I'm not quite sure why no other media article hasn't made the following connection: Supposedly Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant again. Other reports say no. The affirmative reports say Jamie Lynn didn't know you could get pregnant while breastfeeding. BRITNEY SAID THE SAME THING! How was she not listening to that? Oh right, she was barely in middle school then. They don't listen to anything. Still...

P.S. Why are people not more surprised Franklin got fired? Props to Tuberville for not sticking it out like he tends to. I don't have high hopes for the rest of the season, but this is a start.

Excitement and disappointment

We had a pretty exciting weekend. We drove down to Nashville and visited my parents, who are Vanderbilt season-ticket holders. They bought those tickets specifically for the Auburn game, not knowing how good Vandy would actually be. We bought into the hype and got up reasonably early (though not busting down the doors at 7 AM) and headed over to ESPN's broadcast of GameDay. Once we got parked, getting to the location was an adventure in itself. The only reason we found it was that we got there right aroudn the time Lee Corso was picking teams. We heard what we thought were cheers. Either there were that many Auburn fans, or they were actually boos. Either way, Lee Corso...not my favorite person. We hung around while they taped a segment to air at half-time (you might see my arm) and then wandered around as the guys signed autographs for the volunteers and the crew tore down the set. We went searching for water, while greeting other fans with a hearty "War Eagle!" I knew the Tiger Walk would be taking place at some point and begged (ok, not really BEGGED, but politely asked) to see it. We found out it would be around 2:30 and figured out where it would be. We hung out in the shade for an hour and then scouted out spots. It was amazing! I know why other SEC teams ripped off our idea. It's pretty awesome standing with all the other fans, cheering and chanting. My parents both high-fived Tommy, while I tried to snap a picture. That was hard since I couldn't see who was coming, so he was in front of me before I realized what was happening! Either way, it brought me back to my days as a UNA Bleacher Creature and we did the same thing as the players lined up to take the field. We grabbed a quick lunch/bathroom break and headed back to the stadium to get our seats. The first quarter was awesome, even though our view was pretty bad with all the tail-gaters still streaming into our section. We were in the middle of the Auburn section, except for a few obnoxious Vandy fans. After the first quarter though, we unraveled. We gave the game away in penalties (81 YARDS) and deserved to lose. Disappointing, yes. Made worse by the fact that Alabama won (though barely) against UK. It's not all a wash though. I'm glad that Vandy is having a great season. It's their time. We're heading back down next month as Vandy fans for the Florida game. I'll gladly wear black and gold that time.
After the game, we headed back to Franklin and stopped for dinner at Famous Dave's. A Vandy couple sat in the booth behind us and as they left, I told them good game. They graciouly reciprocated and wished us a safe trip. This is also why I love Nashville. In all of our wandering around campus, a Vandy official (he was wearing a neck badge) welcomed us. That doesn't happen everywhere down here, and I'm glad some people haven't lost their Southern hospitality. WAR EAGLE!

Supremacy of SEC Football

SEC flexing its football muscle
League is No. 1 in America,and there's NoT a No. 2
MIKE BIANCHI THE ORLANDO SENTINEL

HOOVER, Ala. - The two friends played hooky from work and drove an hour-and-a-half from Anniston, Ala., on Thursday just to stand in a crowded hotel lobby and catch a five-second glimpse of Alabama football coach Nick Saban.
"There he is! There he is!" squealed Lindsey Bagley as she jockeyed for position to get a better look at Saban and his entourage briskly walking through the lobby.
"Roll Tide," yelled Beverly Tidwell on cue.
Welcome to the Southeastern Conference, where pre-season media conferences draw more fans than a Duke homecoming game. On Wednesday, it was Florida quarterback Tim Tebow who received the rock-star reception from giddy fans here on the outskirts of Birmingham. On Thursday, it was Saban. For the three days of SEC Kickoff 2008 - a media feeding frenzy attended by coaches and players from all 12 league schools - the Wynfrey Hotel turns into college football's version of Woodstock.
Now ask yourself, what other conference can turn Birmingham into Hollywood? And in what other conference do nearly 800 media members show up to listen to SEC supervisor of officials Rogers Redding give us a dissertation on the nuances of the 25-second clock?
You want passion and interest? In what other league does a football coach show up for a pre-season media gathering and get served with a subpoena from a disgruntled booster from another school? That reportedly happened Thursday when Tennessee Coach Phil Fulmer arrived in Birmingham and was served a court order that required him to appear in the libel and defamation suit of disassociated Alabama booster Wendell Smith. Not only that, the subpoena was supposedly served by a process-server posing as a Tennessee fan.
"This is not the place for that kind of thing," Fulmer said evasively, denying he had seen a subpoena. "The great fans that are very passionate about the Southeastern Conference aren't interested in that kind of B.S. "And I would have some other choice words if there weren't so many cameras in here."
But there are so many cameras in here because the nation can't get enough of imagery and pageantry of the SEC. This is the league that has the defending Heisman Trophy winner and the defending national champion. This is the league that draws the most fans and makes the most money. This is without question the No. 1 league in college football. And there is no No. 2. If the SEC is the King of Hearts, everybody else is the Six of Clubs.
Coaches traditionally use college football as a steppingstone into the NFL. Not here. In fact, the NFL has now seemingly become a steppingstone into the SEC with two coaches - Saban and Arkansas' Bobby Petrino - leaving pro football voluntarily to immediately return to college.
"I don't know that it can get any better (than the SEC)," said Saban, who left LSU to take a job with the Miami Dolphins and then bolted the Dolphins for Alabama. "Sometimes, you have to go someplace else to fully understand that."
Of the 12 coaches in the SEC, five - Saban, Urban Meyer, Steve Spurrier, Les Miles and Phil Fulmer - have won national titles. Yet another - Auburn's Tommy Tuberville - probably should have after his team went undefeated a few years ago but didn't get to play for the title because of the idiotic BCS.
Average salary for SEC coach: About $2.5 million per season.
Average expectation for SEC fan: National title. [and nothing less]
Typical reaction if you get paid $2.5 million and don't win the national title: FireCoachFulmer.com (Motto: "You can't spell 'Phillip Fulmer' without three L's!")
Seriously, what does it say about the strength of the SEC when Spurrier didn't even make a bowl game last year?
What's it say about the dominance of the SEC that it has won back-to-back national titles and recorded seven bowl victories last year - the most in the history of college football?
What's it say about the wealth of the SEC that it already makes more television money than Oprah yet it is close to starting its own TV network?
We now interrupt the regular flow of this column to rush you back to the hotel lobby...

War Eagle!

HOW MANY SEC STUDENTS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT
BULB?

At VANDERBILT : it takes two, one to change the bulb and one more to explain how they did it every bit as good as the bulbs changed at Harvard.

At GEORGIA : it takes two, one to change the bulb and one to phone an engineer at Georgia Tech for instructions.

At FLORIDA : it takes four, one to screw in the bulb and three to figure out how to use the other to prime a keg.

At ALABAMA : it takes five, one to change it, three to reminisce about how The Bear would have done it, and one to throw the old bulb at an NCAA investigator. [I would argue it takes at least 1,000 to reminisce about how Bear would have done it]

At OLE MISS: it takes six, one to change it, two to mix the drinks and three to find the perfect J. Crew outfit to wear for the occasion.

At LSU : it takes seven, and each one gets credit for five Semester hours.

At KENTUCKY : it takes eight, one to screw it in and seven to discuss how much brighter it seems to shine during basketball season.

At TENNESSEE : it takes ten, two to figure out how to screw it in, two to buy an orange lampshade, and six to phone a radio call-in show and talk about how much they hate Alabama.

At MISSISSIPPI STATE : it takes fifteen, one to screw in the bulb, two to buy the Skoal, and twelve to yell, "GO TO HELL, OLE MISS".

At AUBURN: it takes one hundred, one to change it, forty-nine to talk about how they did it better than at Bama, and fifty to get drunk and roll toomer's Corner when finished.

At SOUTH CAROLINA : it takes 80,000, one to screw it in and 79,999 to discuss how this finally will be the year that they have a decent football team.

At ARKANSAS : None. There is no electricity in Arkansas.