Sports Editor

Les Miles’ time at the podium was more eventful than I thought. Some really good, tough questions from the media here in Hoover.
Here are a couple Q&As:

Q. Since the arrival of Nick Saban, I’ve seen people have said some derogatory things about Alabama. My question is: Is LSU Bama’s new rival, or is Nick Saban Les Miles’ new rival?
COACH MILES: I didn’t really hear everything you said there. I’ll kind of address it.
I’ve given some thought to that. We really have enjoyed the accomplishments that coach had while he was at LSU. He left, went by way of another stop, now is back in the conference. I can tell you that’s one game on our schedule, no more than one. I can tell you that we really have not changed anything. There will be no bearing on what we do that’s different. We look forward to getting to that game.

Q. You talked about that’s no more than one game on your schedule. How do you convince your fans of that? You talk to LSU fans, and all of a sudden Virginia Tech, Florida and Auburn don’t matter. They want to skip directly to Alabama.
COACH MILES: Well, they’ll figure it out when we open the season. They’ll all wait. They’ll understand.
They have to understand that it’s just one game, and it’s an important game certainly, but it’s just one, counts as one. We’ll get there. We’ll be prepared. Look forward to that when we get there.

Q. Do you regret saying, (expletive) Alabama at that rally? And who wins in a boxing match, you or Nick Saban?
COACH MILES: I can tell you that at the end of a recruiting season where there was a lot of hearsay and innuendo, there was some heated exchanges, I can tell you that I did have emotion, and I certainly regret any choice of words that you described that I made.
No, I am not in any way derogatory towards Alabama. I look forward to competing with them and their coach.

The easiest question Miles faced was the one about the position battles on defense.

UT’s Phillip Fulmer’s up now ... then it’s over. Sigh.

Sports Editor

It’s Ed Orgeron’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Coach. It’s a special time for me, since my birthday is a day away. It’s always fun to find out that you share a birthday, or at least a birthday week, with someone else.

I wonder what he’s getting for his birthday. Me? I want a nap. Oh, and cake.

Sports Editor

Well, this is it. Day 3 is here. Finally, you say? Not so fast. They could have Media Days every day for the rest of the year, except on St. Patrick’s Day, and I’d be happy.
This event has it all. You’ve already read about the craziness that goes on here ... Nick Saban rock-star entrance, Steve Spurrier’s one-liners, Rich Brooks thanking everyone for him still having a job ... it’s great.

Today is Ole Miss, LSU, Tennessee and Georgia. Storylines?
Quickly ...
* Ole Miss’ Ed Orgeron needs to have a better season. He can recruit and he can motivate, but it hasn’t been translating on the field. Over/under on how many times he’s asked about how “warm his seat is” is 2 1/2. I’m taking the over.

* LSU. By a landslide, LSU was picked by the media to win the SEC by 47 votes over second-place Florida, who had seven. That’s the kiss of death, first of all. In the last 17 years, the media has been right only twice with their first-place vote. That’s not good news for Les Miles, who really needs this to be the Tigers’ year.

*Tennessee needs to win this year. With Erik Ainge healthy, and an Eastern Division that’s wide open, the Vols could make a run. Oh, and by the way, Phil Fulmer is here. Just wanted to clear that up.

* Georgia only has two players on the All-SEC preseason team picked by the media, and one of them is their kicker Brandon Coutu. That doesn’t boast well for the Bulldogs, who are picked to finish third in the SEC. It should be interesting to see if Mark Richt is asked more questions about his lack of perceived talent or about another coach in the SEC.

Stay tuned ...