AURex

Lots of protests on university campuses nationwide. The hawks (both Republican and Democratic) seem incapable to distinguishing between Hamas the terrorist militarized group) and Palestnians (the civilians, the people who live in Palestine). Most Palestinians detest the Hamas. But the Israelis indiscriminately slaughter innocent Palestrinians -- women, children, elderly, no matter, just kill them all. The protesters on university campuses are protesting the slaughter of innocent Palestinians. They are not anti-semitic. They are protesting the policy and activity of the Islamic State slaughtering innocent people. Yet hawks on both aisles are kissing the ass of Israeli military. I'm old. I was on campus at Auburn when we were protesting the Vietnam war. Our demonstrations were peaceful, as ae the current protests. We didn't get rustled by cops or arrested. Peaceful protests were understood to be freedom of speech. What has changed now? Just the fanaticism of wingnuts. Peaceful protests are no longer protected as Constitutional freedom of speech. Now peaceful protests are considered political terrorist activities, so let's bring in the police to squash opinions that do not alighn with the wingnut propaganda. Even at Columbia, the Columbia student news, which is edited by a Jewish student, condemns the politically- motivated police harassment and arrests or protesters. They've been peaceful. They've broken no laws. But the wingnuts have called for the President of Columbia to resign because -- hey -- students are protesting and she's not eager to throw them in a dungeon and beat them to death. Okay, so this is MY opinion. I believe in the Constitutional right to peacefully protest.

Thanks for the graphic, aubaseball. So, most of the money goes to Athletic Dept staff and paying off previous coaches, paying current coaches, and facilities. NOT recruiting, player support, actual competition, etc. And fact is, Auburn's NIL for most sports is pitiful. I was looking today at NIL for gymnasts. Almost all of the gymnasts at LSU, Utah, Florida, Oklahoma are receiving decent NIL. Auburn? Nope. And look at the teams that were competing for the national championship. LSU, Utah, Florida and Cal. Oklahoma is usually in that mix. Swimming and Diving? Auburn once was a national powerhouse. Now? WBB? Auburn used to have a good team. Now? Track & Field? Harvey, where are you? Yes, college athletics has changed with NIL and easy transfers. But that applies to ALL universities, ALL of our competitors. I haven't seen official numbers, but just from the posts on this board and other Auburn fan sites, it seems like Auburn NIL is mostly going to football and some but less to Basketball. As for other sports .... ??? We got traditional rivals Bama and UGA, incoming Texas and Oklahoma, and A&M -- all with truckloads of primary athletic funding and bank loads of NIL. Tennessee and Florida outspending Auburn by a lot. But it is not all about money. CBP has done a fantastic job without the kind of NIL that other schools have. And to some extent, NIL follows success. But Ole Miss has built an excellent FB team with less resources than Auburn has. Tennessee has made a comeback. Missouri is now competitive. Arkansas will be a nightmare with Calipari. As I said in my OP, I'm just tired of Auburn being middle to bottom of the SEC in most sports (yes, a couple of exceptions). With all the money flowing into Auburn athletics (among the top in the nation), I expect more. Not just want more. Yes, I expect MORE!

That wasn't the OP, but whatever.

Sorry, yes, I was mixed up. I was (wrongly) thinking gymnastics Haleigh Bryant. But actually, my point doesn't change. Auburn hasn't really shown the NIL to attract top talent in WBB either.

I'll reiterate that I am really tired of Auburn mediocrity. Auburn pulls in revenue from sports that is in the top few schools nationally. Auburn has LOTS of money for athletics. Where does that money go? Football? Where are the wins? Basketball? NCAA nuthin in recent years. Women's BB? Why ask? Baseball -- um, is the team still alive? Gymnastics -- Suni please come home because ..... we got nuthin' Equestrian -- Great in SEC but then? .... zip Track & Field, wrestling, swimming & diving, soccer, etc ???? It's not just Directors Cup, it is the majority of Auburn sports. Auburn is in the bottom of the SEC in most sports. Auburn competes with Vandy! for the SEC Bottom Cup. Of course, most fans don't care, because most fans are football with some mens basketball. As long as Auburn FB has a 500+ season and Auburn BB is pretty good in the SEC, welp, that swems to be good enough for most Auburn fans. As for us here in AUF, well, plenty seem to be happy and plenty not so much.

I would love to have Haley Van-Lith at Auburn. She is a superstar. Unfortunately, Auburn NIL for gymnastics sux giant donkey balls. Even Suni was way under-funded compared to even average LSU, Florida, Utah and Oklahoma girls. Auburn gymnastics NIL is embarrassing. So, I'm thinking our chances of landing her is ..... bleak!

I'm glad to see some north Alabama kids getting strong looks from Auburn in the upcoming years. But I'm even more glad to see Auburn among the top choices for players that CBP really wants to pull in. Even now, this deep in CBP's tenure at Auburn, I am excited by his ability to attract exceptional off-the-radar talent. Yeah, sure, sometimes they don't pan out. Zep, Greene, Aden, Travore, etc. But personally, I like his philosophy of recruiting players who have something to prove. He's attracted some great talent to the Plains -- which we haven't seen in decades!

Returning to the original topic (I know, crazy huh), Calipari is pulling in some good recruits at Arkansas. I'm not sure how his style of team building, coaching and play will translate at Arky, but they are going to have more raw talent next season. And fact is, at one time, Calipari really could coach up players and make a good run. If he re-dedicates himself to real coaching, he might be able to revive the Razorbacks once again. Under Nolan Richardson, Arkansas was a team to be feared. That's kind of a big IF, though. The game has changed and he had trouble adapting at Kentucky, which is why he is gone. Still, an improved Arkansas, with Texas and Oklahoma incoming, and Bama and Tennessee as very solid programs -- the SEC ain't gettin' easier.

Interesting that Michigan is also bringing in that 7' center from Yale -- Wolf. He will probably have some fun razzing Tre. And Tre will be competing for playing time at PG with Justin Pippen, 6' 4" son of Scottie Pippen. Good luck to Tre. Personally, I was hoping he'd stay at Auburn. He improved tremendously from first year to second, and I expected him to continue his maturation into a seasoned, excellent PG for Auburn.

If he plays at Bama the way he played at Auburn, he will be riding the bench a lot. Unlike CBP, Nate will not play a guy much who can't make outside shots or succeed at the basket. Actually, I'm surprised Nate even wanted him.

A dad buys a lie detector robot which slaps people when they lie. He decides to test it at dinner. “Son, where were you today?” The son says, “At school, dad.” Robot slaps the son. “Okay, I watched a DVD at my friend’s house!” “What DVD?” “Kung Fu Panda.” Robot slaps the son again. “Okay, it was an adult film!” Dad yells, “What? When I was your age I didn’t know what an adult film was!” Robot slaps the dad. Mom laughs, “He’s certainly your son!” Robot slaps the mom.

A man goes to a pet shop and buys a talking parrot. He takes the parrot home and tries to teach the parrot how to say a few things, but instead, the parrot just swears at him. After a few hours of this, the man finally gets fed up and throws the parrot into the freezer to teach it a lesson. He hears the parrot squawking and kicking for a few minutes, but then all goes quiet. The man opens the freezer up, the parrot calmly steps out onto the man’s outstretched arm and says, “I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I’ll endeavor to correct my behavior.” The man is astounded. As he’s about to ask the parrot what’s caused this sudden change in attitude, the parrot continues, “May I ask what the turkey did?”

I've seen the same joke many times over the years featuring Bush, Trump, Clinton, and Obama as well as Biden. Thing is ------ When the butt of the joke is a democrat, Democrats don't think it is funny and Republicans don't think it is a joke. When the butt of the joke is a Republican, Republicans don't think it is funny and Democrats don't think it is a joke. For that reason, I'll resist the opportunity to politicize this thread by posting hundreds of Trump jokes. I hope others will help keep this thread non-political, because I was really enjoying it! Just my 2 cents ....

This has become an unfortunate pattern for our Equestrian team. Performing well during the season, then under-performing at nationals. I'm sure the team and coaches are disappointed -- again. Still, Auburn remains an excellent equestrian program. Here's to future championships!

I'm sure the available NIL had something to do with his decision, but moreso I think the style of NBA play currently features all 5 guys on the floor who can shot from the outside as well as get in the paint. Broome will be shooting 500 3s per day during the off-season. He's not big enough to play solely inside. He needs to diversify his game. And I suspect CBP told him he would have the opportunity to play more 4 next season. He's still got work to do.