Jack’s Blog

One of the least surprising stories hit the wires yesterday when Auburn QB Cam Newton declared for the NFL draft.  And why not?  He led his team to the National Championship (the Tigers aren’t exactly an annual contender) and won the Heisman Trophy (among other individual awards).  While some don’t consider him “ready” to be an NFL quarterback right now, would staying in college better help prepare him - or spending a year in the actual league where he intends on making a (very nice) living?  Besides, if history is any indicator, returning didn’t improve Tim Tebow’s NFL QB readiness.

Some may say that he now faces the cynics and their inevitable comments about whether his dad will be his agent, but he would have had to deal with similar contempt had he stayed in school - plus, with more time to devote to the case, probable additional scrutiny from the NCAA.

Unlike Stanford’s Andrew Luck, he never claimed his goal was to obtain a degree (no offense AU but a degree from Stanford carries quite a bit more cachet).  In addition, there were rumors of academic misconduct while an undergrad at Florida and while the allegation was denied, there was never any indignation regarding the charge, i.e. he was a serious student, only that he didn’t cheat.

As I blogged on 5/6/07 about the decision made by USC’s guard Harold Miner (I was an assistant on the Trojans’ staff at the time), kids don’t go to college to get an education.  Rather:

“Kids attend college to . . . improve their station in life.”

For Cam Newton, that means turning pro.  He should have everyone’s blessing.

As anyone who has a passing interest in college athletics knows - and probably to some who don’t have ANY interest - Reggie Bush was forced to return his Heisman Trophy.  This action was taken after USC returned their Bush Heisman and was made to vacate wins during his era).  If all that wasn’t embarrassing enough to the intercollegiate’s governing body, this year’s sure-fire bet to win the coveted trophy, Cam Newton, was embroiled in controversy regarding breaking NCAA rules.

It turned out that, after the NCAA (thoroughly) investigated the situation, it was only Newton’s father who had committed any infractions, so the Auburn QB was cleared to play for the nation’s top team.  Lucky too, because ruling him ineligible - and forcing the War Eagles to forfeit wins, so late into the season, would have clouded an already foggy BCS landscape.

SC athletics director, Pat Haden, publicly questioned the NCAA’s ruling, stating that in the Reggie Bush case, it was also the parents who received from improper benefits.  Others brought up that in an earlier interview regarding his recruitment, Cam Newton made the statement that, one evening at a family dinner, his dad said, “It’s Auburn” and that was when the decision was made about his future.  In his most recent accounting of his choosing a college, the junior Newton claims he never spoke to his father about where he was going to matriculate.

Those two incidents haven’t been the only NCAA problems regarding student-athlete ineligibility.  Highly recruited players, Enes Kanter (Kentucky) and Josh Selby (Kansas), were ruled ineligible - the latter just recently being allowed to compete while the former still remains sidelined.

In addition Martinique native Guy-Marc Michel (Indiana) was declared ineligible for reasons similar to Kanter, i.e. that, for various reasons, each had violated amateur status.  Last week, Kansas State’s Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly were declared ineligible and, not to be outdone, five prominent members of the Ohio State football team were found to have broken NCAA rules.  None will be withheld from competing in their BCS bowl (making the NCAA look bad), all will have serve suspensions next year (hurting the Buckeyes’ chances) and OSU will appeal the ruling, dragging the story out even longer (making both look bad).

I’m not being cynical when I say that these reported violations aren’t first time infractions.  24 hour news availability, nearly every cell phone having the capability of taking pictures (or video), the meteoric rise of the “investigative journalist” (so many see Woodward and Bernstein as role models) and the acceptance of “anonymous sources” have brought instances like these to the public’s attention.  Therein lies the major problem for the NCAA.

It used to be that only the “little” guys got put on probation.  The big boys knew the rules and how to avoid getting caught.  Does anyone really think Heisman Trophy winners didn’t get items beyond room, board, books, tuition and fees?  Star athletes, especially from college towns, didn’t get preferential treatment?  Come on.  New technology has forced the NCAA’s hand.  The schools in the (negative) news nowadays are the organization’s cash cows.  Let’s make one thing perfectly clear:  Paying players is not the answer.

What many of these kids did wouldn’t be avoided if student-athletes were given a monthly stipend - even as much as $500/month.  This is a much larger problem that can be solved with a pittance.  In the following quote by Henry David Thoreau, the NCAA is the thousand.  What we need - and maybe it’s a panel of proactive, imaginative thinkers - is the one he was speaking about:

“For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root.”

There were three collegiate football games with major implications played yesterday.  Oregon, Auburn and Boise State, ranked #1, 2 & 3 in the AP Top 25 poll were all competing, and each had hopes for a national championship.

Both sides - BCS and non-BCS teams and conferences - have debated the fairness of the current system, with no clear cut “winner” in the discussion.  One factor that has not been mentioned has to do with the leaders of the actual schools involved, i.e. the directors of athletics and the presidents, as well as the conference commissioners.

During the Alabama-Auburn game, U of A president Dr. Robert Witt and AD Mal Moore, most certainly were comfortably seated in their sky boxes, cheering on their beloved Crimson Tide.  No doubt, Mike Slive, the SEC commish was there as well.  All were entertained by a terrific game, the Alabama contingent obviously disappointed with the outcome.  Commissioner Slive’s only rooting interest was, most probably, that no further incriminating news regarding Auburn’s Heisman Trophy leading quarterback, Cam Newton, was revealed during the afternoon.

Similarly, in Eugene, Arizona prez Robert Shelton and its director of athletics, Greg Byrne, were intently watching the contest, hoping that somehow their Wildcats could do what no team on the Ducks’ schedule had done - slow down Oregon’s fast-paced offense and derail the nation’s number one team.  I would imagine that Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott got what he wanted.  Both schools played well and there were no embarrassing incidents.

In the Boise State-Nevada nightcap, however, there had to exist the height of ambivalence on the part of the Wolfpack’s president, Milt Glick and its AD Cary Groth.  If their boys won, it would be an upset for the ages.  The game was billed as “The Biggest Sporting Event in Reno History” since Jack Johnson fought there - 100 years ago!

Yet, because of the current BCS structure, their conference, the WAC, would be denied the mega-check that comes from one of their conference members participating in a BCS bowl - which has now been lost due to the overtime thriller in which Nevada prevailed.  Sure, the ‘Pack won, but what about the million or so dollars they, and the other conference schools, would have received had Boise won?  This isn’t a concern for the schools in the BCS leagues - even those as pitiful as Vanderbilt, Washington State, Wake Forest, Kansas or Minnesota.  Or Indiana - who gave up 83 points in an earlier game to fellow conference member Wisconsin.  Do the Hoosiers really deserve all that revenue?  More than Boise State and Nevada do?

And that’s just for playing in a BCS bowl.  I read somewhere that each BCS school receives in the neighborhood of $7 million - regardless of whether they even won a game during the season.  Nice neighborhood - if they let you in.

So far there’s been no mention of the WAC commissioner, Karl Benson, who must be in mourning.  Not only has Benson lost out on the BCS bowl paycheck, but next year Boise State moves to the Mountain West conference, followed by Nevada the following season.  Fresno State also leaves with Nevada and Hawaii is seriously consider bolting the WAC too.  Anyone who thinks Karl Benson was an impartial observer last night in Reno doesn’t understand the true problem a non-BCS conference commissioner has.

There’s little doubt that Benson and everyone belonging to the NCAA “family,” but outside the all-powerful BCS group, shares Mike Honda’s feeling:

“My own mother always taught me that fairness was a family value - I think equal pay is about fairness for everyone.“ 

There was a time, as talented as he is, when nobody cared much about Cameron Newton.  Today, however, he’s the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy and the leader of an Auburn team that, should everything go as it has so far this season, will be playing for the national championship.

Digging up dirt on someone is nothing new.  In fact, it’s quickly gaining popularity in this country, as the past elections so boldly illustrate.  As far as Cam Newton, they’ve been backing up the trucks recently, all of them filled to overflowing with filthy allegations of wrongdoing.

First, it was someone who allegedly represented him in “recruiting negotiations” with Mississippi State, asking for a rather large chunk of money.  The story has grown to include several individuals, making the process of requesting (extorting) money for Newton’s services quite a complicated ordeal.  No one admits to, nor can prove anything, yet someone felt the need to go public.

Now, a story about Newton’s academic misconduct while at Florida has surfaced by a source - naturally, an anonymous one.  It seems this person has knowledge of Newton cheating.  If he wasn’t having the season he is, would this information be as forthcoming?  If someone else was having the season Newton and his team are, would similar stories surface about that individual?

Is all, or any, of this true?  I certainly don’t know but this latest smear campaign doesn’t quite pass the smell test - and here’s why.  He’s the leading candidate for a trophy that a previous winner had to return because he was said to have accepted illegal benefits while he was in college.  If ever voters, or the public, would be influenced by such transgressions, now’s the time.

Rather than stand before microphones and answering questions (or ducking them) about the Heisman Trophy or his team’s chances at a national championship, Cam and his coach and AU’s director of athletics have to respond to allegations.  Of all the top teams, Auburn has the most difficult schedule and any coach will tell you that the one thing that’s absolutely vital is to avoid, or at least limit, distractions.  The above fall under the category of major distractions and any one of them makes Auburn’s success more difficult.

Count me as skeptical as anyone but until someone, preferably with a name, comes forth with concrete evidence, this situation is one that, unfortunately, could be directed at any of a number of college players.  It’s a little too coincidental that Cam Newton is the one singled out at this particular time.  Could it simply be a case of:

“Strengthen the weak by weakening the strong?”

Is this the ultimate down year for college football?  Or has parity, what coaches preach so often, really arrived?

Two weeks in a row, the number one team in the country went down.  Last week, it was defending national champion Alabama getting soundly beaten by South Carolina.  Following the game, Tide coach Nick Saban made a statement that his guys needed to learn a lesson.  He talked about how he believed in his team, that it could still be a great squad.  It sounded like he was drawing a line in the sand.  With all the talent Alabama has, coupled with the fact they were going home, you’d have thought they would have throttled Ole Miss.

After Saban’s comments to the media, QB Greg McElroy let the public know he also addressed the team about losing and that he didn’t plan on doing so again.  It was a Tim Tebow moment.  Then, the game started and the Tide looked fair at best on the offensive side of the ball.  Had the Rebels or Black Bears or whatever they are these days not shot themselves in the foot with uncharacteristic penalties, especially on special teams, the game might have been closer than it was - and it was a great deal closer than most thought after speeches from their two leaders.  Many gamblers must have taken a bath.

Now, the motivational speaking chores go to Jim Tressel and Terrell Pryor who received from Wisconsin what UA got from South Carolina.  The Badgers need to be aware because, just like South Carolina had to do after downing number one, UW has to go on the road next week.  And Iowa City is a far more hostile environment than what the Gamecocks had to face.

Other than Nashville, Lexington is as tame an SEC venue as a team could want.  Their coach had never lost to UK, a win would put the much needed separation they needed in the East division and they were cruising during the contest.  One key Carolina injury and a last minute score, capping a come-from-behind miracle, absolutely ruined the day for the Gamecocks.

It has to be a screwy year when a Texas victory over Nebraska is considered an upset and Florida loses three games in a row.  Add to that a 65-43 game that not only wasn’t in the WAC, or even the Pac-10, but in the mug ‘em defensive oriented SEC.  In that Auburn-Arkansas contest, had someone predicted that final score, they’d have said Cam Newton and Ryan Mallett would have had a shoot-out.  And they’d have been half right as the Arkansas signal caller and Heisman hopeful departed shortly before halftime with a concussion.  As far as Auburn was concerned, it was Mr. Wilson who was the menace.

The Washington Huskies are on top of the world but are living there only because of a final play field goal and a dropped two-point conversion (by their opponent’s leading receiver).  Those two plays have given them W’s in two of the last three weeks.  Had the FG been no good and the OSU TE held on, “U-Dub” would be “U-Lookin’ at a real bad season.”

Speaking of parity, how about that FSU-BC ball game.  If the BCS really wanted to be fair, the ACC winner and the Big East champ would play off for the spot in the BCS bowl game.

Maybe it’s not a question of whether Boise State is the best team in the country but of which team deserves to be their opponent in the national championship game.

There’s little doubt we’ll be hearing from all the rabble-rousers, the definition of one being:

“a person who stirs up the passions or prejudices of the public.”

So Reggie Bush is giving back his Heisman.  I can’t believe it’s only because he wanted to put a halt to all the questioning.  What he and his family are alleged to have done, they probably did.  Maybe not all of it, but if they were completely clean, I don’t think the Heisman Trophy would be heading east.

Part of his statement was that he’s “establishing an education program which will assist student-athletes and their families avoid some of the mistakes I made.”  Do kids need an educational program to know they shouldn’t take money and gifts from people?  Extra benefits are explained to student-athletes by their schools’ compliance officers as soon as they get to campus.

While Reggie Bush is the first Heisman Trophy winner to give back his award, does anybody really think he’s the first one to accept extra benefits?  When I was an assistant basketball coach on the college level, I can remember colleagues who worked in the old Southwest Conference telling me there was an unwritten rule that the best high school running back in the state of Texas got $20,000 from whichever school he chose.  Kind of a budgetary measure combined with “honor among thieves.”

Arguably the funniest basketball who ever lived was Abe Lemons, a guy with the southwestern twang who had a dry humor that enabled him to get a point across without directly confronting the issue.  One story he used to tell was when he was the head coach at Texas and he was recruiting a 6′9″ rebounder from Ohio.  The kid’s transcript was one that made admissions directors cringe.  When the director of athletics told Abe the kid was going to be denied admission because they didn’t think he could succeed academically, Abe looked at him and said, “We can solve that problem.  Just give the same courses Earl Campbell took.”

Last week saw another admission of guilt (technically, Bush has never admitted guilt).  Bruce Pearl, the basketball coach at the University of Tennessee, held a teary eyed press conference in which he committed what many in the NCAA office feel is the worst possible offense - lying about transgressions. 

Early reports are that Pearl and his staff violated the recruiting rule regarding phone calls.  This one cost Kelvin Sampson his job at Oklahoma and, then again, at Indiana.  That alone should be a hint-and-a-half that the NCAA is serious about when and how many times recruits can be contacted.  Yet, you’d be hard-pressed to find a school who doesn’t violate at least the intent of the rule. 

Why would they risk it?  “Recruiting is the lifeblood of a program.”  If there’s anybody out there who doesn’t believe that statement, I hope they’re not a college coach.  Recruiting is best done via conversations.  Great players don’t select schools by checking websites.  College coaches are some of the best salespeople in the world - but only if they can sell their product (which is themselves as well as their institution).

That’s why coaches play fast and loose with the phone call rule.  Most of them consider the “extra benefits” rule as cheating.  Yet, when Pearl was contacted by the NCAA about alleged violations, he should have known Rule #1 of answering NCAA people - they never ask you a question they don’t know the answer to.

The ironic twist in the Pearl saga is that a couple decades ago, while an assistant at Iowa, Bruce turned in Illinois for cheating.  And not because they were breaking the phone call rule.  He taped a conversation with a highly recruited prospect who had narrowed his choices to Iowa and Illinois.  The kid told him of a new car and a significant amount of money the Illini coaching staff was offering.

He became a pariah, not because it wasn’t true but because he broke the coaches’ code of omerta.  I was at the University of Tennessee at the time and shared in Bruce’s frustration.  All coaches knew which programs were cheating at the highest levels.  As an illustration, read another Abe Lemons story. 

The year Joe B. Hall retired, the Final Four happened to be in Lexington.  As coaches walked by, cameras would appear, reporters asking for rumors or opinions on who would be Joe B’s successor.  When a guy asked Abe if he’d be interested in the job, he said, “Definitely.  Kentucky wouldn’t even have to pay me.  Just give me the same deal they gave Robey.”  Rick Robey was the center for UK.

Michael Rosenberg of si.com wrote in his Pearl story that big-time college athletics creates “… a system in which cheating is usually rewarded and rarely punished …”  Dana O’Neil of espn.com surveyed 20 coaches this past summer and each said “no program is clean.” 

What the public is seeing now is nothing new.  The seedier side of intercollegiate athletics is being exposed because of the “information super highway” and the proliferation of the “investigative journalist,” made popular by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. 

Call me a cynic but I don’t think Reggie Bush is the first Heisman Trophy winner who should have been ruled ineligible nor is Bruce Pearl the only coach who’s breaking rules.  Take it from Abe Lemons:

“Many a truth is spoken in jest.”

During part of my tenure at Fresno State, I did the color commentary for the Bulldogs locally televised basketball games.  While it was nice to get noticed around town, especially when it was on an occasion either or both of my sons were with me, I fully realized that not one of the people complimenting me (the ones who think you’re awful may write a letter-to-the-editor, but at least they have the decency not to confront you publicly about it) were tuning into the broadcast because of my analysis. 

It’s the same with any game on TV.  I have heard of viewers mute a game because they can’t stand a certain announcer, but no one is watching or listening to a contest just because a certain person is doing play-by-play or color.  Yet, having a competent color commentator certainly enlightens the experience and makes watching the game much more entertaining and enjoyable.

Here’s what makes a good color analyst.  First of all, the person needs to be prepared.  Knowing how to pronounce the names of the players from both teams, researching the strengths and weaknesses of the participating teams, having the up-to-date statistics and being aware of injured players and whether they’ll play or not.

Then, a thorough understanding of the game and its strategies is essential, as is a knowledge of the rules.  Being able to explain what happened - in a language even casual fans can comprehend (without feeling you’re “talking down” to them) - and even to predict what will happen - but through the use of reasoning and not just what the guy at the end of the bar is saying because he heard somebody in a studio show say it. 

The upper tier guys are also quick on their feet (or whatever part of their body is grounding them), so they can interject a quip, whether it comes from playing off their partner, a graphic, a promo or camera shot.  And the absolute best have a voice easy on the ears and speak English the way it’s taught in school.  Slang is OK and there are even some highly regarded commentators who will say things like, “They shoulda went for it.”  An occasional grammatical error can be oevrlooked, but butchering the English language will doom the career of even the most popular former athlete.

The reason for this blog is I was in complete awe of Gary Danielson’s performance during the Alabama-LSU game.  He plays off of partner Verne Lundquist (a perfect straight man) extremely well and he had obviously done his homework.  When LSU’s talented cornerback Patrick Peterson was out of the game due to cramping, Danielson noted, “Alabama’s got Julius Jones matched up on a safety, which is much different than a corner.  Look for them to take advantage of that.”  73 yards later, Peterson was in the end zone with what proved to be the winning points.  The replay showed his comments that 1) safeties give more (meaning too much) cushion and 2) they don’t open field tackle as well as corners were spot on.

At halftime, he correctly pointed out the Tide was relying too heavily on the pass and needed to get Heisman Trophy candidate Mark Ingram more carries.  The Crimson came out on the first possession and did just that, resulting in a ‘Bama TD.  Later, on a poorly thrown pass by QB Greg McElroy, a UA offensive lineman (who, we were informed carried a 4.0 GPA) turned around and seemed to be questioning the accuracy of his quarterback.  Danielson, realizing that the best humor is of the self-deprecating kind, told a similar story about a throw he made during his career and one of his “O” linemen saying to him, “What was that, GD?”

On a 4th & goal, the Tide broke the huddle with 12 twelve players.  The cameras showed Alabama’s McElroy, Jones and coach Nick Saban all were frantically trying to call time out.  Danielson interjected, once again correctly that the rules stated that in that particular situation, the offending team could not be bailed out by taking time out.

“GD” also observed when LSU scored a go-ahead touchdown, making the score 15-10 that it was too early to go for a two-point conversion because, failing to score, two field goals would beat them.  The Tigers did and their pass was incomplete.  The next possession, ‘Bama kicked a field goal and after scoring a TD - since the score was 19-13 -went for two themselves and were successful.  A field goal in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach, giving the Tide a nine point lead.  Had LSU kicked the PAT, the score would have been 16-10, meaning when UA scored their TD, the score would have been 19-16 and they would have gone for one.  Thus, the late FG would have made the score 26-19, putting the Tigers behind by only seven, still having a chance.

There are many great color commentators (mainly because there are so many televised games that there are about a zillion color guys) and, for my money, Gary Danielson ranks up there with the best.  Those I think are, or were, outstanding are John Madden & Pat Summeral, Hubie Brown & Jeff Van Gundy and Joe Morgan & Joe Garagiola.  Each of them subscribes to Samuel Johnson’s theory:

“Knowledge is of two kinds.  We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it.”Â

Going into this football season, it was fairly certain that the Heisman Trophy race was going to among former winners Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford and finalist Colt McCoy.  Then Tebow and Bradford got hurt (the latter, not only dropping out of the race, but probably the season as well) and McCoy didn’t dazzle as everyone expected.  Panic set in.  What are we going to do?  Almost like the engraver knew how to spell only those three names.

Then, luckily, Alabama got rolling and their running back, Mark Ingram, started to put up big numbers.  Whew!  That solved that problem.  Finally, there was a player from a big name school people could relate to and look forward to him and his designer suit at the Downtown Athletic Club, accepting the nation’s most recognizable individual award for a collegian.

But, . . . what if, with all the chaos among the BCS teams, there emerged a player from a major school (although not one of the BCS variety) whose numbers were staggering - compared to, not only Ingram, but every other “star” in the BCS galaxy? 

The immediate response would be, “Yeah, but anybody playing against inferior competition can have stats that will ‘wow’ people.”  Well, what if this running back put up the following statistics - based on three games, two of them against Top 10 teams while the third was against Wisconsin (not exactly a slouch)?  How do these sound?  76 carries for 486 yards (a 6.4 yards/per carry average) and 4 TD’s.  Oh yeah, and no (0) fumbles - not zero fumbles lost, zero of any kind - no matter how hard (or how many times) defenses from UW, Cincinnati or Boise State hit him.

Ryan Mathews from Fresno State possesses these gaudy stats - along with one more than is sure to open any voter’s eyes (and when it comes to considering a player from a non-big name school, those eyes are shut real tight).  He has 439 yards on seven touchdowns, each of which covered over 50 yards.  This ain’t no guy they hand the ball to when they get inside the five to pad his TD stats.  In all, he’s rushed 156 times for 1131 yards (7.25 yds/carry).  And still no fumbles - of any kind.  Kinda nice when you know your feature back will get you a first down if you give him the ball in a series - and you don’t have to worry about the possibility of turning it over.

Here’s hoping that the Heisman voters will at least recognize one of the nation’s premier running back and ket them rest assured the thought wouldn’t take any of the luster off the trophy.  Some may say the remainder of the schedule is against only WAC teams, plus a final game against current Big 10 celler dweller Illinois, but keep something else in mind.  While he may not be facing as high a caliber defense that someone like a Mark Ingram is, on the flip side, he doesn’t have the behemoths blocking for him that Ingram does either.

Samuel L. Jackson once said:

“Everybody likes stories about underdogs that overcame.” 

If that were only the case with the people who vote for the Heisman Trophy.