This whole Cam Newton musical saga continues

Cam Newton reacts after the Iron Bowl (Photo by Gary Cosby/Decatur Daily)

Maybe I was just naive assuming this whole story about taunting music playing during Cam Newton’s arrival in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Friday was no big deal.

You can see by this posting (which possibly makes me the first to report this bombshell) that I chalked it up to standard fare for a major rivalry.

Oh was I wrong. The fact that an Alabama athletics worker played the songs “Take the Money and Run” and “Son of a Preacher Man” has turned into the story of the week. See this from Monday and this from Tuesday.

All that’s left is some unoriginal SportsCenter anchor attaching a “-gate” suffix to some key work in the scandal before this stands next to another that brought down a presidency.

Yesterday, I posted this video that I shot from the press box of the whole ordeal. It’s been viewed more than 4,000 times in 24 hours and it was linked on sites like Friendsoftheprogram.com and an edited version on SPORTSbyBROOKS.com. I was even contacted by Yahoo! who wanted to use it with one of its stories.

Wahoo!

But seriously, is this really a major issue in the current college football world riddled by actual scandals?

You tell me. Is this really such a big deal? Leave a comment and weigh in.

Texas A&M heading to Cotton Bowl

It looks like the Aggies are headed to the Cotton Bowl according to several news reports including this one from The Dallas Morning News.

That could be news for the Crimson Tide who is listed as the probable SEC representative by the majority of major bowl projections. The Capital One and Outback Bowls also remain possibilities.

A lot depends on what happens in Saturday’s SEC Championship Game. A South Carolina win over Auburn could possibly bump the Tide to Tampa for the Outback Bowl. Otherwise, it would be Alabama and LSU going to either the Cotton or Capital One bowls.

Have SEC Championship week blues?

It’s the first time in three years that Alabama fans don’t have much reason to smile on SEC Championship week. The Crimson Tide and the Florida Gators are nowhere close to the Georgia Dome this December.

So, if you’d like to relive a few SEC title games from the past, just click on the videos below of full games provided by the SEC website.

1992 SEC Championship Game vs. Florida

1994 SEC Championship Game vs. Florida

UPDATED: Video of musical greeting given Cam Newton at Iron Bowl

There seems to be some question of the music played when Cam Newton and Auburn arrived at Bryant-Denny Stadium for Friday’s Iron Bowl. Here is the video I shot of the songs “Take the Money and Run” and “Son of a Preacher Man” playing as the Tigers took the field then prayed.

6:44 p.m. update: The Tuscaloosa News is reporting the part-time staffer who played the songs was fired. Click here for the full story.

Updated bowl projections are in

Here are the results of the latest survey of national media who predict bowl matchups. Of course, this is all preliminary and dependent on results from this weekend’s conference championship games.

ESPN SEC blog: Cotton Bowl vs. Big 12 team
CBS.com: Capital One Bowl vs. Michigan State
Sports Illustrated: Cotton Bowl vs. Texas A&M
NBC: Cotton Bowl vs. Nebraska
Sporting News: Cotton Bowl vs. Texas A&M
CollegeFootballNews.com: Cotton Bowl vs. Nebraska

What’s next for the Tide?

This is a strangely quiet Monday morning for The Daily Bama Blog. This is usually one of the busiest days of the week but there is no Nick Saban news conference, no player interviews, no practice.

So, what now?

It’s the season to speculate on bowl bids and there are three top candidates for Alabama’s services: The Capital One, Outback and Cotton bowls.

You tell us where the Tide should go:

Also, while I have your attention, I’d encourage you to check out The Decatur Daily’s high school blog River City Rumblings since our homepage doesn’t really promo it.

Greg McElroy just tweeted …

The very latest from Greg McElroy’s Twitter page:

Thanks everyone for their warm thoughts & prayers. I feel great today & am well on my way back to a very quick recovery from my concussion

Alabama slips even further in polls

The Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls are on the street and there can’t be any surprised faces looking at how far the Crimson Tide dropped after Friday’s little meltdown in the Iron Bowl.

Alabama is No. 17 in the AP and No. 19 according to the coaches.

See the complete polls by clicking here.

Hey, that isn’t the Nick Saban statue

Before the Iron Bowl

No, that is just a light-hearted fan standing where Nick Saban’s mysteriously absent statue was supposed to go back on A-Day. Now it’s almost December and still nothing.

I’m on it tomorrow. I’ll see what I can find out about this statue debacle and get the info to you ASAP.

Until then, have a nice Sunday.

Iron Bowl the most viewed game of year

It comes as little surprise to read that yesterday’s classic Iron Bowl was viewed by more than the average audience.

But according numbers released today, the audience was the largest of any to watch a college football game this fall.  It drew an overnight rating of 7.5 which is up from last season’s 4.8, according to the USA Today website.

The  audience peeked at 6 p.m. when it pulled in a 10.6.

(I’d link to the story, but WordPress won’t allow me to insert a link. Here is the url: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2010/11/auburn-alabama-iron-bowl-tv-ratings/1)

Live blogging Bama hoops vs. Alabama A&M

Valentine

Pregame: This sports writer is excited. I just walked past the single greatest referee in all of college basketball. That’s right, Ted Valentine is in the house to add some spice to the dull atmosphere inside Coleman Coliseum.

The crowd must a very late arriving one or invisible. I wonder if yesterday’s football game took any of the Crimson Tide spirit out of anyone thinking of attending this afternoon. Either way, they’re about to tip off. Keep it here for all the updates you care to read.

First half

15:59, Alabama 11, A&M 7: Senario Hillman has five straight points and Chris Hines has four. Nothing too exciting to report just yet.

11:59, Alabama 17, A&M 9: The Tide just scored two baskets off turnovers in less than 10 seconds to take the nine-point advantage. Hillman now has seven points.

JaMychal Green suspended from hoops team

A half-piece of paper was just delivered to all media members 15 minutes before today’s tipoff with Alabama A&M. JaMychal Green, the Crimson Tide’s leading scorer is suspended indefinitely.

The reason given is the old favorite “conduct detrimental to the team.”

This is not a result of anything off the court, an Alabama official said. It was purely basketball related.

Iron Bowl game day videos

There was too much footage to limit this one to a single game day video. So here you go, check out Part I that includes tailgating, Cam Newton signage and his entrance into Bryant-Denny Stadium to the songs “Take the Money and Run” and “Son of a Preacher Man.”

Then it’s on to the pregame warm-ups, Senior Day moments, team introductions, kickoff and the final few moments of the game including Auburn’s celebration and its mockery of “Rammer Jammer.”

Front pages from Iron Bowl aftermath

Here’s a quick spin around the state to see the front pages on the day after the Iron Bowl. To see all these front pages, go to newseum.org.  Click to enlarge the pages.

Decatur Daily

Anniston Star

Florence TimesDaily

Iron Bowl time lapse video

Here it is (the improved version).