Auburn’s odds were pretty long to begin with, given the departure of players like Cam Newton and Nick Fairley. But what’s happening to Auburn this off-season is making this championship hangover a real doozy.

Yes, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel reported on Wednesday that four former Auburn players say they received everything from money to cars to sway them to choose Auburn during the recruiting process, and that some of those benefits continued during their playing career. I’ve read the partial transcript of one of the interviews. Naturally, Auburn is denying the charges, and even Real Sports admits that the players can’t back up their allegations with any kind of proof (which, to me, if you can’t back it up, then why is it being reported in the first place? And where’s the other side of the story?). But it’s out there, and while Auburn is denying the claims, they are also pledging to cooperate fully with a NCAA or SEC investigation into the matter.

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We’re just a little more than 10 months away from signing day, so it’s a good time to start thinking about the class of 2012.

That’s especially true for someone who is preparing for an Internet radio appearance on Saturday.

Here are five high school seniors to-be from the West who everyone wants on their team.

Shaquille Thompson, Sacramento, Calif.

 Thompson, 6-1, 180 pounds, generally is considered the best safety prospect in the nation. He committed to Cal during the Bears’ junior day in the first week in March. Then he re-opened the recruiting process about a week later. Though any school would love to have an athlete such as Thompson – he’s also a running back at Grant High School who ran for 1,882 yards and 25 touchdowns. – the number of schools chasing him is small for a five-star recruit (Scout.com only lists seven). Sacramento is Cal country, so the Bears have the inside track. Adding to the Bears’ advantage: older brother Syd-Quan was a star at Cal. Thompson said Cal remains his top choice. He is Cal’s to lose. Continue Reading…

Who doesn’t like Memphis spare ribs? Use this next recipe at your next tailgate!

Will Andrew Luck Really Help Himself in The Long Run By Staying In School?

  A co-worker of mine went to a discount retailer in the Phoenix area recently and noticed Arizona’s Cardinals replica jerseys, adult sizes for $9.95.  These usually go for $70-$80.

Why so cheap? They were Matt Leinart jerseys.

Ah it only seems like yesterday that Leinart won the Heisman trophy as a junior who had led USC to back-to-back national titles. If he’d gone pro after his junior season, Leinart almost surely would have been the top quarterback picked in the NFL draft if not the overall No.1 choice.

  Instead he stayed for his senior season, finished behind Texas’ Vince Young and USC teammate Reggie Bush in the Heisman trophy race (Bush’s trophy has since been rescinded). And USC lost in the national title game. Continue Reading…

Thanks to the Big 12 TV deal now in negotiations, the Big 12 commissioner is showing he can turn near-disaster into opportunity.

You may have heard that he’s negotiating a new conference TV deal with Fox. That deal is rumored to be $60 million per year. It could also include a conference TV network, even though texas, and most likely, Oklahoma, won’t play ball on any potential conference cable net.

Think about that for a minute. About a year ago at this time we were all writing about the demise of the Big 12. Nebraska and Colorado were bolting so they could get in on conference TV deals. texas pretty much blackmailed the Big 12 into giving it more revenue in exchange for staying. Then, the school went and created the longhorn Network with ESPN, pretty much thumbing their collective nose at the rest of the league. The league was fighting for dear life.

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Hagan Blount grew up in Maine, so he has a special fondness in his heart for Shipyard IPA.

Here’s our first post about BBQ! I figured what better way to start things off than to introduce the BBQ Pit Boys Sausage, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwhich. A.K.A “The Most Awesome Breakfast Sandwich Ever”. Okay, I made that last part up. But seriously, who’s going to disagree?

File this under “A Sports Information Department with Too Much Time On Its Hands.”

I went over to the Mississippi State University athletics site the other day to track down some spring football information. Instead, I found “Golden Days,” a video series that the MSU media relations department appears to be putting together. The use of Golden is a nod to the Golden Egg, the trophy given to the winner of the Mississippi-Mississippi State game each year. MSU won in 2010.

I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t a takeoff on those Bud Light Wheat commercials from the Super Bowl.

The video starts with MSU football player Ricco Sanders talking to the Egg Bowl trophy (yes, talking, but nothing weird). Then Sanders tells the trophy he has someone he wants it to meet – the Gator Bowl trophy the Bulldogs won on New Year’s Day.

From there it’s about a minute of the Golden Egg trophy and the Gator Bowl trophy doing everything from sharing a milkshake to attending MSU sporting events. It’s obvious the two of them are on a date, judging by the popcorn set between them at the movie theater. The best part? Well, it has to be the Golden Egg bowling. I wonder how he’s going to pick up that final pin? I mean, the lack of arms has to be a problem. And, being an trophy, movement is going to be an issue. The video ends with fireworks. You can watch the video after the jump.

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The straight-arrowed Tressel has been suspended for two games.

 The penalties Ohio State handed Jim Tressel are like a mustard stain on a red sweater vest.

 Tressel, who always projected a straight-arrow image, Tressel, the small college coach who worked hard and finally showed he could win on the big stage, Tressel, who published a book called “The Winners Manual” modeled after John Wooden’s Pryamid of Success, was suspended Tuesday night by Ohio State for the first two games of the 2011 season. It is punishment for violating NCAA rules. He failed to notify the school about information he learned in what became known as tattoo-gate.

In addition to missing games against at home against Akron and Toledo, Tressel was fined $250,000. He will have to make a public apology.

 Last December Ohio State revealed that five players —Terrelle Pryor, Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams, Solomon Thomas and Jordan Whiting — were involved in selling Buckeyes memorabilia to the owner of a tattoo parlor in Columbus. That’s a violation of NCAA rules. The five were suspended for games in the 2011 season but were allowed to play in Ohio State’s Sugar Bowl victory over Arkansas.    Continue Reading…

Nobody on the TCU football team has a police record. They're true winners on and off the field.

My friend John Maino called one evening. He’d just taken a TV job in Tucson. He mentioned the name of player who was a late addition to the Arizona backfield. “Where do I know this name from?”

 This was in 1980 and in the days before Google that’s how the news media did a lot background research on people or events outside your immediate locale. You called someone up who might know something.

 John called the right guy. I remembered the player was involved in a sex-related offense that had been widely reported in the Phoenix area. (I won’t the mention the player’s name because it involves a juvenile incident from more than 30 years ago, and the man has not been in the public eye for more than a quarter of a century.) Needless to say it had not been publicized in Tucson, and the school certainly did not mention it in any press releases.

 John had a scoop. Coach Larry Smith and his staff were probably a little embarrassed for a couple days. The individual in question continued to play. And the college football world went on. Continue Reading…