Who doesn't enjoy a nice fried beer once in a while?

A week from today I'll be at Williams-Brice stadium as South Carolina gets the college football season going by hosting Southern Miss. How many Gamecocks will miss it due to running afoul of NCAA rules is becoming a more unclear situation. Joe Person of the Columbia State has given us the first figures to chew on that may show players were charged a lower rate than what's available to the general public at an area hotel, although it's not clear from the story whether the rates he cites are per person or per room since some guys were splitting rooms. That's an NCAA violation if it happened, although not necessarily one that costs kids a game as opposed to being required to pay the difference. If, as Person reports, tight end Weslye Saunders is still living in the hotel after Steve Spurrier strongly encouraged all players to pay their bills and find somewhere else to live then you have to wonder if he's actually trying to get kicked off the team. This whole situation is incredibly frustrating to try and cover - hopefully we can get some hard facts on what the NCAA has found sooner rather than later.

The NCAA is busy with a lot of investigations right now, but the most fascinating interview from one could have been when they talked with David Reaves this week about goings on under Lane Kiffin at Tennessee. If you're Reaves and you know some things happened that weren't kosher under NCAA policies while you were in Knoxville, do you blow the whistle on your brother in law when he humiliated you? The guys who left with Lane won't tell the NCAA anything that hurts their continued employment, and the guys still in Tennessee can't afford to admit being involved in any way with NCAA messups. Only Reaves is positioned to be a truth teller should he choose to do so - wonder if he stayed with the "oh, the hostesses drove to South Carolina on their own" routine as an explanation or not.

The "Gee, you think?" headline of the year comes from the New York Times this morning: "Woods Admits Divorce Has Affected His Game". Yeah, maybe a little. Meanwhile, the former Mrs. Woods finally broke her silence in an interview with People magazine. I applaud the way she's handled things overall, because this could have easily become an even bigger circus had Elin decided she wanted to play the scorned woman card publicly and maximize her celeb status. Having said that, she maintains one part of the reason she did the interview is that she wants to put the word out she didn't hit Tiger. That may be legally accurate, but whether she hit him directly or hit the vehicle and caused him to wreck, the explanation given for smashing the vehicle's windows makes no sense. Regardless, now that the situation is resolved I just wonder what's going to happen the next time Tiger attempts to do anything with a woman as a single guy. He's got the right to bring home the entire Hooters staff with him if he so desires now, but you know the paparazzi will be killing each other to try and land that first shot of Tiger with someone.

The St. Petersburg Times reports Bucs safety Sabby Piscitelli is "upset over losing his starting job". Please let him be angry enough to demade a trade so that Tampa Bay can make it clear that no one wants him anywhere in the league. When Piscitelli was drafted some tried to compare him to John Lynch based on them both being white guys from the Pac-10, but Piscitelli has proven that's as far as the situation goes. If Tampa Bay ever needs to lose a game and commit personal fouls while doing so, they've got the right guy. Otherwise, Piscitelli should be extremely grateful he gets a paycheck from anyone to be involved with pro football and hush up.

Texas State Fair food: now featuring fried beer. Read it and weep, cardiologists.