At the end of the day this is all the fault of the CL

[starkvegasdawg]

If the bears really want to be pissed then that is where their anger should be directed. Steve went with them with preliminary info and said I think there's a story here so look into it and they refused. That pissed him off so he said if you won't then I will. Had the CL just agreed to look into it and then just sat on it and then published some fake story then I bet this never gets anywhere as big as it is now. They might could have contained it to the 9 over 3. But no, they showed their ass and Steve put his boots on, got a shovel, and really started digging. Now we have the bears facing sanctions that'll leave them bleeding rectally for years to come.

[Todd4State]

Ultimately, the Clarion-Ledger and their actions are all a symptom of the real problem and what really "did this" to Ole Miss- and that's their Network.

I guess the question that should be asked is if the Clarion-Ledger is a part of the Network? It was owned by Ole Miss people for years at one time at least going back to the 1920's. At the very least I'm sure their editors have been threatened with their jobs if they don't comply with the spin.

[Bully13]

If the bears really want to be pissed then that is where their anger should be directed. Steve went with them with preliminary info and said I think there's a story here so look into it and they refused. That pissed him off so he said if you won't then I will. Had the CL just agreed to look into it and then just sat on it and then published some fake story then I bet this never gets anywhere as big as it is now. They might could have contained it to the 9 over 3. But no, they showed their ass and Steve put his boots on, got a shovel, and really started digging. Now we have the bears facing sanctions that'll leave them bleeding rectally for years to come.

I'm thinking that Steve or no Steve, the same hammer was going to fall. after all, Steve has just been reporting what he knew of the goings on in Indy, right? and the national media started picking up on some inside Indy info as well and started spilling it. how has Steve possibly made the final penalties worse that what is to come? all it seems he's done is affect their crootin' up to this point, right? got the ole miss fan base pissed off by their admin not being forthcoming and shit, right?

[Liverpooldawg]

The CL and Steve had nothing to do with how serious this is. That is ALL on the cheaters up north. Even if it had never seen the light of day when the allegations and penalties came out it would have been just as big a story as it is now.

[msstatelp1]

The CL and Steve had nothing to do with how serious this is. That is ALL on the cheaters up north. Even if it had never seen the light of day when the allegations and penalties came out it would have been just as big a story as it is now.

While the CL and Steve situation may not have changed the ultimate outcome, I think it did force it to the public's attention long before OM wanted it out

[Johnson85]

All the CL affected is the timing. Maybe if they had done their job early on, UM would have been a little more cautious, but I doubt it. I think they basically took the Cam Newton situation as a green light to do whatever, not realizing that Slive had outsized influence and also that they just weren't going to get the protection that Auburn got regardless of who was there. I don't think Auburn would have been protected except that the SEC kept it under wraps until Auburn was a clear national championship contender.

The one thing the CL maybe hurt them on is if they had been a more credible newspaper, maybe UM hesitates to lie to recruits and in the media the way they did, so maybe the NCAA would be a little less pissed off? But they were willing to torch relationships with national media, so I'm not sure it would have made a difference. Maybe they would ahve been more concerned about getting slammed repeatedly in Mississippi media, whereas not many people in Mississippi outside of football fans are reading the national stuff???

[Reason2succeed]

Did they ever figure out who leaked the Tunsil gas mask pic and text message to Barney? If you want to blame someone other than Freeze, the Network and the OM administration they are the only one you can point to.

[Todd4State]

I'm thinking that Steve or no Steve, the same hammer was going to fall. after all, Steve has just been reporting what he knew of the goings on in Indy, right? and the national media started picking up on some inside Indy info as well and started spilling it. how has Steve possibly made the final penalties worse that what is to come? all it seems he's done is affect their crootin' up to this point, right? got the ole miss fan base pissed off by their admin not being forthcoming and shit, right?

Because if Ole Miss can cover up how bad their situation really is, they can recruit better. If they have better players on the front end and they don't get the death penalty it's a lot easier to overcome probation and it makes probation a lot more bearable because they will probably win more games.

So even if it does affect their recruiting a little bit- that's a big deal. Not to mention that Ole Miss fans are obsessed with recruiting rankings and stars- and knocking them down into the 50's is probably pretty devastating as it is. They have a totally warped view of recruiting and what it's supposed to be about.