Crazy rumor: was T.O. hanging out in Gville yesterday?

The Alex Rodriguez spectacle certainly occupied a whole bunch of time yesterday. Many words will be written about it today, and ESPN is one giant echo chamber of opinions about WHAT IT ALL MEANS. After some consideration, I have come to the conclusion that I really don't care. I don't care whether A-Rod's "cousin" exists or not, nor do I particularly wish to hear from him. I have no idea whether he's being honest about having been clean the last five years, nor do I know of any way someone could prove that at this point. The guy cheated, just like lots of others in this disgraced era of the sport, and in the end that's really all I needed to know.

It's hard to believe that Texas Tech and Mike Leach have gotten so far apart on their contract negotiations that the school is getting ready to fire him, but that's the word from Lubbock. Leach has two years remaining on his deal and wants to preserve his freedom to interview for other jobs if one that's appealing comes his way. Ever since Bobby Knight was given Leach's parking spot upon being hired, it's appeared the school doesn't grasp the value of what they've got in Leach as football coach. The Red Raiders will not find a coach this good again anytime soon - if they let their ego overload them the way Boston College did they will be sorry.

How many wins does a team need to get into the NCAA tournament? There is no single answer, but the folks at the Rush The Court blog have compiled some interesting data from the past three years. It appears 23 is likely the magic number for most SEC level teams to feel completely comfortable. For Florida that would be ten SEC wins, which is the number I've believed they'd need the entire time. Thanks to Saturday's debacle, tonight's Alabama game is a no margin for error affair. I expect them to get it done.

The San Francisco 49ers have become the latest team to say they're not interested in Michael Vick as the onetime superstar gets closer to his eventual release from prison. I always figured Gruden would grab Vick for the Bucs as a "youth movement" since he's almost 30, but Tampa Bay has said they're not interested either. The guy does have a right to earn a living post-prison, and football is the only skill of any value he can offer. Vick wasn't a very good QB even before his jailing, which leads to the question of what team would be hard up enough to give him a serious look at that position. Factor in the PR hit they'd take, and I'm not sure a Vick comeback ever happens.