By talking and accusing and threatening and teasing they have: a) damaged their own names and credibility and b) made sure their beloved MSU, the SEC, Auburn, Tennessee and Alabama fans have all taken black eyes in the press and from a laughing mob of football fans to the East, North and West.

Worse, only an imbecile would play a “snippet” of a tape and say, “There, that exonerates me.”  Uh, how ’bout we hear what else is on that tape before we go clearing Bond’s name.  It’s called editing and Bond could have edited his snippet… or faked it, just like the internet clip now making the rounds.

If Bond does play a clip it will be believed only by rabid MSU fans who desperately want proof that their school did nothing wrong in the recruitment of Newton.  (As if Bond would play a recording showing that he, Bell and MSU actually did something wrong.)

We know that homers will celebrate Bond’s snippet because Alabama homers — desperately wanting proof that Auburn did do something wrong — bit hook, line and sinker on yesterday’s fugazi.

Read more of “Remember that ridiculous sound clip…” on MrSEC.com
3.4.11

Moore may be right. He may be in possession of recordings that will take this story in a new direction. But on the surface, there are many reasons to question his involvement, including:

• His close friendship with Bond, which may be a bit of a tightrope walk in terms of a possible conflict of interest.

• The fact that Moore is an avid Alabama fan, which he admitted to Huntsville Times sports columnist Mark McCarter during an interview Wednesday. That will undoubtedly lead some to question Moore’s intent.

• Moore bringing a spotlight on himself just when he is starting his radio show in Huntsville.

Those reasons create questions, but they don’t prove if the recordings are or are not legitimate.

There is just one avenue toward proving that, and it’s to play the recordings. If Moore’s suggestions prove correct, his credibility in regard to this issue is established. If the recordings are interpreted otherwise, Moore’s credibility and his part in the story will take a huge blow.

Read more of “When it comes to Scott Moore, John Bond and Cecil Newton, it is time to hear the recordings” on AL.com
3.4.11

Not fooling anyone

It’s interesting that a year and a half after the NCAA investigation, John Bond has now teamed up with a voice impressionist and come up with new tapes, sending them to expert sources to make sure they’re valid. What I think is they are sending them to the experts to see if Scott Moore is dead on or if he needs to work on it a little bit more. You guys aren’t fooling anyone.

Tapes have been doctored

If John Bond has had these tapes, why didn’t he give those to the NCAA when they were investigating? That would’ve ended Auburn and Cam’s career before it ever got started. He knew about it in January of last year. Auburn was investigated and so was Mississippi State, and Cam was given clearance to play the 2010 season.

Read more of “John Bond’s tapes have already been doctored; Scott Moore probably did the voices” on AL.com
3.4.11

You’ve almost certainly heard the tape of “Cecil Newton” talking about how much money it would take to get Cam Newton to go to Auburn. Such a tape might exist, but the one you’ve heard is not the one John Bond has promised to release.

“The tape is not authentic,” Bond’s attorney told The Clarion-Ledger via e-mail. “It is a fake.”

And if there’s anyone we can trust in this whole matter, it’s the man who wants us to believe he innocently listened as Cecil Newton asked him to commit a major NCAA infraction.

If you haven’t heard it, HERE is a link to the recording.

Read more of “Doubts About How Authentic the Cam Newton Tape Is” from Brandon Marcello’s Blog on ClarionLedger.com
3.4.11

Is this Cecil Newton’s voice?

Transcript:

Hey John this is C. We wanna come up there but uh, it’s not gonna be free. We got 2 offers now and uh, two hunned thousand, from auburn. He wants to play here so uh (hey shut up, we’re all good, they’ll remember that). Excuse me John, he really wants to go up there, so uh, we’ll give him to you for 150, he needs to go with a fair price, I just don’t wanna give to you this free mule you know. We you get this uh, gimme a call back.

Here are a few “cleaned-up” versions that have been submitted to us via e-mail.
Version 1 (MP3) — Original

Version 6 (MP3) — Most clear

Visit AuburnGate.com for more versions of the audio

HUNTSVILLE, AL. — John Bond, the former Mississippi State quarterback who first alerted authorities at his alma mater of Cecil Newton’s play-for-pay scheme for his son Cam, promised a Huntsville radio station Wednesday night he will soon share “a snippet” of a recording that’s a piece of the controversy’s puzzle.

“It’ll give ‘em something to talk about, I guarantee you,” Bond told Scott Moore on Huntsville’s WZZN The Zone radio.

“I’ll send you a little snippet that exonerates Mississippi State, myself, (MSU booster) Bill Bell,” Bond said.

Read more of “Bond promises ‘snippet’ of recording involved in Cam Newton controversy” on AL.com
3.2.11

It sounds as if Bond is a bit confused as to whether he had any direct contact with Kenny Rogers or not. (Bond has yet to produce the aformentioned phone records.)

Meanwhile, my source with knowledge of the aforementioned tapes reported that Bond does not have audio files of Rogers that are separate from Bell. Again, Bond has a copy of the audio files that Bell provided him.

Further, my source indicated that Bond and Bell have no audio file or tape containing the voice of Cecil Newton.

Finally, I was told by the same source that none of the voicemails left by Rogers to Bell contain anything that could further damage Auburn or implicate Tennessee with the NCAA.

Read more of “Infamous Miss State Tapes Do Not Include Newtons” on SportsByBrooks.com
3.1.11

I at least understand where Moore and Barger are coming from. They are Alabama fans with a platform to espouse their theories, and their agenda is to do all the damage they can to their biggest rival. Bond’s agenda is a mystery. If everything is on these tapes that Moore, Barger and Bond claim, that won’t be good for Mississippi State.

If what Moore says about Mullen is true, that Mullen warned Newton if he signed with Auburn he would turn him in, that’s a definite NCAA violation. A coach who knows of wrongdoing is required to report it promptly. If Mississippi State had signed Newton and planned to abide by the rules, it would have been compelled to rule him ineligible immediately.

And then there are the breathless stories about the FBI, money-laundering and the rest. Moore and Barger are convinced that the NCAA conspired with Auburn and the SEC office to make sure Auburn played for the BCS championship.

Read more of “Phillip’s blog: Here we go again” on 247Sports.com
3.1.11

Something I left out of my initial post that I wish now I hadn’t is this point about what Scott Moore was saying regarding what he heard on John Bond’s tapes.

If it is true that Cam Newton knew about his father trying to sell his services, it doesn’t mean Auburn did anything wrong throughout the whole process. School officials could really only rely on what Cam and his father told them, as I haven’t seen anything to indicate that anyone at Auburn ever got a copy of Bond’s and Bill Bell’s recordings. If the Newtons lied to the school about everything, then I’m not really sure how it would know or have done anything differen

Red more of “An Addendum on John Bond’s Tapes of the Newtons” on TeamSpeedKills.com
2.27.11

Note to Bond and Bell — put up or shut up.  This mess has dragged on long enough.  If you have information that ties Auburn to Newton via illegal cash, then provide it.  If not, go back into the anonymity from which you came.  Stop teasing those of us who have to cover this story with information you might be willing to share.

If Auburn cheated, then Auburn should be punished.  And there’s not a thing wrong with turning evidence of Auburn’s cheating over to the NCAA.

But the “maybe I will talk and maybe I won’t” makes Bond and Bell look childish at best, cowardly at worst.  Why the heck wouldn’t they speak up?  And please don’t say they’re trying to avoid the spotlight.  After all, the “they’ve wore me out” comment was made during a radio interview that Bond did not have to give.

Boosters from one school hinting at wrongdoing at another (while refusing to provide proof).  The gusto and glee with which certain media members and websites attack one institution or another.  It all reinforces the point we made earlier today: The SEC is on the verge of pulling the roof down on its own damn head.

Read more of “Ex-MSU Player Bond Teases HBO With More Newton Info” on MrSEC.com
2.17.11