McCready: 10 Weekend Thoughts presented by Harry Alexander
1. I thought about waiting for the release of Ole Miss’ response to the NCAA’s notice of allegations, something that is expected as early as Monday, before publishing the next edition of 10 Weekend Thoughts.
I might still use the 10 Weekend Thoughts format as a mechanism for writing my reaction to Ole Miss’ response. It might actually be more effective than a column. We’ll see.
Regardless, this week figures to be a pretty newsworthy one in the story of this almost five-year-old investigation. Ole Miss will answer the amended NOA, which includes a charge of lack of institutional control. Hugh Freeze will answer charges made against him, including a failure to monitor allegation, and Barney Farrar will answer a litany of allegations against him that, if proven, could seriously hamper his future in the profession.
This case, one that began in earnest in February 2013 with an ill-advised tweet and then with a meeting that didn’t go particularly well, is finally nearing its conclusion. Sometime next month, the NCAA is expected to respond to Ole Miss’ response. Then a hearing will be set _ Farrar’s attorney, Bruse Loyd, said on Thursday’s Oxford Exxon Podcast he expects the hearing in Indianapolis to be held in September _ and finally, the committee on infractions will issue a ruling some 4-8 weeks later.
The end is near. How it ends, however, remains anyone’s guess. We’ll have a much better idea this week.
2. On Saturday, I linked a nine-page document from the Mississippi Ethics Commission in the case of Steve Robertson vs. The University of Mississippi.
(I’d like to take this opportunity to once again apologize to the State of Alabama for my criticisms of the idiot fans in your Iron Bowl rivalry. You’re nuts, Alabama. Your football rivalry has led to the killing of famous trees and pranks involving statues, but you’re 100 percent sane compared to this circus here in the Magnolia State. Again, I was wrong. Please accept my most humble apologies. I’ll never make fun of you again — at least not without the context of saying some of the people involved in this mess over here long ago went full potato.)
For now, it appears names of boosters and student-athletes involved in the case are going to be redacted. (Be happy, Greg Iles; your stay on top of the best-seller list is going to last another month). However, the names are eventually going to come out. Frankly, I’m shocked they haven’t been more public than they’ve been. At least one of the boosters in question has told multiple people in Oxford that he’s been at least temporarily disassociated from the university.
Robertson has a point of sorts when he wonders out loud why Leo Lewis, Kobe Jones and Austin Golson have been named when boosters’ names haven’t. I’m not sure I have the answer, other than the three boosters I am quite positive are named in the NOA are men with means and until those names are released by the university/NCAA, I’m not willing to put my neck out there. If those people are going to be filing lawsuits _ and I’m damn sure not betting against that _ let them sue Ole Miss and the NCAA and God only knows who else. I’ll save myself the legal fees, thank you very much.
Still, I get Robertson’s point, though I’m not sure his obsession with the case is all that flattering and I certainly don’t buy his altruistic comments regarding protecting the kids or whatnot. Maybe I’m underestimating the attraction of his book. Perhaps it’ll be must-read stuff all over the Southeast and throughout the nation; I just don’t see how unless he’s got some fascinating revelations and details. Perhaps Robertson is going to peel back the proverbial onion and, to mix a metaphor here, show how the college football sausage is made. If he does, bully for him. However, for him to do it accurately, he’s going to have to bite hard from the hand that helps feed him. Personally, I don’t see that happening. And if he’s a true believer (hello, Derek Mason!), well, the book truly won’t be worth the cost of printing.
3. What do I expect? I’m asked that a lot, and I don’t really know. My guess, and it’s at least somewhat educated, is Ole Miss is going to put a lot of blame on Farrar. I expect Freeze will claim in his defense that he wasn’t aware of Farrar’s actions and that he did all he could to instill an atmosphere of compliance on a daily basis. I don’t expect Farrar’s response to mirror Freeze’s. How different will they be? I don’t know, but that’s one of the things I’m most interested in.
I expect Ole Miss to dispute the lack of institutional control allegation. The school seems too eager to have its day in proverbial court. It would make no sense that it’s planning to just roll over. I expect Ole Miss to allege that Lewis isn’t credible. I expect Ole Miss will say some of the allegations made can’t be proven.
But as I’ve said all along, no one knows other than the actual parties involved, and in this case, nothing would surprise me very much.
4. So how does it end?
I don’t know. No one does. The NCAA’s investigative arm has made a huge investment in this case. It’s difficult to believe it’s going to willingly walk away with just Farrar as a casualty.
That said, Ole Miss appears to have unilaterally rallied behind Freeze and there’s an air of confidence in Oxford that the Rebels are going to avoid the most severe of sanctions. In other words, there’s a confidence that there won’t be a multi-year bowl ban and that Freeze won’t be hit with a show cause.
But again, no one knows, and throughout this case, the finish line has moved. When it started, no one could have imagined Ole Miss fans would view a one-year bowl ban, 15-20 scholarships and a suspension for Freeze as a victory. I think most fans would begrudgingly accept that now.
There’s plenty of scuttlebutt that Ole Miss will have to offer up a sacrificial lamb of sorts. I hate talking about people and their careers in those terms. I find it calloused and unfair.
However, I’m going to get one thing off my chest here in the final 10 Weekend Thoughts before we all see the actual amended NOA and the responses to it:
I don’t see how anyone blames Ross Bjork for this. He didn’t hire any of the people involved. He didn’t come up with the initial plan of response. He could only look on with frustrated helplessness when the situation got rocked by some outside force. This situation was not of Bjork’s making, and frankly, I’m not sure what he could have done differently.
Perhaps the communication to alumni and ticket holders could have been improved. I wasn’t crazy about the “hostage video” in February. However, Bjork has been a professional throughout this crisis.
I assure you my opinion means nothing, and while I certainly haven’t agreed with every decision Bjork has and hasn’t made during his tenure in Oxford, I think he’s steered the NCAA ship fairly well.
5. The bottom line is this: No matter what comes this week, this is progress for Ole Miss. No matter how much damage is to come and no matter how much embarrassment the program and school endure over the next few months, this week is a critical step toward the end.
I was talking to another journalist on Sunday. He doesn’t cover college sports and he doesn’t live in this part of the country. We’re friends, and we were catching up on life. I was telling him I’d had a trip planned to Chicago for this upcoming weekend since the Major League Baseball schedule was released last year. The tickets for the Cubs and Fire games were purchased months ago. What were the chances, I was lamenting, that Ole Miss’ response would come down around the exact same time?
His response was fascinating. Again, he has nothing resembling a dog in this hunt. He covers another sport in another part of the country and his football fandom is restricted to an NFL franchise.
“What’s going to happen?” he asked. “They’re going to get like a three-year bowl ban, aren’t they? They’re basically getting the death penalty.”
We talked about a realistic best case and a realistic worst case, but his words resonated. Around the country, that’s a prevailing sentiment: Ole Miss did really bad things and is going to be severely punished.
There’s not much the school can do at this point to fight the narrative. It simply has to get through this storm, navigate its way to clear skies and smooth waters and chart a new path. The only thing at this point that can fix Ole Miss’ reputation, barring the NCAA’s abandonment of most charges, is time.
6. The Southeastern Conference held its annual spring meetings last week in Destin, Florida. My primary takeaway: Damn, football coaches bitch a lot.
Somehow, the early signing period, something it feels like I’ve been asking coaches about for years, is shocking news. I’m flabbergasted at the outrage; literally, we’ve been talking about a December signing period (or earlier) since I can remember. I swear I think I remember asking Houston Nutt about it, and he’s hasn’t been at Ole Miss since 2011.
7. Later in the week, the league approved a rule change that amended its grad transfer rules, which previously restricted schools from accepting grad transfers if any previous transfers failed to meet academic requirements. Florida had been banned from taking on any new grad transfers for three seasons -- through 2018 -- for that exact reason, but the new rules reduced that academic penalty to a single season, which is still counter to other Power Five conferences. That rule change allowed former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire to transfer to Florida.
I’m all for the loosening of transfer rules. Coaches can leave without penalty. Players, especially players who have done their school work and graduated with an undergraduate degree, should be able to do the same.
8. Russell Johnson spent the weekend in Oxford covering the Rebels’ football camps for RebelGrove.com. He’ll be on the Oxford Exxon Podcast Monday to talk more recruiting. Here’s a quick overview from him written specifically for 10 Weekend Thoughts:
In total, four Ole Miss offers went out (so far) this weekend, so I would definitely have to say the camp this weekend was a success for Coach Freeze and the rest of the staff. From meeting the area coaches at the 7-on-7 tournament on Saturday, to being the first offer for two 2019 SEC-caliber cornerbacks (Jaydon Hill, Zach Edwards) it's been a good weekend for the staff.
While several recruits reported to be visiting for the camps on Friday didn't show up, when all was said and done, the staff was able to focus on who did show up, and that included Jarveon Howard, a running back who Ole Miss arguably leads for following his offer.
Howard showed at the camp an improved level of explosiveness, as well as some agility that wasn't always there on tape. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up a Rebel when signing day rolls around.
9. Congratulations to my friend Jonathan Howard on his nuptials today. That’s right; our buddy Jonathan is getting married. Here’s wishing a lifetime of happiness, love and health to both Mr. and Mrs. Howard.
Jonathan thought of us on his big day, leaving us with a drink of the week before he embarks on his honeymoon. So, here’s Jonathan:
I'm getting married today. My fiancé and I have been treading the deadly wedding waters all weekend with family and friends from across the country. As we gather today to celebrate, it makes me wonder how long we have served alcohol as a celebratory artifact.
Excavations of the Neolithic Settlement Skara Brea turned up 30-gallon pottery jars, the dregs of which turned out to contain an alcoholic brew made from barley and oats, flavored with meadowsweet and topped off with a hallucinogenic handful of deadly nightshade, henbane and hemlock. The ancient Egyptians made beer and wine. Financial records show that the thirsty builders of the Giza pyramids had a beer ration of over a gallon a day; and King Tut’s tomb held 26 wine jars with vintages, both red and white, from fifteen different vintners. So upon death, during celebrations of life, we have, since the dawn of man, drank alcohol in celebration.
The most iconic beverage for celebration is, hands down, champagne. And while I absolutely adore the dry bubbly beverage, this is a cocktail column, so how about we take a look at the simple and delicious champagne cocktail.
Not much is know about the beverage outside of it's inclusion in Jerry Thomas’ "Bob Vivant’s Companion" in 1862. But is it simply a champagne old-fashioned, using a slightly different method. So, in a champagne flute, add one white sugar cube. Then put two heavy dashes of angostura bitters on the cube to soak it. Let it sit for just a second then lightly press the cube repeatedly to create a small paste. Then top with champagne. It's as easy as that. And while I do not think you can improve on champagne, I do believe you can make the experience of it just a bit different!
Cheers!!
INGREDIENTS: Champagne Cocktail
1 white sugar cube
2 dashes angostura bitters
5 ounces champagne.
DIRECTIONS: In a champagne flute, add one white sugar cube. Then put two heavy dashes of angostura bitters on the cube to soak it. Let it sit for just a second then lightly press the cube repeatedly to create a small paste. Then top with champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.
SIDE NOTE: You can, if you wish, elect not to press on the sugar cube, which will slowly release the sweetness from the sugar and spice notes from the bitters.
NEXT LEVEL TIP: Add one ounce of cognac to the pressed paste. Trust me on this.
10. Ten Weekend Thoughts will return next week, though it might be early in the week before it does. Throughout the week, we’ll have coverage of Ole Miss’ response to the NCAA’s NOA as well as recruiting coverage. Until then, here are some links of interest to me _ and hopefully to you _ for your reading pleasure.
(Personal note: Today is my parents' 51st wedding anniversary. I'm blessed to have wonderful parents. It's also the 33rd anniversary of my first over-the-fence home run, an absolute blast to left-center field off right-hander William Colvin. A video replay, if there was one, would show that ball cleared the fence by a few feet. In my mind, however, that ball is still climbing into the atmosphere over Ruston, Louisiana.)
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