Despite Turmoil, Newton Keeps on Smiling
by Jay Coulter on Nov 8, 2010 3:00 AM CST
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The events of the past week surrounding Auburn quarterback Cam Newton and allegations that someone was on the take for his services is a fresh reminder that college football is a blood sport. As we embark on Georgia week, we think of the family ties between the two programs.
While the South's oldest rivalry may be something close to family, don't believe for a minute that either program let's its guard down with the other. That's a way of life in college football today.
In a world with sports agents, rogue alumni and backbiting rivals, the days of the gentleman's handshake are gone. No program can trust another in this atmosphere.
There were probably few who were surprised when Florida coach Urban Meyer's name emerged on Friday as the source of The New York Times article that brought into question Newton's recruitment from Blinn Junior College in Texas.
While there were strong denials from Meyer and former Miss St. quarterback John Bond, who sits at the center of the controversy, we've all been taught the smoke and fire metaphor.
Believe what you will, I see fire.
In the span of two seasons, Meyer has become a shell of his former success. He now looks the part of the desperate coach who's watched his program crash like Nancy Pelosi on election night.
With his player arrest record rising faster than unemployment and questions of whether he can win without Tim Tebow, Auburn should be the least of his concerns.
Watch Meyer today and you see the paranoia of Richard Nixon and a coach who more closely resembles Ron Zook than Steve Spurrier. Inserting himself into the Newton story has to make Gator fans shake their heads.
Doesn't he have enough problems with the Florida players who haven't left?
Last year, I told the story of a friend of mine whose son was a four-star recruit who took a visit to Gainesville. I wrote this at the time:
I talked to a recruit who attended the Florida-South Carolina game last year and he said he actually put his wallet in his front pocket because of the recruits who were there visiting. He said they were cast straight from the streets of Miami.
After I wrote that piece, a sport writer for The Orlando Sentinel called my words racist. The number of Florida players arrested during Meyer's tenure now tops 25. I've yet to get an apology from the yahoo who wrote the story. I guess it's more important to be politically correct than truthful.
It would be wise for Meyer to get himself and his team under control before he attempts the same with another program.
Auburn fans should find comfort in the name, Rich McGlynn. He's the head of compliance for the University and can only be described as a hard ass. Auburn coaches complain that he works against the program. He leaves nothing to chance.
A former NCAA investigator, McGlynn has a reputation for going above and beyond the by-laws of the NCAA. As someone close to the program said on Friday, if McGlynn even sniffed a problem, Newton would be sitting.
As for Cam, all of this seems to fall off him like an LSU defender. Despite the news reports, he continues to flash that winning smile. A solid performance on Saturday against Georgia will all but wrap up the Heisman Trophy.
Sure there will be a few northeast liberal elitist writers (see The New York Times) who will convict Newton and hold it against him. But right now, it appears that his votes are holding up.
Let's don't allow Meyer and the liberal media to piss on Auburn's parade. This weekend's contest is about more than trophies and championships. It's about taking care of unfinished business and taking out four years of frustration on Georgia's backside.
It's Georgia week and it's never been bigger!
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i want to believe
as much as i want to believe meyer is the source of the leak, and that auburn is clean, should we not point the finger (which ever finger you choose) at meyer until there is confirmed evidence? i read marshall’s piece as well as the b’ham news piece. i have to say that they seem convincing to me, but i don’t know if it is right for us to even care that urban has a spotty record as a coach. we are the auburn tigers. our coach, compliance office, and ad has said cam is eligible. cam and cecil refute the claims. shouldn’t that be enough for us. i’d rather enjoy the wins and read the updates, than point fingers (just as the haters have been doing despite no tie to auburn) and eat our words later.
i agree with your points – i just don’t want us to get caught up in the name calling. i think fans at the game saturday should where we all stand on this issue…au family all in!
war cam eagle!
by justjim on Nov 8, 2010 5:24 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
Let's all keep our head up...
And show the world that we are Auburn!
WAR EAGLE!
Come and join me at http://trackemtigers.com
Agreed
Whether Urban has something to do with it or not… I sure would like to beat their butts in the SECCG. Of course we have a bit of work to do before then.
If you are a War Damn Eagle, you can War Damn anything.
"liberal media"?
Come on man! It was the Times and not the entirety of journalists on the East Coast.
by J.M. on Nov 8, 2010 9:01 AM CST via mobile reply actions
I don't know if the media is liberal or conservative, but it is just plain irresponsible.
There are many vignettes of this story that really get me angry. One of which is the trashing of a young man, without a scintilla of proof that he personally did anything wrong. It is inconceivable of me how ESPN and the NYTimes can justify this sort of character assassination over a situation that seems to be between Mississippi State, John Bond, and Kenny Rogers. Last time I checked google maps, Starkville is about 250 miles AWAY from Auburn.
Additionally, there seems to be an epidemic of thugs being recruited into certain colleges. Florida and FSU might be a the top, but I would have to really research that to make sure it is true. Oh wait a minute, I am not a real journalist, just a blogger, why do I care about reporting facts if they don’t??
War Eagle!! Kick the Living Crap out Georgia!!!
by Tiger on the mountain on Nov 8, 2010 9:03 AM CST reply actions
Was the media was played?
Let’s think about this. Would you say that there are potentially dozens of college players that are investigated by the NCAA each year? I would. Almost ALL of these investigations are under the radar and never make it to the press. Now, would this story have seen the light of day if Auburn were 7-3 and Newton was not in the Heisman race? Not a chance.
I agree 100%. This was a non-story until Cam started to literally run away with the Heisman,
and Auburn is set to run away with the SEC on the road to the NC.
I think that is what is really important here is that it should be made clear that Cam is NOT being investigated. If he were being investigated, he would not be eligible to play. Period. Now his parents may be being investigated, but it is clear that at least Kenny Rogers is being investigated, so unless Cam has an unfortunate alias, the investigation scenario that is being portrayed in the media is just plain False.
by Tiger on the mountain on Nov 8, 2010 10:22 AM CST up reply actions
New information on this story is coming out suspiciously slow.
I understand that Auburn University’s hands a retied to a certain degree, but why all of the posturing and pre-fab statements if nothing serious is going on behind the scenes?
As I said once last week, I have gone from worried and back to fine and back to worried again countless times on this issue. It seems like everything with Cam and Auburn is on the up and up, but if it certainly is why hasn’t the NCAA stepped forward and stated so?
My best guess is that there is another shoe waiting to drop and its going to be a big one, whether it concerns Cam, Cecil, Both of them, Rogers, Bond, Miss St., or the whole group.
There’s more to this story than what is out. It could be relieving news for AU faithful or very bad. I’m leaning towards relieving. After all Auburn’s compliance department is no joke. I think they have thoroughly gone through Cam and his parents’ financial info and has found nothing.
We just have to wait and see what happens this week. I’m sure all will information will be at the forefront come kickoff Saturday against the Dawgs. Its a shame such a great season (knock on wood) has been turned into wild speculation.
War Eagle! Beat Georgia!
War Eagle
I understand your frustration filled questions...
Keep this in mind, if the NCAA has asked Auburn and the Newton family to please refrain from answering questions regarding this matter, and told Auburn officials that Cam is still eligible to play, then most of the doubt has been erased from both Auburn and the Newtons.
There is a rat somewhere, and that part of the investigation is ongoing.
Come and join me at http://trackemtigers.com
Nothing good can come from saying anything, beyond what has been said.
All that happens is your words get taken out of context and reported incorrectly. In this case, almost every story NEGLECTS to even mention that Bond and Rogers are BOTH ex- MSU players and were on the same team. All that is reported is that Rogers is an agent/representative of an agent that runs college prep camps for players. Its dishonest and the media has no intention of telling the truth that THEY don’t want to tell. There is absolutely no reason to give the media or the NCAA any ammunition that they can use against you.
Just about every kid at every big time school has violated some kind of NCAA rule, and what makes this situation so deplorable is that a totally unsubstantiated allegation can have the NCAA snooping around for evidence of one thing and then finding other things that get you in trouble . Thats what got AJ Green. The NCAA were snooping around him because of the MIami agent party and they nailed him for selling a jersey. Pretty innocuous stuff but thats what the NCAA rules committee is all about, screwing up things for schools and players. If sometohing is there, they will find it, hopefully whatever they find is a lame secondary violation and happens after the season.
Col.Angus may be rough, Col.Angus may not smell like a bed of roses, but deep down Col.Angus is very sweet. If I overstay my welcome, just tap me on the head!!
Additionally, the 'defensive posturings' almost always back fire.
The questions would start becoming, ‘Well if Auburn and Cam Newton have not done anything wrong, then why are they defending themselves so vehemently"…well they probably wouldn’t use the word ‘vehemently’ because it has too many syllables and might indicate signs of intelligent life.
I think that Auburn is saying exactly what they need to be saying. CAM NEWTON IS ELIGIBLE TO PLAY. PERIOD! On GameDay, they claimed that this was not much. But given the rules of player eligibility and NCAA investigations, it’s a pretty big statement.
And now to more important things…….
BRING IT ON GEORGIA! AUBURN WANTS TO SEND YOU BACK TO ATHENS WITH YOUR TAILS BETWEEN YOUR LEGS!
by Tiger on the mountain on Nov 8, 2010 10:29 AM CST up reply actions
the orlando sentinel
would the jerk that called you racist be mike bianchi – or as i like to refer to him “the douchebag from the orlando sentinel”? pardon my language. the guy is a total jerk.
northeast liberal elitist writers
If you think the NYTimes is liberal, I have a couple of wars I’d like to sell you.
Not sure what this means....
But this is the latest on ESPN.com…
War D@mn Eagle!! Beat the DAWGS!
"The spirit of the Auburn family is a magical, mystical thing. It defies explanation. It transcends wins and losses on a football field. It imprints itself on your character and can never be extinguished. Being an Auburn fan defines part of who and what you are..."
-Unknown Author
Hmmmm
Let’s try this again
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/32170/auburns-jacobs-newton-matter-not-closed
"The spirit of the Auburn family is a magical, mystical thing. It defies explanation. It transcends wins and losses on a football field. It imprints itself on your character and can never be extinguished. Being an Auburn fan defines part of who and what you are..."
-Unknown Author
That does not sound good at all.
A day or two ago JJ was defending Cam’s eligibility to no end. Now it sounds as if he is back tracking. Damn man, as soon as I thought this would be settling down a bit Auburn officials begin moving in a very bad direction. Let’s hope he is being careful with his words for legal purposes.
War Eagle
I don’t see anything in that story that should make you feel worse. I think you are right that JJ is just being carefull with his language.
by Jumpn_JackFlash on Nov 8, 2010 12:06 PM CST up reply actions
USA Today Article with Jay Jacobs
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/sec/2010-11-07-newton-controversies_N.htm
"The spirit of the Auburn family is a magical, mystical thing. It defies explanation. It transcends wins and losses on a football field. It imprints itself on your character and can never be extinguished. Being an Auburn fan defines part of who and what you are..."
-Unknown Author
AAAHHHHH....
The rest of the story. Jacobs says
“It’s not a closed matter,” he said. “It’s still ongoing. … But we look for Cam to continue to play for us.”
Sounds much better than suggesting Jay Jacobs stoped at “It’s not a closed matter”.
Come and join me at http://trackemtigers.com
This is more story of the non-story...
ESPN knows it will get hits if they “report” on the story, even though they aren’t reporting ANYTHING. Don’t let your paranoia get the better of you….the media is the ONLY thing behind this. If they were actually concerned with the truth, they would be HAMMERING Bond, Mullen and Rogers. They should show something, ANYTHING, that substantiates ANY part of these allegations. “He said this” and “he said that” means absolutely nothing and proves even less…it likes a double nothing!!
Col.Angus may be rough, Col.Angus may not smell like a bed of roses, but deep down Col.Angus is very sweet. If I overstay my welcome, just tap me on the head!!
I have said this before...
but….ESPN has had it in for AU from the beginning of the season. I don’t get it, but that is definitely the impression I get. Also, I canceled my ESPN Insiders subscription today, and when asked why I replied “Because of questionable and one sided reporting”.
:)
WAR D@MN EAGLE!!!
"The spirit of the Auburn family is a magical, mystical thing. It defies explanation. It transcends wins and losses on a football field. It imprints itself on your character and can never be extinguished. Being an Auburn fan defines part of who and what you are..."
-Unknown Author
omegas vs. deltas
this is just the omega house getting worried that the deltas are taking over.
this is nothing short of an animal house at this point.
i do admit i like mark schlabach, i don’t care much for chris lowe. i listened to what mark was saying this weekend, while at auburn. he sounds like he’s a little ashamed at the way the information was reported. i did value that he said his vote for the heisman is still with cam and that there is no hint of impropriety on auburns part. i don’t listen to much of espn. i prefer css talkin’ football (which schlabach is a part). i know they don’t lean toward auburn, but they are not as showy and not as dramatic as game day and they seem to be straight up with their thoughts, not so opinionated or guided by the popularity wave. i hope schlabach distances himself from the other two “story breakers”.
as for finebaum, i’ve been impressed with the way he’s backed off of condemning auburn and sticking to the stated “facts”.
Here’s hoping for a win and Western Title this weekend.
War Damn Eagle!
Another great article from Track Em Tigers Editor and Chief.
Your so right Jay :
" This weekend’s contest is about more than trophies and championships. It’s about taking care of unfinished business and taking out four years of frustration on Georgia’s backside."
Lets beat them Dawgs!
AubTigerman
"The reason you come to Auburn is because of Auburn people.This is a special place, from the coaches all the way to the fans" - Andrew McCain OT
Too many distractions.....
during Dawg week. Keep it focused on the pooches people. If Chizik says Cam’s eligible then that’s good enough for me. War Eagle Beat the damn Dawgs.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
we've gotta break a 4 game streak
I am excited! I guess there’s nobody in the starting lineup thats beaten UGA, well maybe some former redshirt if that counts and I have no doubt our guys are motivated and hopefully have enough gas in the tank to get this done before the bye week.
Just a side note about Urban Meyer. I haven’t seen convincing evidence regarding his involvement and the comment about smoke and fire metaphors disturbs me. I have seen this same logic directed towards Newton who is viewed by many outside of our family as having questionable morals etc due to the laptop incident and now are more likely to condemn him without proof. Be careful with your judgments people. Someone’s’ character assassination need not start with me.
Let me say this...
It should be known now that if you come after Auburn you are going into a battle. I like that myself. I think that Newton got condemned without any sort of real proof. I see the story as a response and a message. If you’re going to take on the Auburn family, you are going to go through a lot to do it. So now John Bond is upset because he feels like all he did was the right thing. Well, he needs to know for sure he is doing the right thing. I do not have much sympathy for someone who is backtracking this quickly. We may in fact be in some sort of trouble. I have the feeling that if Auburn does get some sort of punitive measures, we will take a some people down with us.
Silly and gratuitous use of politically charged language
First of all, what AU1980 said, ^ 100000.
Second, even if I did concede your premise that the NYT is “liberal” in any meaningful sense of the word, what in hell does this story have to do with “liberal,” “conservative,” or any other political adjective?
Good journalism knows no particular political bent. True professionals ask the right people the right questions, and then—if there’s some ‘there’ there— frame the answers in ways that accurately reflect reality. When it comes to the actual reporting that’s been done on this story, the biggest problems haven’t been so much with the people questioned or their answers(though there’s obviously plenty of follow-up reporting to be done on some of the answers), but in the ways things have been framed.
The initial framing of the story, which set the mold for the way the story would be discussed (and, to a lesser extent, subsequently reported on), was highly sensationalized. And it was sensationalized because racy is what most of us click on and buy most readily. This story, and journalism generally at this point in American history, is about an -ism. But that -ism isn’t liberal or conservative. It’s something else that Mr. Coulter probably doesn’t want to acknowledge because of the cognitive dissonance it would create with his general world view.
There’s plenty of room for journalistic critiques on the two initial stories without resorting to empty attack-language.
We generally
keep the politically charged language on here to a jab rather than a full beat-down. A) It’s a CFB blog and B) It’s always good for a laugh. Witness:
He now looks the part of the desperate coach who’s watched his program crash like Nancy Pelosi on election night.
Oh, Jay, you’re killing me!!!
#2 Cameron Newton for Heisman
by War Eagle Atlanta on Nov 8, 2010 8:15 PM CST up reply actions
Except...
…that not everyone shares your sense of humor. Though it’s not far off, the Auburn Family is indeed not completely politically homogeneous. And I would ask both the contributors and the super-majority here whether the political digs at your more progressive bretheren, be they subtle or ham-fisted, have enough value to risk alienating the the 2% who would object.
I don’t need to remind anyone that the writing staff here wouldn’t dare post political jokes in the other direction, given the number of outraged responses they would generate. I’m simply making an humble request for equal time. And given that no one would be upset with a division of zero-zero, why not just steer completely clear? It makes me very sad indeed when I think that I am looked at as somehow lesser-than as a supporter of Auburn simply because I don’t share the politics of the majority of Auburn people. And that’s exactly how I feel when I read political commentary on a football board that only runs in the direction that’s comfortable for the masses.
—WDE
Because
it’s only .0000001 % of the content written here and no one gets their drawers bunched up about it.
I noticed that you read EDSBS. Are you telling me that none of that which is written over there dares to offend your sensibilities? You won’t find much cursing on this blog, not because we’re holier than thou, but because some people’s children read this. Even they get the political humor though.
Let me call the obvious: If this is the only comment you can muster here, I think you may be in the wrong genre of blogs.
"Georgia ain't man enough to beat Auburn this weekend in Auburn."--Pat Dye, or someone just like him.
by War Eagle Atlanta on Nov 8, 2010 9:28 PM CST up reply actions
Thank you for making my point for me...
…however unwittingly. As for me recognizing the differences in TrackEm and EDSBS? You answer your own question.
Glad to experience your hospitality.
War Eagle anyway.
by calltheobvious on Nov 9, 2010 12:29 PM CST up reply actions
Speaking as one who considers himself a liberal......
while I understand your distaste of right wing stereo-typing and over use of the word “liberal” as a derogatory term I also think you might need to lighten up and realize that this is a Football Blog and if you don’t like the humor that one person exhibits choose to ignore it or fire back with your own. In other words give as good as you get or get over it…….please hang around long enough to get to know the regulars on here and you might actually like it.
I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU
What bothers me about this story is that there seems to be no REAL fact out there...
Lots of ALLEGEDLY and no real FACTUAL information. I am extremely disappointed although not suprised in the way this whole thing has been handled.
KUDO’s to CKTCooper for cancelling your ESPN insider presription today.
News stories are best identified as factual or non-factual...
Not liberal or something else. Tomorrow, or next week, the NY Times will
print a story that will have information you agree with and you’ll be quoting it
all day long….so where does that leave you?
Keep the quasi political speech somewhere else…
If a Heisman voter shafts Cam based on a non-story, that’s on their conscious….It’s a
subjective award…..ask any one who’s ever played for the defense!
leave the politics out of it, ughhh
Jay, sports are a release for me. I, like several of your readers that have commented below don’t have the same political views as most Auburn fans. If you want to go do a conservative blog, I’d rather you take your paranoia to a political blog—I’m here to read articles about Auburn football.
FYI, Nancy Pelosi won her district something like 80-20.
chris lowe's new story
now chris lowe is reporting that cam was about to be kicked out of florida for academic fraud and cheating.
now what! if that is true, what does that mean…
Ok first off, if its true (which I'm sure it is) I like Cam a little less now. Cheating is wrong no matter how slice it.
But I will also say this. This story just seems to be piling on an easy target. Cam Newton was obviously a different person at Florida. No one can deny that. And I am not going to sit here and act like he’s some kind of angel now, but seriously his Florida days are over, any news from back then sheds no new light on what is going on right now. We all already knew about the laptop. If people across America think he is the only CFB player to cheat in college they are living under several rocks. I am so pissed that we are entering Amen Corner and all we can talk about Cam SCam.
War Eagle! Beat Georgia!
War Eagle
We can safely infer ...
… that someone (the source of this new report from the “liberal” FoxSports) at the University of Florida has it out for Cam Newton.
msu & uf
it’s funny that all accusations come from florida, from where he left, and msu, which recruited him and lost out. i’m not denying that he cheated (seems to be the nature of florida’s program), i’m not even sure about the money at msu. i mean, you’d have to pay me to go to starkville. he’s no angle, but who is?
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