The latest in the escalating campaign of obfuscation concerning Nick Saban and the 2008 signing class, begun months ago by Michigan partisan Brian Cook, is this post concerning the departure of Tarence Farmer from the Alabama roster:
...
Sad.
The title of the post, conveniently, is "Cut," a certain pronouncement of Cook's knowledge of the events that transpired before Farmer's departure from Tuscaloosa. If Cook had actual knowledge of Farmer or Alabama, however, he would probably recall this quote from Farmer on his signing with Alabama:
Farmer has never seen Tuscaloosa and was not considering Alabama before the hire of Saban. He added, "I'm making the visit this weekend. I have never been there, but from what I hear it's a very nice place."
So when news hit that Farmer was back in Texas and not expected to return, the first thought that crossed my mind was "the kind of kid that makes a rash decision like signing with a school far from home that he hadn't even considered signing with throughout his whole recruitment process based solely on the reputation of the new head coach is also the kind of kid that is going to transfer when he realizes playing time isn't in his immediate future," not, "thank God Saban is cutting that dead weight to make room for the new guys by robbing hard working kids who dreamed of wearing Crimson and White since they were kids!" Because honestly, Farmer's life is not, as commenter "chunkums" proclaimed, "seriously jacked up." The only thing "jacked up" or "sad" about this situation is that no one talked some sense into Farmer about how committing to a program you aren't even remotely familiar with at the spur of the moment is not a bright decision since you're either stuck somewhere you could wind up not liking, on a team with people you may not get along with, and with a staff that you may not feel comfortable with for four (or five) years, or you're just wasting a year of eligibility by transferring if things aren't to your liking. Either way, the simple fact that Farmer's decisions at the impetuous age of 18 were a little impulsive is the most likely culprit here, not a cold hearted decision made by a calculating opportunist who sees his players as nothing more than pawns in his vicious campaign of self aggrandizement. But hey, when your earlier proclamations of chicanery and unfair dealings quickly dry up and those barely literate rednecks which you consider beneath yourself because they aren't Michigan men start turning out to be right, you can always throw out backpedal posts in which you desperately cling to the mere hint of impropriety (never mind that said hint of impropriety resulted in a net good for those involved), mischaracterize, if not outright LIE about, the nature of the injuries of players who receive medical scholarships, and, as in the case of today's example of poor research, arrogantly assume that everything that happens at Alabama works according to your clearly limited knowledge of the program and it's players and proclaim the "sadness" of it all. It is, after all, the quickest and easiest way to handle it when your readers are apparently more than happy to take your word for it, and the safest way for you to simply carry on without having to actually be man enough to admit you were wrong and that Nick Saban does, in fact, know how to manage a roster and land highly prized recruits at the same time, and drop the whole affair. But since you're willing to stoop to such low tactics as the aforementioned mischaracterizations, lies, and backpedaling, then coward and liar are the two newest tags that will be forever attached to your name on this blog.