re: Johnny Manziel Suspended First Half Against Rice (NOW OFFICIAL)

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That honestly shouldn't even be an issue for the NCAA as scandalous as it would be for CFB. Fans are going to watch CFB regardless of who is playing and it's a sign of just how disconnected Conference leaders and NCAA 'investigators' truly are from fan bases that they likely feared the outcome would turn fans away from the game BUT part of the appeal of CFB over the pro game is the notion of less corruption and more innocence in comparison to the Pros. It also shows a total lack of creative thinking by the NCAA -- it's not like they'd have to give a program the death penalty or do much more than suspend a player for a season and those good enough to be a part of a broker client list are likely at top programs who are going to make the draft. Sure coming down would hurt and change the football landscape to some degree but only for an extremely short period of time and schools, particularly the schools that are traditional powerhouses, would simply reload and move on and so would their fans. I think this is especially true if it were to hit multiple schools at once as then there's no one to make into a pariah and the conferences, NCAA, and coaches could turn around and pat themselves on the back for 'cleaning up college football.' And for our conference, even the worst SEC player is good enough to play at just about every other school UNLESS that school is a powerhouse. This allegation, OTOH, indicts everyone -- all of CFB -- whether they abided by the rules or not. And is a big fat black eye to the SEC despite not really deserving it and Manziel and Manziel State being brand-spanking-new in the SEC (so new even a superficial argument against us is a joke but that will hardly matter). I defended A&M against TexAss trolls when they decided to join the SEC, always though they'd be better than expected (though not as good as last year) and very much enjoyed watching Manziel playing against BAMA and pulling off a win. It was exciting to watch him and I have a natural love for underdogs. I have no axe to grind save for wanting to protect CFB in general. However, that kind of call is wrong on so many levels it's pathetic. Manziel like every other player IS replaceable. And while this may be what the SEC wants, what ESPN wants (despite the games) and what the school and Coach Sumlin want. It's not good for any of us in the long run. It would've been less damaging to clear him completely if they were scared of this and far better for CFB if the NCAA took their lumps in order to 'clean up CFB.' They wouldn't even have to actually do any cleaning beyond the superficial. So congrats Aggies. Howevwer, I simply can't see client-list blackmail as a good thing for anyone in the long run let alone the NCAA/CFB. Even Manziel and Manziel State will live with the stigma for years due to such a weak punishment as will the SEC and all programs that are a part of big time college football.

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