jigs said:you want tickets?? would be a fun trip...
Mike said:jigs said:you want tickets?? would be a fun trip...
Yes it would. I can get some here though. Thanks.
How far are you from Manhattan? Which direction?
Sandhusker said:Turner Gill could show him a thing or two about playing the position...
jigs said:Cam can beat Florida teams, Turner can't
To be honest, I haven't watched ESPN a lot in the past week, but I watched a little Wednesday. And I was amazed – again – at what is going on.
Other than the main college football guys, I don't always recognize the "talent." But I saw one fellow predict the ongoing controversy surrounding quarterback Cam Newton was going to pull the Tigers together and they were going to beat Georgia. The blonde lady on the show with him answered "The Tigers need to keep it rolling … while they can."
Earlier, I heard a commentator say this wouldn't stop until Auburn stood up and defended Newton, making me wonder if he was hiding under a rock Tuesday.
How many times have I heard and read that "Auburn is accused of offering Cam Newton $200,000?" Sounds good. Just isn't true. Neither is it true that Cam Newton himself is accused of anything, other than by the gutless wonders who trash a young man from behind a cloak of anonymity.
Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel, usually one of the more reasonable guys out there, wrote Auburn and Newton lose credibility with each allegation. He also called the reporting on the initial story "airtight."
Just what are the allegations of NCAA violations against Cam Newtton? Not his father, not Kenny Rogers, but Cam Newton? The uncomfortable answer for those on the attack is this: There aren't any.
But it all gets back to the same thing. Whether it's ESPN, The New York Times or Foxsports.com, these people are all working hard to back up their theories of what happened. Other than John Bond's since discredited quotes in the ESPN.com's first salvo last Thursday night, there has not been one real, live person quoted saying anything to implicate anybody.
These people could point out the obvious fact that Newton's continuing to play says, beyond any doubt, that, at least now, the NCAA does not consider his eligibility in question. That hasn't been said once that I know of. It doesn't fit their story. Or maybe they really are just so uninformed they don't know how the system works.
Real journalism, at its core, is a search for the truth. What's passing for journalism today is a search for something to back up the flimsy reporting that they hope is the truth.
It's interesting that none of the stories in this saga have broken in Alabama or Mississippi. That makes it pretty clear that three national outlets – ESPN, the New York Times and FoxSports.com – are being fed by somebody who wants to get the largest possible audience and do the maximum amount of damage.
And if in all this, a college junior who happens to be a great football quarterback has his reputation destroyed? And if a team full of guys who have worked hard to live a dream get dragged through the mud? That clearly doesn't matter. Collateral damage, you know?
Oklahoma's Bob Stoops says he saw nothing amiss in Newton's recruitment. USC's Lane Kiffin, who was at Tennessee at the time, says the same thing. Auburn's Gene Chizik vociferously defends Newton. Who cares? John Bond says somebody told him that somebody said something, so a personal attack unprecedented in college football history, and maybe in the history of football, period - commences.
Look, I don't know what really happened, who asked for what or anything else. What I know is there hasn't been enough evidence – and it doesn't take much – for the NCAA to tell Auburn to sit Newton down until things are sorted out. What I don't know is why so many are so gleefully piling on a 22-year-old without that evidence. My feeling about what has happened for the past week won't change if every allegation is proved to be true.
Who could, at least, turn down the volume? The NCAA could by simply stating the obvious. All they'd have to say is "At this point, we have found nothing to indicate Cam Newton's eligibility is in question." But don't be holding your breath. The NCAA is as gutless as those who would ruin a young person's life based on the flimsiest of information.
And don't be holding your breath waiting for any of those people to do the right thing. They're all too busy checking to see how many parking tickets Cam Newton got at the University of Florida.
jigs said:I think the kid is hands down the top player in the nation. I hate the Hiesman and the hype around it, but the kid is totally deserving of it, and now there are people who will not vote him into the top place based on this BS.... who ever it is that started it needs to PAY. if it is another university, then pull the schollies...give them a SMU type penalty
even if he was a husker, i would find this wrong...amusing, but wrong
By Austin Meek
Created November 11, 2010 at 7:59pm
Updated November 11, 2010 at 8:54pm
Here's a question for all the football fans and philosophy majors in the audience.
Knowing all you know now, do you wish your team could have signed Cam Newton?
Think before you answer, because it's not that easy. Kansas State recruited Newton, the Heisman front-runner, when he was at Blinn College, and K-State supposedly was among the final schools Newton considered before signing with Auburn. It's easy to imagine Newton wearing purple, piling up touchdowns as Bill Snyder's next great dual-threat quarterback.
Would it have been worth it?
For one season, you would have the best player in college football. Your school would have the chance to add a Heisman Trophy to its display case, and Newton would transform your team into a title contender.
Your school also would be embroiled in the scandal du jour in college sports. Allegations would surface that your quarterback's father passed the offering plate in exchange for his son's services, and stories of academic fraud would emerge. Your dream season could be one bad headline away from ending in disgrace.
So, whadda say? Deal or no deal?
This is a hypothetical exercise, but it's also a reality. Increasingly, fans of college sports face the same moral dilemma: Is tainted success still success, and in 2010, is there any other kind?
For many, the gut reaction to the Newton story is righteous indignation — your school does things the Right Way, and you want nothing to do with rulebreakers, no matter how many touchdowns they can throw.
Here's a simple followup: How do you know someone on your team didn't do something worse? Have you seen the bank statements, phone records and academic transcripts?
Of course not, because those are kept in a locked file cabinet and only revealed when it serves someone's agenda. All you have is someone's word, and if the Newton story demonstrates anything, it's that people's words can be unreliable.
If you don't want Newton on your team, ask yourself this: How do you know he did anything wrong? So far, all we have is a Mississippi State booster saying a small-time agent asked him for cash in exchange for Newton's commitment, a story apparently corroborated by recruiters at the school.
Damaging allegations if true, but there is no direct link to Auburn, the school where Newton eventually signed.
We also have allegations of academic fraud, apparently leaked by someone with access to Newton's records at Florida. The story won't help Newton's image, but it also has no bearing on his eligibility at Auburn.
The bigger problem here is the issue of selective enforcement. It's good that fans and media have a heightened awareness to cheating, because that's the only way anything will change. We've moved past the era of winks, nods and hundred-dollar handshakes, and that's progress.
But we're now in an era where personal vendettas can dictate punishment, and that's not really ideal, either. If these allegations taint Newton's Heisman campaign and derail Auburn's title hopes, what's to stop a coach from concocting a story and phoning a friend in the press every time a rival school starts winning?
If you haven't figured it out by now, this column is about questions, not answers. One thing is apparent, however: If you want to curb cheating in college sports, you have to catch it before the player ever takes a snap.
Auburn fans, if you asked them, probably would say Newton has been worth the price. Whatever happens from here, they still have the experience of watching Newton plow through defenses, just as USC fans had the thrill of watching Reggie Bush in the open field.
You can take away a trophy, but you can't take away a memory.
jigs said:any different than the new cars driven by Husker players? or the "job" Bosworth had at OU, watching an oil well pump for hundreds an hour ? there is ALWAYS dirty laundry around a ball team....just go look ....
boosters cause more grief than anything.
Mike said:My take on the kid is that he is the most talented quarterback in the history of college football. Bar none. Anyone who says otherwise is fool that doesn't know.
TexasBred said:Mike said:My take on the kid is that he is the most talented quarterback in the history of college football. Bar none. Anyone who says otherwise is fool that doesn't know.
Talent?? Probably....but he still has to produce and not just one year. Until he puts up numbers (wins, passing yard, rushing yards, etc. )equal to or better than Tebow, Vince Young, and a few others, he just still appears to be the best athlete money can buy. I guess we'll find out sooner or latter.
Mike said:TexasBred said:Mike said:My take on the kid is that he is the most talented quarterback in the history of college football. Bar none. Anyone who says otherwise is fool that doesn't know.
Talent?? Probably....but he still has to produce and not just one year. Until he puts up numbers (wins, passing yard, rushing yards, etc. )equal to or better than Tebow, Vince Young, and a few others, he just still appears to be the best athlete money can buy. I guess we'll find out sooner or latter.
Easy to see you haven't kept up. :lol: :lol: :lol:
TexasBred said:Mike said:TexasBred said:Talent?? Probably....but he still has to produce and not just one year. Until he puts up numbers (wins, passing yard, rushing yards, etc. )equal to or better than Tebow, Vince Young, and a few others, he just still appears to be the best athlete money can buy. I guess we'll find out sooner or latter.
Easy to see you haven't kept up. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Haven't kept up ?? With what??
Cam Newton, Auburn: Putting the off-field issues aside, the quarterback threw for two touchdowns and ran for two as the No. 2 Tigers rallied to beat Georgia 49-31. He had 30 carries for 151 yards and was 12-of-15 passing for 148 yards. Along the way, he became the first player in SEC history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
Read more: Heisman watch: Newton continues to impress - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/colleges/ci_16608181#ixzz15H25UDpZ