[jmdickens]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5765214

After what UNC went through for about 1/10 of the alleged cash for this young man, you would think the NCAA will be all over it.

He is the leading Heisman candidate I assume, so this is huge.....and if true,would be a sad side note to a successful athlete's lone season as a superstar.

[Sly Fox]

I didn't realize Newton had been at Blinn. Interesting.

[BJWilliams]

well hold on there BYD...let's let the investigation play itself out. Just because the court of public opinion automatically assumes they are guilty doesnt mean that they necessarily are...let's see what the investigation finds out before we throw Auburn under the bus and strip Cam Newton of a Heisman he doesnt even have.

[jcmanson]

Auburn is going down hard for this.

spoken like a true 'bama fan

[truedrewdawg87]

I may be the only one who finds the timing of all of this rather curious. I'm not saying Newton or Auburn or both are guilty or innocent, because like the rest of us, I really don't know. I just find it a bit strange that former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond, chose to sit on this information for as long as he supposedly has. Now that Auburn is 9-0, No.2 in the BCS and Newton is the front-runner in the Heisman race this all comes out. Especially, since it's coming from a school that Newton visited on a recruiting trip but ultimately chose not to attend. That doesn't mean Newton isn't guilty but just because Newton is supposedly linked to Bond's former teammate Kenny Rogers, who sounds pretty slimy, it doesn't mean he is guilty. I really hope these allegations aren't true. Cam Newton is a heck of an athlete, and more importantly, he seems like a really good guy. Right now, I don't know what to believe, but I know what I want to believe.

[truedrewdawg87]

That comment was based on what I've seen of him this season, especially in interviews on tv. Forgive me for overlooking a guy's past and trying to focus on who he seems to be now. Far be it from Cam Newton to learn from a mistake and perhaps become a better person. Personally, I'm not going to convict a kid that I don't know is guilty just because other people (Reggie Bush, Carolina football) have made mistakes similar to the one Newton is being accused of.

[From the class of 09]

That comment was based on what I've seen of him this season, especially in interviews on tv. Forgive me for overlooking a guy's past and trying to focus on who he seems to be now. Far be it from Cam Newton to learn from a mistake and perhaps become a better person. Personally, I'm not going to convict a kid that I don't know is guilty just because other people (Reggie Bush, Carolina football) have made mistakes similar to the one Newton is being accused of.

Yeah I've always found that you should ignore peoples past actions when making a character judgement Do as I say, not as I do....or something like that

[truedrewdawg87]

Right, because when God judges who we are NOW, He always takes into account who we used to be. God forgives and forgets. I guess I'm the only one who tries to cut people a break and consider who they've become NOT who they used to be.

[From the class of 09]

Right, because when God judges who we are NOW, He always takes into account who we used to be. God forgives and forgets. I guess I'm the only one who tries to cut people a break and consider who they've become NOT who they used to be.

I'm not trying to play God just saying its hard to ignore his past. Talk is cheap when the actions have shown otherwise.

[BJWilliams]

Ok...so somebody connected with Auburn gave $200,000 to the church...does that necessarily prove causation and confirm that it was so that Newton would go to Auburn?

[Schfourteenteen]

Ok...so somebody connected with Auburn gave $200,000 to the church...does that necessarily prove causation and confirm that it was so that Newton would go to Auburn?

Agent says Newton can go to Miss St. for 200K.

200K trail....
Auburn Booster -> Charity -> Newton's Dad's Church


I really hope Cam was in on this. If not, that family is torn for good.

Whoops The above post explains it better. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt? Just about. And this investigation is 4 or 5 days in from when the press released the story. Give it a couple more, and I'm sure more info will come out connecting the dots.

[BJWilliams]

Well youve obviously rendered your own verdict on this matter...Im going to let the people doing the investigating (which of course doesnt include you obviously) make a determination as to whether there was any wrongdoing. It very well could have been God working in that situation for all we know.

[Schfourteenteen]

Well youve obviously rendered your own verdict on this matter...Im going to let the people doing the investigating (which of course doesnt include you obviously) make a determination as to whether there was any wrongdoing. It very well could have been God working in that situation for all we know.

Let's just avoid all logic and throw the "God does miracles" blanket on it.

None of us know what happened - but if the media reports are correct(still to be determined) I don't see how someone can say this was some far fetched coincidence.

[From the class of 09]

"If it doesn't fit, you must acquit"

[flamesbball84]

i'll believe it when the proof comes out. scorned, unethical coaches are always trying to get kids in trouble with the NCAA because they are ticked that they lost out on a prized recruit. rather than just suck it up and live with it, they decide to do just about the most immature thing they can think of and try the hatchet job so the other team can't play him either.

[flamesbball84]

Can you give me some examples of this happening? Because all I can think of is all of the players that were actually getting paid.

Eric Bledsoe (there was a money one that never gained legs, the academic one did and was proven false). There was one on DeMarcus Cousins that was a blatant lie and never gained any legs. Then there was the one that dealt with John Wall that caused him to be suspended two games, but the original accusations were grossly overstated to try to get John Wall ineligible for the season. Most of these jealous hatchet jobs I have seen tend to deal with something other than money because the money is a lot easier to hide if you do it all with cash.

[TDDance234]

Yikes.

Someone has it out for Cam and isn't going to stop until he's completely buried.

[LUconn]

I'm fairly unimpressed with all of this. Obviously this stuff does happen. You're naive to assume that Alabama doesn't do it. So the only way any of this matters is if you can prove it. Anonymous sources might as well be hobos with a cardboard sign. And cheating at Florida doesn't have anything to do with this.

[LUconn]

Yes, a guy with the screen name LUconn is pretty ignorant about how the NCAA deals with these things. Because I've had my head buried in the ground for the past year.

[LUconn]

I know that the NCAA will not do anything unless they're all but forced to. They make their examples with the little guys keeping them little and turn their heads and whistle at the BCSers. Auburn is pretty big time. This would still have to be front and center years after he leaves Auburn.

[TDDance234]

Yeah, vegas changed their line -- word is Cam's not going to be playing this weekend. Their going to make an example out of him.

[Sly Fox]

An update on this story out of Big D of all places ...

Click Here for Story

[Chris Lang]

Good friend and former N&A colleague Andy Bitter has a good writeup on the situation on his blog:

http://wareagleextra.blogspot.com/

[LUconn]

By the way, how stupid Miss St. is for not forking out the cash? Huge return on the investment and nobody would be taddle tailing on you.

[Chris Lang]

I don't know if someone writing "war eagle extra" should be a trusted source Lang

It's just a name brand. It's a newspaper site, not a school sponsored site. It's also pretty common in the SEC. The Tuscaloosa News' Alabama page is called TideSports.com.

Andy's latest entry is pretty well sourced, which is more than I can say for much of the early stuff coming out from ESPN.com and the like. Trust me, he's not an Auburn homer.