SEC FOOTBALL
This is ridiculous
It was stupid when South Carolina was fined for its fans running onto the court after defeating then-No. 1 Kentucky in basketball and it's dumb now to fine Kentucky for rushing the field after beating South Carolina for the first time in a decade. No one is ever going to be able to remove the risk from life, and fans know when they rush a court or run onto the field that they're going to face some degree of risk. And I doubt that fining the school $25,000 is really going to provide much legal cover if a lawsuit comes.
We are going to have to learn at some point that life without risk is not much of a life at all. But apparently only after Mike Slive and the conference make some more money off of the illusion that anything that could hurt you is inherently bad for you -- an idea that seems to be at odds with the game of football itself.
A quarterback controversy for the reigning national champions?
Roll Bama Roll has a great piece on what seems to be a simmering debate in Tuscaloosa about whether Greg McElroy or A.J. McCarron should be getting the snaps at quarterback. You read that correctly: Fans of a team that has gone 20-1 over the last 21 games are considering whether a quarterback change is in order. For now, the verdict seems to be that the Tide will stay with the guy who's lost one game since middle school.
For better or for worse, it seems that we will likely sink or swim with McElroy under center. Clearly we need him to play better for us to make it back to Atlanta and hopefully get back into national championship contention, but for now it seems relatively unlikely that we will see a change made at the quarterback position unless we lose another another game or unless McElroy gets hurt. ... Agree or disagree with the final conclusion by the staff, but the feeling seems almost palpable that if Alabama is going to get back into contention this year it will have to be McElroy that takes us there.
I understand the argument about McElroy's issues in recent weeks -- but as you can probably tell by the lead-in, I wouldn't be as quick as some Alabama fans might be to bench McElroy right now. Yes, he's taken 11 sacks in the last two games. And, yes, a good number of those are his fault. But I can't help but think that benching the quarterback would be a mistake right now. It would essentially be conceding the SEC West race to LSU or Auburn, two teams that are still on the schedule.
That said, I also agree with outsidethesidelines' other point. Another loss or two would give Alabama few reasons to stay with McElroy. But until then, there's no reason to risk a season that still has some promise.
WE ARE STILL THE REBELS
This is becoming a problem.
Yes, the chancellor is having to assure fans that Ole Miss is still the Rebels. And the Black Bears. And ... you can see how this is becoming an issue. (HT: Red Cup Rebellion)
Houston Nutt says he hasn't felt the butterflies about Arkansas the last two years
And I say the sky is green.
Les Miles doesn't seem to like the idea of spying Cameron Newton
Ask Ellis Johnson how that worked out for him.
BASKETBALL MEDIA DAY
No, we didn't fire him -- we merely terminated his contract
Tennessee fans, your football coach's contract has been terminated. But Athletics Director Mike Hamilton does not want you to worry. (I know, those 10 words probably don't help the situation.)
It doesn’t change our stance that we want Bruce Pearl to be our basketball coach for months and years to come.
And nothing says we want you to stay around like terminating your contract. This is really quite amazing. Everyone says this is all a legal detail, and perhaps it is, but it just seems like another thread in the story that needs to be followed.
Of course, if Pat Summitt had her way ...
The Tennessee women's coach said this didn't apply to Bruce Pearl, but it's hard to see it any other way. She was asked what should happen to her if she were found to break the rules.
"I’ve never compromised at all, and I wouldn’t," said Summitt, who has won eight national championships and graduated almost every one of her players. "(But) if I ever did (break rules), they should fire me."
But Bruce Pearl is different. Just because. Next question.
Calipari not impatient on Enes Kanter decision
If only the noted humanitarian could get through to his fan base.
"I want the NCAA to get it right," Calipari said. "It’s not going to just affect this kid. It’s any good player that wants to come over."
The NCAA being noted for the speed with which it concludes investigations, we're sure that this won't be an issue much longer.
OTHER NEWS
NFLPA finally takes decisive action on AgentGate
Sure, it's to decertify the agent who said he left the business before writing the infamous SI article about agents and players. But it is a start.
Red Cup Rebellion talks about Eric LeGrand
A fine piece.
Shirt being created to help raise money for LeGrand
Hopefully these will go on the Web and sell well. (Hint.)