Finebaum chimes in...

[quietfan 233]

For any who care:

http://www.al.com/sports/mobileregister/pf...9490.xml&coll=3

Shula faces woodshed watershed

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Some fans were jumping for joy. Callers to radio shows were breathless. Finally, the Crimson Nation had something to cheer about following several desultory days in the wake of the arrest of Alabama star linebacker Juwan Simpson.

A felony charge had been dropped to a misdemeanor because a stolen gun found in the car he was driving was valued at $400 as opposed to the $500 necessary for the more severe charge. Whew! And I thought the charges against the 21-year-old Simpson might actually be serious.

Simpson now faces three misdemeanors, including receiving stolen property in the third degree, possession of marijuana in the second degree and carrying a handgun without a permit.

Judging from the reaction of fans, I halfway expected Tide coach Mike Shula to award Simpson the prestigious Derrick Thomas Community Award given each spring by the coaches for exemplary behavior, instead of handing out a suspension.

Oops, Simpson already has that award in his possession, and the good news is that it was apparently earned and not considered stolen property.

Shula has predictably said he will refrain from comment for the time being. However, at some point, he will have to make a decision, and fans of the program will be watching Shula's actions carefully, some even believing it will be a litmus test for the young head coach.

Some believe if Shula is looking for an example of how to handle this prickly case, he should look no further than to what Auburn's Tommy Tuberville did in the case of another star linebacker, LeMarcus Rowell. Similar charges were made against Rowell (marijuana possession, carrying a pistol without a permit and DUI, all misdemeanors), and Tuberville wasted little time in kicking him off the team.

Many believe the Auburn program has been mostly free of trouble because Tuberville is considered a hard-line disciplinarian, and the players know it. Shula has yet to earn that reputation, and some wonder if he will be able to toss Simpson off the team because the perception is he has gone easy on other players who ran into trouble.

A former Alabama All-America safety under Paul Bryant believes this is the time for Shula to draw a line in the sand.

"I think from coach Shula's standpoint, you can't tolerate this," said Tommy Wilcox, a member of the Tide's All-Century team. "There is not one person bigger than the team."

Obviously, Wilcox said Shula should take his time while gathering the information. "But his obligation is not to one guy," Wilcox said. "It is to 80 or 90 players who are doing the right thing. If he (Simpson) is found guilty of having drugs in the car and a weapon, I say he's got to go. If you want to set a tone that this stuff doesn't happen again, that's what you do."

Regardless of the outcome of the Simpson case, both in the legal system and internally with Shula and the team, the media frenzy has created another monster for Tide fans.

In recent years, Alabama fans have reveled about the off-the-field troubles of Tennessee football players, lampooning much-reviled coach Phillip Fulmer in particular.

While the police blotter has been quiet in Big Orange country lately (although the preseason is still young), this story has created a lot of media chatter. For Tide zealots, the fact that Tennessee fans have turned the tables on them might be the deepest cut of all in the saga of Juwan Simpson.  

[rolltoomer 0]

We don't need anyone presenting well-thought-out advice to Sheila.

Let him make a mistake and then stew in his own juice.