Monday links: sweltering

Normally, I try to rationalize the heat. Aw, it's not that hot ... really, it's just what you're used to, doesn't bother me ... once you get out in it, it ain't so bad.
Well, there's been no reasoning with the heat the past few days. Friday I came home and my dogs swore at me for making them stay outside in it; I guess I should just be happy they didn't melt into the earth like chocolate bars.

So, since the weather outside makes you glad to have a working A/C inside, here's a smattering of links to help you resist any urge to do anything.

— Like me, Dr. Saturday searched high and low for two teams that could dethrone 'Bama and Florida in 2010. Like me, he failed. Which probably means we're headed for an SECCG matchup of South Carolina and Arkansas, or something bizarre like that.
— Follow-ups from the agent craze sweeping the nation: Michael Casagrande has a story about a sports agent trying to clean things up, Jerry Maguire style. Of course, we all remember what happened there.

Mike also posted some very useful links on the same topic at his personal blog, as well.
— Had anyone else at Media Days drawn the "agents as pimps" comparison, it's likely only a small ripple would've occurred. But, because Nick Saban did it, he's caught some heat from the national column sect. Which, naturally, has drawn the ire of some of our friendly neighborhood bloggers.
This, by the way, is the toughest part of dealing with the press on a national level — they're not spending time around the team everyday (like the local beat writers) and they're not spending thousands of hours scanning blogs and message boards (like the fans). So they read something off the wire and react. Sometimes this is OK; in this case, they got it way wrong.
— Need to see a slideshow of 15 games that will define several programs this fall? Of course you do.
— A bit of history: Tidesports posts the first in its "Bryant to Saban" series with a look at Ray Perkins (hey, we did that a while back!); and this post tells of Legion Field and its historic significance, particularly since it's the reason we now have "The Iron Bowl."

— Finally, apropos of nothing, Joe Posnanski offered a great take on the recent Mitch Albom flap. Worth the read if you care even one iota.