Daily Archives: April 19, 2011

Jeebus, these people never quit.

Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier (h/t Andy Staples), on the BCS:

“It’s truly amazing. The sport where the NCAA can generate the biggest revenue and they end up giving it away for free. If the university presidents ever really truly understood what is happening, they would be in disbelief. The NCAA leadership over the past 30 years has been lulled to sleep while this transformation took place.”

Damn it, the NCAA never had the D-1 football postseason to give away.  And the university presidents of the Big Six know exactly what’s happening.  That’s reinforced with every check fueled by broadcast rights they receive.

There is no transformation.

Dude, I get that you think it’s Boise State’s birthright to sit at the money table with the big boys, even though it doesn’t draw like they do in the stands or on the tube.  Just don’t pretend everyone is being screwed due to the stupidity of people like Mike Slive and Jim Delany.  Because, as Michael Corleone said to Carlo Rizzi before he had him killed, that insults my intelligence and makes me very angry.

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38 Comments

Filed under BCS/Playoffs, It's Not Easy Being A Mid-Major

We will love you ’til the day you die.

(Still) all in:  Bobby Lowder is re-nominated to the Auburn University Board of Trustees.

20 Comments

Filed under Auburn's Cast of Thousands

Mike Slive to Big Ten: you’re not the boss of me.

In light of this exchange (h/t Oversigning.com),

Q: Will the SEC re-examine its rule, which has now become an NCAA rule, setting a limit of 28 football signees per class? Do you believe it has adequately addressed the issue of oversigning or does it need to be toughened, possibly even looking to the Big Ten model (which allows its football programs to sign only three over the number of scholarships it has available under the 85 limit)?

A: I don’t think there’s any particular model out there that we would care to emulate, but we’re going to take a look at all these issues. It’s more than just the question of oversigning. It’s a question of looking at all these issues that comprise how teams develop their ultimate roster. We have put together a group of our athletic directors who have been working on this now for several months and we anticipate looking at their report in Destin, when we do our business. We expect the First Amendment to be alive and well in Destin and I actually anticipate that we would do something more than we have done up to now.

There are a lot of things that go with it — the question of oversigning, the question of grayshirting, the question of early admission, the question of pre-enrollment in summer school. We are working to take a very comprehensive look at all the different elements, not just the one issue of oversigning.

… I think it’s time for another poll.  I’m curious how many of you share my cynicism about what’s likely to come out of the Destin meetings.

As always, your comments are welcomed.

18 Comments

Filed under SEC Football

Etched in stone

I wish I could take credit for the discovery (h/t SEC Rant message board), but it’s worth noting the typo in the plaque honoring the 2009 Alabama national championship team.

It’s the MacArthur Trophy.  It’s named in honor of Gen. Douglas MacArthur.  Perhaps some of you in Tuscaloosa have heard of him.

I guess Saban told the designer he didn’t have time for that spell check shit.

16 Comments

Filed under Whoa, oh, Alabama

Feed the studs.

For those of you looking for some Xs-and-Os talk, you couldn’t do much better than this excellent look by Chris Brown at a Bobby Petrino staple, the shallow cross play.

Petrino may not be the guy you’d want next to you in the proverbial foxhole, but there are few offensive minds sharper than his in college football.

15 Comments

Filed under Strategery And Mechanics

Well, the weather is lovely down here this time of year.

Nine of the top twelve venues in 2011 spring football attendance are SEC schools.

13 Comments

Filed under SEC Football

Extra gloss on the glass house

Okay, I admit I broke a self-imposed rule.

I read a Bleacher Report post.  I couldn’t help it.  A post entitled “Is It Time to Examine Mark Richt’s Recruiting Standards Now?” was too tempting not to check to see if the author was willing to go someplace truly stupid.

And Larry Burton, bless his heart, doesn’t disappoint.  Nah, he goes there.

… It’s not like Richt’s seat isn’t already hot, but does he need to throw gasoline on his own fire with his choice of Bulldog players spending so much time in handcuffs?

For Georgia fans, it may be time to examine the source of the problem.

You’d have thought Richt unlocked the door and told the recruits which lockers to rob.

Seriously, it’s one thing to blame Richt for not exercising enough control over the kids who’ve enrolled in his program.  It’s another to argue that Richt should somehow be held accountable for high school recruits who victimized Richt’s own players.

Which Burton does.

Since Bonner has in fact been given offers by many other big time schools, it could be hard to blame Richt for also recruiting him, but just the sheer number of players in trouble at Georgia should make even the most ardent Georgia fan at least begin to question the recruiting standards of Richt and his staff.

But wait a minute.  Bonner’s been offered by every major program in the South, and the other two recruits… um, the other two recruits don’t hold offers from Georgia.  None of them are “Bulldog players”.  So now we’re down to blaming Richt for merely allowing kids on campus.

At this point, I couldn’t help but wonder ab0ut Larry’s loyalties.

He writes professionally for Touchdown Alabama Magazine and covered games during the Championship Season run from the press box and interviewed the coaches and players. He is proud to be a member of the Football Writers of America Association and the most read SEC and Alabama football writer at Bleacher Report.

Larry lives with his wife and Pug (Baccardi the Wonder Dog)… He is Community Leader for Alabama here on BleacherReport.com, He served several terms as a director in the Red Elephant Club and loves to meet with the Crimson Tide coaches and administrators. His Bama time were from 1976 to 1981 during the back to back National Championship years!

Hmm.  Well, I’m sure they had nothing to do with the premise of his article.  After all,

… Bonner was being heavily recruited by several schools and held offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, South Carolina and USC.

Somebody pass Larry the Windex, please.

42 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football, The Blogosphere