Kiffin already Ieads the SEC; Mack Brown can't even spell defense; soft fall for Ole Miss

(6/30) Tennessee has taken a quick lead in the SEC -- in NCAA secondary violations. Since Lane Kiffin came on as head football coach, the Vols have been tagged with six miscues, one ahead of Ole Miss.

And speaking of the Rebels, Sporting News Today picked Ole Miss as playing the worst nonconference schedule in the country. Here’s why. The Rebs take on Memphis, Southeastern Louisiana, UAB and Northern Arizona outside of the SEC.

How popular is the spread offense in college football? Last year, 31 of the 65 BCS teams ran the formation. Of course, none ran it better than Florida.

No news here that the ACC is the best college basketball conference in the country. You notice I didn’t say "arguably." The league had seven first-round picks in the NBA draft while the Pac-10 had six and the Big East four. The SEC? Didn’t hear its name mentioned until the 41st pick -- Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks.

Sports Factoid: Lou Gehrig’s No. 4 jersey with the New York Yankees was the first jersey ever retired in professional sports.

Word on the street is that Baltimore Ravens’ executive Ozzie Newsome may be headed to Tuscaloosa in the not-too-distant future. Newsome, a former Tide player, would be first in line if current athletics director Mal Moore doesn’t keep the Tide out of trouble. Moore is taking the rap for some of Alabama’s many run-ins with the NCAA.

Texas’ Mack Brown issued some fightin’ words, at least in this part of the country. The Longhorns’ coach said the Big XII is deeper than the SEC. Since the Bix XII doesn’t know how to spell defense, I doubt it.

The on-line betting service, USBet.Com Sportsbook lists Southern Cal at 8-1 odds as the next school to receive an NCAA sanctions. Others in the Top 10 included (in order) Ohio State, Florida, Memphis, Ole Miss, North Carolina, UConn, Michigan State, FSU and Alabama.

And finally, don’t know if you remember MLB pitcher Darren Dreifort. Until now, his main claim to fame was that he was drafted one spot behind Alex Rodriguez in the 1993 draft. Dreifort, now the former hurler, has another moniker - the most operated on man in baseball. Dreifort just underwent his 22nd surgery last week - this time for a hip problem.

This is Norman Arey and Mack Brown doesn’t know diddly.

Coach compares the BCS to Communism; banner year for the SEC

(6/29) What a year for the Southeastern Conference. When LSU won the national collegiate title in baseball, it marked the fifth national championship for the league this year. In the 20 sports the SEC sponsors, it either won or was runner-up for the title in ten.

Just seems like yesterday that Alabama hired Nick Saban for a then-record $32 million for eight years. Now the Crimson Tide brass is going through the preliminary motions of adding more years to a new contract. Their intent is to sign the football coach through 2016.

I guess it’s a sign of the times. Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin announced that no Vol player has been arrested since he took over and that the team had its best academic performance in five years.

Times are tough all around. Shaq O’Neal sold his Miami mansion for $16 million. He paid $18.8 million for it in 2004 and got considerably less than the highest asking price of $35 million. Hey, what’s a few million?

But Coach, what do you really think? Air Force football coach Troy Calhoun compared the BCS with communism. Said Calhoun: "We basically have a system for college football that too closely resembles the old Soviet Presidium. You have a seven-member Politburo that’s decided if you’re not one of those party members, that you’re unable to participate."

Yahoo Sports has voted Brandon Jennings, a Milwaukee Bucks’ pick, as the best dressed player at the NBA draft while Hasheem Thabeet of the Memphis Grizzlies the worst attired.

Interesting factoid: There are only five teams in college football who have not scheduled a sub-division opponent since the major college schedule was expanded to 12 teams in 2006. Those five are Notre Dame, Tennessee, USC, UCLA and Washington.

I didn’t realize this, but Southern Cal has won at least 11 games for the past seven seasons and has finished no worse than fourth in the AP football poll during those seven seasons.

And finally, many eyes are on Miami and Randy Shannon this year. Folks are waiting for the Hurricanes of old to emerge. But consider this. The ‘Canes’ first four games are Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma. 0-4 is a distinct possibility for a start of the season.

This is Norman Arey and I never schedule a sub-division opponent.

Oregon will be splendidly attired; stay off Mopeds if you've had a few beers

(6/26) Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops takes heat because he’s lost five of OU's last six BCS games, including three BCS mythical titles. But look at it this way: In the last 10 years, how many coaches have played in four BCS Championships? He has taken OU to the Big 12 title game in seven of his 10 years, and he's won six by a combined score of 219-79. And get this: If he remains at Oklahoma, he will be paid more than $5 million per year starting in 2011.

Oregon will break out yet another football uniform for people to love or to hate. It’s Nike's fifth redesign for Oregon. The Ducks now have 80 uniform combos, thanks to the addition of steel-colored pants and a "carbon" helmet. The lineup: four jerseys (green, yellow, black and white); four pants (green, black, white and steel) and four helmets (green, black, white and carbon).

Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl said he might have become a broadcaster if he was not so in love with coaching. "I want to coach, first, second, third, fourth, but if coaching was not an option, then I think (broadcasting) might be," he said. "I've got a lot of youth left in me as I try to become the winningest (men’s) coach in Tennessee basketball history.

Jeffrey Jordan, son of ex-NBA great Michael Jordan, a reserve guard on the Illinois basketball team, has decided to give up basketball and concentrate on his studies.

Tiger Woods’ niece, Cheyenne Woods, a sophomore golfer at Wake Forest, will play in her first LPGA tournament this week on a sponsor’s exemption. The tourney is in Rochester, N.Y.

Man, talk about upstaging an event. The Phoenix Suns’ trade of Shaquille O’Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers to give LeBron James help for next year’s run for the NBA title obliterated the NBA draft Thursday.

And finally, this is certainly not funny but you need to visualize this. Iowa lineman Kyle Calloway was arrested  on charges of drunken driving--while operating a Moped. Drunken driving is no joke but picture what a 6-foot-7 inch, 315-pounder would look like weaving around on a Moped. Like a frog on top of a mushroom.

This is Norman Arey and I don’t own a moped, although I do have an all-terrain vehicle.

Hey, do I have a deal for you on a few wigs; Mustain saga continues

(6/25) Georgia athletics director Damon Evans wasn’t kidding when he told Bulldog football fans to get ready for some night games. The Georgia-South Carolina game on Sept. 12 will kickoff on ESPN at 7 p.m. and the Sept. 19 Arkansas-Georgia game will start at 7:45 p.m.

Jason Capel, former UNC star and brother of Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel, has been hired as an assistant basketball coach at Appalachian State by new coach Buzz Peterson. It’s Jason’s first basketball coaching job.

The London bookies will set odds on almost anything. With Wimbledon now enforcing the rule of disqualifying a player who grunts or shrieks too loudly, the bookies have set the odds at 25-1 that anyone will be booted for shrieking.

One word about tonight’s NBA draft. There’s been so much written about North Carolina super star Tyler Hansbrough and whether his game is a fit for the NBA but watch for Hansbrough to go to Utah. Word is that coach Jerry Sloan would love to have the Tar Heel on his team. . . And just a guess, but I think Atlanta may have a shot at landing UNC point guard Ty Lawson.

The Mitch Mustain saga continues. Mustain, along with Florida’s Tim Tebow and ex-Georgia player Matt Stafford was co-ranked No. 1 when the trio came out of high school. But Mustain became disenchanted with Arkansas and transferred to Southern Cal. Now, after sitting two years and apparently not winning the starting quarterback job with the Trojans, Mustain is reported to be in academic trouble.

The Florida administration says it’s ready to re-up on the contract to play Georgia in Jacksonville but the Bulldogs’ athletics director Damon Evans says hold on a minute. The Bulldogs aren’t sure what they want to do with the series.

The Manny Ramirez show, now in Albuquerque, opened with a record crowd of 15,000 on the Dodgers’ dreadlocked star’s rehab assignment with their farm team, the Isotopes. The minor league team also sold every Manny wig had in stock and has re-ordered a huge supply.

This is Norman Arey and I’ll sell you one of my wigs cheap.

Anybody know what the plural of asparagus is? Do you like Broadway musicals?

(6/24) Williams & Mary is searching for a new nickname to replace the "Indians" and "Tribe" its used for decades. Since opening the mascot naming rights up to anyone with an idea, the Virginia school has received thousands of suggestions. The best? An asparagus stalk. Only trouble is, what is the plural of asparagus? Asparagi? Asparagustus? Other suggestions included the beech tree, Phoenix, jester, Spartan and a number of birds.

An article in College Football News says that Notre Dame’s Charlie Weis, Wisconsin’s Bret Bielema and Colorado’s Dan Hawkins must win this season or look for a new job next year.

I’m almost afraid to look. The University of Oregon, they of the psychedelic green helmets, announced it will sport new uniforms, again designed by Nike, next season. This is the fifth redesign since 1996.

I’m not sure why we’re supposed to be surprised but the New York Daily News ran a story saying former Georgia Tech and now New York Yankee player Mark Teixera is a fan of Broadway musicals. Teixera says "Les Miserables" is his all-time favorite but he also likes "Miss Saigon" and "Phantom of the Opera."

The Dodgers’ Manny Ramirez, whose 50-game suspension for illegal drug use is up July 3, will do his minor league rehab with one of my favorite nicknamed teams in all of sports -- The Albuquerque Isotopes.

Former Georgia Tech golfer David Duval’s second-place finish in the U.S. Open netted him a check for $560,000 -- more than he had won over the past five years combined.

Obscure Athletic Hire of the Day: Davidson College named Josh Lustig wide receivers coach.

Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl, who’ll be doing some analysis work for ESPN during the NBA draft Thursday, says watch out for these five sleepers - Marcus Thornton of LSU, DeMarre Carroll of Missouri, Eric Maynor of Virginia Commonwealth, John Bryant of Santa Clara and James Johnson of Wake Forest.

This is Norman Arey and Nike has agreed to design my radio wardrobe for next fall.

Here's what I think I think for the upcoming college football season

(6/23) Kind of a slow day in sports, so let’s just relax and have some fun:

For the first time in a long while, there is no consensus who the Atlanta Hawks may choose in Thursday’s NBA draft. The three names most mentioned are Louisville’s Earl Clark, Wake Forest’s Jeff Teague and North Carolina’s Wayne Ellington.

With Wimbledon now under way, it’s fair to point out that no American male has won a Grand Slam title through 22 straight events. And James Blake’s upset in the first round signaled this won’t be the year of a breakthrough.

Here’s what I think I think about this upcoming football season:

-Tim Tebow will win his second Heisman Trophy, beating out Texas’ Colt McCoy.

-Florida will win the mythical college football championship, defeating the Longhorns in the finale.

-Georgia Tech will win nine games and play in the ACC title game.

-Georgia will win eight games and not make it to the SEC championship playoff.

-Ole Miss will start out the year in the Top 10 but won’t finish there.

-Arkansas, as much as I hate to give Bobby Petrino anything, will be better than expected.

-Alabama is going to have an up and down year but still finish with nine wins.

-Michigan will win more than it loses.

-Notre Dame could have a double-digit winning season with a soft, soft schedule

-Southern Cal will take the Pac-10 title (that’s hardly a stop-the-presses prediction).

-Ohio State will capture the Big 10 and will again be embarrassed in a BCS game

-West Virginia wins the Big East if it survives Colorado and Auburn early on.

-Florida State finds itself, kind of, wins nine.

-Miami’s Randy Shannon won’t make it into the 2010 season.

-Oklahoma won’t beat out Texas as the Big XII champ.

-North Carolina will contend for, but not win, the ACC title.

-If anyone cares, TCU will take the Mountain West title

-Ditto for East Carolina in Conference USA

-And finally, I think that Mark Richt will say a curse word at least once during the season.

This is Norman Arey and I don’t cuss -- much.

Zook just laughs as he's mentioned as cause of Gators' law problems

(6/22) In a surprise move, Southern Cal tabbed Kevin O’Neill as its new basketball coach, replacing Tim Floyd. O’Neill was most recently the interim coach at Arizona when Lute Olson took a leave of absence. O’Neill also coached at Marquette and Tennessee along the way. It appears the Trojans settled on O’Neill after Pitt’s Jamie Dixon turned them down twice.

Alabama’s Nick Saban says he’d like to see the Tide take on some of the powerhouses in the years to come. He suggested Penn State, Notre Dame, Southern Cal, Michigan and Texas as possible home-and-home opponents.

A political polling company in North Carolina polled more than 700 voters and asked who was more popular in the state - UNC’s basketball coach Roy Williams or Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. Williams won, of course. Well, duh, I believe Roy just won a national title.

Ryan Ayers, the top corner back prospect in the state of Georgia, committed to Georgia Tech over the weekend. The South Paulding star picked the Yellow Jackets over Georgia, Alabama and Auburn.

The Florida Times Union wondered out loud if Georgia’s Mark Richt was feeling pressure from failing to be competitive in one of the Bulldogs’ top annual games. Richt is only 2-6 against Florida and could be 2-8 after his first 10 years at the Bulldog helm, says the newspaper.

What’re you gonna do but laugh? Ron Zook, fired as Florida head football coach five years ago, did just that when he found himself mentioned as part of the Gators’ problems with the law. Of the 24 arrests that have taken place since Urban Meyer took over, 14 of the 24 are with players he didn’t recruit or recruited his first year, says the publicity machine out of Gainesville.

Former O.J. Simpson girlfriend Christine Prody has announced that she’s writing a tell-all book about the once-great running back. Prody, a blonde former waitress, has been with Simpson for 13 years.

You gotta say this for Bill Curry, he’s not afraid of a challenge. As if starting a college football program from scratch wasn’t enough of a mountain, Curry’s inaugural Georgia State team will close out its first season by playing Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

This is Norman Arey and I didn’t recruit any of those Gator football players.

A billion-dollar Tiger; Matt Stafford among rookies likely to start in NFL this year

(6/19) OK, here’s a noteworthy achievement: Tiger Woods has earned more than $900 million during his 13-years as a professional golfer and is set to top the $1 billion mark next year, becoming the first athlete to bank that kind of dough in a career. Just for fun, the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant made $45 million last year and soccer icon David Beckham hauled in $42 million.

How much money does Tennessee have to burn? Lots it would seem. The Vols just paid strength and conditioning coach Mark Smith $400,000 not to work for them for two years. Smith was one of the first hires by new football coach Lane Kiffin last December.

Do you realize there could be three rookie quarterbacks starting this season in the NFL? The three likely will be Matt Stafford at Detroit, Mark Sanchez for the New York Jets and Josh Freeman for the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Great story on Rivals.com about Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt. In the article, the Yellow Jacket player is called the best option quarterback since 2001 Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch of Nebraska.

The New York Giants signed a $35 million deal with Timex to name their practice facility and will wear Timex patches on their practice jerseys. The Giants join Denver, Detroit, Green Bay, Houston and Tennessee as teams who will wear sponsors’ patches. The NFL does not allow teams to wear sponsors’ patches on game jerseys -- yet.

As I suggested last week, the NCAA has decided to uphold the penalties levied against Florida State, one of which would be to remove as many as 14 wins from football coach Bobby Bowden’s record. Bowden currently is one win behind Penn State’s Joe Paterno, who has 383 career victories. The wording of the NCAA dictum is "as many as 14 wins." No one seems to know exactly how many it could be.

This is Norman Arey and I’ll wear a sponsors’ patch anytime, anywhere.

In Tennessee, it's Dolly Parton, Elvis and Lane Kiffin--not necessarily in that order

(6/18) Lindy’s College Football Magazine says Southern Cal’s Pete Carroll is the Coach of the Decade with Florida’s Urban Meyer second. . .Quick. Who’s won the most games in college football since 2000? The answer is Oklahoma with 102 wins, Texas has 97 and USC 93. The magazine picked the 2001 Miami team as the Team of the Decade.

And winding up the All-Decade stuff, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was picked to lead the All-Decade team with Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson and Arkansas’s Darren McFadden in the backfield. Georgia’s David Pollack was named defensive first team. Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson made the second team offense.

Great quote from Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton on hiring Vol head football coach Lane Kiffin. "I told him in this state, it’s Dolly Parton, Elvis and you, not necessarily in that order."

Names of the Week: Pro golfer Rocco Mediate’s three sons are named Rocco, Nicco and Marco.

Clemson has extended basketball coach Oliver Purnell’s contract two years to run through 2016 and given the coach a raise to $1.35 million per year. The Tiger coach slipped ahead for fourth in the ACC in salary over Georgia Tech’s Paul Hewitt’s $1.3 million. North Carolina’s Roy Williams leads the money parade with a salary of $2.5 million while Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski makes $2.2 million and Maryland’s Gary Williams $1.7 million.

Nothing to do with sports per se, but Cave Creek, Ariz. city councilman Thomas McGuire lost his seat in a tie-breaker by drawing a low card. Maybe dice-rolling is next.

Latest economic squeeze: Tickets for this week’s U.S. Golf Open are selling for 40 percent less than last year. This year’s average ticket is going for $86, far below the $144 last season.

Alabama has agreed to pay San Jose State $1 million to play in Tuscaloosa next year to open the season and their newly renovated Bryant-Denny Stadium.

And finally, former NBA coaches Reggie Theus and P.J. Carlesimo are rumored to be the front-runners for the head basketball coaching job at Southern Cal after Tim Floyd resigned under fire last week.

This is Norman Arey and I don't draw the low card.

Absolutely nobody wagers on National Football League games. Ha! You wanna bet?

(6/17) Following the money in college football is easy. A report in Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal ranks the 10 highest-earning football programs. Five of the top 10 (Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee) are in the SEC and LSU was rated No. 12.

But get this. Georgia ranked No. 2 behind only Texas in total football revenue with $67 million while the Longhorns showed $73 million. Florida was third at $66 million.

Surprisingly, Auburn football generated more money than Alabama as the Tigers had $57.9 million while the Tide had $57.4 million.

Texas also was No. 1 in total sports revenue with $120 million while Ohio State brought in $118 million and Florida $106 million.

Here’s an odd-fellows match up. Georgia Tech and Kansas have agreed to a two-game series in football beginning in 2010.

I don’t know how many of you have read the book "Friday Night Lights" but Gary Gaines, who was the head coach at Odessa Permian High School in Odessa, Texas, at the time of the book writing has returned as head coach after a 20-year absence.

I just want to be sure I’ve got this straight. Cleveland Browns’ receiver Donte Stallworth pleaded guilty to driving drunk and killing a man in Florida and he was given a 30-day, not year, prison sentence.

Major League Baseball has been accused of being stupid because of the continued threat of strike and its looking-the-other-way in drug matters. Well, maybe they are stupid. The Wall Street Journal reports that only 26 MLB players and managers earned a degree from college.

Let’s see now, who you gonna believe? The NFL says its surveys show that only a small percentage of the 100 million fans who watch their games are wagering on them. Absurd since Las Vegas says it’s the highest wagered-on sport in the country.

How’d that happen? LeBron James, whose Cleveland Cavaliers lost in the NBA semifinals, got an invite and tour of the White House this week while Kobe Bryant and his triumphant Lakers stayed at home in California.

This is Norman Arey and I never bet on NFL games - only college ones.

Georgia Tech gets good news in basketball; Kentucky isn't as fortunate

(6/16) Good news for Georgia Tech basketball that junior forward Gani Lawal has removed his name from the NBA list and will return to school. Lawal, who averaged 15.1 points and 9.6 rebounds, was statistically the most improved player in the ACC last season. The Jackets return four starters from last year plus the No. 3-ranked recruiting class in the country.

Kentucky didn’t fare as well as Tech in the area of returning players as Wildcat guard Jodie Meeks decided he would stay in the NBA draft and forgo his senior season. Meeks averaged almost 24 points per game last season.

Here’s kind of an odd stat. Know who has the second highest average attendance in Major League Baseball? San Diego, with 35,500, second only to the Chicago Cubs’ average of 36,680.

You won’t find Huntley Johnson’s name on the University of Florida football roster but he still may be in line for consideration for an MVP award. Johnson is the attorney who has handled 23 of the 24 arrest cases involving Gator football players. Go Huntley!

Of the new college football coaching hires, it would seem that Auburn’s Gene Chizik has been the biggest positive surprise. Chizik was widely criticized as the Tigers’ choice after a disastrous two-year stay at Iowa State, but has hired an enviable staff and recruited the socks off of other SEC coaches.

Emphasizing that you had better have a Plan B, or C, Ed O’Bannon is living that every day. O’Bannon, who was the MVP of the Final Four for UCLA in 1995, and an NBA lottery draft pick, is selling used cars on commission.

The Minnesota Twins will sell Killebrew Root Beer at their ballpark this season. The beverage is named after Twins’ slugger Harmon Killebrew, who had 537 homers when he retired.

Former Michigan State head football coach George Perles will run for governor of the state of Michigan next year.

And finally, at least five Division I schools are using a loophole in the NCAA by-laws to hire experienced coaches in graduate assistant positions. The most well known is 37-year-old Alabama graduate assistant Mike Groh, who was offensive coordinator at Virginia before being fired.

This is Norman Arey and I always have a Plan B.

NASCAR in line for a double whammy? Alabama a dirty program? Naw, not The Tide

(6/15) I didn’t realize this but with its latest run-in with the NCAA rules infractions committee, Alabama has had 19 such clashes since 1993. If you didn’t know better, you’d classify it as a dirty program.

After head basketball coach Tim Floyd resigned his position at Southern Cal amidst cheating allegations, the Trojan program also has lost three recruits, who all asked for and were given releases from their commitments.

NASCAR could take a double hit this year. Besides its most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. being winless, Jeff Gordon is making retirement noises. Gordon has a chronic back problem that has caused him to hint about cutting his career short.

Proving that there are some things the NFL refuses to try and make a buck from, the Houston Texans have declined an offer from a porn company, Zero Tolerance, to have its logo put on the Texans’ practice jerseys.

Georgia athletics director Damon Evans, speaking at a Bulldog Club gathering, told UGA fans to get ready for more night games. Evans suggested that the Bulldog football team would play at least five night games this season.

Factoid of the Day. The last player to lead the NFL in passing yardage and win a title was Johnny Unitas in 1959.

This just in but former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz could be the starter against Atlanta when the Red Sox come to town next week.

Japan’s first female pro baseball player, Eri Yoshida, is a 17-year-old pitcher who throws a side-arm knuckleball. Those two things don’t seem to go together, do they?

I’m not sure what this means but Fox Sports has named Atlanta Falcon quarterback Matt Ryan, 24, as the top under-30 franchise player in the NFL

And finally, trades talks continue between the Phoenix Suns and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Shaq O’Neal would become a Cavalier and Ben Wallace would become a Sun. More important, Shaq’s acquisition would give LeBron James help that he desperately needs in the lineup.

This is Norman Arey and I have back problems, too.

Florida's athletics director needs to take a close look at where the blame lies

(6/12) I’ve had 48 hours or so to digest what Florida athletics director Jeremy Foley had to say about the fact that no less than 24 football student athletes have been arrested under head coach Urban Meyer’s watch.

This is, by no means, a diatribe against Florida, but really, Jeremy, what are you thinking?

Foley, rather than try to explain to alums and friends of the university why this has happened, instead chose to blame the media.

Blame the media for reporting facts. Reporting what should be a black eye for what was and probably still is, a fine academic institution.

The sheer arrogance of his actions and words floors me.

Hey, Jeremy, how about the treatment Meyer has gotten from the media over the past four years? He’s been acclaimed the best college coach in the country by many outlets. And well he should. After all, Meyer will be going for his third national championship in four seasons -- and he’s the pre-season favorite to accomplish it.

And how about those prejudiced reporters on senior quarterback Tim Tebow? They have reported every time he’s walked on water. They report when he carries out his many ministrations of his faith. They’re there when he raises money for orphanages. They report when he helps circumcise babies in The Philippines.

The media has anointed St. Timothy as the pre-season Heisman Trophy favorite. The media has even taken offense when the professional scouts questioned whether Tebow would be a good pro quarterback choice.

Is this really the best course of action, Jeremy?

These same media members didn’t inspect closely the academic and personal development of Percy Harvin. I would like to know how well Harvin reads, for instance, since he barely scratched on the Wonderlic test administered by the NFL.

Was the university held up to ridicule when your head basketball coach, Billy Donovan left, stayed a week or so in the NBA, and then came crawling back to Gainesville where you took him in as if he were a long lost loyal Gator brother?

All in all, it seems to me that the University of Florida has been given a break at every turn. It seems that your press coverage, across the board, has been relatively positive and certainly fair.

Even I have been a tremendous supporter of Tebow, and certainly haven’t been negative about Florida’s overall program.

Remember, Jeremy, no member of the media signed even one of your 24 arrested atudent-athletes. That was done by your football coaching staff, of whom I believe, you are in charge.

This is Norman Arey and I can outscore Percy Harvin on the Wonderlic.

It's always the media's fault; Montana not heading south; draft shows how time flies

(6/11) With the Major League Baseball draft just completed, a couple of thoughts: Can it really be 42 years since Atlanta’s Ronnie Blomberg was selected No. 1 by the New York Yankees straight out of Druid Hills High School? Ditto 31 years since the Braves picked Bob Horner at No. 1? And Chipper Jones is just a baby as far as the draft goes, chosen tops in 1990. Man, how time flies.

Tony Franklin, hired at Middle Tennessee State as offensive coordinator after being fired from that position at Auburn, told Sporting News Today that he predicted Tommy Tuberville would be fired when he met with the head coach for the last time. He also took a shot at the SEC, saying, "I can go have a beer somewhere and not be worried about winding up on the Internet. I don’t have to worry about all the crap you face in the SEC with its ridiculous, nit-picky rules and regulations on everything you do."

The same publication ranked all 32 NFL coaches and the Atlanta Falcons’ Mike Smith held down the No. 8 spot. Of course Bill Belichick was No. 1. Josh McDaniels of the Denver Broncos was No. 32.

Pretty amazing that Mark Martin has won two NASCAR events, finished in the Top Five three times and the Top 10 seven times, and still isn’t in the top 12 in points.

Impressive that two of the top six picks in the MLB draft were Georgia natives -- Cartersville’s Donavan Tate and Zach Wheeler of Dallas, Ga.

You had to figure that something was going to happen at Southern Cal and its basketball program. There was simply too much smoke for there not to be a fire. Coach Tim Floyd resigned amidst an NCAA investigation. This is of local interest because Georgia had narrowed its list of basketball coaches in 2003 to Floyd and Dennis Felton when Felton was hired.

High school quarterback Nick Montana, son of NFL legend Joe, has committed to play for the University of Washington. Montana had briefly flirted with Notre Dame, Georgia and Alabama.

And finally, Florida athletics director Jeremy Foley has ripped the press for negative reporting of the fact that the Gators have had 24 football players arrested during coach Urban Meyer’s four-plus year tenure. Seems like I’ve heard that somewhere before. To put that into perspective, Florida State has had 13 arrests during the same time frame and Miami two.

This is Norman Arey and I’ve had no arrests, so far, during my tenure here.

It's that time of year: I have my very first college preseason football magazine

(6/10) I’ve got a spring in my step today, mainly because I just bought my first college football magazine of the year, this one from Athlon. I usually buy three or four at a time but the $8 price is forcing me to purchase one a week.

The thing about pre-season football magazines is that the writers and publishers don’t know any more about it than you and I but it feels so nice to hold it in your hand and look up your team, your conference, and see what other folks are thinking and saying.

If you want to get right to the bottom line, Athlon picks Florida as the pre-season No. 1 followed by Oklahoma, Texas, USC and Ohio State. Not exactly going out on any limb, there.

The second five included Alabama, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State and Ole Miss. Again, no surprises.

Georgia was accorded a No. 14 ranking while Georgia Tech was no better than 22nd.

The magazine’s All-America team features Florida’s Tim Tebow at quarterback with Jahvid Best of California and Jonathan Dwyer of Georgia Tech in the first team backfield. I was a little surprised with the selection of Dwyer. Wonder how long its been since the Yellow Jackets had a pre-season all-America first team running back?

It should be pointed out that Oklahoma placed three players on the first-team offensive unit while Oklahoma State had two.

Georgia didn’t have a player picked on the first two All-America squads but linebacker Rennie Curran was chosen on the third team.

There are 22 new Division I head coaches this year and there’s a lot of curiosity out there about how each will do but none surpasses the interest trained on Knoxville where new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin presides. I guess the second most-watched new coach will be Auburn’s Gene Chizik.

If you’re a Notre Dame fan, circle Oct. 17 on your calendar. With a mushy schedule, the Irish should be 5-0 when they play host to highly ranked Southern Cal.

The back page of the magazine is devoted to upsets from the 2008 season. Two of the top 10 that caught my eye was Wyoming’s 13-7 win over Tennessee and LSU’s 38-3 destruction of Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

More on the other magazines later this month.

This is Norman Arey trying to shoplift some more football magazines.

Remembering Peachtree Bart, 'Nique and other Atlanta sports icons

(6/9) As the Tom Glavine saga has played out over the past week, I have read everything I could find that had been written. On more than a few occasions, the Braves’ lefty was referred to as an "Atlanta sports icon."

That started me thinking about exactly how many sports icons I felt Atlanta had had over the years. Remember that Atlanta is just a baby in the professional sports world. Sherman had just finished burning it when George Halas was organizing the Bears and Abner Doubleday thought up baseball.

So how many Atlanta sports icons have there been over the years?

My list would include the following, not necessarily in order:

-Tommy Nobis, Atlanta Falcons - if he had played in Chicago, his name would have been Dick Butkus.

-Steve Bartkowski, Atlanta Falcons - Peachtree Bart was a much better quarterback than he got credit for being. He’s one of only seven pro quarterbacks in history to have back-to-back 30 touchdown passing seasons.

-Hank Aaron, Atlanta Braves - In a category all of his own. The all-time MLB leader in home runs (without as asterisk). If he played today, he’d be called "refreshing" because of his attitude. The years he did play, he was called a lot of things, but seldom refreshing.

-Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta Hawks - If The Human Highlight Film had played in New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles, he’d be known as one of the greatest ever. He still may be the most exciting, along with Julius Erving and Pistol Pete Maravich.

-Deion Sanders, Atlanta Braves/Atlanta Falcons - Was Neon Deion really an icon. I think so. How many guys have played and started in two professional sports?

-Bobby Dodd, Georgia Tech - If he isn’t an icon, how come the former Yellow Jackets coach was sometimes called "Bobby God?"

-Phil Niekro, Atlanta Braves - Good old Phil was good, even when the Braves weren’t. Won more than 300 games with smoke, mirrors and guts.

There are others whom I considered - Falcon linebacker Jesse Tuggle, Braves pitcher John Smoltz, Braves pitcher Greg Maddux, although I don’t think the city had him long enough, ditto for Hawks guard Pete Maravich, former Tech players Ray Beck, George Morris and Larry Morris, and dozens of others.

I won’t argue with anyone about former Atlanta Cracker players, or for that matter, anyone else you feel was left off the list.

But there’s one thing that almost all of them had in common. They weren’t treated well at the end. Just as Glavine says he feels betrayed, he should take comfort that he has plenty of company.

This is Norman Arey and sometimes I feel betrayed, too.

FSU, Bowden almost out of appeals; Gators spreading offense by testing 'I' formation?

(6/8) The word out of Tallahassee is that the NCAA upheld its original ruling that Florida State must forfeit up to 14 football games because of a wide-spread cheating scandal. The Seminoles still have an appeal left but things don’t look good for Bobby Bowden retaining his 382 overall wins and trailing Penn State’s Joe Paterno by one game as the all-time winners in college football.

Here’s one that’s sure to cause culture shock. UCLA quarterback Chris Forcier is transferring from the friendly confines of Los Angeles to Furman University in Greenville, S.C.

The most improved driver on the NASCAR circuit? According to USA Today, it’s Kurt Busch. Busch is followed by David Reutimann, Sam Hornish Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has suffered the biggest decline, down 28.2 points from last season.

Even though Urban Meyer has made his mark in the college football world by running the spread offense at Bowling Green, Utah and then Florida, word out of Gainesville is that that may change. Reports say that the Gators have spent an inordinate amount of time with quarterbacks Tim Tebow and John Brantley working under center rather than from the shotgun formation. Florida also reportedly has been seen running the "I" formation.

The University of Illinois is erecting a statue of "The Galloping Ghost," Red Grange, outside its Memorial Stadium.

Who’s the best catcher in the major leagues? According to entertainer Elton John, who’s a huge baseball fan, it’s Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins. No word on who Mauer thinks is the top entertainer in that world.

Successful NASCAR owner Rick Hendricks says he’s not worried about General Motors declaring bankruptcy. He says, "My Plan A is Chevrolet, my Plan B is Chevrolet and my plan C is Chevrolet."

And finally, there are seven coaches in Division I college football who are 65 years old or older including two in the ACC: Bobby Bowden at FSU and Al Groh at Virginia. Kentucky’s Rich Brooks is the only elder SEC coach.

This is Norman Arey and I’d be a youngster in both the ACC and SEC.

DeFord puts the Michael  Vick saga before us in an eloquent way

(6/5) The Atlanta Braves work in strange and mysterious ways. After letting John Smoltz get away to Boston and drawing the fans’ ire, those PR-unconscious Braves have now cut the most winning active pitcher in the majors, Tom Glavine. If they wanted to cut the lefty, why let him go through three rehab starts and then do it? Especially since his last outing in Rome was to throw six scoreless innings.

I have no opinion on whether he could still get major league hitters out. My only point is that you treat a guy who’s been the front porch of your franchise for two decades with a little more dignity.

Perhaps they’re building up to deny that Hank Aaron ever played for this clueless club.

College football writer Matt Hayes of Sporting News Today says his top five on-the-rise teams coming into the fall are UCLA, SMU, Colorado, Oklahoma State and N.C. State. Dave Curtis of the same publication picked Washington, Arkansas, Illinois, Auburn and Southern Miss.

Name of the Week - Northern Illinois head football coach Jerry Kill.

Troubled golfer John Daly just signed a multiyear deal with All Sports, a sports drink company. Daly will play in Memphis in two weeks for the first time in six months after being suspended by the PGA for a series of negative events in which he was involved.

George Foreman III, aka "Monk," will make his boxing debut Saturday in Louisiana. The 6-foot-5 son of former heavyweight champ George, is 26 years old.

Did anyone out there realize that there will be eight new starting quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference who didn’t start last season?

Here’s another interesting note. Colt Brennan, formerly of Hawaii and Chase Daniel, formerly of Missouri, are now teammates on the Washington Redskins.

And finally, here’s what one of the top writers in the country says about Michael Vick’s possible reinstatement in the NFL. Frank DeFord writes: "He is a role model for having it all and throwing it all away through stupidity, arrogance and sheer evil. If he gets to step on the field, he will remind us of how young athletes can so easily fall from grace. He will remind us of shame and hubris. He will remind us of cruelty to animals. He will pay his debt to society by helping us remember what we should not forget."

This is Norman Arey on my way out to buy a six-pack of All Sports.

Paterno defends FSU's Bowden; Notre Dame off to an 11-1 start?

(6/4) With Boston College starting quarterback Dominique Davis academically ineligible and now gone via transfer from the program, red shirt freshman Justin Tuggle is a candidate for the starting job. Tuggle is the son of former Atlanta Falcon linebacker Jessie Tuggle.

The word out of Olympic Land is that Team USA wants Duke head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski back as head coach. Krzyzewski led the team to Olympic gold last time out.

Elite jockey Calvin Borel guaranteed that he will win the Saturday Belmont on mount Mine That Bird, on whom he also won the Kentucky Derby. Borel also won the Preakness but aboard Rachel Alexandra.

The New Orleans Saints, the Atlanta Falcons’ chief rival in the NFC South, announced it had sold out its season tickets for the fourth consecutive year.

Obscure Athletic Hire of the Day: Illinois State named Kellie Evans women’s assistant soccer coach.

Name of the Week: Middle Tennessee’s aptly-named quarterback Dwight Dasher

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he thinks Florida State coach Bobby Bowden shouldn’t be penalized any wins for the NCAA investigation of the Seminole program. "He coached the team he had and won, OK?: said Paterno. The Nittany Lions’ coach leads Bowden 383-382 wins, but if the NCAA should take the maximum number of wins from Bowden, Paterno would lead 383-368 and Bowden could never catch him.

Former college coach Lou Holtz has been a busy man this week. The former Arkansas, N.C. State, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina coach first spoke at a pro-life in Indiana and then predicted that the Irish would finish 11-1, but not win the mythical national title. He reserved that for the best of the trifecta of Texas, Oklahoma and Florida.

And finally, maybe Americans are having a tough time loving soccer, but Great Britain Prince Harry says he loves American football. He even promised to come back to the U.S. for a New York Jets game. Wow! Think of how he’d feel if he watched a good team.

This is Norman Arey and I frankly don’t care what Prince Harry likes, although I do wonder if he likes grits?

Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. really the most overrated sports figure?

(6/3) All-America Janoris Jenkins, who started as a freshman at corner back last season for the national champion Florida Gators, was tased and arrested on fighting charges in Gainesville. Jenkins’ arrest marked No. 24 for Urban Meyer’s players since he took over the program in 2005.

How about this? College football guru Phil Steele says the University of South Carolina has the toughest football schedule in the nation this year. The teams the Gamecocks play had a winning percentage of 62.8 last season.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says if the St. Louis Rams should move to another city as the rumors say they will, the city wouldn’t get a third chance at an NFL franchise after losing the Cardinals to Arizona in 1988.

Obscure Athletic Hire of the Day: Wright State named Andy Riesenberg as assistant women’s volleyball coach.

Ouch! The AJC has this to say about NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., and I quote: "His many fans have spent many years making excuses for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is the most overrated figure in American sports." That’s stronger than a garlic milkshake.

I know you’re going to have a tough time believing this but Memphis has completed an internal investigation on whether a basketball play cheated on his SAT entrance exam and has found no foul.

Rivals.Com basketball writer David Fox says Stephen Curry was so good at Davidson, it’s not out of line to compare his leaving to that of Larry Bird departing Indiana State.

And finally, guess who I keep seeing on the 2009 list of Heisman hopefuls? Georgia Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer is in the Top 10 but in the lower half of the picks.

This is Norman Arey and Jonathan, I know how you feel.

Tennessee fans need to lighten up; how's Urban gonna make it on $3.49 million

(6/2) It’s serious stuff when fans step over the line and turn ugly. Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton admitted he received death threats last year as the Vol football team stumbled to a 5-7 record.

The Women’s NBA team, the Phoenix Mercury, will sport jerseys with "LifeLock" in large letters, named for the identity-theft protection company. The deal is worth roughly $1 million a year for the Phoenix team. How long can it be before we’ll see this advertising dip down into the college ranks? You know, the Florida "Gatorades" or the Georgia "Coca-Colas.".

Frequent contributor Joey Mac asks "isn’t there a mercy rule in college baseball." Florida State beat Ohio State 37-6 after leading 32-0 after five innings. The Seminoles also set NCAA post-season records with 37 runs, 38 hits and 66 total bases.

You can’t say that Georgia will ease into its football schedule next fall. How’s this for getting your feet wet? Sept. 5, Oklahoma State on the road; Sept. 12, South Carolina at home; Sept. 19, Arkansas on the road; and Sept. 26, Arizona State at home. Wow!

I’m not sure that the University of Florida has its priorities all lined up. President Bernie Machen says he doesn’t think football coach Urban Meyer should be the third highest paid coach in the SEC, behind Alabama’s Nick Saban and LSU’s Les Miles. So Machen says he intends to give his coach a raise from the $3.49 million he now banks despite the fact that the university has recently undergone budget cuts just as almost every other school in the country.

Nick Montana, son of NFL legend Joe, has narrowed his list of schools to seven. The quarterback is looking at Washington, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Stanford, LSU and Notre Dame.

And I second that, Mr. Miles. LSU football coach Les Miles says he doesn’t think the U.S. government should be involved with college football. "I don’t think the government should be involved in anything other than balancing the budget, the economy, and the security of our country. " Amen, brother.

This is Norman Arey and I think Urban Meyer and I should get pay raises.

Make no mistake: College football is the real bread winner

(6/1) I was glad to see the Southeastern Conference take the lead in limiting the number of scholarships their football coaches can offer. It had gotten to be ridiculous. Several years ago, Alabama had offered 32 freshman grants-in-aid. This year, Ole Miss had 37 on the books. The SEC will allow only 28 to be offered each year, which is still three above the NCAA maximum.

It’s a fact that Tyrone Willingham was paid more in base salary this year NOT to coach Notre Dame football than current Irish coach Charlie Weis is being paid. Willingham earned $650,000 base compensation while Weis took in $520,000.

It’s beginning to look more and more like the Big 10 may have to finally change its name. Not only has Penn State coach Joe Paterno called for a 12th team to join the 11-member league but now Minnesota’s Tim Brewster is doing the same. How much longer can it hold out?

Obscure Athletic Hire of the Day: St. Lawrence named Willi Steinrotter Alpine Ski Coach.

Strange but true. A prison in France is taking more than 100 inmates on a 1,400-mile bicycle tour around the country. The Tour de Jail will be held this summer.

There have been five college football teams since 2001 whose average margin of victory has exceeded 30 points. Texas won by 33.8 in 2005, Miami by 32.9 in 2001, Kansas State by 32.7 in 2002, Florida by 30.7 last season and Louisville by 30.1 in 2004.

I’m beginning to really like the college football season-kickoff game being in the Georgia Dome. Last year it was Clemson and Alabama. This year it’s Alabama and Virginia Tech. Next season, North Carolina is a candidate to play a yet-unnamed SEC school and N.C. State meets Tennessee in 2012.

Make no mistake who the bread-winner is here. Of the record $132.5 million distributed among the 12 SEC members, more than $92 million was derived from football.

Talk about free baseball: Texas beat Boston College over the weekend in a game that went more than seven hours and lasted 25 innings -- the longest baseball game in NCAA history.

And finally, for what it’s worth, I fear Cleveland’s loss to Orlando in the NBA Eastern Division finals may cost the Cavaliers more than just the game. LeBron James is in the last year of his contract and could go elsewhere after next season. If Cleveland isn’t able to surround James with some help, it appears he may move on to a place where it would appear he could win an NBA title.

This is Norman Arey and I derive some of my paultry income from football, too.