Sources

"Texas A&M has accepted an invitation to join the Southeastern Conference."


"Texas A&M does not have an offer to join the Southeastern Conference unless they tag along with either Texas or Oklahoma."


"No truth to the rumors that Texas A&M is joining the SEC."


"Rick Perry confirms A&M has talked about joining the Southeastern Conference."


I haven't updated this blog in a while because I've been trying to pay attention and sort out all of these sources. The latest rumor in the college sports world is that my alma mater Texas A&M has finally had enough with Texas' glorified pay-per-view network and is once again flirting with the SEC.

Now I got all worked up over this story last summer when conference realignment was going on and I literally spent an entire evening stewing in my own anger. I realized the next day how dumb it was and decided to take conference alignment a little less seriously. Which is why until I see footage of SEC Commissioner Mike Slive shaking hands with Texas A&M Athletic Director Bill Byrne and President R. Bowin Loftin at Kyle Field on ESPN, I'm considering A&M as staying in the Big 12.

The problem is that there are TOO MANY UNVERIFIED SOURCES talking about this subject. Rumors are starting on blogs dedicated to football teams, people saying they know somebody who knows somebody who's cousin is an A&M alumni who used to work in the A&M athletic department and knows what's up. Umm, no.

One of my idols is my old professor of journalism, Ed Walraven. He is one of those dudes who's been around the block and doesn't take shit from anybody. I dedicated my Twitter to quoting his hilarity during my senior year of college, and I have plans on creating a rant segment named after him for this blog. More on that soon, but one of the most important things Walraven taught us is that you MUST VERIFY YOUR SOURCES AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE RELIABLE. A blog is NOT an acceptable source. You cannot print rumors as facts. This is what multiple websites are doing. There are no credible sources, because the reliable sources such as the SEC, A&M, AP, etc are KEEPING QUIET UNTIL THEY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.

And that's what I wish we would all do here. I'm not commenting on anything because I don't know what's going on, and I guarantee only a handful of people actually do.