On Thursday afternoon, USA Today sports analyst and odds-maker, Danny Sheridan returned as a guest on The Paul Finebaum Show to once again reinforce his earlier claims regarding the ongoing NCAA investigation of former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton.
Sheridan certainly sounds legitimate and I would urge anyone who hasn’t heard the interview to listen to it for yourself right here.
Basically Sheridan is claiming that his sources are telling him that NCAA investigators are pursuing a witness with extremely damning information for the Newtons and Auburn University. The witness supposedly was right in the middle of the money exchange and has said that between $150,000 and $175,000 was given to the Newton family by Auburn and another $20,000-$30,000 was given to their church. Sheridan claims that his sources are telling him that there is a 50-50 chance that the witness will be willing to tell what he knows to the NCAA and that we will all know for sure in two to three weeks at the most.
He sounds extremely annoyed by the fact that he's been scrutinized so much over the past couple of weeks for simply reporting what he's been told. Sheridan swears that there's no hidden agenda here and at one point even bluntly stated "don't shoot the messenger".
Whether you believe the story or not, the news has to be alarming if you’re an Auburn fan. So just how trustworthy is he? It is important to note that Danny Sheridan is an Alabama alum, and although that is a glaring distraction to his claims, you can’t question the man’s credentials over the past 25 years:
He’s been an analyst for USA Today since the paper’s inception in 1982 and much of that time has been spent related to sports.
He’s written three successful sports books.
Between radio and television, he does between 20-25 interviews per week during football season.
In 1993, he was listed at number 52 in a list of the "The 100 Most Powerful People In Sports" in "The Sporting News". He was listed ahead of big names like Bob Costas and John Madden.
Sheridan is staking his well-regarded reputation on his claims and that is not something to take lightly. He could have been lied to or misled and if he was his career will suffer damage that can never be repaired.
On the other hand, if he’s telling the truth and the mysterious witness meets with the NCAA, basically everything Auburn accomplished last year will be erased.
Stay tuned...