tryptic67

If you're feeling a bit down-in-the-dumps after the mangling we just received from the Arizona Wildcats, then this post from the General's Wife will lift your spirits a bit.

I know our attention will be focused on Omaha, but we should not overlook a huge commitment to Shawn Elliot (primary), Kirk Botkin and Lorenzo Ward from consensus 4 star LB Larenz Bryant of Charlotte's Zebulon Vance H.S.. In fact, the only debate is where he falls among the nation's top LB prospects - he is the Rivals # 3 National LB, Scout # 7 National OLB, 247 # 4 National OLB and ESPN National # 13 ILB. Wow. This is the kind of guy who could see a lot of early playing time.

It must be that time of year ... Athlon Sports dishes out its first, second and third All-SEC teams. Are we over-represented, or under-represented? Or just right?

Per Darryl Slater, re-tweeting CBS Senior Basketball Writter Jeff Goodman. UPDATE: Kornblut says Page *may* commit during his visit .

Unsurprisingly, our friends at Athlon's are high on Marcus Lattimore, but do any other Gamecocks make their SEC top 25? You may be surprised in a positive way - check it out.

This is an important and well-sourced free-content article by Scott Hood on the state of the Athletic Department's finances. Read it all, as they say.

Katie does a Twitter-round up of the Yardcocks celebrating the OU sweep, which is pretty cool to behold.

I'm forced to agree with the mavens at SF. The importance of this link simply cannot be overstated. Who knew? Nobody told me! I thought they were merely decorations with a utilitarian, no-slip side functionality! You may never watch football sports the same way again. No need to thank me fellas - l'd rather light a candle than curse your darkness.

Most of you no doubt share my disdain for most writers on BR (specifically excluding Flounder, Alex Roberts, Adam Garrett and Barrett Sallee!). Nevertheless, here's an offering from "Featured Writer" Alex Callos that ranks the W-B as the ninth best student section in college football - not bad for a Buckeye, all things considered. We're ahead of Clemson (our Oldest Rival) and Georgia (our oldest Non-Rival) so I'll take being fourth in the SEC behind UF, A&M and LSU even if they're mostly resting on the laurels.

Congratulations to the Alabama Crimson Tide for winning the National Championship in Softball, taking the best of three series from the Oklahoma Sooner women 2-1. How many does that make for the SEC this academic year? Does Bubba's Green Jacket count, too?

Some perspective on the upcoming Super-Regional tilt between the Sooners and the Cocks from our colleagues at the SB blog for OU. Do you agree with OnlyOneOU that the Sooners have an edge on the mound - both in starting pitching and the bullpen? Yes - the Sooners faced down four elimination games with elan in Charlottesville, but did OU really get tested in their regional? We shall find out. I think it's going to be epic.

so what gives with going 60 in a 35 mph zone with a BAC of .24 (three times the legal limit)? That's DUI # 2 for Justin, for those of you scoring at home.

Steve Spurrier wants Frank Martin to know that the football team can bag a bunch of recruits in a 24 hour period too. 247 rates this 5'11", 180lb dual defensive back/wide receiver as a 3 star, but Scout, Rivals and ESPN have yet to rank him. His other offers were from NCSU and ECU; Brad Lawing was the recruiter of record. He projects to be a cornerback or safety when he gets to Carolina. The Big Spur caught up with him earlier this evening.

Of the twelve draftees highlighted by Sports Illustrated in this piece, Alshon Jeffery is listed third - as the impact WR - and Melvin Ingram is the tenth honoree - representing the OLB position. Our SB Nation friends at Windy City Gridiron are justifiably proud; no doubt Bolts From the Blue will pick up on it soon - but they are obviously still mourning Junior Seau's tragic death this past week.

If you'd told me that Matt Price would begin the 7th with a 4-0 lead and then get absolutely tattooed over the next nine outs for 7 runs on 10 hits (and that included him getting the benefit of some fielding gems on defense), I wouldn't have believed it was possible. Fortunately, Greiner, Roth (PH) and Vergason broke the game open with successive doubles in the 8th inning, with 2, 2 and 1 RBI respectively (followed by another RBI by English), to give Price just enough breathing room to get the W on one of his worst outings in recent memory. While Marzilli and Matthews made some highlight reel defensive plays, the real hero of the game was Forrest Koumas - returning to the mound for his first SEC start in over a month - who allowed just 5 hits and 0 ER while facing 22 Razorback batters over 5.1 innings (with 4 K's to boot). Welcome back to the weekend rotation, Forrest!! Carolina takes the series 2-1 and is a whole game ahead of UK in the Eastern division.

A tough loss, but we can still bounce back and win the series tomorrow. Forrest Koumas is our "probable" Sunday starter; he will be facing the Hogs' ace junior RHP (and usual Friday starter) D.J. Baxendale.