What are some differences to expect in Coleman this year?

Sure, today marks 38 days until Alabama will kick things off against Virginia Tech in Atlanta, but anyone that knows me knows I like me some basketball.

Today, as season ticket holders are starting to get their order forms, the forms were accompanied by the new seating chart for Coleman Coliseum, which looked like this

It is not the clearest image, as it was scanned in on BamaOnLine.com, but I will explain.

The Media has now been moved from the floor and will now take up the bottom third of Section O. Their seats have now been replaced with season ticket holders, so there will now be fans on the floor on the sidelines.

Also, the students will now have seats under both baskets. The students will keep their regular student seating under the visitors basket, but will gain 125 seats under the basket by the Alabama bench.

Under the visitors basket, the students will remain on the retractable seating, but students will be on risers under the home basket. If the seating under the home basket does not fill up with students, it will be opened up in some capacity to the public.

The band will also be moving and in their spot by the students will be more seating implemented. In my talk with a member of Events Management, he did not specify where the band will be moving.

It may seem like the students are gaining a lot of seating here, but in fact they will also be losing some seating in some areas that have long belonged to them, such as the area in the middle of Section S, which will now go to season ticket holders.

Overall, the changes benefit the students. There will now be 175 floor seats available to students, so non-conference games should allow every student at these games to have a spot on the floor, depending on the level of excitement for the team this year.

This also brings some atmosphere into Coleman, which has a huge abyss of air in it. With students on the floor, this should get some more students involved and passionate about basketball as they will now be making a larger impact.

Those are just the seating changes for what will be one of many improvements for the basketball arena, including a new center-court scoreboard.

What was learned at SEC Media Days?

This past week were three good days at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, AL for the SEC Media Days.

Over 920 media members, some fully credentialed, others who weren't, were all present to grill 36 players and coaches who are all ready to hit the field for the upcoming season.

Below are all the important things, some more than others, to take away from the three days.

• The SEC made a better deal than Howie Mandel could cook up. The new deal that the SEC, CBS and ESPN have created could not have come at a better time. Just as the economy takes a down turn, the SEC will begin their 15-year deal with ESPN to create an SEC conglomerate. Starting this fall, SEC teams will have at least 11 of their 12 regular season games televised on ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNU, ESPN360.com, and the newly created SEC Network. The SEC Network will air at the same time as the old Jefferson Pilot/Lincoln Financial/Raycom Sports game and on the same channels. The SEC on ESPN will even have its own logo. Besides all the perks for football, a total of an average of 365 SEC sporting events will be on the ESPN family of networks each year for the next 15 years. On top of all this, the SEC Network will be shown to more than half of the country's households, including the cities of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Pittsburgh and Phoenix.
• Ryan Mallett, the best QB in the country? According to Razorback Tight End DJ Williams, Ryan Mallett is the real deal. Mallett, the transfer from Michigan and projected starter for the Hogs, has shown out at practice and has the strongest arm in the country, says Williams. He "ripped the sticky stuff right off them (receiving gloves)." Coach Petrino adds support to Williams claim, saying the one thing that Mallett can do "is throw the deep ball."
• How far can Vandy really go? Says coach Bobby Johnson, "the sky is the limit." The Commodores are coming off a bowl victory and are looking to get to their second straight bowl game for the first time in school history. The 'Dores will have a chance to mirror their bowl trip from last season with Miss. St. and Kentucky at home as well as easy road games with Army and Rice. This is quite impressive for a school who nixed their Athletic Department within the last ten years.
• Dan Mullen has brought technology to central Mississippi!!! The self-proclaimed "only undefeated coach in the SEC" is a twitter fiend. Mullen was tweeting all around the Wynfrey, even updating his status as he got on stage and simply put, "I am on stage." "I am only going to answer questions through Twitter or Facebook so I can be the cutting-edge new coach." Mullen said to the media when he had his first chance. After my trip there last January where it seemed like religion was a foreign concept, technology is a welcomed site to Starkville, a destination Mullen wants to make "one of the hardest destinations in the league." Starkville has a 55,000-seat stadium, second smallest in the SEC, but they do have a gigantic video screen.
• Georgia: the only team who thinks the SEC isn't tough enough. The Bulldogs not only play in the SEC, but they decided to make the rounds in the non-conference this season. As always, the Dawgs have their Good Ol' Fashion Hate game with Georgia Tech, in Atlanta this year, but UGA also visits Stillwater to open the season and hosts Arizona State. Coach Mark Richt says the Bulldogs "may have bit off more than we should have," and also says the boys from Athens may look into using some Wildcat offensive plays. As for the schedule, don't worry, Georgia fans. The Bulldogs should have an easy time at Homecoming with Tennessee Tech.
• Only at Alabama can Saban think a top 5 defense sucks. No team draws a crowd at SEC Media Days like Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide, but the leading man in Crimson had something rather shocking to say about his top five defense from a year ago. Saban said of his defense that "those guys need to take it to another level." Another level? If the Crimson Tide defense does in fact have another level, what exactly would that be? Holding nine teams instead of seven to 10 points or fewer? Become the top team in every defensive category? Can they just start with improving the pass defense?
• I have a new found respect for Mr. Timothy Tebow. As it is obviously known by now, Tim Tebow was asked the question that most people wanted to know the answer to but were not going to pursue...until "that guy" came along. "That guy" was Clay Travis, a blogger for aol.com's FanHouse. Travis asked Tebow if he was saving himself for marriage as if he wrote for People magazine. Tebow laughed at the question and then, like a true professional, answered the question. Tebow then kept his cool as the rest of the media started to squirm in their seats. The fact that Clay Travis got credentials to SEC Media Days irks me. He is not associated with any newspaper, radio station or television outlet. He is a blogger...that's it. If that is all it takes to get credentials for SEC Media Days, why didn't I try to get some? Hell, I am at least associated with a newspaper. Nonetheless, the fact that Tim Tebow answered the question and kept his cool and laughed it off made me realize that it is not a front: Tim Tebow is the real deal. Sure, there is reason to despise him when he beats your team or for going to Florida (he admitted his second choice was Mike Shula and Alabama even without being asked about it). However, the way he can handle himself is definitely something to admire.
• When recruiting the "right guy" is masking why you can't get the best guy. Gene Chizik, the mayo jar of SEC coaches, explained his recruiting philosophy the same way in which Tommy Tuberville did near the end of his tenure: "When we go to recruit, we go to recruit the right guy for Auburn." That is one of those great coach speak lines, along with "we will evaluate him at game time" or "our off-season workouts have been the toughest during my time with ________." Saying you get the top guy for the school is a roundabout way of saying you can't really compete for the best. Chizik remained stone faced during his entire interview with the print media, and was not very happy over the Tebow-gate scandal. Gene eventually admitted he did vote for Tebow, but he was not happy about having to come out about his private vote.
• Steve Spurrier lost his spine around the 18th green, and apparently Jevan Snead really sucks. By the time Friday rolled around, many people had pegged The Ol' Ball Coach as the culprit for not voting for Tim Tebow. Speculation was, in fact, correct, but Spurrier went a different route than many people had expected from him. Instead of standing up for his vote, Spurrier buckled and threw his Director of Football Operations under the bus. Spurrier went as far to not only apologize, but also to change his vote within the SEC offices. That's right for people doing the math out there, there are now four unanimous 1st team All-SEC members. Spurrier apologized for three minutes at the podium for not actually casting the vote, opening a new can of worms about the coaches poll, 1/3 of the BCS formula. Also emerging from this fiasco is the idea that Jevan Snead is not worth the hype, apparently. This kid has surpassed Sam Bradford as the potential #1 pick in next April's draft (now starting on a Thursday night), but can't get a single vote for 1st team All-SEC. I think that might weigh on his mind for this season.
• Lester doesn't realize that LSU is often expected to finish second. As always, Les Miles is an interesting interview, and should be an interesting tweeter during the season. The Hat said that eight wins and a bowl was not enough for last season. He also said, we're never expected to be second. Not at LSU." Apparently he didn't see the media predictions for this year and last year. LSU was picked second in the SEC West both times. He is also forgetting that the Tigas did so bad that they were actually third in the West when the dust settled last year. Sure, LSU has come to be known as a sleeping giant over the past seven years, but as history goes, the Bayou Bengals from Baton Rouge are not that historical power. One name comes to mind: Gerry Dinardo.
• Ed Orgeron: the best recruiter in the land. That is what Lane Kiffin wants you to believe. Surprisingly, The Village Idiot was rather engaging during his time in front of the print media, but he also needs to learn that oxygen is necessary to life. "I can't imagine there is a better recruiter out there than Ed," said Kiffin of one of his high profile assistant coaches. Sure, Coach O did a great job to recruit in Oxford...and just flat fell on his face with all of the talent he had amassed. Off the field, though, I can see that recruiting promise Kiffin speaks of. I mean, who wouldn't want a Hummer after seeing this beauty?

SEC Media Predictions

East

1. Florida
2. Georgia
3. South Carolina
4. Tennessee
5. Vanderbilt
6. Kentucky

West

1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Ole Miss
4. Arkansas
5. Auburn
6. Mississippi State

View from the Stands: July 21, 2009

• Cyber Cat Fight!!! Getcha popcorn ready! For this to be the off-season, there has sure been a lot of talk about the Florida Gators. Not only what they do on the field, but what their coach may do off of it. It all started two weeks ago when Paul Finebaum started his month long "let's upset the rest of the SEC" tour. First stop, Gainesville (He has since stopped in Oxford and today dropped by Athens). In the first article, Finebaum claimed off of a lip quiver that Meyer is headed to play like a champion in 2010, complete with a beatdown of Army in Yankee Stadium. Said column led to hysteria amongst Gator followers who were outraged that someone would write such a thing. One of those purveyors of jorts would be Gregg Doyel. Never heard of him? Probably a good reason. He writes for cbssports.com, easily third on the totem poll behind SI.com and ESPN.com. Doyel took two weeks to get his panties in a wad and respond to Finebaum's column with the best form of hypocritical spew I have ever seen. Doyel himself is one of those people, like Finebaum, who add fuel to fire for the sake of readership. Doyel goes on to say that Finebaum had no source to write his column. Apparently Doyel doesn't realize what his blogging is as well. It's called an OPINION column, Gregg. Apparently the shine on your head deadened some brain cells the last time you looked in the mirror. Doyel also goes on to call Finebaum and South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier "idiots"through his envy of Finebaum being utterly more successful and Spurrier for still having a job. Finally, Doyel complains about all the blogs and newspapers supporting Finebaum's claims, but in the same blog writes about the column and even provides the link. Who exactly is the idiot here? Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see if the Mouth of the South meets up with the man who believes MMA should become the single most popular sport in America (and we wonder what's wrong with our country [I'm elaborating on that as well in a bit]) come tomorrow in Hoover.
• When Stimulus Packages fail, turn to fixing sports-the motto of the US Government. Once Congress decided that an economic downturn in not a good reason to convene, but the mess that is the BCS was, we should have known that some old crocks were running out of real ideas. So, once the BCS was put on the stand like a bulked-up baseball player, it was only a matter of time before more sports were on the way. Don't worry about curing cancer or pollution in the air or the fact that we are involved in some kind of war, let's now waste mroe tax payer money and take on the age limit question in the NBA. Sure, I am not a fan of the one-and-done policy in the NBA. I think it tarnishes the college game and has a negative effect on the level of competition. The NBA is the only league besides the NFL that has a restriction on high school kids and the only league that does not require at least two years of college before they can turn pro once they enter school. What this creates is a bad situation for all, as kids are forced into school for a year and teams are never allowed to create a chemistry. This problem was sure to take care of itself when the new collective bargaining agreement was up in two years, but Congress wants to tackle it now. I ask you in all seriousness, what has ever come from a Congressional hearing concerning sports? Perjury, lying, misremembering, and an all out failure to pass or complete anything is all I can remember. So, here is to you, Representative Steve Cohen, and your desire to waste more time and money on something that affects about 5,000 teens a year. I just hope you complement them for not drinking or smoking before they get discovered for a DUI in college.
• Coach Grant wants defense. Lots and lots of defense. New Alabama basketball coach Anthony Grant was in Huntsville this past weekend and went into his coaching philosophy a little bit. Grant talked about playing defense, a thought that has been lost on Alabama nine of the past ten seasons, in the same way that Duke does in the half-court. Grant, however, wants to stretch it full court. He wants to have a press that will force other teams to play 94 feet. For those who don't remember, the last time Alabama played defense, they won the SEC. I am not saying that will happen this year, but the SEC is not exactly a league defined by offense (ACC) or defense (Big Ten), so the Crimson Tide will be able to run with the teams that ran circles around them the past few years and run on the teams who still play in the half-court. In other words, Grant is the perfect compromise for those people who wanted Mike Anderson and those who wanted a Nick Saban-type hire for the basketball program.

Review the Preview: Phil Steele

The final day of the college football preview magazines comes with news that Nick Saban will be on the front of Sports Illustrated's first SEC Preview. He will grace the cover of his own issue, as will Urban Meyer, Houston Nutt, and Lane Kiffin.

I will tackle the SEC previews closer to the season, but with SEC Media Days in just five days, I will finish the national previews with the best out of the bunch: Phil Steele.

No other preview mag has as much information and goes as in depth as Phil Steele, and it is traditionally the most accurate in the country.

As with the rest of the preview magazines, I will look at what's to like, what's not to like, and the always fun "what are they smoking?!?"

What's to like

• The in-depth nature of the magazine. There is so much cramped into the over 300 pages of this preview. It is insanely accurate for each team and truly is, as it says on the cover, "The book the experts cannot do without."


• Mid-Major QBs. Everyone knows who the QB cover boys are this year, but there are plenty of great QBs at the lower ranks this year to grab your attention. Case Keenum at Houston, Dan LeFevour at Central Michigan and Max Hall at BYU are all quarterbacks for teams who are in good contention for their respective conference championships.


• SEC as toughest conference. Phil Steele does have the Big XII at #2, but he is not buying into the hype just yet that the Big XII has caught the SEC.


• Illinois as his most improved team prediction. Senior quarterback. Favorable schedule. The Ilini have a good chance to be bowl eligible this year as the Fighting Zookers will look to follow Juice Williams and a slate of easy road game (@Indiana, @Purdue).

What's not to like

• Georgia Tech at #10 on surprise team. The Yellow Jackets have, arguably, the best RB in the country with Jonathan Dwyer and beat Georgia last season. What is exactly surprising about all of that?


• Clemson to win the ACC Atlantic over FSU. The Tigers are replacing their QB and top WRs, but have their entire OL coming back, which has proven to be a key. However, I think the NCAA investigation is going to get Bobby Bowden to start coaching for the first time in ten years and the Seminoles will make a run.

What are they smoking?!?

• Rutgers winning the Big East?! Sure, the Big East is now a wild card with Cincinnati having to completely regroup, but West Virginia and Pitt are both formidable this season. The Scarlet Knights have a lot of wood to chop this year to win the Big East, but every difficult game is at home.
• Notre Dame at #7?! Ok, they may have an easy schedule and one that lines up against horrifically weak teams and tough games at home, but I can tell you one reason why the Fighting Irish won't be in the top ten: Jimmy Clausen.

Top Ten

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Oklahoma
5. Penn St.
6. Ole Miss
7. Notre Dame
8. Alabama
9. Cal
10. Ohio St.

Review the Preview: Athlon

Day four of the week long review of college football preview magazines is here, and today I take a look into what Athlon has to offer up on the 2009 college football season.

As always, there is what's to like, what's not to like, and the always fun "what are they smoking?!?" section.

What's to like

• Baylor 5th in Big XII South. I may not have been paying that much attention in the other magazines, but this is the first time I have seen Baylor out of the cellar. Could be a big year in Waco.
• Vanderbilt 4th in SEC East. That is a bold prediction, as most have expected the 'Dores to fall back into oblivion this season. Apparently the folks at Athlon believe the boys from Nashville can start a bowl streak.

What's not to like

• Oregon #4 best QB unit. I find this quite hard to believe as this program had QBs dropping like flies just last pre-season, and now they have the best QBs in the country behind Florida, Oklahoma and Texas?
• Rolondo McClain and Rennie Curran 3rd team AA. It is not so bad that these two are so far down the totem pole, it's that South Carolina LB Eric Norwood has come out of no where in the previous preview magazines and taken a spot on the 2nd team.
• The absolutely yawner this preview magazine has on a national level. The regional ones have at least some substance, but there is very little in the way of something to differentiate this mag from the rest. Very disappointing.

What are they smoking?!?

• Nothing, apparently, just taking a nice dose of Tylenol PM, because this preview mag is a good one to read when you can't fall asleep.

Top Ten

1. Florida
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Ohio State
6. Alabama
7. Penn St.
8. Virginia Tech
9. Oklahoma State
10. Ole Miss

Review the Preview: Lindy's

Middle of the week, and the review of each college football preview magazine is still going strong.

Today, we look at the Lindy's preview with the what's to like, what's not to like and "what are they smoking?!?" categories.

What's to like

• Their top five non-conference games. USC/OSU, Bama/VT, UGA/Ok. St., OU/The U, Oregon/Boise St. What is not to like about those three games, even if three of them are the first week of the season?
• SEC West round robin makes the top 12 conference games. Surprisingly enough, Alabama vs. Ole Miss is ranked the highest of the three between those two and LSU.
• Article titled "Lame Kiffin." That is just hysterical, especially matched with the picture of Kiffin trying to look serious. You just can't take a 12-year old serious, can you, Al Davis? The Village Idiot strikes again!
• North Carolina in the Top 25. This isn't a cheapie, either. The Tar Heels are #19 and one of three teams from the ACC in the top 25. Is there a resurgence of the ACC coming this year?
• Julio Jones as an All-American. Second team, but the fact that he is getting this respect is enough. Dez Bryant is getting all the love for taking the place of Michael Crabtree this season, but the race is wide open.
• 1/3 of top Offensive Linemen hail from the SEC. Sure, we all know how powerful the defense is in this conference, but the offensive line is what drives the offense and could spell an improvement in this area this season for the SEC.
• Javier Arenas as best punt returner. It is about time I found a magazine that said this.The NCAA active leader in return yards for a last year, a single game, and a career is returning and looking to build on his Alabama record 6 return TDs.
• Big Ten image control weekend is Sept. 12th. Five OOC games, including ND/Michigan and USC/Ohio State could salvage the conference's bruises...or could make things even worse if Fresno St., Iowa St., and Air Force pull the upsets.
• Appalachian State #1 in FCS. It should be be this way in every publication, but let's just say it hasn't been. Armani Edwards is returning and is the best QB outside of FBS/Division I-A since Steve McNair.

What's not to like

• The remaining seven on the top 12 OOC games. I know that some teams are not scheduling great games (coughOleMisscough), but some of these are a stretch. If you did not make a bowl last year, I find it hard for you to be considering "best" in anything besides the best of the worst. Seriously, #11 is UCLA @ UT. Quarterback trouble, ftw!
• Dennis Dodd wrote the Lame Kiffin article. That is the reason why I am not going any further than the title.
• Eric Berry as #2 safety. Taylor Mays of USC is at #1, but I find it hard to argue against Berry's ability and USC's defense isn't exactly solid.
• SEC's toughest to bring down. Julio Jones? Charles Scott? Tim Tebow? Nope, try Dexter McCluster at Ole Miss. Apparently said WR is harder to take down than the conference's best player, hardest runner, and strongest receiver.

What are they smoking?!?

• Nebraska in the Top 25?! The Cornhuskers are coming off a bowl win, which is crazy in its own right for the Nebraska of today, but Lindy's believe this team could win the Big XII North? Sure, the division sucks and rivals the Big East as a whole, but still, the Black Shirts are not back yet. Experience (only 8 returning starters) will get to them.
• Rolondo McClain as the #8 NFL prospect...in the SEC?! NFL scouts have been on Rolo's tail since he graduated high school. One big year was apparently enough for Brandon Spikes to jump him, but to have McClain as the #8 prospect in the SEC is ridiculous.

Top Ten

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. USC
5. Virginia Tech
6. LSU
7. Alabama
8. Ohio State
9. Ole Miss
10. Oklahoma State

Why Birmingham's domed stadium should be spelled with two 'O's

Yesterday was a historic day for the city of Birmingham.

The eight member Birmingham City Council voted 6-1 to go forward with the building of the proposed dome stadium in downtown Birmingham to be a part of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.

The project will receive $666,000 a month (an omen in its own right, if you ask me) from the city of Birmingham, rounding out to around $8 million a year. The completion is expected to happen within the next five years with a groundbreaking ceremony next Tuesday at 5 pm.

Sure, the election part of this project is historic considering the city of Birmingham has been trying for years to secure the building of a dome (remember MAPS, Birmingham natives?). However, here is what will truly make this day historic: completing the project, and there is no reason to expect this to happen.

For starters, Jefferson County cannot be expected to help out in any way. The county is in huge debt still from their sewer problems and are leaning more towards bankruptcy than someone bailing the city out.

Second, does anyone remember the Birmingham Entertainment District that was promised to the city?

Yea, back in 2007, the city signed on with Performa Entertainment, Inc. from Memphis, TN to build up the area. The district was suppose to have shops, hotels and nightlife spots. Even an SEC Store was proposed to fill the area.

Performa supposedly had 60% of the shops and locations filled as well as having the financing in place.

The group was suppose to have all finances in place by March 2008 when construction could begin on "The Forge."

John Elkington, the man from Performa who has headed the project for Birmingham, was so confident last summer, even though groundbreaking was three months late, that the district was going to get built within a year that he gave out countdown clocks to the BJCC board.

His clock now says 16 days to completion.

His contract has been cancelled.

We are still waiting for ground to be broken.

Despite this failure, mayor Larry Langford believes whole-heartedly this project will be a success and says there is interest from the MLS to potentially move a franchise here.

The dome is slated to have 57,000 seats and can be expanded up to 70,000, an extensive size for a soccer team in the United States. Sure, the Seattle and New England franchises play in their respective city's NFL stadium, but only open part of the venue for seating.

That is just the first problem for a proposed soccer franchise.

Out of the 18 franchises who will be a part of the MLS in 2011, only seven will be playing on FieldTurf, the expected surface of the dome, and none of the franchises play in a closed-air facility. Vancouver's team will be playing in a dome, but with a retractable roof.

IF the city of Birmingham can overcome that obstacle, they will have to face the most formidable of their opponents: Interest.

I have said before that if Hoover built a 20-25 thousand seat stadium and drew a MLS team, it could thrive, but can the city of Birmingham bring in the families from suburbia to watch soccer?

Hardly anyone ventures near Legion Field anymore, partly because of the surroundings of the stadium. The proposed site of the dome isn't much better, but individual investors are trying to revive downtown.

Even if Birmingham can miraculously overcome all of those obstacles, it will be hard to view this structure as anything but a money pit.

Not only will the structure be competing with the complex it is attached to, but just think of what would be in the dome.

The city of Birmingham only has one sports team: the Birmingham Barons, and baseball isn't going in that dome.

Say the city does get an MLS team, they play about 17 homes games, plus about three exhibitions, so an MLS team will occupy 20 days.

Add PapaJohns.com Bowl, SWAC Championship, and Magic City Classic for a total of 23.

UAB football for six days puts the total at 29.

Throw in six concerts booked at the BJCC Arena over the next ten months that could potentially need the dome and it goes to 35.

Just for entertainment purposes, we will say either the OVC, C-USA, or SEC will use the dome for their conference basketball tournament, and say it lasts five days, so that puts the total day use at 40 days out of the year. Generously.

Take away the MLS franchise, and the dome is being used once every two and a half weeks.

Larry Langford has always said, whether its concerning the Olympics or any other project, "Why not Birmingham?"

If you need a reason, just pick something from above.

Review the Preview: The Sporting News

For day two of the week long series of reviews of the national preview magazines, the blog moves on to look at the Sporting News.

Once again, I will look at the things I like, things I don't like, and the infamous "What are they smoking?!?" category.

What's to like

• Best Big XII mascot: Ralphie the Buffalo. Nothing beats a live mascot, and although I am partial to Bevo, he doesn't have the charisma of Ralphie.
• SEC's best fans: Alabama. Can anyone really dispute that?

What's not to like

• Ryan Mallet on the front cover. Mallet has yet to throw a single pass for the Razorbacks, but he is gracing the cover of said preview magazine. Here are the list of his credentials: signed with USC, couldn't beat out the biggest flop in this year's NFL Draft, transferred to Arkansas.
• No 2008 schedules on team preview pages. Sure, they may have the offensive and defensive coordinators listed, but I want to know how this team fared last season.
• Once again, Brandon James 1st team AA PR. Javy is all the way down on 3rd team. Apparently stats and performance mean nothing when compared with the name on the FRONT of the uniform.
• No SEC players on 1st team AA defensive line. Terrance Cody and Greg Hardy at least show up on the 2nd team, but Auburn's Antonio Coleman is no where to be found on any team. I'm on page 13 and this mag is losing credibility fast.
• Clemson 4th in ACC Atlantic. CJ Spiller is still on the roster, and Dabo Swinney did a great job after Tommy Bowden stepped down last season, resurrecting the Tigers season and managed to win the rivalry game with South Carolina.
• Pitt rated as an A- team. Two problems with this: 1) VT and FSU are both rated as A- teams as well and 2) Pitt is not even in the Top 25, but an A- team?
• Penn St. has six guys on the All-Big Ten team, Ohio State has one, but the Buckeyes are picked to win the league...again. This is one wacky magazine.
• Top NFL prospect in Big XII: Sergio Kindle, LB, Texas. Sam Bradford would have been the #1 pick this season, but wouldn't be next year?
• Magazine ends without bowl predictions all in one place. Wow, this was a waste of money.

What are they smoking?!?

• Alabama will be just as good as last year, but get jumped by two teams? The fearless forecast says that LSU will be back and better than Alabama and Ole Miss will win ten games. The SEC is going to be good, no doubt, but to say that both Ole Miss and LSU will just Bama is a bit of a stretch.

Top Ten

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. USC
5. Ole Miss
6. Virginia Tech
7. Oregon
8. LSU
9. Ohio State
10. Oklahoma State

Review the Preview: Yahoo! Sports/Rivals.com

With SEC Media Days beginning next week, I figured this week would be the best to go through the five preview magazines out right now: "Yahoo!/Rivals.com, Athlon, Lindy's, Phil Steele, and Sporting News.

From each magazine, I will touch on the things I like about them, things I don't like, and then the things that come from the "What are they smoking?!?" category.

T0 start off the week, I will start with the magazine I picked up this morning: Yahoo and Rivals.

What's to like

• Rivals listed Mark Ingram as one of their five breakout players for the 2009 season. "Ingram won't need gaping holes; he can create some one his own. He'll get more chances with the football and his numbers will likely soar."
• Auburn in the PapaJohns.com Bowl. Nothing will improve the quality of the game like the addition of the SEC, plus a more prime spot after New Year's Day, but if the Tigers make it to Birmingham, Legion Field might be able to pay for a face lift of that game's ticket sales alone.
• BCS predictions. USC vs. Ohio State, part deux, Alabama vs. Penn St, the prelude, Oklahoma vs. Boise St., the rematch, and Florida vs. Texas for all the marbles.
• Big East team to surprise: UConn. The Huskies have played some tough games over the past year or two, and they should be in good shape to emerge with Louisville down and USF predicted by Rivals to be a team to disappoint.
• Vandy will beat a ranked team. What's not to like about that prediction? Everyone loves to cheer for the 'Dores when they aren't playing their team.
• Team to surprise in SEC: Alabama. Rivals picks the Crimson Tide to win the West, but apparently they view that as a surprise.
• Troy at #65. The Trojans have long been a hard out, and should have put away LSU in Baton Rouge last year. Every other year, Troy is due for an upset of a major team. Florida and Arkansas, you have been warned. Not to mention the battle of the mid-majors in Alabama will be a blood bath for the Blazers.
• Western Kentucky is #118. The team which has spent the past two seasons moving up to the Bowl Subdivision is not considered the worst in the country. Glad to know the Hilltoppers are moving up in the world.

What's not to like

• Prediction that no Big Ten QB will throw for 3,000 yards. Juice Williams was the only one in the league to do so last season. Pryor is in year two at OSU and Daryll Clark should be good to lead Penn St. They may be right, but I would like to think one of those two will reach the 3,000 yard plateau.
• Jeff Tedford on the hot seat. Rivals goes on to point out the Bears have not had a losing season during his tenure after having five straight before his arrival in 2002. Not to mention Cal is predicted to finish second on conference behind USC. What merits the hot seat out of that? If he is truly on the hot seat, he may finally bolt to another job.
• Brandon James as best PR in SEC. This will not be the last time you hear me gripe about people putting Brandon James ahead of Javier Arenas. There will be an entire blog on this topic in the future.
• Florida's WR options when talking repeat. Rivals lists TE Aaron Hernandez as the potential leader for receptions, and that is not great to hear for a national title contender. It is even worse when considering Tebow's pro prospectus, because if he doesn't have the outside options, Florida will become more predictable (if that is even possible).
• Oregon State outside the Top 25. Sure, they are at 26, but the Beavers were one game away from winning the Pac-10 last season. The non-conference schedule is much softer with no Penn St. or Utah, but conference rotation has Beavers on the road for five this season, including USC, Cal, Arizona St, and, most importantly, Oregon.
• Auburn at #52. I agree that the Tigers will probably have a tough go this year, but behind Kentucky, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin nationally? Not that bad.
• Alabama's OOC opponent's rankings. Tulane is at 116. North Texas is at 120. Let's not forget that Alabama plays these two back-to-back weeks after starting with #6 VT.

What are they smoking?!?

• Jimmy Clausen listed as a Heisman candidate, and not in the dark horse section.
• Notre Dame undefeated heading into game vs. USC. Sure, their schedule is quite easy, but this is still not a great team by no stretch of the imagination.
• Penn State outside of the Top Ten? Nittany Lions went 11-1 last year in regular season, and they host Ohio State this year. Schedule sets up much friendlier with that single change and no real depth in the Big Ten.
• Nebraska in front of North Carolina?! UNC is on the verge of surprising the ACC, and Nebraska have not earned back their black shirts. Nebraska's sked is favorable with no Texas or Oklahoma State and hosting Oklahoma, but the Heels under Butch Davis must avoid the late season meltdown.

Top Ten

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Oklahoma
5. Alabama
6. Virginia Tech
7. Ohio State
8. LSU
9. Boise State
10. Oklahoma State

A friendly conversation over the twittosphere

There is one simple way to know that you are starved for college football.

The answer: arguing over twitter as to why Bama will/won't finish third in the SEC West while college football is 56 days away and Bama football is 58 days out.

Such was the case last night when I had an opposition to Lisa Horne's prediction of the SEC West which looked, and remains, like this:

1. LSU
2. Ole Miss
3. Bama
4. Arkansas
5. Auburn
6. Miss St

Before we get any further, let me introduce Lisa. She is a writer for FoxSports.com, a member of the Football Writers of America Association, and former colleague when I was writing on bleacherreport.com before I got this gig and decided not to multi-task.

So once she asked the opened question of what SEC fans thought of her predictions, I had to stand up for the Crimson Tide, and that's when all the fun started.

Below is a transcript of last night's discussion, 140 characters at a time.

Me-@LisaHorne When defense wins championships, you have the best defense in the West 3rd? Bama did more with less on offense numerous times.

Lisa-@ng11787 The best D got hammered by Florida and Utah. Plus, they lost their career passing leader in JPW.

Lisa-I cannot believe LSU -- even with a killer schedule -- won't win the West. I like their schedule...it's got teeth.

Me-@LisaHorne And when do those teams appear on the schedule? Bama had best rush D in SEC and return 9. Tebow hit perfect spot in SECCG...

Me-@LisaHorne ...and that game was down to a few plays. On offense, G-Mac is already better than JPW and Julio is one year better + Trent @ RB

Lisa-@ng11787 The Bama v Utah game was down to a few plays? The Utes owned the Bama's O-line. OWNED them.

Me-@LisaHorne Never said Utah, I said UF. I was at that Utah game and it was an all around feeling that Bama was gonna run over them. Too cocky

Lisa-@ng11787 You didn't say Florida, but OK. Two BIGGEST games of the year and Bama lost. 2 in a row. I'm just saying'. Why diff this year?

Me-@LisaHorne The ... was a continuation. We aren't talking post season over who will win the Westn its the regular season, and Bama went 12-0

Lisa-@ng11787 As far as down 2 a few plays-yeah, maybe. Like if USC had gone 3 more inches, they would've beat Texas. USC LOST...I don't do IFs.

Lisa-Here's my theory on great football teams: they may get beat, but it's never a blow-out. Good teams can be blown out. Not great ones.

Lisa-@ng11787 No doubt the WKU,Tulane & Arkansas State cupcakes helped that 12-0 mark...those are 3 gimmees. TY Bama has Va Tech. Not a cupcake!

Me-@LisaHorne Nice twist to avoid the @UGA, @LSU plus rivalries @UT and vs. AU in the argument. Not to mention over Ole Miss as well.

Lisa-@ng11787 I actually think LSU Tigers will win the SEC period and go to BCS Rose Bowl National Championship game. (You may quote me)

Me-@LisaHorne Let's hear how Jefferson or Shepard will lead their offense with no WR+a suspect secondary with Snead, Cox, Tebow n G-Mac 2 play

Lisa-@ng11787 Alabama lost their two biggest games. That is fact. Great teams don't lose big games, and they don't get blown out in a BCS Bowl.

Me-@LisaHorne Once again, not the point of the argument here, we are talking regular season, and Bama went 12-0 and beat all teams they play TY

Lisa-@ng11787 You're bringing up Tenn. and Auburn, both 5-7 teams, as big wins? Tennessee lost to Wyoming, Auburn beat Miss St 3-2. Come now.

Me-@LisaHorne Rivalry games, anything can happen. Any other explaination as to why your West fav LSU lost to Ark past two seasons?

Lisa-@ng11787 LY I said Georgia and Alabama were pretenders....I know you remember that. They were. I stand by my LSU projection. QB issue solved

Lisa-@ng11787 Regular season MEANS NOTHING if you can't win your conference or BCS Bowl. See New England Patriots for proof.

Me-@LisaHorne But you are using post season games as your argument as to why Bama won't win the SEC West, and have yet to touch on anything 09

Lisa-@ng11787 I am basing my projections on LSU finally getting it together in their last game (38-2 over Ga. Tech) while Bama folded.

Lisa-@ng11787 I'm saying if u couldn't win it w/ Coffee & Wilson LY, how are u going to do better w/ less experienced O-Line TY? Va Tech is good

Me-@LisaHorne So LSU pick is based off a thrashing of a mediocre ACC team after losing 3 of 4 to end reg season? That's all last year.

Lisa-@ng11787 LSU lost talent LY, like Bama did TY. That's kinda my whole point...LSU suffered last season, and I think Bama will this season.

Me-@LisaHorne Trent is expected to start and coaches say G-Mac is better than JPW and bigger passing threat means more Julio, plus that defense

Me-@LisaHorne ...and Bama beat that same LSU team on the road LY with their most mistake ridden game in RS. One game can't make the next season

(btw, for anyone who may have been wondering: yes, this is the reason why my girlfriend no longer gets my tweets sent to her phone. Ok, continue...)

Lisa-@ng11787 You brought up Georgia as one of the big games that Bama won, but when LSU beat the team (Ga Tech) that beat Ga, they are mediocre.

Me-@LisaHorne Are we seriously gonna use the same logic that would have a 3 yr old trade a penny for a $100 bill (1 for 1) in CFB. Oh wait, BCS

Lisa-@ng11787 Ok ...well last year they said Bama was the best team in the country, and I disagreed. I don't trust coaches, I trust my eyes.

Me-@LisaHorne I never thought we were until we beat UF, and we didn't, but I stand by thought our D has a chance to be the best in nation TY

Lisa-@ng11787 Last comment...I argued with you LY that Bama was maybe top ten team, but not NC worthy. They weren't. Lets not start this up again

Lisa-@ng11787 I wish you nothing but the best. Bama fans are great. Va Tech will be a good test. (for the record, I'll take Va Tech and the pts)

Me-@LisaHorne Works for me. I'll take us, of course. VT traditionally starts slow. Hope the fam and chia pet are doing well.

Lisa-@ng11787 chia pet has been properly memorialized. Good luck! Would love to see some really happy Bama fans!

So that was that. Surprisingly, we managed to go through the entire conversation without even bringing up Ole Miss as a contender in this race, which the Sporting News would slap me for, judging by their rankings.

Nonetheless, I am sure this is not the last college football discussion Lisa and I will have before the season, but I will assure you, they will all be as spirited.

By the way, if anyone cared, here are Lisa's East predictions:

1. Florida
2. Georgia
3. Tennessee
4. South Carolina
5. Vandy
6. Kentucky

What I've missed and what's ahead.

So after a month off in June, it's time to get back to the blog.

Between my own personal need of a break and some other things that were necessary to put before writing, the break turned into a month long without me even noticing it.

During this break, here is what I have missed, and its just a nice little refresher for everyone:

• The Braves used their "16 games to define the season," as I had dubbed it on Twitter, to pull within two games of the Phillies, before dropping three games, in real life and in the standings, over the past four days. You can read below about Tommy Hanson's call up and his strong opening run for Rookie of the Year, and would have been best pitcher in the NL still if 1) Tim Lincecum didn't start destroying teams and 2) if the Braves hadn't blown his last start. Thanks, bullpen.
• Before Alabama even kicks off in 2009, the 2010 schedule is already together. The schedule includes out-of-conference games with San Jose St., Penn. St., Duke, and Georgia State. Every game but Duke will be at home, but the Blue Devils have yet to announce whether or not Alabama will travel to Durham or only to Atlanta for a "home" game for Duke in the Georgia Dome based on their high alumni count in the Atlanta metro area. As for conference games, Alabama will host, Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Auburn and travel to Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, and LSU. Of course, dates aren't set in stone, but just based on typical Bama schedules, you can expect Arkansas to be the first SEC game and road trip, more than likely followed by Florida at home, trip to South Carolina, home with Ole Miss, to Tennessee, to LSU, Miss. St. at home and Auburn at home. Its a bit rougher than this year's schedule, for sure.
• Not to be overlooked, especially by me, is what has leaked out about this year's basketball schedule for the Crimson Tide. Coach Anthony Grant has hinted at a game with VCU, but nothing has gone beyond rumor with that game yet. What we do know is that Alabama will be in Orlando for the Old Spice tournament right after Thanksgiving, Mobile for the Coors Classic against Kansas State, and I have found a rumor that Alabama will get a visit from Purdue on Dec. 12th in Coleman Coliseum. Even if the Boilermaker rumor doesn't hold water, Alabama's non-conference basketball schedule already looks better than last year.

So that is what I missed over the past month, but here is what to come in the next month:

• In preparation for football season, I will start a "Best of the SEC" series based on my experiences on all twelve of the campuses of the SEC. They will cover basketball and football as well as general things concerning the trips and looks from Fayetteville to Columbia.
• SEC Media Days are approaching in the next few weeks, and I will be dissecting what each and every coach and player has to say and what it may mean as far as their outlook of the upcoming season.
• For anyone who hasn't noticed, four of the pre-season football magazines are on news stands, and I will go through and pick them apart. Sports Illustrated's preview will come around in August, so I will catch up with that one then.
• SEC Basketball coaches should be releasing non-conference schedules in the next month, according to the twitter pages of Billy Donovan and Bruce Pearl. I will look at what's out there for these teams as well as how Alabama stacks up if the schedule comes out this month.

If anything else catches my eye, I'll stick it up here as well. Don't be surprised if there is a response to this coming in the next day or two.

It's time to get back to work and back in shape. Football is less than two months away!!!