UGA Moves To Get Todd Gurley Eligible Again

The University of Georgia will file paperwork Wednesday to ask the NCAA to reinstate suspended star tailback Todd Gurley.

The school released a statement that said; "Todd has confirmed his desire to seek reinstatement and the University fully supports Todd's request. The University plans to file the necessary paperwork with the NCAA later today (Wed.)"

Gurley has been on indefinite suspension since word began circulating he took money to sign autographs for a memorabilia dealer who in turn was selling the items.

A video was alleged to have been give to a dealer--a Bryan Allen, who also is alleged to have shopped the video and information to various media outlets before sending it to UGA. The video is alleged to have shown Gurley signing items, but stopped short of showing money changing hands.

UGA also added this in their statement; "The University hopes for and expects a prompt ruling by the NCAA so that Todd, his coaches and teammates can adequately prepare for our next game"

What this means: The investigation is done. And Georgia seems to be confident they can get their Gurley back. And they'd like him back to play in their rivalry game vs. Florida. It also means they feel confident the NCAA will agree after having him sit for 2 games.

We will keep an eye on things the next few days as we suspect they'll get their answer no later than Friday.

Hubris Is An Amazing Emotion: Just Ask FSU's Football Team- Now It's Autographs...??? But, You Knew That Already...

((HT: Warchant.com/ESPN.com, Rovell))

Just ask Jimbo Fisher- especially when he slaps the media in his weekly press conference


Half-truths and "the facts are the facts..."
"Taint them toward their side..."

"There is no victim because there was no crime."

It's all our fault...
And it will continue to be...

Of course...

But, also, Florida State is now investigating the possibility that JSA (James Spence Authentication) may have Winston's John Hancock on memorabilia just they do with UGA's Todd Gurley. Gurley's JSA case is currently under investigation and Winston may not be far behind.

But you already knew that...

Saturday morning, here at OSG Sports, we told you about:

1) The RacingToARedLight.com search chasing Winston down the JSA rabbit hole and,
2) Brother Phil's subsequent search seeing that Winston's autograph was attached to documents in the same queue as Gurley (pictured at right)

From the Rovell story... here's the numbers...

JSA authenticates items as it receives them and attaches the serial numbers in sequential order. JSA authenticated 76 of the exact same Florida State logo footballs in order with serial numbers J65886 through J65962 and 70 of the exact same signed mini helmets in order with serial numbers J66829 through J66896. The company also authenticated 53 jerseys in a row (J66947 through J67001), 38 11-by-14 photos (J66026 through J66064), 18 of the exact same footballs (J66919 through J66936) and 11 signed Rawlings baseballs (J66898 through J66911).

According to ESPN, Fisher asked Winston if he signed autographs for money at the Syracuse game this past weekend. Winston told Fisher that he did not, but the HQ can see right through the semantics of that answer.

Darren Rovell discusses...


Good to see everyone catching up in all of this...

Lost Letterman did make an excellent point this afternoon...

Jameis Winston could be the Al Capone of the NCAA if this pace keeps up...

Hmmm....Did Jameis Winston Do Same Thing Todd Gurley Did?

((ht: racingtoaredlight.com))

With all the hubbub over University of Georgia running back Todd Gurley's suspension over possibly getting paid to autograph memorabilia, someone decided to look and see if anyone else's name might show up on the same EBay website.

And lo and behold someone did.

We can't take credit for doing the original search, the Website Racing to a Red Light did it first.

Read their story RIGHT HERE

But after reading their story, we decided to check it out our own selves.

And not surprisingly, guess who's name shows up in the same authenticated NCAA memorabilia page next to Gurley.

None other than the Famous one himself, FSU Quarterback Jameis Winston...

((Note--This is only a partial list on the screen grab to the right))

The page itself is RIGHT HERE

Yes, there are 7 signed Gurley items on the page, ranging from $49 to $246. And the other 5 items on the page have Mr. Winston's name attached.

Mind you...this may be perfectly legitimate. Nothing here says overtly that Winston was paid to sign anything. Nor does it say Gurley was paid either.

But the items have been authenticated by the same service, Spenceloa.com that was used to authenticate the Gurley items.

If in fact, this is what incriminates Gurley with the NCAA and is the cause of his being suspended the rest of the season, since the video only alleges to show him signing but not being paid, then should the same thing apply to Winston?

We are just raising the question. One that won't be answered now, but probably needs to be asked sooner rather than later...

Decide for yourselves...

In the meantime, check out this story done by our friends at 11Alive TV which asks the question--Could the man named as the person who paid Gurley be sued by Georgia?

Good question:

Breaking: Todd Gurley Suspended at UGA for Possible Rules Violation (UPDATED With Possible Reasons)

((ht: georgiadogs.com))

Uh oh!

Heisman Trophy candidate Todd Gurley from the University of Georgia will not play Saturday when the Dawgs play Missouri and quite possibly could be done for the rest of this football season.

Per the team website, Gurley is suspended indefinitely "During an ongoing investigation into an alleged violation of NCAA rules."

No word yet what that "Violation" might be.

Said UGA coach Mark Richt; "I'm obviously very disappointed. The important thing for out team is to turn all of our attention to Missouri".

Whoa!

This obviously is huge news as Gurley, a rising Junior, has seemingly carried the Bulldogs to a 4-1 record and was considered a frontrunner for this years Heisman Trophy

More when we find out more....

A little more:

Per the Macon Telegraph...

It's believed that Gurley may have received money in exchange for his autograph or use of his likeness.

Read the Macon Telegraph story RIGHT HERE

If this proves out to be correct, it will be a haunting reminder to Dawg fans still reeling from A.J Green's 4-game suspension a few years ago for selling a signed jersey.

1900 UPDATE: From Seth Emerson at the Macon Telegraph

A source said the investigation involved whether Gurley received money in exchange for his autograph or use of his likeness. That echoes a report by Fox Sports reporter Bruce Feldman.

Feldman's sources say that the investigation is looking into whether Gurley accepted extra benefits for his likeness with memorabilia brokers.

Gentry Estes over at Georgia's section of 24-7 Sports reminds us: A key part of #UGA statement on Gurley was this is a self-imposed penalty and currently in-house investigation.

The Johnny Manziel/Northwestern/likeness discussion resumes in 3, 2, 1...

U of Miami: No Major Penalties for NCAA Violations

Further proof that either the NCAA has no teeth, is hypocritical or clueless depending on your interpretation.

The University of Miami, long rumored to be in serious trouble due to former booster Nevin Shapiro, found out Tuesday morning what their penalty would be.

And thanks to some self-imposed restrictions, it wasn't too serious. No bowl ban for the football team, 3-years probation and 3 scholarship losses over each of the next 3-years. Several football assistants will serve "Show-Cause" penalties.

In addition; the basketball team will lose 3 scholarships and former head coach and current Missouri Coach Frank Haith will be suspended for 5 games.

The Hurricanes have imposed a bowl ban on their own the past 2 seasons and fully cooperated with the NCAA during the investigation. That according to reports, was a big factor in the relatively light sentence.

You can read more specifics from ESPN.com RIGHT HERE

The Hurricanes problems came to light in 2011 when Yahoo Sports did a detailed investigation and interview with Shapiro, convicted in his past of running a Ponzi scheme, and Shapiro spoke about lavish parties with players, handing money to them, wining and dining them over an 8-year period of time.

For their part, the school will pay a minor price and all parties will finally after 3-years of investigating, move on.

Reaction from WPLG-TV in Miami:

Alabama Strength Coach Placed On Administrative Leave For Clinton-Dix Loan

((HT: Tuscaloosa News/Suttles))

University of Alabama assistant strength and conditioning coach Corey Harris has been placed on administrative leave for providing impermissible benefits to suspended football safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.

Basically, it was a loan of less than $500, and Clinton-Dix has since paid the loan back...

Now, we know why this was what Coach Nick Saban told the media yesterday...


The university compliance office also discovered that Harris had a connection to a representative of a sports agent. The subsequent investigation determined that Clinton-Dix has not had any contact with anyone that Harris may know fitting that description.

The act by Harris may be a violation of NCAA Bylaw 16.11.2.2, which states that “an institutional employee or representative of the institution's athletics interests may not provide a student-athlete with extra benefits or services, including, but not limited to ... a loan of money.”

Arian Foster: I Got Paid So I Could Eat While at Tennessee

((ht: si.com))

An interesting story is developing involving Houston Texans RB Arian Foster and what he says he did while at the University of Tennessee.

And mind you, we agree with him, but he's setting off a bit of a debate.

Foster, in an interview for a documentary called "Schooled: The Price of College Sports", admits that he and several of his teammates took food money (an NCAA violation), while on a football scholarship.

He says he did it, because after a game and the celebration after a win, he went home only to realize he had no food late at night and no money to go get any.

Read more from Sports Illustrated RIGHT HERE

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Our suspicion is, nothing will happen, though the Twitter debate amongst sports writers has been interesting.

Foster spoke out and the documentary producers used him and others to illustrate a fact of life in today's college football.

Everybody is making gazillions of dollars in the game.

Except the players.

Yeah, sure, the old argument that they get a "free-ride" scholarship is true. Though thousands of kids get into school on academic scholarships. And if they take a free meal or a couple bucks from a teacher, the school doesn't run the risk of getting in trouble with the NCAA.

The athletes, most of whom come from poor backgrounds, don't have the pocket money that other college students do. They don't have discretionary money to spend and their scholarships only get them the meals served at the training table. Which isn't necessarily 3 meals a day 7 days a week. Or in their case 11 or 12 p.m after a game.

The NCAA is under a tremendous amount of pressure to allow athletes to have some "spending" money, but nobody can figure out a good way to do it.

We really don't think this should get Tennessee in trouble, but the possibility does exist. Part of the bizarre NCAA rules system tends to punish schools for things that happen, well after the fact. The people involved who may or may not have been involved have long left town and the current players are the one's left to suffer the penalties.

Really, it isn't fair and we, like many, hope it soon will change.

Here's your video of Foster talking about his case:

Did Ex Ess-E-Cee Players Get Extra Benefits From Agents...??? (UPDATE: Saban Reacts)

((HT: Yahoo!Sports))

The last time Charles Robinson dropped the hammer on someone, the University of Miami was put on "Uncle Nevin" Alert...

Now, he and Rand Getlin have now come forward to disclose that former Alabama tackle D.J. Fluker, Tennessee QB Tyler Bray, Tennessee DE Maurice Couch, Mississippi State University DT Fletcher Cox and Mississippi State WR Chad Bumphis have had alleged contact with intermediaries and, possibly, agents.

Fluker, Bray and Cox are all currently in the pros. Bumphis was released by the Miami Dolphins. Couch is a senior starting for the Volunteers. Robinson and Getlin were contacted by those who felt that former Alabama TE Luther Davis was acting as an intermediary for college football players and agents.

Here's Charles Robinson with Melanie Collins...


If proven true, the NCAA violation for consorting with agents could retroactively blow up any positive stuff from Alabama, Tennessee, and Miss State during the eligibility of the five athletes.

From Getlin and Robinson:

Yahoo Sports was able to authenticate text message records, Western Union fund transfers, banking statements, flight receipts and other financial material linking both Davis and the five college football players. Yahoo Sports also found that three NFL agents and three financial advisers engaged Davis in transactions totaling $45,550. The three agents were Andy Simms, Peter Schaffer and John Phillips. The financial advisers were Jason Jernigan, Mike Rowan and Hodge Brahmbhatt.

Here are all the investigation documents

This has all the appearances of deep doo-doo if all of this checks out...
Which it looks like it does...

The schools involved are investigating and declining comment... as well they should...

Here's early reports from WBRC-TV and MyFoxAL


Wednesday was press conference day for Tide head coach Nick Saban, and he was in no mood to talk about players past...
((HT: Alabama/OKTC))


Video streaming by Ustream

DEVELOPING: Manziel Suspended For First Half Vs. Rice (UPDATED w/NCAA Response)

((HT: ESPN/McMurphy))

Well, is this the beginning or just the beginning of the end...???

Brett McMurphy is reporting that JFF is suspended for the first half of the Rice matchup...

In an agreement between the NCAA and Texas A&M, the NCAA has acknowledged Manziel did not receive money for signing autographs.

However, after not discussing the matter Tuesday, In the Ess-E-Cee teleconference Wednesday, TAMU head coach Kevin Sumlin ungagged the school-mandated gag order and talked about how his QB has dealt with everything in the off-season...

"Johnny's handled it very well," Sumlin said. "Everything around football, he's been extremely sharp and focused."

The HQ would like to remind everyone of the following 2 words: "Plausible deniability..."

Here's your flashback involving Jack Ford talking with Tim Brando about JFF...
((HT: CBS Sports))


More when we know more...

From the NCAA their own selves...

Texas A&M University and the NCAA confirmed today that there is no evidence that quarterback Johnny Manziel received money in exchange for autographs, based on currently available information and statements by Manziel. Due to an inadvertent violation regarding the signing of certain autographs, Texas A&M declared Manziel ineligible and submitted the following conditions for reinstatement to the NCAA:

A one-half game suspension for Manziel

Manziel will address the team regarding the situation and lessons learned

Texas A&M will revise its future education concerning student-athlete autographs for individuals with multiple items

Based on the information submitted by the university, the NCAA accepted the conditions as put forward by Texas A&M. If additional information comes to light, the NCAA will review and consider if further action is appropriate.

NCAA rules are clear that student-athletes may not accept money for items they sign and based on information provided by Manziel, that did not happen in this case.

Manziel Questioned By NCAA, Both Sides Full Steam Ahead...

((HT: Feldman/CBS Sports))

Time for everyone to quote Bruce Feldman...

Johnny Manziel met with the NCAA on Sunday and denied allegations he took money for signing autographs- and pretty much denied everything...

For five and a half hours... and the focus was his financial records...

"The focus of our coaches and student athletes is solely on preparing for Rice this Saturday, and in the best interests of Texas A&M and the 100-plus student-athletes on the team, I have instructed Coach Sumlin, his staff and our student-athletes to refrain from commenting on or answering questions regarding the status of our starting quarterback, Johnny Manziel," athletic director Eric Hyman said in a prepared statement.

But that hasn't stopped anyone from talking about Manziel as the starter this weekend against Rice...

Here's Feldman on "The Dan Patrick Show"
((HT: Dan Patrick Show their own selves))

Reports: More Memorabilia Issues for Johnny Manziel (Does it matter?)

((ht: espn.com))

Just when you think you've heard enough about Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, there's more.

On the heels of Monday's report by ESPN's Outside the Lines that Manziel accepted a hefty payment for autographing memorabilia before the BCS Championship game, comes Tuesday's follow up.

That follow alleges that Manziel was paid $7500 for signing helmets while attending a Walter Camp Foundation event and that there is video to prove it.

Now mind you. the video, according to ESPN's Joe Schad, who has allegedly seen it, doesn't show Manziel taking any money. But...Schad reports that it does have audio of Manziel telling the broker "you never did a signing with me" and that if the broker ever told on him, he'd never do business with him again.

The broker says Manziel wanted the money to buy new rims for his car. (odd)

Now...that being said. It appears the broker in question wanted money to allow ESPN to run the video.

They declined. (Good for them)

Read Schad's entire story RIGHT HERE

This story is quickly becoming fascinating to follow for several reasons. If you are a Twitter reader, I suggest you check out @jaybilas's feed. He's had some harsh and not unfounded criticism of the NCAA, who are already investigating this.

The discussion is raging over whether Manziel should be suspended, penalized or otherwise if the allegations are true.

And...in the big picture and reality of things, no he shouldn't.

BUT!!!!

Ask the University of Georgia if A.J Green should have been punished for charging $1000 for a signed jersey. (He served 4-games) Green's suspension ruined what could have been a potential championship year.

It will be very, very interesting to see how this is handled. Yes, there's been a lot of discussion of the NCAA and their uneven enforcement. And this case may be their highest profile one yet. If they can prove any of the allegations, technically, it's a rules violation.

But we do not believe they'll be able to prove this. We don't. But Texas A&M is prepared, Monday evening, they retained the services of the same law firm that represented Cam Newton and Auburn when they were being investigated.

No, in the end, we believe this will end up being a lot of smoke, a lot of talk and oh, so little action. But for now, it's making for great theater.

Report: NCAA Now Investigating Johnny Manziel

((ht: espn.com))

So, the summer of Johnny Manziel's discontent continues.

A report late Sunday afternoon by ESPN's "Outside The Lines" crew cites sources (3 of them) saying Manziel made an agreement to sign memorabilia for an autograph broker while in Miami for last years BCS Championship game. And the report says the NCAA's assistant director of enforcement is apparently aware of the issue and investigating.

The rule, which has bitten a variety of College Football players over the past few years has led to several suspensions.

Perhaps the most noteworthy of those, Georgia's AJ Green who was forced to sit for 4-games a few years ago after it was found he signed jersey's for an autograph dealer and was paid for it.

Green sat, if memory serves, 4-games.

Read the entire ESPN story RIGHT HERE

If true, this may very well be the capper to what's been a bizarre, headline filled spring and summer for last seasons Heisman Trophy winner.

From being kicked out of parties to showing up at high profile events, Manziel has been the center of media attention wherever he goes and often for what ever he does. And he's been the focus of extensive, long-form reports from ESPN and Sports Illustrated within the past couple of weeks.

Many outside the Texas A&M family and probably some within are quickly tiring of the 20-year old dubbed "Johnny Football". Based on the profile stories, he does not seem to be totally prepared or capable of dealing with the fame and attention he now gathers.

Those in Aggie-land are no doubt hoping this ends up being much ado about nothing. The season is a month or less away.

If this ends up being true, it remains to be seen if #2 will be taking the field when that first kickoff arrives.

Here's Darren Rovell with Todd Grisham
((HT: ESPN))

Is Urban Meyer Sabotaging The Florida Gators?

((ht: orlandosentinel.com))

So Florida Gator fans, you still loving on former head coach Urban Meyer?

We ask this in light of a report that Meyer...or an assistant coach reported the Gators had a "Secondary" NCAA violation over a high school running back from New York named Curtis Samuel. Samuel was also being recruited by the Buckeyes.

As the story goes, the NCAA allegedly investigated, found nothing wrong with the contact, but Samuel summarily dropped Florida from his list of potential schools.

Hmmmm....

For what it's worth, Meyer claims it was not-true that he turned the Gators in, but that an assistant did it.  Which raises the obvious question...would a college assistant coach do something like that without informing his boss.

Yeah.

Anyway, read the story with the allegations from the Orlando Sentinel RIGHT HERE

Yes, we find this amusing.

And according to the Sentinel's Mike Bianchi, this isn't the first time its happened. Maybe its just us, and we aren't exactly Gator fans, but it makes us laugh to know most Florida fans hold Meyer in such high regard. And that he speaks, at least publicly, in reverential terms about his former employer.

But it appears that he'll do whatever he deems necessary when it comes to recruiting, or for that matter anything else to win. We can't totally fault him for that, but if that's what you want to be, at least own it, don't try coming across as "The Good Guy".

And no, we won't wade into the Hernandez part of the story.

University of Oregon Gets Sanctions/Wrist Slap

((ht: goducks.com))

So, along with the other things going on this morning, the University of Oregon learned what the NCAA has decided to do with the charges of recruiting violations and using a non-compliant recruiting service (Wille Lyles).

And it's not nearly as bad as it probably could have been.

Here's the abridged version:

The NCAA found 6 issues--

1) Recruiting violations by the owner of a recruiting/scouting service how became a representative of the school's athletic interests
2) Use of said service which didn't comply with the NCAA legislation
3) Impermissible calls by non-coaching staff members
4) Too many football coaches
5) Former head coach (Chip Kelly) failed to monitor
6) Failure to monitor by the institution

And your slap on the wrist/penalties:

1) Public reprimand and censure
2) 3 Years probation, starting today (June 26th, 2013)
3) Loss of one scholarship for the next 2-years
4) Loss of 4 'Paid Visits' by coaching staff to recruits
5) Loss of 6 'Football Evaluation Days' from 42 to 36
6) No subscription recruiting services during probation
7) The recruiting service provider (Lyles) will be disassociated from the school (already happened)

And the penalty to former coach Chip Kelly, who now coaches the Philadelphia Eagles:

--An 18 month "Show-Cause" penalty, which means he can't coach in the NCAA until the end of next year. Not that he would want to now...

GoDucks.com provides the entire 28-page document RIGHT HERE

So--essentially, the NCAA is saying, "Yeah, you did some bad things, but we are going to slap your wrists". There is no bowl ban. There's minimal loss of scholarships and the NCAA can say "You were bad". And they get to say, without saying it, that it's Chip Kelly's fault.

What's the point?

This does little if anything to slow down Nike U/Oregon.



UPDATE:

Here's a statement released by former head coach Chip Kelly:

“Now that the NCAA has concluded their investigation and penalized the University of Oregon and its football program, I want to apologize to the University of Oregon, all of its current and former players and their fans.  I accept my share of responsibility for the actions that led to the penalties. As I have I stated before, the NCAA investigation and subsequent ruling had no impact on my decision to leave Oregon for Philadelphia. I have also maintained throughout that I had every intention to cooperate with the NCAA’s investigation, which I did."

Miss. St Gets Off Easy With The NCAA

((ht: athleticscholarships.net))

All that worry for nothing.

At least that's what we guess is being said today in Starkville, Mississippi.

Mississippi State found out today from the NCAA what their punishment would be for a recruiting violation. That violation stemmed from a booster being involved with the recruitment of defensive back Will Redmond. That and an assistant coach, Angelo Mirando, who apparently lied to the NCAA when asked about it.

That leaves the Bulldogs with 2-years probation, the forfeiture of a couple of scholarships and some restrictions on recruiting trip.

The penalties don't really damage Miss. State much other than maybe reputation. They can still recruit, they can still go to a bowl game and have pretty much all their scholarship players.

One note--The case was resolved in a mere 7-weeks, which many consider a record for NCAA enforcement. Will we see this happen more often? On that, the jury is still out.

Oregon FB Agrees On Violations... Mostly...

((HT: KVAL-TV))

Now that Chip Kelly has left the University of Oregon for the Philadelphia Eagles, it's time for the NCAA to get all the violations underway... most of the violations the school and the governing body agree on...

Some they don't... at least in the severity of them...

The Oregonian and KATU-TV in Portland filed an open records request and the paperwork focuses mainly on the Willie Lyles/Lache Seastrunk episode involving the written/not-written encouragement of having Seastrunk attend Oregon and Lyles reimbursement for the direction

The violations are considered "major" and involve the idea of "failure to monitor" by Chip Kelly. But, somewhat in conflict, there are no findings of a lack of institutional control or unethical conduct.

Oregon decided to give an incredibly generic statement on the release of the documents:

"The review is ongoing until the NCAA Committee on Infractions issues its final report. The integrity of the process and our continued full cooperation with the NCAA prohibits us from publicly discussing the specifics of this matter."

Here's the report from out west...


Expect Oregon to appeal the findings to the Committee on Infractions in the spring and the school has already performed two self-punishments: a scholarship reduction for each of the next three years and a two-year probation.

Are the Auburn Gates Beginning To Open? ESPN Confirms Part of Wednesday's Story

((ht: espn.com))

So, most football fans south of the Ohio have been caught up in the implications swirling after a scathing report claimed all kinds of improprieties surrounding the Auburn Tigers football team.

The report on a "new" website, run by a former New York Times reporter and Auburn alum quoted multiple football players accusing the school of paying players, fixing grades and essentially institutional racism.

We voiced our thoughts on that story by Serena Roberts on Roopstigo.com earlier today.


You can read the original story by Roberts, RIGHT HERE

There were many accusations in Roberts story, including that the school protected multiple players who failed drug tests before the 2010 National Championship game.

And today (Friday) comes a follow up story by ESPN's "Outside the Lines" explaining how the school kept drug tests confidential and was fully aware of multiple players using synthetic marijuana and did nothing about it.

You can read that story RIGHT HERE\

And yes, we'll direct this paragraph to brother Jon. While the ESPN.com story does not validate the entire Serena Roberts story, it confirms a portion of it.

And Auburn AD Jay Jacobs confirmed it. (The marijuana part)

So, the takeaway from this is simple: Auburn played the 2010 Championship Game with players that arguably shouldn't have been eligible. Yet they were.

By no means are we implying Auburn is the only school that looked around the "Synthetic Marijuana" issue. There were reports that same year that Georgia looked away from then star tailback Isiah Crowell's positive result for the same drug the week before the Georgia/Florida game.

Here's our initial story RIGHT HERE

We had been told that Crowell was the player in question, but nobody would at the time confirm it. Crowell and 2 other players were suspended the following week...vs. New Mexico State.

You can read that story RIGHT HERE

Our point here is this: There have been some questions about the Selena Roberts report. Several have said she "Has a vendetta" "She's looking for revenge". And maybe that is a factor in her reporting, which focuses around former Auburn Safety Mike McNeil. But as time passes, confirmation of the story is beginning to surface.

If the drug test/abuse allegations are true, than what other parts are? Yeah, sure, most in the SEC world are saying "So what, everybody does stuff like this". And they may be right. But Auburn is again in the spotlight for it.

Expect an NCAA Investigation for what that is worth (another). And expect it to probably not get anywhere.

But we've said all along, "Where there's smoke, there is fire" and it sure sounds like that's beginning to hold very, very true.

DEVELOPING: Syracuse Under Investigation... Again, Just Bigger......

((HT: WSYR-TV))

Looks like the Fab Melo investigation is still moving along- just louder...

According to Dennis Dodd over at CBS Sports, the school has been investigated for years and has received the ever-popular preliminary letter of inquiry.

The investigation does not include anything with Bernie Fine, but does include Melo and an assault alleged from 2007 involving three players. The school has been investigated in the last year, but apparently, business has just picked up...

From Dodd:

The ongoing investigation has apparently grown larger in scope. When asked to characterize how wide-ranging the probe might be, a source with knowledge of the case told CBSSports.com: “Throw a dart at the [NCAA] Manual [and you would hit a violation by Syracuse]."

And that doesn't sound nice...

Here's comments from Jim Boeheim...


The HQ anticipated they'd be short and/or contentious...
Syracuse plays Montana in the opening round of the In-Cee-Aay-Aay tourney...

Investigation: Former UNC Players ID Agent Paying Them

((ht: wralsportsfan.com))

So, a sports agent in Marietta, Georgia was the guy sending money to University of North Carolina football players over the past few years.

That's what the North Carolina Secretary of State's office says after they started investigating Sports Agents. The investigation was triggered nearly 3-years ago after the NCAA accused multiple players of receiving illegal benefits.

Former Tar Heel standout Marvin Austin told investigators he and others got money from Terry Watson and/or a representative of the Watson Sports Agency. A quick search found the Watson Sports Agency is registered as a business in Marietta. Oh, Watson was never registered in North Carolina, despite doing appearing to try and do business there.

Austin had FedEx records that backed up his claim against Watson.

Read the WRAL Sports story RIGHT HERE

Hmmm...

Sure, while the state was strictly looking for Agent impropriety, this opens up, potentially, a new can of worms.

To this point, the investigation into illegalities at the Chapel Hill, NC school have been based around a tutor and academic issues, this obviously crosses that line. And yes, apparently one of the tutors in question apparently got paid by Watson's office too.

What we want to know is how this all happens? Yeah, sure, we know, most schools find ways to skirt the rules and while no charges against administrators exist at the moment, the student athletes seem to have gotten an awful lot.

The NCAA, while lacking a bit in credibility these days, seems to have plenty of information to do something here. Whether they do or not, that folks, is an entirely different question.

Miami On Notice With NCAA

((HT: WSVN-TV))

Miami's athletics program is now on the clock with the NCAA and they now have 90 days to respond to the letter of allegation set forth by the NCAA in their investigation in and around Nevin Shapiro...

Those words "lack of institutional control" are being bandied about...

And President Donna Shalala thinks the school has been punished enough and punished itself enough...

Thanks for that thought, Madame President...

You can't punish yourself... unless you really wanted your football team to go to the Belk Bowl...

In addition to the alleged 72 athletes Shapiro claims benefited in the football program, former head men's basketball coach Frank Haith has been named as part of the deal. He did address the letter after his win over Virginia:

"There was no unethical conduct in my notice of allegation," Haith said. "And it is just an allegation, so we get a chance to defend ourselves."

Haith is alleged of failing "to promote an atmosphere for compliance," a charge specific to how he handled things when Shapiro allegedly wanted money in exchange for not going public with accusations that he paid to help the Hurricanes recruit a player.

So, there's that...

Here's Steve Shapiro...with that and highlights...
WSVN-TV -

President Shalala wrote a rather lengthy rebuttal to the NCAA's allegations, saying in part:

"Despite their efforts over two and a half years, the NCAA enforcement staff could not find evidence of prostitution, expensive cars for players, expensive dinners paid for by boosters, player bounty payments, rampant alcohol and drug use, or the alleged hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gifts given to student-athletes, as reported in the media. The fabricated story played well -- the facts did not."

The whole response can be found hyah, thanks again to WSVN...