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August 4th, 2013 at 11:35 PM ^

While Manziel's father, Paul, had alleged that many of the items were fake, two of the leading autograph authentication companies, PSA/DNA and JSA, have authenticated many of the items. Officials with both companies have told ESPN in recent months that they stand by their guarantee that they believe the signatures, some with inscriptions like "Gig 'Em" and "Heisman '12" are genuine. Online verification databases show a single lot of 999 signed Manziel photos numbered sequentially. JSA authenticated 248 items and 376 items that came in in two batches that also are numbered sequentially. Industry insiders say this indicates the signings were done in large quantities intended for wholesale.

TX2AA

August 4th, 2013 at 11:57 PM ^

Please, some of you are funny. What exactly has he done to be vilified so much? Gone to NBA finals game,and be invited back into the locker room? How many here wouldn't go, even LeBron feelings aside? How many wouldn't hang out with Drake, or whichever singer's poster you have hanging on your wall, if given a chance? Who wouldn't dance with a hot blonde in a Scooby costume? I don't even think he's a dbag really, I've seen bigger dbags on campus by people who have done nothing to earn it, see the business school.

Dude can ball though. He outplayed Alabama's QB all day that game. Hell, McCarron's last interception would have been a pick six if he threw the ball accurately. Don't say crap about Bama playing a tough one the week before when A&M went an entire season without a bye week.

The game should be interesting, no doubt. Saban has had time to plan, but JF is still learning the offense if anyone watched him through the year. Their O-line is still solid, the left tackle replacing the second overall draft pick was a projected top 15 pick this year. Their front seven on defense is a worry but if A&M gets up quick on Bama again, then they force them to play a game they're not accustomed to.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

August 5th, 2013 at 12:44 AM ^

What exactly has he done to be vilified so much? Gone to NBA finals game,and be invited back into the locker room? How many here wouldn't go, even LeBron feelings aside? How many wouldn't hang out with Drake, or whichever singer's poster you have hanging on your wall, if given a chance? Who wouldn't dance with a hot blonde in a Scooby costume?

How about all that stuff followed by tweeting some whiny Justin Bieber shit about how people need to walk a mile in his shoes?

TX2AA

August 5th, 2013 at 12:39 PM ^

As a former graduate student/ TA, emo apologies or excuses are certainly irritating.  I give you that; heck, I cannot recall how many times we would share over beer the excuses coming from the mouths of 18-20(-ish) year olds.   Professors loved them too.

As far as attention whore, sure it certainly helps bring attention.  It probably helped win the Heisman, lifted his draft stock, etc., but do you think he really wanted THIS level of attention.  The dude is decently smart, assuming he knows the difference between first round money versus second round money, and right now he's likely first round money.  Factor in the success of his NFL comparables, i.e. the Russell Wilson's or Drew Bree's, more NFL teams would be willing to risk drafting him in the first round.  Why would he take a 5-digit figure, when he obviously can afford the lifestyle he has now thanks to family funds, risk being suspended and drop to post-first round money.  I'm just saying, a report from two people who said they saw him sign X, Y, and Z (which is true), and then allege why he signed X, Y, and Z without evidence just smells fishy.  JF has stated he has been dupped before by someone in a military uniform asking him to sign memorabilia for charity, only to then to later find it on ebay.  I think he's stated it has occurred a number of times, and I 

Apologies if I'm overly defending him, I just think he's got some serious skills.  I liked Cam Newton for his on-field performance, athletic ability, and command of his offense/team.  Newton had more serious history and violations when compared to JF, but people didn't hesitate giving him the Heisman.  A freshman with a little bit of swagger, the means, and access to live it up some and it's on both ESPN and TMZ.

bronxblue

August 5th, 2013 at 7:43 AM ^

Nobody seems to be denying that he's a youngish guy and that the mistakes he is making are made by others. But when you are famous and profess to be interested in winning, you are held to a higher standard. Getting in twitter fights, apparently being hung over at a football camp, and generally being ignorant of how others perceive him and his actions are his own doing.

FrankMurphy

August 5th, 2013 at 8:18 AM ^

In other words, an increasingly unlikeable kid is running afoul of an increasingly unlikeable organization for violating one of its most nonsensical rules. Stupidity all around.

BILG

August 5th, 2013 at 9:31 AM ^

I think it is ridiculous how much the NCAA is making off these players without reimbursing them anything but a scholarship...(which while yes, is very valuable to any individual, but is an infinitely small slice of what the kids hep bring in).  However, can we really say it is a good idea to hand over cash to these kids who are already campus celebs?  It seems like a recipe for disaster to me and will make a bunch of these guys act really entitled and out of control and further segregate them from the rest of the student body in terms of status and college experience.  I think the compensation could be in the form of a trust set up that they can cash in once they leave the school.  While this would add an annoying legal layer to the process, at least they will be compensated for all the money they make the universities without potentially poisoning player judgement with a bunch of cash flowing around.

goblue20111

August 5th, 2013 at 10:07 AM ^

Why is signing autographs for alums and boosters to get them to donate okay but this is not? Okay fine, don't pay the players, I personally think they should be but I see the arguments against it and recognize there are some valid points. What's the problem with letting them make some cash on their own time though? If JFF wants to sign autographs, fine. If Denard or Tebow want to sign an endorsement deal with a company let them. If they wanna do commercials for a local car dealership, no problem with it whatsoever. This notion is so arcane and asinine to me. If they're really, truly amatuers and "student-athletes" get them the hell off ESPN, ABC, etc. Cut out these lucractive TV contracts. It's a big multi-billion dollar business to everyone else involved except the athletes. If you want to treat it as such, letting them somehow get a piece of the pie seems fair otherwise cut the shit and let's make it truly amatuer. No college football live, no primetime matchups, no sponsorships, no more of TV networks selling prime ad time during these games.

Ty Butterfield

August 5th, 2013 at 11:41 AM ^

Nothing will come of this. Now that A & M is in the SEC there is no way Manziel gets suspended.