March Madness, SEC-style. The SEC Tournament is underway, that great, annual event where everyone gets in no matter how bad they are. Yes, Georgia, you too can be SEC Champions!
Gate 21 gives you the reasons that every team in the field will win -- and lose. I would say when it comes to "Will Georgia repeat?" you can put Gate 21 in the "Leaning Against" category.
Rocky Top Talk goes ahead and calls it for -- Auburn. This makes about as much sense as anyone else, and explains what I don't like about the idea of a college football playoff: Auburn is seen as a dangerous team to draw because they're playing well right now, not because they've played well throughout the season. Again, do we reward the last few games or the whole season?
Alligator Army, meanwhile, wonders if this might be the last time Nick Calathes plays in the SEC postseason.
Without Calathes, Florida would still be hoping for a big SEC Tournament run. To qualify for the NIT. He has carried a team that really has no business being on the bubble.
This is one of those "rock and a hard place" situations for Gators fans. Sure, you'd like the SEC Championship -- but do you really think this team will win the NCAAs? And what if a league title run is all Calathes needs to put him in the first round?
Meanwhile, Seth Emerson illustrates why Cleveland State won't be on Jeff Lebo or Darrin Horn's Christmas Card lists.
Don't forget -- live threads at 12 p.m. ET for the early games and 6 p.m. ET for the late games. C&F cannot attend in the afternoon, but will likely drop by in the evening.
Play Ball! LSU, South Carolina and Tennessee all lose in baseball, the Bengales to UL-Lafayette, the Gamecocks to Wofford -- Wofford! -- and the Vols to Louisville, which is actually excusable. (I'm guessing South Carolina still won't be in the Baseball America Top 25 next week. Call it a hunch.) Georgia, meanwhile, plays LeMoyne. Now that's bravery. Five more teams also win, including Mississippi State, which sweeps a double-header against Valparaiso. The complete wrap.
Red Solo Cup asks if Ole Miss should change its Sunday starter.
Andre Smith 'pleased' -- the NFL, not so much. The OL "thought [he] did an outstanding job" in his workout for NFL scouts. If by "did an outstanding job," he means "bombed," then he might be right. Meanwhile, there were actually some good players at Tennessee last year not named "Ayers" and "Berry." Too bad they didn't show up until Pro Day.
'One million dollars.' That's how much Arkansas State will get for the privelege of get slobberknocked being embarrassed playing at Auburn in 2010. [You sure you want to make that joke with Chizik there? -- ed. Surely even he could defeat ASU. Right? -- C&F.] EDSBS is not impressed.
The fact that Arkansas State will be joining a positively glucose-ish lineup of Furman, Ball State, and Louisiana Tech in the 2010 schedule is not new; that they paid the Meth Lab Explosion a mil to get the date is new. Gene Chizik really wants to get to year three.
But Jerry at The Joe Cribbs Car Wash jumps to Auburn's defense -- sort of.
One suspects the real reason Orson mentions it is to take a shot at Auburn's scheduling practices, which aren't particularly courageous, sure, but at least we've still got West F'in Virginia on the slate for this year and Clemson on deck in 2010. We're not exactly Bill Snyder-era Kansas St., Texas Tech, LSU in 2008, etc.
Chizik vs. Bill Stewart. Now there's a clash of the game's mental giants.
We only got $750,000 and a milkshake.
When your defense of your school's scheduling practices amounts to, "It's not Bill Snyder" -- well, that sort of speaks for itself.
How do you use 'giddy' and 'Monte Kiffin' in the same sentence? How about this: Tennessee fans are way too giddy about Monte Kiffin and his supposed resemblance to Google.
The end of the fullback as we know it? Maybe not, says Dr. Saturday, though the spread does make the position a bit obsolete.
BCS 2013. Yes, as re-elected President Obama or newly-elected President Sarah Palin is being sworn in, we'll still be arguing about who should be playing in the Overt Corporate Sponsor Name BCS National Title Game. (Though I guarantee you ESPN will still say that 12-1 Southern Cal's impressive Rose Bowl win means they're playing THE BEST FOOTBALL OF THE SEASON.)
The Peach Bowl kickoff time has been announced. No word on, you know, which teams will play. Since the season hasn't started. (Slow news day in Atlanta?)
That was a good game. And not just because Georgia lost. But that did make it even better.