Slight of Hand

Did Auburn kicker Wes Byrum flip off the swamp after the Tigers upset Florida. Upon close inspection, absolutely not.

On Tuesday, the Wiz posted the image, above, which we got from Losers With Socks. It appeared to show Byrum giving Florida fans the finger after the Tigers' 20-17 victory. Reader BLV raised concern about the photo after seeing a similar image posted with Stewart Mandel's mailbag column. That image clearly showed Byrum holding up two fingers.
We were able to track down the original photo of Byrum. It was taken by Tracy Wilcox of the Gainesville Sun, and after examining the image, it was clear a slight adjustment had been made by knocking out Byrum's index finger.
We've enlarged the altered image, left, with the original image, right.
Last year, we questioned a photo of Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson that was making the rounds. We were able to find the original image on the left and compare it with the enhanced version on the right. We also tracked down Siouxer, the man responsible for altering the image.
In January, a series of photos circulated showing a West Virginia fan allegedly defecating on a seat vacated by the Mountaineer band during the Gator Bowl matchup against Georgia Tech.
Sports Illustrated even made mention of the incident in a January issue. But with the help of our former Sports Byline radio co-host John Woolard, we were able to track down that George P. Burdell, the name associated with the photos, is actually a fictional character long used in practical jokes by Georgia Tech students and alumni.
In a February issue, Sports Illustrated published a correction.