The Anniston Star from Anniston, Alabama • Page 27

GHje (Annieton tar August 3, 1995 Page 1C INSIDE Auto racing 5C Baseball 4C Comics- 6-7C BOXING: Mike Tyson shows off his form during public workout. PAGE 5C. NASCAR: Jeff Gordon had. the fastest practice lap at Indianapolis. PAGE 5C.

5 NFL 3C Sports Editor: Ken Patterson, 236-1558, Ext. 331 The NCAA's case against Alabama Phillfi'; wnai ine noaa iouna A football student-athlete (Gene Jelks) obtained' six impermisaWe deferred-payment loans totaling' Star Snnrto WA-ifor I i i i I ne loans were facilitated Dy Aiaoama boosters. The athletic department failed to report and. investigate in a timely fashion the eliaibilitv of Fatherly act rj '-i I'lt's a sad clay for Alabama I'd be lying if I said it's, not a distraction cj aright now. It's on our minds right now.

We don't know where to go and what to play for." Shannon Brown, Alabama senior Penalties applied to Alabama Public reprimand and censure Three years probation A ban on postseason play this season Reduction of number of available scholarships by four for the 1995 and 1996 seasons Reduction in the number of scholarships available to award by 1 3 for 1 996 and by nine for Forfeiture of the 11 regular-season games in which Antonio Langham played in 1993 Requirement that the school continue to develop a comprehensive athletic compliance program with annual reports during the probation "It is inexplicable that the university did not act on the information it possessed until it received a copy of the signed (agent) agreement on Nov. 22 (1993)." David Swank, chair of the NCAA'S Committee on Infractions fells Stallings another student-athlete (Antonio Langham). By doing so, the schdol played an ineligible player and gained a competitive advantage in 11 gapfes The school's faculty athletics representative )' (Tom Jones) violated NCAA standards of ethicar" conduct by providing false and misleading information to the NCAA appeals staff. TUSCALOOSA In his 60 years on this Earth, Gene Stallings Phillip Tutor and Ken fettersonThe Anniston Star may have learned more about raising children than anything else. He raised five of them, including NCAA bests Bamnna one with Down syndrome, and managed to do so in the volatile, topsy-turvy, hard-to-settle down life as a football coach.

So it's safe to assume Stallings knows how to handle children. He knows what to do when they con- ftsi in Kim t-Jn 1-fist tire mkatlar tWV oeiieve tnem. He knows to trust UA will appeal loss of scholarships, bowl them until they break that trust. In a fnthprlv uav thaf'c hrn looks at his avers. Thev re his children.

He spends more time with them from August to January By Phillip Tutor Star Sports Wnter than his qwn. They come to him' V. A'- i i iui auviue, iui guiuaiice, lor neip out of tricky situations. So in January 1993, Stallings asked one of his players an impor tant question. The player lied.

Yet Stallings believed him, thinking a player word meant something. And that's where he made a crucial mistake. In wake of the NCAA's mind-boggling penalties against Alabama's football program, that has become the prevailing thought Committee on Infractions are excessive and inappropriate," said Sayers, Alabama's president since 1989. "In no way do those two isolated instances merit such a punitive response We will appeal." Much of what happened Wednesday was expected. Alabama had admitted guilt in two violations, and fully believed it would receive some sort of punishment.

Instead, the NCAA Committee on Infractions found Alabama guilty of a third violation one Sayers and Ingram were not aware of and doled out a list of harsh penalties Alabama's officials fully believe do not fit the crimes. The penalties include: Three years probation. No postseason this season. Forfeiture of eight victories and one tie from 1993. A loss of four scholarships this season and next season.

See Bama3C TUSCALOOSA You could see it in their eyes. There was anger ugly, seething anger. The kind of anger that makes grown men utter statements they normally wouldn't. The NCAA had come down hard on Alabama's football program, taking away scholarships, banning the Crimson Tide from bowl games, making the school forfeit games from 1993. Ugly couldn't describe it.

That's why Roger Sayers, Alabama's president, and Cecil "Hootie" Ingram, the school's athletic director, looked directly into the NCAA's face Wednesday and growled. They felt backed into a corner, wrongly accused, and vowed to fight the severity of the school's first probation after 103 years of penalty-free football. "The penalties imposed by the about Stallings' involvement in the situation. He trusted one of his players. One of his star players.

A player who had never before broken his confidence. But should he have? In life, the answer's yes. Stallings knows that. That's how he raised his children, to tell the truth, (Ah to give people a reason to believe you when you speak. But the NCAA's convoluted method of dealing with enforce ment cases is giving coaches more and more reasons to stop believing players.

Yes, Stallings erred by not i thoroughly investigating Antonio Langham's eligibility. Yet the NCAA is also sending a With the forfeitures Results of Alabama having to forfeit 11 games in 1993 in which ineligible athlete Antonio Langham played: Team's record goes from 9-3-1 to 1-12. (Alabama was 8-2-1 with Langham.) It would be the worst record for Alabama since 0-10 in 1955. The 1 994 senior class would lose Its ranking as the wlnnlngest in school history. The honor reverts to the 1977-80 class, which went 44-4.

Quarterback Jay Barker loses his standing as winningest QB in school history. Barker was 7-1-1 in games Langham played that year. His record goes from 35-2-1 to 28-10. Harry Gilmer's 30 victories is back at the Arkansas is the SEC Western Division champ by default. Auburn was second to message that coaches shouldn believe their players.

Go ahead, as sume they're lying. It may prove to be the only way to keep your back iLiiizjp side out of hot water. Personally, I think that's a lousy Alabama, but was on probation. Associated Press way to operate. Always assuming guilt is a horrible way to treat Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherriil finally gets a credit for a victory over his University of Alabama football coach Gene Stallings sits dejectedly during Wednesday 's alma mater.

SheTrlll was 0-6 vs. Alabama. The '93 loss is wiped away. people, especially people who have Tennessee gets credit for its only victory vs. Alabama in nine years.

NCAA news conference in Tuscaloosa. Stallings hopes to keep the distractions from hampering the Crimson Tide this season. never before given you a reason to think otherwise. Stallings also makes another -valid point. Is it his duty to investigate every rumor that slides through his office door? Is it his responsibility to take time away Associated Press and Ken Patterson and Phillip TutorThe Annislon Star Players staring down sanctions Dye: It all began with from coaching football and spend it Ramsey case Associated Press AUBURN Former Auburn coach Pat Dye, forced to resign in 1992 as the Tigers went on two years probation, said Alabama's three-year probation Wednesday had its roots in the Eric Ramsey case that toppled Auburn.

Dye said a chief tigure in Ala bama's downfall was lawyer Don ald Watkins, who represented Ramsey and orchestrated media By Phillip Tutor Star Sports Writer TUSCALOOSA Stunned. They all were. They sat with glassy eyes, expressionless faces, none sure about what to say or how to say it. Alabama's football team rd team that had never before been on probation was suddenly not only on probation, but hammered by a harsh list of penalties that will make it difficult for the Crimson Tide to remain one of the "nation's top programs in the coming years. And no one was sure how to act.

"It's just a sad day for Alabama," said Tide defensive tackle Shannon Brown after Wednesday's announcement. "I'd be lying if I said it's not a distraction right now. It's on our minds right now. We don't know where to go or what to play for." But this much the Tide knows: It can't play in the Southeastern Conference Championship game or a bowl game this season. There'll be no fourth straight Western Division championship, no fourth straight SEC Championship game appearance, no bowl game at the end of the See Players3C coverage of Ramsey's secretly taped conversations about money with Auburn football coaches and boosters.

"If Auburn people had anything to do with this, it was stimulated by Donald Watkins and the way he manipulated the Ramsey thing," Dye told The Huntsville Times. sleuthing around some player after-hours affairs? "I'm not a detective," Stallings said. "I don't want the NCAA to make a detective out of me. I've raised children, and somewhere along the way you have to develop a relationship (like that) with Unanimously, Stallings' players defend him like their own. They're staunchly behind him, adamant that he didn't make a mistake, adamant that he did the right thing by believing Antonio Langham.

"Coach Stallings would not do something to intentionally break the rules. No way," says Tide quarterback Brian Burgdorf. We're like his children to him. What we say he's going to believe." Unfortunately, in these days of deceit, days where family values are being flushed like toilet paper, coaches may be forced to abandon their Stallings-like ideals. What if Stallings had lost his job? All because he erred by trusting one of his players? Like it or not, Stallings may have to change his ways.

Instead of being a father figure, he may become, a policemen, watching every move like a truant officer. So don't be surprised if Stallings' days in Tuscaloosa are numbered. With him being reprimanded for doing what he thought was right, he'll surely leave before his five-year contract is through. He may have had enough, and he all but said so Wednesday, i "Yeah, it will," he said when asked if the probation would affect his tenure. "Now I'll have to stay a lot longer to win back those nine (forfeited) games." Associated Pros "He's delivered a mighty blow to both schools." Alabama president Roger1 Sayers; (left) and athletic director Cecil "Hootie" Ingram listen to quesiiuus tlmiiig Wednesday's news conference.

Sayers and Ingram vowed to appeal the severity of the penalties. 0 See Dye3C Anniston claims No. 1 ranking in Glass 6 A Preseason poll Class 6A I No. 1 Anniston (13-2) Class 4A .1 No. 2 Alexandria (11 -2) either Us or Murphy would be the top pick.

It's just like always, we're defending champions, but we have to do the job on the field." It's not just Alabama that recognizes Anniston, cither. "Street and Smith magazine has us mentioned as one of the top 25 teams in the country," said Bivens. "I think we will have an outstanding football team with a lot of See Anniston8C the 6A poll by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Another area team. Clay County, has been tabbed the preseason No.

1 squad in Class 2A. Anniston is riding a 13-game winning streak with the 16-14 win over Shades Valley in last year's championship game in Birmingham- Oilier Calhoun County teams ranked high in the poll include Alexandria, number two in 4A, and I No. 3 Cleburne Co. (14-1) its area rival Cleburne County, ranked third. While Anniston opens the season with an untested quarterback, Bivens said being ranked at the top of the 6A rankings only adds to the anticipation for the upcoming sea- SOn-v "We like to set our goals as high as we can, and achieve as much as we can along the way," said Bivens.

"We had anticipated being number one, but we thought that By James Pendergrass Star Sports Writer There's nothing like a state football championship to gain Anniston High, just like the other five state champs from a year ago, is ranked No. I in the preseason prep football poll released Wednesday. The Bulldogs, defending Class 6A football champions, are atop Class 2A I No. 1 Clay Co. (14-1) Class 1A I No.

7 Talladega (10-3) Records in parenthesis ere from 1994. See complete poll on page 8C..