John Clay's Sidelines

SEC links for Tuesday:

• Washaun Ealey is no longer a Georgia Bulldog, reports Seth Emerson of the Columbus Ledger-Enqurier.
• Ealey’s departure not as big as it might have been once, writes Mark Bradley of the AJC.
• Florida sets a high bar for SEC success, writes Antonya English of the Tampa Tribune.
• Charges reduced against Florida basketball players, reports Rachel George of the Orlando Sentinel.
• Phil Fulmer could get by as athletic director, writes John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Mr. SEC looks at commitment lists for SEC football.
• Justice Department shouldn’t make a federal case out of the BCS, writes Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Ealey departs Georgia; Florida sets the bar high’

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Big Blue Links for Friday:

Birmingham Schools call board meeting this afternoon to discuss Bledsoe case, reports Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News.

John Calipari believes that Enes Kanter is an amateur, but can’t guarantee that NCAA will agree, reports Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.

Sadly, Florida’s arrests are overshadowing Meyer’s victories, blogs Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.

Florida says high number of football arrests should not define the program, reports Steve Wieberg of USA Today.

Mark Schlereth will be doing his first college game as analyst for ESPN, reports Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post.

Recent road success should help in The Swamp, writes Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.

Same questions, different outcomes for Tim Tebow and Andre Woodson, writes Mark Story of the H-L.

Urban Meyer’s confidence in his offense is rising, writes Edward Aschoff of the Gainesville Sun.

Calipari warms up for another candid year, writes Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal.

Broken hand a minor setback for Danny Trevathan, reports Brett Dawson of the C-J.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Eric Bledsoe case takes next (final?) step today’

Tim Tebow (AP photo)

SEC links for Wednesday:

Brad Locke of the NE Mississippi Daily Journal reports that MSU’s Renardo Sidney has spoken: “‘I was hurt, because I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong. It just killed me, because I really wanted to be on the floor helping my team win. Someone else was deciding my fate and it didn’t feel fair. It was tough, and I experienced a lot of emotions. It was like a dream, but a bad one.’”

NCAA investigators returning to South Carolina, reports Joe Person of The State: “NCAA investigators will return to Columbia this week as part of their ongoing probe into possible illegal activity between sports agents and college football players, two sources told The State on Tuesday. NCAA officials met with South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders last month about whether the senior from Durham, N.C., engaged in any impermissible dealings with agents.”

Tim Tucker of the AJC reports that Aaron Murray looked good in first Georgia scrimmage: “On offense, Richt said Murray ‘made a lot of very good decisions and good throws,’ although his one interception ‘was not a very wise decision.’ Murray completed 12 of 21 passes for 237 yards, highlighted by the two touchdown throws to Green.

Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel writes that Tim Tebow’s departure might not be a bad thing: “Even at UF’s Media Day Tuesday, the major storyline seemed to be this: How can the Gators possibly avert a Biblical plague and keep Ben Hill Griffin Stadium from getting turned into a dust bowl by a swarm of locusts without Timmy Terrific here as its protector and promise keeper.”

Continue reading ‘SEC: Renardo Sidney speaks; NCAA back to Columbia’

Tim Tebow as tweeted by LenDale White.

SEC links for Sunday:

• Social networking opens up issues for SEC coaches, players, writes Jay G. Tate of the Montgomery Advertiser.
• State of Tennessee isn’t producing as much football talent, reports Maurice Patton of the Tennessean.
• Tim Tebow all the buzz at Denver Broncos’ practice, writes Lindsay Jones of the Denver Post.
• Tennessean columnist David Climer writes that Tennessee just can’t escape the Lane Kiffin quagmire.
• Tennessee basketball popularity is “off the charts,” writes Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News thinks grayshirts are a black mark against college football.
• Georgia’s Rodney Garner is a rare long-time assistant in SEC, writes Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald.
• Healthy A.J. Green means business at Georgia, writes David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
• Ole Miss kicks Darius Barksdale off football team, reports Paul Katool of the Clarion-Ledger.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Social networking brings issues for coaches, players’

Bart Starr

SEC links for Sunday:

• George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel asks what has Tim Tebow done to deserve all this hate?
• Bryce Brown and Jeremiah Masoli show the system needs changing, writes Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun.
• Heisman winner Mark Ingram being pushed by Trent Richardson at Alabama, writes Michael Casagrande of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
• Some fall camp story lines for South Carolina, presented by Joseph Person of The State.
• Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald presents five questions for Georgia pre-season.
• Glenn Guilbeau of the Shreveport Times has five questions for LSU’s fall camp.
• Bart Starr returns to his old high school, reports Wesley Lyle of the Montgomery Advertiser.
• Houston Nutt has to roll the dice with Jeremiah Masoli, writes Mike Herndon of the Mobile Press-Register.
• Quarterback situation is the big issue for Ole Miss, reports David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Dan Mullen hopes big Egg Bowl win will carry over for Mississippi State, reports Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Why all the hate for Tim Tebow?’

SEC links for Saturday:

• ESPN’s Rick Reilly tries to take up for ex-Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin.
• Tennessee says it will not release Bryce Brown from his scholarship, reports Austin Ward of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• No, synthetic turf is not coming back to Neyland Stadium, writes Mike Strange of the News-Sentinel.
• Cooperation is the key to solving the agent issue, writes Pat Forde of espn.com.
• Georgia opens camp with a long to-do list, writes Tim Tucker of the AJC.
• Florida basketball will play Ohio State next season, blogs Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Rick Reilly tries to defend Lane Kiffin’

At least it’s not Joe Namath in a pair of pantyhose.

The official promo.

SEC links for Wednesday:

Best story of the day may be David Hooker’s piece in the Knoxville News-Sentinel on Aaron Douglas, the returning offensive line starter at Tennessee who decided to pack up and leave Knoxville. Douglas said he dealt with depression problems, saying, “”It was really tough there for four, five, six weeks,” he said. “I had no desire to really do anything. It’s hard to explain. It’s just like your self-esteem bubble has been popped. I tried to handle it the best I could.”

By the end of spring drills, new Vols coach Derek Dooley lost Douglas, running back Bryce Brown and quarterback Nick Stephens. No wonder some think Tennessee will struggle to get six wins this fall.

BTW, the Tennessee-Oregon game on Sept. 11 will kickoff at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Also in the News-Sentinel, John Adams likes the idea of Phil Fulmer and Al Gore as commencement speakers.

Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger has a Q&A with new Mississippi State athletics director Scott Stricklin. As has been pointed out, Scott was associate athletics director for media relations at UK, but his dealings with sweethearts like me and other members of the local media did not deter him from earning the top job in Starkville.

Stricklin on his job:

“I think we’ve got to start dreaming. Twenty-five years ago we had 30,000 seats in our football stadium. This year, we averaged almost 55,000 people, 25 years later. I think we need to start coming up with a vision right now of what 75,000 football seats might look like at Davis Wade Stadium. We’re not going to get there overnight. It’s going to be a process. But once you have a long term plan, then you can start phasing it in. I think in short term, we’re going to need to add some seats there based on where the demand is right now.”

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Ex-Tennessee player admits depression’

SEC links for Monday:

• Tennessee isn’t alone with quarterback concerns, writes John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

• David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press also writes about the league’s QB issues.

• Georgia’s Aaron Murray is ready to lead, writes Steve Hummer of the AJC.

• Ron Morris of The State thinks conference shakeup should put South Carolina back in the ACC.

• Florida was among those that ruled the NFL draft, reports Andrea Adelson of the Orlando Sentinel.

• Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald reports on a Boston radio show host who used the word Nazis in referencing Tim Tebow. (Hat tip to Orlando Sentinel.)

Continue reading ‘SEC links: The league’s quarterback issues’

SEC links for Friday:

• And with its first-round pick, Denver takes Tim Tebow, reports Mike Klis of the Denver Post.
• Woody Paige of the Denver Post says the Broncos got it right with quarterback of the future.
• Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun writes that a lot of Gators fans just became Broncos fans.
• Without Tebow, Jacksonville Jags go to the dogs, blogs Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.
• Tennessee’s Eric Berry is first SEC player selected, reports Austin Ward of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Tim Tebow ends up talk of NFL draft’