Man, even with winning a BCS Title, Auburn can't seem to catch a break. The Newton scandal specter haunted the program all season, a few Tigers celebrated the off-season with an armed robbery that broke the Fulmer Cup, and now Real Sports is airing a special exposing some serious pay-to-play accusations. So, let's run down the standard defenses: nothing has been proven about Cam, everybody's got a few bad apples, and the p2p was so long ago, nobody cares anymore. Christ. You may as well throw in "Y'all just hatin'." As a amtter of fact, someone did; from an Auburn fan in the comments: “Why defend it or worry about. Statute of Limitations is 7 yrs, soo suck it you tree killing Updykes! Nothing can nor will be done about anything that happened all those years ago. Have fun choking out our National Championship that will not be vacated.” War Eagle, baby. There's also a nice "Auburn's not the only school doing this" comment that references Ohio State. Well, duh. We know it's probably happening everywhere, but it sure seems to happen more in some places...
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UPDATE: After looking into this special a bit more, it seems that these former Auburn players are going to dime out a few more schools, too. They mention Michigan State and Ohio State in the linked transcript, but there apparently will be a few more mentioned in tonight's special. Part of me hopes Georgia gets mentioned, albeit a very small part. I mean, nobody wants their program to be in trouble, but it seems lately even our recruiting violations are boring. We landed Crowell, a highly touted, much sought recruit and everyone was thinking there had to be a violation somewhere. And there was. We had him line up in formation in the indoor arena. Yawn. We even break the rules Richt-like. And I know we won the Fulmer Cup last year, but it was steady, constant effort; petty crime after misdemeanor - you know, the fundamentals. We had none of the flash and flair of Auburn's 80-point armed-robbery extravaganza.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Maybe It Shouldn't Happen.
I'm going to piggy-back off of the Senator's peice from today here:
I have gone back and forth on my support of mid majors over the years. I love a good upset or Cinderella story, pulling for Boise against Oklahoma in '07 and having to be the voice of inclusions in most debates I have on the subject. But, I think I'm done with it now - or at least ready for some new players. I'm tired of Boise State and TCU; I pulled for VA Tech to begin the season and Wisky to end it. I was thrilled when Nevada beat the Broncos....and, oddly enough, would have cheered for Nevada against a big boy. So, why the 'Pack but not Boise? I guess because Nevada's new. Give me somebody new to sheer for, please. We've been behind Boise for 5 or 6 years and gotten nowhere. Let the Pack give it a shot. TCU? Yesterday's news. It's like Fresno State: boring. Let's see Idaho or San Diego State make a run and knock ff a big boy - or a UAB or Troy. Hey, it could happen. Especially when we consider what it takes to get there.
If you get the a key player or two and a coach who can recruit and exploit three star talent, you only have two-maybe three-tough teams to beat in any given season. Last year, Boise had to beat Virginia Tech and then survive and they were considered in. Next year, Boise plays only one BCS team: Georgia. And while UGA is a solid program, they're certainly in a funk. TCU? They play Baylor...and that's it. Here are Five BCS Busters the Orlando Sentinel says to watch for: BS, TCU, BYU, Tulsa, and Nevada. They play 8 BCS teams...combined. BCS teams play 8 BCS opponents each. Let's say these teams are legit. Boise plays three of them. Add that to the date with Georgia and that's still only four high caliber games. Big whoop. As Blutarsky points out, "compared to the gauntlet that a school like Florida has to run (playing the other MNCs from the past five years back-to-back-to-back), that seems a little light." That's right, Florida plays Alabama, LSU, and Auburn all in a row. What do those teams have in common? They've all won BCS titles during the SEC's 5-year run. Who won the other two? Florida. But they still will get less consideration than any of the mid-majors listed above.Compare that to Boise State's murderers row of Toledo, Tulsa, and Nevada.
Of course we know why Florida won't get the consideration. Talent lost, new head coach, new offensive system, etc. But what if Muschamp got to lead the Gators against this schedule? Suddenly, Georgia becomes their hardest game and we know how that rivalry's played out in the last two decades. So, beat the Dawgs and ride out the cake walk all the way t the BCS title game. See? It's all schedule. And, if a mid-major can get to the big game with that salte, maybe it just shouldn't happen after all.
I have gone back and forth on my support of mid majors over the years. I love a good upset or Cinderella story, pulling for Boise against Oklahoma in '07 and having to be the voice of inclusions in most debates I have on the subject. But, I think I'm done with it now - or at least ready for some new players. I'm tired of Boise State and TCU; I pulled for VA Tech to begin the season and Wisky to end it. I was thrilled when Nevada beat the Broncos....and, oddly enough, would have cheered for Nevada against a big boy. So, why the 'Pack but not Boise? I guess because Nevada's new. Give me somebody new to sheer for, please. We've been behind Boise for 5 or 6 years and gotten nowhere. Let the Pack give it a shot. TCU? Yesterday's news. It's like Fresno State: boring. Let's see Idaho or San Diego State make a run and knock ff a big boy - or a UAB or Troy. Hey, it could happen. Especially when we consider what it takes to get there.
If you get the a key player or two and a coach who can recruit and exploit three star talent, you only have two-maybe three-tough teams to beat in any given season. Last year, Boise had to beat Virginia Tech and then survive and they were considered in. Next year, Boise plays only one BCS team: Georgia. And while UGA is a solid program, they're certainly in a funk. TCU? They play Baylor...and that's it. Here are Five BCS Busters the Orlando Sentinel says to watch for: BS, TCU, BYU, Tulsa, and Nevada. They play 8 BCS teams...combined. BCS teams play 8 BCS opponents each. Let's say these teams are legit. Boise plays three of them. Add that to the date with Georgia and that's still only four high caliber games. Big whoop. As Blutarsky points out, "compared to the gauntlet that a school like Florida has to run (playing the other MNCs from the past five years back-to-back-to-back), that seems a little light." That's right, Florida plays Alabama, LSU, and Auburn all in a row. What do those teams have in common? They've all won BCS titles during the SEC's 5-year run. Who won the other two? Florida. But they still will get less consideration than any of the mid-majors listed above.Compare that to Boise State's murderers row of Toledo, Tulsa, and Nevada.
Of course we know why Florida won't get the consideration. Talent lost, new head coach, new offensive system, etc. But what if Muschamp got to lead the Gators against this schedule? Suddenly, Georgia becomes their hardest game and we know how that rivalry's played out in the last two decades. So, beat the Dawgs and ride out the cake walk all the way t the BCS title game. See? It's all schedule. And, if a mid-major can get to the big game with that salte, maybe it just shouldn't happen after all.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Tressel Knew?
According to a breaking report, yes. Supposedly, Tressell knew about his players selling memorabelia way back in April...a full eight months before suspensions were levied. Remember when AD Gene Smith said everybody just found out about the illegal sales in December? Well, that might all be bullshit. And, if it's true that Tressel did know and didn't do anything about it then, it could mean a whole mess of problems for the vest:
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Saw this nugget quoted from an Ohio State message board: "Jim Tressel should just say they informed his DAD but he never knew anything about it." Awesome. (h/t smartfootball)
"If Tressel failed to inform Smith or the Ohio State compliance department about the players’ dealings with Rife, he could be charged with multiple NCAA violations including unethical conduct, failure to monitor and a failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance. In general, a coach is required to act on, or pass along reasonable information about possible rule violations for further investigation.
Section 4.1(d) of Tressel’s contract with Ohio State stipulates that he “supervise and take appropriate steps to ensure … members of the Team know, recognize and comply with any such laws, University Rules and Governing Athletic Rules and immediately report to the (Athletic) Director and to the (Athletic) Department’s Office of Compliance Services in writing if any person or entity, including without limitation, representatives of Ohio State’s athletic interests, has violated or is likely to violate any such laws, University Rules and Governing Athletic Rules.”Throw this in with all the suspicion surrounding the cars Terrelle Pryor's been driving, and this could be a rough off-season in Columbus. Well, at least he finally beat an SEC school.
Section 5.1 (m) of his contract also states that failure to promptly report “any violations” could lead to “termination by Ohio State for cause.”
Ohio State itself could be cited with playing ineligible players and forced to vacate its 2010 season, when it won a share of the Big Ten championship and finished 12-1. It could also face further sanctions for major infractions."
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Saw this nugget quoted from an Ohio State message board: "Jim Tressel should just say they informed his DAD but he never knew anything about it." Awesome. (h/t smartfootball)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Vatican Assassin Warlords.
I was so hoping someone would mash these things up: Charlie "Sorry, Winning." Sheen and the unofficial Auburn 2010 theme song, "All I Do Is Win." Mainly, because I don't know how to do this kind of shit myself.
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