Well, Peter's on a plane, so my stated intention to include something other than just the SEC, Big 10, and ACC is delayed by a day at least. But anyway, here are a few quick links of great stuff from those conferences from SB Nation today.
- Hey, look! Tennessee's not the only team having problems getting QB recruits.
- And The Rivalry, Esq. tells us how to beat Ohio State without using the phrase "join the SEC," and, more importantly, gives us a fantastic primer on how to evaluate running backs.
- An In-Depth Look: Textbooks, the NCAA, and UA Moving Forward - Roll 'Bama Roll
And in all honesty, we absolutely dodged a bullet in this case. Or, to be more precise, we dodged a missile in this case. Go back and look at the procedural history of this case... On November 21st, 2007, the Wednesday following the Louisiana-Monroe debacle, the University of Alabama received a preliminary letter of inquiry (PLOI) from the NCAA. Just think, we thought that week was bad enough as it was, and we did not even know the half of it. At any rate, despite receiving the PLOI right before the 2007 Iron Bowl, somehow, someway, UA was able to keep that dirty little secret under wraps for almost 15 months. Regardless of how UA was able to pull that one off -- and I'll be frank, I do not care the least how Draconian the measures may have been in doing so to bring about that end, the end justified the means -- the fact that we were able to successfully do that is the saving grace in this case.
- Black Heart Gold Pants on their coach's criticism of the media for its reporting of players' off-the-field troubles.
If you are going to accept the positives of coaching at Iowa - financial incentives that guarantee you more money than God; almost-certain job security at even the slightest hint of continued success (which he has far surpassed); fawning reverence from those loyal fans; low national media attention; regional/local media that kowtows to your mere presence - you have to accept the negatives. You are, in essence, the head coach of the only professional franchise in the state (especially true now that men's basketball is toast and Iowa State is still Iowa State), and you subject yourself and your family to that microscope. It's only amplified by the fact that your team has a recent history of legal trouble, your son is playing for the team, and your other son got into his own set of shenanigans while playing for you. To crack wise about the local media for covering the story as national papers cover similar stories involving NFL coaches is asking to have the cake and eat it too.