Let the Games Begin: SEC Football Media Days

Some thoughts on SEC Football Media Days from here in Birmingham, Alabama . . . .

-South Carolina LB Jasper Brinkley is a big man. Very big. So is Vanderbilt LB Jonathan Goff. Both of these guys will be huge pieces of the puzzle for their respective defenses. And they'll both be first round picks come next April's draft. Brinkley has all the skills you look for in a defensive field general: he can stuff the box on the run, blitz the dickens out of the quarterback without much of a cheat, and inspire a defense to go above and beyond (don't forget the game against Auburn last year when the Gamecocks' defense was on the field for literally the entire third quarter. They gave up just three points.) He'll be the anchor for a unit that Steve Spurrier believes is vastly improved. It better be if the Ol' Ball Coach truly hopes to up the win total this year. As far as Vandy's Goff, a tall task awaits. A mechanical engineering major, he's a very smart player, if a man of few words. But can he carry a spotty defense to a season of sturdy performances? It's highly unlikely.

-The circus is in town! Two of them actually. Take your pick: Darren McFadden and the traveling Heisman show or Nick Saban and the hired gun parade. These guys have been swarmed from the get-go on their respective days. D-Mac was the star appearance for most folks on Day One while Saban took front and center stage on Day Two. Will McFadden win the Heisman this year? Probably, barring injury. He's too strong, quick and athleticially gifted to put up anything less than another monster season. Somebody just tell Arkansas coach Houston Nutt not to live and die with the wildcat package again. It has a place, but got way too gimmicky towards the end of last year. As far as the other circus goes, I think Crimson Tide faithful are believing a little too much in the quick fix. Will Saban return Alabama to prominence? Maybe, but not right away. You must have talented players to win big games against the heavyweights in the SEC, and Alabama just doesn't have enough of them---yet. But Slick Nick will get them eventually.

-Kentucky is going to be good in football for the second straight year. After winning eight games a year ago (including a Music City Bowl victory over Clemson), the Wildcats return a stacked deck offensively, led by stud quarterback Andre Woodson. With 31 TDs against just 7 INTs a year ago, Woodson helped Wildcat fans remember that there are sports beside basketball. I interviewed him on the Morning Rush yesterday and came away even more impressed. He's smart, humble and easy to talk with. Whether Kentucky can actually contend with the powerhouses in this league remains to be seen (doubtful), but it won't be for lack of trying by Woodson. The real question around his team is whether they can stop anybody.

-Dire straights continue for the college football teams from Mississippi. Ole Miss doesn't have stud LB Patrick Willis anymore, and it doesn't look like anyone is going to come even close to filling his shoes. The quarterback position is unsettled, with talented playmaker Brent Schaeffer making too many mistakes last year to keep Ed Orgeron happy. Instead, it will be Seth Adams under center at the outset of the season. Another senior, he's less mistake prone. But once again, it doesn't look good for the Rebels as far as winning games. On the flip, Mississippi State is only slightly less bad. Sylvester Croom is starting to run out of time in Starkville and the cupboard remains startlingly bare. QB Michael Henig, RB Anthony Dixon and DE Titus Brown are his only real playmakers. He'll need extraordinary performances out of all of them to win anything more than four games.

-As a whole, the SEC is still loaded. A lot of people would have you believe the conference is do for a down season, what with all the departures to the NFL, but I don't see it. Stack it up against any conference in the country---Pac-10, Big 10, ACC, Big 12---and top to bottom, the SEC is still number one by a lot in my book. In the East, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina are all legitimately great to good football teams, essentially in that descending order, while the West is awfully strong up top with LSU, Auburn, Arkansas and Alabama all poised for good years as well. That's nine out of twelve teams in the conference who can play with and beat pretty much anyone else in the country on a given Saturday. That's the best sign of a strong conference for me.

-JAB

Slim Pickings in the Digital Music Age

I'm scanning the diminished aisles of the local music store last weekend, only to find mixed results, depending on your genre of choice. Rock music is doing all right, which is to say, there's still stuff out there worth checking out, if you're willing to look for it. Already in 2007, there have been quality new releases from the likes of the White Stripes, the Shins, Modest Mouse, Wilco, Velvet Revolver and the reunited Smashing Pumpkins, amongst others. These artists don't make nearly what they used to as far as album sales are concerned, but lest we forget, every new disc is reason enough to go on tour, which is still a pretty sizeable cash cow for most musicians. New releases are expected before the year is out as well from the likes of Radiohead, Counting Crows and Bruce Springsteen.

But swing the audio browser over to the hip hop aisles and things aren't looking so good. New releases last year from Outkast, the Roots, Jay-Z (shoulda stayed retired) and Nas offered reason for slight optimism for rap/R & B-over-beats, but it certainly hasn't carried over to 2007. Outside of Lil Wayne, where oh where has the production from the marquee names gone? That Fugees reunion? Yeah, right. Lauryn Hill? Muy loco. D'Angelo. MIA. Eminem? Hiatus. Biggie, Tupac? Still six feet under.

Maybe Nas was right, after all. I guess hip hop is dead.

-JAB

40 Things This Baseball Season Has Taught Me

To the all-star break we go in the 2007 major league baseball season . . . And what do we know for sure? About forty things. Here we go:


1) Barry Bonds will break the home run record this year---and nobody is happy about it.

2) The Red Sox were very wise to load up on starting pitching.

3) The Yankees were stupid not to.

4) Look up the word "sellout" in a dictionary, and you will see a picture of Roger Clemens.

5) The N.L. West is the best division in baseball.

6) The N.L. Central is definitely the worst.

7) Playing left field for the Mets might be worse for your health than smoking.

8) Alex Rodriguez has re-established himself as the premier player in the game.

9) He's also emerged as second to Barry Bonds on the most controversial player list.

10) There will be no repeat champion this year, as the Cardinals will not make the playoffs.

11) Chisox GM Ken Williams is the most confused man in baseball.

12) Yankees' GM Brian Cashman is the most concerned man in baseball.

13) Dodgers' catcher Russell Martin is now the best all-around backstop in the biz.

14) Forget the stats, Johan Santana is still the best pitcher in baseball.

15) Justin Verlander, Danny Haren, Jake Peavy and C.C. Sabathia are right behind him.

16) Saves continue to be the most overrated statisitical measurement in all of sports.

17) When healthy, Magglio Ordonez is a Top 5 major league hitter.

18) Now more than ever, Bud Selig is firmly entrenched as the worst commissioner of all-time.

19) Steroids increase body mass, but they decrease love for the game.

20) In terms of accomplishment, 600 home runs is the new 500, while 500 is the new 400.

21) 300 pitching wins will always be a marquee plateau.

22) The game changes and records break, but Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hit streak never will.

23) The Milwaukee Brewers are finally good again and they will make the playoffs this year.

24) Mike Hargove picked a very strange time to resign as Mariners' manager.

25) The Minnesota Twins desperately miss pitcher Francisco Liriano.

26) Phillies' LF Shane Victorino is a really good player.

27) Reds' OF Josh Hamilton is tougher than everyone thought he was.

28) If the Padres could hit, they'd be the best team in the National league.

29) If the Cubs could pitch, they'd be the best team in the National League.

30) The American League's top teams---Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and L.A.---are scary good.

31) The National League's top teams---the Mets, Atlanta, Milwaukee, San Diego, L.A. and Arizona---are all works-in-progress.

32) Barring injury, Derek Jeter has the best shot of any active player to get 4,000 career hits.

33) Daisuke Matsuzaka is the real deal.

34) Dontrelle Willis still has the coolest pitching delivery.

35) No one will ever win the hitting Triple Crown again.

36) Being 40 ain't nothing at all for Hall of Fame pitchers like Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, or for feisty veterans like Jamie Moyer, Kenny Rogers and Woody Williams.

37) Frank Thomas is a Hall of Famer.

38) So is Craig Biggio.

39) Fans should no longer be allowed to vote for all-stars.

40) Above all else, the All-Star Game should NOT decide home field advantage in the World Series.


-JAB