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Circus Act I'm excited about getting down to Hoover, Alabama for the SEC Media Days. It's basically three days of intense media coverage of the country's best college football conference. It's not every day that you see as many superstar coaches and players roaming the same hallways looking for their next interview session. Not only are all the football stars present, the same could probably be said for the media, too. If you don't have this assignment, then you must work for some cheap organization.....this is a must-be-present event if you cover college football in any way, shape or form. The fans that raid the hotel lobby in search of an autograph, picture or just to heckle their most hated rival are almost as interesting as the participants. Last year, I would hang out in the lobby before the show just to get a good laugh at the "element" that was packed in the lobby. No other conference in America has the passion, and sometimes the sickness, that takes over the fans of SEC football. You can catch all the interviews and highlights on SiriusXM, Channel 91....the zoo starts on Tuesday and ends on Thursday. Speaking of crazy, what in the world is going on at North Carolina? The P.J. Hairston case keeps getting uglier by the week, and UNC officials keep unveiling a "we're working on it" approach. At the center of the "Wheels for Heels" controversy is an ex-felon by the name of "Fats" Thomas. One week he says he doesn't know Hairston, but now he seems to have a pretty good recognition of the guy. Come on....there are so many Hertz rentals with this guy's name on them that have been parking illegally on the UNC campus and nobody in power has any answers? How can you be in a position where a school located in Chapel Hill has a 2-month issue involving their star basketball player and an ex-felon living in Durham, and you haven't spoken to the man as of July 3rd? UNC's football program has been placed on probation for cheating....the school's academic reputation took a major blow with the athletic-academic scandal which was mismanaged internally....and now the untouchable basketball program has its problems and nobody is talking directly to Fats? I can't even comprehend that approach. How many months does it take to find Fats Thomas? Hell, just go to the local Hertz counter; he's bound to be hanging out there....who knows, you might even bump into a few of your fellow UNC "student-athletes". Ask P.J. how to find the guy's house...surely there is a sweet GPS in one of those brand new Yukons, Camaros or Mercedes. The longer UNC stays quiet...the more the News & Observer is going to uncover. I really don't get it....but UNC has mishandled every crisis in the past 4 years....this one is getting so dirty, that even the NCAA might have a hard time ignoring it. The Open Championship gets cranked up this week at venerable Muirfield. Look at the names of the past winners from this stack: Walter Hagan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo and Ernie Els......it is really impressive. It also tells you that great players win on great courses....and that should bode well for Tiger Woods this week. He is overdue for a win in a major championship, since his last one took place at the 2008 US Open. However, his game was off at Merion and he claims that his elbow is fine and that he is fit to compete this week. We'll see. I'll point out that in the last 19 major golf championships, we have seen 18 different winners.....that's incredible. Take your pick this week.....so far this year, we've seen two great young players pick up their first major titles....Adam Scott and Justin Rose. It shouldn't surprise anybody to see another "newbie" win at Muirfield. My beloved San Francisco Giants have really struggled, the past few months....and that's being kind. The pitching has been wildly inconsistent and they have struggled scoring runs with RISP all year. Despite the disappointing first half, it was great to see Tim Lincecum, the "Freak", pitch like the old days in throwing a no-hitter against the Padres this past Saturday night. Lincecum was dealing, striking out 13 batters and throwing 148 pitches in the process. Earlier this month, he was the starting pitcher on the losing end of a no-no when Homer Bailey and the Reds took care of business. There haven't been many feel-goods for my guys in 2013, but this was one of them. The Giants have now thrown 3 no-no's since '09....the Padres were the victims twice. It should be noted that San Diego is still the only team in baseball that doesn't have a no-hitter to their credit. The Tour de France comes to a close this upcoming weekend....and unless you are a cyclist, not a single American knows or cares. Lance Armstrong, nice job. |
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