What do Mark Sanford and Phillip Fulmer have in common?

The BCS has finally grown enough of a spine to say no to the college coaches. Their ridiculous plan to remove any public accountability for their votes has now been postponed a year, and indications are if they go through with it the BCS will remove the coaches poll from its formula. There shouldn't even be a coaches poll, but if they're going to let guys with a financial stake in the outcome vote the bare minimum expectation should be for them to be willing to acknowledge their choices. If coaches deem that unacceptable, it only further illustrates why they shouldn't be voting.

Lane Kiffin says he was not the coach who failed to vote Tim Tebow for the All-SEC quarterback. I believe him, because someone didn't vote for Tebow at the end of last season despite a 30-4 TD-Int performance and his team winning the conference. That removes Kiffin, Gene Chizik and Dan Mullen. It can't be Meyer or Houston Nutt and it isn't Steve Spurrier. Of the six possible remaining candidates, I believe Bobby Petrino is the one who voted for Jevan Snead instead. We'll see if he's asked the question at Media Days here in Birmingham today and whether he'll answer if he is.

FSU's offensive line recruiting is going to be interesting this season after Aubrey Phillips teed off on their position coach Rick Trickett. The Seminoles signed him out of Mississippi, and he was allegedly a big time recruit. Now he's been released from the school without ever making it to fall practice and says the reason he's enrolling at Auburn is because Trickett was over the top abusive in his coaching. This isn't the first time an FSU OL signee has done this under Trickett, and the Noles line still hasn't shown anywhere close to the level of improvement people expected when he arrived. It was while Trickett was at West Virginia that he suddenly became known as some kind of OL genius. I thought his mid nineties Auburn work was far from remarkable, and what he's coaching now is a lot closer to that style than what he was doing in Morgantown. Three years in, there better be some clear improvement or the shine will officially be off the latest alleged savior in Tallahassee.

As we commence with Media Days today, it will be odd not to see Phillip Fulmer. The former Volunteer head man won't be here in Birmingham - he won't even be in the country. He's going to Argentina for a nine day duck hunting and fishing trip. Fulmer decked out in a camo outfit for his new hunter lifestyle is something interesting to see. After Bama boosters served legal papers on Fulmer at this event last year, it was rumored that the SEC would move the event to Atlanta to end that kind of foolishness. Yesterday, with Fulmer now gone, they annouced next year's event will still be here in Birmingham. We miss you, coach.

Why does anyone in sports need a publicist?

When some former athletes find trouble, it surprises you. Darren Hambrick is not one of those people. He's perhaps the most physically gifted defensive player I've ever covered other than Jevon Kearse, but Hambrick has always been trouble waiting to happen. The latest episode involves allegations of sexual battery among a variety of charges. Hambrick was kicked out of UF for the infamous incident with Anthony Riggins at the Sugar Bowl after the 1994 season, then finished his college career at South Carolina. Simply put, he had no business being anywhere near a college campus. One of his teammates with the Gamecocks told me he was terrified of the guy while he was in Columbia. I wish more programs would step up and say no to signing guys like this, but the reality is Darren Hambrick would be a five star recruit with teams and their fans drooling over his potential today just like they were in the early Nineties. It's a shame.

While I'm not a big Kellen Winslow fan, I can't blame him for being angry at Cleveland management about how a health issue of his was handled last season. The problem was a staph infection, which has bothered a number of Browns players over the past few years. Apparently due to the infection being in the vicinity of Winslow's family jewels, inaccurate rumors swirled about him having a venereal disease. Meanwhile, Winslow's publicist suggested blaming the problem on a cut suffered on a car door. Apparently Kellen opens his car very differently than you and I.

Being famous sounds like a great thing to lots of people, and I'm sure there are times when it actually is. As Erin Andrews found out over the weekend, there are plenty of times when it isn't. Now it's Ben Roethlisberger's turn to learn, as he's being sued in Nevada for a supposed sexual assault a year ago. While being a star doesn't mean someone can't also be guilty of sexual assault, the circumstances here look far more like someone seeing a possible payday and tying to cash in. The timing has the potential to make this a significant distraction for the Steelers QB as they try to repeat.

This has absolutely nothing to do with anything going on in the news, but is outstanding. If you haven't heard the Nirvana/Rick Astley mashup, you need to do so. If you weren't familiar with these musical acts in your high school/college years, feel free to skip this item.

Today I head over to Birmingham for SEC Media Days. Over the next three days I'll cross paths with all twelve SEC football coaches, 24 players, and other assorted sports media celebs and friends (some fit both categories). This year's opening day is pretty weak, with none of the teams likely to be selected to finish higher than fourth in their divisions by the media. Thursday is when the circus truly begins, as Urban Meyer, Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes will be among those there to witness the spectacle that is Alabama day at the Wynfrey Hotel. Meyer's got to be feeling pretty good about his clout right now when he's got billionaire T. Boone Pickens acknowledging that he's taken advice from the UF coach. I'll do what I can for updates between now and Friday, but between traveling, covering the event, writing 2-3 articles per day for fightingators.com and doing my Columbia radio show there may not be sufficient time to blog as well. I'll do the best I can, but wanted to let you know about the potential issues.

Even Stewart Cink looked like he felt a little disappointed

I'm not sure people can fully appreciate just what we saw out of Tom Watson this weekend. Think about it - nine years after what is officially considered to be used up on the PGA Tour, he almost won one of the sport's majors. Nothing else in sports could have really compared to this, which is what made it such a shame when he missed that putt on 18. At that point you pretty much knew it wasn't going to happen - a 59 year old with an artifical hip wasn't likely to do too well on his 73rd through 76th holes in four days. ABC should give Watson some sort of bonus, because without him or the other TW they would have had the worst British Open ratings in eons.

What happened to Erin Andrews sickens me. In case you're unaware, some pervert used a cel phone to shoot a video of Erin nude in her hotel room through a peephole. He then posted his handiwork to the web. She's pursuing legal action, as she should be. Hopefully they're able to track this guy down. Sports bloggers who've fanned the flames of EA obsession on the web as a way to score page views are suddenly backpedaling all over the place. As someone who knows and likes Erin and also has a wife working in TV sports, this really hits home. One of the things I admire about Erin Andrews is that she got a chance because of her looks, but she busted her butt to make herself worthy of the opportunity she was presented with. She's handled her rise to fame incredibly well, and I hope what this freak did doesn't damage her longterm ability to still enjoy it.

Ron Zook has been at Illinois for four years. He had the amazing run to the Rose Bowl in 2007, but other than that it's been three losing seasons. Despite that, the school is giving the former UF head man a one year contract extension. Zook was a great hire for Illinois when they brought him in. He took over a program that had been so embarassingly bad at recruiting under Ron Turner that they were competing with 1-AA schools for kids and occasionally losing. Big Ten programs aren't supposed to do that. Now the Illini are seeing the down side of the Zook experience, which is that the guy is simply not a good head coach. I'll be stunned if he ever wins double digit games in a season there or anywhere else as a head man. Zook's always going to struggle with having his guys ready week to week, especially before games against mediocre teams. My guess is that he's done in Champaign by the end of 2011, and the guy who follows him will go back to Pasadena at some point in the next couple of years.

The World Series of Poker has come to a halt until November, when they'll play the final table. While most of the attention this year is going to stem from the presence of popular pro Phil Ivey among the last nine guys remaining, there's another storyline that could be fascinating. The editor of Card Player magazine is also in the final group, and is claiming he'll throw away the champion's bracelet should he win. It'd be pretty amusing to see Harrah's give 8.5 million dollars to a guy who's been blasting them for the way they run their signature event. Wonder if ESPN will mention that angle on the broadcast?

I've had a few emails asking my thoughts on the current Gainesville sports radio situation. As the Gainesville Sun noted yesterday, AM 850 is moving toward an all or nearly all sports format, giving Gainesville three such stations. The rates the college is paying their chosen "consultants" are absurd, by the way. Who could possibly be better to oversee programming commercial radio stations than a former cable advertising executive? As for the actual programming, it blows my mind that there are now three afternoon drive sports talk shows. I'm friendly with the hosts of all three, and they will all have certain audience segments they appeal to. The challenge for each will be distinguishing themselves in some way - more creative segment ideas, better guests, more use of interactive technology like Twitter, or something else. With 14 hours of daily local sports talk available, relying on caller driven content other than a few select "hot" days will be a huge mistake in my view. Should be quite a battle - wish I was able to be a part of it.

Now Los Angeles's hopes of getting the NFL back are really screwed

Sorry there wasn't a post yesterday - wound up unexpectedly having to put time in on a work project. The SEC coaches preseason All-Conference squad has been released, and Tim Tebow was inexplicably not chosen unanimously as the first team quarterback. The other vote presumably went to Jevan Snead, but it's hard to figure out who would have done that and why. It wasn't Houston Nutt, because he isn't allowed to vote for his own guy. The only thing it could possibly do is motivate Tebow, because it's certainly not like anyone will look back and downgrade his career due to not being a unanimous preseason choice. Does someone really think Snead's better? Even more bizarre was the selection of South Carolina's Stephen Garcia as the third team QB. Apparently the voting coaches didnt see the Outback Bowl.

Deposed Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie is writing a book. It's apparently been in the works for three years, but now it will be fascinating to see what he's willing to say. It would be foolish to be too brutal in his comments about the UK experience if Gillispie hopes to coach again, but he's a really weird dude. No word on whether he's actually willing to sign the contract for the book, or if he only has a napkin with a couple of sentences that promises he'll do it. Meanwhile, Kentucky fans are weighing in with sarcastic book title ideas. My two favorite ones that I read were "A Season On the Drink" and "The Man to Man Diet (I don't zone, ever)".

Next week I'll head to Birmingham for SEC football Media Days. It's been a yearly ritual for a decade and a half, and it remains a tradition despite most of us hoping it'll eventually move to Atlanta. There's not a lot to do in Birmingham other than go out to some bars or the dog track, which might explain why they think building a domed stadium for 630 million dollars would be a fine idea. They can set themselves up to be the gun to the head of various NFL cities to extort new stadiums for the next decade, but there is no way pro football is going to actually move to Birmingham.

The economy is as unfriendly as it's been in years for professional sports. The Arena League went under, the NBA salary cap is dropping, and sponsorships are dropping off everywhere. So why wouldn't this be the ideal time to start the USA's first professional cricket league? Maybe they can play it in Birmingham's dome. Have a great weekend and I'll see you back here Monday.

Almost makes you sorry for Lane. Almost, but not quite.

Tennessee's expected to struggle on offense in their first season under Lane Kiffin. They'll be running a new system with a mediocre quarterback, which tends to result in problems. Now take away two of their better receivers, one for the entire season and the other for potentially half of it, and things get really shaky. Not having Denarius Moore for reps leading up the season and almost certainly not back before the UF week means that the Vols will have to count on true freshmen being productive right away in SEC play. They need to figure out how to get the ball to Brandon Warren as well as make Gerald Jones wear bubble wrap to protect the closest thing to an experienced impact receiver they have left. September 19 should be lots of fun to watch.

I didn't watch a second of the MLB All-Star game last night. I used to see the whole thing every summer, but two things killed off my interest. Interleague play ruins the mystique of seeing players from both leagues on the field together. Beyond that, Bud Selig idiotically made the outcome determine World Series home field advantage. Now I wouldn't watch it unless I was there in person. Selig is such a joke of a commissioner. Yesterday he claimed he's still reviewing Pete Rose's reinstatement request. At this point Selig could have been through the whole thing twice if he was reading one word per day. Rather than just having the guts to say "Hell no I'm not letting the guy back into the game. He lied to everyone in sight for years, only fessed up when he was trying to cash in with a book, and still spends the majority of his time in Vegas at sports books!", Selig just leaves things in limbo. It's a perfect symbol of the kind of "leadership" he's applied to everything else in MLB over the years.

There may not be a single good player that's been a Celtic since I became a fan who I liked less than Antoine Walker. He was a selfish guy who cared only about his stats and loved to shoot threes even though he wasn't that good at it. He was a classic example of a team cancer. Despite only being 32, Walker has burned enough teams in the NBA by now that no one wants him on their roster anymore. Unfortunately for Walker, it appears he did a poor job of keeping track of the 99 million dollars he was paid during his career, as he's facing charges for writing bad checks to three Vegas casinos worth over 800 grand. Walker was named in three mortgage defaults in Chicago last month as well. Hopefully this will be a cautionary tale for young players about not expecting your career to last forever and managing your money wisely. Based on history, I doubt they'll learn the lesson.

Another talented guy who didn't fully understand how good he had it as an NFL player was Andre Rison. His career was good, but could have been so much better had he stayed out of repeated off field disasters. Now Rison's leading a summer camp, and one of the lessons he'll be teaching the kids is that he was the best to ever play the game. Move over, Jerry Rice, and make way for "Brock Middlebrook" on top of the WR pyramid.

Be on the lookout for a purple 1975 Caprice Classic convertible. It features a football steering wheel and a painting of Thomas Davis of the Carolina Panthers at a desk with a panther sprawled in front of it. Unfortunately for Davis, his extremely tasteful ride has been stolen. The value of the car is supposed to be 136 thousand dollars - American, I assume. Sounds like quite a bargain.

Jessica picks Transformers and Tony's totally still with her

Urban Meyer now officially is on record saying he will never go to Notre Dame as head coach. After Paul Finebaum's ineffective ripjob of Meyer forced this topic back into the spotlight last week, the coach apparently felt it was as good a time as any to put it to bed. It never should have even been a question. Meyer chose the UF job over ND in 2004 because he felt it was the best place for him to win championships and recruit at a high level without having to travel all over the country. None of the other factors which brought him to Gainesville have changed - same president and AD, and even more money. If Meyer was sentimental, he would have ignored his best judgement and headed to South Bend four seasons ago. He didn't, and sentimentality would be even more so the only reason to go there now.

Ole Miss dodged an enormous bullet when Greg Hardy and Dexter McCluster were in a wreck over the weekend. Even if it takes longer than anticipated to heal from their injuries, neither player is expected to miss meaningful time. The first game expected to pose even the slightest challenge for Ole Miss isn't until September 24th at South Carolina. A story like this drives home how quickly just a couple of injuries can change things - fortunately for Houston Nutt it didn't happen this time. Next SEC football team up for a potential crisis: Kentucky, allegedly.

Tony Romo has evidently dumped Jessica Simpson. I assume the fact she was turning 29 with a Barbie themed birthday party was the final straw. Some Dallas fans are thrilled to have the perceived distraction gone, but a single guy who plays QB for the Cowboys can find a whole new slew of distractions extremely easily. For that matter, a married one can too.

I'm not a video game guy, so today's release of NCAA 2010 doesn't mean much to me. Somewhere down the line, it could mean plenty more to current collegians. Despite the ongoing legal action over the use of student-athlete images in the games, the EA sports folks have gone right ahead with it this season. Number fifteen for UF does look more than a little familiar.

Being Meyer's agent is a sweet gig right now

How much money should Urban Meyer make? According to Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel, the answer is pretty much whatever he wants. To some extent, he's right. The three SEC jobs that came open last year were filled by a 5-19 college coach, a 5-15 "pro" coach who'd never been a full OC in college, and an Urban Meyer protege. That wasn't due to a lack of looking around on the part of the schools that hired those guys either. It's incredibly difficult to fill big time head coaching gigs at the moment, because places like Texas Tech are now spending big money and no one is looking to be the next Rich Rodriguez. Keeping a proven product in place has great value for Florida. Where I disagree to come extent with Mike is the message it would send to sign a new megadeal with Urban right now. Even though UF funding for athletics doesn't come from taxpayer money, that subtlety will be lost on most non-UF supporters. A move right now would be bad PR and would serve as a possible distraction before the season. Meyer has a great shot to win a third championship, somthing which would prompt calls to redo his deal again anyway. Have the framework for the extension and raise in place going into the year and make a splash by announcing it soon after the season wraps up.

All indications are that we can expect the next twist in the Brett Favre saga to take place soon. Everyone's been asuming for weeks that he will return, but Favre aparently still isn't sure. Minnesota has a bunch of young skill position talent which could have benefited quite a bit from the guidance of a player like Favre this offseason. Can the chemistry they lack in the locker room be made up for over just a few weeks? Seems quite unlikely to me, but hopefully they get on with it before training camp actually begins.

It's no secret lots of athletes have children out of wedlock. A decent number of them are fathers prior to even reaching college, and once they reach the pros and really become a target for groupies it only gets worse. It's not too hard to avoid conceiving a child if you put even a scintilla of thought into doing so, but anyone can make a mistake or two. What blows my mind are guys like Antonio Cromartie of the San Diego Chargers. The former FSU star has seven kids under the age of five spread out among five different states. How can anyone's judgement be bad enough to allow that to happen? The article notes that five paternity suits may have affected his performance on the field last season. Gee, you think? All the rookie seminars in the world can't save some of these guys from themselves. Ask former Dolphin Cecil Collins if you don't believe me.

Steve McNair was laid to rest over the weekend, although the fallout from the soap opera circumstance of his death is not yet over. While reading some of the stories about his funeral, I came across one from Nashville featuring fans complaining that McNair was in a closed casket. The guy was shot four times, including twice in the head at close range, and some idiots wanted an open casket?