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Summertime Blues The countdown is on.....college football gets cranked up in under 70 days, and I can't wait. In the meantime, we have a three-week lull before the start of the conference media days and we're officially in the "Summertime Blues". The next couple of weeks seemingly last forever. But once we get to mid-July, it's time for the festivities to get cranked up with a trip to the SEC Media Days in Alabama. Those 4 days are insane....the good kind....loaded with high profile coaches, players and wild-ass SEC football fans in the lobby. When I arrive in Birmingham on my way to Hoover, it feels like the official start of the college football season. After the SEC circus, the other power leagues have their time to shine and it is always a blast to cover. In addition to being in Greensboro for the ACC event, I'm headed out to LA for the PAC 12 Media Day, too. I'm looking forward to the trip and to see just how many games the LA Dodgers are out of first place by time I arrive. The college football mags have hit the newsstands, and it's always fun reading through them...one thing has been abundantly clear in each publication: Alabama is the team to beat. I noticed that Phil Steele (great college football mag) had a list of 14 teams that he believed fit his profile to win the national championship.....in addition to teams you expected like Bama, Ohio State and Oregon...he also listed Vanderbilt, Northwestern and North Carolina. Everybody is entitled to their opinion. But getting back to Bama, the Tide looks for their third consecutive BCS title and their fourth piece of crystal in the last 5 years. If Nick's boys pull it off again, that would be an incredible accomplishment in this day and age of college football. By the time of this posting, UCLA and Mississippi State have qualified for the CWS Championship Series. I loved being in Omaha....the city is fun, the people are great...and the teams, coaches and players are a blast to work with during our visit. It is as much fun as you can have at a championship event....and that includes every NCAA championship. While the Bruins and Bulldogs battle it out for their first CWS title....another streak in college sports was extended. The ACC, despite both UNC and NC State making it to Omaha, goes another year without closing the deal. The 1955 Wake Forest baseball team is the last conference member to win it all......the ACC has produced nearly 4 dozen Omaha-bound teams since the Deacs' triumph, but has yet to win it all. I find this streak absolutely incomprehensible. Maybe next year....sounds like Dodger baseball. For the record, the SEC has now placed a team in the championship series for the 6th consecutive year......baseball is starting to sound like the BCS. The Miami Heat-San Antonio Spurs series was terrific. I really enjoyed watching the world's best players really go after it for the championship. LeBron James put on a show, quieting anybody else that actually thinks he hasn't established himself as the "man" in the post-season. I didn't care for the "decision" and I hated the bragging once he arrived in South Beach.....but there is no denying his skill and ability in the clutch. He was fantastic. I know the Heat can be polarizing....but in the world of sports, that's not a bad thing. They force you to pick a side. That ability led to outstanding TV ratings, which included nearly 26 million for the Game 7 clincher. Can the Heat, like Bama, obtain a third consecutive championship? I think it's possible. I listened to the Gleason/ALS skit that the 3 Atlanta sports radio hosts attempted last week. Saying the idea was dumb and distasteful would be doing a disservice to the words "dumb" and "distasteful". When you have been in the business as long as those guys have, I can't believe a red flag didn't go up as they were talking themselves through the bit before it aired. The bit was pitiful. There are times when you think something is funny, and you don't pull it off....but the subject matter was one that should have never been targeted. I don't root for guys to lose jobs...it can have a devastating effect on themselves and their families. But in this case, it was a complete no-brainer. They had to go....immediately. I know there have been heartfelt apologies since the bit, but this was a lesson for everyone in the entertainment business. NASCAR racing in Sonoma....why bother? Wimbledon gets started this week, and already there is a good catfight brewing with Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. In a recent Rolling Stones piece, Serena had opinions on a number of issues. Apparently, her willingness to talk hit a nerve and Sharapova made mention of it in a pre-tourney press conference. Sharapova basically said that if Serena wanted to discuss private issues she should look into the mirror and talk about herself and her personal life.....of course she went into a few details and the game was on. I've got to be honest with you, I don't care who any of these ladies are messing around with....it's their own life and they can do whatever they want. But the fact that two of the biggest names in the sport are heated before we play the first point on grass makes this an interesting story. It is worth keeping an eye on, these next two weeks. I saw where Clemson University released some video footage of the potential suspects that vandalized Howard's Rock. It involved two white guys in a white pick-up truck. That should narrow it down.....two white guys in a white pick-up truck. What are the chances you fit that description in the UpState of South Carolina? I hate that somebody would try to mess with Howard's Rock. It's the same BS that was displayed by that moronic Harvey Updyke, Jr. when he decided to poison the oaks at Toomer's Corner on the Auburn University campus. I have no respect or patience for idiots that think it's cool to vandalize. Hopefully, somebody will catch these punks and put them in jail. |
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