All this, and Nick Fairley, too.
Scandal sells: The off-field accusations against Auburn star Cam Newton delivered for CBS. Its coverage of the Tigers’ win vs. Georgia drew a 5.4 overnight rating, translating into 5.4% of households in the 56 urban markets measured for overnights. Only one college football game this season — ESPN’s Boise State-Virginia Tech opener — had a higher overnight.
Not too shabby for a game with a 5-5 participant.
And some criticism:
… While CBS’ game announcers Gary Danielson and Verne Lundquist largely avoided opining on accusations against Newton that include academic cheating and having sought money while being recruited out of junior college, CBS’ Danielson said Newton is “the most valuable guy I’ve seen for his team” partly because he’s surrounded by few players that seem “draftable” for the NFL. Ho-hum. Danielson could have at least nibbled more on Newton’s situation — it’s a pretty big story.
Get The Picture 
i thought gary’s anecdote at the beginning of the broadcast about meeting the two auburn fans in the elevator was actually pretty pointed: without offering his own opinion, he managed to convey the impression that we may be watching a football program drive itself over a cliff.
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CBS and Auburn too.
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Just goes to show you that people love watching a train wreck.
In this game they got two:
Auburn’s and Georgia’s.
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All the Auburn talk has overshadowed what a train wreck this game was for Georgia’s defense.
Offense had no fumbles or interceptions and we give up nearly half a hundred, with two weeks to prepare.
Defense gave up TD drives of 80, 62, 73, 56, 76, 79, & 24 yards and got no stops after mid way through the second quarter.
It was all there, DE/OLB’s not playing contain, safeties blowing coverages and taking bad angles, DL not holding their water, and the stupid 3rd down penalties.
This was a performance for the ages.
It was worse than Richard Bell bad, worse than Swamp Fox bad, worse than Kevin Ramsey bad, and worse than Willie Martinez bad.
Unfortunately, it was not a one-time phenomenon, having come off of a 31 point performance against middling Kentucky team and a 34 point performance against a pitiful Florida offense.
Despite having relatively few injuries, there has been no improvement from Game 1.
Instead, we have regressed and it is clear our NFL guy has not figured out how to defend the spread offense.
I am left to praying he and his staff can recruit.
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DD, it was a sad day for the D, but I just don’t know the answers for Saturday. No one has stopped him, really. I was hoping we’d hold them to 40 and win it 42-40. They can score, brother. Grantham’s gotta get some time to develop his system. You can’t judge one year.
The Florida game was the bad one. Kentucky got a gift touchdown late and they’ve got a pretty good O.
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+1 That was the most helpless I have ever felt. I reached the point of knowing we could not/would not make a play on defense. We are simply horrible on D.
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What about Gary’s likening of the Cam Newton fiasco to the Duke Lacrosse player accusations? Wow, talk about journalistic license. Way to flesh out the story USA Today.
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Auburn has bet the farm the NCAA can’t find the smoking gun that is the Auburn alumni base. The MSU thing will sting a little but if the NCAA holds to their usual pattern unless knew or should have known Cecil was shopping Cam then Auburn will lose only the UGA Bama games. I guess the SEC can just ignore the NCAA when it comes to their Champion since the Pac-10 did nothing to erase USC’s Championships nor are they eliminated from the current years Championship. This whole mess will likely blow over in the interest of $$$$.
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Yeah, I’ve started hearing the absurd “he didn’t know” sort of defense coming out of the WWL.
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If Cam is declared ineligible, then it will be a matter of for how long will he sit. Had Auburn sat him for UGA and applied for his reinstatement, then it is not inconceivable that Cam could have been back in time for the Iron Bowl, or at least the SECCG
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Yeah, if he is ruled ineligible it’s got to be retroactive. This isn’t something saying he cheated on a test the week before the UGA game. This is something that stretches back to before he even signed a letter of intent to play football at the University of Auburn (Aubies hate it when you call it that).
I can’t imagine it ever being an issue of just losing the Bama and UGA games. It has to be all or nothing at this point. After the way they have gone “All In” (is there a more annoying thing in college football right now than the AU Family All In thing?) it’s going to be beautiful to see them go all out.
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This is repetitive, but when it is US against Them, unless you are very, very careful Us becomes Them….resulting in out of control players, late hits and, tah dah….cheating.
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Yall aint going to find my money daddy done hid it in fairly’s apartment. You know fAirly will kneecap yo ass if you come snooping round. We done got bamma’s lawyer too so nothing stickin to daddy,. Me goins to make lots of money and fight me some dogs like my mentor michael Vick.
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Those are good numbers.
CBS is already promoting the SC/AU rematch with this Nick Fairley/Stephen Garcia spot (Alshon Jeffrey has one line at the end).
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I don’t believe, personally, that Cam will have any problems from this. Nor do I believe for a second that Auburn is going to face any sanctions. What I DO hope is that the heat stays on for enough weeks that Cam declares himself eligible for the NFL draft in the spring and leaves Auburn in shambles joining the seven defensive starters and 5 or 6 offensive starters graduating (check that…running out of eligibility).
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AD, if what you said comes to pass the NCAA might just as well go out of the Rules Enforcement business. It will be stripped publicly of all credibility and demonstrated for all to see as the toothless tiger it has become, held hostage by the media and whatever spin the media chooses to put on any given situation. I predicted what you said as the likely outcome of this sordid affair in an earlier post. I pray that we are both wrong–for the good of college football.
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Danielson was too busy with Cam’s schlong in his mouth to say anything that might disparage him or any of his thug team mates.
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