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During the entire NCAA investigation/fiasco, there have been some disturbing things come to light. I'm not writing this post to justify some rule breaking, nor denying that some rules were broken. Some of that has been established. But other things have not been firmly established. Will they? I don't know for sure, but the evidence is beginning to point that way. But as the aftermath of this is slowly uncovered, there are some really disturbing coincidences being brought to light. I want to highlight these and ask you to use a reasonable amount of common sense. First, I want to lay out a basic timeline point of emphasis. May of 1999 - Lynn Lang first presents "The Deal" to college coaches. 1. An Early Clue During his recruitment, Santonio Beard made a really odd statement. This is taken from Rodney Orr's interview with Santonio right after National Signing Day BEFORE May of 1999. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> How did people in Tennessee react when Santonio Beard committed to Alabama? "The Tennessee fans dogged me out," Beard says. "The nicest thing they said was that I'd better be ready to be on my butt the third Saturday of every October." The Tennessee coaches weren't too happy either. "Let's just say that they don't think too much of the Alabama program or where it's headed," Beard says. "I was told that Alabama football will be out of business in two years." >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I remember when that statement was made. We laughed and yucked it up and thought UT was just thumping their chest because they had won 4 years in a row. Those of you who listened closely to Roy Adams' the last couple of days heard him say, "We had to take them down." Interesting choice of words, no? How about this choice of words "I was willing to help promulgate the charges against Alabama and obtain needed national publicity prior to the investigation..."? Remember Gary Parrish's fairy tale on Finebaum about how he called Milton Kirk out of the blue and Kirk told him about this whole story? 2. Voices >From Within During the investigation, it seems that bad news always rode an orange horse. The leaks about different subjects as they pertained to Alabama continually dribbled out of Memphis and other Tennessee partisans. The leak of Harold James' forced withdrawal from school was the one that tweaked my interests. For a while, the hunt for "the leak" consumed us. I don't have any solid evidence and this is NOT a charge against this person, but it is one of the MANY coincidences that are colored "orange". The name Arthur Thompson came up in a Roy Adams post the other day. That name has also been mentioned here on TI. A cursory look reveals that Arthur Thompson is a faculty member at Alabama. He was (and may still be, but can't find the info) a member of the Faculty Athletics Advisory Committee. He was described by Roy Adams as a friend of Gene Marsh. "So?" you may ask. Did you ask yourself how Roy Adams knows that Arthur Thompson is a friend of Gene Marsh? (A pause to let that sink in...) Did I mention that Arthur Thompson is a graduate of the University of Tennessee? That kind of makes you go "hmm", does it not? How about if I told you that Adams and Thompson were fraternity brothers? (A little bit longer of a pause....) Keep in mind I'm not accusing Arthur Thompson of ANYTHING. I simply find it an amazing coincidence that a friend of Gene Marsh is a fraternity brother of Roy Adams and that this friend is closely linked to Alabama athletics information which leaked like a sieve for 2 years. Amazing coincidence, huh? 3. Fulmer to Kirk in 1 Short "Orange" Step Is it not strange that Karl Schledwitz, a prominent Tennessee lawyer/businessman and self-professed friend of Phil Fulmer, claims to have been a lawyer for Milton Kirk AND Roy Adams? This same Karl Schledwitz, UT booster and UT Alumnus is the guy who drove Milton Kirk to Indianapolis to talk to the NCAA. (I'm wondering why Kirk had to go to Indianapolis. Rich Johanningmeier is a "field" investigator, meaning, he goes to the interviewees, they don't come to him.) That is another one of those curious "orange" coincidences, is it not? 4. Benevolence By The "Orange" Bottle Remember back a couple of years ago, Lisa Means was about to be evicted? Remember the "Lisa Means Recovery Fund" started by a Memphis businessman to help Lisa Means out? Arthur Kahn, who owns Arthur's Wines and Liquors, spearheaded the effort by giving $1,000 of the $3,500 total. There were a LOT of questions about how a student-athlete could receive money without jeopardizing his eligibility. This guy must have really had a lot at stake because he says he lobbied the NCAA to be able to give Lisa Means the money. Now, does it seem strange to you that Arthur Kahn, who seemingly had no connection to Lisa Means, would just jump up and start this fund? It might seem a little less strange if you knew that Karl Schledwitz was a regular customer at Arthur's Wines and Liquors. And the strangeness would continue to decrease if you knew that Schledwitz and Kahn had children at the same school and knew each other through that relationship. But the real head-scratcher comes when you find out that Arthur Kahn is married to Logan Young's ex-girlfriend. Does that sit you back in your chair? If so, take a deep breath. The guy who lobbied the NCAA for the "Lisa Means Recovery Fund", acquaintance of Karl Schledwitz, also had his wife wear a wire when having conversations with Logan Young. Interesting stuff, huh? Even more interesting when you find out that Arthur Kahn is a former federal prosecutor, Memphis district. 5. Who Gives a "Rip" About Albert Means? Remember the "devastated departure" of Albert Means from Alabama? The sad young man who's life had been devastated? Do you also remember the surprising entry of Rip Scherer into this mess? Scherer wanted to "counsel" Albert Means in the wake of his discovery of his "sale" to Alabama. That is a little strange. But it makes a little more sense if you knew that Rip Scherer was meeting with Albert Means during Thanksgiving of 2000. Yes, that is 1 month before the Memphis Commercial Appeal and Gary Parrish "stumbled" onto this story. Hmm, we wouldn't have any tampering by Memphis University interests in this case, would we? Well how in the world is Memphis connected to this case? Well, take this recent statement "I have promised a car to a certain Memphis football player who earned a scholarship to a Div 1A school in January, if he makes 3.0 this fall." by Roy Adams. This along with numerous statements made by Roy Adams indicates Adams has a STRONG interest in the Memphis athletic program. Oh, did I forget to mention that Rip Scherer tried to bring Albert Means by Roy Adams' house during November of 2000? I guess I also forgot to mention that the current Coach at Memphis is none other than Tommy West, former player at the University of Tennessee. At what point will the coincidences stop? |
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