State of the Game 2011 - McClover & The Truth

Fixing the scandals, Cam Newton, the Longhorn Network, and more. Along with the CFNers, check out the opinions on key topics going into the season from Matt Hayes from the Sporting News and the Chicago Tribune's Teddy Greenstein.

State of the Game 

Did McClover Tell The Truth?

2011 CFN State of the Game Topics  
- Should The Death Penalty Be On The Table? 
- What One Thing Can Stop The Cheating? | Bloggers Analysis
- How To Fix The NCAA | Bloggers Analysis
- Is There Institutional Control? | Bloggers Analysis
- The Cam Newton Situation | Bloggers Analysis
- Was Stanley McClover Telling The Truth? | Bloggers Analysis
- Should Players Get a Bigger Stipend? | Bloggers Analysis
- Should a one-loss SEC team play for it all? | Bloggers Analysis
- Why isn't there a playoff? | Bloggers Analysis
- The Programs About To Blow Up | Bloggers Analysis
- Does The Longhorn Network Matter? | Bloggers Analysis
- What'll Happen In Ten Years? | Bloggers Analysis
- When Should Players Turn Pro? | Bloggers Analysis
- What's Your Beef? The Biggest Complaints | Bloggers Analysis

LIMITED TIME ONLY: CLICK HERE for a Free Week of Top-Rated Selections

- Suggestions or something we missed? Let us know
- Follow us ... http://twitter.com/ColFootballNews  

E-mail Pete Fiutak

It seems like he did, but more than whether or not he told the truth, the interesting part of the story is how it has completely and totally blown over ... for now.

Remember, the NCAA isn't a court of law and its rulings aren't necessarily  based on the innocent until proven guilty principle. It can choose to punish - at least to some extent - based on testimony and confessions. But what the Real Sports story showed among everything else is just how much fans really don't care about whether or not a program is cheating. It's sort of assumed at this point that top programs are doing something wrong and have to do a little something extra to be top programs, and while college football writers might hate the idea of the sport being so sleazy in so many ways, the sports world just wants to see the magic happen on the field.

Maybe the lack of any aftermath after the McClover bombshell shows that fans have matured past the NCAA rules. Maybe it shows that a player getting money from a booster really isn't an issue. The tawdry side of the story is something different, because no one wants their school to be associated with providing sexual favors to entice recruits, but for the most part, the McClover story was treated just like the Josh Luchs story and just like the Sports Illustrated article about the criminal element on various teams.

The NCAA is still on the case, but for now, McClover's story has fallen on deaf ears, and that seems to include the NCAA's investigation of Ohio State. With all that said, I have a feeling McClover's story will come up again very, very soon.

By Matt Hayes
Sporting News

Of course he did. Who says nothing is happening? It’s well within the reach of the NCAA’s statute of limitations.

By Teddy Greenstein
Chicago Tribune

I do, largely because a guy like that has almost nothing to gain (as far as I know) and everything to lose by coming forward.

By Richard Cirminiello

Call me gullible, but I’ve got a tough time understanding why McClover would flat-out lie, burying former high school and college associates along the way. Who said anything isn’t happening? Last I heard, this was an ongoing investigation that has yet to reach a conclusion. Stay tuned.

By Matt Zemek

I have no way of knowing.

By Barrett Sallee
Follow me on Twitter: @BarrettSallee

If we’re talking about the allegation of hundred-dollar handshakes, absolutely. That happens, and there’s not much that can be done about that save for GPS chips being embedded in players. If we’re talking about sexual favors, as McClover suggested was the case on his Ohio State visit, sort of. Players get lucky on recruiting trips, but I don’t believe that schools are running some sort of pseudo-brothel. Do I believe that representatives dropped bags of cash off at his house? I don’t know, but I definitely need more evidence that his just word, which is really all that the HBO Real Sports episode provided. I also wouldn’t be surprised if McClover thinks (or thought) he could get a hefty sum for the rights to his story following the HBO special.

By Russ Mitchell
Follow me on Twitter @russmitchellcfb

How would we know? That's the problem. My gut tells me there were enough holes in McClover's story to fly a small Airbus through.

But my gut also tells me every single April that the S.F. Giants can win a World Series.

Wait a minute.



2011 CFN State of the Game Topics  
- Should The Death Penalty Be On The Table? 
- What One Thing Can Stop The Cheating? | Bloggers Analysis
- How To Fix The NCAA | Bloggers Analysis
- Is There Institutional Control? | Bloggers Analysis
- The Cam Newton Situation | Bloggers Analysis
- Was Stanley McClover Telling The Truth? | Bloggers Analysis
- Should Players Get a Bigger Stipend? | Bloggers Analysis
- Should a one-loss SEC team play for it all? | Bloggers Analysis
- Why isn't there a playoff? | Bloggers Analysis
- The Programs About To Blow Up | Bloggers Analysis
- Does The Longhorn Network Matter? | Bloggers Analysis
- What'll Happen In Ten Years? | Bloggers Analysis
- When Should Players Turn Pro? | Bloggers Analysis
- What's Your Beef? The Biggest Complaints | Bloggers Analysis

LIMITED TIME ONLY: CLICK HERE for a Free Week of Top-Rated Selections

- Suggestions or something we missed? Let us know
- Follow us ... http://twitter.com/ColFootballNews