HOOVER — Phillip Fulmer’s annual trip to Southeastern Conference Media Days is never uneventful.

HOOVER — Alabama safety Rashad Johnson heard about the Tide’s touted freshman class for months. He helped recruit some of them.

HOOVER — There wasn’t a way around it. Antoine Caldwell and Rashad Johnson knew they were going to be asked about Jimmy Johns.

HOOVER — It took 15 minutes, but he finally cracked … a smile, that is.

HOOVER — It would have taken a set of shoulder pads and a helmet — not to mention a couple of pulling guards — for Florida quarterback Tim Tebow to pick up yardage in the lobby of the Wynfrey Hotel.

Florida offenside tackle Phil Trautwein speaks at SEC Media Days in Hoover on Wednesday, July 23.

HOOVER — Wesley Carroll is one of those “yes, but…” quarterbacks.

CLANTON — The Auburn Orange Dixie Youth AAA (9-10) All-Stars took a 3-2 win over Taylorsville on Wednesday night to advance to the state championship game.

HOOVER — Les Miles trod carefully Wednesday.

Alabama got some momentum for its 2009 recruiting class when two defensive prospects committed on the eve of SEC Football Media Days.

HOOVER — Tim Tebow didn’t look much like a rock star.

Or even Superman.

Sen’Derrick Marks has a problem.

When John Pawlowski was hired as Auburn’s new baseball coach June 20, Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said the reason was simple.

THOMASVILLE — It wasn’t the best start, but that didn’t matter. The finish was perfect.

CLANTON — The Auburn Orange Dixie AAA (9-10) All-Star team beat Alexandria, 6-5, on Monday night to stay alive in the state tournament.

Complete list of the 2008 SEC coaches preseason football team.

Monday, Ball State became the third acknowledged opponent on AU’s non-conference schedule for ’09, joining West Virginia and Furman.

Monday, Marks — and seven of his teammates — represented AU on the preseason All-SEC team, selected by the league’s coaches.

Auburn’s Dixie 14s All-Stars scattered 15 hits and hit five homers to knock off Troy, 23-6, in the state tournament in Thomasville.

Minutes after Frank Dial won the Indian Pines Invitational on Sunday, he reached into his wallet and pulled out a piece of paper.

TUSCUMBIA — For the second year in a row, Auburn’s All-Stars are being crowned champions of the Dixie Majors (17-19) State Tournament.

Auburn captured the state title on Saturday with a pair of wins over Underwood.

MCDONOUGH, Ga. — The Auburn Dirt Devils softball team (16-and-under) faces a difficult road to the championship at the ISA World Series. The Dirt Devils lost their first game of the World Series, 10-5 in five innings, to the Orlando Wildcats.

The loss drops the Dirt Devils into the tournament’s losers’ bracket.

Five former Auburn track athletes will be competing for the Bahamas in the Beijing Olympics, the Bahamas Olympic Association announced Friday.

A total of 12 AU track and field alums are competing in the Olympics for four different countries.

The Southeastern Junior Golf Tour’s Match Play Championship started with 69 of the region’s top golfers, ages 14-19, vying for the crown.
It ended with Opelika’s Daniel Glidewell standing alone.

Auburn freshman Cydney Clanton was among the individual winners as she defeated Yumi Takabayashi, 75-79.

When the 32nd annual Indian Pines Invitational tees off Saturday, the field will be smaller than it has been, but it will be packed with some of the best amateur golfers from around the Southeast.

And that next step is the state tournament.

Opelika’s Daniel Glidewell will have his shot at capturing the Southeastern Junior Golf Match Play title.

Stop us if you’ve heard this before. This could be the year for the Georgia Bulldogs.

Talking to reporters during the Southeastern Conference’s offseason basketball teleconference Wednesday, Auburn coach Jeff Lebo launched into a rundown of his top returning players.