May we have your attention, please?

Despite a vastly improved season on the field, Vanderbilt’s 2011 attendance declined from the previous season.

Maybe it’s gonna take Franklin actually clocking somebody after a game to bring the fans back.

Closing the borders

Those of you frustrated with Richt and Company about Georgia recruits going out of state to play ball might want to take a look at what’s been happening lately in the Sunshine State.

That contract’s not worth the piece of paper it’s printed on, son.

Andy Staples makes a lengthy argument that the saga of Justin Taylor is proof that the hard-25 man rule the SEC implemented last summer is having the intended effect of curtailing some of the more egregious oversigning conduct we’ve seen recently.

But here’s the part of his piece that really caught my eye:

Earlier this month, Taylor took an official visit to Tuscaloosa. There, Alabama coach Nick Saban told Taylor that because of a combination of the new rule and the torn ACL Taylor suffered in September, Taylor couldn’t sign with the class of 2012. Taylor said Saban offered to sign a contract stating that Alabama would guarantee Taylor a scholarship in the 2013 signing class.[Emphasis added.] One of the new rules states that an SEC school can sign only 25 players a year. Essentially, Taylor had slipped to the 26th-most-important player committed to Alabama for the class of 2012.

Now Taylor must weigh his options. Does he take Saban at his word and wait for an Alabama scholarship in 2013? Or does he attempt to seek a scholarship for 2012 at some other school? At the moment, he isn’t sure. “I’m still getting my head together,” Taylor told SI.com on Monday night.

Now wait a minute – if Saban’s willing to offer the kid a contract guarantee, why does Taylor have to “take Saban at his word”?  The answer, of course, is that there isn’t any such thing being offered to the kid.  And if he were allowed to have any form of consultation with an advisor, he’d know it.  The NCAA thinks he’s better off without that help, though.  You can bet whatever Saban did tell Taylor was thoroughly vetted first, though.

Nice system you’ve got there.

Musical palate cleanser: Terry meets Julie.

I think I’ve mentioned Terry Reid here at some point.  He’s the obscure British rocker whose main claim to fame was turning down Jimmy Page’s invitation to join Led Zeppelin when Page was putting the band together and recommending Plant as an alternative (the rest, as they say, is history).

Anyway, I came across a clip of Reid covering what may be the most gorgeous song of the British Invasion, the Kinks “Waterloo Sunset”, that’s worth sharing.  (You can read the background on it here.)   There’s a fine line between maudlin and sublime that he manages to navigate successfully, especially in the way he closes.

The video isn’t the best, but, damn, that’s nice.  I lurve it.  You gotta love the ice cream suit, too.

Bonus tuneage:  don’t miss the free Squidbillies download here.  “(I Like) Driving In My Truck” is worth the price of admission alone, but Lucinda Williams’ cover of the Squidbillies Theme is pretty awesome.  There’s plenty of other goodies you’ll get a kick out of.

Reader poll: hey, everybody else is doing it.

Is it just me, or does anyone else cringe a little at all the (ridiculously early) preseason love being thrown Georgia’s way?  Maybe I’m just a little too close, but I look at the offensive line and special teams and wonder what some of these pundits are smoking when they project the Dawgs as a top-five team in 2012.  Even the level-headed Bruce Feldman manages to rank Georgia seventh – without mentioning the iffy offensive line situation at all.

(If I can’t see Georgia deserving that lofty a perch, you know who else I can’t see?  Arkansas.  At least the Dawgs have a proven defense returning and a soft schedule to point to.)

Anyway, here’s a mid-January reader poll.  You can be ridiculously early, too!