes better decisions with his throws. This also makes me think that Saban probably has him a tick or two ahead of Simms. If you look at Saban’s history since arriving at the Capstone, he has placed a QB at the position that made good decisions. John Parker Wilson wasn’t the most athletic QB in the world nor did he possess a rifle arm, yet he’s making big money today holding a clipboard in the NFL. McElroy was from the same vein. I think Gmac was a bit more athletic than JPW and probably made better decisions on the whole as the Tide’s QB. I fully expect Gmac to have a successful NFL career as well. I think McCarron fits this mold better than Simms. You have to give the athletic ability a plus in the Simms column. As for arm strength, we hear more about Simms arm, but I think McCarron has a rocket as well. McCarron also seems to have a better feel for touch passes. Of course, this is all just my opinion, but I’m leaning towards McCarron being the front runner heading into fall camp. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">While on the subject of QB’s… I guess everyone noticed Blake Sims getting reps at the position. From what I have been told, Sims possesses a much better arm than anyone (staff included) originally thought. He spent his high school days in a spread type offence and performed very well in it. I wouldn’t be surprised for us to see him have some packages put together just for him. Remember over the last couple of years we (fans) kept wanting to see Mark or Trent throw out of the WILD TIDE formation. Well, I bet both of those guys would tell you that it probably wasn’t the best idea to do that very often. With Blake Sims, that may not be the case. Adding the ability to pass out of that formation will give opposing defenses a lot to look out for. I’m excited about that possibility.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">For the sake of time, I’ll do a more in depth write up on this year’s Crimson Tide in coming weeks, but I do want to go ahead and point out the obvious… TRENT RICHARDSON is a MANBEAST! He looked like he was ready to start the season already. He ran well, caught well and blocked well. He was a bit banged up last year, but man does he look healthy now. While nobody is talking a lot about it, the fresh legs that we will see supplement Trent this year is most likely going to be Eddie Lacey. Lacey is a load, a big, big load. He is surprisingly fast and can move the pile. He is a hard to tackle, hard to catch kind of runner. I think he was misdiagnosed last season with a case of fumblitus. You guys have to look at this way, he had very few touches and maybe tried to do too much with them. He’s fine and will be one of those backs that nobody wants to tackle. Much like Trent and Mark. Add in Dee Hart as a faster than a greased ghost on crack change of pace back and I see trouble for opposing D’s this year. I feel really good about the Tide. REALLY GOOD.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">RTR</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">BamaSon25</span></div>BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-84275561492958825302011-04-17T20:37:00.001-05:002011-04-17T21:38:20.847-05:00Day 48 - The TMZ of Sports Stomps On Other's 1st Ammendment RightsI probably shouldn't take the time to address this, but I just can't resist. This post has nothing to do with what I originally intended to write about, so I will get that one up for you guys as soon as possible<br />
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A couple of days ago, I received an email from a reader of this blog. In this email, he also copied a well known blogger (The Banditref, <a href="http://www.banditref.com/">www.banditref.com</a>). The email details how in retort to the second article posted by Brooks of www.sportsbybrooks.com concerning potential wrongdoings by Alabama in its recruitment of Brent Calloway that he was censored. The reader posted in the comments section of the Sportsbybrooks article and linked to my article, titled "A Babbling Brooks?" (that article can be found here: <a href="http://sportsandstuffnow.blogspot.com/2011/04/day-43-babbling-brooks.html">A Babbling Brooks?</a> ). In that article I posed some questions to Brooks in a very fair and polite manner. I even stated that I <u><i><b>WAS</b></i></u> a fan of Brooks on several occasions. Brooks never to took the time to acknowledge or respond to any of my questions either by the way. The reader then proceeded to tell me that his link to my article and a link left by the another poster directly above his to a Franklin County, Alabama periodical that also refuted Brooks' article were allowed to be posted to the comments section of Brooks site....VERY BRIEFLY. The reader went back to that section a few minutes later to see if any responses had been made to his post only to find that both the Sports and Stuff article as well as the Franklin, County newspaper articles had been removed. The reader then posted another comment simply asking, "Censor Much Brooks?" As you can imagine, that comment never made it to the comments section of Brooks' site at all. More out of curiosity than anything, I went to the sportsbybrooks article and noticed numerous links to other sites that supported Brooks article, but sure enough mine was no where to be found. Now, I could understand Brooks removing all links, as it is his site and I can see (even if petty and self indulgent) why he may not want any other sites advertised on his page. This is not the case. He allowed the links that didn't refute his article and removed the ones that did. I was able to confirm that the reader who sent me and The Banditref the email was telling the truth as my site received a massive 2 hits from the link's very short life on Brook's site.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SPHM8QXLkAg/TaujU8GaWuI/AAAAAAAAACQ/GX54eYaNAxU/s1600/brookslinkscropped3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SPHM8QXLkAg/TaujU8GaWuI/AAAAAAAAACQ/GX54eYaNAxU/s1600/brookslinkscropped3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A screenshot showing the 2 hits Sports and Stuff received during the short time it was up.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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Without calling names, I should also note that there have been numerous reports of SportsbyBrooks "telling on" others who have not blown favorable smoke in Brooks' direction. The funny thing is that Brooks never directly contacts the author that did not portray him in a shining light, but rather contacts the "YARDBARKER Administrative Team" (Yardbarker hosts blog sites similar to this and is affiliated with the FOX network). So, it appears to me that not only does Brooks censor people, he can't take the responses he gets when doing so without having to run and "tell the teacher" on whoever is doing it. A classic case of being able to dish it out but not being able to take it. <br />
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So, in my eyes, this seems to be irrefutable proof that SportsbyBrooks censors opposing views. Brooks is supposed to be a reporter but I can no longer attach that moniker to him. Reporters report, Dictators Censor. While Brooks hasn't proven to be either, I'm thinking he is more of a Dictator wannabe. Libya may be in the market for a new one soon and Castro can't live much longer. Maybe Brooks should go ahead an send his resume' in now. I'll give him a vote of confidence for either job.<br />
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Let's carry this a step further. I am now getting numerous messages that Brooks' latest "source" is none other than Auburn Rivals Site Editor, Jeff Lee (I guess impending legal troubles surrounding the Crucifixion of Peaches Winston, Brent Calloway and Darren Woodruff have caused him to go underground). Evidently, proof of that has also been removed from Brooks' site. I have not investigated these claims nor do I have anything to back them up, but I see no problem with putting it out there if it's ok for Brooks to twist the comments of a 9th grade high school athlete to fit the overall intent of his story. Nor do I have a problem with putting it out there just so that you guys know what I suspect Brooks of being. What's that you ask? I think Brooks is one of those guys that only cares about Brooks. He could care less about the validity of his articles much less the impact they may have on an innocent person. If this article can get one person to avoid paying attention to anything Brooks says, I will consider it a success. The thing is, I suspect many more than one will stop paying attention to him. <br />
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At this point, I suggest everyone that agrees with me move your opinion of Brooks into the same column as Jeff Lee. In my case the header on that column reads: "Half Assed Reporter Wanna Be's / Part Time Soft Porn Authors". While, I've never seen Brooks post any "soft porn" musings, it seems he knows someone that could give him some tips. One last thing, every sentence doesn't need it's own paragraph.<br />
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Hey Brooks......."CENSOR MUCH?"<br />
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RTR<br />
BamaSon25BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-25493195263491237152011-04-12T14:38:00.000-05:002011-04-12T14:38:20.236-05:00Day 43 - A Babbling Brooks?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</style> <![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">My last article was in response to the unfounded allegations by Auburn Rivals writer (and part time soft porn writer) Jeff Lee. In that article I pointed out several inconsistencies with both Lee’s allegations and his thought process. Since that time, it appears the Lee did succeed in causing a media swarm around Alabama’s recruitment of Russellville, Alabama’s Brent Calloway. The latest to jump on the “Bama did something wrong” bandwagon is www.sportsbybrooks.com. While I generally enjoy reading Brook’s articles, his latest columns do very little to make me think he knows as much as I previously thought. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Brooks seems to be reaching far and wide to support the ill reported story of Mr. Lee. I’ll take a few minutes to introduce you to all of the players in this scandal before proceeding:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Brent Calloway – A 3 to 5 star athlete (depending on which recruiting service you are viewing). Brent played both Linebacker and Running Back at Russellville High School. Alabama was recruiting Calloway more for the Linebacker position while Auburn was recruiting him as a Running Back.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“Peaches” Winston – Mr. Winston is Brent’s adoptive father who has a history of helping kids throughout the years. Mr. Winston has gone on record several times stating that he just wanted Brent to “do things the right way.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Darren Woodruff – a longtime friend of Winston and confidant of Calloway. Woodruff has stated that he is an Alabama fan but likes Auburn as well. Woodruff has been a part of Calloway’s life since Calloway moved in with Winston at the beginning of his freshman year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Jeffrey Lee – Auburn Rivals web site editor. Mr. Lee has a long history of slinging mud at anything related to the University of Alabama. Mr. Lee has released the personal information of another internet message board contributor to the public simply because the aforementioned person had some less than flattering things to say about Cam Newton and Auburn University.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Brooks – The namesake of the sports related news site <a href="http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/">www.sportsbybrooks.com</a> . Brooks is known for posting “more to the point” articles relating to sports matters across the United States. Brooks has a large following of which I must concede I am a part of.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Doug Goodwin – Russelville High School football coach until January 19<sup>th</sup>, 2011. He coached Calloway throughout his high school career. Goodwin was named the head coach at Homewood High School circa January 19<sup>th</sup>, 2011. Goodwin is a former Auburn University football player and alum. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Now that we have the cast in place and have a little background on them, let’s see if we can nail anything down to Brook’s latest claims. Brook’s seems to think that Winston has unknowingly incriminated Woodruff by saying that Woodruff has helped with Calloway’s recruitment since his freshman year. He has supported this thought process by taking a statement made by Calloway that he transferred to Russellville High School to increase his chances at getting noticed by a major college. Brooks seems to think that these two statements have now branded Woodruff as a University of Alabama booster. I wholeheartedly disagree.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">First off, a statement made by a teenager while a freshman in high school cannot be considered as bankable. When I was younger, I had delusions of grandeur about the possibilities of me playing for the Atlanta Braves. I may have even made that statement publicly to those that I went to school with, at church or other kids I played ball with. Sadly, my dream never came to fruition, but if it had; does my statement from years earlier mean that I knew it was going to happen? Of course it doesn’t. A lot of kids THINK they are going to be this or that when they get older only to find out that life’s circumstances get in the way. In other words Brooks, that part of your inference does not hold water for me. <span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span> </span><span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Secondly, the statement by Peaches Winston saying that Woodruff had been helping with Brent’s college recruiting since the 9<sup>th</sup> grade means absolutely zilch. There is no way you are going to get me to believe that as a 9<sup>th</sup> grader Woodruff, Goodwin or Winston could possibly know that Calloway was going to end up being a highly touted recruit. Sure there may have been signs that he could be, but there are way too many variables that could change the final outcome long before Calloway reached his senior year. He could have become a kid that got in with the wrong crowd and been kicked off the team as a freshman. He could have had a career ending injury as a sophomore. He could have just not developed in the mental aspect of the game to a point to where he was ever a factor even at the high school level. So, once again, your inference that Woodruff was acting as a “handler” for Calloway just doesn’t hold water. Woodruff was a family friend before Calloway and will be one after Calloway. Calloway’s choice to become part of that family endeared him to Woodruff as well. You can’t expect the elders in a kid’s life not to give valuable input on a kid’s future. Furthermore, Woodruff is less of an Alabama booster than I am as he gives no money to the University nor does he hold season tickets. These kids have real lives and will interact with adults. Those adults that genuinely care for the kid have a right to give advice in that kid’s best interest. Winston plainly said he would support Calloway if he went to Auburn as did Woodruff. As a matter of fact, I think Woodruff stated something to the effect of, “I am a Brent Calloway fan.” That doesn’t sound like someone pushing the kid anywhere. Winston simply wanted his son to honor his word as it relates to the original commitment he made to Alabama. He wants his son to do the right thing in the right way. From the tone of your two articles relating to all of this, it seems to me that you would have the kid either not listen to the advice of his family or better yet, let a coach that may actually have some underlying reason to steer a kid to a particular school play that role. Honestly, I don’t think you have looked at it from that point of view.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Speaking of coaches… Goodwin was still involved with Calloway’s recruitment after he was no longer the coach at Russellville High School. To me, that should be raising your eyebrows more than a documented relationship going back 4 years or so. Goodwin’s AU ties most likely had a good bit to do with Calloway’s flip from Alabama to Auburn in the first place. <span> </span>At least it appears that way to me and many others from this neck of the woods. So, if you’re looking for a story, I suggest checking into that side of things. While you are at it, you might want to look into some of the other allegations floating around Calloway’s recruitment from the Auburn coaching staff. I’ll bet if you start digging in that hole, you’ll find more to write about than Calloway’s relationship with his father and a family friend. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Add to all of this the fact that the writer that started the whole thing is less than credible. In your article inferring booster status to Woodruff, why didn’t you point out how everything else Lee claimed to be fact was debunked? Hard to pay a man’s mortgage off when that was done 15 years prior. Hard to produce a new car for a kid that rides the bus every day. We can go on and on here. Like I said, I am a fan of yours but in this instance I feel like you are reaching for a connection and I don’t understand why. Is it because you have been bombarded by Auburn supporters with emails calling you a Bammer or the like? Is it because you needed to get more clicks on your site to meet a quota of some kind? Just what is your reasoning here? I submit that you have lost focus on where the real issues may be.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The sad thing is this (and it doesn’t matter if you are an Alabama or an Auburn fan): This whole thing instigated by Jeff Lee has put the future of Brent Calloway in jeopardy. This was done simply because of Lee’s hatred of Alabama. If there is a wrong doing in this case on the Alabama side of things, I submit that it was done by Calloway’s family being ignorant of the NCAA’s multitude of selectively enforced bylaws regarding a prospect’s recruitment. I also submit that Lee’s actions will at most make Calloway ineligible before he has ever even enrolled at Alabama. So, Lee has tainted a kid and possibly ruined his entire future. Way to go Mr. Lee, I think you are better suited for the position of part time porn industry writer. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">RTR</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">BamaSon25</span></div>BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-74808895056236795292011-04-08T16:02:00.002-05:002011-04-09T00:18:28.239-05:00Day 39 - It's Not Us.... It's YOU!!!<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Yesterday morning, Jeff Lee (writer for the Auburn Rivals site) went on WNSP radio out of Mobile, Alabama with some very strong accusations leveled at the Crimson Tide’s recruitment of Brent Calloway. Well, I say they were strong, but mostly they were just accusations. The accusations were intended to be devastating and probably would have been had two things happened. One, they needed to be true and verified and Two, if they were true they should have not been let out before Calloway ever set foot on the Alabama campus to achieve maximum devastation. Mr. Lee went as far as to publicly discuss Calloway’s adoptive father (Peaches Winston) and his personal financial status. This is the same Jeff Lee who also leaked the personal information of a Florida State University message board (<a href="http://www.warchant.com/">www.warchant.com</a>) poster because he had some unflattering things to say about Auburn University and Cam Newton. This is the same Jeff Lee who has pointed more fingers at Alabama than a 5 star recruit points towards the heavens after a Friday night slaughtering of a smaller high school. This is the same Jeff Lee that touts infinite knowledge of every wrong doing potentially surrounding the University of Alabama, yet he has missed more recruiting promises than the NCAA Hoops Championship game missed 3 pointers. This is the same Jeff Lee that promised a follow up to yesterday’s radio interview with WNSP, but didn’t bother to show up this morning. This is the same Jeff Lee that for some reason unknown on this earth that Au fans continue to support.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I have some questions about Lee’s reasoning more so than I do the accusations he made. The simple fact is that Calloway’s recruitment was crazy from the beginning of this last recruiting season. I’m not saying that there was not some wrong doing by some overzealous Alabama fan related to his recruitment. I’m not saying that simply because I don’t know for sure. It’s near impossible to police the overzealous fan. I can tell you that I 100% believe that Nick Saban, his coaches or anyone at the University of Alabama had anything to do with any of it. As a matter of fact, I heard some pretty earth shattering accusations leveled at Au regarding Calloway’s recruitment. Those allegations would put an alleged payment of $2500.00 to his dad and a new car to shame. Those allegations surpass breaking NCAA bylaws and cross right over into the criminal side of things. BUT…There’s a big difference in what I heard and what Jeff Lee has done. I didn’t get on a radio station and claim anything that I heard to be true. As a matter of fact, I have only alluded to possible improprieties without being specific as to the charges. Why? BECAUSE I DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE PUTTING SOMETHING OUT THERE THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE VALID!!!!!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I do find it odd that Calloway, after being a lifelong Alabama fan and a verbal commitment to the Tide for 9 months, suddenly changed his commitment. I do find it odd that when he changed it back to Alabama, all of these “LEELIKE” rumors started to make their rounds on internet message boards. I also find it odd that these rumors are surrounding a 4 star player that Alabama didn’t really need. Don’t get me wrong, Calloway is a real athlete. I have seen him play, but the simple fact is he was not very high on Alabama’s wish list, especially at the position he wants to play. Lastly, I find it odd that the rumors themselves could easily be tied back to every rumor I’ve heard about Alabama recruiting for the last 10 years. Just remove Calloway’s name and insert the name of any Alabama player you like. They all sound the same; only the names have been changed to incriminate the innocent. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The one thing I guess I should take the time to do (just in case Lee's story happened to have a shred of truth in it) is thank Jeff Lee. Mr. Lee thank you for alerting the University of Alabama Compliance Department to possible issues concerning Brent Calloway's eligibility. Because you have thrown this stuff out so publicly and early, the University now has plenty of time to investigate and send it's findings to the NCAA long before Calloway ever becomes a student at the university. If some how you have managed to be correct on any of it, Alabama can stop it before any real damage is done. With enemies like you, who needs friends?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Here’s what I think: I think that it is possible that some rumblings I have heard regarding another big news story that is about to hit the plains have been heard by the likes of Jeff Lee. I think that this has scared the lunatic fringe Au faithful into being proactive by using their “Deflect, Deny and Deter” defense. In this case, it’s “Deflect and Deter.” For those of you who have been following the Au saga(s) closely, I’m sure you will all agree this is standard operating procedure of late. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As for the big news story that may be about to hit. I heard that a certain writer with a track record for hitting these types of sports related big stories dead on is about ready to drop a bomb. I contacted this writer and while he was very polite in his response, he declined comment. He did say that he was aware of Jeff Lee’s actions yesterday and that those actions were Jeff Lee’s decision. This probably explains why people like Brooks (<a href="http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/">www.sportsbybrooks.com</a>) feel like Lee’s constant reaffirming that it was not an “Alabama Alumni” or “Alabama Booster” during his radio interview was calculated so as to not open himself up for possible legal troubles. The problem is, he did that any way. Due to time constraints I will not continue to pick apart all of the holes in Lee’s story. I’ll save that for a day that looks less appealing outside. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So, I’ll leave you guys with this: It’s nice outside, the whole Alabama vs. Auburn rivalry is just getting ridiculous and gas prices are too high. I’m just counting the days until next Friday when I will embark on my annual trip to Tuscaloosa with my son to enjoy the A-day festivities. It’s our last chance for football until the fall. I love sports…. YAHOO…..YAHOO….YAHOO…YAHOO… YAHOO…..YAHOO….YAHOO YAHOO…..YAHOO….YAHOO…YAHOO… YAHOO…..YAHOO….YAHOO YAHOO…..YAHOO….YAHOO!!!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">RTR</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">BamaSon25</span></div>BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-1613031325533954072011-04-01T12:38:00.000-05:002011-04-01T12:38:22.629-05:00Day 32 - PAY THE KIDS!!!!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</style> <![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">This past Wednesday night HBO aired a special regarding the state of college football. This program (I think) was intended to publicize the question of “Should college athletes be paid for their services?” After airing the interviews with the 4 former Auburn players, I believe the original intent of the program was derailed and rightfully so. The allegations made by the 4 former players further fueled what the majority of the college football world was already accusing Au of being involved in. It gave credence to the 100’s of message board posts, blog posts and media reports alluding to a long list of improprieties concerning Au’s athletic department. This entry will touch on a few thoughts regarding Au’s troubles, but the main focus will be on the problems surrounding the kids that really bring home the money for their respective schools.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Auburn Head Coach, Gene Chizic, made a statement calling the HBO special “one sided “and “pure garbage.” HBO promptly retaliated with (paraphrased) “We made numerous attempts to allow Au to give their side of the story. They declined.”<span> </span>You would think that the Au Sports Information Department would at least give their football coach a “heads-up” that they were not commenting on the allegations. With the PR disaster that was already barreling full bore down South Donahue Drive, this is simply another layer of concrete behind the brick wall crossing the road. Come on guys, if you’re going to try to spin these things at least work together on it. What’s interesting here is that numerous reports have said that Au has sought “outside council” in the matter. If it’s all pure garbage…. If there is no investigation ongoing (as sooooo many of the Au faithful claim)…. If they really are an open book… Why would they garner any legal services at this juncture? I think that standard operating procedure at this point would be to notify the NCAA that the institution is launching an internal investigation and will apprise the NCAA of that investigation’s findings when concluded. LSU was accused of a booster being involved in the HBO program and they did just that. What’s the point of the 3<sup>rd</sup> party council? This is purely a guess as I have not investigated who the 3<sup>rd</sup> party council is, but I bet a hand shined nickel that the firm is also representing someone involved in the Colonial Bank trials, the Bingogate trials or the Cam Newton scandal. I wouldn’t be surprised if this legal firm is not involved in all three scenarios.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As I said in a previous entry, what the former players had to say screams for attention from the NCAA. I suspect that attention was already being given, but now the NCAA will have to be a bit more public about it all. Already, there have been statements swirling around that they want to talk to the players. I’m sure it was for legal reasons that HBO did not air the name of the coach known now as “the Mailman”, but I have no doubt that the name was given to HBO by the former Au players. If that’s the case, you can bet your bottom dollar that the NCAA will be talking to him. Garnered from doing a little bit of internet sleuthing, I have determined that “the Mailman” is still coaching football, but not at Au. If I am correct in whom I think “the Mailman” is, he might sing and sing loud. If I’m correct, his departure from the plains was not all sweet and rosy. Add to that the assumption that his career in athletics may very well be on the line and you have the recipe for more rebar to be added to my aforementioned wall.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">On to the kids… In all honesty, (with the exception of the Au player that was being given “mail” by the coach) the $100.00 handshakes is something that Au Coaches (or any other coaching staff for that matter) cannot control. If I wanted to go give a player that I didn’t know a C-note or two, I could do it and nobody would be the wiser of it. Even the player wouldn’t have a clue as to who I was. This type of thing happens and happens everywhere. While I think it is a stupid thing for any fan of any school to do, I just don’t see any way that could be policed. The fact that a coach was involved in the AU allegations is what will be more bad news for them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I have seen many different reasons to pay or not to pay college athletes. Let’s look at a few of the better arguments out there. If forced to take a stance on this, I am going to fall into the “PAY THE KIDS” crowd, but I do understand the proponents of the other side. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span>1.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">DON’T PAY THEM – The main reason we hear that kids should not be paid is that they are there for an education. They get a free ride to school, they get free meals and they get free housing. In many people’s eyes that should be enough. I disagree for a number of reasons and I’ll expand on a few of them. It is correct that the kids are there to get an education, but that is not the reality of the situation. College athletics is big money and these kids are expected to produce at a certain level to maintain their scholarships. If that is the case, how can you fault a kid for spending more time than he should on the athletic side of things? At that point in their young lives, that scholarship is their ticket, their livelihood. It doesn’t matter if that is right or wrong, it is what it is. Furthermore, these kids cannot work the normal part-time jobs that most college students can work. Their schedules do not allow for it and even if they did, the coaches would expect them to be doing something related to their sport instead of working.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Another reason for not paying them is that lower level athletic programs and the athletic programs of smaller schools often operate in the red. How much money are you going to pay the kids at Alabama that are on the Under Water Basket Weaving team or the Cross Country Wrestling team? Does the catcher on the Girls’ Softball team get the same money as the star quarterback? Where does this money come from and what about the schools that are already operating in the red?</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span>2.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">PAY THEM - If you take into consideration the Tyrone Prothro segment of the HBO special and his obvious surprise at the $125 million that Bama made while he was the star of the football team, you have to think, “How can this be fair?” Given what ended up happening to Prothro, you would think that he could get something….anything… to help him out down the road. Sure Prothro’s example is little different, but I think it should extend to the kid that is the O-lineman on the scout team as well. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s looks at some of the numbers in a very loose fashion and see if it is even plausible to pay that kid from the cross country wrestling team? I called the University of Alabama and was given a number of roughly, on average, 600 student athletes on campus at any given time. This includes men and women, scholarship athletes and walk-ons. The University of Idaho has roughly 400 student athletes. Alabama being a larger school, Idaho being a smaller one I’ll just use 500 as the number on average. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">If we paid each of the 500 kids $1200.00 per month in addition to their existing scholarship benefits, that would bring the total yearly expense (or payroll) to roughly $7.2 million for the entire athletic program. Of course there is a lot more to this than just these numbers, but there is also a lot more to the figure HBO spouted off of $125 million during Prothro’s career. There are tons and tons of dollars that are generated by everything from hat sales, to speaking engagements to media rights that Alabama makes money off of. In short, $7.2 million is a drop in the bucket. Alabama could pay their kids and all of the kid’s at Vandy too. Florida could pay all of their kids and the kids at Ole Miss too. And so on and so on. The cash cow schools could easily aid the other schools in their conference in this regard. Heck they already have the system partially set up with the bowl sharing that is distributed via the SEC. So, I think it could be done. Furthermore, I contend that Bowl’s themselves should be forced to contribute to the payroll account of the schools that are playing in their bowl. I see no reason for the big wig at the Fiesta Bowl to make $650K a year. Cut his pay, and donate it to the kitty. Overall, we are talking millions and millions of dollars being made off of these kids and they do not get a dime of that money. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">We have established that these kids can’t work and can’t get paid, but the Universities are allowed to use their likeness, their media footage and anything else they can squeeze a dime out of. It just isn’t right. Especially when you look at someone like Tyrone Prothro who literally left everything he had on the field at Bryant Denny Stadium. We have also now established that paying every kid in college athletics is also feasible. Let’s take it a step further now.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I think this scenario should also be looked at. I’m going to use Julio Jones as he was a big time recruit coming out of high school and is obviously going to go early in the NFL draft. Another reason to use Julio is he came out of college early. Why? Simple, MONEY! We can’t expect Julio to stay and risk being injured and losing his shot at all of those dollars. So, Julio foregoes his senior year and his diploma in hopes of cashing in at the 1<sup>st</sup> bank of the NFL. I would too if I were in his shoes, but I digress. What if when Julio went through the pre-eligibility process when coming to Alabama and at the point where he signed on for his aforementioned $1200.00 per month he had an option. He knew when he came out of high school that he had the tools to make something off of his talents. He just wasn’t allowed to put them into play because of the NCAA restrictions. What if Julio had been given the opportunity to forego his $1200.00 per month and (with the blessing of the NCAA) take his chance with an agent to handle all of the marketing of his persona? It would be Julio’s gamble that he could pick the right guy and make money off of it, but at least he would have had some say in all of it. Makes too much sense doesn’t it? That’s probably exactly why it will never happen. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Big money means big corruption and college athletics is up to its neck in both. Something is going to have to be done sooner rather than later otherwise the problem is only going to worsen. There are other viable solutions out there as well and I may hit on those in some upcoming posts. In a world of $5 million dollar coaches, million dollar assistants, million dollar bowl representatives we can afford to .... PAY THE KIDS!</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
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</style> <![endif]-->BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-59859800629214448612011-03-30T16:54:00.001-05:002011-04-01T07:18:33.236-05:00Day 30 - THE 3 D's / INCOMING!!!<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“How can it be? Not at my school. We are so above that. It’s just the Bammers trying to ruin us. Those players have an axe to grind. Those players got paid by HBO to smear us. I don’t understand why Brooks (<a href="http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/">www.sportsbybrooks.com</a>) is after us. Didn’t an Alabama fan try to kill our trees? Everyone does it. Nothing to see here, just more Bama wishful thinking. There is no proof. The statute of limitations has run out. Hey look, its Superman. “ Ok, Ok… I just made the last one up, but can anyone tell me where all of the above statements came from? Yep…AUBURN UNIVERSITY FANS. Remember from a few posts back the Three D’s, “Deflect, Deny & Deter?” Well, if you have checked the comment section of most any media site since Sports by Brooks posted his transcripts from tonight’s HBO Real Sports Special on his web site; you can plainly see that my Three D’s are in overdrive.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">This is not the end of all of it by any means. As a matter of fact, I suspect this to really just be the beginning. With the allegations made by Stanley McClover, Troy Reddick, Raven Gray and Chaz Ramsey, the Au faithful have had to kick it up notch. I must admit, they have stayed true to the cause with their chants of “We are innocent, but Alabama is up to something” for a long time. Sadly (for them) it just wasn’t enough deflection to keep the truth under wraps. It’s out now and the smoke we have seen billowing from the plains is now accompanied by the tips of flames starting to flicker above the roof line of the Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum<b>. </b>I would love to be a fly on the wall in those athletic offices this morning. Don’t you know that there are very few normal day to day duties being performed in the football offices today? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve read the transcripts of Andrea Kremer’s interview with the Au players and no matter what kind of spin one might try to put on this, there is no doubt that the interviews demand action from the NCAA. If the NCAA does not follow through on this, I suspect the backlash from fans nationwide to be painful. There is no way that this does not open up a side to the Au saga that has only been touched on to this point. I have been following the whole thing since a day or two after </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.tigerdroppings.com/">www.tigerdroppings.com</a> ‘s Blue Tuna Tiger started his epic “As the Plains Burn” thread. In all honesty, knowing what I have heard from a few of my friends who are closely connected to the Alabama program and what I have learned from exchanges on Blue Tuna Tiger’s thread, nothing said in these interviews really surprised me. I have been hearing of pay for play being rampant at Au since Pat Dye strolled the sidelines as head coach of the Auburn Tigers. Those claims have never subsided and never subdued. Those claims have always been something I hear from one year to the next regarding certain recruits. I guess if I find anything surprising about the transcripts it is the fact that the players claimed a systematic way of earning more money based on their play on the field (IE: $1000.00 per sack against Alabama). When Brooks made his post yesterday, he opened up much more than a can of worms, he put a bull’s-eye on the back of everyone associated with Auburn University’s athletic program. His willingness to stay after the topic will surely force more mainstream media to stay the course as well. The final result? I suspect we will hear screams of “INCOMING!” from those on the plains week in and week out until the most hefty penalties given to an institution since SMU are handed down. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m hearing that there is more and more coming out Arkansas relating to the recruitment of a certain blue chipper from that neck of the woods. His association with a 7 on 7 camp and that camp’s street agent ties are another missile I expect to be barreling in on Au in the near future. Add to that the scuttlebutt floating around concerning the former Au player turned getaway driver from that neck of woods and how he may be willing to talk about a lot of different things to save his own skin and we could have two separate projectiles being fired from Arkansas at the plains. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Speaking of getaway drivers, a couple of the other three felons have seemingly been tied to an Atlanta, GA based gang. Was the hit on the trailer in Auburn a gang related task? Who knows, but it’s a valid question that bears investigating. Were the two players not linked to the Atlanta area being actively recruited for the gang? Who knows, but it’s a valid question that bears investigating. Are there other players on the Auburn football team that are associated with this Atlanta area gang? Who knows, but it’s a valid question that bears investigating. Have there been other incidents involving Au football players that have not made the mainstream media? I’ve heard that there are. Just another of many questions that bears investigating. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Since I seem to be in question mode…let’s continue with the questions I think need to be answered. Feel free to add to my list via the comments section and we will see if we can make any headway towards resolve.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">1.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Is Bobby LOUDER going to have his spot on the Au Board of Trustees reappointed quickly after his time is up next month?</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>BamaSon25's Speculative Answer:</b> I do not think it will happen quickly. If it does, then that means that there is someone in a higher administrative position who is actually making moves to right the sinking ship that is Auburn University. I’m not ready to concede that such a person exists at that institution.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">2.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Will Bobby LOUDER ever be indicted? </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b>Bamason25's Speculative Answer:</b> Yes, he will be indicted, but not before the Department of Justice has everything they need to insure the outcome they are after. I expect Mr. LOUDER to serve major time when this is all said and done. I do not expect this to happen quickly, but rather a few years from now.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">3.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Will the wiretap tapes made by the FBI during the “BingoGate” investigation be admissible in court?</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Bamason25's Speculative Answer:</b></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> Yes, I think the wiretaps will be deemed admissible. The FBI wrote the book on these types of investigations. While the defense attorneys are doing their best to keep them out of court, in the end I think their efforts will be futile.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">4.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Will the NCAA be allowed access to the Federal Government’s evidence gathered during their investigation(s)?</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>BamaSon25's Speculative Answer:</b> Yes, the NCAA will be allowed to know of the indiscretions that pertain to infringement of NCAA bylaws. The FEDS have worked with the NCAA on numerous occasions before, why would this case be any different?</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">5.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Will the NCAA act on the mountains of evidence they have had thrown in their lap pertaining to improprieties committed by Auburn University?</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>BamaSon25's Speculative Answer:</b></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> I think so. A few months ago, I think we might have seen this all go quietly into the night, but not now. With people like Blue Tuna Tiger making sure that all of the allegations stay at the forefront of the average fan’s thoughts, I do not see how they cannot address the Au situations. I think that the penalties that will be handed down to the University of Tennessee may be a good indicator of what the NCAA’s intent is with Au. Most think UT will be hammered, but I think they end up with less than thought. Why? I’ve been told that UT has given the NCAA a lot of information pertaining to Au’s recruiting habits in effort to lessen their own penalties. If what I was told holds true, UT has given them some very strong evidence. Add to that the fact that LSU, Alabama, Mississippi State, Georgia, Florida and Florida State have all directly voiced their unhappiness with Au’s recruiting habits to the NCAA and there is just too much to ignore. As a bonus, you have prominent boosters from many colleges that may have information that they will go public with if the NCAA drops the ball on this. The NCAA already takes a daily beating from the general public; I just don’t think they can afford to take a lackadaisical stance in this regard. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">6.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> Is SACS going to get involved?</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>BamaSon25's Speculative Answer:</b></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> I don’t see how they cannot. With statements being made that players were asked to change their major because it was “infringing on football”; SACS has to be perking up. Add to that the fact that the same player said he never went to class after changing his major and SACS definitely has to jump on board. I’ve said all along that I suspect SACS may be the downfall of Au long before the NCAA has to do anything. They seem to work at a much faster pace than does the NCAA. I still hold true to that belief.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">7.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">What was the biggest bombshell in the HBO transcripts?</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>BamaSon25's Speculative Answer:</b></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> I really wasn’t floored by any of it, but I think there were several things said that will ultimately force the NCAA’s hand. Probably the biggest thing to come out of that is the “You’ve got mail” being given to a player by a coach. That is much different than an anonymous booster giving a $100.00 handshake. If true, that proves complacency by the Au administration in the whole pay for play scenario. It proves that Au coaches were not only aware of it, but were involved (thus condoning) in it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t think that Au will get hit with the dreaded “Lack of Institutional Control” by the NCAA. I think the NCAA will have to come up with a new catch phrase when this one is said and done. Something along the lines of “Perpetuation of Illegal Practices by the Institution” perhaps? It can’t be “Lack of Institutional Control” if the Institution itself is controlling it all now can it?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">RTR</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">BamaSon25</span></div>BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-30359326687336685882011-03-23T10:01:00.002-05:002011-03-23T11:29:26.891-05:00Day #23 - Decisions, Decisions, Decisions<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The University of Alabama Head Coach has a lot of decisions to make. Nick Saban has to determine all kinds of things this spring. He needs to try to figure out who his starting QB will be, who will supplement Trent Richardson in the running game, what he needs to do to a couple of misbehaving players, who will wear a redshirt and who will not, and how much leeway to give the new assistants on the Crimson Tide Staff. Given the talent on this year's squad Coach Saban has decisions, decisions, and more decisions to make.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Crimson Tide kicked off its spring practice sessions and there were a few notable things going on. First and foremost, Mark Barron was in attendance sporting his black “no contact” jersey. Coming on the heels of his arrest this past weekend, I and the rest of the Bama nation wondered if he would be allowed to practice this spring. Saban basically told the media after the practice session that Barron did something stupid and was only trying to cover up for his cousin. He went on to say that the matter would be handled internally and there would be no other information forthcoming from the Tide program on the subject (Sound familiar? Read my post regarding Barron published a couple of days ago). I agree it was stupid, but the crime did not hurt anyone and I’m glad that Mark will get a chance to finish out his senior year in a Crimson jersey. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The other decision relating to off field troubles is in regard to Robbie Green. Green, a safety on last year’s squad was suspended for the season for the ever so evasive “breaking team rules” violation. Then we hear that Saban has once again suspended him citing the same reason. Last year there were many rumors surrounding the reason Green was suspended, but I heard that it was for failure to pass a drug screening. If that’s true and it is a similar situation this time, I don’t expect to see Green ever return to the field at Alabama. Even if last year’s rumor wasn’t true, I still think Green’s days playing for the Tide may be over. Saban’s doghouse is most definitely somewhere you don’t want to be. To go back for a second time means you are either an idiot or just don’t give a darned. Either way, don’t be surprised to see Green anywhere other than Bryant Denny. I hope I’m wrong because Green is a talent, but behavior that repetitively lands you in trouble is not needed on this football team. It can work like a cancer and grow from within. So Mr. Green, if you get another chance, GROW UP!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The QB battle is the main topic for Bama fans going into the spring practice sessions. The battle between AJ McCarron (anointed successor to McElroy) and Phillip Sims (young buck superstar) is going to be one worth watching. I wouldn’t expect a starter to be named this spring as I think the off season / summer workouts will allow both guys to grow considerably at the position. In all honesty, I think the winner will be the guy who plays using his brain. Look at Saban’s last two QB’s and note what they have in common. Both John Parker Wilson and Greg McElroy were game managers. While they had adequate athletic ability, it was their intelligence in game situations that kept them in their starting positions. From an athletic standpoint, both Star Jackson and McCarron were more athletic than the previous two starters, but I would take GMAC’s tenacity, smarts and general management skills every time over both of them (I think we will miss GMAC probably more than anyone suspects at this point). Sims is definitely more athletic than McCarron but will he make smart decisions on the field? He’s young and aggressive, two great qualities to have in a football player but not necessarily the qualities that Saban seems to look for. McCarron has more time in the system as well as “real” game experience. It is these two factors that I think will ultimately make McCarron our starter for the fall. This is my opinion and I could be totally wrong, but it is at least an educated guess.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">McCarron made a statement last year that seemed to indicate that the loser of this QB battle may end up transferring. If McCarron loses this battle, he may do just that. I’m not so sure Sims would jump ship so quickly. He still has some learning to do and has the time to make a push for the starting job. That part of this battle will be interesting to watch.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Who will supplement Trent Richardson in the running game with the premature exit of Mark Ingram? In all honesty, there is a stable full of studs at the RB position in Tuscaloosa. I offer that any one of the guys behind Richardson could and probably would start at any school in the SEC save maybe South Carolina. I personally think Eddie Lacey is the guy to watch. While he got a lot of bad press for what was misdiagnosed as a case of fumblitus last season, the kid is a beast. He is surprisingly quick and agile for his size, not to mention he does have breakaway speed. He is a threat to run over a defender or break his ankles with a nice juke move. His fumble issues came from trying to make too much happen when he had the chance. It was a non-problem, I’m almost sure of it. Don’t forget incoming freshman, Dee Hart. He is a little smallish compared to prototypical Saban RB, but he wouldn’t be there if Saban didn’t think he could carry the load for him. He will get his looks this spring and again in the fall. Running Back is the easiest position on offense for a guy to start at as a freshman (not that I think he will start), so I think he very well may have an opportunity to avoid a redshirt next season. If Saban thinks he can help the Tide, he will play. Goode seems to improve every game, so don’t count him out by any means. He runs hard and secures the ball well. Those are two things that will not go unnoticed by Saban. While the other backups are all “playable”, I think the three I have mentioned here will be the ones to watch this spring, summer and in fall camp. One of them will emerge as the sure fire bet to supplement Richardson.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">MICHAEL BOWMAN – What the heck is this guy? Is he a TE? Is he a WR? I’m not really sure myself, but what I am sure of is that he is the guy I expect to really step up this year. With the exit of Julio, Bowman is by far the biggest receiver on the squad. He can run, jump, block and catch. I think we will see him lineup in multiple sets at different positions. One thing that Bama has done on a limited basis is move the WR’s around to get matchups that they like against an opposing secondary. We may see this more often this season with Bowman. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him line up as a fullback, a TE or a WR. A Bowman verses a LB matchup would be something I would love to see. I don’t think there is a LB in the country that can run with him. I fully expect him to be more than a possession type receiver.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The WR position as a whole is very deep. This could be Hank’s year. He’s shown flashes of greatness, but was often overshadowed by Julio. Darius will make a splash this season, bank it. Marquis Maze will also take on a much larger role this season. I expect us to see our top WR as Hanks, Maze and Bowman. The thing I like most about the Tide receivers this year is the depth. I think we will see a ton of WR’s play this season… it’s the fresh leg theory. From a depth perspective, I don’t see any defense having enough capable DB’s to run with us. I expect huge numbers in the passing game this season (which also bodes well for Richardson making the Heisman ballot). If you can pass, you can run and vice versa.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">ED STINSON – The former RB, turned TE, turned LB is now a DE. If the kid keeps growing, he may replace the entire defensive line. I’m not 100% sure that he will play at DE, but he sure did work with that group in the practice session. Stinson is a bull, has speed and a fantastic work ethic. I’ve been told he pushes himself in the weight room in the same vein that Trent Richardson does. It’s that kind of thing that gets a guy noticed and Stinson has obviously gotten on Saban’s radar. Saban is the best at getting the right players on the field regardless of what position they have played previously. If Stinson needs to be on the field at DE, that’s where he will be. Congrats to you Big Ed….keep up the hard work.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">ZEUS!!!! – Hightower’s knee injury season before last bothered him all last season. While he played the best he could, he simply didn’t have the range he had prior to the injury….until… the last game of the season. Ask any number of Michigan State players if they thought Hightower had regained his pre-injury form. I’ll bet that it would be a resounding “YES” from all of them. I think Saban kept Hightower in the position last season because he knew that he had speed around him and he needed Hightower’s leadership abilities and “defensive QB” skills on the field to compensate for the loss of Rolando McClain. Hightower was fine against the runs between the tackles, it was the sideline to sideline requirements he was hurting in last season. Against MSU (the Yankee one) he seemed to be back to his old self. I look for him to be a terror this season. This is the final year for him to show what he can do. My money is on him making believers out of NFL scouts left and right. Welcome back Mr. Hightower.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Overall, I have really high expectations this year even though we lost some major contributors from last year’s squad. The depth that this Crimson Tide team has is simply unbelievable. Think about all of the guys I haven’t even mentioned in this article. You have the likes of Lester, Nico, J. Harris, Kirkpatick, P. Jones, Milliner, Lowery, Upshaw and Menzie to name a few on defense. Then offensively there are guys like Bell, Fluker, Fowler, Gibson, Norwood, Blake Sims, and Smelley plus a ton of others. Then add to that all of the young bucks that have the potential to contribute such as: Carswell, Depriest, Hart, Grant, Orr, Smith, White and several others. The Tide is rising, no doubt in my mind about that.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">THE BAMSON25 WAAAAY TOO EARLY PREDICTION: We win the West and make a run for the big dance again this year. The play of our new QB will have a lot to do with making this prediction come true, but keep in mind that Trent Richardson is going to take a lot off of our new starter at the QB position. I’m excited… when is kickoff again?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">RTR</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">BamaSon25</span></div>BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-79339313971392854462011-03-21T08:30:00.002-05:002011-03-21T09:28:20.882-05:00Day #21.... Tis Only Fair<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">If one decides to look over all of the posts made since the inception of this blog, there is one glaring, recurring theme that I seem to point out. Auburn University. Even though I have repeatedly stated that my intent is not to slam Au, I must admit it has been my #1 topic. Mainly because they seem to have put themselves at the very forefront of my thought process by having so many people that are integral parts of that university allegedly involved in so many different aspects of corruption in both the criminal and collegiate arenas. Well, guess what Au fan? Today, you will get to hear me turn my ire towards my own beloved Capstone. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As so many Au fans have pointed out to me since the story broke regarding Alabama’s Senior safety (Mark Barron) and his arrest for obstructing / hindering justice, now is a chance for me to prove that I am not just targeting Au. In my last post, I mentioned how I thought Alabama was having fewer and fewer incidents that made the crime blotters across the state. Of course typing such words most likely greatly increased the odds of something happening this quickly. Murphy’s Law is no joke. That said, I still contend that the incidents involving Alabama’s athletes is on the decline as opposed to past years under a wide variety of coaches. Furthermore, I contend that the severity of Barron’s crime is no comparison to those of Auburn’s most recent student athlete crime blotter listings. It still doesn’t make it right and it still reflects poorly on both Barron and the University of Alabama. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">According to initial reports, Barron’s automobile was involved in a one car accident on an interstate in the Mobile area (Barron’s home town). While the reports I have read were not very clear, it seemed as if Barron was in the automobile, but was not the driver. I saw no mention of Barron being intoxicated, but one would assume that would be the most likely reason that he was not driving his own car. Barron told police that the driver of his vehicle was an acquaintance that he knew only as “Bull.” After a short investigation, it appears that the Mobile police found out that the driver was one of Barron’s cousins who had left the scene of the accident. After giving Barron multiple opportunities to change his story, Barron opted to stick with his original one. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!!! I understand Barron not wanting to be labeled as a snitch, especially by naming a family member, but it was obvious that the Police already knew the real story. Sticking to his lie served no purpose at this point, yet Barron refused to roll over on his cousin. So now, Barron has given a black eye to another State of Alabama institution and made my post from the other day look silly. Thanks a lot Mark.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Saban gave his usual, “I’ll have to wait until the facts are in before making a comment” statement which is exactly what I expected him to do. From there, I expect the next comment to be, “We will handle this internally and no further discussion will be forthcoming on this subject” or some variation thereof. While I really do expect Barron to pay a hefty price of some sort for his actions, it drives me insane that the general public rarely finds out what type of punishment is leveled on athletes who violate both team rules and state laws. I think making this information public would go a long way towards deterring the next kid from possibly making a bad choice. I know that if I knew my name was going to be all over the news for months and months to come for something this stupid, I might think twice before doing it in the first place. Saban has his way of doing things and nothing I will say on a web blog that he doesn’t know even exists is going to change that. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A poster on another board (sorry, I can’t remember which one I read it on) thought that Barron should have to sit out the first 3 games of the season and have his leadership role as the 2010 team captain revoked. If what has been released so far is all that there is to this story, I concur with this guy’s idea of punishment. Not allowing Mark Barron to join the other team captains at the yearly tradition of putting their hand prints and cleats impressions into the concrete surrounding Denny Chimes would be a long standing punishment for what he has done. Making him sit for 3 games in his senior year could also affect his draft status next year with the pros (if there is a draft next year, but that’s a story for a different day). I would not be surprised for the punishment Saban levels on Barron to be exactly this and then some, but that is purely speculation. I also expect, since Barron is going to be limited in spring practice (He’s still rehabilitating from his surgery) that he will be given some less than glamorous exercises to perform while his team mates are preparing for the upcoming season. RUN MARK RUN!!!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I have said all along that I just want all of college football cleaned up; this includes the University of Alabama. While Mark Barron’s actions are less severe than those of his counterparts down on the plains, they still look bad on both the University of Alabama and the state as a whole. I would hate to see the kid kicked off the team for being stupid, but I would think that is a very real possibility in light of all the other problems going on with student athletes in this state at the current time. People are demanding that issues be addressed and sadly for Mark, he very well could be used as an example. If that happens, then so be it. Kicking Barron of the team for this infraction may be a bit severe in my eyes, but if it aids in cleaning up the sport as a whole, I can completely understand it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">On other fronts, more and more information is coming out that seems to link Atlanta area based gangs to athletes, not just at Au, but all over the southeast. Pictures upon pictures of these kids flashing guns, cash and gang signs are starting to be seen all over the place. The funny thing (or not so funny in reality), most of these pictures are being taken right off of the player’s personal Facebook pages….. AND I’M CALLING OUT MARK BARRON FOR BEING STUPID? Come on guys, even if you are involved in a gang that is selling drugs, committing robberies, killing people and a plethora of other things, don’t you think that it is a bit stupid to plaster your association with these gangs all over the internet? It’s kind of like robbing a bank with a banana. There’s a good chance that you are going to get caught before you get to spend a dime of your take. Is this a matter of the kids today being so brazen about their illegal activities that they fear no consequence or is it stupidity on a scale much larger than the one I’m using for Mark Barron? Either way, I sure hope to see some examples made out of them and I hope these examples are made by the legal system as opposed to the school they are representing. While these types of actions reflect poorly on the Alabama and Auburns of the world, I think they reflect even more poorly on the legal system as a whole. Brazen criminal activity plastered all over the internet with no action is more than thumbing a nose at us all; it’s giving us the middle finger.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">RTR</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">BamaSon25</span></div>BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-35131047242137244112011-03-16T13:16:00.003-05:002011-03-16T14:07:08.829-05:00Day 16 - Well, Well, Well ....<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">Let’s start today’s thoughts off with Mr. Scott Moore. Moore, a man who has had his career, his personal life and his spirit trampled on by his previous employer, his friends, the Auburn University fan base and yes, sadly even parts of the Alabama fan base has finally given everyone a double dose of SHUT THE HELL UP! Congratulations Mr. Moore. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">Mr. Scott Moore produced a verified “pdf” file from a law firm representing Mr. John Bond (Mississippi State University booster) that proves he was not blowing smoke. While I must admit I had my questions at times, I did attempt to give Mr. Moore the benefit of the doubt in regards to what he had said on air prior to “parting ways” with the radio station he worked for. As said on previous post(s) here, I simply could not understand why Mr. Moore would make the claims he made without having something to back them up. I also stated that I leaned towards Moore being accurate because of a friend of mine that had heard some similar tapes. So now, here we are. Mr. Moore has produced proof that backs up his claims regarding Cam Newton with a verified “pdf” file that can be viewed on a number of web sites (<a href="http://www.auburngate.com/">www.auburngate.com</a> is where I first saw it). Who verified it? Well, it really doesn’t matter as one of the more skeptical posters at <a href="http://www.auburngate.com/">www.auburngate.com</a> took it upon himself to email the attorney referenced on Mr. Moore’s screenshot of the actual email to ask if it was a valid email. The poster stated that he received a response to his inquiry from the attorney within 30 minutes that simply stated, “It is my letter.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">The email from Bond’s attorney is carefully worded and never mentions Auburn University. It does, however; provide the most concrete evidence to date that all of the speculation concerning a multi-tiered investigation of Cam Newton’s recruitment is ongoing and being conducted by the NCAA, the FBI and state regulators is true. We now know for sure that the investigations are ongoing. What we don’t know for sure is that these investigations include Auburn University. That said, it is beyond feasible that Au would be included in the investigation as would the University of Tennessee as both schools were in on Cam Newton’s recruitment. Furthermore, I think it is safe to say that Au will be looked at under even a more powerful microscope than UT simply because they were the team that ended up with Cam on their roster. The variable here is Mississippi State University. Bond has publicly stated (as has Scott Moore) that the tapes in Bond’s possession will exonerate MSU. If that is true, I would suspect any such investigation into that institution has already, for the most part, been conducted.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">The letter to Mr. Moore (Dated March 14, 2011) basically explains that Mr. Bond has been advised to “NOT” divulge the content of the tapes at this time due to the possibilities of obstructing or hindering the investigations by the NCAA, the FBI and state regulators. This gives Mr. Moore his credibility back. This also answers a few more questions that have surfaced in the Moore saga. I had wondered why Bond (Moore’s friend) had not come to his defense in all of this. This letter is a very legal way of doing just that. I had also wondered why Bond himself had not stepped forward after publicly stating that (paraphrased), “The NCAA better do the right thing or I will release the tapes.” This letter explains precisely why, that being the potential to harm the aforementioned entities’ investigations. Lastly, Mr. Moore now has all that he needs to pursue a “Defamation of Character” suit against the “foundation” that publicly called him a liar, produced false information concerning his personal life and ultimately cost him his job. The one iron clad defense to a suit of this type is if the plaintiff was proven to be a liar. In this case, the contrary has now been proven. Mr. Moore was telling the truth. Certain mitigating circumstances caused Mr. Moore’s time line for playing the Bond tapes on air to be canceled or delayed because of the ongoing investigations by the three aforementioned entities. Kudos to Mr. Moore, Mr Bond and Mr. Bond’s attorney for staying the course and allowing the truth to come out (at least as much as possible at this juncture). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">Moving forward…. Has anyone listened to the audio tape of Paul Finebaum at his lecture to a group of Birmingham Southern business students? Surprisingly enough, the first place to link the audio is located at <a href="http://www.warblogle.com/2011/03/15/football/finebaum-likens-auburn-program-to-ponzi-scheme/">Warblogle</a> . That is a “pro Auburn” oriented web blog and I must give that site’s administrator props for allowing the information to be heard regardless of the opinions that will be formed from the audio. The audio clip itself is about 40 minutes long and was obviously recorded with a hand held device that makes hearing it a challenge. Grab your head phones, make a bologna sandwich and give it a listen (a direct link to the audio can be found here: <a href="http://www.warblogle.com/audio/Finebaum_BSC.mp3%20">Finebaum Lecture</a>). As should be expected, two completely different views of what the Finebaum audio is are being depicted by the Alabama and Auburn fan bases. The Au supporters seem to think it is Finebaum’s hatred for all things Au and his man crush on Nick Saban that caused him to speak so ill of Auburn University. The Alabama fan base seems to think he has got it all exactly right. Listen for yourself and feel free to let me know what you think. I would be interested to hear it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">Personally, I think Paul Finebaum is the consummate pot stirrer in all things sports related. I listen to his show but often with same outlook I would afford the Jerry Springer Show. The show is about ratings and controversy as opposed to actual sports. His regular callers make the schools they support look horrible and I most definitely include Alabama’s call in regulars in this group. The show is what it is and I guess there is a place for that for a great many people; otherwise it would not have gone national. That said, I think the Finebaum persona we hear on the radio has nothing to do with the guy’s abilities, connections and intelligence as it relates to being a sports reporter. Love him or hate him, the man is not an idiot. The aforementioned audio is very telling in many ways, but you have to keep in mind that this is a business related lecture. Finebaum never comes right out and says anything devastating, but rather allows his listeners to make their own decisions based on the information he lets them have. At the very least, the clip lets me know that Finebaum knows a lot more about what is going on with Auburn University than he lets on via his radio show. Many of the Au supporters feel like he will turn the big guns on them when he has a chance to do so and I 100% agree. The thing most of them don’t understand is he will do the same thing to Alabama if given a chance. People say he has no loyalty and that is simply incorrect. He has plenty of it…. It just lies with the PAUL FINEBAUM RADIO NETWORK. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">The arrests of the Au football players…. There have been 5 players with legal troubles over the last couple of weeks. All were immediately removed from the team by Head Coach Gene Chizik. Given the severity of the crimes alleged to have been committed by these athletes, I do not see where Chizik had any other choice…. UNLESS…he shouldn’t have recruited the guys in the first place. There is a lot of talk regarding these players’ ties to a gang based out of Atlanta. Is it true? I have no idea, but there are definitely those that believe it is. There are a couple of supporters of this line of thinking that have been vocal about it on the “As the Plains Burn” thread (link located in the window to the right). One in particular has done a very good job of following this particular gang’s influence in the Atlanta area high schools it seems to be so deeply rooted in. Prior to the arrests of the Au football players for 1<sup>st</sup> degree robbery and several other charges, this “poster” had documented court cases, newspaper articles and a plethora of other interesting facts regarding the gang and their ties to high school athletes from certain schools in Georgia. After reading his reports for months, I suddenly see that one of the Au players arrested in the robbery case is directly linked to one of the high schools he has constantly named as being involved. Coincidence? Possibly, but it is definitely something to keep an eye on. With the federal investigations going on concerning pay for play schemes and the use of street agents swirling around Au and the ongoing criminal cases going on surrounding the gang activity in Georgia High Schools, it would not surprise me in the least to see them overlap and become fully entwined. If Mark Richt is pulling scholarship offers from some of these same kids because of questionable character, why isn’t Gene Chizik?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">Now, when I started this blog, I stated that I would try to remain objective in spite of my loyalty to the University of Alabama. After looking back over the posts on this site, it does appear that I am out to hammer Auburn University. That simply is not the case. In all fairness, I must mention that Alabama has had its own issues with players reflecting poorly on the University. Jimmy Johns selling cocaine on several occasions on campus, domestic incidents between players and their girlfriends and the robbery of a student by a student athlete on campus are all examples of how poor judgment in the character of the athlete being recruited can reflect poorly on the University as a whole. I am proud to say that since the Dubose troubles, The F-Ran debacle and the Shula sadness, I have seen a big turnaround in the types of kids Alabama is bringing on campus. It is ridiculous to expect Coach Saban (or Gene Chizik for that matter) to be able to baby sit these kids 24/7. I remember the same smoke coming out of Tuscaloosa during the Shula years about gang infiltration into the football program. In all honesty, I believe it WAS an issue and part of the reason that Shula was not successful in turning things around in the way that all Bama fans had hoped he would. I’m not saying that we will never see any of Saban’s recruits garner headline attention, but I am saying we are seeing fewer and fewer incidents since he has come to the Capstone. I fear that Au cannot make the same claim.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">In Chizik’s defense, I must say that the pressure put on him to be successful at Au is probably unbelievable. His whole livelihood rests on what his football team does. Does that give him the right to cut corners, break rules and play dirty? No it does not. With such a national spotlight being placed on Coach Chizik and Au, he had better hope that he hasn’t knowingly been involved in shady shenanigans down on the plains; otherwise his fate may already be sealed. Win at all costs will generally end up at causing a major loss at some point…sooner or later.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">RTR</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: small;">BamaSon25</span></div>BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-75115443056935173912011-03-11T22:14:00.002-06:002011-03-11T22:38:52.776-06:00Day 11 - State of War.....I haven't gone away, nor have I been under a rock (too many snakes under all of them in Alabama). I have just been sitting back and watching as things start to unfold across the state of Alabama, the Big 10, the Pac 10 and college sports in general. I've watched a local Alabama radio host lose his job, a vest wearing college coach sweat, an incompetent collegiate sports governing body once again prove why people from every conference constantly scream for change and an all-out war be declared on people who exercise their 1st Amendment rights. Not to mention ever increasing gas prices due to unrest in the Middle East, massive earthquakes in Japan and the wrong kid getting voted off of American Idol (yes I watch it, it's one of the few shows that my whole family can watch together). I'm no religious zealot, but gosh... today's calendar looks like a photocopy of a page or two from the Book of Revelations. Let’s hit a couple of things and see how long it takes for my personal life to be invaded because I chose to state my opinion.<br />
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1.) Gas Prices - I've been hearing reports of $5.00 per gallon by the end of June. It looks like the Muslim Brotherhood is about to attempt to do the same thing in Saudi Arabia as they have done in Egypt. WAKE UP WORLD....they are about to control OPEC. A price of $5.00 per gallon will look fantastic if they succeed. It really is a good thing that I am not President because I would make some very "politically incorrect" moves to stop this crap.<br />
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The first thing I would do is make the cost of a bushel of grain directly correspond to the cost of a barrel of oil. The oil misers live in a desert for crying out loud. WE feed them. I would just tell them that if they want to charge $150.00 per barrel that is fine by me, but a bushel of grain would cost them $151.00 each. If they all starve to death, we can just go get whatever oil we need. Which brings me to point number two....<br />
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We don't need their oil. We have plenty within an arm's length of our borders (or within them). We just can't use it because of the mounds of red tape covering it up. We might disrupt the natural habitat of a moose in Alaska. Give me a break. The Alaskan pipeline is something that is used daily by many different species of wildlife in that region. Google it, there are pictures upon pictures of birds, moose (meece [take note Webster’s people]) and other wildlife congregating near the pipeline to steal a bit of the heat generated by it. The moose love the pipeline. We should too.<br />
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The extremist Muslim Brotherhood places no value on American lives, so why should we put so much value on theirs? If we, as a country, know this and choose not to make an aggressive move to stop them, we will eventually get what we deserve. The loss of American soldier’s lives in Iraq and Afghanistan has been totally unnecessary and uncalled for. We could handle these pockets of resistance without ever putting an American soldier at risk. 9/11 was an opening act for them. I honestly am surprised something much worse has not happened already.<br />
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2.) The major earthquake in Japan – This is a developing story, but the footage I have seen on television so far indicates there is going to be a major loss of life with this catastrophic event. I urge all of you to keep these people in your prayers as it appears they are going to need it.<br />
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3.) The NCAA – I understand that tOSU is the party that has sanctioned itself and that the NCAA has not handed down any type of penalty. This doesn’t change the fact that tOSU was allowed to play the new and improved version of Michigan’s Fab-5 in their bowl game. UGA was forced to sit A.J. Green for committing the exact same crime on a much smaller and less frequent scale. As a matter of fact, A.J. Green sold one jersey on one occasion. tOSU players did this time and time again and were allowed to play. It doesn’t matter that they will most likely have to vacate their 2010 season down the road. Arkansas will still have a loss on their record. How can that be justified? I do not think for a second tOSU would have beaten them if the “Tattooed Fab-5” had been forced to sit. Of course that is speculation, but Arkansas and their fans have been royally screwed over because of it. There is nothing anyone can say or do that can change my view on this. Had the shoe been on the other foot, I suspect Arkansas would not have been given the luxury of playing their 5 ineligible players. Why? Arkansas is not the media darling nor the cash cow that tOSU is. It’s all about the Benjamins, it always is. It’s a double standard that the NCAA uses over and over again. Did the Big 10 need a win over the SEC so badly that the rules were bent to accommodate not one but at least 5 players who were cold busted breaking the NCAA rules?<br />
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The fact that tOSU’s head coach was aware of the problem(s) long before the football team ever took the field will most likely result in some severe penalties being handed down by the NCAA. This does nothing to address the damage done to other schools throughout the 2010 season. That season is gone and cannot be brought back. The whole system is backwards and the simplest solution in the world has not even been entertained. In real life, if the police suspect someone of committing a felony, what do they do? THEY ARREST THEM and throw them in a cell. Of course the NCAA cannot lock anyone up, but they could use the same basic philosophy. Instead of using the current system of allowing the school under scrutiny to provide evidence from that school’s own internal investigation to decide whether an athlete is eligible or not, then waiting on the NCAA’s enforcement division to complete a slow, lazy investigation; JUST SIT THE ATHLETE, THE COACH or THE WHOLE DAMNED TEAM until it is sorted out. It wouldn’t take but about one, maybe two schools having to go through this and this crap would stop. If a school is found innocent, offer a letter of apology and give the kid another year of eligibility. IF that isn’t good enough, they can always opt for NAIA play. Another thing that would stop it is if a school is found to be guilty of a major violation, take that school’s non-profit status away from them. Everything these days revolves around money. If you hit them in their wallet, trust me, the school will do whatever it takes to get the situation rectified.<br />
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4.) Personal Attacks – If you have been following the Scott Moore saga, you know that a certain group of individual Auburn supporters put together a “foundation” aimed at discrediting Mr. Moore. They personally attacked him; they scrutinized his personal life and COST HIM HIS JOB. They even publicly broadcast false information regarding his personal life (IE: that he was arrested for embezzlement; he never was). I hope Mr. Moore takes advantage of the 100’s of Alabama attorneys who would gladly take his case pro bono and sues these people until the cows come home (note that I suspect the aforementioned cows will not have a home to return to). Why would they do this? Does Mr. Moore not have the right to do his job, which in this case was to report on what he thinks is a valid investigation regarding a university being accused from so many different directions that a compass is needed to know which way is up? It doesn’t matter that Mr. Moore is an Alabama fan; although that was one the ways they attacked him. The simple fact is that Mr. Moore’s claims were not based on a single thing that he acquired from anything to do with his relationship to the University of Alabama, its fans or administration. It was his relationship with John Bond (a MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY BOOSTER) that afforded him the information he used to make the claims against Au. Of course we hear from the Au fan base that it is sour grapes because Alabama lost the Iron Bowl. How can that be proven and how can that justify trying to ruin a man’s career? Mr. Moore has not reported a single thing that has not been crawling around the internet for months on message boards from coast to coast. He has not reported a single thing that has not been speculated over the airwaves all across the southeast. The difference? Mr. Moore very possibly has the proof he needs to cause that speculation to end and become fact.<br />
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To this point, I have been willing to give Mr. Moore some leeway in what he claims to have. There are a couple of reasons for this, but the main one being that I have a friend that I know on a personal level that claims to have heard “some” tapes relating to Newtons as well. Add to that the possibility of certain mitigating circumstances that could have caused Mr. Moore’s initial intentions to have been derailed or delayed. I have mentioned on the “As the Plains Burn” thread that Mr. Moore’s actions do not make any sense if he did not have what he claims to have. That post regarding my questioning of Mr. Moore’s line of thinking is below in bold:<br />
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<b>Well, it looks like Mr. Moore either is holding his tapes for bigger and better things or he was full of it all along. I wonder if he will go silently into the night or if he will make a statement of some sort. Like someone else said earlier, if he never had anything; he better go into hiding. He will have both Bama and Au fans looking for him. What I don't understand is why if he didn't have Bond/Bell's blessing, why did they not say anything? It will be interesting to watch over the next few days. It also doesn't make sense for Moore to commit career suicide like that. One other puzzling thing, there were reports by other radio hosts that said they had heard the tapes. Where did those guys go?</b><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Since making the above post, Mr. Moore has in fact surfaced and is defending himself via such websites as <a href="http://www.auburngate.com/">www.auburngate.com</a> and on the “Megathread” at <a href="http://www.tidefans.com/">www.tidefans.com</a> . I am glad to see the guy surface and I am glad that he is sticking to his original story. If Mr. Moore, by chance, happens across this blog; I implore him to answer a few questions by me. Just in case:</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Were you asked by either the Bond/Bell camp or the NCAA to cool on what the tapes contained or even delay your initial time line for playing them on air?</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Why has your friend, John Bond, not come to your defense in all of this?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">3.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You have said that the tapes will exonerate MSU, but do they implicate Au further?</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">4.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You have said that the tapes will indicate that Cam Newton was aware of his father shopping him. Can you expand on that? Is he in the room? Does Cecil make a statement that indicates Cam wants a certain amount of money? </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">5.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Have you been asked by any Federal entity to remain quiet until a specific time has passed? If so, when is that time and what reason were you given?</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">6.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You have stated that you have a letter from the NCAA dated March, 2<sup>nd</sup>, 2011. Is this letter addressed to you? If so, why can’t you divulge the general content of the letter? If the letter was addressed to someone else, can you expand on the letter’s subject matter?</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">7.)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you will notice below, my blog contains a post titled “Tapes, Tapes, Tapes,” have you heard (or heard of) any of the other tapes that my friend seems to think exist?</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As I have said on numerous occasions, I think Mr. Moore should be given the opportunity to explain himself before everyone sides with the very people who want us all to think he has nothing. There may be a lot of behind the scenes activity that Mr. Moore cannot control. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, are you?</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There is no reason for any person to personally attack someone for stating what they believe in. It’s one thing to get angry and spout of some unflattering remark to an adversary on any general matter of dispute, but it is entirely different to try to ruin someone’s personal life over it. I understand that the rivalry between Alabama and Auburn produces some very spirited discussions, but what is going on is utterly embarrassing. Blue Tuna Tiger has a right that was given to him by the founding Fathers of this country to express his opinion, yet he too has been a target of personal attacks. Scott Moore has the same rights and the whole world can see what has been done to him. All for what? The very reasons these guys have been attacked are also the very reasons their attackers should want to get to the bottom of it all. If you love Au so much, defend her with honor and not by means of the very same underhanded tactics the University itself is being accused of using. Prove the accusations wrong with retorts based in fact. Don’t use black tactics to achieve your goal.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">RTR</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">BamaSon25</span></div>BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-75242574973352184952011-03-06T22:00:00.000-06:002011-03-06T22:00:43.221-06:00Day #5-3/4 - ClarificationsMy "Glass House Theory" post earlier today was done just after having an exchange with an Au fan. I was somewhat angry and need to make some clarifications regarding that post. While everything I said in the post is what I believe to be true, I did not make one thing abundantly clear that I should have.<br />
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When Alabama got in trouble during the Dubose years, I viewed everything much like Au supporters are viewing the stuff I talked about in "Glass House" post. I felt like Au, Ut and a couple of other schools were out for blood and only wanted to shut Bama's football program down. These days, I am of a different mind set. Maybe it is my age, maybe it is the fact that I am about to have a daughter leaving home for college (and yes, it appears that Au is high on her list...so my money very well could be heading to the plains as well. This also weighs heavily on why I want things straightened out). The one thing both Alabama and Auburn supporters have in common is that both sides have lost sight of what is supposed to be happening at each school. When I said I didn't care if it meant every school in the NCAA getting in trouble, I meant it. Right now, the corruption going on with the state of Alabama "Bingogate" and "Colonial Bank" investigations has caused Au to be brought into the limelight. Not once have I said that Alabama, LSU, UGA or anyone else is squeaky clean, but I do think those schools are making an attempt to move in that direction. If they are not, we may see a thread start up on any one of them similar to "As the Plains Burn." I think the reason for all of the accusations being leveled at Au are justified because of the school's association with so many of the players in "Bingogate" and the Alabama corruption trials. I think Au will continue to be scrutinized until they sever ties with all of these people. It's a classic guilt by association type of thing. In one's personal life, if they chose to hang out with a bunch of convicted felons, even if they are lily white and squeaky clean; they can expect to be considered a felon as well by society at large. It's human nature.<br />
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We all need to remember that both Alabama and Auburn are institutions of higher learning FIRST. Their prowess on the football field should be a distant second. I know, that's hard to embrace, but it is why these kids are supposed to be getting their free rides to school. If the allegations I pointed out yesterday do prove to be true, I think many Au supporters will have an Epiphany much like I did after the Dubose tenure. If they are found innocent of any wrong doing, I will dedicate an entire post to nothing but apologizing for being so wrong. At this time, I think I am correct though and I have a right to say it.<br />
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Some people have questioned my information. On the very first thread of this blog I plainly stated that I was not 100% accurate. Like everyone else, I get some things wrong. One thing I saw was someone questioning the whole Saban to Bama time frame. I stated that my friend had put Saban coming to Bama about 9 days before it hit the media. I still stand by that as can about 10 other people that were involved in those discussions back then. It makes for a great story and I'll tell you what I remember of it as accurately as possible.<br />
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When Shula was let go, Mal Moore put together teams of former Alabama players and boosters to go after certain targets in the coaching search. At that time there were two factions involved and for the purposes of this article, we will call them the Old Guard and the New Guard. The old guard consisted of people like Billy Neighbors, Joe Namath and Lee Roy Jordan (who were actually the team that was sent after Saban). The new guard had some people like John Hannah involved. I do not know very much about the new guard as for who all was on what "team" but it was obvious that Rich Rodrigeuz was their target. The new guard wanted Richrod, the old guard wanted Saban. Saban was in the middle of attempting to make the playoffs for the Dolphins. There were some discussions with Saban, but he basically told Bama that he wasn't interested and needed to do his job. The old guard team stayed after him, but were basically brushed away. The new guard got Richrod's interest and he came to Tuscaloosa for a visit. If you will remember, it was widely speculated that a deal had been struck paying Richrod in the neighborhood of $2 mil per year. It was at this time that a member of the old guard team was contacted by the Saban camp. Again, Saban was in the middle of trying to get Miami to the playoffs (or could have actually already been a lock for them when this happened. I'm not 100% sure if it was locked in at this time or not). The Saban camp basically relayed that Saban would come, but would not discuss it until after the Dolphin's season had ended. This is where Mal Moore probably made the biggest gamble of his career and it obviously paid off. What I was told is that Saban and Moore spoke with the blessing of the Dolphin's owner (Huzienga I think was his name). Saban had already heard the $ amounts being offered through the old guard team so, he knew what was on the table. I was told that Saban's conversation with Moore was very short and basically consisted of (paraphrased), "I will come, but it will have to be after the Dolphins season is over.You have to trust me." Moore chose to trust him. Okay back to Richrod and his Tuscaloosa visit. As already mentioned, for all practical purposes a deal had been struck with Richrod. Then suddenly Richrod backs out. Message boards went wild with the reason the deal fell through but it seems like the one that got the most attention was that Richrod's wife didn't like Tuscaloosa. That may have been true, but I think Mal Moore made a play that caused him to back out. Ok...from this point out, I am speculating on what Moore did. It was discussed with the same group of ten I mentioned earlier and this was the general consensus. It does not mean this is what happened. I think Moore leaked to Richrod the amount they had offered to Saban in hopes of making him mad and as a result, back out of the job. It worked, Richrod left, the Dolphins lost and Saban came to Bama. Had it not worked, I think Richrod would have come to Tuscaloosa. So technically, the deal to bring Saban was struck right around the time Richrod came to visit Tuscaloosa with his wife. It just wasn't discussed, even behind closed doors until the Dolphins season ended. Anyway, my friend who told me about 9 days before the media hit had been telling me all along that it was going to be Saban. He sounded pretty sure, but didn't tell me to bank it until about that time. That's where my "9 days" statement comes from. There was a lot more to it and I remember thinking at the time that it would make one helluva book.<br />
<br />
Ok that's what I was told on the Saban hiring. Was I in the room for any of these discussions? No, but I do believe I am pretty spot on about what happened. If someone knows of something different, feel free to comment this post. I would like to hear it. As I have said all along, if I am wrong on something, I don't have a problem admitting it.<br />
<br />
RTR<br />
BamaSon25 BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-50594479662702511822011-03-06T08:22:00.000-06:002011-03-06T08:22:40.445-06:00Day #5 - The Glass House TheoryIT has come to my attention via several emails that I have offended many, many Auburn University fans by posting information I believe could be potentially devastating to their Championship season. They also seem to have issue with my opinion. It appears that everyone cheats, therefore; Auburn must cheat too. So, I have a news flash for you all..... FORGET WHAT YOUR MAMA TOLD YOU.... TWO WRONGS DO MAKE A RIGHT!!!<br />
<br />
Plain and simple, I 1000% believe Au is guilty of much more than $100.00 handshakes. The Cam Newton tapes and their relevance are just the tip of the iceberg. It is what is hidden under the water that is going to do the real damage. While I am interested to see if the Scott Moore tapes produce anything concrete, I really think they are irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Am I happy about it all? Not really. Do I want it stopped? Most definitely. If it means every team in the SEC, no wait... If it means every team in college football ends up in trouble; then so be it. Au fan, I am well aware that Alabama has been in trouble. I also know that Au had a hand in putting us there. Why? It's really simple. We outbid you for a player or two that never amounted to anything on the football field. The difference in what you guys are going through (or are about to go through) and what Alabama, LSU, UGA, Florida, USCe, and every other school in the SEC (except for Vandy) have paid penalties for is gargantuan. None of the aforementioned schools have been so arrogant in their shady dealings so as to rip off the general public. In all actuality, Alabama and the rest of the schools were often penalized for booster meddling that was initially done without the knowledge of the school's administration or by the actions of a kid that could not see past the dollars being waived in his face. Where most of these schools messed up, was either by lying to the NCAA or by being uncooperative with them. Auburn has Board of Trustees members, boosters, coaches and former coaches actively breaking all of the rules. Another big difference as it relates to Alabama... Alabama removed their "Good Ole Boy" network from power in attempt to clean things up while Au found a way to keep the head of theirs on the Board of Trustees. So, what is it exactly that I think some members of Au's Board of Trustees (both current and former members) is up to? Let's take a look.... I'll start by giving you a little on Robert (Bobby) E. Lowder as he is the puppet master of all things Orange & Blue in these parts.<br />
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<br />
Robert (Bobby) E. Lowder - Founder and Grand PooPa of the now defunct Colonial Bank. A man who conveniently "retired" from Colonial about 32 seconds before it became the 3rd largest bank in history to fail. A man who owes the US Government roughly $29 billion (which basically means he owes all of us, even Au grads $29 billion). A man who is at the center of a Federal Investigation being conducted by almost every acronym in the United States Government. A man who<u><i><b> is</b></i></u> on the Au Board of Trustees. A man who has been cited by SACS as a "micro-manager" that was much too involved in the day to day operations of the university. A man who is known to pull underhanded stunts (sic: Jetgate, Ousting of William Muse) with his own employees (I call them his employees as he is the one that decides who is hired and who is fired). A man who is known to look for loopholes to help him achieve his desires (watch out former Colonial Bank executives, you better take that plea deal while you can. He's banking [pun intended] on the fact that you didn't know what you signed when he created millions of dollars worth of fraudulent records.) A man who is most definitely looking over his shoulder 24/7 these days.<br />
<br />
From the mouth of a family member that holds a Chemical Engineering degree from Au: "I think it is complete and total crap for these guys (sic: student athletes) to be given a degree just for playing football. Most of them didn't even make enough on their ACT test to go to school at Auburn, I know what some of them really scored and I couldn't believe they let them in anyway. I had to work my way through school, go to class everyday and watch the football players have every thing handed to them on a silver platter. Sure he (Lowder) has given a lot of money to the school, but so have I. If you put an income / expense ratio on it, he hasn't given any more to the school than I have." <br />
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One of the "love letters" I received from an AU fan accused me of throwing stones while living in a glass house. Personally, I see it the other way around. I think Au has been throwing stones at Alabama for at least my 40 plus years on this planet. When you look at some of the things they have done to get Alabama in trouble, it's no wonder some of us Alabama fans have taken it personally. When you have guys like Curtis Anderson who was employed for no other reason than to ruin several Alabama student athlete's career (sic: life) just to bring Alabama down, you have thrown a stone. When you try to organize a group of people (sic: Operation Red Dog) to stalk 17 year old kids and their mothers in an attempt to catch them doing something wrong, you have a thrown a stone. When you don't find anything concrete on the aforementioned 17 year old kids, you fabricate it...once again, you have thrown a stone. When you take advantage of a 17 year old kid's immaturity, lack of experience and testosterone levels.... you have thrown a stone. I could go on and on about this for days, but suffice it to say.... Au drew first blood, not me. The thing is, I don't want Au to get in trouble, I just think it needs to happen so that people like my family member quoted above do not have to worry about their future livelihood. It is a very real concern for any Au graduate to entertain in this day and time.<br />
<br />
After watching this saga unfold for years, I have decided to take a vocal stand against what is happening at Au. You would think that those people who claim to love that university would have already done this. Instead, they continue to deflect, deny and deter. Remember those three "D's" as they are important in proving my point. I will admit that (on a much smaller scale than what is currently happening at Au) Alabama had a similar group pulling the strings at the Capstone for many, many years and we weren't exactly setting the trail on fire to stop it either. The key word in the previous sentence is "HAD".<br />
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I believe that when everything comes out about the shenanigans of AU's puppet master and his posse, it will make the SMU fiasco from the 80's look like a grain of sand on Orange Beach. Just look at some of the accusations being leveled at AU. I'll list some for you:<br />
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* Use of some of Colonial Bank's missing monies to pay for student athletes.<br />
* Grade changing to insure student athlete's eligibility.<br />
* Payment of cash, gifts and other extra benefits to entice new recruits to attend Au.<br />
* Blackmailing potential recruits to attend Au (after giving them the illegal benefits in the first place)<br />
* Administering illegal, controlled substances to current and potential student athletes.<br />
* Use of prostitution to entice potential recruits.<br />
* Misappropriation of funds via non profit organizations (TUF, FCA). (money laundering)<br />
* Use of illegal street agents.<br />
* Ousting of Au employees that did not want to play dirty.<br />
* Bribery (many different types)<br />
* Illegal recruiting contact on a recurring basis <br />
* Racism<br />
* Fraud<br />
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Believe me there are many more accusations out there as well. The thing is, each one of the ones I noted above are said to run very deep into the heart of the University. Even if Au is exonerated on one point, I feel sure they will be found guilty on countless others. The same people who are looking at spending some time with Bubba the meth dealer courtesy of the prison system are using Au as a catalyst to achieve their criminal goals.<br />
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Now, I must clarify that nothing I mentioned in this post (or on this blog) as it relates to Robert E. Lowder or Auburn University has been proven in a court of law. Au and Lowder will be given the opportunity to prove their innocence in due time and should be considered innocent until proven guilty. My goal is to make sure that everything I have been told, read and seen is addressed. Everything I have mentioned on this blog is a matter of public record in some shape or form. In other words, don't shoot the messenger and stop throwing rocks. The whole Glass House Theory will not continue to hold water. Why? Because some of us have decided to throw some rocks back at the glass house they came from.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://auburngate.com/">Auburngate</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/p/22778676/As-the-Plains-Burn-------Updated-1-23-2011-pg-925-a.aspx">Tigerdroppings / As the Plains Burn</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.banditref.com/2011/02/interview-with-blue-tuna-tiger.html">Blue Tuna Tiger Interview</a><br />
(Blue Tuna Tiger has been instrumental in bringing the allegations against Au to the public. Learn a little about him.)<br />
<br />
RTR<br />
BamaSon25BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-43873700546536892362011-03-04T14:03:00.000-06:002011-03-04T14:03:03.479-06:00Day #3 – Tapes, Tapes, Tapes…..<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal">Hey everyone, I’m back for Day 3 and the water cooler topic of the day seems to be Scott Moore’s tapes and their authenticity. On my “Introduction” post, I stated that I believed the tapes do exist as statements made by Mr. Moore collaborated statements made to me by a friend who had also heard some tapes. My friend spoke to me about these tapes at least a week prior to Mr. Moore’s statewide media tour touting the Bond/ Bell tapes and what they contain.<span> </span>The friend of mine that I am talking about has a very strong track record with me in regards to information he has passed on relating to the University of Alabama. The information he is talking with me about now is uncharted territory, but based on our previous conversations, I still put a lot of stock in what he says. Not to mention that he has a career that keeps him close to sports in general, which would allow such information to be garnered. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span></span>Below is a “copy and paste” (in bold) of a post I made on Blue Tuna Tiger’s “As the Plains Burn” thread located at <a href="http://www.tigerdroppings.com/">www.tigerdroppings.com</a> . Blue Tuna Tiger’s thread has grown to epic proportions and contains tons and tons of information relating to “The Bingo 11,” Colonial Bank and Auburn University. There are posters there who know a lot of what is going on, you just have to be able to weed through some of the people there who only want to deflect, deny and deter. There are attorneys, real estate gurus, law enforcement personnel and many others from all walks of life that have all assembled on that thread to lend their expertise and collections of evidence in a concerted effort to do the job that the media does not want to do. The idea of Blue Tuna Tiger’s thread is to clean up the corrupt areas of college sports, but it has mushroomed into cleaning many different corrupt arenas all across the south. I have to give mucho kudos to the people there that have worked so hard. I also have to give mucho kudos to <a href="http://www.tigerdroppings.com/">www.tigerdroppings.com</a> for providing the thread and those of us who care to congregate there a home. Tigerdroppings is a LSU oriented fan site and for them to allow all of us “Bammers” along with people from all over the country to invade their board speaks volumes of those guys. I might also add that all of those “corndogs” that I’ve heard so many bad things about have treated us “Bammers” very well. I’ve met some great new friends through the thread and reconnected with some old ones. Here is the post I made earlier:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>As I have said, I have a friend who has heard "SOME" tapes. I said this before Mr. Moore started his media campaign. The stuff my friend heard collaborated everything Mr. Moore has said on his media tour. Now, my friend would be the first to tell you that he wouldn't know Cecil (Or Cam's for that matter) voice from anyone else, but he did say if the tapes were authentic, they would be very damaging to the "I didn't know" defense. Since I have said all of that there seems to be some speculation by some (as I view them) credible journalists that the tapes Moore has are not authentic. So, in light of their new reports, I called my friend and sent him to a link to one of the audio files that were posted here. He said, "The quality is so bad I can't really tell, but that does not sound like anything I have heard." As has been speculated all along, there are several tapes reported to be in the possession of Bond & Bell. So it could be that what my friend has heard is a different tape from the same Bond & Bell tapes or it could be that he heard a better version (or different altogether) of the tapes that Scott Moore has been talking about. It also could be that Scott Moore does have authentic tapes and just released the poorest one as a teaser. I must admit, however; it is entirely possible that Moore's tapes are a farce. This is one we will just have to wait and see what he produces. <br />
<br />
Since we are talking about tapes.... this is what I have been told about tapes as they relate to the Newton's and AU. I will not name another school at this juncture, but I was also told that there was a similar tape between Cecil and another SEC school (Not MSU). As I have been told.... <br />
<br />
1.) The Bond / Bell tapes do exist. The question is what do they actually contain and do they further implicate the Newton's? <br />
<br />
2.) The Scott Moore tapes do exist. The question is…are they authentic versions of the Bond / Bell tapes mentioned above? If so, then we have partially answered the question in #1 as being a resounding "Yes." <br />
<br />
3.) The Mullen Tapes. These have not been talked about very much at all since the beginning of all of this and I'm not sure if I ever read anywhere that there was a recording. I do know that I was told that there is a recording of Dan Mullen's wife and Cam Newton. I was told that it is an actual recording of the now well known, "The money is just too great" comment reported to have been said by Newton early on in this ever evolving soap opera. I have not heard this tape and neither has my friend. He just told me that he has heard it existed. <br />
<br />
4.)The Federal tapes. The same friend has also told me he that there were tapes that implicated 3 Au coaches and Cecil Newton that were in possession of the Feds. I asked him who made the tapes and he said that he "assumed" the Feds did. Again, he has not heard them but seems to think there is a reasonable reason to believe they exist. <br />
<br />
5.)The "other" School Federal tapes. The same friend (when telling me about the tapes mentioned in #3) told me that there existed a similar set of tapes that contained Cecil and an unspecified number of this other school's coaches. <br />
<br />
Ok...those are all of the tapes I have heard of. Is my friend correct? Generally speaking he has a phenomenal track record. He had Shula out 2 weeks prior to his actual termination and had Saban in about 9 days before it broke in the media. BUT....I must say that all of that information was directly related to Alabama. How will his track record hold up when it is related to Au? I can't say as this is uncharted territory in our relationship. Time will tell, that is one thing I am sure of. </b><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Since writing the article early this morning, I have heard it mentioned that Scott Moore was on the radio this morning saying that the tapes he has are NOT the ones that have gone viral on the internet. The audio clip I linked to my friend who has heard SOME tapes was in fact the one that went viral. This obviously explains why the link and what he heard were nowhere near the same things. If Bond (Who Moore claims as a personal friend) thought Moore was using his name to promote something that was not authentic, I would think bond would be very vocal that Moore was acting on his OWN without Bond's blessing. Since I have not heard anything from Bond to this effect, I am willing to give Moore the benefit of the doubt. I really am interested in seeing what Scott Moore produces. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">RTR</div><div class="MsoNormal">BamaSon25</div>BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-11297275655243409042011-03-03T08:51:00.000-06:002011-03-03T08:51:07.822-06:00Day #2…. What in the Wild World of Sports is Going On?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">I introduced myself to you guys yesterday and hope I didn’t scare anyone off. Being from the south, the water cooler talk seems to center on the same things I mentioned yesterday (The Bingo 11, Colonial Bank, Government Corruption and Auburn University) and I bet this is the case state wide.<span> </span>I will get back to that stuff, I just want to touch on a couple of other things that I feel need to be addressed.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Talking Point #1 – THE NFL – The last time Major League Baseball went on strike pretty much made me not care about the sport as much. I actually heard Tom Glavine (MLB Players Association Representative at the time) publically say something to the effect of, “Well if that happens I will only get $6 million this year.” Now please do not hold me to that as being a direct quote, but that was in the neighborhood of what he said. Being a lifelong Atlanta Braves fan (and if you’ll remember the Braves were playing some good ball at that time), I could not believe that he made the statement. My first thoughts? “HEY TOM, try getting up at 5am, going to a job you hate and are severely underpaid for doing.”<span> </span>It’s a game; you’re getting paid to play it. Paid heavily I might add. Well, I feel the same way about the current labor talks (I use the term “labor” very loosely) between the owners and players in the NFL. Just how much money do you need? People are starving in the streets all around this country, there are bunnies and puppies that are being abused by mean teenagers every day, we have space junk, global warming, worldwide terrorist threats, a failing economy and the looming permanent cancellation of “Two and a Half Men”…YET, you guys are worried about if you make $8 million or $9 million next year? Give me a break. You guys are playing for us, you know, the ones who keep the country moving while you live in your big houses and count your money.<span> </span>AND owners….just shut up. I think the league minimum should be $100k per year and the league max $150K. I think owners should give a percentage of their profits back to the states in the form of education donations. I guess we should get over the greed factor first though.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Talking Point #2 – ESPN’s Mike & Mike – I listen to the show daily on my drive into work. I do this mainly because being from “Small Town, Alabama” they are the only sports radio station available. Both Mike’s offend my intelligence on a regular basis, but when I heard the wimpy one say this morning that it was the fan’s fault that this was going on in the NFL, I almost wrecked. <span> </span>He said that we made too big of a deal out of things and had allowed pro football to walk all over us. He went on to say that life goes on and the sun will rise tomorrow regardless of what happens with the NFL labor talks. Now wimpy Mike, exactly how is it our fault again? What control do we have over any of it? It may be that we, as fans, put too much stock and faith in what our nation’s professional athletes do, but keep in mind that part of the reason we do this is to keep our minds off of the crappy jobs with crappy paychecks we work at day in and day out. The NFL is there for our entertainment. I suppose that is what you are there for as well, but watching paint dry is honestly more entertaining. If I could do that on my drive to work, believe me, I would.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Talking Point #3 – MEDIA BLITZ (or lack thereof) – If you read yesterday’s post, it is easy to see that the state of Alabama is a very busy place right now. All of the money men are trying to find ways to keep their stolen dollars hidden, all of the gambling men are trying to find someone to buy all of their slot machines that cannot be used within the state lines, and all of the snakes at Auburn University are trying to find a way to keep Scott Moore’s tapes from being real. My question is why can’t Mike Golic and Wimpy Mike talk about some of that instead of how sports fans everywhere are the reason that the NFL could potentially go on strike? Why doesn’t FOX sports talk about the fact that the head of the now defunct Colonial Bank also doubles as the man behind the curtain at Auburn University? Why doesn’t Yahoo Sports talk about how the main man involved in “BingoGate” also was a large shareholder in aforementioned Colonial Bank and also a large contributor to Auburn University? Why doesn’t CNN talk about the fact that many of the indicted “Bingo 11” have direct financial ties to both Colonial Bank and Auburn University? Why doesn’t Sports Illustrated talk about the incessant buzz coming out of Louisiana <span> </span>and Arkansas about “sure thing” recruits suddenly opting to go play for a new coach with a losing record down on the plains? Why can’t CBS sports mention that former Auburn coach, Pat Dye, was also a shareholder in the aforementioned Colonial Bank? Why doesn’t the New York Times feel a need to address the constant legal maneuvering in attempt to keep the wiretaps out of the public eye in the aforementioned Alabama corruption cases? Just exactly what do you media guys get paid to do? Oh that’s right; you get paid to blame all of us for all that is wrong in the world of sports.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span></span>I have a piece of advice for you true Auburn fans and I really do believe this is sound advice. When the whole Albert Means / Logan Young fiasco was ongoing, many Alabama fans (myself included) viewed everything that was obvious to you Auburn fans and the rest of the college football world with our crimson colored glasses. That was a huge mistake by all of us. I am lucky enough to have friends that knew some of the details on the Means case before it hit mainstream media. These friends all told me that this did not look good for Alabama (although I must say none of them even foresaw Alabama getting hammered as hard as they did). I chose to ignore the facts and continued to think everything would be ok. This is exactly what the Auburn fan base is doing. As has been said a hundred thousand times on a thousand different internet message boards, sports talk radio shows and Alabama state media publications, the Cam Newton saga is the least of Auburn Universities’ worries. The other stuff that is making headlines every day is a much bigger problem to the Plainsmen. When you have a Federal agent that is quoted as saying to a Mississippi State booster, “You guys will just be a footnote to all of this.” Trust me, there are bigger things going on than Cam Newton allegedly getting $200k to lead your football team to a BCS National Championship. Now, I will say that I think the now infamous “Cam Newton Tapes” will be a part of all of this, but there is much more out there relating to the school that has not even surfaced yet.<span> </span>While we are talking about Cam, I should say that I’ve been told there are at least two other series of tapes out there that are not related to the Mississippi State boosters (Bond & Bell). More on this when I have the ok to talk about it.<span> </span>I think Auburn has a whole lot of things they need to be worried about. For instance, the fact that many of the players in the state of Alabama’s bribery, money laundering and fraud cases actually hold positions within the Auburn University administration should be an eye opener for the Tiger faithful. <span> </span>I understand though, us Alabama fans have been there. It’s hard to admit that your favorite school has some major problems heading their way. Just remember, if it walks like a tiger, roars like a tiger, it most likely isn’t an eagle.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">RTR</div><div class="MsoNormal">BamaSon25</div>BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869890855014392201.post-60074994895610965972011-03-02T16:38:00.001-06:002011-03-02T21:54:36.469-06:00Introduction.....Hello Sports Fans!!!!<br />
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I have decided to start this blog so that I can tell the world exactly how I think things should be in the world of sports. I must concede that there will be times that my topic strays from the sports world in favor of an opportunity to lash out at various other topics. Whether it is politics, the economy, the price of tea in China or any other topic, I will do my best to keep your attention and not be overly boring.<br />
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If you read about me and noticed the big script "A", it is obvious that I am a University of Alabama fan. I know, I know, some of you guys are already thinking, "Oh Great, not another one." Well, it is true that I love the University of Alabama and while it is some times a challenge, I do try to be objective when viewing things related to Alabama as well as other collegiate teams. I must admit there are certain people that can hit on certain topics that cause my objectivity to flee from my brain and be instantly replaced by a heart pumping crimson blood from the tips of my toes to the eyes behind my crimson colored glasses. That said, even in those instances, I usually can get myself grounded enough to return to an objective point of view.<br />
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Right now, the "Great State of Alabama" doesn't seem so great. It appears, after a quick glance through the state's newspaper headlines, that the normal people of Alabama have had their best interest put into the hands of one of the most corrupt state governments on record. When you hear all of the rumblings concerning former Governor Bob Riley, The Bingo 11, Colonial Bank and various other entities yet to be named, you can't help but be flabbergasted. It doesn't matter if you are an Alabama, Auburn or Idaho fan, the accusations being leveled at the aforementioned are nothing short of horrid. They range from bribery, fraud, kickbacks, clawbacks and anything else that could remotely be tied to greenbacks. The money being thrown around is OUR money, believe me it is.... One way or another, the actions of these corrupt people have cost all of us dollars. It ain't over yet either.<br />
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After investigations into corruption on the government level going back to 2004 by Federal Agents (who pays these guy's salaries? A hint? YOU DO!) all the way through to today, we have learned one thing. That is that there is no end in sight. Every time the FEDS turn over a rock it seems that four or five other snakes slither out. So, what is going on in the courtrooms today may be continuing for a very long time. I could go into great detail about the speculation of who did what and what it relates to, but I may save that for another day.<br />
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I could go into detail about how Colonial Bank is responsible for part of the worlds economic collapse but again, I think I'll save that for another day.<br />
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Now, everyone that reads this that is an Auburn fan is going to automatically assume that my intent is to drag them through the mud. That is not the case, but I would not be completely honest if I did not point out that were the shoe on the other foot; I probably would not be near as vocal about the same accusations being pointed at Alabama. Here is another thing that most Auburn fans will not understand... If all (or even 1/4) of the accusations being level at their beloved university are true, they should want it all stopped as well. In all honesty, it doesn't matter if it is Alabama or Auburn that is in trouble. Either one receiving negative publicity in the media gives the whole state a black eye. Here's the thing, I would much rather a normal guy have some say on the matters as opposed to the obvious Alabama bias that Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News may portray or conversely the obvious Auburn bias that could be plastered across headlines by Kevin Scarbinsky. Then we also have the state's most notable pot stirrer, Paul Finebaum, who flops sides more than an Alabama Bluegill on the banks of the Tennessee River. At least in this format, you will get the opinion from someone who is honestly trying to be objective. <br />
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Within the confines of the Alabama State lines, the hot topic of the day is Scott Moore. Mr. Moore is a Huntsville, Al sports radio host that has been on a statewide media tour touting the existence of some very incriminating tapes regarding Cam Newton and his eligibility to play for Auburn University during their Championship run this past season. Smoke has been billowing out of the plains for months regarding recruiting improprieties, pay for play schemes, grade changes to keep players eligible and a plethora of other accusations. According to Moore, he has heard tapes reported to be in the possession of Mississippi State boosters John Bond and Bill Bell. Moore reports that the tapes place Cam Newton in the room with his father Cecil Newton while the latter is shopping him to Bond / Bell. There has been some speculation as to if the tapes even exist. I believe they do. Here's why: I have friend that works for a University in the ACC. He told me more than a week ago that he had heard some of the tapes himself. Now, he is no audio analyst and would not know Cecil Newton's voice (or Cam's for that matter) from any other person, but he did say that if the tapes were authentic, they would be more than damning to Cam's "I didn't know defense." Basically, my friend backed up everything that Scott Moore has been saying on his radio tour. Furthermore, I have heard that other sports radio hosts have also claimed to have heard these tapes. I submit that we will hear these tapes within the time frame originally laid out by Mr. Moore. That would be sometime between now and March 15th, 2011.<br />
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In future posts, I will hit on some of the other accusations floating around out there as they pertain to the Government corruption case, the Colonial Bank case and Auburn University. It is a fairly tangled web and easy to get lost in. As to my personal opinion of Auburn University in all of this, I guess the first question I need to answer is: Do I think Auburn University is dirty? The answer is YES. I must clarify though that I do not think everyone at Auburn is dirty, nor do I think there was anything that could be done to stop it shy of what is currently going on in the Alabama court system. While my opinion is just that, an opinion, I must say that the sheer volume of accusations coming from so many different arenas forces me to think some things have been going on that should not have been down on the plains. I do not claim to be 100% correct and try to point out the differences in what is my opinion and what is fact. Feel free to ask me to clarify any statement that I make that is unclear. I will shoot straight. Will Auburn?<br />
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RTR<br />
BamaSon25BamaSon25http://www.blogger.com/profile/07209687471636787089noreply@blogger.com3