Disgraced Crimson Tide fan not paying up for trees
AUBURN, Ala. — A prosecutor wants to know why a University of Alabama fan who pleaded guilty to poisoning landmark oak trees at Auburn University isn’t making court-ordered restitution payments. Harvey Updyke was ordered to appear in court Oct. 30 to explain himself, Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes told WRBL-TV. Updyke served more than 70 days in jail in 2013 and was ordered to pay about $800,000 in restitution after admitting to poisoning trees at Toomer’s Corner in Auburn. Fans traditionally rolled the trees with toilet paper after a win, but the original oaks died after being doused with herbicide. Updyke has paid less than $5,000 and often misses payments, Hughes said. “We have been keeping an eye on his payments or more specifically, his nonpayment, and he has made exactly two payments for a total of $200 in the past year. Because of that, we have been looking for him for close to a year, and we finally found him.” A judge previously threatened to jail Updyke for failing to pay the money, and he cited Updyke for contempt of court when the man failed to appear at a hearing about the unpaid money in 2017. Updyke, 70, is a former Texas trooper who now lives in Louisiana. Updyke posted recent Facebook updates with a crude comment about Auburn and a video saying his monthly rent was going up almost $200 to $700 with a $500 deposit, screaming “Roll Tide!” at the end. Updyke has embraced his role as a “villiain” at Alabama sporting events, the prosecutor said, and he was in Tuscaloosa for a football game in November. Said Hughes: “If you have enough money to go see your team play, you have enough money to pay Auburn University.”
BASKETBALL
› EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — DeMarcus Cousins is facing rehab from another major injury, and the Los Angeles Lakers have endured their first big problem of a 2019-20 NBA season for which they have championship expectations. Cousins was diagnosed Thursday with a torn ACL in his left knee, an injury that could sideline the six-time All-Star big man for much — if not all — of this coming season. Cousins’ agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management, said a timeline for surgery is being discussed. Cousins, who spent last season with the Golden State Warriors, got hurt earlier this week in a workout in Las Vegas. The ACL tear comes about 18 months after he ruptured his left Achilles’ tendon and roughly four months after he tore his left quadriceps muscle during the playoffs. Those previous injuries cost him a lot of games and a lot of money. This injury is only going to add to those totals. The Achilles’ tear preceded Cousins becoming a free agent in 2018, when he could have commanded a multi-year deal exceeding $100 million. He wound up having to sign a oneyear, $5.3 million contract with Golden State. This summer Cousins had to settle for much less than the going rate for someone averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game for his career. He signed with the Lakers on another one-year deal, this time for $3.5 million.
MOTORSPORTS
› BRISTOL, Tenn. — Brett Moffitt pulled away on a restart with three laps to go and won the NASCAR Truck Series playoff opener Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway to earn a spot in the Round of 6. Moffitt finished 0.743 second ahead of Chandler Smith for his 10th series victory and first at Bristol. The top seed and 2018 series champion won the pole position and led 65 laps on the 0.533-mile oval. “We’re playing on house money now,” Moffitt said. “I mean, we still want to go get points and ultimately win races and get playoff points to set ourselves up a little safety net for the next round. Ross Chastain won the first stage, and Moffitt drove around the outside of Chastain to win the second stage. Moffitt and Chastain combined to lead the first 110 laps before Grant Enfinger led 57 in the final stage. Chastain, Stewart Friesen and Enfinger, all playoff drivers, rounded out the top five.