News of the day, 8/31

BREAKING NEWS: Brad Lester suspended indefinitely. See below for details.

Hey everyone. Auburn is off to its pre-game compound in LaGrange, Ga., to prepare for Saturday's game. They stay there to escape the campus hubbub. It also gives coaches the ability to monitor the kids more closely. Gotta keep the partying to a minimum on Fridays, you know.

Nothing else to discuss about Brad Lester. We'll wait and see.

I'll be doing a segment on Mobile's WNSP (105.5 FM) at 3:25 p.m. today. The broadcast also is streamed live over the internet. Neal McCready and I go way back. We worked the Auburn beat together from 1998-2002. He now is an influential columnist, radio personality and philosopher. Neal was a valuable competitor back in those days because Auburn fans saw the two of us as The Negative Guys. At least Neal took some of the heat off me. Now we're in an era, it seems, where many beat reporters are seen as anti-Auburn. I won't unleash a big rant here, but it's silly to believe newspaper writers are pushing agendae.

Why the LSU picture today? It was funny to me. I knew LSU would win that game -- we all did -- but I had no idea it would be that bad. I'm still not sure about that offense, though.

Thanks for seeking another fulfilling dose of the HOTTEST Auburn blog on the 'net.

As expected, tailback Brad Lester has been suspended indeinitely for what coach Tommy Tuberville said is an "unresolved academic issue." The coaching staff has no idea when Lester will return. It's up to the people who are investigating the situation.

The message boards are on fire right now. Many Auburn fans are upset.

I would be, too, if I was an Auburn fan. For a different reason. I think Auburn's other tailbacks can carry on and produce without Lester around. Ben Tate is a quality back. Carl Stewart is a quality back. I think Mario Fannin is a quality back who could be great. I don't anticipate a major loss in tailback productivity.

What I find surprising is how long this whole thing has taken. The incident that currently has Lester sidelined is the same issue that led to his Cotton Bowl suspension. That was eight months ago. Surely there was a discovery period between the incident and the initial suspension. That was at least two weeks. So we're up to a grand total of nine months, and there still is no resolution. That's astonishing.

From the Kansas State camp, here's a story from today's editions of the Kansas City Star. Paul Finebaum, a nice man and excellent reporter who acts like an ass on the air, is making more friends. As always.

Check out this quote from K-State wide receiver Daniel Gonzalez:

“You think about Auburn, you think big team,” he said. “Great players. Good defense. Just like anybody else thinks. When people hear Auburn, they think they’re not human, or they are like machines or something. We’re going to go out there and test them, and see what they’ve got.”