The Wiz of Odds

Reporters Notebooks

Charles Goldberg and Kevin Scarbinsky, al.com: Sports agent Kenny Rogers claimed he witnessed the father of Auburn quarterback Cam Newton tell two Mississippi State coaches that the school would have to pay to sign the player.

Sports Radio Interviews: Charles Barkley on the asking price for Newton: "If that guy only asked for $200K for Cam Newton they should fire him anyway."

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal Constitution: The Newton story is reaching critical mass.

Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times: An open letter to Newton: You messed up, kid.

Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports.com: In college football, as in life, cheating is worth it.

Larry Brown Sports: The Newton investigation: Why now and where it is coming from?

Bud Withers, Seattle Times: Just a guess here, as college football and its multi-controversies hit the homestretch: Auburn's toast. And if it is, another guess: Texas Christian or Boise State is going to find itself playing in the Bowl Championship Series title game.

Losers With Socks: Quicken by Newton.

Chip Brown, Orangebloods.com: Texas stands to increase its TV revenue by $12 million per year thanks to an agreement reached with ESPN to distribute the Longhorn Network on cable systems beginning in the fall of 2011. The sources said the deal is for 10 years and guarantees Texas $12 million annually on top of the TV revenue Texas would receive as part of the Big 12's current television contracts with ABC/ESPN and Fox.

Argus Leader: Check out the roll on this amazing 86-yard punt. Thanks to Sean!

Benn Hodapp, Valley Community Newspapers: A look at the off-field life of David Lambros, a retired police officer who has been a Pacific 10 Conference official since 2001.

Reporters Notebooks

Joe Schad, ESPN: Sources: Cam Newton and his father acknowledged in phone conversations that money would determine the quarterback's college choice.

Josh Moon, Montgomery Advertiser: "Sources." This is apparently the way the media game is now played. As in, Cam Newton is a terrible human being, a source faimiliar with human beings has revealed.

David Payne, Covers.com: A sportsbook in Las Vegas took the Georgia-Auburn game off the board Wednesday morning. "We're hearing reports that Cameron Newton's status may be a game-time decision," MGM Mirage sportsbook manager Jeff Stoneback said. "A professional player came in this morning bet Georgia and soon after we got an alert from one of our services about the news."

Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News: Another bomb dropped Tuesday night, but like every other alleged piece of ammunition in the ongoing war against Newton, it's not clear if this one is more than a dud.

Darren Rovell, CNBC: If Newton’s record comes up clean, he'll still be living with this cloud for the rest of his life.

Rachel George: Urban Meyer has denied being the source for a story alleging academic cheating by Newton during his time at Florida. Whoever leaked the info, however, could face legal repercussions.

Dick Weiss, New York Daily News: The ongoing allegations against Newton have put his Heisman candidacy in question.

Paul Finebaum, Mobile Press-Register: Newton still gets his Heisman vote.

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Maybe it's time for Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive to put his foot down again.

Reporters Notebooks

Thayer Evans, Fox Sports: Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton had three different instances of academic cheating while attending the University of Florida and faced potential expulsion from the university, according to a source.

Kyle Ringo and Neill Woelk, Boulder Daily Camera: Dan Hawkins is out as Colorado coach, with an announcement coming later Tuesday. The final blow came Saturday when the Buffaloes blew a 45-17 lead in the fourth quarter and lost to Kansas, 52-45. What should Colorado look for in a new coach? Here are a few suggestions.

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: The documentary "The Best That Never Was" airs Tuesday night on ESPN. It details former Oklahoma running back Marcus Dupree, who now drives a truck in Gulfport, Miss.

Paola Boivin, Arizona Republic: Where do we stand in the race for 70 bowl-eligible teams? Currently, 47 teams are eligible. Twenty-two have been eliminated and 51 remain in contention.

Athens News: Ohio quarterback Franshaw "Boo" Jackson is listed as questionable for the team's Nov. 16 game against Temple after suffering injuries in a bar fight Friday night. A teammate who requested anonymity told the Ohio student newsite Speakeasymag.com that the senior had suffered a bone fracture above an eyelid and is out for the season. Thanks to the Midwest Correspondent.

Chadd Cripe and Nick Jezierny, Idaho Statesman: Idaho running back Deonte Jackson was asked about comments made by Boise State president Bob Kustra in July that the Vandal fan base was "nasty, inebriated." Jackson said, "I wouldn’t expect anything different coming from the blue and orange snot."

Sports Media Watch: ABC's regional coverage of the Arizona-Stanford game drew only a 2.8 rating, the lowest of the season. The Alabama-Louisiana State game earned a 4.4, lowest for a Crimson Tide telecast on CBS this season.

Mike Casazza, Charleston Daily Mail: Is Bill Stewart in danger of losing his job as West Virginia coach?

Reporters Notebooks

Terry Hutchens, Indianapolis Star: How much does it cost to outfit a team? Indiana is spending more than $200,000 this season. The team is saving on eye black now that the NCAA prohibits players from writing messages or area codes on the strips. "I bet we'll play the whole season and I won't go through one stick of the stuff this year," equipment manager Mitch Gudmundson said.

Sports Media Watch: One week does not a trend make, but the Tim Tebow-less Florida Gators were a substantially smaller draw for CBS on Saturday than last year. CBS drew a 3.5 overnight rating for Florida-Tennessee, down 27% from Tennessee-Florida last year (4.8). Texas-Texas Tech on ABC drew a 4.9 overnight, highest of the season for any college game on broadcast. Nonetheless, four of the five games on ABC this season have drawn less than a 3.0 overnight. To put that in perspective, none of the first five games last year drew less than a 3.0. 

Tom Kirkendall, Houston's Clear Thinkers: The creative nature of football innovation. If coaches were able to copyright offensive and defensive systems, no one would come up with the next big idea.

Steve Campbell, Houston Chronicle: Where does Houston losing starting quarterback Case Keenum and backup Cotton Turner in Saturday's defeat to UCLA rank on the list of Cougar catastrophes?

The Quotable Les Miles: More than 400 rambling, bewildering, indecipherable quotes from Louisiana State's coach on one site! Thanks to Mr. SEC.

John Werner, Waco Tribune-Herald: Has Baylor's Robert Griffin lost a step after having knee surgery last year? The quarterback doesn't think so.

Sports by Brooks: Video of Texas Tech's Adam Jones taking a hammering hit in Saturday's game against Texas. Perhaps Mike Leach really was looking out for the safety and health of Craig James' son.

Jason Morton, Tuscaloosa News: Retired Circuit Judge Steve Wilson said there was no conspiracy to bring down the Alabama program, despite a 2002 lawsuit that alleged one.

Reporters Notebooks

John Crumpacker, San Francisco Chronicle: A committee has recommended that California consider eliminating five to seven teams to bring a "financially sustainable path" to its athletic department. At a time of university-wide financial duress, the consistent failure of athletics to rein in costs plays poorly on a campus where 19 academic departments had telephone service in faculty offices eliminated and the number of chronic roof leaks was pegged at 63.

Kyle Veazey, Clarion-Ledger: Mississippi quarterback Jeremiah Masoli told the NCAA last month he decided to transfer from Oregon before it was announced on June 9 that he was dismissed from the team, according to documents obtained by the newspaper. It's an important distinction, as the NCAA’s initial denial of 2010 eligibility focused in part on what it said was his dismissal from the Oregon program.

BCS Guru: Who's to blame for Boise State falling to No. 6 in the latest simulated Bowl Championship Series standings? It's the unaccountable coaches. Link to standings.

Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: For a "profit" of $5.3 million, San Diego State agreed to schedule 22 games in the past 10 years against teams from college football’s high-rent district. Its record in those games: zero victories, 22 defeats. The average score: Goliath 31, SDSU 12. Thanks to Mike!

Randy Riggs, Austin American Statesman: Texas' Mack Brown said he urged Vince Young to accept the 2005 Heisman Trophy on behalf of the program if it was offered. "I called and I was adamant about it. I said, 'It's great for this university, it's great for Texas, and I think in the long run it's great for you.' " Plus, Longhorn running back Vondrell McGee's appeal to play this season has been denied by the NCAA.

Mike Hlas, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Nobody asked him to renounce his 2005 Heisman vote, and he wouldn't if they did.

Joe Biddle, Tennessean: Welcome to the Southeastern Conference, land of the cheaters. Commissioner Mike Slive needs to purchase a new broom to clean up this mess.

Paul Finebaum, Mobile Press-Register: There's only one team in the SEC that can beat Alabama — Alabama.

Reporters Notebooks

Don Kausler Jr., Birmingham News: Alabama's Nick Saban took a shot at Boise State on his radio show Thursday night, noting that the Crimson Tide defeated Virginia Tech and "six other teams that were the caliber of Virginia Tech, or maybe better. And maybe more than that if you throw in Texas and Florida in the SEC Championship Game." He added: "It's the full body of work. It's not just that you can beat one team, but if you have to beat six or seven other teams and have to play with consistency to do it, I think that goes a long way in saying a lot about what kind of football team that you have. And that's no disrespect that you have, because they may certainly be able to do the same thing if they were put in that circumstance."

Sal Interdonato, Middletown Times Herald-Record: Hawaii's 4,955-mile trip to play Army is the longest in team history. The flight from Honolulu to Newark took nine hours. Rich Miano, Hawaii's secondary coach, said he has made the trip at least 55 times.

Stephen Tsai, Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii held its first practice after landing in Newark. The Warriors went through a walk-through in the back parking lot of the hotel where they are staying. The parking-stall lines served as markers. Orange cones denoted the sidelines. Several players wore socks but no shoes. Defensive tackle Haku Correa practiced in bare feet.

Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: A look at the longest bowl droughts. Louisiana Monroe's last postseason appearance came in the 1947 Junior Sugar Bowl.

James Rainey, Los Angeles Times: ESPN has plunged into local coverage online, but the going may be tougher than it imagined.

Jay Christensen, Covers: Some bozo actually believes college football games can be fixed.

BCS Guru: The first simulated Bowl Championship Series standings have Alabama at No. 1, followed by Boise State, Texas, Ohio State and Texas Christian.

Ben Maller: A recent survey revealed that nearly half of respondents would skip out on date night to watch their team play. Even more surprising, nearly one out of three people would deny themselves beer.

Lost Lettermen: Where are they now? A look at the 2000 BCS champion Oklahoma Sooners. One guy runs a roofing company. Another works for a lumber company. One player's whereabouts are unknown.