Explaining The Cam Newton Ruling, As Best We Can  We don't know
a heck of a lot right now, since the NCAA and Auburn aren't
talking. But we can parse the NCAA's statement and try to break
down what happened, and what happens next.  Cecil Newton did, in
fact, try to get money in exchange for his son's commitment. We
all thought that was the only question in play here, but we were
wrong. The NCAA concluded that the allegation was true, but
won't punish Cam Newton for it.  Newton will play Saturday, and
in whichever bowl game the Tigers end up in. It's a done deal.
The NCAA has reinstated (very important term) Newton, declared
him eligible to play, and that's that for now. Whatever comes
next, it's not going to happen before the BCS title game, let
alone Heisman voting.  The term used was "reinstated" rather
than "cleared" for two important reasons. First is more of a
procedural issue that sounds sexy, but isn't: Newton was
technically declared ineligible to play yesterday, by Auburn
rather than the NCAA. On Mon