This strategic media blitz is pissing me off. I can only imagine what's going to be released the week of the Bama game.

Stolen from the Rivals board:

I think that's pretty much been his position. He's defending his kid, and Auburn fans love him for that.

I, personally, want to extend my gratitude to most Alabama fans. The majority (obv not all bc every team, especially a really good one, has wackos) of fans I've talked to have actually stated that they either think it will "blow over" or they're "baseless," etc. Whether they're for reasons for wanting to beat the "best" or for truly wanting justice, it's good to know that the worst enemies can agree that a young man, no matter his affiliation or dirty past, deserves to be treated as a YOUNG man and not a professional man.

So, I salute you Alabama fans. See you the day after Thanksgiving.

I understand why he'd want to do this: he's a stand-up guy and he thinks it's the right thing to do. But these are the kind of quotes you end up with:

"If you really want to do your homework, go and start with his Little League coach, then go to his junior high coach, then go to his high school coach, then go to his junior college coach and then come talk to any coach at Auburn."

"Cameron Newton is one of the young men on our football team that has not only excelled as a tremendous athlete, he has done everything we have asked him to do since the day he stepped on campus at Auburn."

"So I want to make this very clear, because I'm wasting my time addressing allegations that completely to be frank, blow my mind that they're even out there because there are federal privacy laws that dictate that these things don't even get out in public."

How would you spin those if you worked for ESPN/FoxSports and had an agenda?


"But I'm standing up here on a very important week trying to defend something that quite frankly is garbage." Good. Stop there and move on to the Georgia game. "Is there a wizard behind the curtain? I don't know. Is there one, is there two, are there 10? I don't know and I don't care." Noooooooooooo!

All these accusations will just make him angry for the Georgia game...

Sure seems to me the two stories are contradictory; A burglary arrest, facing expulsion for cheating, bounced to a JC--that's the guy trying to shake colleges down for $200,000 to go there? Really?

He supposedly then called them and cried an apology and stated Auburn was giving too much money? That would, in my estimation, make him well below ******ed. He would literally have to be walking around constantly drooling in order to be that stupid.

What possible purpose does the "source" for the phone call have to remain anonymous? Obviously Newton would know who it is, unless the suggestion is he called MULTIPLE Miss State officials at different times and told them about the large bribes Auburn was giving him. I guess the person doesn't want to be bothered by the crowds or have people examine the details of their personal life or motives--ironic certainly, but in journalistic terms there is NO REASON to grant this person anonymity. They are not going to be fired or arrested for coming forward, they're just being allowed to smear. At least the Florida cheating story sources are breaking the law and would be fired for that leak.

More Alabama love itt!

I already love Little Nicky, but I don't wanna start lovin the fanbase too!

I don't understand how these are contradictory at all. Are you saying that someone as stupid do the first two things wouldn't be smart enough to concoct the third?

I think what he is saying is this (and I was just wondering the same thing myself). How in the world was Cam Newton in any position (at that point and time) to demand that type of large and potentially criminal payoff to sign? Obviously we all see the type of season he is having right now, but there are tons of players that put up video-game numbers at the JUCO level and then become non-factors when they get to D-1. This kid sat the bench at UF and had both academic and legal issues while he was there. Obviously Dan Mullen would be aware of all of this, so why in the world would it be so assumed that Cam's value would be so great at that moment in time?

He was a 5-star prospect, number two in the nation at his position out of high school. Then, once again, he was a 5-star prospect and number one overall from the JUCO ranks after leading his team to the National title.

He was certainly a valuable commodity, but I'm not sure what the going pay rate for 5 stars in the SEC is, so it's hard to tell if he was being under or over valued at the time.

Georgia and Florida are both apparently taking byes before the cocktail party next year.
Florida's SEC West schedule is kinda brutal:

Alabama
@ LSU
@ Auburn

All back to back. Newton will prob be gone by then, but still...

Yeah, we're not gonna be so tough next year when Newton and the OLine leave.

And UGA has the best possible west schedule you could hope for.

Home Auburn
Home Miss St
@ Ole Miss

This was Mark Richt's first losing year against the west, and I don't expect next year to be his 2nd.

Yeah, next year's schedule is pretty soft. There's a reasonable chance that if this year's UGA team had gone against the 2011 schedule, we would have had 0 or 1 loss and been massively overrated going into the cocktail party. South Carolina and MSU could easily have gone the other way at home, no Arky or Colorado, and all the other games we won by a sound margin. We could have been this year's Michigan State!

Instead it was basically a perfect storm of coming up short every week, losing all four games in the stretch when we should have won at least 1.5 of them.

Slow pony is slow, but been on the road for two days.

I was saying, basically, that some rich booster with $200,000 is supposed to be willing to pony up and risk actual JAIL TIME by taking this chance on this guy. Coaches are going to risk their careers on the guy who they supposedly know all this dirt about? That seemed reckless to me.

Stupid enough to ask for it? Sure. Gets a reception and actual bids? Well, I guess it's looking like it...

OK, posting here has been good luck so far, here are the games w today's lines;

Georgia @ Auburn -6.5
South Carolina @ Florida -6.5
Mississippi State @ Alabama -13
UTEP @ Arkansas -28.5
Mississippi @ Tennessee U -2.5
UL Monroe @ LSU -33
Vanderbilt @ Kentucky -15

I got Auburn at -8 if Cam plays. Made the bet earlier in the week, and really had no idea the news would be this intense. Not sure if it will affect AU's psyche, but that offense is awfully hard to keep up with. Watching the game with a bunch of Auburn fans so at least I'll have a real rooting interest. The over is 62.5 and if Cam's a go within a few minutes of the game and that line stays similar--I jump in it.

SCar looked terrible last week, but Florida is not nearly as good as Arky. Taking Carolina.

I got Mississippi State at +14.5, which seemed insane to me given the way Alabama has looked recently, the fact Richardson is unlikely to play, and the fact that Miss St comes in off a bye week, ldo. I probably would still take them at +13.

Arky. UTEP's coached by Mike Price. Insert unattractive stripper joke here.

Ole Miss, fistpump. Seen nothing that would indicate Tennessee can hold down a reasonably potent offense in the second half of any game. I've never bet on a "half", but am considering Tenn -1 for the first half of this game, and then Ole Miss for the second.

UL Monroe, simply because the line requires LSU to score more points than they have in any game this season, and while Monroe is bad they are still better than McNeese State!

Kentucky as they've been playing pretty good ball lately while Vandy has gotten on quite a downward spiral with no Norman and the new OC. Have lost their last 4 games by a combined 169-35, and last 2 by 104 - 28.

Saban conniption fit

You nailed that one. In your defense, UT has been a great first half team and has disappeared in the second half...

lol, what South Carolina can give, Ole Miss can take away. Did not get the 1st half action in, unfortunately. Did not watch the game but sounds like that new qb is pretty good.

But, 5-3 on the picks including the AU UGA over, not so bad for third consecutive winning week.

Thank goodness I wasn't betting on Pac10, Big12, or Big10 this week--I'm bringing up the rear in my pick 'em league.

Yes, but in Saban's defense McCarron had just made a pretty cow****-for-brains play.

You don't have to defend Saban for that. I thought it was awesome. He's infinitely more fun to watch than the other prick coaches (Meyer/Pigtrino.) That ESPN commercial where he picks the snack cake off the floor and stares everybody down is my favorite.

The Tennessee game I am kind of kicking myself for not betting on. They have looked tougher than Ole Miss all year, were at home, and still had something to play for. When you have a young new coach, you can really excite a fan base by playing like that at the end of the season, even if it's against nobody. They had no expectations this year. Ole Miss has been done since the Jax State game. They are a complete failure and nothing they did against UT was going to change that.

I, too, thought that was awesome. Love Saban.

Terrible week coming up in the SEC. Alabama, Florida, and Kentucky playing cupcakes. South Carolina playing Troy. Auburn and Georiga on byes.

The only game at all interesting is Arky/MSU.

Luckily week 13 may be the best of all.

it was a fun game this week end
standard Saban behavior

Saban is entertaining, but Les Miles is the beyond amazing!

BROP, BROP, BROP, BROP!!!

HoolaKazowie, Batman:

251 yards of Offense?
8-22 Passing for...95 yards?
TOP - 27:48?

How the **** did you score 51 points?
How many did defense/special teams give you? I see 5 turnovers so I'll guess 38.

In other words, I think I still like my bet.


Lordy, maybe Bama's defense is just horrible...

It's not just him.

My 8 year-old son was old enough to go to Alabama's summer football camp for the first time this year. Part of Saban's opening speech was explaining that when coaches are yelling at them it's nothing personal, just that they know they can do better.

15 minutes later, Joe Pendry has him by the facemask letting him know he isn't getting his knees high enough.

12 hours later, I'm back to pick him up and Scott Cochran is getting more push-ups out of him and the rest of the camp before they go home/back to the dorms for the night.

He fell asleep on the way home. And, yes, he wants to go back next year.