Baker's dozen of ACC losses brewing for Tech? Bucs done with Dunn

(2/27) Going with a youth movement, the Tampa Bay Bucs cut former Atlanta Falcon running back Warrick Dunn. Dunn rushed for almost 750 yards last season and averaged 4.2 yards per touch. The Atlanta mayor’s job is opening soon.

I don’t know why I liked this but I did. SI.Com points out that only one guy, of the three major sports, has ever been inducted into the Hall of Fame named Doug. It was Doug Atkins, a former defensive end with the Chicago Bears. Maybe Doug Flutie will make it one day. Somebody has too much time on their hands.

Two of the top high school prospects in Florida are leaving the state. Quarterback Aaron Murray out of Plant High School will be a Georgia Bulldog and tight end teammate Orson Charles has narrowed his choices to Southern Cal, Georgia or Tennessee. Florida’s Urban Meyer is catching a lot of heat for letting them get away.

The economic woes haven’t affected CBS’ coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness. The TV network said it has held on to most of its sponsors, including its Top Three of Coca-Cola, AT&T and even General Motors.

Wonder how Georgia Tech’s new president, Bud Peterson, will affect the Yellow Jackets’ athletics program? If you don’t think presidents are important to athletics, just ask the University of Georgia.

And speaking of Tech, the Yellow Jacket basketball team has never lost more than 12 ACC games in a season since Paul Hewitt took over nine years ago. With a dozen losses already and playing North Carolina this weekend, look for a new record. Funny that the Tech folks aren’t after Hewitt so much as they are his coaching staff. They seem to think that’s the problem with the Jackets’ being at the bottom of the league standings.

Oh, and by the way, the Falcons have been unable to find anyone in the NFL who’s interested in a trade involving Michael Vick. Dog gone bad luck.

This is Norman Arey and I wouldn’t trade for him either but I wouldn't mind being president of Tech.

Who's no. 1? It seems nobody wants to be; no stampede to coach from press box

(2/26) Dag gummit, does anyone want to be No. 1 in college basketball? For the sixth time this season, a No. 1 team fell. First it was North Carolina, followed by Pitt, Wake Forest, Duke, UConn and then Pitt (again) as it lost to Providence this week. It was the sixth time in eight weeks that No. 1 tumbled. With the month of March starting this Sunday, we’re sure to enter March Madness in a tither.

I don’t know whether to believe this or not but Kellogg’s has supposedly suffered a set back for dropping Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps after he was pictured smoking pot. With Phelps as a spokesman, the company was No. 9. Without him, they’re No. 83. Do you believe it?

Several stories have appeared asking why coaches don’t coach from the press box, where things are quieter and the view is superb. I had a better seat than any coach in America in my 25 years of sports coverage. The reasons vary with whom you ask. Coaches all admit that they can see better but say they feel out of touch. Not true. The real reason is the alumni expects to see their head coach on the sideline. That’s the reason. Period. Why pro coaches don’t do it is because the owners expect to see them. High School coaches? I don’t know.

Just a thought but it was amazing how quickly everyone in Atlanta forgot about former Falcon quarterback Matt Schaub when Matt Ryan showed up.

Here’s reason No. 44 that I hate the NBA. Former Georgia Tech and New York Knicks malcontent Stephon Marbury was given something like $4 million not to play anymore in New York. The point guard is reportedly headed to Boston where he would be eligible for the playoffs with the Celtics. Amazing and just irresponsible.

Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim did something this week that no other college coach has done. Boeheim has now had 31 20-win seasons, one more than North Carolina’s Dean Smith. Well, you can say that Smith still has more hair.

Remember St. John’s and coach Louie Carnesecca and how much fun it used to be to watch the Red Men (before their name changed to the Red Storm?). Present SJU coach Norm Roberts has the hottest seat in all of college basketball with a 13-15 record.

Trent Johnson’s first year as head basketball coach at LSU has been, might we say, successful? Johnson, who left Stanford to take over from the fired John Brady, clinched at least a tie for the SEC regular season crown this week. Not bad for a rookie.

This is Norman Arey feeling copasetic with Jim Boeheim, maybe his hair apparent?

Keith Brooking out? Mack Brown wins Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year award

(2/25) Don’t know if you noticed, or care for that matter, but the Big East has five in the AP poll’s Top Ten in college basketball. In fact, if the top seeds for the NCAA tournament were announced today, there’s a chance that there would be two Big East teams and possibly no ACC teams.

HERE & THERE: Sir Charles Barkley may have to serve a little jail time for his arrest on charges of driving under the influence. At least he’s contrite and admits he was stupid. . . So it’s come to this: Former Georgia Tech star Keith Brooking, who’s plied his linebacker trade with the Falcons and Falcons only, may hit the open market. He’s the lone remaining Falcon who played on the ‘98 Super Bowl team. . . What? Pat Knight, son of famed coach and eye-brow grower Bobby Knight, has been suspended for his next game as coach of the Texas Tech basketball team. Why? For criticizing officials, for goodness sakes. Can you imagine? . . . Texas coach Mack Brown was named the winner of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.

I don’t know about this switch in college football. Clemson has replaced Central Michigan on its schedule with TCU, one of the most successful mid-major teams in the country.

The Tennessee women’s basketball team is ranked No. 18 this week, the lowest ranking for a Pat Summitt-coached team since 1985.

MLB union boss Donald Fehr admits that baseball had a problem in the early part of this decade,but he says that the steroid issue has been fixed. Please, Donald, do you feel you’re speaking to somebody’s first grade?

Make plans to watch Georgia Tech take on North Carolina this weekend. It’ll be interesting to see if the Tar Heels’ Roy Williams makes any real changes in the UNC lineup. Williams was simply out-coached when his team lost to Maryland last week and arch-rival Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski did one of his best coaching jobs of his career when the Blue Devils beat Wake Forest Sunday. The ‘Heels have more than one Achilles heel but the most glaring is their defense and lack of intensity and toughness.

This is Norman Arey saying I don’t lack intensity.

Joe Montana's son a QB at Alabama? Spurrier nowhere near retirement?

(2/24) This is Norman Arey and if Tuesday’s not your favorite day, that’s all right.

Nick Montana, son of the NLF legend Joe Montana, has a handful of scholarship offers, the latest from Alabama. The younger Montana, also a quarterback, already was holding offers from Florida State, Ohio State and those folks in South Bend, Ind., where his father matriculated. Montana’s older brother, Nate, walked on recently at Notre Dame.

When South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier sat down with Georgia’s top high school quarterback prospect, Connor Shaw of Flowery Branch, the coach assured Shaw that he’s nowhere near retirement. The prep star inquired about rumors that Spurrier was leaving in two years.

Legendary Chicago Cub shortstop Ernie Banks is trying to get certified so he can perform marriages at Wrigley Field, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Southern Cal football coach Pete Carroll’s salary of $4.4 million per year is four times that of what school president Steven Sample makes.

Anyone wondering if Duke was about to embark on a swan dive this late in the college basketball season only had to watch the Blue Devils whip Wake Forest over the weekend to get the answer to that question. The Mike Krzyzewski-led Dookies have found new life with a lineup change and look to be peaking for the post-season.

A Tech-Georgia reunion may be in the works if Bulldog quarterback Matt Stafford is chosen No. 1 by the dysfunction Detroit Lions. Stafford’s top target would be former Georgia Tech elite receiver Calvin Johnson. As an aside, Stafford says he’s OK with the Lions if they should choose him. The question is, what choice does he have?

And speaking of Georgia football, if you think last year’s schedule was tough, take a gander at the one coming up this season. The Bulldogs’ first six games, without a break, include at Oklahoma State, South Carolina, at Arkansas, Arizona State, LSU and at Tennessee. Anybody out there anticipate a 6-0 start?

And finally, don’t forget that this is the week that Tiger Woods rejoins the PGA tour after almost an eight-month absence. Never has one sport needed anyone as badly as pro golf needs Tiger.

This is Norman Arey feeling kind of unneeded.

Kiffin attempts to rob Georgia's cradle; who's on the hot seat in college basketball?

(2/23) South Carolina will be the first SEC team to open spring football practice when the Gamecocks gather on March 3. Kentucky will be the last when the Wildcats open April 1. Georgia begins March 17. (See complete list below)

It seems that the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is going to be wide open this season. Last week, No. 1 UConn, No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 North Carolina lost, perhaps opening the way for No. 4 Pitt to take the top spot. It also scrambles the top seeds for the four brackets.

The Seattle Mariners say they sold 16,000 tickets within 24 hours of signing Ken Griffey Jr. Could this have happened in Atlanta if the Braves had managed to sign him? Naw.

You might imagine that every college coach paid close attention to Mike Leach’s power play with Texas Tech. Leach objected to the fact that the proposed contract would preclude him from interviewing for other jobs without severe penalty. Leach won, the athletics director and president lost and it goes to prove that the coaches are in charge in college athletics, not the administration.

College sports isn’t making high grades in racial hiring. Aside from the historically black conferences, all 30 conference commissioners are white. In addition, whites dominate the head coaching positions in men’s and women’s sports. Whites held 89.2 percent of all head coaching jobs on Division I men’s sports teams and 87.7 percent in Division I women’s teams.

Hey, it wouldn’t be normal if new Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin wasn’t in the news. The latest thing Kiffin has done is become the first coach to offer Gainesville, Ga., sophomore linebacker A.J. Johnson, one of the state’s top 2011 prospects, a scholarship.

Rivals.com has come up with a profile for predicting which teams have the best chance of winning the BCS title next season. The profile was derived by analyzing the past BCS champions. The six teams--according to the formula--that could emerge as champs include Florida, Iowa, Mississippi, Texas, West Virginia and Virginia Tech. Not very scientific but fun

And finally, Yahoo.com says the coaches on the hottest seats in college basketball are Ernie Kent at Oregon, Norm Roberts at St. John’s and Gary Williams at Maryland. I don’t agree with their assessment of the Maryland situation and beating No. 3 North Carolina this weekend didn’t hurt. Personally, I think almost every coach in the SEC should be feeling warm with only one league team in the Top 25 most of the season.

This is Norman Arey not offering any sophomores, at least not this week.

2009 SEC SPRING FOOTBALL PRACTICE DATES

SCHOOL/BEGINS/ENDS

Alabama March 23 April 18

Arkansas March 24 April 18

Auburn March 24 April 19 (Spring Game - April 18)

Florida March 25 April 18

Georgia March 17 April 11

Kentucky April 1 April 25

LSU March 12 April 18

Ole Miss March 26 April 18

Miss. State March 24 April 18

South Carolina March 3 April 11

Tennessee March 10 April 18

Vanderbilt March 10 April 5 (Spring Game - March 29)

Blame Game on deck for Atlanta Braves? Francoeur, at least, is finally signed

(2/20)  The Blame Game goes on with the Atlanta Braves as it has once again been jilted, this time by outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. who chose Seattle at the 11th hour. Griffey is one of five who strung the Braves along before going elsewhere. The others were pitcher Mike Hampton, shortstop Rafael Furcal, pitcher A.J. Burnett and pitcher Jake Peavy. And don’t forget John Smoltz. Is it GM Frank Wren’s fault? I can’t see it. John Schuerholz is, after all, the president.

One good thing, I guess, is that the Braves avoided an arbitration hearing by splitting the difference with 25-year-old outfielder Jeff Francoeur at the midnight hour. The former Rome Brave will make $3.375 million this season. He sure wasn’t worth that much last season.

Five college basketball teams that started the year in the Top 10 and will have a tough time making the NCAAs-- according to Sporting News Today.com -- include UCLA, Tennessee, Georgetown, Texas and Notre Dame.

In a game that set college basketball back 50 years, No. 18 Illinois lost to Penn State by a 38-33 score. The Nittany Lions’ high scorer had 11 points while the top scorer for the Illini recorded seven. It was the lowest scoring Division I game since Monmouth beat Princeton 41-21 in 2005.

Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com makes a great point when he asks, Is basketball really important to the SEC? He points out that Tennessee’s defensive coordinator in football makes more than eight of the 12 SEC basketball head coaches. If the NCAA tournament were played today, the SEC would have only three teams invited.

Just a random thought but is the N.C. State brass scratching its head after it banished former coach Herb Sendek all the way to Phoenix and Arizona State? The Wolfpack’s Sidney Lowe is 14-10 and ninth in the ACC while Sendek’s Sun Devils are 20-5 and second in the Pac-10..

It’s a race to the finish for the Georgia and Georgia Tech men’s basketball teams - as to who’s really the worst. With Georgia’s loss to Auburn, the Bulldogs are now 1-10 in the SEC and 10-16 overall. After Tech lost to Wake Forest, the Yellow Jackets are now 1-11 in the ACC and 10-15 overall. Losers need love, too.

This is Norman Arey and I always avoid arbitration.

Be on the lookout: Tiger's on the way back. Also: Michael Phelps tints his windows

(2/19)  Here’s a great factoid. In the men’s basketball game this week between North Carolina and N.C. State, there wasn’t a starter on either team from the state whose name they bear on their jerseys.

This is how the "other" schools in the NCAA live. Sewanee University has named Hank McClung offensive line coach and head golf coach.

Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach watched his deadline to sign his contract come and go earlier this week and now the Red Raider brass will meet to discuss his fate. This is becoming almost comical. It’s not like there’s a hoard of coaches beating on the doors to come to Lubbock, Texas.

Olympic superstar Michael Phelps is so wary of paparazzi that he has had the windows of his home in Baltimore tinted so the photographers can’t take a snap shot of him in his house. Something about that bothers me.

The Birmingham News points out that Auburn has gone with a youth movement in its coaching staff. The average age of Gene Chizik’s assistant coaches is 42.

Kansas City Chiefs’ new head coach Todd Haley announced that he would keep offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, who was the former head coach at Georgia Tech.

And for those of you who have been asking, Tiger Woods should be returning to the PGA tour in "a few weeks," according to his caddy, Steve Williams. Tiger wants to play a couple of tournaments before The Masters begins in April, says Williams

Mike Singletary established that he was one of the best in his playing days in the NFL but the San Francisco 49ers coach didn’t make a friend here when he announced that he wouldn’t be against signing former Falcon quarterback Michael Vick when he’s released from federal prison. A note to residents of that lovely California town: put your dogs up at night.

And finally I don’t want to hear all the whining from NASCAR fans about stopping the Daytona 500 after 380 laps after the rain moved in and declaring Matt Kenseth the winner. It was the right call and everyone needs to move on. It is what it is.

This is Norman Arey saying it’s hard to drive a race car 200-plus mph in the rain.

A seat at the ACC Tournament? Maybe this year. Plus: Dread the spread offense

(2/18) For the first time in 43 years, tickets may become available to the public for the ACC men’s basketball tournament March 12-15. This year’s extravaganza will take place in the Georgia Dome and some of the 12 members of the league haven’t sold their allotment of 2,600 tickets. Others don’t want to sell that many, disturbing the exclusivity of those giving big money. The Dome has been configured for 36,000 seats, 4,000 fewer than its biggest crowd in 2001.

North Carolina 7-footer Tyler Zeller, the freshman who broke his wrist in November, could return for the Tar Heels tonight against N.C. State.

In former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann’s opinion, the spread offense-- the current rage in college and high school football--is bad for the game. The former Notre Dame QB says the offense hinders the development of quarterbacks since it revolves around taking shotgun snaps and quick throws to receivers in space.

How the mighty have fallen. Walt Harris, who was the head coach at Pitt before leaving to take the head job at Stanford, will be the quarterbacks coach at Akron.

Just because I like lists: Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State and Tennessee led in home attendance in football last season, Georgia was sixth with an average of 92, 746 and Georgia Tech was 48th with 47,489.

Rivals.com’s final college football recruiting rankings had Alabama at No. 1 followed by LSU, Ohio State and Southern Cal. Georgia was No. 9 and Florida No. 10. Two ACC teams, Florida State and North Carolina, finished sixth and eighth, respectively.

Just asking but is Atlanta in the right frame of mind in pursuing a 39-year-old Ken Griffey Jr. and a 43-year-old Tom Glavine? I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m just asking if third place in the east is their goal?

Word is that former Tennessee football coach Phil Fulmer is looking for a head football job. Perhaps the Vols should interview him to replace Lane "NCAA rules master" Kiffin.

This is Norman Arey reporting that I’m in good standing with the NCAA.

SI: Central Florida brings in outside investigator to probe O'Leary's training practices

(2/17) George O’Leary, former head coach at Georgia Tech and the man under the microscope at Central Florida after a player died during workouts, isn’t out of the woods yet. O’Leary has a $10 million buyout at UCF, according to SI.com’s Stewart Mandel. The school has brought in attorney Michael Glazier to conduct an independent look at O’Leary’s training practices. Some believe Glazier is there to find a defensible cause for firing the coach.

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Stay still, Steven. Steven Threet, who transferred from Georgia Tech to Michigan and started eight games for the Wolverines last season as a redshirt freshman, has announced he’s transferring again. If Threet goes to a Division I school, he would have to sit out yet another year.

Here’s a great trivia question, answer provided by the Kansas City Star. The states that have produced the most Hall of Famers in the three major sports are New York with 79 followed by Pennsylvania 69, Ohio 50, California 48 and Texas, 47.

Physical Golf: I liked Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning’s answer when he was interviewed during CBS’ Pebble Beach golf coverage. He suggested he’d feel more comfortable "if someone hit me in the back after I finish my backswing."

Just a thought but will the ACC and SEC fly off to some exotic vacation spot for their spring meetings this year after the economic woes of the big banks and big insurance companies landed them in hot water for the same practices?

Thought you’d like to know that both South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow attended the Daytona 500. It’s a shame those two couldn’t have hooked up as coach and player on the same team.

I’ll bet here’s one you’d never have guessed. Who has the top Division I record in football since 2000? Boise State is the answer with an 86-16 record. Oklahoma is second followed by Texas, Ohio State and Southern Cal.

What's Major League Baseball going to do about it's image? Nothing, I bet

(2/16) Tennessee announced its all-century men’s basketball team and I was amazed at how many good players have come through Knoxville. Among the 20 names were Allan Houston, Ernie Grunfeld, Dale Ellis, Bernard King and Chris Lofton.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in college basketball is the play of South Carolina. The Gamecocks, under new coach Darrin Horn, are tied for the lead in the SEC East and sport an 18-5 overall record.

UConn’s Jim Calhoun has 798 wins and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim has 790 and both have a chance to win their 800th this season. Only six men’s coaches have more than 800 including Bobby Knight at 902, Dean Smith 879, Adolph Rupp 876, Jim Phelan 830, Mike Krzyzewski 823 and Eddie Sutton 804.

No Jets For Vick. Rex Ryan, the new coach of the New York Jets, laughed when asked if his team would make a run at signing former Falcon Michael Vick when Vick is released from prison. Ryan says he’s never even considered it.

This could shake up the locals. Ken Griffey, Jr. has narrowed his choices of cities to play in next season down to two - Seattle and Atlanta. Griffey’s agent, Brian Goldberg, said Sunday that "it could go either way."

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. New Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin has committed a third NCAA recruiting violation when he named and talked about a Vol recruit on the radio. The recruit, Bryce Brown, is rated the top recruit in the country and is visiting UT this weekend.

Davidson College superstar Stephen Curry, who leads the nation in scoring with a 29-point-plus average, sprained his ankle in a game against Furman Saturday and left the arena on crutches. An evaluation of the injury will be done to ascertain when Curry can return.

And finally, baseball is in deep, deep trouble and what’s the league going to do about? With more than 100 dopers still to be made public, MLB has a real trust issue. Are any of these guys really doing it on their own or are most players doping up and playing? Who to believe is the question. Baseball simply can’t afford this kind of publicity and it’ll be enlightening to see what they do. Who wants to bet they’ll do absolutely nothing? Count me in.

This is Norman Arey pure of steroids.

Kentucky, Duke, 8 other 'basketball' schools could be heading for football success

(2/13) This is Norman Arey saying be sure to listen to Southern Sports Roundtable Saturday at 9 a.m. on WRGA.

Are the Atlanta Braves about to let another one get away? After allowing John Smoltz to sign with the Red Sox, the Braves are making little headway signing Tom Glavine. Glavine says he’s at the point he may have to decide whether to come back to Atlanta at a reduced rate, retire or sign with another team. Oh boy, we’ve heard that one before.

Super star swingman Terrence Williams of Louisville has put to rest the argument of which is the better basketball conference - The Big East or the ACC. Says Williams: "Our last place team could win in the ACC. We’re the toughest conference." So there.

The Sporting News Today.com listed 10 schools who have had phenomenal success in basketball that may be headed toward the same kind of success in football. The 10, in order, are UCLA, UNC, Michigan State, UConn, Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky, Duke, Arizona and Indiana. Duke may seem to be the longest shot but remember David Cutcliffe’s team won four games this past season - more than it had won in the four previous years.

NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper says former Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford could and probably should be the No. 1 draft pick but the ex-Bulldog has some work to do. Kiper says everyone knows Stafford can throw the ball hard but he has to show he can throw finesse passes, too.

North Carolina re-established its claim as the best in the ACC and perhaps the nation’s best by whipping Duke 101-87 on the Blue Devils’ home court. It was only the third time in nine years that someone has scored triple digits against the Iron Dukes. The Tar Heels have won six of the past eight.

And speaking of the ACC, Wake Forest, for whom Rome’s Tony Woods plays, started the season 16-0 and has now lost four of its past six. It’s a young team that’s still learning how to play together.

Tennessee’s new big-mouthed coach Lane Kiffin has an explanation why he’s gotten into so much trouble lately. He says he was just kidding around. Kiffin will learn that there’s no crying or kidding in the SEC football wars.

This is Norman Arey not crying or kidding.

Strawberry on the '80s Mets: Team hauled 'more Budweiser than the Clydesdales'

(2/12) Reports say that the infamous ‘Michael Phelps bong’ was listed on eBay for $100,000. Of course, that was before the South Carolina police arrested eight people in conjunction with the party. Interesting Phelps wasn’t one of them.

Talk about culture shock. Quarterback Tommy Beecher, who began last season as the starter for Steve Spurrier at South Carolina, has transferred to Division I-AA Liberty University, that bastion of Baptist thought. Not exactly in line with Spurrier thought.

Are we to believe that Brett Favre is retired and will stay that way? The quarterback told the New York Jets this week that he’s retiring. Of course, he did the same to Green Bay last year. For once, I’ll miss him.

Great line out of Darryl Strawberry’s new book. ‘Straw: Finding My Way.’ The former New York Mets’ outfielder in the ‘80s writes this: "Beer was the foundation of our alcoholic lifestyle. We hauled around more Budweiser than the Clydesdales. "

Strange that Georgia has hired an executive search firm to aid in their pursuit of a head basketball coach to replace the fired Dennis Felton. Surely athletics director Damon Evans knows enough folks in the sports world to come up with a working list of interviewees.

Bowing to the economy, the University of Miami announced that its football ticket prices would be slashed for next season and that the football squad will take the bus to two in-state games this fall.

Even former Georgia coach and AD Vince Dooley told an AJC reporter that Tennessee’s new big-mouthed coach Lane Kiffin has a lot to learn. Lesson No. 1 in my opinion: He should keep his mouth shut.

The contract negotiations between Mike Leach, the innovative football coach at Texas Tech, and the university are seemingly stalled. What can the Red Raider administration be thinking?

And finally, perhaps Georgia Tech isn’t the worst team in the ACC’s basketball standings after all. That dubious honor might go to Virginia, which has now lost eight straight.

This is Norman Arey not transferring to Liberty University

Slow month for sports news? Try A-Rod, Phelps, Bobby Knight, Jamaal Anderson...

(2/11) At last an explanation. Former Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin named her son Track because she was a runner. In an interview with Esquire, Palin admits she wanted to be a sportscaster and named her daughter Bristol after the Connecticut town where ESPN is based. Luckily she didn’t name any of her children Russia, which is what she sees from her back porch and was her sum total of knowledge of foreign policy.

A small item of some interest showed up on the Internet announcing Tennessee had self-reported a couple of minor recruiting violations committed by new coach Lane Kiffin and his staff. It says Kiffin was reprimanded by the university. The Vols’ reprimand button must be just about worn out by now.

Who says February is an off-month in sports? We’ve got the Alex Rodriguez thing, the Michael Phelps thing, the Bobby Knight stuff, the Jamaal Anderson arrest, firings at both Georgia and Alabama, Lane Kiffin is in a class by himself, Pac-Man Jones is out and Ken Griffey Jr. has no job as spring training approaches. For what more could you ask?

The recession has even taken a bite out of the Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. The attendance is way off for America’s No. 1 Hot Dog Stand.

Kickers need love, too. The Atlanta Falcons will place their franchise tag on undrafted free-agent punter Michael Koenen. The designation is rarely used on a kicker and guarantees he will earn $2.48 million next season.

Just a thought but why don’t these athletes who have run afoul of good sense just admit it up front, throw themselves to the mercy of the public opinion court and get on with their careers? It doesn’t seem to help that they lie repeatedly when they know they’re gonna get caught eventually.

Maybe Coach of the Year honors should go to Trent Jones, who left Stanford to take over at LSU. The Jones-led team currently is in first place in the SEC West and he’s obviously pumped some life into the moribund program. I’d vote for him if he didn’t look so much like former Atlanta crook and mayor Bill Campbell who, by the way, is a Duke graduate.

This is Norman Arey urging you to ‘fess up your mistakes.

Nation's best sports rivalry--North Carolina vs. Duke--plays out again Wednesday

(2/10) Maryland has joined the swelling ranks of the relatively new coach-in-waiting game by naming James Franklin to succeed Ralph Friedgen when the former Georgia Tech offensive coordinator decides to hang it up.

The greatest rivalry in sports will be played Wednesday when North Carolina travels seven miles down the road to visit Duke. Notice I didn’t say the greatest college rivalry or the greatest basketball rivalry. I believe the Blue Devils and Tar Heels sport the top rivalry in the nation.

Avid reader Joey Mac wants to know where all the hats go. He’s referring to the bag full of baseball hats that recruits bring with them when announcing for what school they’ll ply their talents. It’s getting tired to see and some enterprising young man needs to do something different.

Tiger Woods and wife Elin had their second child, a boy, born over the weekend. The Woods’ first child was a girl. The newest edition’s name is Charlie Alex Woods.

Former Atlanta Falcon running back Jamaal Anderson was arrested after reportedly being spotted sniffing cocaine in a men’s rest room in a bar in Buckhead. I swear, do these people have any brain cells left?

I was happy to see that Andruw Jones will sign as a outfielder with the Texas Rangers. I didn’t believe it was a good move for the Atlanta Braves to be contemplating bringing him back. The Braves already have enough not-very-good outfielders.

Jon Gruden, the recently fired coach of the Tampa Bay Bucs, says Florida quarterback Tim Tebow has the ability to revolutionize the NFL. Says Gruden: "This guy here is 250 pounds of concrete cyanide. And he can throw. He throws well enough at any level to play quarterback."

The revelation of Alex Rodriguez’ having used steroids makes for another year of a player overshadowing the game of baseball. Just as Barry Bonds did two years ago during his chase to pass Hank Aaron as the all-time homer king, A-Rod will play under the same shadow all year long. Some say the Yankees should sever ties with Rodriguez. I agree.

This is Norman Arey going out for a hit on the bong.

Lane Kiffin, an NFL flunkee, sure flunked his first test as head coach of the Vols

(2/9) You know, there are just some folks that you like at first sight and some that give you a bad feeling and you can’t stand them right away. .

Some of the good ones are folks like Bill Curry, Ray Goff, Bobby Cremins, Bobby Bowden, Jim Grobe and Tubby Smith.

Some of the not-so-good ones would have to include Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel, just for instance.

But there’s a new guy around now that I disliked immediately. I don’t like to look at him, hear him talk or even think about him. To give you a hint, I’m already missing, and I never thought I’d write this, Phil Fulmer. You understand this is just my opinion.

Lane Kiffin ain’t my kind of guy. He hit the ground in Knoxville just looking for a fight it seemed. He stole some key coaches off of several staffs such as South Carolina and Alabama, and he’s now insulted Meyer. That in itself isn’t so bad but he accused the Gator coach of cheating when he didn’t.

After putting his foot in his mouth on that and being censored by the SEC and having to apologize, Kiffin decided to change tactics and insult his own recruits.

I’m not making this up when I tell you that the new Tennessee coach said this about his first recruiting class as he welcomed them to his kingdom. "Understand," he said, "this class is far below the standards we have here and what will be here in the future."

I’ve never heard of a coach doing that in my entire sports career. Maybe you didn’t get the class you were hoping for but you always tried to put a good face on it -- talk about potential and heart and desire and all that stuff. You don’t tell ‘em they’re below standard.

Each one of the 17- and 18-year-olds has a momma and daddy, most have brothers and sisters, grandmothers and grandfathers, friends and high school coaches.

You don’t go out of your way to insult the people that love them.

Good luck on getting another player from any of the high schools that produced the ones who were unfortunate enough to sign with the Vols.

They’re paying the guy, who’s never been a college head coach and who was a disaster in the NFL, millions. Then they allowed him to bring in the highest priced assistant coaches in the nation and he’s out making sure that Tennessee might become a four-letter word?

I don’t get it. Somebody’s made a mistake here. Could it be they don’t realize it?

I believe in karma. Whatever goes around. comes around.

Give him a few years. Then they can go hire a real coach who also is somebody you’d like to be around..

This is Norman Arey saying I hate Orange.

14 commitments changed their small minds, leaving teams to wonder what happened

(2/6) Amazing that No. 4 Duke and No. 7 Wake Forest both lost this week. But even more amazing is that the two of them couldn’t score 100 points between them as Clemson beat the Blue Devils 74-47 and Miami stopped the Demon Deacons, 79-52. The loss was Duke’s worst in 19 years.

Fourteen "commitments" changed their small minds and went to another school on college football’s signing day after stringing along another school for sometimes as long as a year. Tennessee stole two of Florida’s guys while Arizona and FSU grabbed two of the Vols’ players.

Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson signed 14 in-state prospects on signing day, the most for the Yellow Jackets in 17 years.

The University of Georgia student body is circulating a petition to President Michael Adams and athletics director Damon Evans to interview Bobby Knight for the Bulldogs’ basketball coaching opening.

There’s a pretty good bowler named Jason Belmonte from Australia who may revolutionize the sport of bowling. Not only does Belmonte score high, he bowls with two hands.

New Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin had this to say about his first recruiting class: "Understand, this class is far below the standards we have here and what will be here in the future." What kind of compliment is that to the kids who decided to sign with the Vols?

It’s time that Memphis found itself a new conference in college basketball. When John Calipari’s Tigers beat SMU this week, it marked the 50th straight Conference USA victory for the boys in blue.

And speaking of boys in blue, to where has Kentucky disappeared? After the Wildcats hammered Tennessee two weeks ago with Jodie Meeks scoring 54, Kentucky has been in free fall in the weak SEC. Teams decided not to let Meeks beat them and it’s paid off. The Georgia product is 13-of-41 from the field and 6-of-9 from the three-point line and the ‘Cats have lost three straight and dropped out of the Top 25.

Recruiting: Keep commitment or sit a year; economy won't stop 'Bama stadium plan

(2/5) This is Norman Arey saying get your pets inside

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ victory over the Arizona Cardinals was the most watched Super Bowl in history, according to Nielsen Media Research. More than 98 million people were tuned in.

NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs made a good point when he was talking about sponsorships for the race circuit. He said the season lasts 10 months and there are 36 nationally televised races. Who else can offer that?

And here’s one that’ll make you feel old. Mike Yastrzemski, the grandson of baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, has signed a baseball scholarship with Vanderbilt.

The University of Alabama has decided to expand Bryant-Denny Stadium despite the economic downturn affecting non-Crimson Tide fans. It should be finished before the start of the 2010 footballs season and will increase capacity from 92,138 to more than 101,000.

The AJC says Georgia spent more than $500,000 on recruiting this season while Georgia Tech laid out more than $800,000.

Former Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford has hired Tom Condon as his agent. That’s significant because Condon is also the agent of Atlanta Falcon quarterback Matt Ryan, who signed a $72 million deal last year.

Factoid of the Day: Pittsburgh, which has a population of 311,000, had more than 350,000 at the parade to honor the Steelers for winning the Super Bowl.

I didn’t realize that The Citadel basketball coach Ed Conroy is the cousin of famed writer Pat Conroy. It’s amazing the school would hire him since Conroy wrote a very unflattering novel about the school.

And finally, just a word on Georgia Tech’s decision to rescind its scholarship offer to prep commitment, quarterback Dontae Aycock, if he made a recruiting visit to Auburn. I love it. I’m sick of reading about high schoolers calling a press conference, displaying a half dozen hats and finally placing one on their pointy heads. If you make a commitment, keep it unless there’s mitigating circumstances. If you don’t, you shouldn’t be allowed to sign anywhere for a year.

This is Norman Arey with my North Carolina hat on.

Alex Karras' favorite movie; new capital of college basketball; Bud Selig--overpaid

(2/4) Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger told David Letterman on The Late Show that he thought his pass to Santonio Holmes to win the Super Bowl would be intercepted. "I thought I blew it," said the winning quarterback.

It would seem that Storrs, Conn., would be the college basketball capital of the world with both the UConn men’s and women’s teams ranked No. 1 in the country.

Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt will be going for her 1,000th win Thursday night when the Lady Vols host Georgia in Knoxville.

Shades of Boston College and former head football coach Jeff Jagodzinski. Georgia Tech warned quarterback commitment Dontae Aycock of Tampa that if he made a recruiting trip to Auburn, the Jackets would yank his scholarship offer. He did and they did.

My newest hero is former Detroit Lions’ superstar Alex Karras. He was asked by SportingNewsToday.com to name his favorite movie. He listed Bambi. And what’s on his iPod? Opera.

Short Shots: Tiger Woods is reportedly a lousy tipper. Wait, make that a horrible tipper. He doesn’t tip. . . Subway has dropped Olympics star Michael Phelps from its advertising. . . Super Bowl hero Santonio Holmes referred to the Vince Lombardi Trophy he won as the Dicky Lombardi Trophy. Maybe a distant cousin? . . . Atlanta placed 33rd on the list of Super Bowl market viewers. . . Florida State has kicked wide receiver Preston Parker off the team.

SI.Com basketball writer Seth Davis says Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel is at the top of Georgia’s wish list. Why not add the Lakers’ Phil Jackson? Why would Capel leave the Sooners for the Bulldogs?

The minor league hockey team Las Vegas Wranglers made a statement last week, although I’m not sure what it was. The team wore former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich prison jerseys during a home game.

And finally, in the Believe It Or Not Category, baseball commissioner Bud Selig made $18.35 million last year - more than any player except for four New York Yankees.

This is Norman Arey in a state of disbelief.

Who should have been the Super Bowl MVP? What's your top sports feat last year?

(2/3) There’s no getting around it. Football season if now officially over. What to do until next August? I mean how often can we expect Olympics hero Michael Phelps to do something stupid?

The discussion of whether Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner should be considered for Hall of Fame entry has come up often. My initial reaction was no.

But Warner has surpassed some impressive names in his Super Bowl appearances, if that can be a criterion of judgment. Warner has 1,156 yards passing in three Super Bowl games, more than Joe Montana had in four, John Elway had in five and Tom Brady had in four.

Let me be clear on this - I don’t disagree that Santonio Holmes shouldn’t have been in the MVP picture but I doubt if there’s another quarterback in the NFL who could have led a team to the win other than Ben Roethlisberger. What a performance. He’s my MVP.

The latest NFL mock draft on Sporting News Today.com shows Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno going to Philadelphia with the 21st overall choice. Ohio State’s Chris Wells was the only runner to go ahead of the Bulldog, projected as the 16th pick of the San Diego Chargers while Pitt’s LeSean McCoy would be a 26th pick to the Patriots. UConn’s Donald Brown was projected 31st to the Cardinals.

If no one else likes the suggestion that Bobby Knight might take the vacant Georgia basketball head coaching job, some of the Bulldog players did. And I loved the answer senior guard Corey Butler gave about the possibility of Knight taking the job. "To be honest with you, I don’t know that much about college basketball. I just play it."

The best basketball in the country is being played in the ACC. In the past two weeks, there have been 11 games won in the last second or in overtime in the league.

And finally, looking back over the past year, what would you consider the greatest feat in sports? The above-mentioned Michael Phelps’ haul of gold medals;Utah’s upset of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl; even the Steelers final drive to win the Super Bowl? I choose a one-legged golfer winning the U.S. Open during extra holes in a playoff..

Is it a stretch to believe UGA might hire Bobby Knight? Yes but it needs to be done

(2/2) I bring you tidings of great joy today. The AJC’s elite columnist Furman Bisher reports that former Army, Indiana and Texas Tech coach Bobby Knight is interested in the Georgia job recently vacated by Dennis Felton.

This is the Bobby Knight who owns 902 wins in college basketball - the most of anyone at a major men's program. This also is the man who threw a chair across an arena, who was accused of choking one of his players during practice, still has an arrest warrant in Puerto Rico and has been accused of an assortment of other things that might get you incarcerated if it happened on the street.

Let me say, having known Bisher for 39 years, if he says it’s true, it’s true. Period. I don’t know who Furman’s insider is, but the columnist doesn’t print unsubstantiated rumors.

Now the upside of Knight is that he’s a terrific coach, graduates his players, doesn’t put up with prima donnas and, yes, wins games. The presence of Knight in the SEC would shake up the league like you’ve never seen. He doesn’t recruit goons, insists that players go to class and be a productive and positive member of the community.

Would he be good for Georgia basketball? Yes. And the reason is because it would force the Bulldog administration and fans to really give round ball a chance in Athens. Knight would refuse to be ignored. Folks would buy tickets not only to see his product but to see the man himself in action.

The Georgia job is a much better job than many think. Georgia is The State University and there are at least 50 Georgia products starting in lineups across the country. I’ve got to believe Knight would stop the exodus of elite players leaving the state.

Tubby Smith proved that you can win in Athens.

This would be one of the most renowned sports hires since Vince Dooley took over the Georgia football reigns.

Bisher says if Knight is offered the job, he would accept it.

So I say, to Damon Evans, offer it.

Will he? Probably not.

Knight would bring a whole train load of baggage to the job. Evans might catch a little heat if he actually does it.

Why not go with a good coach with less notoriety? It’s safer that way. OK but name one who would take the job. There just aren’t many of those out there.

The mess that is Georgia basketball needs a major, Richter scale 9 shakeup and Knight would be just that sort of earthquake.

This is Norman Arey saying Hire Bob Knight.