The gloves and helmets came off
The NFL on Monday fined Houston receiver Andre Johnson and Tennessee cornerback Courtland Finnegan for their on-field fight Sunday. The fines were warranted - and Finnegan's reputation as one of the league's dirtiest players has been again validated.
That said, why just the fines? Seriously, a fine is what is being handed out to players like James Harrison for making violent hits that are not even dubbed a penalty. A fine is what is being levied against players like Steve Johnson for uniform infraction for having "Why so serious" written on his undershirt.
This was a brawl, with helmets going flying and punches being thrown and landed. And it was there for everyone to see.
If the NFL is going to crack down on helmet-to-helmet hits and planned celebrations, then shouldn't an ugly scene like the Andre Johnson-Finnegan fracas mean more than breaking out the checkbook.
That said, another 90 seconds and Andre Johnson really would have issued his own punishment against Finnegan.
Suspension retention
Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl yells to his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri State in Knoxville. Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive has suspended Pearl for the Volunteers' first eight conference games as punishment for violating NCAA rules and misleading investigators. (AP File Photo/Wade Payne, File)Anytime the Tennessee Vols men's basketball team needs an inspired effort, they may want to consider suspending someone.
Think about it. When No. 1 Kansas visited Thompson-Boling Arena last season, it was on the heels of the New Year's Eve incident that ended Tyler Smith's career in Orange. Shorthanded, the Vols upset the Jayhawks.
Jump forward to this season, and 10 days ago when word came that the SEC decided to suspend UT coach Bruce Pearl for the first eight conference games for his role in the NCAA mess that has surrounded his program.
Well, distractions, mistractions. The Vols simply overwhelmed an impressive field on the way to winning the preseason NIT. Tennessee has jumped to 13th in the AP poll and is No. 2 in the RPI as of Tuesday morning.
RPI did not know that
The RPI - Ratings Percentage Index - measures the world of college basketball by numbers and calculations to a point that anything seems possible.
Yes, the Vols jumped to No. 2 by winning the NIT and beating a top-10 foe in Villanova in the finals. And yes UConn's strong start has them atop the RPI rankings and the strength of schedule rankings. (Side note: The Huskies went from unranked to No. 7 after beating top-10-ranked Michigan State and Kentucky during the Thanksgiving break.)
But you can tell it's early in the season by some of the other names in the infant stages of this year's RPI.
No. 8 is Sam Houston State. No 14. is Appalachian State, which comes to McKenzie Arena on Thursday night for UTC's Southern Conference opener.
The Mocs are No. 196 in the RPI, and that has good news and bad. The good is 196th is only one spot behind South Carolina. The bad is that 196th is 10 spots being Bryant, and just guessing that's not Kobe. In truth, I had to look them up, and the Bryant Bulldogs are 1-5 with a two-point win over Iona and their last game was a 20-point loss to Lehigh.
I was hoping that they were going to be the Bryant Bears. That would have been cool.
Name that tune in two weeks severance
This Nov. 13, 2010, file photo shows Auburn quarterback Cam Newton warming up prior to an NCAA college football game against Georgia at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. Newton's status _ and his prodigious talent _ remains the primary topic surrounding No. 2 Auburn leading to the Iron Bowl against No. 9 Alabama. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)The Tuscaloosa News reported Monday that the part-time staff employee at the University of Alabama was fired for playing unauthorized songs during last week's Iron Bowl.
The former employee played "Take the Money and Run," and "Son of a Preacher Man," during warmups in an attempt to mock Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, who has been in the middle of a controversy about allegations that his father Cecil (yes, he's a preacher) was part of a pay-for-play scheme during Cam Newton's recruitment to Mississippi State.
Alabama spokeswoman Debbie Lane said all of the audio and video played before, during and after games must be approved by a big wig in the athletic department, and the two jabbing selections did not get the OK.
My thoughts, this is the grown-up real life version of the kid telling the funny story that landed him in detention. Were the songs clever? Yes. Did they make some Alabama fans laugh? More than likely? Did they hurt Cam Newton's feelings? Probably not - and certainly not after he led a historic comeback for a 28-27 Auburn win. Was it worth skirting the rules and losing your job for a quick giggle? I think we all know the answer to that young man. Mess with the bull Bender and you get the horns.
When the music stops grab a conference chair
Utah is going to the Pac-10. BYU is going independent. Now, TCU announced Monday that it is going to join the Big East.
Makes perfect sense, too, for the Horned Frogs, who now can enjoy their natural rivalries with UConn and South Florida. Seriously, the Big East's new manifesto is more manifest destiny.
TCU is located in Fort Worth, Texas - a city that bills itself as where the West begins. Read that sentence again. The league has become a four-corner offense to sensible scheduling with remotes in TCU, Marquette (in Milwaukee), South Florida (Tampa) and Syracuse in upstate New York.
Now, that the Horned Frogs are completing their trans-conferential (Yes, I made that word up) flight from the Mountain West to the Big East, two huge questions remain:
1. Who will be next to join the Big East, which now has nine members in football and 17 in other sports? Odd numbers do not work in conferences.
2. What does this mean for Boise State, which was poised to improve its soft-schedule rep by moving to the Mountain West to face the likes of Utah and TCU every season? The Broncos now are moving from a bad league to a bad league, and there's not much to be done about it.