BRANDON SPIKES
Spikes' punishment not limited to half-game suspension
That according to one of his teammates.
"Coach Meyer did what he thought was right, and he’s also doing some other stuff in house that nobody knows about," senior receiver David Nelson said. Spikes "is not a dirty player by any means. That’s not who he is. He made a mistake and he’s sorry for it and he’s paying for that."
Just as long as Spikes doesn't miss playing time in a game that's, you know, important.
Gougee dislikes suspension
Washaun Ealey would just as soon Brandon Spikes not be suspended.
"That’s their decision. I think he shouldn’t have gotten suspended at all. We were just out there playing football." ...
"I had my eyes closed," Ealey said. "He really didn’t gouge my eyes. ... I was just trying to get up as fast as I can."
A few things should be said here. First of all, no, this doesn't clear Spikes of the charge of eye-gouging. All Ealey said is that Spikes didn't gouge Ealey's eyes, not that he didn't try to.
Secondly, there's a reason Ealey doesn't get to decide Spikes' punishment (besides the obvious fact that he's on another team and not a coach). It's because the punishment should be aimed at making sure this doesn't happen again, and Ealey is unlikely to be the next guy it would happen to.
So this excuses what happened?
Continuing to look for what "sparked" Spikes' action is a step toward justifying it. That said, Ealey was clearly in the wrong here.
OTHER NEWS
This is still funny, but getting dangerously close to jumping the shark
Guess what group appears to be calling Greg McElroy.
'Men, I lived through the Spanish flu'
Rich Brooks says "the sickness bug" is hurting Kentucky.
The Gamecocks 'don't feel bad'
And Steve Spurrier will say that many, many times to convince you. Because it's not like he's trying to convince himself or anything.
"We haven't lost to Eastern Illinois, somebody like that," Spurrier said. "We've lost to some pretty good teams on the road. So don't try to make us feel bad. We don't. We don't feel bad. We had a lousy game last week, but we don't feel bad."
He has a legitimate point, though it's an open question whether the Gamecocks might lose to Eastern Illinois if they played them in November.
The headline: 'Beamer questions USC's coverage effort'
Would now be a bad time to point out that Shane Beamer is the special teams coach and so might have something to do with South Carolina's kickoff coverage effort?
Gamecocks safety punished for being a man's man
Or something like that. Chris Culliver apparently doesn't like telling coaches about things like "injuries" that keep him from making these plays you call "tackles."
'No situation' with Nu'Keese Richardson -- just 'issues'
Boy Wonder in spin cycle about Nu'Keese Richardson -- he of the cell phone call from Urban Meyer that was a violation in Kiffin's head -- and a missed practice on Sunday.
"There is no situation," Kiffin said. "Nu’Keese was dealing with some issues Sunday, some personal issues. But Nu’Keese was in yesterday and everything is fine." ...
"He’s a little bit frustrated, like a lot of freshmen around the country are, especially when you’re potentially a really great player and you’ve had great success in high school. You come in and things are different in college than high school. Nu’Keese will continue to develop, we’ll continue to work with him and eventually he’ll be a great player."
He better, or Kiffin got into a lot of trouble with Mike Slive for nothing.
You're playing 'Dixie' at school events and you're worried about the unofficial chants?
Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones continues efforts to ensure the South will not rise again.
Tommy Tuberville might be available to your besieged program
No mention of whether his offensive assistants have to come with him. But he won't be a coordinator.
Because it's there
It might take awhile for Zac Etheridge to play, but he'll be on the field soon enough.
The junior said he probably will not attend Saturday's game against Furman but "I will definitely be at the Iron Bowl" against rival Alabama on Nov. 27.
Good for him.
Team Speed Kills Now: Technical Nightmare Edition. I do this only because I've established it as a precedent. But there is really no reason to listen to this week's TSK Now unless you just want to hear a battle between man and robot. There's a late start due to technical difficulties, the recording not beginning on time and the call dropping at least twice. So if you want to listen to laugh at what is easily the worst episode yet, here it is.
Next week will be better.