It's quite fascinating to observe the off-season of college sports. No, I am not talking about from a coach's perspective or even that of the student-athlete. I am talking of the fan point-of-view.

Various college messageboards are littered with talk ranging from favorite country music song to thoughts on the 2012 recruiting class. Sure, there is still discussion & logical debate, but it's nothing compared to in-season for football or basketball.

Now let's bring talk radio into the mix. I've always been of the opinion there is always something to talk about. It's how you present it to your audience which determines if it's a hot topic or not. I never feared the summer months & doing my job.

I say all this to share with you a portion of the Paul Finebaum Show I heard while travelling home from Atlanta yesterday. It seems Alabama coach Mike Shula has allegedly switched Catholic churches after being hounded for autographs. It came to light after Sports Illustrated made a brief mention of it, crediting the Greg Larson Show in Jacksonville, Fla.

So add the ingredients of Finebaum, Alabama football & talk radio... there was never a dull moment & Finebaum worked it like a master, even questioning why the Tuscaloosa News sat on the story. It was definitely entertaining the hour-or-so I carried the signal.

When listening to such topics I often ask myself what I would do in a similar situation (if I still had a show). Let's just say it was Memphis coach Tommy West... is this even news? Is it worth spending hours talking about? Probably not... but in Alabama in the middle of May it was talk of Crimson Tide football & that was all that mattered to them.

---

In the meantime, I am sure the hot button item on Atlanta radio yesterday afternoon was University of Georgia president Michael Adams stating his objection to the phrase, "world's largest outdoor cocktail party," used in reference to the Bulldogs annual showdown against Florida. He has asked CBS not to use it during the broadcast this fall.

---

"This thing, it's like you're chasing two ghosts, you know. It's, like, it's crazy. I can imagine what Roger Maris (who broke Ruth's single-season record in 1961) went through. Babe Ruth, I think, just kind of hovers over people a lot. I just go home and sleep now. I don't work out or train. I'm just exhausted all the time. I'm just tired, always tired. I've never been like this before." - Barry Bonds, on chasing the Babe's homerun record. Bonds failed again last night to hit no. 714, but the Giants did beat Houston, 10-1.

---

An arbitrator will hear the case today involving the situation between the Tennessee Titans & Steve McNair, which has kept the quarterbacck locked out of preseason workouts at Baptist Sports Park in Nashville. The players union is asking that McNair be allowed to workout or be released. The Titans want to renegotiate McNair's hefty contract before allowing him on the premises.

Meanwhile, the Titans are in limbo over who their QB is for the fall & training camp is less that two months away.

---

I've felt for awhile that the FESJC would eventually one day be held at Spring Creek Ranch, just north of Collierville. A story by Phil Stukenborg in today's Commercial Appeal only strengthens that belief.

Several things have to happen to make it feasible, & I am not just talking to the golf course itself. Parking & inadequate roads to handle the thousands that will show up come to mind everytime I drive by, so any move I believe is still years away.

---

While I was gone, CBS Sportsline's Dennis Dodd released his list of hot-seat ratings for every college football coach in Division 1A ball. No surprise, but Kentucky's Rich Brooks earned a 5, the highest ranking given, which means win now or you are outta there. Then again, I thought the same thing about Brooks last year. I guess predicting football at in Lexington is tougher than it looks.

Of local interest, Tigers' coach Tommy West was one of 33 total coaches to get a 0, meaning he can't be touched; Mississippi's Ed Orgeron gets a 1, equating very safe; down the road in Starkville, Mississippi State's Sylvester Croom draws a 2, safe & solid; Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer drew a 2.5, still in the safe category.

Click here for the complete list.

---


"Here is what you need to understand about coach (Alabama coach Paul 'Bear') Bryant. He had his weaknesses. He was a bit of a drunk in the offseason. He liked the ladies a little too randomly. A lot of the rich Alabamians with whom he ran -- and invested -- were of the coarse Snopesian stripe. But his foibles were private, and his virtues were public ones." - as written by former New York Times executive editor Howell Raines in his new book which reflects on his career, which included a stint in Birmingham. Raines was fired from the NYT in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal.

---

Maybe I was wrong about Memphis standout Shawne Williams... maybe he will go pro. Only time will tell. If I was wrong, it's not the first time & it won't be my last.

---

The expansion of the ACC seems to be a hit, at least financially.

---