McCready: 10 Weekend Thoughts presented by Harry Alexander
1. It's time to turn the page.
Yes, that applies to the football program, as I wrote on Saturday afternoon following Ole Miss' 38-37 loss to Arkansas.
It also applies to this site's coverage plan.
We are still going to cover the football team. You pay us to do that, and we take that obligation seriously. We'll keep you updated on injuries and such over the next four weeks, and we'll bring you coverage from the Rebels' final four games, but we are going to shift our day-to-day focus to other topics.
We owe you that. It's time for hot boards, stories on possible coaching candidates, etc. We had already begun that process in the past couple of weeks, accumulating information about a myriad of possible candidates. However, as long as the season was ongoing and there was even a chance the current staff could win the permanent gig, going too far down that road was a little disrespectful and a lot risky.
There's no reason to worry about that now. The calendar turns to November on Wednesday, and November figures to be a pivotal month in Ole Miss football history. Ole Miss should receive its NCAA sanctions at some point in the next month and it's certainly conceivable a new head coach will be hired before the calendar turns to December.
So if we miss a media opportunity or have a little less game coverage for one of the last four games, it's not us being lazy. It's us working on something else. It's what we did in 2011, and it was a successful strategy. It won't make everyone happy _ I've learned in my decade on this job that 100 percent customer satisfaction is a mermaid riding a unicorn through a rainbow _ but I believe you'll like the final product.
2. The craziness has begun.
Despite some Saturday morning media attempts to refute the story, Florida and Jim McElwain agreed to part ways Sunday, less than a week after McElwain made claims regarding death threats to some of his players and him that could not be independently corroborated.
The decision also came one day after the Gators lost in blowout fashion to Georgia in Jacksonville, Fla.
Let's keep this real: McElwain hasn't won to Florida's standards, and the Gators want change. Scott Frost is over there in Orlando winning big at UCF and some factions of the Florida fan base want to sink their claws into him before others come calling. Of course, McElwain is owed some $12 million if his buyout can't be negotiated down.
Insert Scott Stricklin's Saturday power play. Terms of Sunday's settlement are still being determined, but we all know where this is headed. McElwain is going to get some money, enough to move on but nowhere close to the $12 million-plus he would've been owed. Randy Shannon will coach the rest of the season and Florida will begin a coaching search that is already likely down to just a small handful of people (since it began weeks ago; trust me).
Tennessee, meanwhile, lost at Kentucky Saturday, and the Volunteers' fans are clamoring for change yesterday. They want Butch Jones gone on the next flight out of Knoxville, but Tennessee athletics director John Currie doesn't want to dismiss Jones. I've heard the same thing from industry sources, but given the repeated failures at UT and the Vols' fans' collective disdain for Jones, I'm not sure he has a choice.
With about seven minutes left in Saturday's game, I got onto the elevator at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium to go down to the field. Arkansas athletics director Jeff Long elected to wait for the next elevator, as it was too full to accommodate more people. At that moment, Arkansas was down by nine points and had just handed the football back to Ole Miss. Long was, if his facial expression could be judged, royally pissed. Long got down to the field just as Jordan Ta'amu and Eric Swinney fumbled an exchange, one that was recovered and returned 22 yards for a touchdown by Arkansas' Kevin Richardson II.
Almost six minutes later, Connor Limpert hit a 34-yard field goal to give the Hogs the win and send Long to a jubilant locker room.
Still, Arkansas is just 3-5, and 6-6 is probably the best record the Hogs can hope for, what with Mississippi State and LSU still on the schedule. According to multiple industry sources, Long does not want to fire Bielema. He loves everything Bielema does inside the program and the type of kid he recruits to the program. However, Bielema has now won just 11 Southeastern Conference games (four of those coming against Ole Miss), and powerful boosters are restless.
The results of those AD/booster standoffs in Knoxville and Fayetteville will go a long way in determining the landscape Ole Miss and others are navigating over the next few weeks.
3. It's time for my weekly ranking of the SEC.
1. Alabama -- It's time for ESPN's annual overhype of the Alabama blowout of LSU.
2. Georgia -- It's impressive what Kirby Smart has done in two years in Athens. Let the record show I said six years ago Ole Miss should've hired the then-Alabama defensive coordinator. He's for real, and it was obvious years ago.
3. Auburn -- I'd put Mississippi State here, but the Tigers whipped the Bulldogs earlier this year and that's impossible to ignore.
4. Mississippi State -- The Bulldogs physically pummeled Texas A&M and, if both Alabama and Georgia get in the playoff, have positioned themselves to play in an access bowl.
5. LSU -- The Tigers get a free shot of sorts this week against Alabama.
6. South Carolina -- The Gamecocks are now 6-2. One can't help but be happy for Will Muschamp, especially given the train wreck that is Florida football. Karma is a bitch.
7. Texas A&M -- It's probably over for Kevin Sumlin now, but the Aggies are a top-half SEC team.
8. Kentucky -- Mike Stoops' team desperately needed Saturday's win over Tennessee, and it narrowly got it.
9. Florida -- What a disaster. Buyer beware: Two legends have won at Florida. No one else really has. The fans expect national dominance, and they've got nothing to really support that desire. On one hand, it's a great job. On the other hand, however, it's football's version of a torture chamber.
10. Arkansas -- Give Bielema and the Hogs credit. Down 31-7, they could've quit. They didn't. I was really impressed with the character of the players I spoke to afterwards. I understand Long's side of his predicament.
11. Missouri -- The Tigers' offense has looked impressive in recent weeks. Of course, UConn isn't in the SEC.
12. Ole Miss -- If Ole Miss could stop the run, the Rebels would be on their way to an 8-4 season. Ole Miss cannot, however, stop the run. This football thingy isn't complicated. Run the ball. Stop the run. Rinse. Repeat. These people aren't geniuses. It doesn't need to be overthought.
13. Vanderbilt -- The Commodores played hard in a loss to South Carolina. Give Derek Mason that; his teams play for him.
14. Tennessee -- Woof.
4. I don't have an Associated Press Top 25 ballot, but if I did, mine would look like this today:
1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Wisconsin
4. Miami
5. Penn State
6. Clemson
7. Notre Dame
8. Oklahoma
9. TCU
10. Ohio State
11 Oklahoma State
12. Washington
13 Virginia Tech
14. UCF
15. Stanford
16. LSU
17. Auburn
18. Iowa State
19. North Carolina State
20. Memphis
21. Mississippi State
22. Arizona
23. Northwestern
24. Michigan State
25. South Florida
5. Sometimes, we at the Rivals.com network help one another.
That was the case Saturday as I helped out my friend and colleague Trey Biddy of HawgSports.com with postgame coverage from the Arkansas side of things. I attended Bielema's postgame press conference and then talked to five Razorbacks while Chase Parham and Russell Johnson went to the Ole Miss side of things.
It saved Biddy a trip to Oxford, a night or two in hotels and travel expenses. It also gave me some perspective on the Hogs. I'll put it this way: I get why Long is conflicted. I get why he likes what Bielema is doing off the field. I get why he likes Bielema.
Bielema is candid, funny and professional with media. He has solid relationships with the people paid to cover his program. They all like and/or respect him. His players, at least the ones brought into the interview area Saturday afternoon, were excellent with media. They were open. They weren't on a "leash." They talked freely. They were, in short, impressive.
No, that's not a shot at Ole Miss. It's an observation. I don't believe college football has to be so serious. I don't believe media relations departments should focus on propaganda and coaching players to be robotic. I believe college football should be fun. I think programs should allow _ hell, should promote _ atmospheres that allow fans to get to know their players via the media.
That appears to be the case at Arkansas, and I found it refreshing.
6. Well, if you want proof a new coach is going to have some reparations of relationships on his early agenda, here you go. This was on former Ole Miss/NFL star Ken Lucas' public Facebook page, so no, there's no violation of anyone's privacy here.
7. Ole Miss is still fighting to land a commitment from Memphis four-star point guard Alex Lomax. The Rebels, per multiple sources, are the clear favorite over Memphis and Wichita State, but nobody inside the Ole Miss program will rest comfortably until Lomax has signed and the ink is dry.
Memphis turned its attention at point guard to Cordova's Tyler Harris earlier in the fall, a development that only helped Ole Miss. A source in Memphis said the Tigers made a mistake, saying while Harris would likely beat Lomax in a game of horse, Lomax is a better point guard.
Lomax, the source said, is a lock-down defender who was very effective against Harris in a meeting last December. Lomax is known in Memphis circles for playing nose-to-nose, physical defense, something Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy covets in his backcourt.
The early signing period is next month, though Lomax could wait until April to sign with his college of choice.
8. I know I'm jumping around here, but these are my thoughts and I can't help but think how good it must be to be Dan Mullen today.
The Mississippi State coach appears to be on the cusp of a nine-win season, one that could conceivably land the Bulldogs a New Year's Six bowl bid if the SEC puts two teams in the four-team College Football Playoff.
Mullen is going to be a candidate to replace McElwain at Florida. Some believe the Gators' list, assuming former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is being forthright with his intentions not to return to coaching, consists of Mullen, Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente and UCF's Scott Frost.
Mullen to Florida just makes sense, and it's only going to gather steam over the next few weeks.
The Gators may have competition. It's long been rumored that Mullen is on Tennessee's very short list if the Vols do move on from Jones at the end of the season. Mullen's name has also come up in some circles as a potential candidate at Nebraska and UCLA, though it's fair to wonder how much of those rumors are generated due to Mullen's ties to Adidas via Mississippi State.
In fairness to Mississippi State, the Bulldogs haven't lost Mullen yet, and fans are right when they say Mullen's name pops up every year and yet he's remained in Starkville. He's being paid well, and while Mississippi State isn't a historical power by any means, one could argue the MSU job is now a top-20 gig. I might, if I'm being honest, say every SEC team sans Vanderbilt and Kentucky could argue it's a top-20 job given the exposure and money that has come as a result of the league's television rights.
Regardless, Mullen has switched to representation to super agent Jimmy Sexton, and one way or the other, he's about to get seriously paid. The days after the Ole Miss-Mississippi State game could be interesting on more than one front.
9. It's perhaps my favorite time of the year. It's finally cool, the humidity is gone, the NBA is in full swing, it's time to have my annual baseball/Cubs obsession (this year, it's Shohei Otani; next year it'll be Bryce Harper) and the holidays are right around the corner. Not that I need a reason, but it's also a great time of year to fix a cocktail. Just in time, here's our resident bartender extraordinaire, Jonathan Howard, with the drink of the week:
If across the South it is anything like it is here in Nashville, the cold came in. Fast.
One of the World first cures for the common cold comes from a drink for which we Ole Miss fans scream for often, The Hot Toddy, which is your drink of the week.
The toddy as we know it started in British-controlled India. In the 1610s, the Hindi word “taddy” meant “beverage made from fermented palm sap.” By 1786, taddy was officially written down and defined as “beverage made of alcoholic liquor with hot water, sugar, and spices.”
The British, with their persistent habit of appropriating from conquered cultures, took that beverage and claimed it as their own, much like the gin. In the cold winters and everyday dampness of northern England and Scotland, pubs would pour hot water into Scotch whisky. The United Kingdom’s trade routes with India made exotic spices routine, and pubs started throwing more than hot water and whisky into their drinks.
This history is, naturally, disputed. The other origin story tells the tale of an Irish doctor named Robert Bentley Todd, who ordered his patients to drink hot brandy, cinnamon and sugar water. Most likely, the truth is a combination of the two stories, where doctors heard about the hot toddies from India and started incorporating them into prescriptions.
Regardless of the true origin, the drink made its way across the pond to the American colonies. Rum from the Caribbean and local brandy were the spirits of the day in America at the time. Thankfully for the colonists, the hot toddy lends itself well to variations and adaptations of local ingredients. By the mid-19th century, the hot toddy had secured its place as the cure for the common cold. In an article called “How to Take Cold” in the Burlington Free Press in 1837, the hot toddy is heralded as a cure-all, just after a story about how to make beet sugar and before a history of Earth.
“If your child begins to snuffle occasionally, to have red eyes, or a little deafness; if his skin feels dry and hot, and his breath is feverish — you have now an opportunity of doing your work much faster than ever before,” the unnamed writer states. "The first step is to avoid calling a doctor. Next, feed the child excessive amounts. Finally, make him drink."
The modern and most widely used version of the drink takes whiskey, hot water, honey, lemon and spices. The best way to make the drink is with a hot kettle. Just add everything and heat. You can garnish with any variety of spices, citrus, or orchard fruits. It is simple, delicious, and perfect for the cold weather. Hotty Toddy!
Hot Toddy
1.5 ounces bourbon
.5 ounces lemon juice
.5 ounces honey
Cloves, cinnamon OR 1 dash angostura bitters
Directions: Mix all ingredients into a kettle until hot, pour into a coffee cup and garnish with a peel of lemon.
10. We'll have coverage of Ole Miss football and basketball and whatever else may come up over the next week. Until then, here are some links of interest to me _ and hopefully, to you _ for your reading pleasure:
I'll begin with a comment. My favorite 25 players in Major League Baseball wear Cubs uniforms. I can't help it. However, there are always a few guys around the league who I enjoy watching play. Bryce Harper has always been one of those guys. He's obviously immensely talented and I'm jealous of his amazing hair. Over the last year or so, Harper has fed my infatuation with social media hints that he is thinking about signing with the Cubs when his contract expires at the end of the 2018 season.
Harper is either going to the Cubs, which would thrill me beyond words, or he's trolling the hell out of Cubs fans like me, which I can't help but respect.
Bryce Harper is flirting with Chicago
And a second story with comment. In this case, I'm thinking we've all officially lost our minds. George Washington was and is an American hero. We are not a nation without him. It's as simple as that. Read some history. Give the history context if you must, but dammit, read some history. No one can or should defend slavery. However, any attempt to erase Washington from our history is simply sacrilegious.
George Washington's Church Says Plaque Honoring First President Must Come Down
Historic World Series Home Run Rate may be Result of Slicker Baseballs
The four hours that shook up the college football world
The 12 coaches rumored for every college football job ...
Former Rams player aims for mission-driven career in medicine in Nigeria
Nikola Mirotic now might be open to trade after fight with Bobby Portis
Should your kid play football?
Ranking all 351 college basketball teams, from Duke to Alabama A&M
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Jamal Crawford: Last of the ballers
Super Sleeper: The story of South Dakota State TE Dallas Goedert
Why a youngster's letter made a big impact on Thunder GM Sam Presti
Shohei Otani will break the mold in fantasy and video games when he gets to MLB
Rexrode: What do you email your wife when you think you're going to die?
