Another day and another video clip from the Arkansas-Alabama football game.
This one, in just 10 seconds, is supposed to show the Crimson Tide cheating.
There is a guy wearing blue behind Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema holding one of those dishes that picks up crowd noise, which ESPN has fallen in love with (so have the Dallas Cowboys).
It appears the guy has a GoPro camera attached to the top of the dish -- that could be where the first video clip came from -- and six seconds into the action, using the word very loosely, the guy does a sort of double salute.
The theory is that instead of picking up crowd noise, he was listening in on Bielema's conversation with the coaches and that the salute is a signal indicating what the Hogs are going to do next.
There are a couple of problems with that theory.
First, even with a listening device it would have been impossible to hear over the crowd noise. The environment at Bryant-Denny Stadium was great. Crimson Tide Nation has some really big mouths and enthusiasm.
Second, it would be the absolute dumbest spy attempt in history. The guy is a few feet behind Bielema and stands out like a sore thumb holding that equipment and wearing blue.
The issue why was he even allowed on the sideline with a GoPro camera.
If he was getting a check from ESPN for holding that device the entire game, he cheated the network by not sharing the first video clip with them. ESPN was the last of the large websites to post it.
Along the same line, why did game marshals and security allow him on the field with a GoPro camera?
Which is probably how this conspiracy theory began, and most likely that's all it is.
Besides, there will probably be a new video out today.
...
In a matter of hours, Steve Spurrier went from the Gamecocks to GameDay.
When Spurrier stunned the college football world by announcing he was resigning in the middle of the season as the head football coach at South Carolina, he added that he was not retiring.
Lo and behold, it was learned Wednesday that Spurrier will be in Ann Arbor, Mich., for ESPN GameDay on Saturday.
Many hope it is an audition to replace Lee Corso.
It's probably not, but there is a good chance Spurrier will end up on TV. He has the credentials as a former player and head coach, plus the man is witty.
He has to be better than Urban Meyer was on TV. Meyer was awful. He belongs on a football field, not behind a microphone.
That said, Spurrier's resignation with six games to go left a bad taste.
There was nothing in his history to indicate he was a quitter, but that's what he did. He quit on the kids he promised to coach. He quit on his assistants, and he quit on the fans.
Will it hurt his legacy?
No, football fans have short memories.
...
In another surprising move, the other USC -- OK, the real USC -- fired its coach, Steve Sarkisian, with six games to play.
Apparently, Sarkisian has a drinking problem and has checked into a facility for help.
It was reported Wednesday that he was fired while on a plane.
USC Athletic Director Pat Haden, who hired Sarkisian, admitted he had not spoken personally with Sarkisian and that he terminated him through a letter.
Meanwhile, Maryland also fired its football coach, Randy Edsall, during an off week. It announced that almost immediately because it is now in the Big Ten and has more money and resources to hire a new coach.
So basically they got Edsall cheap, worked him hard and fired him halfway through the season with a 2-4 record.
Sports on 10/15/2015