About a dozen former South Carolina players didn’t show up at a reception recently and coach Steve Spurrier wasn’t happy about it.

Spurrier banned the players from the weight room as punishment for a failure to show up at a cookout and reception at the home of school president Dr. Harris Pastides.

The coach told the ex-players the ban was in place until they wrote a letter of apology to Pastides.

Following South Carolina’s Saturday scrimmage, Spurrier addressed the incident in public for the first time.

“We had a reception at the President’s house and we thought everybody was going. About 12 of our senior guys decided they didn’t want to go. It was a little embarrassing for me. As soon as they write a letter of apology to the president, they can come back to the weight room. If they don’t think it’s important, they don’t need to come to the weight room. Pretty simple.”

According to the coach, several of the players have already followed directions.

“A lot of them are still out of town. Hopefully, they’ll all do it and we’ll all be happy again. But it was a bad thing that happened a week or so ago.”

One of the former players involved was safety D.J. Swearinger.  He was a spectator at Saturday’s scrimmage. Swearinger and tight end Justice Cunningham had taken to Twitter earlier to voice their displeasure about the weight room ban.

1. Senquez Golson reportedly turned down $1.8 million from the Boston Red Sox in order to go to college. Now the Ole Miss cornerback is giving up baseball to focus on football.

2. Mark Bradley on the Auburn allegations: “It’s clear that the Auburn program under Gene Chizik…wasn’t the happy family Chizik had us believe.” The MrSEC breakdown.

3. Florida’s Gideon Ajagbe has moved from linebacker to fullback this spring.  ”Oh, he’s a monster. He’s a complete monster.”

4. Gators linebacker Dante Fowler, Jr. will also lineup at defensive end.  Teammate D.J. Humphries: “Dante, he’s a freak now.”

5. Add Tennessee to the growing list of teams working on a fast-paced, uptempo offense. “Jones’ offense will be very hurry-up.”

6. Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley on the new offensive system: “I’m glad they’re not throwing the whole offense on us in four days and we’re out there treading water.”

7. Quarterbacks guru George Whitfield recently spent time with Georgia’s Aaron Murray.  Last week, it was Mizzou quarterback James Franklin’s turn.

8. Could Alabama center Ryan Kelly play tackle? “Nobody is really set on positions right now, but I know everyone is really moving around.”

9. So Ryan Kelly, if AJ McCarron pushes – will you push back?  ”I guess we’ll see what happens.”

10. Auburn’s first full scrimmage of the spring is this Saturday. Gus Malzahn:  ”We’re being very physical and we’re straining their bodies physically. We’re asking a lot of them and that’s the good thing.”

11. Everyone knows Jadeveon Clowney. Meet South Carolina’s “other” defensive end – Chaz Sutton.  

12. Carolina defensive line coach Deke Adams: “Everybody knows the offensive linemen are going to focus on one guy (Clowney) and he is going to get so much attention.”

13. Tony Barnhart assesses South Carolina’s chances:  ”It is not a stretch to believe that South Carolina could post double-digit wins for the third consecutive season in 2013.”

14. Cornerback Damian Swann is now the veteran of the Georgia defense.  Started all 14 games last year.  The rest of the returning Bulldogs defense combined for 26 starts.

15. Big focus at Arkansas this spring?  Cutting down on pre-snap penalties.

16. Injury in a pickup basketball game has Vanderbilt assistant coach Charles Bankins using a scooter at practice.

17. With BBVA Compass pulling their sponsorship of the bowl in Birmingham, what’s the future of SEC bowls?  SEC official says he expects discussions to continue through early summer.

18.  When it comes to linemen and NFL prospects - how big is too big?

SEC/NCAA Basketball

19. Two big questions for Georgia basketball - will Kentavious Caldwell-Pope turn pro and is  UCLA freshman Tony Parker possibly headed to Athens?

20.  When it comes to NCAA Tournament money and the SEC, the conference is going in the wrong direction. Next year’s value projected at the lowest level in at least seven years.

21. In the wake of the Mike Rice scandal, how about we remove the ability of coaches to control where players transfer?

22. Hey Bobby Knight, care to comment on Mike Rice?

23. Rice has a $100,000 bonus coming for making it through the season.

24. Tubby Smith replaced Rick Pitino at Kentucky.  Rick’s son, Richard, replacing Tubby as head coach at Minnesota.

A few hours ago we told you that South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier has an untamed tongue.  It didn’t take long for him to prove that point once more.

Today both Southern Cal and South Carolina — the two USCs from either side of the country — held their Pro Day activities.  Marcus Lattimore’s return to action was cheered at one.  ESPN’s cameras were present at the other to provide live coverage of quarterback Matt Barkley’s workout.  Apparently ESPN’s choice didn’t sit too well with Spurrier who reportedly said:

“I noticed both USCs had their pro timing day today.  One of them finished #7 in the country, the other was not in the top 25, yet ESPN decided to go out to the one in California which did not finish in the Top 25 and televise their day live.  It’s interesting that (ESPN) doesn’t come around here on signing day, they don’t come around here on pro timing day, and yet they us to play all these Thursday night games.  Maybe we need to consider playing on that new network, FoxSports 1.”

Wow.  There are a helluva lot of digs in that one quick comment.  First, Spurrier smacks around the Trojans — and old buddy Lane Kiffin — over their disappointing finish last season.  Then he goes into full attack mode against SEC television partner ESPN.  The same ESPN that is expected to unite with the league on its brand new network.

While Spurrier may feel that the folks in Bristol don’t pay enough attention to his program, they certainly pay enough cash.  ESPN pays Mike Slive’s league $150 million per year.  That’s $2.25 billion over the course of a 15-year deal for the right to ask Carolina to move some games to Thursday.

Biting the hand that feeds?  Hey, we told you Spurrier gets lippy when he’s winning.

SEC Football

1. Florida wide receivers coach Joker Phillips battles other schools and apparently Batman and Robin as well.  Phillips posted an all-caps note on his Twitter account this morning: “IT’S TIME TO PLAY WR FOR THE JOKER!” It included a picture of the deceased Heath Ledger as the Joker with the movie  line from The Dark Knight, “Ooohhh.  You Want To Play? Come On!”

IT’S TIME TO COME PLAY WR FOR THE JOKER! #ComePlayWRForTheJoker #GatorNation #SpreadTheWord twitter.com/jokerphillips/…

— Joker Phillips (@jokerphillips) March 27, 2013

2. Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops wanted to get the attention of quarterback prospect Drew Barker.  UK sent Barker 115 letters. Hand-written. In a single day. “I opened up the mailbox like I do every day, and they started falling out,” Barker told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “ I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ It was insane what it looked like in my mailbox. It was all crammed in there, and they had a bunch of rubber bands around them. It was pretty awesome, and I was pretty shocked.” Barker said Stoops himself had written 10 of the letters.  The 115 letters is apparently a record, eclipsing outputs from Tennessee coach Butch Jones recently and a Nick Saban/Alabama campaign last year.

Barker just returned from a visit to South Carolina.  He’s also planning to visit Tennessee, Ole Miss and possibly Louisville.  He’s also planning to attend the spring game at both Kentucky and South Carolina.

3. LSU recruit Rickey Jefferson, brother of former Tigers quarterback Jordan Jefferson, pleaded not guilty today to a felony charge of resisting arrest.  In early February, Jefferson allegedly attacked a narcotics agent who was arresting a friend of Jefferson’s in a parking lot.

4. LSU landed its eighth verbal commitment in the class of 2014 Tuesday.  Fort Pierce, Florida linebacker Sharieff Rhaheed paid a visit to the LSU campus and told Les Miles he wanted to be a Tiger.  ”It was great. Talking to coach Miles and the NFL players were the highlight of the day. It was really exciting. He was excited about my film. He watched it a couple of times. Feels good to be a Tiger!”

SEC Basketball

5. Huntington Prep (W. Va) star and Kentucky target Andrew Wiggins is the Gatorade National Player of the Year. Wiggins is considered the No. 1 recruit in the country and is considering Kentucky, Kansas, Florida State and North Carolina. The 6-foot-8 Wiggins has not indicated when he will make a decision.

“This guy, Curly, is a true cowboy.  One of the last real men.  He’s untamed.  A mustang.  We’re trained ponies.  It’ll do us good to be in his world for a while.”

That quote from the movie “City Slickers” was a reference to Jack Palance’s crusty, tough-guy character, Curly.  But one wonders if any South Carolina football player has ever uttered something similar with regards to Steve Spurrier.

After more than 20 years in the SEC, we all know by now that Spurrier’s tongue cannot be tamed.  When his teams win, he gets lippy.  He doesn’t care how folks will react to his brash remarks.

Another thing the Ol’ Ball Coach doesn’t care about?  Another part of him that can’t be tamed?  His love of going topless, even as he transitions into his late-60s.

Whether it’s posing in the weight room for the local newspaper…

Or sipping a Coors at the Daytona 500…

Or running his team through spring drills…

Spurrier enjoys life sans top.  Nothing wrong with that, of course, it’s just not something you expect to see everyday.  Unless you’re a South Carolina football player.

Former Gamecock running back Marcus Lattimore was recently asked about his coach’s love of shirtlessness and he had this to say (after a laugh):

“Aw, man.  We see it everywhere.  I mean, he always does that.  He’s just a relaxed person.  He really doesn’t care about what people have to say.  It’s funny.  Of course, it’s funny because you don’t expect a coach to do that.  But that’s all part of his personality.”

No shirt, no shoes, no problem.

SEC Football

1. Spring practice underway at Auburn. Tigers lack numbers at several positions, including quarterback. Coach Gus Malzahn: “The good thing is that they’re going to get a lot of reps.”

2. Observations from practice No. 1 - ”The Tigers are already working on the hurry-up, no-huddle, gone-in-sixty-seconds formations.”

3. Auburn safety Erique Florence no longer on the team. ” He’s taking care of some personal issues, and we wish him the best.”

4. He’s not the only one leaving.  “Blake Burgess will no longer be with the team.” Used as a fullback last year.

5. Since Arkansas coach Bret Bielema is not a “quarterback-by-committee guy,” either Brandon Mitchell or Brandon Allen will emerge as a clear winner in the QB battle.

6. Proposed rendering for the expansion and renovation of Kentucky’s Commonwealth Stadium .

7. South Carolina redshirt freshman T.J. Holloman is impressing at a position the Gamecocks need help this fall – linebacker.

8. Georgia quarterback Hutson Mason on defensive end Ray Drew: “From what I noticed, Ray Drew was really unblockable today.”

9. With Aaron Murray away for a banquet, Mason takes snaps with first-team offense,

10. Jay Graham will make $275,000 at Florida State.  His replacement as Tennessee’s running backs coach – Robert Gillespie – will make $300,000.

11. Florida getting a boost from JUCO players along the defensive line.

12. Biggest void on the LSU defense is the defensive end position -Jermauria Rasco and Danielle Hunter trying to fill big shoes.

13. 27 former LSU players taking part in Pro Day workouts today. 18 former South Carolina players doing the same in Columbia today.

SEC Basketball/NCAA Tournament

14. When Florida meets Florida Gulf Coast Friday night  - expect the capacity crowd to make life difficult for the Gators.

15. Did Florida turn down Florida Gulf Coast for a pre-season scrimmage?  Yes. Urban Meyer has a daughter on the volleyball team at Florida Gulf Coast.

16. Stats guru Nate Silver gives Florida a 21.3% chance to win it all. “The Gators are this year’s flash point in the debate between stat geeks and traditionalists.”

17. State of Florida with three of the Sweet 16 teams - is the Sunshine State now a basketball state?

18. Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin reportedly expected to pursue extension and possible renegotiation of his contract.

19. Martin currently tied for 10th-highest paid coach in the SEC.

20. UCLA’s firing of Ben Howland could have an impact on Georgia basketball.

21. Three-point shooting one of the keys to advancing in the NCAA Tournament.

22. Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel No. 1 on the draft board for ESPN’s Chad Ford.  Says UK’s other three freshmen should stay in school.

23. For the first time since 2003, Mississippi State will play a game in Tupelo next season.

24. The block-charge call - defensive players being rewarded too often?

College News

25. Majority of sports fans polled do not favor paying college athletes.

26. Cowboys Stadium favorite to host first major college football playoff championship game.  Arlington and Tampa thought to be only two cities that bid.

27. When Auburn removes the oak trees at Toomer’s Corner on April 20th, Harvey Updyke Jr.’s attorney will be in attendance.

28. Former Alabama A.D. Mal Moore needs a lung transplant.

29. The “old” Big East getting two new members - Tulsa and East Carolina.

Extras

30. Sports-talk personality Paul Finebaum has a book deal.”Primarily, it’s about the culture of the show and how the culture of the show interacts with the SEC.”

SEC Football

1. Florida five-star recruit and early enrollee Alex Anzalone has a torn labrum in his right shoulder -will miss the rest of spring practice.

2. Ole Miss defensive C.J. Johnson has reportedly broken his foot - out for the spring.

3. Tennessee senior defensive back Eric Gordon is dealing with personal issues - not practicing but on campus.

4. Defensive back Riyahd Jones once had a scholarship offer yanked by Kentucky – ended up going the JUCO route –  and is now at Tennessee.

5. How will Vanderbilt replace running back Zac Stacy?  It may take three guys.

6. South Carolina defensive backs coach Grady Brown on cornerback Victor Hampton: “If Vic was a sports car … he’d go from zero to 60 faster than any other sports car out there. He gets to his top speed fast.”

7. Running back Marcus Lattimore wants to show the progress he’s made coming off knee surgery at South Carolina’s pro day next week.

8. Pro day at Tennessee today - Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin in Knoxville.

9. On the job for a little more than 100 days, Gus Malzahn’s head-coaching style at Auburn is starting to emerge.

10. Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson on the type of defensive end he’s wants:  ”We still want big, physical guys, but there’s a premium now on the fast-twitch or first-step guys.”

11. Regardless of what changes the NCAA may make, recruiting budgets are going up at Ole Miss and Mississippi State.  Ole Miss increasing budget by $100,000 and MSU by $30,000.

12. An annual rite of passage at Alabama?  ”Saban bemoans his team’s lack of professionalism; his team responds.”

13. The cases of four dismissed former Alabama players will be heard by a grand jury.

14. JUCO transfer Cam Clear will compete for a starting tight-end job at Texas A&M this fall.  ”He’s one of the largest humans I have ever seen in my life.”

15. Texas A&M set to name a new president of its 12th Man Foundation.  The fund-raising arm of Aggie athletics busy raising money for the $425 million renovation of Kyle Field set to start later this year.

16. Auburn will remove the poisoned oak trees at Toomer’s Corner on April 23rd.

17. In this SEC football version of March Madness - Georgia beats Texas A&M in the final.

SEC Basketball

18. What’s it like to be on NCAA Tournament-bound Ole Miss?  Murphy Holloway: “I got a standing ovation in math class.”

19. Did Marshall Henderson deserve a technical for doing the Gator Chomp Sunday? Henderson weighs in on Kentucky and the NIT.

20. Dennis Dodd wrote on Tuesday what we said on Sunday – when it comes to taunting, why do college football and college basketball play by different rules?

21. Florida opens NCAA Tournament play Friday against Northwestern State.  On just about any tournament opponent – Gators will have experience edge in both playing and coaching.  President Obama has Gators in Final Four.

22. Missouri plays Thursday night against Colorado State.  Minnesota transfer Colton Iverson is 6-foot-10, 261 pounds and has racked up 14 double-doubles for the Rams this year.

23. Mizzou has nothing to fear from playing St. Louis University every year – “Neither school has proved especially adept at keeping the state’s premium basketball talent within its borders.”

24. Tennessee plays Mercer tonight in the first round of the NIT. Can the Vols get over their NCAA Tournament snub?  Jordan McRae:  “I mean, everybody is still upset about it… But there’s no need to tuck our heads down now. It is what it is.”

25. Will LSU forward Johnny O’Bryant depart for the NBA?  Coach Johnny Jones -  “no indication or expectations” that Bryant will leave.

26. Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings on this year’s 16-17 team.  “It might have been among my best (coaching jobs).”

Extras

27. Why are college athletic director salaries so high? “When you don’t have to pay competitive wages for your actual workforce, there’s a lot more cash available to shower upon high-level bureaucrats.”

28. Hundreds of college basketball coaches are in Hutchinson, Kansas to watch the JUCO tournament.

29. Former Kentucky football coach Hal Mumme lands at SMU as assistant head coach and passing game coordinator.

30. Quarterback Gunner Kiel offiically out at at Notre Dame –  not on spring roster – expected to transfer.

SEC Football

1. Biggest change LSU players are seeing with new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron? Tempo. Running back Jeremy Hill: “We got in a lot more plays than we do normally.”

2. With multiple players headed to the NFL, LSU needs to rebuild its defensive line.  In all, defensive coordinator John Chavis has to replace eight starters.  ”We’ve done this before.”

3. Tennessee practices for the first time in full pads.  What did defensive coordinator John Jancek think? “I think we’re a poor tackling team right now.”

4. Tennessee wide receivers coach Zach Azzani: “I have a bunch of guys that really have no foundation.”

5. With spring practice now underway this week at Arkansas, what does new Bret Bielema have to say about his team?  “They are open to coaching. They’re hungry. They are obsessed with doing things that we’re asking them to do, even if it is taxing or exhausting.”

6. Former Arkansas running back Knile Davis on the impact of Bobby Petrino’s departure: “There was no order when Bobby left.”

7. South Carolina quarterback Dylan Thompson on coach Steve Spurrier: “He demands perfection and isn’t going to stop until he gets what he wants.”

8. Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen says he’ll have his staff completed when the Bulldogs start spring practice on March 21.

9. Biggest spring practice question at Vanderbilt? “Can redshirt freshman Patton Robinette leapfrog senior Austyn Carta-Samuels for the Vanderbilt starting quarterback job?”

10. Coach James Franklin: “We have a chance to be close to 300 pounds across the offensive line and four deep at defensive tackle. We haven’t had that before.”

11. Looks like Johnny Manziel is enjoying spring break. Is Manziel more like Manti Te’o than we may think? “Manziel revels in his newfound role as the country’s biggest troll.”

12. Texas Tech would like to renew a rivalry with the Aggies.  Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt: “We would welcome the opportunity to play Texas A&M in every sport.”

13. SEC Media Days schedule set - July 16-18.

SEC Basketball

14. LSU vs. Florida starts the ball rolling this afternoon in Nashville.  Florida won the first round 74-52 back in January but Tigers playing well lately – 10-5 in their last 15 games.

15. It’s Tennessee vs. Alabama in the rubber match this afternoon in Nashville.  Keep your eye on rebounds – Tennessee has had 15 more in each of the first two games. Does a win over Alabama make Tennessee bubble-proof?

16. Vanderbilt gets Kentucky again tonight - sixth time in two years these two teams have met. John Calipari:  ”We’ve got a challenge. This is going to be a really hard game for us.”

17. Ole Miss faces Missouri tonight.  With two sub-200 RPI losses, Rebels desperately need a win to keep any NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

18. What to do with Missouri? “Short of winning the SEC tourney, Mizzou will be a complicated team to seed.”

19. Tough call for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – stay or leave or NBA?  Projects as late first-round or second-round pick.

20. A first-year coach in Frank Martin but fourth straight losing season at South Carolina.  Where do the Gamecocks go from here?

22. Stat on SEC basketball: From 1997 to 2008, the SEC averaged 5.7 NCAA Tournament bids per season. Now, the SEC won’t have more than five bids for the fifth straight year.

23.  What to expect from this year’s NCAA Tournament?  Buckle up for a wild ride.

 Mississippi State 70 – South Carolina 59. Video Highlights

1. Freshman guard Fred Thomas scores a career-high 21 points as Bulldogs win for the third time in four games – will face Tennessee today.  ”We’re playing hard, playing smarter and tougher than the other team.”

2. South Carolina’s Brenton Williams scored a career-high 38 points against South Carolina earlier this month but just six points Wednesday.

Texas A&M 71 – Auburn 62. Video Highlights

3. Despite playing with a broken bone in his pinkie finger, A&M guard Elston Turner scores a game-high 22 points. Aggies will play Missouri tonight.

4. Auburn ends the year losing 16 of its last 17 games, wins just nine games all year. Coach Tony Barbee: ”Now that it’s over, I’ll spend time reflecting on why things went the way they did and try to get better from there. That’s all we can do.”

Day 1 Reaction

5. Jon Solomon: “Auburn and South Carolina have two of the three newest arenas in the SEC, and they both lost Wednesday in the first SEC Tournament play-in games with 14 members.”

6. First night of the tournament draws just under 8,000 fans.

Day 2 Schedule (All Times Eastern)

LSU vs. Georgia (1:00 p.m.)

Mississippi State vs. Tennessee (3:30 p.m.)

Vanderbilt vs. Arkansas (7:30 p.m.)

Texas A&M vs. Missouri (10:00 p.m.)

Mississippi State and Texas A&M live to dream another day… South Carolina and Auburn call it a season.  The SEC Tournament has put one day in the rearview mirror and the league’s hoops showcase — can we call it a showcase this year? — tips off in full today.  Good luck to the eight teams hitting the hardwood today and tonight.

Getting down to business, today’s thought of the day actually has an Auburn tie, at least for yours truly.  Back in my college days a girl I’d dated in high school wound up attending college on the Plains.  For those who don’t know it, they have quite a nice little nightlife at AU.  And more than once I received an alcohol-induced late night phone call asking me to play a particular song for her over the phone line.  This was back before you could just download a song and play it on your phone, of course.

What her connection to the requested song was, I can’t remember.  And why I first purchased a CD of Hank Williams Sr.’s greatest hits while I was in college, well, I can’t remember that, either.  (Lord knows all my taste in music wasn’t so good in those days or I wouldn’t have an “Snow” CD buried in a box somewhere.  I licky boom-boom down, indeed.)

But when this one popped up on the MrSEC.com iPod this morning, it took me back to those happy days.  Good memories.

“Dress in style, go hog wild, me oh my oh.”