[Note by Joel, 07/24/08 2:37 PM EDT ] Ooh! Mystery! Intrigue! Fulmer says he hasn't been served a subpoena. Huh. Hoax? Who is this Chris Linton, the clerk at the law firm that said that a process server did serve Fulmer as he was exiting an SUV this morning? The court has confirmed that a subpoena was issued and that a motion to waive a 15-day waiting period had been granted. But Fulmer says that he thinks "somebody's just screwing around." So what gives? Stay tuned.

Coach Fulmer's been served a subpoena at the SEC Media Days that requires him to appear at a deposition on September 25, 2008.

Developing . . . .

I hate Alabama.

[Note by Joel, 07/24/08 11:32 AM EDT ] Yes, that's right between the Florida and Auburn games. Jerks.

The suit for which Fulmer has been subpoenaed is one brought by Alabama booster Wendell Smith. Smith is suing the NCAA for defamation.Smith is not only the lowest of low because he's an Alabama fan or because he's arranged for Fulmer's deposition in the middle of the week between Tennessee's two most important football games this upcoming season or because he was charged by the NCAA with paying $10,000 to former Alabama blue-chip signee Kenny Smith to persuade him to sign with the Tide. No,  he's also a car salesman.

Boo for the law firm as well: Blankenship, Herald & Wallace, which doesn't even have a Martindale listing.

[Note by Joel, 07/24/08 11:44 AM EDT ] Okay, law firm name wrong. It's Blankenship, Harrelson & Wollitz. Nice, guys.

[Note by Joel, 07/24/08 11:58 AM EDT ] Fulmer just asked about it. Said he wouldn't spend much time on it because this is about the players, but did say that it was B.S. Overall, it was a classy answer, and he was able to redirect the questions to Tennessee football.

[Note by Joel, 07/24/08 12:10 PM EDT ] Is this a big deal? Fulmer blew it off, and that was the right thing to do at the time, but it is a big deal. Depositions can be absolutely nerve-wracking for the deponent. He who asks the questions holds the power. An attorney who specializes in litigation really has an advantage over a deponent. Not only will Fulmer miss a day of preparation for the Auburn game, he'll miss another day because he'll have to prepare for the deposition with his own lawyers. Can the date get moved? Don't know. Normally, there is a fair amount of congeniality among lawyers on matters of scheduling, but I think you can throw that out here. I would not be surprised if this was intentionally scheduled to interfere with football season. Would a judge permit it to be rescheduled? Don't know.

In any event, depositions aren't the end of the world, but they can be nerve-wracking and can get heated (warning: you'll need to do your own Fulmerization):

• [Note by Joel, 07/24/08 2:15 PM EDT ] The guys on The Sports Animal reported on the radio that the process server (or the law firm itself) notified at least two media outlets prior serving Fulmer that it was going to happen and also made and distributed copies of the subpoena to the media gathered at SEC Media Days. If true, that would suggest that they not only wanted to take advantage of the opportunity that Fulmer being present in Alabama afforded them to better position themselves to win their case, they wanted to make noise publicly, wanted to cause Fulmer more trouble than simply serving the subpoena and going about their business would cause. Again, if true. Just saying.