Hooray for Hollywood. I have joked before about ESPN being a wholly-owned subsidiary of the SEC. I now believe it's the other way around.
I don't begrudge ESPN attempting to schedule an LSU-North Carolina game to begin the 2010 season, meaning the Tar Heels will have to postpone a game with South Carolina (assuming they're not in the mood to just drop $750,000 on the Gamecocks and call bygones bygones). In fact, it makes a lot of sense. North Carolina looks to be an up-and-coming team, LSU will likely be a fine football team in 2010 and it keeps the ACC-SEC matchup that has marked the first two years of the Georgia Dome-based Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
And most of the other machinations ESPN is undertaking to make this game happen have been par for the course for several years now.
But this part of the deal is kind of troubling.Secondly, ESPN could rework USC's schedule to include an open date during the middle of the season, which is to Spurrier's liking. He has lamented having an open date before the Clemson game and not earlier in the fall.
Does ESPN really have more influence over South Carolina's schedule than the program's head coach? Not just in setting the program's schedule by arranging some games -- duh -- but in shuffling the calendar of South Carolina and potentially other teams to arrange for things like a midseason bye even when the head coach has proven unable to do?
I would ask who's driving this bus, but I'm not sure I want to know the answer.
Then again, we are getting a nifty new digital "network."
Content won't include live games, but the league said full replays and searchable highlights will be available, along with post-game interviews, press conferences and breaking news. Much of the content will be available within minutes of a game's conclusion, the league said. Also available will be nearly 10,000 hours of video from the SEC's library.
So there's that.
Yes, but see, Temple didn't have any wins to vacate
Alabama tries to use precedent to get the NCAA to restore any vacated wins. It might seem like Alabama's appeal is harshly worded, but lawyers just like using words like "arbitrarily, capriciously and irrationally." It's like Brent Musberger and "pardner." Meanwhile, Roll Bama Roll makes like a good lawyer and writes many, many words about the appeal.
NCAA likes enforcing the law; following it, not so much
mlmintampa makes some good points here. But one of the things the NCAA seems to fail to comprehend about Florida law is that simply being a custodian of records for a public university makes it subject to the open-records laws in Florida. It matters not that they are a private organization if they are handling documents that should be public record.
Five to go
The pruning process continues at Alabama. Cue righteous indignation from Brian in 3... 2... 1...
Mississippi State's new offense: The single wing
WRs Terrance Davis and Delmon Robinson bail on the Western Division Bulldogs, leading to serious questions about the offense.
Browns ink Massaquoi
He will have 1,000 receiving yards next year and promptly be labeled a disappointment.
Jarmon signs with Redskins
Four-year deal with $755,000 in real money.
Not irrelevant to Connor Barth
Looks like Ryan Succop will start the season as the Kansas City Chief's kicker after the team waives Barth.
Bobby Bowden still believes in Spurrier
Of course, he doesn't account for the fact that Head Ball Coach probably doesn't want to coach until he's 80.
I'm going to tell you what he's going to do. One of these days, he's going to get that guy under center and he's going to get that one great [receiver] out there and it's going to happen. He's as good at that as anyone I know. Give him one great quarterback and one great receiver, and let him work out an offense.
Also of interest: It's not that Bowden wants a punishment other than the vacated wins for Florida State's academic fraud scandal. He just doesn't want to be punished at all. (HT: Garnet and Black Attack)
Drowning your sorrows in optimism
Rocky Top Talk considers Plans Q, R and S in The Great Tennessee QB Search.
Like toll roads, let's blame it on the Yankees
Some Auburn tailgaters will pay to do so. Yes, you read that right. Nothing is sacred.
Lest you think this is just a few fans griping about the cost spots that are, after all, mostly new --
The going rate for the primo package: Up to $4,275 for the season.
Yankees.
Richt slept during the summer
Presumably not all of it. It must have sounded like a good idea at the AJC meeting: "Hey, let's ask Richt and Johnson some non-football questions." Unfortunately, they forgot they were dealing with Mark Richt and Paul Johnson.
The royal "we" might get annoying after a while
Larry Munson's autobiography should hit bookstores soon
[Pat Fitzgerald's] icebreaker of "I voted for Tebow" was gold.
(HT: Blutarsky)
EA Sports has lost its mind
Penn State in the title game? Mildly surprising. But Georgia in the Orange Bowl? West Virginia and Oklahoma State in the Sugar Bowl?!? Share some of that stuff, guys. It must be good.