willywill9

November 17th, 2010 at 8:58 PM ^

I was just thinking the same thing... why even waste two championship games?  There has to be evidence available, just expedite this already.  This could screw over several teams (e.g. Occupy SEC title seat, NC title seat.)



I'm really over this (no offense to the OP at all, i think it's been  a few days since Newton was discussed... ithink?)

NateVolk

November 17th, 2010 at 9:18 PM ^

Auburn is rolling forward as is because they know that if this all crashes down, the damage is already done. If it doesn't crash and somehow they come through this gauntlet faultless, they might have the hardware.

Suspend Newton now and they'll get basically the same blame, but without the hardware. 

The standard applied to USC was unprecedented in the obligation it placed upon the University and the coaches to know the personal business of it's marquee players.   What Auburn is being rumored having done is way worse than what USC did.  The idea that they may have brought in a known hired gun both destroys amateurism AND was done so with an eye towards a competitive advantage.

USC's severe penalties might end up looking like a wrist slap if Auburn knew or even should have known.

willywill9

November 17th, 2010 at 9:30 PM ^

But is there any evidence that Auburn knew anything?  Miss. State claims they didn't do anything wrong (maybe because they lost a bidding war) but they still claim no foul.  Auburn can say they weren't aware that a booster or someone else was doing this... wouldn't this be the exact same thing as the Reggie Bush thing?  I'll admit my ignorance on this subject...

maizenbluedevil

November 18th, 2010 at 1:04 PM ^

Agree 100%.

Watching GameDay last Saturday, I was laughing my ass off because they were making a huge deal of "Will he play?  Won't he play?" speculation re. Newton.

Any smart person knows that of course he's gonna play, for the reasons you pointed out above.

There are 2 possible outcomes:

- Guilty - in which case doesn't matter anyways since they're screwed

- Not guilty - in which case of course you play him

Since they don't know, because the investigation is pending, they have nothing to lose by playing him, but if they're found not guilty would have a lot to lose by not playing him and would have no reason to.

MGlobules

November 17th, 2010 at 9:11 PM ^

to illegal gambling interests, failed banks, and crooked boosters and pols dating back to the Pat Dye era. It's all still in the realm of hearsay, but it is enough to make the average Auburn and SEC fan's hair stand on end: 

http://www.illegalshift.com/2010/11/17/rumor-mill-cam-newton-paid-by-auburn-booster-milton-mcgregor/college-football/

ken725

November 18th, 2010 at 2:24 PM ^

People have to realize that the FBI is getting involved for reasons other than football and Cam Newton's eligibility.  It seems like the FBI is investigating corruption by lobbyists, senators and judges that were getting compensated for giving pro-gambling votes. 

Also the amount of money being discussed is allegedly in the 50 millions.  I'm guessing that caught the attention of the FBI.

http://documents.nytimes.com/corruption-charges-in-alabama#document/p11

Blue_Sox

November 17th, 2010 at 8:53 PM ^

If Auburn knew about him trying to get money from Miss State (or worse, paid him, themselves), and played him despite him being an ineligible player, does this warrant the Death Penalty? Combine it with their recent history of allegations, seems like that may be on the table, no? Even though they are an historic program.

GoBlueInNYC

November 17th, 2010 at 9:00 PM ^

I would be extremely surprised if the NCAA ever used the death penalty again on a football program. SMU was an elite and very historic program, and they're still clawing their way out of irrelevance over 20 years later.

And there is definitely no way that the NCAA dropped the death penalty on Auburn at this point. Even if they did pay Newton, there would have to be a much longer, nastier, repeated disregard for the NCAA before they would get the death penalty. SMU had been snubbing the NCAA for years and had been been caught repeatedly directly paying players.

iawolve

November 17th, 2010 at 9:04 PM ^

the NCAA won't dish it out again. They will just get their version of the ban hammer. Hell, Auburn was just on major probation in the mid-nineties when they went undefeated. 

I was in Dallas for a long time and knew people who knew the guys who bankrolled the Pony Express and other players at SMU. Sounds awfully similar... 

Blue_Sox

November 17th, 2010 at 9:15 PM ^

And it certainly seems like Auburn paid him, doesn't it? He really wanted to go to Mississippi State, just for the school without the money, but they wouldn't pony up. Auburn was a 7-5 team (not counting their shootout with NW in the bowl) so it's not like it was a no-brainer to go there anyway. He couldn't have known they would end up undefeated just by adding him. Something definitely swayed him. Sounds like their hammer is certainly coming.

mGrowOld

November 17th, 2010 at 9:19 PM ^

I kinda like the newton updates fwiw. I'm the guy who pleaded for board patience before conviction in the court of public opinion. Sure is an awful lot of smoke pouring out of the windows though.....

Yooper

November 17th, 2010 at 9:23 PM ^

Auburn standards + SEC way of doing business + Alabama success equals Auburn tries anything to win. The only surprise I suppose is that they apparently were so blatant. How did anyone involved ithink they could get away with this?

Wolverine In Exile

November 17th, 2010 at 9:53 PM ^

As much as I hate Saban, he doesn't necessary cheat or violate rules, he just pushes the rules beyond the ethical limits most reasonable people would say is the intent of the law, but still within the letter of the law. This Auburn case is nothing like that-- it's about out and out corruption and no shit violations of NCAA amateurism standards with a lack of institutional control mixed in.

Wolverine In Exile

November 17th, 2010 at 10:57 PM ^

makes it sound like Chizik is the unknowing pawn / figurehead in Lowder's control of the AU Ath Dept. In fact it basically sounds like all the Auburn coaches since Dye knew about the pay-for-play and tried to stop it but were forced out by the Auburn Board of Trustees, specifically Lowder.

Wolverine In Exile

November 17th, 2010 at 9:50 PM ^

read some articles from Birmingham or Huntsville newspapers about the public official corruption trials and arrests going on down there-- it makes the Kwame and Monica Conyers cases seem like a episode of Night Court. In short, it seems that in SEC Nation, if you ain't cheatin, you ain't tryin

example-- there's the former mayor of Birmingham  who just happened to hit the jackpot at a casino up for a permit for electronic bingo in his county 555 times. No, not a typo, that's five hundred fifty five times in a three year period.

Wolverine In Exile

November 17th, 2010 at 9:42 PM ^

the Auburn money man is already indicted by the Feds for financial shenanigans and pubilc official bribery down in Alabama with a bank. Supposedly according to a number of SEC sources that appear on Paul Finebaum's radio show, the FBI has hundreds of hours of wiretaps on Macgregor and that's where this FBi involvement in Cam Newton is coming from... once that money crosses state lines or uses federal communication infrastructure, it's hello FBI.. if I was Cam Newton's dad I'd be more worried about a shitload of FBI and IRS investigators probing around my multiple churches financial books. If I was Auburn and an honest broker (which frankly seem to be mutually exclusive items each day that passes), I'd be looking at this and saying to myself, "We have our largest booster (Macgregor), a university trustee (Louder), and the godfather of our program (Pat Dye) being linked together paying this kid to play football? And we were notified by the SEC about this in the summer? And we still played the kid? Well I guess we just made the Websters Dictionary definition picture of 'lack of insitutional control' "

BREAKING NEWS: We now have a photo of the Auburn AD being driven by SEC Chairman Mike Slive to the FBI interview on what they knew when....

bronxblue

November 17th, 2010 at 10:02 PM ^

This thread will likely get locked down/deleted, but let it be on the record that this scandal, if it turns out to be true, may very well be the defining moment when the NCAA is forced to reevaluate its focus on amateur athletics and its massive profit-making endeavors with schools.

Geaux_Blue

November 17th, 2010 at 11:19 PM ^

from a rival fan, on par with MSU (E Lansing) fans thinking UM would be destroyed over Stretchgate. it would require the signing of Newton to go through the administration in full to lose accreditation, etc. doubt even the SEC thing would be possible unless they could prove the regents or similarly empowered individuals systemically encouraged cheating over decades of athletic participation. i do, however, see the possibility of Auburn receiving a punishment double that of USC's, with their indignance over newton proving fatal. 

should be amusing to see coaches claim they didn't know he was receiving money when newton sr. was so candid to Miss St coaches. 

Michigan Shirt

November 18th, 2010 at 12:15 PM ^

I just got through reading this and man is it good. Not only are they facing sanctions against the football team, but possibly getting academic sanctions that could cause them to be kicked out of the SEC. I really want to hold passing judgement until the FBI and the NCAA finish their investigations, but this information is extremely damning.