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SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
And yet there are still things about South Carolina that make me want to slam my head against the table
Akeem Auguste talks about the Gamecocks' extended viewing of film about Auburn on Monday.
"We were watching a little bit of that zone read," Auguste said, referring to Auburn's offense. "We've got to understand the whole concept of this thing. We've got to know who has to do their job right and who needs to do their job right."
Which is all fine and good for playing a team blah blah blah -- THEY'VE PLAYED THIS TEAM BEFORE! DID THEY NOT BOTHER TO 'UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF THIS THING' BEFORE THE FIRST GAME?!?
Sorry. Just needed to vent for a moment. I'm better now.
Mississippi Secretary of State's office investigation of Cam Newton apparently gearing up
Bill Bell spoke to the office's investigators, according to everyone's favorite FOXSports.com reporter, Thayer Evans. Nothing on what he said; Kenny Rogers is supposed to meet with the office next month.
Spurrier supports Newton
The Head Ball Coach all but says Newton should be the Heisman winner this year.
And he acts like he doesn't read the newspapers or hear any of it. So he's a sharp young man that has the ability to focus on helping his team win the game. So that's what he's done ever since (claims of recruiting practices) came out.
Of course, his ability to ignore the stories won't mean anything if they end up being true.
Be careful about buying your SEC Championship Game tickets
And I'm not sure that there is a better way to handle this, but this seems like it's way too late to address the problem:
As a part of that, the SEC and the Georgia Dome will set up a 'ticket validation window' at the main box office of the Georgia Dome beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday. A ticket's authenticity can be confirmed by a box office representative.
I sincerely hope the box office representatives have good security or at least good self esteem, because I'd hate to be one of them when they tell someone they shelled out $450 for a fake.
OTHER NEWS
Al Golden on Vanderbilt's radar
Which makes some sense -- Golden is supposedly interested in Penn State, and that job won't be open this year. I'm still not sure he would go to Vanderbilt in the interim, but it's worth at least a phone call.
Houston Nutt says he's not going to Colorado
And there's no reason to doubt that part of his remarks to the media. It's harder to take some of the rest of what he said seriously.
"Jimmy Sexton gets a bad rap. It's not true that he's out floating around the name of his client," Nutt said. "He has a lot more to do than worry about me. He doesn't work that way. He's a professional."
Right. That's why it just happens to be that Sexton's clients have a history of getting mentioned for other jobs and then getting big raises at their current jobs. Just a coincidence.
Nutt did get a contract extension until 2014
You used to have to win games to get one of those. (AD Pete Boone says the extension is part of an arrangement to get around Mississippi contracting laws, which is really so charming.) He also backs up Nutt's digestion of assistant coaches, or something like that.
Mullen continues to issue non-denial denials
This is not telling anyone who might be interested in talking to Dan Mullen that he wouldn't listen.
I have not been approached by anybody at this point and my wife and I, we’re very very happy here at Mississippi State.
In other words: Have your people call my people.
What is it about the coaches in Mississippi?
Mark Hudspeth is denying that he's a candidate at Louisiana-Lafayette, which would be understandable if he had coached a part of the Mississippi State team integral to his success. He coaches receivers.
They have receivers in Starkville?
Apparently so, because leading one Chad Bumpis is out for the bowl game.
This is dumb
A part-time Alabama employee lost his job because he played "Take the Money and Run" and "Son a Preacher man" before the Iron Bowl. The rest of us find this amusing; Alabama apparently finds it grounds for termination.
"The University of Alabama takes great pride in our football team's long-standing tradition of playing the game with dignity and class, and showing respect for players and coaches of opposing teams," Lane added. "We are disappointed when the actions of any staff member undermine our deeply held values and expectations."
Your "deeply held values" include not having a bit of fun at the expense of your rival? When did Alabama join the Up North conference?
Bruce Pearl has a great one-liner for every SEC fan
No matter what you might think of his issues with the NCAA, you've got to admire Bruce Pearl for saying this.
"I've made mistakes, I clearly did, but what I was hoping for was that some other dumb*** would get on the front page and take me off the hook,'' Pearl said. "I miss Lane Kiffin.''
In a way, coach, we all do.
Thoughts and prayers for John Calipari's family
No jokes here. His mother died Sunday night.
There is some hope for the world
Yeah, as I feared he would, Kyle Brotzman is getting some insults and even threats over missing the potential game-winning field goal and then an overtime field goal in Boise State's loss to Nevada. But then, there's also this.
Then dozens of Facebook pages emerged, some filled with ugly name-calling, jabs and taunts aimed at Brotzman. Supporters responded just as quickly, starting "Bronco Nation Loves Kyle Brotzman" or "We Still Love Kyle Brotzman" pages and posting hundreds of messages of support for the beleaguered kicker. As of Monday afternoon, more than 21,600 people had clicked on the "Like" button for those pages.
We're either becoming a more rational sports society, or the sane among us have finally figured out how to use the Internet.