THE BIG STORY

Clemson defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, according to The State newspaper in Columbia, spent more time than he cared to Tuesday smothering a firestorm he contended was sparked by “cutting a joke” about a couple of University of Alabama recruits. Clemson plays the Tide on Saturday.

After Monday night’s practice, Koenning responded to a question about Crimson Tide star freshman Julio Jones by saying he had seen Jones and fellow blue-chip receiver B.J. Scott get in Cadillac Escalades on separate occasions — a shot at Alabama’s recruiting methods.

Koenning sought out reporters later Monday night, suggesting he had been “kidding around,” but the damage had been done.

The comment rippled through the state of Alabama and led Scott’s prep coach, Vigor High’s Kerry Stevenson, to tell the Mobile Press-Register that Koenning “better not come back on campus.”

Koenning said Tuesday he has no idea what vehicles those players drive.

“I’ve had occasions in my past where I knew another coach was doing something wrong, and I communicated with that coach,” Koenning said. “So I would never throw somebody under the bus like that.

“I thought I was so off the wall that I thought it was tongue-in-cheek and even went back to make sure that those around knew I was joking.”

The involved parties did not share that interpretation.

Stevenson, in an interview with The State later Tuesday, said he received an early-morning call from Scott, who could not believe the accusation.

Koenning’s visit to Vigor happened about the time of the school prom, Stevenson said, and Scott had rented a sport-utility vehicle — a GMC Envoy, he thought — to drive to the event. Scott’s car, a 1980s Cutlass, was stolen recently, Stevenson said.

Stevenson said Koenning returned his phone call late Tuesday morning — after Stevenson spoke to the Press-Register — and Stevenson accepted Koenning’s explanation.

Asked if Koenning was again welcome on campus, Stevenson replied: “I can’t count the number of times the good Lord has forgiven me. … I took it for what it is. That’s just Vic being sarcastic like Vic always is.”

Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said he has never had a problem with Alabama or Auburn in 10 years recruiting against those schools.

“Here’s a school (Clemson) that’s had zero bad blood and has recruited that state actively,” Bowden said. “That’s why I was kind of surprised it snowballed and got the momentum it did. We didn’t even recruit him — Julio Jones. So that shows you how insignificant the statement is.”

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THE BIG STORY

What does the SEC’s 15-year, $2.25 billion deal with ESPN (starting next football season) include?

A whole bunch such as:

As part of the agreement:
o ESPN and ESPN2 will continue to offer premier SEC games, including Saturday night and two primetime Thursday football games, triple the basketball offerings with three nights (two new) of men’s basketball and present SEC Championships in women’s basketball, baseball, softball and gymnastics.

o ESPN Regional Television will become the new over-the-air syndication home for SEC football and basketball games. In addition, ESPN and the SEC will work together to offer multi-sport packages (including football, men’s and women’s basketball, Olympic sports and conference championships) of SEC content for regional cable syndication.

o ESPNU will now offer exclusive SEC telecasts, including football and basketball and selected conference championships. In addition, the network will present a weekly, hour-long program on SEC sports throughout the academic year as well as sport-by-sport previews, reviews and specials.

o The semifinals and championship of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament will be televised nationally for the first time on ESPN on ABC.

o All SEC championship games except football will be aired on either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN on ABC, ESPNU or ESPN Classic.

o The agreement will also showcase the academic successes of SEC student-athletes by including twice-annual programs dedicated to academic accomplishments of SEC student-athletes; an annual Campus Connection (students take part in the production) telecast at each SEC institution; a weekly segment on an SEC show featuring academics; and an online SEC Academic Network utilizing ESPN360.com technology.

o Extensive coverage of women’s basketball and Olympic sports will be offered nationally through ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU and regionally through ESPN Regional Television, including both regular-season and conference championships.

o Comprehensive multimedia rights are also an integral part of the agreement as live SEC action, including football and basketball, will be offered via simulcasts on ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV and extensive content rights have been granted to ESPN.com.

o ESPN International, ESPN GamePlan, ESPN FULL COURT, ESPN Classic and ESPN Deportes will also feature the SEC.

o Each SEC institution retains the right to continue a local multi-media rights package.

Elsewhere in the SEC:
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Memphis is starting to attack the basket every possession. Rose is playing himself into the exhaustion, but the kid is a gamer. The Tigers have to start making free throws, because Tennessee isn’t going to give the U of M nothing easy.
Tennessee has to keep shipping the ball inside. Like Memphis, the Vols haven’t made an outside shot lately, either.

The Memphis sports world lost a great guy last week with the passing of Dave Ramsey, the organist for Memphis minor league games for as long as I can remember.

I first got to know Dave when I helped cover the Class AA Chicks at old Tim McCarver Stadium back in the 80s. Yes, the stadium was outdated, but Dave and his organ helped create a genuine baseball atmosphere. He truly loved playing the organ at the Chicks, then the Redbirds games. I don’t think I ever saw him at a game when he wasn’t smiling.

When the team moved into AutoZone Park, I was concerned that the franchise would forget about Dave and not realize what a valuable commodity he was to the team. There are a lot of fans now in their 30s who will tell you one of the first things they remember about going to a minor league game in Memphis was the organ playing of Dave, whether he was urging the fans to yell “CHARGE” or he was making a sound effect for an error or strikeout.

In this era where it seems like all sporting events are played to an ear-shattering soundtrack, whether it’s rap or Van Halen, Dave Ramsey was a breath of fresh air. He reminded us why we like going to a baseball game, sitting there on a sultry summer night, kibitizing with our fellow fans around us, cracking our peanuts, sipping our drinks and yelling “CHARGE!”

We love you Dave. You will be missed.

Don’t you love how world-class athletes, many of which treat everyone around them like dirt most of their lives, suddenly try to spin a new personna in the media?

Take former Olympic track gold medalist Marion Jones. She was a royal pain-in-the-patootie most of her career. The more medals she won, the more insufferable she became. She always had a sneer when dealing with anybody but a sponsor who was handing her money.

Now that Marion is about to serve six months in prison for lying to investigators about sterpod use and a check-fraud scam, she’s trotting out this “how can I use my story to change the live of a young person?” line. She was on Oprah this week attempting to draw a little public sympathy because as she said, “I truly think a person’s character is determined by their admission of mistakes and then beyond that, what do I do about it?”

For starters, Marion, try treating everyone you meet with respect and humility. You’ll probably learn that in prison.

THE BIG STORY

Tommy Tuberville accepted a bid to the Chick-fil-A Bowl Sunday, and then tap-danced around questions that sought to reveal whether he would be around to coach in it.

Auburn (8-4) will play Clemson (9-3) Dec. 31 at 6:30 p.m. in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the bowl announced Sunday.

But fans who hoped that Tuberville would use the Sunday night teleconference to clear up rumors and address his uncertain status were sorely disappointed.

Reporters tried, but no definitive statement was forthcoming.

Athletic Director Jay Jacobs, who offered a two-year contract extension to Tuberville on Friday, handled the situation as nimbly as he could.

“It’s nice to have a coach that is wanted,” Jacobs said. “We have 15 head coaches. I wish they were all wanted as much as Tommy.

“There’s never been any doubt in my mind that Tommy is going to be our head coach for a long time.”

After it became clear Tuberville was not going to chime in, a reporter pressed.

“Tommy, do you concur?”

“I concur,” Tuberville said. Then he joked, “How do you spell that?”

That was it.

When the subject was brought up again, Tuberville said, “Let’s talk about the Chick-fil-A Bowl.”

Jacobs hastily added, “Yeah, I’m for that, too.”

Auburn’s tentative schedule calls for the Tigers to begin bowl practice Dec. 13. They’ll work for about a week, break for Christmas and then arrive on Atlanta on either Dec. 25 or Dec. 26.

Tuberville used humor to deflect questions about whether he would be there

“(I’ll be there), unless you want to coach ‘em,” he told one reporter.

Both Jacobs and Tuberville said they had not been contacted by Arkansas, repeating denials issued Thursday, when several Arkansas media outlets reported that Tuberville was on the verge of becoming the Razorbacks new coach.

Contract negotiations failed to produce a resolution last week. Tuberville is now in New York in advance of Tuesday’s National Football Foundation awards dinner. Jacobs is expected to join him there. Auburn President Jay Gogue is also in New York on unrelated business.

Around the rest of the league:
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THE BIG STORY

Incoming Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long broke his silence Wednesday regarding his search to find Houston Nutt’s replacement. Long spoke in mostly general terms during an impromptu news conference held during halftime of Wednesday night’s basketball game between Arkansas and Missouri in Bud Walton Arena.

“I would say coaches in the SEC have expressed an interest in our job, yes,” Long said during the 12-minute news conference in front of a room full of reporters.

While Long didn’t mention any candidates by name, Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin and Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville appear to be at the top of his list to be Arkansas’ next football coach. Tuberville reportedly agreed in principle to a contract extension with Auburn earlier this week, but there are some contractual issues that need to be resolved before a deal can be finalized.

Speculation about Tuberville’s future intensified Wednesday when he didn’t meet with Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs as expected. A source close to Tuberville told The Morning News on Wednesday afternoon that the Auburn coach remains a candidate to replace Nutt at Arkansas. Long avoided directly answering a question about whether any SEC West coaches, presumably Tuberville, have expressed an interest in Arkansas’ coaching vacancy.

“I won’t narrow it that far, but I will say that many of the reports about an SEC West coach are extremely premature and actually aren’t even premature,” Long said. “They’re fantasy.”

Tuberville, a Camden native, is expected to spend the next few days duck hunting in Stuttgart. He was a finalist to coach the Razorbacks in 1997, but Nutt got the job instead. Tuberville will make an average of $3.1 million over the remaining four years of the contract he signed following the 2004 season, according to The Mobile Press-Register. His contract also includes a $6 million buyout.

Long said he’d be willing to work on a buyout if one existed with a potential candidate.

“We haven’t gotten to that point in any conversations,” Long said. “And we’ll deal with that when we get there, if there is an issue there to be dealt with.”

Long said he’s already interviewed “lots” of candidates on the phone, and had several face-to-face meetings since Nutt turned in his resignation Monday morning.

A look at the league: Read the rest of this entry »