SEC links for Monday:
Kevin Scarbinsky reports that Bama’s Justin Knox has visited North Carolina: “Just got a text message from Darien Knox, the uncle of former Alabama basketball player Justin Knox. The text said Justin “really enjoyed” the first day of his two-day official visit to North Carolina on Sunday.”
Dave Hooker of the Knoxville News-Sentinel on Lane Kiffin’s HBO appearance: “”‘I never once told any of those players I would be there forever,’ the former Tennessee football coach told HBO’s Real Sports in an interview that will air on Tuesday. ‘I never made the statement ‘I was coming here; this is my dream job.’ ‘”
Ray Melick of the Birmingham News writes his good-bye column: “But that’s no longer the case. I have started imagining doing something else. And when I found myself suddenly afforded the opportunity to see what “something else” might be, I accepted.”
Evan Woodbery of the Mobile Press-Register on Auburn baseball taking series from Tennessee: “The Tigers (35-17, 17-10 SEC) lost Friday night’s opener to the Volunteers (29-23, 12-15), but then won the final two games by a combined margin of 27-2. Saturday’s game clinched Auburn’s first appearance in the SEC tournament since 2003, while Sunday’s victory gives the Tigers a chance to control their own destiny next weekend.”
Ron Morris of The State on the Murphy Holloway case: “Should we be surprised? Hardly. This is the state where only in the past decade have fans stopped waving the Confederate flag at Mississippi home football games. This is the school that until a year ago hung on to its mascot, Colonel Reb, a caricature of what appears to be a white antebellum plantation owner.”
David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free-Press on Georgia’s Mark Richt: “Richt has averaged 10 wins a year entering his 10th season at the University of Georgia, a stint of extended success that is unprecedented in program history. Yet the Bulldogs are coming off an 8-5 season, the worst in Richt’s tenure, and the two Southeastern Conference title trophies he won in 2002 and ’05 are beginning to gather dust in a league now dominated by Alabama and Florida.”
David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger reports on Alabama’s win over Ole Miss baseball: “That guy was Alabama pitcher Jimmy Nelson, who gave up just four hits and one run in a masterful complete-game performance. The towering 6-foot-6, 245-pound junior right-hander mixed a powerful fastball that sat in the low 90s and a wicked slider to stifle the Rebel batters, who have managed just six runs in the first two games of the series.
Tennessean on Vanderbilt clinching an SEC Tournament spot: “Vanderbilt (39-13, 15-10 SEC) will make its seventh conference tournament appearance in Coach Tim Corbin’s eight seasons. The Commodores won the 2007 tournament and reached the championship game in 2009, 2006, and 2004.”
Edward Aschoff of the Gainesville Sun on Florida baseball’s win over Georgia: “But in a game like this and with so much riding on a Florida win, he tossed his sensitivity. Johnson had no problem smiling as Georgia pitchers walked six consecutive batters in a seven-run bottom of the sixth during No. 4 Florida’s 9-3 win in front of a crowd of 4,324 at McKethan Stadium. It was the Gators’ fourth home series sweep of the season.”
David Jones of Florida Today on the Florida baseball win: “Johnson (5-2) has been a two-way player for most of SEC play. But he didn’t bat on Sunday so he could concentrate on his pitching. He threw 89 pitches — 55 for strikes — while walking one and striking out three. Johnson’s fastball was clocked in the 90-93 mph range much of the day.”
KATV.com on South Carolina sweeping Arkansas: “Brett Eibner and Collin Kuhn each hit home runs for the Hogs but South Carolina completed its sweep of the No. 10 University of Arkansas baseball team, 5-3, Sunday afternoon at Baum Stadium. The Razorbacks led entering the eighth, but the visiting Gamecocks rallied for three runs over the final two innings to clinch the win. The series finale of the weekend matchup featured 12 pitchers-six for each club.”
Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News on Alabama’s Nike deal: “The University of Alabama’s seven-year contract extension with Nike ranks as one of the largest apparel/equipment deals in college sports. Fresh off a national title in football, Alabama on Friday placed the contract’s value at nearly $30 million in cash and product over eight years.”
5 Responses to “SEC links: Bama’s Knox visits North Carolina”