“He’s going to commit to me just like I’m committed to them.”

You know, if Michael Carvell wanted to do something entertaining that didn’t involve Georgia’s program, he might try calling up Nick Saban and ask if the coach has a reaction to this comment by Alabama’s newest commitment:

“Me and my dad talked last night, and we decided that I definitely needed to go ahead and commit to a school. It was because my head coach (at Camden) was leaving and we didn’t know what kind of coach is coming in, and if it would change anything. Also, spring practice is coming up, and, in case I get injured, I need to be committed to a school.”  [Emphasis added.]

That sure worked for Justin Taylor.

And before you say Nick Saban wouldn’t have time for that shit, don’t forget he’s made the time before.

Here’s hoping Mr. Bessent has a happy and healthy senior season.

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Some Cinderellas are more equal than others.

While this whole NYT piece is a marvel to behold, this paragraph is the most awesome of all:

Andy Glockner of SI.com and Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports are not fans of what Glockner terms the “small conference entertainment complex.” They argue that sending a team that wins a tournament rather than an entire regular season isn’t necessarily fair and that a worse team is more likely to emerge from a tournament rather than a regular season.  [Emphasis added.]

Well, yeah.  But brackets are fun!

Honestly, I don’t know how these people keep their stories straight.

Just haggling over the fee

Gag me with a spoon:

The conference commissioners and college administrators who oversee college football’s new championship format, which will begin in 2014, expect to unveil its name and logo at their meeting in Pasadena, Calif., next month, executive director Bill Hancock said.

That title, Hancock said, will not include a sponsor.

“It won’t be ‘The Vizio Championship Tournament,'” Hancock said, using the Rose Bowl title sponsor as an example. “The Final Four doesn’t have one. The Masters doesn’t. The Super Bowl. That’s the kind of event we have.”

The group has narrowed the candidates for the name to a “small number,” Hancock said. It will be simple, straightforward and, as he described it, “not cutesy.”

So, the man who said we didn’t need the event now says the event doesn’t need a sponsor.  This is just an oblique way of saying “nobody’s offered us enough money – yet.”  One day, somebody will.  And I’m sure it will be totally classy.  Bill will let us know that.

Garner makes bank.

Hey – remember this?

But as Garner adamantly pointed out in an exclusive interview with the AJC Thursday night, “this is not about the money.”

Sure, sure.  It’s just an added perk that Rodney Garner’s new annual salary at Auburn is a cool $500,000.00.  We don’t know the complete terms of his contract, since Auburn still refuses to release the details (why?), but if it turns out that’s part of a multi-year deal Garner agreed to, there should be little surprise about why he’s no longer coaching in Athens.

As it is, Mike Bobo is making a mere $75,000 a year more than Garner.  And Malzahn’s staff is making more than Richt’s.  Keeping Garner looks like it would have been a financial bridge too far for the likes of McGarity.

My point here isn’t to say whether Georgia’s AD was right or wrong in making that call.  For one thing, I have no idea what Richt’s position was on the matter.  But Garner’s new paycheck is another clear indication that the deals top assistants are getting in the SEC are headed in a certain direction and it’s up to Georgia to adapt.  Either that, or hope that Richt’s charm continues to go a long, long way in keeping assistants’ salaries under control.