Auburn quarterback Cam Newton had never played in the Iron Bowl before last Friday. But it didn't take a veteran hand to know frenzied Alabama fans would go out of their way to remind the Heisman frontrunner of the lingering pay-for-play allegations against Newton and his father, Cecil, the pastor of a small church and bishop over four others in Georgia. 'Bama students delivered, raining dollar bills featuring Newton's mugshot from a 2008 arrest at his feet before the game.
TUSCALOOSA | The University of Alabama terminated an employee Monday who played unauthorized music over the Bryant-Denny Stadium public address system prior to Friday's Iron Bowl.
[Rewind: Anchor fired after controversial NFL interview]The staffer was part-time, according to UA Public Relations Director Debbie Lane, but has not been named by the university. Two of the pre-game song choices were "Take the Money and Run," by The Steve Miller Band, and "Son of a Preacher Man," recorded by Dusty Springfield in 1968 and later by recording legend Aretha Franklin.
The song choices were apparently directed at Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, whose father is a reverend and is embroiled in a recruiting scandal amid reports that he sought payment during his son's recruitment in violation of NCAA rules.
This explains Newton's disastrous first half as Alabama ran up a seemingly insurmountable 24-0 lead: He was distracted trying to figure out how a Catholic school girl from London managed to sound like she was pulled out of a basket in the Mississippi River by a Beale Street bartender.
[Related: NFL star blows up at reporter after loss]Newton, of course, had the last laugh, leading the Tigers on a 28-3 run from the middle of the second quarter on to complete the most improbable comeback of the year, moving Auburn within one win of its first trip to the BCS Championship Game. If Newton gets to Glendale with his eligibility still under question, might I suggest Flirtin' With Disaster, or perhaps Don't Fear the Reaper?
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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