Wednesday News and Notes: Spurrier, Kiffin, and More

Paul Finebaum, Alabama's version of Ron Morris, believes that Steve Spurrier isn't done yet. Here at GABA we've debated Spurrier's merits to no end, so I'm not going to bore you with another diatribe about why Spurrier isn't leaving after this year and how the fashionable Spurrier-bashers will get theirs before it's all said and done. However, I do think it's worth paying attention to what Finebaum says here. People want to believe that Spurrier is leaving--they've believed that since 2006. The only difference is that now they say he's going to retire and back then they said he would go to Alabama or Miami. However, everything that Spurrier says indicates that he's still hungry to prove he can win at South Carolina. Doing so is going to be a challenge, but Spurrier appears to be up for it.

Tennessee's AD has released a statement in support of Lane Kiffin. The AD in fact goes so far as to praise Kiffin for putting UT back in the spotlight. However, the statement reads a lot like a vote of confidence, and you don't want to need one of those when you haven't yet coached a game. My thinking is that everything will be fine for Kiffin if he wins but that he won't receive much tolerance if he doesn't due to the negative attention his antics receive. His margin for error will be low. In related news, Joe Person reports on Kiffin and Spurrier trading barbs at a coach's meeting in Destin.

A few more tidbits: Clemson's Terrence Oglesby is leaving for Europe. Maybe now we can actually beat the Tigers, who are currently enjoying a period of hoops dominance over us that makes the usual football lossess all the more unbearable. Also, Kentucky has shed a few pounds to make room for all their incoming bluechippers.