Football is coming. Eat.
- Mark Richt, on those starting freshmen: “So you’ve gotta play them.”
- Jonathan Chait says you can’t pay Manziel for his name because boosters. Scott Lemieux thinks Chait is a misguided sentimental fool. I think Lemieux gets the better part of the argument.
- Bill Connelly puts on his Missouri hat to analyze the Tigers’ game with Georgia this year.
- “Are no-huddle offenses about coaching ego?” Any coach who operates on that basis won’t be in his job for long.
- James Franklin is already working the refs for the Ole Miss game.
- Some Clemson self-scouting at Shakin the Southland. Make sure you read the four questions in the middle of the post.
- Because you haven’t read enough of them, here’s another ranking the SEC quarterbacks article.
Get The Picture 
I think we all know and agree the NCAA rules and their selective enforcement are a farce. These folks are either late to the game or just piling on. What seems to be lost though is the fact that at the moment these ARE the rules. Johnny football KNOWS this. If he got paid and the NCAA can prove it (the crucial point) he’s toast. Of course, we all know there’s NO WAY the NCAA is going to take down Johnny Football if they can find a way not to. It will be extremely entertaining watching them figure out ways not to punish him. It will also hasten the day when the majors disassociate themselves from the NCAA all together.
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If they can’t get an autograph broker to talk, Manziel got paid in cash and there’s no record of a deposit, how can the NCAA prove it?
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That’s what they call an “on-going investigation”.
//wink wink//
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If something happened (and I mean that, we are all entitled to be presumed innocent) and nobody talks the NCAA has nothing. But even if somebody does talk, as long as Johnny has plausible deniability and his parents were not involved (his handler is his uncle) then, unless I am mistaken, he still gets to exploit the Cam Newton not quite so closed loophole. Am I wrong about that?
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Would it even matter if Johnny’s parents were involved? Wasn’t Cam’s dad involved?
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Yes, but I seem to recall that the NCAA did make it an infraction for parents and other immediate family members to attempt to profit, even without the athlete’s knowledge. But, if you just get a little further outside the family circle I believe you can circumvent that stipulation. Again, I may wrong about that but I do believe it to be true. Anybody else here done a closer reading of the statues? Senator, you got anything?
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I see…
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A&M’s dilemma:
1. The NCAA waited seven+ years to ding USC for Reggie Bush. Why would anyone think these scummy brokers (who come and go) would protect JM for several years? It is a huge story, more money to be made selling it.
2. The story on the Manziel family clearly stated Little Johnny was aggravated by the amount of memorabilia in the garage for him to autograph for his parents/relatives benefit or profits. If that caused him concern, why would anyone, any where, think he would sign hundreds of helmets for a stranger, in a motel room, for hours,while on a trip where there are many fun things to do? I don’t think this requires video of him accepting money, we all know he got benefits for doing this. What if he was smart enough to have had his friend work the deal worked out in advance (you would have to before buying all those helmets wouldn’t you?) The friend/middle man could just hand JM a few thousand in the casino when he needs it, why have a record of the transaction?
If I am A&M I am not taking this chance, regardless of the NCAA, it is just a ticking time bomb that could go off at any time in the future. And it has a high likelihood to do so, manziel has made his comments about how shallow his thoughts are for A&M/College Station. You are hitching your wagon to a wild seed, imo. Play without him, Bama’s gonna roll you anyway, and JM is gone in December.
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1. In the Bush case there were allegations that USC knew about Bush’s benefits at the time. Are you suggesting something similar is afoot with TAMU?
2. If the NCAA moves to declare Manziel ineligible on the basis of “we all know”, there will be a lawsuit filed so fast it will make your head spin. In Texas. And the NCAA will lose and establish more bad legal precedent.
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1. No, I think they know in their heart but have bought into the AU strategy. I would give him a lie detector before iI played him because it is obvious.
2. I wouldnt kick him off, just sit him. Like 69 says below, I also heard that it was only necessary for him to know “someone” was going to profit. Was an investment in 300 helmets and video proof of his signature not a strong indicator that a profit was expected?
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Vandy has the longest winning streak in the SEC at 7 games!!!!! WTF. James Franklin will get a big pay raise at a different school after this season.
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I know it’s in vogue to blame the NCAA for the whole exploitation mess and ignore the universities’ role in it but soon people are going to have to wake up and realize that getting rid of the NCAA isn’t going to make the problem go away.
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Supposedly the NCAA closed that “loophole”, but I always thought the language took care of that (relatives and others acting as agents) before Cam. That language would apply to Johnny’s buddy as well.
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That was meant for your 10:12 post.
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Details……him.., his Mama and them…..they will all get what they have coming. Let’s let GOD handle these silly details. I am so excited, I have changed my picks 3 times since last night.
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Chait got eviscerated. His columns about the NCAA are frankly bizarre.
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I have repeatedly read about Clemson’s gauntlet of Georgia, Florida and Florida State. They call that a season, we call it September.
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Sorry, S.Car., not Fla. Damn it! I’m so stupid!
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If we will the South Carolina state championship early, it’s gonna be a very, very big year for UGA.
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What would Clowney’s autograph have been worth the week prior to Signing Day 2011? And what’s driving that value?
What is it worth now? And what’s driving that value?
Now, what about Jenkins? King? The us? Etc.
I have no issue withlayers making extra bucks on the side. But I do get frustrated by some people’s inability to see that most of the value for most players stems from their affiliation with their program.
FoodTV just went through all this with their stars. These stars had to cede a portion of their marketing value to FN or go find another venue. Emeril walked. Haven’t heard from him lately.
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Addition by subtraction regarding “Mr. Bam!”
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Correct me if I’m wrong but the NCAA has a rule that if a school or athlete knows that some 3rd party is using the athlete’s image or I guess signature to make money off of the athlete the school or the athlete must take action to make the 3rd party stop it. So how about all the dealers with all of Little Johnny’s stuff on Ebay? How you think dealers are going to react IF or when they get a cease and desist letter from the school or Johnny’s lawyers? Especially if the dealers paid Little Johnny thousands for the autographs. Seems that is going to be the way the NCAA gets to him and them (3rd party). That’s how they got Bush the agent got stiffed and blew the whistle. This could be the thing that could get him but even I doubt that the NCAA wants to do it.
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