tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320221605077796058.post6351125740497968482..comments2023-09-06T11:00:18.404-04:00Comments on SEC Expats: The NCAA and the Constanza DefenseUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320221605077796058.post-7752887832981694592010-12-29T10:50:56.723-05:002010-12-29T10:50:56.723-05:00I am not about to compare Cam Newton to a dogfight...I am not about to compare Cam Newton to a dogfighter, but here is an interesting and spot-on perspective on Michael Vick and an old story: If somebody can play a sport extraordinarily well, people will heap tons of praise upon them and make excuses for them.<br /><br />http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/12/the_real_reason_vick_got_a_sec.htmlBama Brotherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09043046461700151015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320221605077796058.post-41748759814760542382010-12-29T09:39:53.613-05:002010-12-29T09:39:53.613-05:00What bothers me is that in both the Cam Newton cas...What bothers me is that in both the Cam Newton case and the OSU infractions,the NCAA knew for more than a year that both universities had possibly broken NCAA rules and decided to sit on the information until after the season was completed. But,in the investigations of UNC,UG(Green),Alabama,and South Carolina,the news of the investigation was almost immediately released to the media. Why did they with hold the news about Auburn,MSU, and OSU? What was the NCAA(s) agenda in doing so?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320221605077796058.post-13286357569676712952010-12-25T03:53:19.687-05:002010-12-25T03:53:19.687-05:00Oops, I can't spell. "Cain and Abel"...Oops, I can't spell. "Cain and Abel"<br />Bolyn Mcclung<br />PinevilleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320221605077796058.post-76183203961850123552010-12-25T03:45:01.036-05:002010-12-25T03:45:01.036-05:00HOW FAR CAN YOU KICK A PUMPKIN?
A long time ago, ...HOW FAR CAN YOU KICK A PUMPKIN?<br /><br />A long time ago, just after I had rested on the seventh day, I looked down and noticed that Adam was teaching Eve how to catch a pumpkin.<br /><br />“Go long, longer,” he would yell.<br /><br />Eventually Adam got so he could toss it pretty good and Eve would challenge his skills by running away in a straight line then stopping and turning around just as that big yellow fruit hit her in the bread basket. This became their favorite game.<br /><br />Many eons latter, but before that Cain and Able thing, Adam looked at all the kids running around catching pumpkins and wondered out loud, “God, what is the meaning of pumpkin?”<br /><br />I have to admit I hadn’t given it much thought but I had been thinking that the two boys were of an age that where learning a skill other than raising apples was necessary if they were going to find the right women to marry.<br /><br />So I said to Adam and Eve, “Have you ever heard of Tuscaloosa and Auburn?”<br /><br />Eve said, “Is that like Sodom and Gomorrah?”<br /><br />“Wow, I thought,” I thought, “Mothers can always figure out anything when it comes to their kids.”<br /><br />“Yes and no, but even better,” I said. “What I have in mind is starting two colleges.”<br /><br />“What’s a college, she asked?<br /><br />I answered, “A place that will trade letting people watch the boys punt, pass and kick the pumpkin for an education. They’ll find their wives there.”<br /><br />“Let me think,” she replied.<br /><br />I didn’t know it at the time but Eve told Adam they should talk it over with their old friend the snake.<br /><br />To make a long biblical tale short, that’s how Cain and Able ended up at Auburn.<br /><br />A gazillion years later a Georgia minister and his wife had the same choice to make for their son. They asked me for guidance but like the original couple they sought other advice. <br /><br />I’m not sure, but I think the snake had relocated to the same town because pretty soon the boy was running and throwing with that pumpkin at Auburn.<br /><br />Amen.<br /><br />Bolyn McClung<br />PinevilleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320221605077796058.post-17931136951722314362010-12-24T14:17:35.509-05:002010-12-24T14:17:35.509-05:00Peter, beautifully said! Thanks, from one Auburn ...Peter, beautifully said! Thanks, from one Auburn fan to another. Michael, thanks for taking the time on this busiest of busy days to respond. You are a better man than I, Gunga Din (except that I'm a woman) because I can honestly say I've never pulled for Alabama. Blame it on my upbringing. I'm not necessarily proud of it, but I cannot tell a lie. Happy holidays to you both. Keep loving SEC football and writing about it - I enjoy you both!WarEaglenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320221605077796058.post-20603179553236883812010-12-24T13:45:54.308-05:002010-12-24T13:45:54.308-05:00War Eagle, thanks for the holiday wishes. Don'...War Eagle, thanks for the holiday wishes. Don't believe I'm a hater, though, just someone quite perplexed by the NCAA's two recent rulings. At least they're consistent. <br /><br />By the way, I wish I could claim to have broken new ground on this blog . . . but writers all over the country are linking the Newton and Pryor decisions. <br /><br />Merry Xmas to you, too, and good luck Jan. 10. I can't say I'll be pulling for your team, nor can I saw I'll be pulling against them. Game time decision.<br /><br />Peter, as always good thoughts. I do think the NCAA and the SEC broke with precedent on Cam in that the player wasn't held accountable for his family's actions -- regardless of the existence of any proof that Cam was culpable in any way. <br /><br />I believe that given the timing of the two decisions, the NCAA chose an unusually narrow path, particularly for an agency that has shown little hesitancy to draw sweeping conclusions in the past. Might it have chosen differently had the SEC championship and the BCS bowl schedule had not been staring it dead in the face?<br /><br />And I agree that there are differences in the two rulings. The Auburn decision was curious; the Ohio State one Costanzian.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05072174037573441797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320221605077796058.post-82879157056428779362010-12-24T13:25:47.675-05:002010-12-24T13:25:47.675-05:00I think there's a distinction to made between ...I think there's a distinction to made between Ohio State and Auburn here. It's one thing to not know that someone else is doing something wrong on your behalf. It's another to ignore the possibility that what you're doing is wrong. <br /><br />If Cam Newton had landed at Alabama instead of Auburn, I would probably have as difficult a time letting go as Mr. Gordon seems to have. But if Newton had played for Alabama, Mike surely would be talking about how you can't punish a player for something he didn't even know was happening. And that's where it stands with Auburn. There's not evidence that Cam or Auburn knew. There's no way around that - no matter how much Crimson-colored yearning you have. <br /><br />With Ohio State, it's a little different. Even if players didn't know that selling their jerseys and other things was wrong, they should have known enough to ask. Everyone knows the NCAA is wildly picky about what student athletes can and can't do, and no one knows that more than the athletes. <br /><br />So I agree with Mike that the NCAA blinked with Ohio State. With Auburn, it chose not to punish a kid when they couldn't prove he did anything wrong.pstongehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17339785715553747223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320221605077796058.post-62111475613301146672010-12-24T12:25:18.847-05:002010-12-24T12:25:18.847-05:00Michael, in the spirit of Christmas,give it a rest...Michael, in the spirit of Christmas,give it a rest. The NCAA was NEVER investigating Auburn, nor was it investigating Cam. In my eyes, at least (and, disclaimer: I am a rabid lifelong Auburn fan), you are coming across as nothing but a hater - and I think you are better than that. Now, relax, and enjoy Christmas.WarEaglenoreply@blogger.com