Team Speed Kills

Saturday Bubble Team Rooting Guide

2010-03-13T15:36:24Z

UPDATE 8:30 PM: Winners so far in italics. It's not looking good.

For today's bubble team rooting guide, I am really only talking about Florida and Mississippi State. Ole Miss: thanks for playing, but your loss to Tennessee yesterday means your bubble has burst.

The ACC and Big Ten tournaments have really thrown some monkey wrenches here. Georgia Tech has solidly played its way in, no one seems interested in beating NC State or Miami, and the Big Ten looks like it's trying to give Illinois and Minnesota all the wins they need. Today's when things get critical, since four conference championships are on the line (Pac-10, MWC, C-USA, WAC) where we really need the tourney locks to win.

All times are Eastern; (!) denotes a conference championship game.

11:30 AM

(!) UTEP over Houston (CBS)

1:30 PM

Duke over Miami (ESPN)

Ohio State over Illinois (CBS)

(!) Temple over Rhode Island

3:00 PM

Vanderbilt over Mississippi State (ABC) - NOTE: Florida fans only, obviously.

3:30 PM

Georgia Tech over NC State (ESPN)

4:00 PM

Purdue over Minnesota (CBS)

6:00 PM

(!) Cal over Washington (CBS)

7:00 PM

(!) UNLV over San Diego State

10:00 PM

(!) Utah State over New Mexico State (ESPN2)

Friday Bubble Team Rooting Guide

2010-03-12T16:15:12Z

UPDATE: Winners in italics. The bubble situation is getting more precarious thanks to the ACC, Big Ten and MWC.

Yesterday's bubble rooting guide went 11-6, not counting Florida's win over Auburn since that didn't apply to all three SEC bubble teams. You can find out what went on with all the games on that page as it's been updated with the winners indicated. UAB, Memphis, Arizona State, and Cincinnati all fell by the wayside pretty much for good.

Here is today's slate of bubble relevant games, though most of these are just rooting for tournament locks not to spit the bit against teams outside the bracket. Illinois, Rhode Island, Dayton, San Diego State, Minnesota, and Washington are the teams on the bubble you specifically want to lose.

All times are Eastern.

12:00 PM

Duke over Virginia (ESPN2)

Ohio State over Michigan (ESPN)

Temple over St. Bonaventure

1:00 PM

Kentucky over Alabama (SEC Network)

2:00 PM

Wisconsin over Illinois (ESPN)

Virginia Tech over Miami (ESPN2)

2:30 PM

Saint Louis over Rhode Island

3:15 PM

Tennessee over Ole Miss (SEC Network) - NOTE: Only if you're a Florida/Miss State fan

4:00 PM

UTEP over Tulsa (CBS College Sports)

6:30 PM

Purdue over Northwestern

Xavier over Dayton

7:00 PM

Maryland over Georgia Tech (ESPN2)

7:30 PM

Mississippi State over Florida (SEC Network) -- NOTE: Only for Ole Miss/Miss State fans, obviously.

9:00 PM

New Mexico over San Diego State (CBS College Sports)

Michigan State over Minnesota

Cal over UCLA (FSN)

Florida State over NC State (ESPN2)

Richmond over UMass

Utah State over Louisiana Tech

9:45 PM

Vanderbilt over Georgia (SEC Network)

11:30 PM

Stanford over Washington (FSN)

Leading Off: SEC Ping for the Weekend of 03.12.10

2010-03-12T15:01:13Z

The most important games of the weekend. All rankings are Baseball America.

No. 18 OLE MISS (11-2) vs. No. 10 LOUISVILLE (12-0)
This is the only matchup this weekend between Top 25 teams involving an SEC team and one of just two series between ranked opponents in the nation. So far, Ole Miss has shown few signs of what was expected to be a rebuilding year for the Rebels, while Louisville has gone undefeated against a relatively mediocre slate. That said, the Cardinals have defeated that schedule by a 105-42 margin. Five of the six expected starters in this series have an ERA of 2.50 or below, the exception being Louisville's Tony Zych (10.12). The challenge for Ole Miss' pitching staff will be to avoid a big inning in the middle of the game; the Cardinals have scored 52 of their 105 runs in the fourth, fifth or sixth inning. Friday: 7:30 p.m. ET · Saturday: 2:30 p.m. ET · Sunday: 1:30 p.m. ET

AUBURN (9-2) at No. 11 ARIZONA STATE (12-0)
For starters, there are some diverging opinions about just how good Arizona State is. While BA ranks them No. 11, Collegiate Baseball has the Sun Devils at No. 2 in the nation and USA Today/ESPN puts them at No. 3. So Tiger fans might want to keep that in mind as their team travels to Tempe. This likely will not end well. That might have something to do with the .372 team batting average, 1.096 team OPS or 2.60 team ERA. Arizona State has scored at least ten runs in each inning this year except the ninth. They have not scored in the ninth inning, largely because they have not had to play a ninth inning. So any Auburn fans lucky enough to go to the game should probably just enjoy the Arizona weather. Friday: 8:30 p.m. ET · Saturday: 8:30 p.m. ET · Sunday: 3 p.m. ET

MISSISSIPPI STATE (9-3) at WHATABURGER CLASSIC: No. 25 OKLAHOMA (13-1), No. 15 UCLA (10-0), TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI (7-4)
The Western Division Bulldogs are also facing a long weekend, at least during the first two games. (TAMU-CC isn't exactly a College World Series favorite this year.) Oklahoma boasts Garrett Buechele, he of the 1.324 OPS and five home runs. At least the Sooner pitcher is Zach Neal, with a 6.60 ERA, two wild pitches and three hit batsmen. So, duck. No such luck against UCLA, who will send Trevor Bauer and his 2.45 ERA to pitch with a lineup behind him that could feature as many as six players with batting averages of .400 or above. Friday (vs. Oklahoma): 3 p.m. ET · Saturday (vs. UCLA): 6 p.m. ET · Sunday (vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi): 4 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET

ALABAMA: vs. Stony Brook, 7:35 p.m. ET Friday, 2:05 p.m. and 5:05 p.m. ET Saturday, 1:05 p.m. ET Sunday
No. 14 ARKANSAS: vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 4:05 p.m. ET Friday, 3:05 p.m. ET Saturday, 2:05 p.m. ET Sunday
No. 6 FLORIDA: vs. Charleston Southern, 6:30 p.m. ET Friday, 4 p.m. ET Saturday, 1 p.m. ET Sunday
GEORGIA: vs. Siena, 6:30 p.m. ET Friday, 3 p.m. ET Saturday, 1 p.m. ET Sunday
No. 22 KENTUCKY: vs. IPFW, 4 p.m. ET Friday, 1 p.m. ET Saturday, 1 p.m. ET Sunday
No. 2 LSU: vs. Kansas, 8 p.m. ET Friday, 3 p.m. ET Saturday, 2 p.m. ET Sunday
No. 19 SOUTH CAROLINA: vs. Brown, 7 p.m. ET Friday, 4 p.m. ET Saturday, 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday
TENNESSEE (Arby's Classic): vs. Connecticut, 6 p.m. ET; vs. Ohio State, 5 p.m. ET; vs. Marshall, 4 p.m. ET
No. 24 VANDERBILT: vs. Ohio, 5 p.m. ET Friday, 3 p.m. ET Saturday, 2 p.m. ET Sunday

SEC Tournament Day 1 Reactions

2010-03-12T13:34:07Z

SEC Tournament Day 1 Reactions

Updates on all of the Day 1 games plus a round up of blogger reactions is up at the story stream. Check it out.

Sprints Teaches Kansas Baseball Fans About Geography // 03.12.10

2010-03-12T08:09:32Z

More photos » Kerry Maloney - AP

From one SBN blogger to another: Do you really want to make these people angry?

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A little information is a dangerous thing
It's time to replace the Big Ten as the conference we most love to hate with the Big XII. Because, having given up at defeating the SEC on the field in apparent recognition that this is a lost cause, the Folks from the Flat Earth have taken to ad hominem attacks. Even in baseball.

From the SB Nation Kansas blog, Rock Talk Chalk:

SEC baseball teams have rubbed college baseball fans across the nation the wrong way for decades by their refusal to play non-conference road games and the favoritism they receive most years from the NCAA tournament committee. Many college baseball fans think that SEC teams should either prove themselves by scheduling quality non-conference road games or drop their sense of entitlement.

Hmm. So I guess South Carolina's three-game series at No. 13 East Carolina didn't count? How about their two games in the Upstate (one at a "neutral" field) against No. 12 Clemson? Or perhaps you missed Georgia's series at No. 5 Florida State? (In fairness, Georgia fans probably wish they had missed it.) Or Alabama's sweep at College of Charleston, currently at 27 in the mock RPIs? Did you catch Florida's three-game series at No. 20 Miami, or its game later this season at Florida State? Notice Tennessee's trip to Corvallis to play No. 21 Oregon State for a series? Are you aware that Auburn plays No. 11 Arizona State this weekend in Tempe, as Mississippi State goes to Corpus Christi for a tournament that includes No. 15 UCLA and No. 25 Oklahoma? What about the West Coast journeys by Vanderbilt, which included at game at UCLA, and Kentucky, which also won a game at No. 8 Coastal Carolina?

Precisely which of those games would you not classify as "quality non-conference road games"? Because there are nine teams there, which is three-quarters of the league. (This is assuming we should take the criticism seriously when the post includes the sentence: "KU won two games this week vs. NAIA foes at Hoglund.")

Of course, RCT would probably discount some of the games above because of that old favorite for non-SEC fans: leaving the region.

If the SEC were to ask me how they might get their game back (no, I'm not waiting by the phone) one suggestion I'd make is to start playing non-conference schedules that involves leaving the south to face quality opponents. SEC teams seem to prefer playing comfortable non-conference schedules composed almost exclusively of home games vs. regional opponents rather than preparing themselves to face the best teams in the nation by leaving home and seeing how they stack up against the better teams across the nation.

For the 8,000th time we've addressed this in either football or baseball: The SEC rarely leaves its region to play quality nonconference opponents because it doesn't have to leave its region to play quality nonconference opponents. In the SEC footprint, there are good baseball programs in (to name just a few) Louisville, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Atlanta, Tallahassee, Miami, Clemson and Hattiesburg. If you expand "the region" to include all the "Southern" states, there's not enough space to even hit the highlights.

Know how many non-SEC teams from SEC states are in the mock RPI Top 40 right now? Eight. For the Big XII, it's two. There are six non-SEC teams from SEC states in the Baseball America Top 25, compared to two for the Big XII -- both in Texas.

Leaving all that aside, though, there's one very good reason why this weekend's series between Kansas and LSU is being played at Alex Box Stadium. (Okay, two, the first being the insane amounts of money LSU makes off home games.) The temperature in Lawrence this weekend isn't expected to get higher than 50, which is a few degrees above the forecasted lows in Baton Rouge. The question isn't why LSU wouldn't play a baseball series at Kansas, but why Kansas would. (HT: And The Valley Shook)

SEC TOURNAMENT

Strange guy named "Wunderlich" still writing SEC recaps
Follow the tournament at SBNation.com.

Clock ticking for Jeff Lebo
Auburn's loss in the SEC tournament might not just be the end of the season. It could be the end of the Jeff Lebo Era.

"We've got a good recruiting class coming in. We've got to get some guys who need to get better,'' Lebo said.

Lebo was asked about his "body of work" at Auburn.

"I just got through with the game. I really haven't thought of the body of work,'' he said.

I would suggest he think rather quickly about how to answer that question the next time it's asked.

Nashville = Baghdad?
Reports of a landmine near Bridgestone Arena appear to have been untrue. Everyone should stop being alarmed. Except those of you who live in Birmingham, who were never alarmed by this in the first place, thinking it a normal aspect of urban life.

OTHER NEWS

I'd like to see a Les Miles discount
Terrance Toliver is back on the practice field for LSU.

Miles said Toliver, a senior-to-be, will be able to practice during spring and summer, but will pay "a tremendous price." Miles said there won't be a suspension involved.

"A tremendous price" that won't include a suspension? What is the punishment going to be, writing "I will not get tased by police" on the blackboard 100 times?

SEC looking to make sure things are fair for disadvantaged program
Always sure to look out for the fortunes those programs who face an unfair situation, the SEC is helping out ... Alabama? Yes, the Tide might soon see something happen to fix the large number of programs it faces coming off a bye week.

"The numbers are so out of whack," Bloom said, "I think the athletics directors agreed that we needed to look into it. ... I can't tell you what the options are, but we're hopeful we'll have something done in the next month or two months."

Because no one would want Alabama to have to face an uphill climb or anything.

Edward Thomas forgot 'a shared belief that agriculture is the highest aspiration of mankind'
The Mayor is not pleased with Dabo Swinney's idea of an exhibition game between the Clemson Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs, who hate each other for reasons I still do not clearly understand. (It might be that the two fan bases are stunningly similar, except that Georgia has acknowledged that its 2010 and Clemson still acts like it's the 1950s.)

Early Shift Recaps and Commentary

2010-03-11T23:42:43Z

Early Shift Recaps and Commentary

Keep an eye on the SEC Tournament story stream for updates. Recaps and commentary for the Bama-Carolina and Tennessee-LSU games are up.

SEC Tournament Day 1 Open Thread

2010-03-11T17:30:21Z

Here's an open thread for today's basketball action. The SEC schedule is here, and the bubble team rooting guide is here. Enjoy, y'all.

Thursday Bubble Team Rooting Guide

2010-03-11T15:00:59Z

UPDATE: Winners are in italics.

Yesterday, the Bubble Team Rooting Guide's teams of choice went 5-2. USF and Seton Hall lost, probably putting them out of the field of 64 for good. Marquette held on, Oklahoma State rolled, and Texas advanced. The two unfortunate outcomes were Missouri falling to Nebraska and Cincy upending Louisville. Neither of those outcomes threatens the bubble's structural integrity just yet; as long as someone takes out the 'Huskers and Bearcats before the end, we're still good.

Here's the bubble-relevant games to keep an eye on today if you can. There sure are a lot of 'em as we get into the thick of Championship Week. All times are Eastern.

12:30 PM

Kansas over Texas Tech (ESPN2)

2:00 PM

Wake Forest over Miami (ESPN 360)

3:00 PM

Texas A&M over Nebraska (ESPN 360)

Utah State over Boise State (ESPNU)

3:15 PM

Tennessee over LSU (SEC Network)

3:30 PM

Southern Miss over UAB (CBS College Sports)

5:30 PM

Colorado State over San Diego State (CBS College Sports)

Cal over Oregon (FSN)

7:00 PM

UNC over Georgia Tech (ESPN2)

7:30 PM

Auburn over Florida (SEC Network) -- NOTE: Only if you're an Ole Miss fan

Penn State over Minnesota

9:00 PM

West Virginia over Cincinnati (ESPN)

Clemson over NC State (ESPN 360)

BYU over TCU

9:15 PM

Stanford over Arizona State (FSN)

10:00 PM

UTEP over UCF (CBS College Sports)

11:30 PM

UNLV over Utah (CBS College Sports)

11:40 PM

Oregon State over Washington (FSN)

Sprints Would Always Want to Win the SEC Basketball Championship // 03.11.10

2010-03-11T07:21:27Z

More photos » Ed Reinke - AP

Why do I care who wins the SEC?

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SEC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

The Official SB Nation Preview
By some strange guy named "Dave Wunderlich."

Kentucky's first opponent will be 'a team riding a wave of confidence'
But Kentucky's not really trying to win the SEC tournament, so that's okay.

Speaking of
Yes, Kentucky head coach and noted humanitarian John Calipari said this.

"We're playing for a seed. That's what we're playing for," Calipari said. "Now, we'd like to win this tournament, but it's not the end-all for us. Our whole goal is that seed, and if we lose our first game, we're not going to be a No. 1 seed. If we win the first and lose the second, then I think we've done enough to get that 1 seed."

Man, these playoffs to determine national championships really are good for a game, aren't they?

It's easy to say you're not worried about your job when you know you're going to lose it
Jeff Lebo says he's not concerned about employment at this moment.

"I'm focused on this team, and I'm focused on the tournament, focused on Florida. That's where all my energy is going right now -- to these kids," Lebo said. "When the season's over, I'll sit down with my AD, and we'll have a conversation. That's it. That's kind of where it is right now."

Of course, it appears the only way Lebo might keep his job is to win the SEC tournament. (Call it the Felton Gambit.) So, he's probably being honest.

AFTER THE JUMP
- Play Ball!
- Dabo Swinney's Bad Idea
- Tebow Draft News

OTHER NEWS

Play Ball!
South Carolina breaks two program records in a 7-3 win against Valparaiso. That, Arkansas' revenge and Kentucky's first home loss seemed like the only games on a rainy day in the SEC.

Florida 8, Illinois State 0
Ole Miss 10, Austin Peay 2
Arkansas 21, South Dakota State 2
Vanderbilt 9, Tennessee-Martin 1
Evansville 8, Kentucky 4
Mississippi State 9, Western Kentucky 3
Tennessee 8, Middle Tennessee State 6
Alabama 2, Michigan State 2 -- 4 inn -- CANCELED
Auburn vs. Appalachian State -- CANCELED
Georgia at Kennesaw State -- CANCELED
LSU at Northwestern State -- PPD

No games today.

This would be a great idea -- until your starting quarterback blows out a knee
Dabo Swinney wants to play an exhibition game. Really.

"Let's go play Georgia," Swinney said. "Don't you think that could generate some good money with all the Clemson fans and Georgia fans? Let's split the gate down the middle."

And the first injury -- no matter how many rules you put in place, there will be an injury -- will be the last time such a game is played.

Tebow doesn't know what to do with the football in his hands. Now, about that cheap land in Florida ...
Yeah, Tim Tebow's Wonderlic score isn't great. Scores that were: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Alex Smith and Matt Leinart. How did that work out for them?

Tebow in a Jaguars uniform looking less likely
Really? 55 percent of fans are against it? Tim Tebow's people should find the number of Falcons fans who didn't want to draft Matt Ryan, because I think it would be similar. I was about the only fan who wanted Atlanta to draft him. (No, I didn't see him being this good.)

Wondy Pierre-Louis: No contest
Let's hope we can stop talking about this now.

O my
Da Coach O, he don' gon' out and got him a Twitteh account.

Complete SEC Tournament Preview

2010-03-10T16:15:39Z

Complete SEC Tournament Preview

Here's the SEC Tournament preview I wrote for the SBN.com mothership. Don't be fooled by the weird name it's posted under; that's still me.

Tonight's Bubble Team Rooting Guide

2010-03-10T15:30:35Z

Fan of a team on the bubble? Just want to see the SEC with as many teams as possible in the tournament? Here's your rooting guide for today. In general, root for the teams that are already locks (so that Cinderellas don't steal an auto-bid) and root for the tenuous bubble teams to fall.

The one game where it's a judgment call is Notre Dame vs. Seton Hall. Since the Irish are generally seen as in while Seton Hall is on much more shaky ground, I say root for Notre Dame to put the Pirates out for good.

NOON

Georgetown over South Florida (ESPN)

2:00 PM

Marquette over St. John's (ESPN)

3:00 PM

Missouri over Nebraska (ESPN 360)

7:00 PM

Notre Dame over Seton Hall (ESPN)

Oklahoma State over Oklahoma (ESPN 360)

9:00 PM

Louisville over Cincinnati (ESPN)

9:30 PM

Texas over Iowa State (ESPN 360)

Butler Holds Serve in the Horizon

2010-03-10T13:13:54Z

Butler Holds Serve in the Horizon

Take a sigh of relief, bubble fans. Butler whomped Wright State 70-45 to win the Horizon League Tournament and more importantly give an auto-bid to the lock in a one-team league.

Sprints Is Glad to Not Be an SEC Baseball Coach Today // 03.10.10

2010-03-10T05:56:47Z

More photos » Tony Dejak - AP

Even the Royals are better than South Dakota State.

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Play Ball! Or: What the @#$% just happened?
Um, this is still a good baseball conference, right? At least, it used to be. Right? I'm not misremembering things, am I? Because this didn't look like a very good baseball conference on Tuesday.

Sure, you expect a team like Tennessee to lose to a team like Western Kentucky once in a while. The Hilltoppers are a pretty good team, and the Vols are far from one of the SEC's name brands. So a 5-4 defeat in extra innings isn't too bad.

But Arkansas -- losing to South Dakota State?!? Arkansas is supposed to be a good team. Ranked and everything. South Dakota State is not. How not? Boyd's World has them 185th in its pseudo-RPI. This, suffice it to say, not ranked. And while the "whatever you call South Dakota State"s having a winning record, that RPI is below, say, 4-8 Kennesaw State. The Owls are 151st.

Speaking of Kennesaw State: Georgia played them Tuesday. And lost. By a score of 11-1. To put that in football terms for SEC fans, it would be like Vanderbilt defeating Alabama. By 70.

Baseball is a strange game. Unlike college football, the better team will lose many times over the course of a season. So, all hope is not lost for any of these teams yet.

Scores for teams that didn't make their case for being kicked out of the conference in baseball:

LSU 18, Louisiana-Monroe 7
Florida 8, Illinois State 2
Ole Miss 14, Austin Peay 4
South Carolina 12, Valparaiso 4
Kentucky 7, Evansville 1
Auburn vs. Alabama (ppd)

Up today: LSU vs. Northwestern State (at Shreveport); Alabama vs. Michigan State, 7:35 p.m. ET; Florida vs. Illinois State, 6:30 p.m. ET; Ole Miss vs. Austin Peay, 7:30 p.m. ET; South Carolina vs. Valparaiso, 2 p.m. ET; Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee-Martin, 5 p.m. ET; Kentucky vs. Evansville, 4 p.m. ET; Arkansas vs. South Dakota State, 4:05 p.m. ET; Auburn vs. Appalachian State, 7:30 p.m. ET; Mississippi State vs. Western Kentucky, 5 p.m. ET; Georgia at Kennesaw State, 5 p.m. ET; Tennessee at Middle Tennessee State, 4 p.m. ET.

The best thing about it is, you never have to pay your speeding tickets
The 'Coach Cal' Mustang is now available.

If you've seen Jim Delany smiling, this is why
Notre Dame Athletics Director Jack Swarbrick addresses the third rail of Irish football: independence or lack thereof.

"I believe we’re at a point right now where the changes could be relatively small or they could be seismic," he said. "The landscape could look completely different. What I have to do along with Father Jenkins is try and figure out where those pieces are falling and how the landscape is changing." ...

"We start that process with a clear preference," he said. "You each could invent a scenario that would force our hand. It’s not hard to do. We just have to pay attention and stay on top of the game and talk to people. That’s what I’m spending 50 percent of my time doing right now. I’m talking to people who you’re writing about and trying to make sure I understand what they’re thinking and what’s going on."

My guess is that Notre Dame has always understood that it would be the 12th team in the Big Ten if it ever needed to. Now that the Big Ten is looking at other candidates, ND's fallback option is likely to evaporate.

But this is Jim Delany. He'll mess it up somehow.

Because who doesn't want to watch a college football game in New York City in December?
Coming soon to an overpriced baseball stadium near you: The Pinstripe Bowl.

The game will be third in line to choose a Big East team and sixth in line for a Big 12 team (after the conferences’ selections for the Bowl Championship Series games are made). If the game were played last year, the Yankees said, Rutgers (3-4 in the Big East, 8-4 over all during the regular season) would have played Texas A&M (3-5 in the Big 12, 6-6).

Oh wow. That's just ... wow. Man, that's bad.

The best comment, though, goes to the NCAA official who says "To go above 35 bowls doesn't make practical sense."

No, to go above 20 bowls doesn't make practical sense. We passed that a long time ago.

Call it a 'new rule in waiting'
The NCAA is giving Texas and Maryland time to get the new head-coach-in-waiting recruiting rule overturned. (HT: Burnt Orange Nation)

The Bubble Shrinks by One

2010-03-09T14:35:38Z

The Bubble Shrinks by One

St. Mary's beat Gonzaga to claim the West Coast Conference auto-bid. That's bad news for Florida, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss since St. Mary's was outside the bracket until last night and Gonzaga is a lock.

Old Dominion won the CAA, so that's good news for the bubble guys. Also, Siena took the MAAC title. While Siena likely would not have gotten an at-large bid, this at least takes away some uncertainty.

Sprints Thinks Nick Saban Would Get Health Care Reform Passed // 03.09.10

2010-03-09T08:35:17Z

More photos » Charles Dharapak - AP

'Maybe I should take up football instead.'

Browse more photos »

Mr. Saban goes to Washigton
President Obama apparently got over his opposition to the BCS long enough to recognize Alabama as the national champions.

"It's safe to say the Tide is back," said Obama, who later referenced Paul "Bear" Bryant and said, "I think this team would make him proud because they've got that winning attitude." ...

"There is no question this team is here in large part because of what Coach Saban has done," said Obama, who capped remarks with a "Roll Tide."

Obama likes crimson! THAT'S RED! HE'S A COMMUNIST!!!

Meanwhile, press secretary Robert Gibbs responded as a true Auburn fan should.

As Pres welcomes Red Elephants to WH, I prefer to remember the other 58 mins of Iron Bowl WDE!

So when you read the New York Times story quoting a "high-ranking administration official" as saying that Obama really is a secret Kenyan Muslim Soviet terrorist -- you know who it is. (HT: Dr. Saturday)

And at least Greg McElroy learned something from the trip.

Just got done at the Capital, heading to the mall. And I just found out that the mall is not actually a mall. Haha

Sigh.

AFTER THE JUMP:
- The hiccup heard 'round the Georgia football program
- Play Ball!
- John Calipari hands out tournament bids like candy

That's what you call overkill
Give Georgia quarterback Zach Mettenberger credit for one thing: When he breaks the law, he does it with style.

The 18-year-old also was charged with two counts of possessing false identification.

So what does it mean? Well, first, Mettenberger is unlikely to play against Louisiana-Lafayette. And by "unlikely to play," I mean he won't unless there was a case of mistaken identity. Um, identities. I mean ...

Georgia’s Athletics Association mandates a minimum one-game suspension for any players found guilty of an alcohol-related violation, which could cost Mettenberger a chance to play in the team’s opener against Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 4.

And that means Mettenberger is less likely than ever to be the starting signal-caller for Georgia this year, says Hale.

"Not to say it won’t go into the fall, but to wait until the second scrimmage, it’s a little bit difficult to get a guy ready to play for the first game. You’re trying to get them all an opportunity, but you’ve still got to get a guy ready for that first game."

Well, what if one of those quarterbacks is suspended for that first game? Then you've either got to eliminate that QB from the competition or you risk having to get two quarterbacks ready for two separate first games. That's a lot to ask.

Again, the "wide open competition" is the right thing to do this spring because competition helps everyone. But the truth is, this was likely Aaron Murray's job to lose from the start, and this only adds more fuel to that decision.

Play Ball!
Now with 100 percent more chartage.

This Week (BA/CB/USA)	Last Week (BA/CB/USA)	Team	Today
2/1/1	2/1/1	LSU	vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 7:30 p.m. ET
6/9/8	5/7/6	Florida	vs. Illinois State, 6:30 p.m. ET
14/19/16	17/19/17	Arkansas	vs. South Dakota State, 4:05 p.m. ET
18/18/17	21/18/19	Ole Miss	vs. Austin Peay, 7:30 p.m. ET
19/23/NR	15/22/23	South Carolina	vs. Valparaiso, 7 p.m. ET
22/24/22	23/25/NR	Kentucky	vs. Evansville, 4 p.m. ET
24/27/20	NR/30/NR	Vanderbilt	NA
NR/30/25	NR/NR/NR	Alabama	vs. Auburn, 8 p.m. ET (Nonconference)
NR/NR/NR	25/NR/NR	Georgia	vs. Kennesaw State, 5 p.m. ET
NA	NA	Tennessee	at Western Kentucky, 4 p.m. ET

SEC BASKETBALL / TOURNAMENT

'You get a tournament berth! You get a tournament berth!'
John Calipari thinks your team has earned the right to go to the NCAA tournament. Florida:

"Florida is an NCAA Tournament team," Calipari said. "They have to win at least one in our league tournament and then they are in. If they win two games, it’s a lock that they are in and I’m rooting for them. They never quit and went right at us."

Mississippi State:

Kentucky coach John Calipari was Mississippi State’s biggest booster, propping up the Bulldogs’ NCAA Tournament at-large chances. And if they do make the NCAA Tournament? "They’ll win a couple of games, and maybe more," he said.

Calipari said his cell phone battery died when someone asked about LSU.

Should he stay or should he go?
"He" in this case being Jeff Lebo, head coach at Auburn. Track Em Tigers says yes.

A Lebo encore in 2011 will likely look similar to the previous six. With the loss of five seniors, Auburn will say goodbye next season to 73 percent of its scoring and 59 percent of its rebounding. Can there really be any rational argument for keeping Lebo another year?

It goes without saying that an Auburn football coach would never be given this much rope. A better question is whether even the girls soccer coach would be given this much time to succeed?

But he's only the fourth-worst coach in Auburn history by winning percentage!

Yes, I've heard the Kentucky rumor
No, I'm not going to dignify it with a link until someone presents some proof or the actual "story" appears. I've been no Calipari booster, but I like to wait to print something until I believe it, which I currently do not.

There's a first time for everything?
The top teams in the SEC East are 24-0 against the SEC West this year.

OTHER NEWS

Time to announce the coup
Steve Addazio is taking one of Urban Meyer's booster club speeches. (Bet Urban will really miss that one.) This is when I expect Addazio to announce he's taking over and hiring Lou Holtz as offensive coordinator.

Kentucky, Tennessee Roll as Vanderbilt Falls

2010-03-08T16:30:16Z

More photos » Ed Reinke - AP

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In a rare Sunday SEC game, Kentucky fought off a Florida comeback to win 74-66 and ensure a perfect 18-0 home record. Darius Miller and Eric Bledsoe led the way for the 'Cats for a change, each scoring 14 points. Alex Tyus paced the Gators with 12 points, while Kenny Boynton managed 11 points on 5-14 shooting. Kentucky jumped out quickly and caught Florida flat footed, at one point enjoying an 18 point lead in the first half. UF staged a big comeback though, cutting the lead to as little as two at a couple of second half junctures. They ran out of gas though and UK was able to pull away to ensure the win.

Meanwhile in Starkville, Tennessee likely ended Mississippi State's at large hopes with an emphatic 75-59 win. Five different Vols went into double figures, led by J.P. Prince's 16 and Scotty Hopson's 14. Kodi Augustus was the high man for the Bulldogs with 15, but only Dee Bost and Jarvis Varnado also managed to get to double figures with 11 apiece. MSU came out flat and dropped a 21 point stink bomb in the first half. It didn't even score until 13:49 on the clock in the first half, by which point Tennessee already had 17 of their own. UT cruised from there.

Meanwhile in Nashville, South Carolina upset Vanderbilt to the tune of 77-73. Devan Downey broke out of a slump and poured in 26 points for the Gamecocks, who now own wins over Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Florida. Sam Muldrow also had 20 for the visitors. Jermaine Beal led the Commodores with 21. It appeared Vandy was about to get another comeback win like it did recently over Florida and Georgia, but a late Downey three closed the door. It was a tough loss for a good team that appears to be dozing down the stretch.

Ole Miss inched closer to the tournament by not losing to Arkansas, 68-66. The Rebels' Chris Warren lit up the Hogs for 31 points, while Murphy Holloway stuffed the stat sheet with 11 rebounds, six assists, and three blocks. Rotnei Clarke led the Razorbacks with 13 points. One of Holloway's three blocks came in the final seconds against Julysses Nobles with just seconds left to preserve the win. The Rebels' win gave them the No. 2 West seed in the SEC tournament, a prize which gets them Kentucky in their second game should they win their first. For Arkansas, it ended the dream of an 8-8 conference record.

In Tuscaloosa, Alabama evened up the season series with Auburn by defeating the Tigers 73-61. It was a close contest for most of the game, but the Tide went on a 24-10 second half run that included a period of three scoreless minutes for the Plainsmen. Tony Mitchell was the high man for the home team with 16 points, while Auburn's Tay Waller was the high scorer for the game with 22. AU's DeWayne Reed also had 17 points. The difference in the game can really be seen in the shooting, as Alabama shot nearly 50% from the floor while Auburn hit just 35.5% of its field goals.

Finally, LSU picked up its second conference win of the eyar by edging out Georgia 50-48. Tasmin Mitchell was the star of his senior day, scoring 20 points. Bo Spencer contributed 10 points as well, including the game winning shot with 19 seconds to go. Trey Thompkins was great as usual for the Bulldogs, scoring 19 points and grabbing a beastly 16 rebounds. Neither team managed to shoot north of 37% from the field, though they were both sharp from the free throw line. The loss left UGA without an SEC road win on the season.

Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee are all set for the tournament still, though Vandy's seeding likely will take a hit due to the loss. Florida is in the best shape of the bubble teams, with a respectable loss in Lexington being the next best thing to a win. The Mississippi schools don't appear to be in great shape though, with each likely to need improbable wins in the SEC tournament to make the NCAAs.

Around the Bases Is Seeing Mixed Results Thus Far // 03.08.10

2010-03-08T15:00:47Z

No. 5 Florida defeats No. 16 Miami (FL), 2-1
Friday	Florida 7	Miami 1
Saturday	Miami 9	Florida 6
Sunday	Florida 4	Miami 2

The real story in this series is Florida's pitching. As we noted on Friday, Miami had not scored fewer than seven runs in a game before the weekend. Florida pitchers allowed fewer than seven runs twice. Scoring 17 runs against a good team over the weekend is also a strong case. Right now, Florida is clearly the best team in the SEC East. As we'll see, that has almost as much to do with the competition as it does with how good the Gainesville program appears to be.

No. 13 Clemson defeats No. 15 South Carolina, 2-1
Friday	Clemson 4	South Carolina 3
Saturday	South Carolina 7	Clemson 5
Sunday	Clemson 19	South Carolina 6

A one-run loss to a team that is quickly looking like one of the best in the country right now is no sign that your team is not good. And a comeback win that hands your hated rival their first loss of the year is something to be proud of. Would that South Carolina have followed that up with anything other than a 13-run annihilation against Clemson Sunday. The Gamecocks have now lost both series against ranked opponents this season. They might get to the tournament, but at this rate they don't look like a team that will go very far.

No. 6 Florida State defeats No. 25 Georgia, 3-0
Friday	Florida State 12	Georgia 1
Saturday	Florida State 9	Georgia 2
Sunday	Florida State 17	Georgia 5

Having seen most of the Sunday game in person, I have to agree with the assessment of the Georgia baseball team that the Mayor made after Friday's game: "this is not a good baseball team." It's not that the Dawgs were defeated by sound margins in three consecutive games -- okay, it is that, a little bit. But it also appeared to your humble correspondents that the Dawgs just don't play baseball well. Granted, they were at some point mailing it in -- or at least, fans best help they were mailing it in, or one of their relief pitchers is going to need an 11-foot-tall catcher to avoid sending air balls to the backstop. (And, no, I took no pleasure in watching the loss. The ACC should never be better than the SEC at anything, and some of the Florida State fans have a bizarre tradition of singing the Canadian national anthem at some point in the game. I was assured this happens because of a former FSU player who was Canadian. This really doesn't matter -- there is no excuse for singing the national anthem of a country secretly plotting world domination. But if you want to, add "Georgia even gets some degree of sympathy from a South Carolina fan" to the list of problems that UGA athletics have right now.) The Dawgs have been outscored 51-10 in their last four games.

No. 2 LSU defeats Brown and Pepperdine
Friday	LSU 13	Brown 7
Saturday	LSU 3	Pepperdine 2
Sunday	LSU 9	Brown 2

The Tigers are still undefeated. Their number of losses is eerily similar right now to the number of contending teams they've played. So does allowing two runs each to Pepperdine and Brown count as fixing the pitching?

No. 17 Arkansas defeats California, 2-1
Friday	Arkansas 7	California 3
Saturday	Arkansas 9	California 5
Sunday	California 6	Arkansas 0

Anytime you commit three errors and win the game anyway, count yourself lucky. That would be the Friday game for Arkansas. That would also be the Saturday game for Arkansas. The Sunday game would be the same -- except that Arkansas lost thatone. Yes. Three games, nine errors committed. And when shorstop Matt Reynolds is responsible for three of those defensive miscues and catcher James McCann adds two more, there might be more serious issues to be addressed.

No. 23 Kentucky defeats San Diego and Monmouth
Friday	Kentucky 6	San Diego 0
Saturday	Kentucky 14	Monmouth 13

Kentucky gave us reasons on this trip west to think that the Cats could be serious competitors in the SEC East, including a 90-pitch, 70-strike shutout by Logan Darnell on Friday. Then, they needed 10 hit batters to win Saturday. That's got to be some sort of record, doesn't it? The worst part of it -- for either team, really -- is that the win was secured by four consecutive hit batters for the walk-it-off win. This is why newspaper headlines should always have someone check them. "UK baseball rallies to victory" is completely inaccurate. "Monmouth self-immolates in greatest display of pyrotechnics since July 4 holiday" would be better.

No. 21 Ole Miss defeats Tulane, 2-1
Friday	Ole Miss 6	Tulane 4
Saturday	Ole Miss 5	Tulane 1
Sunday	Tulane 12	Ole Miss 4

Even with the first Boyd's World pseudo-RPIs not set to debut until after this writing, I think we can safely assume that Tulane will not be high on the list. So make of this series whatever you will.

Vanderbilt at Music City Classic, 3-0
Friday	Vanderbilt 7	Kent State 1
Saturday	Vanderbilt 9	Illinois State 2
Sunday (11 inn.)	Vanderbilt 6	Indiana 5

Really -- Vanderbilt won't be playing anyone really good until later in the year. But they're off to a good start.

Mississippi State at BankFirst Baseball Challenge, 4-0
Friday (10 inn.)	Mississippi State 10	Southeast Missouri 7
Saturday	Mississippi State 7	Michigan State 4
Saturday	Mississippi State 3	Southeast Missouri 2
Sunday	Mississippi State 14	Michigan State 6

Mississippi State LIVES! That's the only real headline for this game. It's a long way from here to Hoover, much less Omaha, but things look less hopeless now than they did a few days ago.

Alabama defeats College of Charleston, 2-1
Friday	Alabama 6	College of Charleston 2
Saturday	Alabama 4	College of Charleston 0
Sunday	College of Charleston 7	Alabama 6

Sunday's loss was Alabama's first of 2010.

Auburn defeats Miami (OH), 3-0
Friday	Auburn 14	Miami (OH) 9
Saturday	Auburn 13	Miami (OH) 5
Sunday	Auburn 5	Miami (OH) 4

Auburn continues to make progress, but a big showdown with Alabama is set for tomorrow.

Tennessee vs. Binghamton and Kennesaw State, 2-2
Friday	Binghamton 7	Tennessee 4
Saturday	Kennesaw State 4	Tennessee 2
Saturday	Tennessee 19	Binghamton 2
Sunday (11 inn.)	Tennessee 3	Kennesaw State 2

That's Tennessee.

SEC Basketball Tournament is Set

2010-03-08T14:55:30Z

Thanks to the end of regular season play, the SEC basketball tournament field is set. Here's a handy rundown of all the games, times, and networks for you to bookmark and review as needed.

FIRST ROUND, THURSDAY (All games on SEC Network)

Game 1: W4 Alabama vs. E5 South Carolina, 1 PM Eastern

Game 2: E3 Tennessee vs. W6 LSU, 3:15 PM

Game 3: E4 Florida vs. W5 Auburn, 7:30 PM

Game 4: W3 Arkansas vs. E6 Georgia, 9:45 PM

QUARTERFINALS, FRIDAY (All games on SEC Network)

Game 5: E1 Kentucky vs. Game 1 winner, 1 PM Eastern

Game 6: W2 Ole Miss vs. Game 2 winner, 3:15 PM

Game 7: W1 Mississippi State vs. Game 3 winner, 7:30 PM

Game 8: E2 Vanderbilt vs. Game 4 winner, 9:45 PM

SEMIFINALS, SATURDAY (All games on ABC)

Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 1 PM Eastern

Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 3:15 PM

CHAMPIONSHIP, SUNDAY (ABC)

Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 1 PM Eastern

Sprints Is Glad It's Not Being Tased by Louisiana Police // 03.08.10

2010-03-08T06:04:53Z

More photos » John Froschauer - AP

Just use a taser. That will bring him down.

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Strange event called 'tournament' set up for odd sport called 'basketball'
The league championship in this sport is decided by playing multiple games, with the team that doesn't lose a game being named champion.

Thursday: South Carolina and Alabama face off at 1 p.m. ET. Either would almost certainly have to win the tournament or see a typhoid epidemic rip through the Big East to go the NCAAs. At 3:15 p.m. ET, LSU plays Tennessee. There is some debate about whether LSU would be allowed into the NCAA tournament even if they won the championship. (I know the rules, but even college basketball has to step in at some point.) At 7:30 p.m. ET, Auburn plays Florida, which is looking for a tournament boost, and Georgia plays Arkansas at 9:45 p.m. ET. Again, both would need a run to and through the final.

Friday: Kentucky plays the South Carolina-Alabama winner at 1 p.m. ET, Ole Miss takes the court against either LSU or Tennessee at 3:15 p.m. ET, Mississippi State draws the winner of Auburn-Florida at 7:30 p.m. ET and Vanderbilt will face Georgia or Arkansas at 9:45 p.m. ET.

All these games on the SEC Network, so check local listings etc.

'I'll take, "Things You Don't Want to See Written About Your Feature Receiver" for $1,000, Alex'
Terrance Toliver of LSU met with a few members of Baton Rouge's finest Sunday.

Toliver, a junior from Hempstead, Texas, who is expected to be the Tigers' feature receiver next season, was subdued by police after they shocked him with a Taser gun when he did not cooperate with officers. A police spokesman said Toliver was involved in a fight with Timothy Moran outside of Fred's. Moran was also arrested for public intoxication and disturbing the peace.

Dennis Harris of the basketball team is listed as "Also arrested," but that's really not that much of a surprise. You could be forgiven this year if you forgot that LSU had a basketball team.

Check the couch cushions
Year2 had handled the Renardo Sidney decision. For the record, I would also like to praise Donald Jackson for a statement that I thought was remarkably restrained for him:

A pre-season top 25 team has been left "on the bubble" as a result of a phantom 10.1 unethical conduct charge over a trip that occurred during Renardo's ninth grade season that he repeatedly stated that he and his family did not recall (in detail). ...

Bottom line, this decision is a transparent attempt to justify a yearlong investigation that started out focusing on million dollar homes. When the L.A. Times' version of the "facts" wound up not to be true, the Eligibility Center created their own.

I kind of wish the appeal would last for a long time. I'm really going to miss Counselor Jackson.

In any case, this is the thing that's always confused me about penalties like this: Where on earth is an amateur athlete supposed to come up with almost $12,000? Maybe he could take out a loan. No?

So much respect, we can't remember their name
Nick Saban on accepting the ODK Sportsmanship Trophy for winning the Iron Bowl.

We also have a tremendous amount of respect for the University of Auburn.

Um, that's Auburn University, coach. Not very sporting to get it wrong.

Capstone Report sees it as less than an accident -- maybe
We'll let their comment speak for itself.

Was the gaffe an intentional dig at the school that’s made a living savoring intentional digs at its big brother, or merely a champion not acknowledging a middle of the pack SEC team correctly?

Ouch.

And another thing
Blutarsky does a good job of drawing the parallels between the proposed expansion of the NCAA basketball tournament and the debate over a college football playoff. But there's one absurd aspect of what George Vecsey of The New York Times writes when he argues that "the bad old days" featured N.C. State winning the ACC tournament and leaving then-No. 4 Maryland out of the NCAAs.

But, they had a tournament to decide the league championship. That makes it a "true" championship, right? It's never wrong. That found the best team in the ACC and another team can't be the best team in the country if it's not as good as the best team in the ACC. All those Maryland accomplishments were in the "regular" season, which doesn't tell us enough to base a championship completely on that, right?

Dropping the sarcasm: Vecsey is arguing that the tournament should be expanded to make sure that another tournament doesn't get it wrong and ruin the whole idea of a tournament being the best way to determine a champion. Huh? Again, tournaments increase the number of games in which a random result can change the outcome, and so make a championship more arbitrary, not less.

NCAA Finally Makes a Renardo Sidney Decision

2010-03-06T15:15:43Z

More photos » Henny Ray Abrams - AP

Renardo Sidney dunks during the McDonald's All-American game.

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A quick recap for those of you who haven't followed the never-ending Renardo Sidney saga: Sidney, a McDonald's All-American, was originally set to be a USC Trojan until a report came out that his family took free housing and a loan based on his future earning ability. USC then dropped him immediately since it was already in hot water over Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo. Mississippi State then came into the picture, and Sidney's been in NCAA purgatory ever since.

The decision on his case has finally been made: Sidney is suspended for all of 2009-10, 30 percent of 2010-11, and he must repay $11,800. MSU will appeal of course, but that's the starting point from here on out. For a case that's been delayed so long (because the Sidneys ignored information requests, per the NCAA), it's good to finally get a decision.