Friday Links: Jim Brown Thinks The NCAA "Starves Kids To Death"

Immediate hat tip goes to ECDawg of The Leather Helmet Blog as I have usurped the link style he uses for his ever-so-popular, Dawg Daily series. Hop on over and see what he's doing—I promise you won't be disappointed.

Now, on with the show. Oh, and have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!

1. Georgia is spending the money to find the top talent in the country. ($$$)

In the past three years to date, Georgia has spent a total of $118,256 on various services to provide Mark Richt's program with information, videos, statistical information, and more, on prospective student athletes.

Some it is as simple as reading interviews with the "PSA"s, as they are called in official NCAA terms, conducted by media outlets, in other instances it is exclusive video, and in others information about grades and other details about prospects.

2. Former NFL great and college football legend, Jim Brown, thinks the NCAA is hypocritical.

He said the organization is creating problems with rules that fill its coffers and leave many college athletes destitute without enough money to buy lunch.

"They starve kids to death and make it illegal for (college athletes) to make $3 to buy food, and they make all this money. So I am not a fan of the NCAA and the way they conduct themselves," Brown said. "It’s an elitist organization, and I think they need to change tremendously."

3. Georgia gets a little revenge against Auburn...on the baseball diamond.

The loss left Auburn (29-29) with a non-winning record, meaning they are ineligible for the NCAA tournament. The win kept the NCAA tournament chances alive for the Bulldogs (29-29). They will play on Friday the loser of Thursday's Vanderbilt-South Carolina game.

4. Robert Nkemdiche talks Georgia and why he decided to stick with Ole Miss.

Coach Richt called my coach about me, and wanted to bring me up for a visit,"Denzel told the AJC. "My coach told him thanks for calling, but that I had already decided to go with Ole Miss. It was too late." Denzel said he would’ve taken an official visit to UGA had the Bulldogs scheduled it for earlier, or within the last couple of weeks.  The last time Denzel spoke directly to UGA’s coaches, he said he was invited to take a recruiting trip on Tuesday, May 31 — which is the same day he was scheduled to report to Ole Miss for the summer school session.

5. Stewart Mandel thinks Alabama, not Oklahoma, should be Preseason No. 1—not that it matters. 

No disrespect to the Sooners, who return the bulk of last year's 12-2, Big 12 championship squad, but the best team in the country this fall will be the Alabama Crimson Tide. Frankly, it's a bit baffling that this isn't a more common sentiment.

....Alabama is loaded. Longtime NFL talent evaluator Gil Brandt recently rated seven Tide players among his top 65 prospects for the 2012 draft. This year's Alabama squad bears fewer household names, but it will be more talented and experienced than last year's -- and last year's team wasn't too shabby, despite what its fourth-place SEC West finish would seem to indicate.

6. Former Ohio State players go after their own (it's getting ugly, folks).

Small's comments to The Lantern about memorabilia sales, special car deals and a disregard for NCAA rules drew some strong responses on Twitter from his former Ohio State teammates. Several players criticized Small for speaking out against the program and breaching the team bond.

Here are some responses:

Ohio State C Mike Brewster (played with Small in 2008-09)

• @Brewster50: He isn't a part of the sacred brotherhood anymore...never on time, never accountable, never sacrificed for the team. Can you trust his word?
• @Brewster50: Show me a coward and I will show you ray small
• @Brewster50: I made my name by hard work-blood-sweat and tears...he made his name today...by selling lies to the lantern..enough said..workout time!!

7. ...And speaking of liars and cheats...

What those who run the university apparently do not fear is continuing to employ a football coach who:

    * Lied to the NCAA in September.
    * Lied twice more to school investigators in December.
    * Attempted to cover up those lies until forced to admit to them by a search of his email records in January.
    * Lied at the March 8 news conference to announce he had lied previously.
    * Didn't publicly apologize that night for lying, as he was ordered to do by the NCAA.
    * Lied again at a speaking engagement six days later.

Encompassed in all of Tressel's lying was a breach of his contract with Ohio State, which gave the school all the ammunition it needed to fire him for cause and, thus, would owe him nothing.

8. Coach Richt isn't too worried about Florida coach, Will Muschamps "guarantee".

"I thought that was a good thing coming from him," Richt said with a laugh when asked about Muschamp's guarantee. "I heard about it right away, but I also know how those things happen. That's why I don't answer some questions."

9.  Auburn pulling out all the stops for Big Cat weekend. 

The last two Big Cats have helped Auburn finish in the Top 3 in recruiting nationally, at least according to some recruiting websites, the last two years.

Luper, Auburn's running backs coach and recruiting coordinator, said Big Cat is different than most recruiting weekends.  

"The recruits get an opportunity to bond like none other because at most places they're running, they're jumping, they're doing some type of agility and physical activity. There is none of that here," Luper said. "There is essentially no football. We use it as an opportunity for recruits to get to know one another, our players, our coaches. For us, it's just a big family reunion." 

10. Former NFL running back, Tiki Barber, is talking stupid again.

Tiki Barber hasn't taken the football field yet in his comeback, but he's already taking hits for making an analogy to Holocaust victim Anne Frank.

The former New York Giants running back has been criticized in local media for making the analogy during an interview in this week's Sports Illustrated.

At one point in the article, Barber describes going into hiding with his girlfriend after his well-publicized breakup with his then-pregnant wife. Barber and his girlfriend ended up in the attic of the home of the player's agent, Mark Lepselter.

"Lep's Jewish," Barber told Sports Illustrated. "And it was like a reverse Anne Frank thing."