John Clay's Sidelines

Florida coach Billy Donovan meets with the media after his team’s 78-58 loss to UK.

Audio from today’s SEC basketball teleconference:

• Florida’s Billy Donovan talks about Tuesday’s game at Kentucky.
• Kentucky’s John Calipari talks about this week’s games against Florida and Vanderbilt.

SEC links for Thursday:

• NCAA ends investigation into Newton recruitment, reports Advertiser’s Jay Tate.
• NCAA closure vindicates Auburn, says Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News.
• Joe Medley of Anniston Star says that proof beat perception.
• Not sure how you can fault the NCAA, says Jeff AJC’s Jeff Schultz.
• Many share blame in Garcia saga, writes Ron Morris of The State.
• Press Association objects to Spurrier, reports Post and Courier.
• Florida’s Murphy and Larson thankful for return, reports Sun’s Kevin Brockway.
• Donovan close to signing contract extension, reports Rachel George of Sentinel.
• Lopsided games have dominated early SEC schedule, says Brett Martel of AP.
• Chavis downplays return to Tennessee, reports Times-Picayune’s Jim Kleinpeter.
• Don Kausler of the Birmingham News goes inside an Alabama football halftime.
• Bama’s Jones takes pie to the face, reports Chase Goodbread of Tuscaloosa News.
• Ole Miss knows upsets can happen, writes Hugh Kellenberger of C-L.
• No decision on Vandy quarterback, reports Jeff Lockridge of Tennessean.
• Florida linebacker will transfer, reports Matt Watts of Miami Herald.
• Chip Towers of AJC writes on realities of Georgia’s Dream Team recruiting.

Samford athletic director Martin Newton (Southern Conference photo)

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• As new athletic director at Samford, Martin Newton has negotiated a deal with Kentucky for basketball games over the next three seasons, with the final game to be played in Birmingham, reports Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News.
• Florida’s Billy Donovan beats out Kentucky’s John Calipari for best basketball coach in SEC, according to a media poll Knoxville radio talk show host Jimmy Hyams conducted at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin last week.
• Joker Phillips sees the perception of Kentucky football changing, reports ESPN’s Edward Aschoff.
• My H-L column says Kentucky fans have been no doubt amused by the mess on Rocky Top, which brought Mike Hamilton’s resignation on Tuesday.

Continue reading ‘BBL: UK to play Samford in basketball next 3 seasons’

SEC links for Wednesday:

• Five most interesting people at SEC tourney, from Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley.
• Renardo Sidney admits to a bad attitude, reports Brandon Marcello of the C-L.
• Donovan, Parsons take SEC honors, reports Kevin Brockway of the Sun.
• Donovan says don’t fall in love with Gators, reports Sentinel’s Rachel George.
• Vandy’s Jenkins misses out on big award, reports Jeff Lockridge of Tennessean.
• Tennessee’s threes at a low point, writes Mike Griffith of the News-Sentinel.
• Green’s suspension helped turn Tide, writes Anniston Star’s Michael Casagrande.
• NCAA Committee needs more basketball people, says Kevin Scarbinsky.
• Ohio State case has an Alabama precedent, by Cecil Hurt of Tuscaloosa News.
• Guess we won’t be hearing those Newton tapes, says Mr. SEC.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Getting ready for SEC basketball tournament’

SEC links for Tuesday:

• Mississippi State hitting the third season in stride, writes Brandon Marcello of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Billy Donovan cautions his streaking Gators, writes Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.
• Brian Williams is still sore, but ready to play for Tennessee, reports Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Alabama’s NCAA tourney hopes are still up in the air, reports Michael Casagrande of the Anniston Star.
• Auburn’s performance down the stretch has drawn praise, writes Evan Woodbery of the Mobile Press-Register.
• Erratic Ole Miss seeking answers, writes Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger.
• LSU braces for a grumpy Vanderbilt, writes Scott Rabalais of the The Advocate.
• John Pennington of Mr. SEC does some blind tournament comparisons.
• Cam Newton with still plenty to prove as Auburn holds Pro Day, reports Andy Bitter of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.
• Georgia outfielder involved in collision has surgery, reports Seth Emerson of the Macon Telegraph.

(AP photo)

SEC links for Friday:

- Tennessee holds off South Carolina 73-69, reports Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel. The Vols are now 8-7 in the SEC, with Kentucky coming to Knoxville on Sunday.

- Road games aren’t the problem for Tennessee, points out Mike Strange of the News-Sentinel. Tennessee finished 5-3 in SEC play on the road. The Vols are 3-4 at home.

- Tobias Harris scored a career-high 25 points in the Tennessee win, reports Patrick Brown of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. ”Tobias finished around the basket,” said UT coach Bruce Pearl afterward. “Tobias rebounded the ball in traffic. He was the only guy in there that had any kind of size – any kind of physical presence. That’s one of his best games. I played him at a lot of center. And as a freshman he’s a winner.”

- Shell-shocked Gamecocks can’t dig out of hole, writes Travis Haney of the Charleston Post and Courier. Sam Muldrow did score a career-high 24 points on his Senior Night for South Carolina.

- Auburn lost more than $600,000 on its BCS championship game appearance, reports Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News. That’s the dirty little secret about bowl games. For the teams, the game itself is not a money-making proposition.

- John Bond says the Cam Newton tape is a fake, reports Charles Goldberg of the Birmingham News. I’m not sure I care much about this, or know who to believe.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Tennessee tunes up for UK with win in Columbia’

(AP photo)

There’s a big game at Rupp Arena tonight. But there’s a big game in Gainesville tonight, too. And not just because it marks Anthony Grant’s return to the O’Dome.

Alabama and Florida meet in the O-Dome with a share of the SEC regular-season crown on the line. (It’s a 7 p.m. start on ESPNU.) Alabama is 11-3 in the league. Florida is 11-3. Both are coming off Saturday losses. Alabama blew a double-digit and dropped one at Ole Miss. Florida failed to snap Kentucky’s home win streak. Still, both have clinched the two No. 1 seeds for next week’s SEC Tournament.

And, oh yeah, Grant, the former assistant under Billy Donovan at Florida, is the second-year head coach of the Crimson Tide.

Sitting 12th in the RPI, Florida is a lock for the NCAA Tournament. At No. 89, Alabama’s resume may need more work. Yes, the Tide has dominated its division, but the SEC West is easily the weaker of the two.

Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News writes that if the Tide wins tonight, it should make the Big Dance. And Kevin finds an ally in ex-Alabama coach and former UK athletics director C.M. Newton.

“I think the hardest thing to do is achieve the consistency to win a regular-season championship,” Newton tells Scarbinsky. “Basketball, when you get to postseason play, is a tournament game. But the best team doesn’t necessarily win that. I guarantee you the best team wins over the long haul in the regular season.”

Related link: Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun writes that Florida’s seniors are set for the title tilt.

(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Get to know the power players on UK sidelines at interactive site from the H-L.
• Kentucky men running out of time, reports Jerry Tipton of the H-L.
• Mathies layup lifts Kentucky over Arkansas 55-54, reports Jennifer Smith of the H-L.
• Victoria Dunlap hits all the right notes in home finale, says Mark Story of the H-L.
• Heart-stopping win for UK women, writes T.J. Walker of the Kentucky Kernel.
• Group wants Billy Gillispie at Texas Tech, writes Jon Arnold of the Daily Toreador.
• Some question method of Lacey’s record, writes Gregg Dewalt of the Times Dailey.
• To be the best is Marquis Teague’s goal, says Brett Carney of WLEX-TV.
• Wiltjer ready to return to action, writes Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune.
• Brett Dawson of C-J reports that Calipari believes Kentucky needs to get angry.
• Meaning of  three-point sign is unclear, writes Nick Craddock of the Kernel.
• Road woes raise March questions about Cats, writes Jeff Eisenberg for Yahoo.
• It was deja vu in Fayetteville, writes Tom Leach.
• Does Calipari have to accept blame for close losses? asks Larry Vaught of A-M.

Continue reading ‘BBL: New Billy Gillispie group; Lacey scoring controversy’

(AP photo)

Terrific story by Jason King of Yahoo Sports on how personal loss keeps Billy Donovan, Anthony Grant and John Pelphey connected.

I did a column on Donovan after his wife, Christine, lost their fourth child during pregnancy. But Jason ties that together with the losses experienced by two of Donovan’s former assistants, and how the three lean on each other for support.

An excerpt:

The text arrived two days after Halloween, well before Billy Donovan got to the cemetery.

“Thinking of you,” it read.

For almost a decade, it’s never failed. Every year, on Nov. 2, Arkansas coach John Pelphrey - along with Alabama’s Anthony Grant – have reached out to their former boss at Florida. A phone call, an e-mail, a card or text. Just something to remind Donovan how much they care. And how they can relate.

“No staff,” Grant says, “has ever experienced what we experienced. What happened with all of us … I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”

Long before they were all head coaches in the SEC — long before they became competitors – Donovan, Pelphrey and Grant helped Florida blossom into one of the country’s most dominating programs during the early and mid-2000s. Still, the moments the three of them remember the most — the three precise dates that spurred one of the strongest, most unique bonds in all of sports — have nothing to do with winning NCAA titles and conference championships.

Instead, they involve the loss of life, and the strengthening of friendship.