By Shane from Centerpoint

Southeastern Conference officials, including coaches, athletic directors, and presidents just completed their annual spring meetings. These meetings were held down in some elite hotel resort located near Destin, Florida. Yes, one of those places down on the “Emerald Coast” – a place that is home to the most beautiful white beaches in the world. Wow! I wonder how much it cost to finance that huge extravaganza? Probably a fortune! Oh well, that shouldn’t be a problem since the SEC just split ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-TWO MILLION dollars (2008 profit) among the twelve members!

In spite of commissioner Mike Slive’s claim that the SEC could suffer during the current recession, indisputable proof exists showing that this “super” conference is producing huge financial profits.

We’re in the middle of a “sad” recession, which is about as close to a depression as you can get. Everybody is suffering and cutting back somewhere, but Slive and the S.E.C. crew went first-class anyway.

I’m rather surprised, myself, even though I probably shouldn’t be. I thought that maybe the SEC might’ve met in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta has 5 or 6 venues that could’ve accommodated a meeting of that size, and with a much lower price tag. Why not Birmingham, Alabama? The SEC home office is there. Birmingham would’ve given the SEC everything free just for the publicity.

Honestly, my point about the expense of the annual meeting being excessive is true. However, when you consider the fact that any one of the head coaches could’ve financed the Destin gig out of his own hip pocket, you can clearly understand why the meeting took place in a southern “paradise”. These coaches, much like the blue-chippers they covet, will accept only the best, including a vacation resort for holding three days of meetings. Maybe there is an unwritten rule that all SEC conference meetings must take place at a luxury complex near golf courses and the Gulf of Mexico.

Haven’t you noticed that almost everyone who is associated with the college football side of the SEC makes a tremendous amount of money? On top of that, each school gets huge “dividends” at the end of every year. Head coaches, coordinators, assistants, and all who help run these programs are enjoying the monetary benefits of those fifty-dollar tickets that are sold to millions of dedicated fans every year.

By the way, that $132 million payout from this year’s money-haul is small-time compared to the piles of money SEC members will stack-up when the two new television contracts kick-in. The league’s television revenue is expected to double next year. According to calculations, the SEC should rake in almost $3 BILLION over the next 15 years.

Who knows? In a couple of years SEC officials may hold their annual spring fling on some remote Caribbean island purchased with league profits. In fact, the SEC is undoubtedly one of the most successful businesses in existence. Should the people who run it try to appear more cognizant of the fans who support them, and recognize their struggles by meeting in a more modest, cost-effective location?

Apparently, Florida president Bernie Machen wouldn’t. He wants to rewrite the SEC spending manual. In spite of the recent revelation that the school’s trustees approved a budget with $42 million in cuts — and the fact that the University faces the greatest funding crisis in almost four decades — Machen wants to make head football coach Urban Meyer the highest paid coach in the SEC. Makes you wonder how many schools across the country have budget cuts enacted and at the same time are giving their head coach a raise?

I don’t know about you, but I want to get in on some of that Destin action. Anyway, I do believe the SEC is about to earn enough money in the next ten years to buy a small country, and I do think the league has everything in place to guarantee its financial security for years to come. However, the SEC needs to find a way to turn some of those huge profits into some form of benefit for the average fan that buys their product. A generous gesture like that would not only be fair, but it might also serve to enhance the SEC’s image from a perception standpoint. One thing is certain – the SEC has got the money.

—Shane writes a weekly column for the Call News and the Capstone Report.

Categorized in : misc

59 thoughts on “Shane: SEC football-Lifestyles of the rich & famous”

  1. Shane….When the Western Star canned you, did they take your testicles ? What in the world happened to the biased Auburn bashing Shane ? Not the first shot at Auburn ? What is this world coming to ?

    Bring back the old Shane. He is much more interesting.

  3. Shane, Sandestin is NOT expensive… Check the Hilton Web-site… Especially for convention rates, etc… Under $200 per night… Sa$an can make 4 million a year, NO PROBLEM.. But they have meetings at a hotel in Florida and that is a problem… I was there for memorial day (just before the meetings) and met Mal Moore, J. Jacobs and Bruce Pearl… Shane, there is more to the world than just a two hour drive from Bham to Atl.. (BTW, Atlanta would have probable been MORE expensive than SanDestin…)

  5. He doesnt have to worry about Citronelle kicking him out for this type of article. Its much ado about nothing and slow enough for them to read to their kids

  7. Omni — Please learn to read… I did NOT say it was the cheapest hotel in San Destin,,, Stop making Bama fans look bad.. But to make fun of the location is a joke… Folks go to Destin all the time… Maybe a stretch for you to go to Florida, but a lot of folks go all the time…

  8. My point you DUMB bamma fan(im NOT A bammer fan) is that not ALL hotels down there are under 200 a night. And no its not a STRETCH for me to go I can drive down there in 2 hours its just a special place I go every other year….HA its not me that makes bamma fans look bad…….. its those mullets!

  10. Omni,
    See last weeks post, please. I left you one more tidbit of info there. I do however agree with you above. To say you would rather, (not you) be in Atlanta, than Destin, now that’s going a little bit far. Destin has got to be one of the top ten most beautiful places in the U.S.A.

  11. Shane, Shane Shane…you’re paying a coach 4 million a year and you’re complaining about a $200 a night resort hotel. The height of hipocracy…

  12. Hey Carl, I went back and read your latest post. It sounds to me like you have quite a bit tied up in the number of NCs bammer has. Is it a self esteem issue? Seriously, no Auburn fan I’ve ever talked to has denied bammer has more NCs than Auburn. The number may be argued, but I, for one, have never denied the fact that bammer has more. I hope that makes you feel a little better. Hopefully you will read this before you go to bed tonight, and have pleasant dreams of eating hot dogs with the bear, and maybe, if you dare, even dream you were the star on one of those bammer NC teams, catching the winning pass and having the whole team carry you off the field on their shoulders. Good night, Carl.
    Anyway, back to the here and now, does anybody know when Shane will be conducting his Gadsden investigation? He’s been chasing dead ends on Auburn for the last 10 years. As Paul reluctantly corroborated today, their is a plethora of NCAA shananigans going on there…..oh yea, wrong team. Never mind.

  13. bamasux,
    Shane doesn’t know his way to Gadsden…unless Brother Chette has move up there of course.

  14. YO! I know most of you BARNERS listen to Finebaum on a REGULAR BASIS, but it is a 4-hour show. Anyway, did anybody catch what was said by a caller who identified himself as one of the principals at Gadsden City HS? This guy said that the reason that ‘Bama signed those recruits in ’07 & ’08 was simply because Nick Saban OUTWORKED Tommy Tuberville! Saban met with the teachers, the principals, the parents and went over the transcripts personally. Saban did the “legwork,” if I remember correctly what this principal said. He went on to say that he had seen Nick Saban at Gadsden City HS several times over those 2 years and had MAYBE seen Tuberville ONLY ONCE. Saban has been described at his various stops in the coaching profession as a RECRUITING ANIMAL! Just admit it…SABAN OUTWORKED TUBERVILLE! As someone that lives approximately 25 mins. from Gadsden, LET ME ASSURE THE BARNERS that Gadsden & Etowah County have PLENTY of Auburn supporters that would GLADLY help the current AU staff in their recruitment of SEC-Caliber athletes from the Gadsden Metro Area which includes outlying cities such as Attalla, Hokes Bluff (that place where “BALLPLAY INDIAN” hangs out), Southside and Glencoe. Maybe you BARNERS remember Gene Jelks. ALLEDGEDLY, he’s the guy that said that an AU supporter PAID HIM to say that Alabama illegally recruited him way back yonder in the ’80’s. Later!

  15. The BAMMER from St. Clair,
    Dont worry, we are doing ok for now in recruiting. I think Tommie slacked off after 2004, everyone knows it. As of now though, I think we are making up for lost time and effort. Nicky has a lot of catching up to do this year. I think he needs to read more transcripts, maybe that will land him some more recruits this year, sorry I meant “blue chippers” if they go to Alabama.

    Go ahead and say it, we cheat, that is fine, but we didnt create the “Saban rule” and we arent looking down the barrel of the NCAA gun. Cheers!

    BLOW TIDE!

  16. Good Morning SUXBOY,
    Self esteem? Hardly. I was simply pointing out to omni, after he so matter of factly had pointed out to me, that Bama was claiming N.C.’s that they had no right to. That is and always has been a problem with delusional auburn folks. Anytime the N.C. count is mentioned they immediately go on the defensive about the numbers. If it’s a fact that everyone in the College Football world accepts, why do SUX boys like yourself have trouble with that. I believe it is called jealousy. Just like the red headed step child most of your fans are, you can’t accept fact. And as you so knidly point out NO auburn fan can refuse the fact Bama has a better track record on the field than them. As far as the future, that gap is only going to get wider. Y’all really need to try and have some fun this summer, because some the start of the season most of you will disappear not to be heard from until this time next. It is really going to be a tough year for you SUX boy nad the sux vols. But hang in there the season is only 12 games long. TICK, TICK, TICK, TICK………….

  17. St. Clair…..Good post. I see you know your Gadsden. I agree wholeheartedly that Saban outworked Tubbs. There is no doubt about it. That principle was spot on. The teleconferencing deal was the deal maker. I am friends with one of the principles there and they run a tight ship at Gadsden City. If your that close to Gadsden, then you know that we have our share of rouge boosters. History has proven it. I never have said that any of this was true, just suspicious. If it turned out to be true, I bet that it could never be traced to the Bama staff.

    Getting back to the talent pool here. The new mega school ( for Gadsden anyhow), used to be 3 schools, Emma Sansom, Litchfield, and Gadsden High. he talent your seeing out of the new school has been there all along.
    As far as out county schools go in Etowah Co., you dont see very much football, or basketball talent in the D1 level. Just too many white folks around here. Now baseball on the other hand…………..The Bluff won 6 state championships in a row, up until this year, and we were eliminated by the new champ.

  18. And as far as where I live , I live in the legendary swamps of Ballplay, I have seen the Ballplay swamp monster six times. Im sure youve all heard of him right? He would kick bigfoots ass.

    All kidding aside, I think that Bear Grylls is doing a show in the swamp this year. Saw it on his blog…….

  20. CArl,

    FUK will you get off your soapbox?!?!

    below

    OMNIPRESENT Says:
    June 1st, 2009 at 10:54 am
    WOW A Psuedio Knockout. Kinda like all of those PSUEDIO Titles.
    You know the Recruiting ones the 3 place national championship ones, the ones you claim when you dont get to go and loose to Utah. You know those!

    I dont write real well I never had to I can verbally communicate though! What i meant in this statement was the abviuos about you guys and those damn cruitin national cahmpionships ( an obvious JOKE)
    and back in the late 60s I beleive it was you guys won a NC while losing your bowl game and placing 3rd in the rankins.
    I could care less about mythical or non mythical what I will say is I DONT MEASURE AU by uat can you bubble your small grey matter around that? I LOVED THE BEAR! I hate uat redneck fukboys. Anf I wont comment on things like Gadsden Until they come to fruition! SO quit being like a my wife and picking one thing out of my comments and spinning it the way it helps you with me.

    If you would like to we can continue this conversation but since it came from a another blog LETS DROP IT PLEASE!!!!

    WAR POLYTECH CARL!!!

  21. And dont forget Utah and the excuses about how you guys didnt get to play for a NC so you just didnt try! Ask some of your bammers on here about that comment

  23. Stalking you? I’m not stalking you. You say drop something and then bring it up 3 more times. That’s the whole nut shell, as long as you and your cow humping cronies can come on here and spew off nonfactual information and no one is able to correct it, you just keep on crowing. Ain’t gonna work with me you illiterate pig fux.. I only asked you to go back to the other post so as not to tie this one up with facts that you weren’t able to get through pea size brain. Ain’t my fault you can’t write, by your on admission, so why don’t you resort to another form of communication. You and SUX BOY! TICK,TICK,TICK…..

  24. WHAT FACTS BOYPUSSY? What mysterious facts are you talking about. ya see in your delusion to call conspiracy you have me confused with someone else.And i was kinda joking about the stalking thing
    take another xanax and STFU

  25. What Facts? There again you have just proved my point. I stated a number of facts in both posts and you don’t have a clue. I don’t know if illiterate is the appropriate term for someone as dumb as you. AND calling someone BOY, now that’s really amazing. Sorta reminds me of the coach at the cow school and the sux vol nation. Two true boys among men. Why don’t you do a little research and see who is correct. I already have. TICK,TICK,TICK,TICK…………YOU STFU and will as well nipre!

  27. DO you actually understand what your saying, It wasnt you facts you were saying you said I SPEW FACTS! SHIT your the dumbass

    Carl Says:
    June 3rd, 2009 at 12:21 pm
    Stalking you? I’m not stalking you. You say drop something and then bring it up 3 more times. That’s the whole nut shell, as long as you and your cow humping cronies can come on here and spew off nonfactual information and no one is able to correct it,

    PAY ATTENTION TO THE NONFACTUAL PART…

    <<>>

  29. Carl—you keep bringing me up with the TN vols. You apparently have trouble with reading comprehension. I’m a mighty Auburn Tiger fan, have been most of my life. Proud ’97 grad. Just wanted to help you understand who you are talking to.

  30. Bamahate, Nicky has a lot of catching up to do this year, are you freekin kidding me??? Aub is making up for lost time??? You idiots have three two star verbals from Sister Sadie’s school for Girls while Bama is heading toward another number one class bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

  31. SUXBOY,
    No I have no problem what so ever understanding what team you ROOT for. What I am having trouble with figuring out is who will suck the most this season the sux vols or the sux barns, which I have said several times. As for as comprehension, do you comprehend that? SUXBOY. If so comprehend this, TICK,TICK,TICK……the clock is running toward perhaps the worst season your SUX team will have experienced since the Barfield era. Oh I almost forgot we are not suppose to remember the past. So here’s to a SUX future SUX BOY, you and the sux vols. TICK……….TICK……….TICK……….TICK……….TICK……….TICK……….TICK……………..TOCK. Your team will be a total FLOP.

  32. imbo Says:
    June 2nd, 2009 at 11:10 am

    Shane, write another column for this week. This one sucks!!!

  33. YO, BALLPLAY! Yeah, I know Etowah County very well. Wonderful place. As far as D-1 talent, have you forgotten who played for Etowah HS? Both Patrick Nix and Carnell Williams played there. I do agree that most of the D-1 prospects over the years did come from either Emma Sansom, Gadsden High or Litchfield. OH YEAH, I’ve heard of that legendary GARGANTUA that roams the swamps of Ballplay, but I must confess that I’ve NEVER SEEN IT. Cool to talk with ya, dude! Later.

  34. And so did his call to Finebaum today. He almost slapped him down worse than when Shane got ‘ethnical’ on him a couple of years ago. I seem to remember a time, before Shane was an esteemed member of the journalistic set, when the iceman berated finebaum for being a cheap ‘ethnic slur’ because he didn’t pay his so called or self proclaimed ‘Professional Callers.’ That was, you would have to admit, Funny as Hell!!!!
    Almost as funny as the slap down he got today.

    And here we sit trying to find something refreshing to argue about, and all we get is the price of a damn hotel room in the Florida panhandle.

  36. Another great season about to arrive.Looks like another potent team CNS has put together.This team really looks like it could possibly run the table with schedule we have.But Big JW says one loss will be on the record again unfortunately.So my fellow brothers and sisters of the great BAMA INSTITUTION please have a great and blessed summer with your family and always remember to hug and kiss them little ones.For they are the key to our future.One last thing,,let’s keep giving them dam Auburn Tigers HELL..ROLLL TIDEEE

  37. This is a call to arms! Georgia Arms is the 5th largest retailer of.223 Ammo in America. They sell9mm, .45, .223 ammunition. They normally buy spent brass from the US Department of Defense. Spent brass is”one time used” shell cases used by our Military for training purposes. They buy the brass, recondition it, and then reload the brass for resale toLaw Enforcement, Gun Clubs, Gun Shops, and stores like Wal-Mart. They normally buy 30,000 lbs of spent brass at atime. This week the DoD wrote a letter to the owner of Georgia Arms and informedhim that from now on the DoD will be destroying the spent brass, shredding it. It will no longer be available tothe ammo makers, unless they buy it in a scrap shredded condition (which they have no use for).The shredded brass is now going to be sold by the DoD to China as scrapmetal, after the DoD pays for it to be shredded.The DoD is selling the brass to China for less money than the ammo makershave been paying, plus the DoD has to pay to have the brass shredded and do the accounting paperwork. This sure helps the economy now doesn’t it?Sell cheaper to China , and do not sell at all to a proven US business.Any hidden agenda working here? Obama is going after the Firearms Industry and our ammunition!! The Georgia Arms owner even related a story that one of his competitors hadalready purchased a load of brass last week. The DoD contacted him this week and said they were sending someoneover to make sure it was destroyed. Shell cases he had already bought! The brass has no value to the ammo maker if it is destroyed/shredded/melted.The ammo manufacturer only uses the empty brass cases to reload different calibers, mainly .223 bullets. The owner of Georgia Arms says that he will have to lay off at least half ofhis 60 workers, within 2-3 months if the DoD will no longer sell spent brass cases to the industry. Georgia Armshas 2-3 months of inventory to use, by summer they’re out. If the Reloading Industry has to purchase new manufacture brass cases, thenthe cost of ammunition will double or even triple, plus Obama wants to add a 500% tax on each shell. If you’re not outraged at what this administration is doing you should be!Be Afraid! Be Very Very Afraid! Get involved! It’s Your Freedom and Our Country They’re Stealing! If You Fail toAct Now, there may not be a Free United States tomorrow! Get involved and forward this to as many people you can. Contact yourlegislators & put them on notice, we’re fed up with what’s going on! This is a call to action. Act now while you stillcan, or stay silent, roll over, and watch our country die!

  38. Thanks for the info BamaS. I will forward this to all I can, and I believe as you, if we don’t wake up we are going to lose every freedom we have ever had. I love to come on here now and again and fuss with each other, but if we can’t stand together on something like this, it would be sad. When are we as Americans going to stand up and say enough is ENOUGH!

  41. One more, and I’ll drop it.

    ‘Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.’
    ~Thomas Jefferson

    1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
    2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.
    3. Colt: The original point and click interface.
    4. Gun control is not about guns; it’s about control.
    5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
    6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.
    7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
    8. If you don’t know your rights, you don’t have any.
    9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
    10. The United States Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights Reserved.
    11. What part of ‘shall not be infringed’ do you not understand?
    12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.
    13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.
    14. Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians.
    15. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.
    16. You don’t shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.
    17. 911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.
    18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
    19. Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer.
    20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.
    21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.
    22. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.
    23. Enforce the gun control laws we ALREADY have; don’t make more.
    24. When you remove the people’s right to bear arms, you create slaves.
    25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

  43. My carry gun………Glock 27 in a Fobus holster, on my right ankle.

    Very concealable, especially in the summer….9+1 capacity of 40 cal in the palm of your hand……Sweet rig.

  44. St. Clair…The legendary Fredde Kitchens came from Etowah as well….They are on a downturn right now. Just for a while though…Hired a new coach this year…..They are in the Attalla City school system…

    Best running back I ever saw played for Litchfield in the late 80s…..Everybody in the country wanted him, but I dont even think he could read when he graduated…..Shame……And I played against Martin Houston……that dude was a straight up killer…..

  45. MIXTURE OF TRUE AND OUTDATED INFORMATION

    Example: [Collected via e-mail, March 2009]

    Georgia Arms is the 5th largest retailer of .223 Ammo in America. (they sell 9 mm, .45, etc ammo)

    They normally buy spent brass from the US Dept of Defense – ‘one time used’ shell casings by our Military – from training on Military bases, etc. They buy the brass and then re-load for resale to Law Enforcement, Gun Shops, Gun Clubs, Wal-Mart, and etc.

    They normally buy 30,000 lbs of spent brass at a time.

    This week the DoD wrote a letter to the owner of Georgia Arms and said that from now on the DoD will be destroying the brass – shredding it. It is no longer available to the Ammo makers – unless they just buy it in a scrap shredded condition (which they have No use for). The shredded brass is NOW going to be sold by the DoD to China as scrap metal…. after the DoD pays for it to be shredded. The DoD is selling the brass to China for less money than Ammo manufacturers have been paying… plus the DoD has to pay to have the brass shredded and do all the accounting paperwork. That sure helps the US economy now, doesn’t it? Sell cheaper to China – and do not sell shells at all to a proven US business. Any agenda working here???? Obama going after our ammunition!!!!!

    The Georgia Arms owner even related a story that one of his competitors had already purchased a load of brass last week – and the DoD contacted him this week and said they were sending someone over to make sure it was destroyed. Shell Casings he had already bought! THE BRASS HAS NO VALUE TO THE AMMO MAKER IF IT IS DESTROYED/SHREDDED/MELTED. THE AMMO MANUFACTURER ONLY USES THE EMPTY BRASS SHELLS TO RELOAD DIFFERENT CALIBERS – MAINLY .223 BULLETS.

    Georgia Arms owner says that he will have to lay off at least Half of his 60 workers, within 2 – 3 months if the DoD no longer sells their spent brass to him. He has 2 – 3 months inventory of shells to use. By summer – he’s out. If he has to buy new manufactured brass shells, then the cost of ammunitioin to the buyer will double and triple.

    Origins: The Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS), which is part of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), which in turn is part of the Department of Defense (DoD), is the service “responsible for the disposition of excess and surplus DoD property” and is tasked with “protecting national security by ensuring property is properly identified for reutilization and disposition and not released for public sale when to do so would jeopardize national security.”

    In March 2009, while reviewing a policy change issued by the DoD the previous year, the DLA halted or reclassified the sale of a broad category of items, a
    category which included spent cartridge cases. This event caused consternation among manufacturers and purchasers of ammunition because it cut off some ammunition manufacturers from their largest supply of brass casings, as U.S. senators Max Baucas and Jon Tester noted in a letter on the subject to the DLA: “This reclassification has an impact on small businesses who sell reloaded ammunition utilizing these fired casings, and upon individual gun owners who purchase spent military brass at considerable cost savings for their personal use.”

    The issue was quickly resolved, however: a week later the DLA issued a press release announcing that upon completion of their review, they had determined that cartridge cases “could be appropriately placed in a category of government property allowing for their release for sale”:
    Small arms cartridge cases are identified as a sensitive Munitions List item and were held pending review of the policy relating to the category of items in which cartridge cases were included. Upon review, the Defense Logistics Agency has determined the cartridge cases could be appropriately placed in a category of government property allowing for their release for sale.

    The DRMS sales contractor has been notified of this decision and has begun the process of reoffering the cases that have been held pending completion of the policy review.
    The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) also issued a statement on 18 March 2009 which noted (in part):
    [T]he Department of Defense informed NRA-ILA that fired military small arms cartridge cases are once again eligible for sale, following a temporary suspension in such sales instituted last week. NRA-ILA began discussions with DoD shortly after the suspension took effect, and we were assured from the beginning that efforts were underway to resolve the issue favorably.

    In announcing that the suspension has been lifted, DoD also made clear that no cartridge cases that, in the absence of the suspension, would have been sold for reloading purposes were destroyed while the suspension was in effect. Such cases were instead protected by DoD during the suspension, and are again eligible for sale. With ammunition currently in short supply, that was welcome news, to be sure.

    DLA also put to rest various theories and rumors that were circulated on the internet concerning the reason for the suspension. As DLA explained to Senators Baucus and Tester, and to NRA-ILA, DoD officials responsible for the demilitarization of military property temporarily halted the release of the cartridge cases last week pending review of a policy change issued last year by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which, in the interest of national security, halted the sale of items within a broad category of government property including, but not limited to, surplus small arms cartridge cases.

    To make cartridge cases eligible for sale once again, DoD demilitarization officials verified that the cases could be appropriately placed in a category of government property allowing for their release for use within the United States, and then executed the recategorization. Whereas during the brief suspension, fired cartridge cases would have been releaseable only if the purchaser crushed or smelted them, now the cases may be sold as before, intact and reloadable.
    Last updated: 19 April 2009

    The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/casings.asp

  47. Hey Ben,

    Thanks for clearing that up for all us. After I read BamaS post this morning I to called a friend of mine that owns a gun store. Long story short he told me exactly what you posted with an add on. He said a Senator from Texas lead the assault to stop this, and said the 500% tax BamBam was proposing got killed because the dems couldn’t agree on how to spend the money. I for one am glad we have the folks like the NRA that looks out for us on crap like this, and we all know you don’t mess with Texas.

  49. Shane, After listening to you on the radio these past few days, I have found a new topic for you to write about. You should do an exclusive on that boy from South Carolina, his name sounds like Suck up. I say this because all you do, after getting hammered by your mentor, is essentially suck up to him. Here you are acting like some chump who just got caught ‘slappin the bacon’, saying “Paul you have taught me so much could I just, blahhhhh….blah…blahh. Damn Boy!!Get some nads, learn how to write, and find something original to write about. After listening to your suck up session today, I would lay even money that you are going to script an article about ‘How Lowder was the ultimate genius behind Auburn’s success.” This would be an exercise in hypocrisy, since you have been railing against this guy for the last 5 years. If that was the subject of your next column, please write about something else!!!!!And stop glomming all of your so called ideas from Finebaum!! It makes you look retarded.

  50. Shane,
    You need to check the facts on your beloved UA before making accusations against Florida wanting to give their head coach a raise. The Univ. of AL system is also in a massive budget shortfall, laying off faculty and having budget cuts at UAT, UAH, & UAB and yet the UA board of trustee’s just gave large raises to assistant football coaches.`I guess that fits into the old saying of “the pot calling the kettle black”

  52. And he is also the spokesman for Bama football……….

    Be proud………….

  53. Damn Shane!!! Looks like ol’ Chette Williams is back in the news. Franklin just dropped the bomb on the Auburn show.

    Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  54. yeah, massive shortfall. . . .we will see you next year in our new massive shortfall 101,000 seat stadium. . . please don’t try and keep up poor little Aubs, it will only make you crazier

  55. I know how Auburn can make up some ground on that shortfall. They could double sell tickets to their home football games. When the original seat holders decide to leave early in the game after the Tigers, War Eagles or whatever the heck they call themselves, are getting the crap beat out of them, the stadium officials could count the original suckers and issue new tickets to whomever is waiting outside the stadium. These folks could be Aubs with no ticket, opposing fans or just some dumb-asses whose tractors ran out of gas. Judging by all of the empty seats after a couple of quarters, Auburn might be able to rake in a few bucks from the stragglers. If they put a hog feeder or two in the lower levels, they might even get some of the Auburn women to stay longer or attract some from the surrounding fields.

  56. JUST A REMINDER OF WHAT WE ARE DEALING WITH:
    FOR RELEASE: 10:15 a.m. (Central Time), August 18, 1993
    CONTACT: David Swank, Chair, NCAA Committee on Infractions
    University of Oklahoma
    AUBURN UNIVERSITY INFRACTIONS REPORT
    OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS–This report is organized as follows:
    I. Introduction.
    II. Violations of NCAA legislation, as determined by the Committee on Infractions.
    III. Committee on Infractions penalties.
    I. Introduction.
    This case is a very unfortunate one. The violations of NCAA rules that were committed at
    Auburn University are indicative of what can occur when, in the minds of members of a
    university’s athletics department staff and representatives of its athletics interests, the athletics
    program becomes more important than the university of which it is a part. As a result of this
    case, Auburn University has become one of only three universities that have been placed on
    probation six or more times by the NCAA. Since 1956 and prior to this case, Auburn
    University’s athletics program has been placed on probation for a total of 10 years.
    The current president and the central administration of the university are committed to operating
    a sound athletics program. They have taken steps to ensure that the university acts in compliance
    with NCAA rules. Extensive compliance programs that were in place should have resulted in an
    athletics program that was free of rules violations. Unfortunately, within the athletics
    department, there was not the same commitment to compliance with NCAA legislation on the
    part of its staff members. Likewise, there was an attitude on the part of some representatives of
    the university’s athletics interests that NCAA rules could be ignored and violated with impunity.
    This may have occurred because of a lack of day-to-day control of the athletics department by a
    full-time director. The director of athletics at the time of the violations in this case was also the
    head football coach. In an athletics program of a Division I institution, it is difficult, if not
    impossible, for an individual to serve as the director of athletics [Page 2] and as the head coach
    of a sport, and be successful in both capacities. The demands of both positions are so substantial
    that duties of one position will predominate. Because of the pressures of producing a winning
    team, the coaching responsibilities almost always will receive the greatest attention.

  57. Oh and then there is this:

    AUBURN, Ala. (AP) – Former Auburn coach Terry Bowden said on tape two years ago that boosters were funneling thousands of dollars to football players when he became coach in 1993, a time when the Tigers already were on NCAA probation.

    “They were paying players cash, $12,000, $15,000 to sign,” Bowden said on a recording reviewed by The Associated Press. “All I was told to do was shake hands and say, ‘Thank you. I appreciate how much you love Auburn.”‘

    Bowden did not make clear whether he reported the payment scheme to the NCAA, but said on the tape: “When I came here, I put an end to it.”

    Bowden’s comments were reported Sunday by the Opelika-Auburn News. A columnist taped the comments in a meeting about two years ago, and a copy of the tape was made available to AP.

    Bowden did not return a phone call by the AP to his home in Orlando, Fla. He is a sports commentator for ABC Sports, where spokesman Adam Freifield said Bowden contended the remarks were off the record and had no further comment.

    A statement issued by Auburn questioned why remarks made by Bowden in 2001 are only now being reported. The columnist who taped the comments, Paul Davis, said Tuesday there had been concern that Bowden’s remarks were “off the record” and not for publication. Davis said Bowden has sent him an e-mail encouraging their publication.

    The school’s statement also said Bowden repeatedly had certified to the NCAA from 1993 through 1998 that “he was unaware of any unreported violations of NCAA rules by anyone involved with the Auburn football program.”

    William Muse, who was president of Auburn during Bowden’s term as coach, also said in newly released transcripts that he had heard rumors of a pay-for-play scheme but that it was never verified during the NCAA investigation. His comments were transcribed by Auburn history professor Wayne Flynt for a book and were made public recently by university archives.

    Mitch Sneed, who became managing editor of the newspaper in February, said Tuesday he decided to publish Bowden’s taped remarks after the recent release of the Flynt transcripts, which included Muse saying Bowden told him much the same things that were on the tape.

    Muse said he heard there was “a network of alums who each had agreed to provide X number of dollars per year for a particular player and that there was a book that listed all of these individuals and the amounts that they paid.”

    “There was even a rumor that, at one time, (an assistant coach) was the keeper of the book,” Muse said. “In fact, after he left Auburn, Terry even told me that. But that has never been verified. In the NCAA investigation, there didn’t turn out to be any evidence of that.”

    Auburn came under NCAA scrutiny when Pat Dye was head coach. Tapes secretly recorded by football player Eric Ramsey disclosed financial and other help being given to Ramsey in violation of NCAA rules.

    Dye stepped down after the 1992 season and the NCAA hit Auburn with penalties that included scholarship reductions, two years of probation and a one-year ban on television appearances.

    Dye, a fund-raiser for Auburn, did not immediately return a telephone message left at his office Tuesday. NCAA spokeswoman Kay Hawes also didn’t immediately return a phone call for comment.

    Bowden resigned as coach during the 1998 season as his relations with a powerful trustee, Robert Lowder, became strained.

    On the tape, Bowden said 25 to 30 boosters would meet in Birmingham and 15 to 20 would meet in Rome, Ga., and that they would give $5,000 each. He said that when he arrived at Auburn, an assistant coach collected the money.

    On the tape, Bowden said he took a stand against the practice. “I’m going to finish that deal. That’s over with,” he said he told one of those involved.

    Muse, amid his own difficulties with some trustees, left Auburn two years ago to become chancellor of East Carolina. He resigned that post Friday, taking a tenured faculty position, in the wake of two critical internal audits.

    Are we supposed to think that anything has changed>

    Especially since the regime mentioned is now back in power at Auturd!!!!!!

  59. What does that mean bamaman ? explain……

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