Ive written about SEC conspiracy theories

Recent developments, however, have begun to concern me regarding the far-reaching scope of the new SEC. Before the season even began I wrote this article about how much I hated the new $15-billion agreement with ESPN and CBS, making the SEC one of the most powerful sports entities this side of the NFL. The conference has simply let its enormous success go straight to its head.The SEC has become drunk on its own power and publicity. Commissioner Mike Slive is now the Grand Pubah of all things college football. He has arbitrarily decided to stiffen penalties against coaches who complain about bad officiating, which is really no big deal until you consider this is perhaps the absolute worst year for officiating in the history of the conference.

Ive written about SEC conspiracy theories. I do not personally subscribe to one, but we have seen evidence to support the crazy notions. Alabama, Florida, and LSU have benefited tremendously from questionable calls all season long. Weve seen entire officiating crews suspended. Weve heard public reprimands against referees. Now the main source of fighting those terrible calls has been cut off at the neck. Mississippi States head coach Dan Mullen was every bit justified in his public comments about the horrible call made by a replay official. Bobby Petrino had every right to complain after his team was shafted against Florida the week before. Georgia fans and coaches had every right to threaten mutiny after LSU was handed a win against the Bulldogs earlier this month. Just in case anyone else gets the shaft, the SECs own incarnation of Don Corleone, Commissioner Slive, decided to issue the edict that anyone complaining from now on will not receive a reprimandno, now its immediate suspension and/or heavy fines. The Godfather has spoken, and now his enemies have been cut off before questions can even be asked. Slive can influence whomever he wants to allow whats best for the conference. Is it really such a shock, SEC fans Your former commissioner, Roy Kramer, came up with the grand idea of the BCS.

In the 11-plus years since the inception of the BCS, five SEC teams have won the national championship. The very first BCS national champion was Tennessee in 1998. Florida and LSU have each won it twice (LSU in 03 and 07, Florida in 06 and 08). If I were a betting man I would not bet against LSU, Florida, or Alabama to take home the prize again this season. Why do we need all this publicity and money We already have the best coaches, facilities, and athletes in the nation. This monopoly of sorts is exactly what countless men throughout history have discouraged. This is why our government has a system of checks and balances. Its why we have laws against companies monopolizing goods and services. What you are seeing from the SEC and the BCS is illegal, and it should be treated as such. The commissioner of the SEC has way too much power. The conference as a whole has way too much authority and influence. Why do fans in the south typically hate teams like Notre Dame Because for years they had the market cornered. For decades they were held in high regard. According to the media, Notre Dame is the greatest institution ever. They have their own network for crying out loud. The talking heads have loved them for much of the past century.

The SEC is becoming the very thing its fans and followers hate. Too much power and influence is never a good thing. By Kwasi Kpodo ACCRA, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Overspending by Ghana's former government in the run-up to elections it narrowly lost last month has left the West African state "broke", the administration of new President, John Atta Mills, said. Mills's transition team said the former government had exceeded its forecast budget deficit for 2008 by nearly seven times, bringing it to 13.4 percent of gross domestic product, the highest in 10 years and well above a 10 percent forecast. "In a word, the government of Ghana is broke," Hanna Tetteh, spokeswoman for the transition team in charge until Mills names a government, said in a statement at the weekend. In the first nine months of 2008 some ministries over-spent their annual budgets for salaries and benefits by between 76 percent and nearly 270 percent, Tetteh said.