Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy has become the latest petty dictator coach to excercise complete and total power and restrict where a player can transfer.

This time it's quarterback Wes Lunt, a former four star recruit who started several games as a freshman at Oklahoma State, before deciding he wanted to transfer this spring. So what was Gundy's response when Lunt told him he wanted to transfer? Gundy told Lunt that would be fine, but that he wasn't allowed to transfer to any Big 12 school or any school that was presently on future schedules. That's a pretty standard restriction. If that's where Gundy's transfer restrictions ended, this wouldn't be a story. 

But those restrictions weren't enough for Gundy, no, he had to exercise complete and total dictatorial powers. 

He had to punish a player with the temerity to leave his program. 

Gundy also restricted Lunt from transferring to any SEC or Pac 12 school. Southern Miss too, where offfensive coordinator Todd Monken has recently taken over the head coaching job.

Talk about petty.

Every few years an old man wants to fight me. It's kind of a hazard of writing on the Internet. Yes, young people do dumb things with technology, but they actually know how that technology works.

Old people?

Not so much.

So, occasionally, they want to fight me.

Which brings us to Billy Ayo, a dear friend of the Alabama beach family that believes I am going to hell for posting their picture online yesterday.

Last night Billy sent me the following email which I have reproduced below in full.

Subject: Stupid

"I just had the opportunity to read you comments regarding the Cole family beach picture.  You are without a doubt the biggest asshole a believe I ever met.  Just to cut to the chase, if you would pick a time and place it would give me no greater pleasure to accomodate and beat the living hell out of you.  You low life inconsiderate asshole.  And for the record these are dear friends and I am an LSU fan, bleed purple and gold but would go to hell and back for these people. Show up coward."

While I may be a big asshole, it is impossible for me to the biggest asshole that Billy Ayo has ever met because we have not, you know, actually met.

Notwithstanding this error of time and place, common for individuals of Billy's age, now Billy wants to fight me so long as I'm willing "to pick a time and place."

Consider this my response. But first, here is Billy's Facebook profile.

If you are a Southern man, there is a billion percent chance that one of the women in your life has uttered this phrase: "I wish we had a beach portrait."

When we were down at Destin for SEC spring meetings my mom uttered this phrase no less than fifteen times.

The beach family portrait is distinguished from a regular beach picture by a couple of significant factors:

1. It's choreographed and planned.

You don't just show up wearing what you happened to be wearing on the beach and end up taking a photo. 

2.  Women tell you what to wear.

In my beach photo men were instructed to be shoeless, wear blue jeans, and white button down dress shirts. Yes, I always wear jeans, no shoes, and white dress shirts on the beach, why are you asking?

So this isn't just a candid snapshot on the beach, it's a scheduled fashion shoot that's supposed to look real. The idea is something like Southern preppy meets beachcomber, "Oh, hello, look at that photographer who just happened to be here on the beach while our entire family was wearing perfectly matched clothes. I guess we should smile." 

Chances are at least half of you reading this piece right now have been involved in the family beach portrait. And if you haven't been involved you've seen one of these pictures in a Southern family's home.

But what happens when an LSU husband/son-in-law is asked to pose in a family beach portrait full of Alabama fans?

Awkward family beach photos.

And this one is splendid.

Back in November, just a couple of weeks after the Penn State story broke, I wrote that the NCAA had the authority to hammer Penn State. Once that was clear the question was simple: not could the NCAA sanction Penn State, but should it? For the past several months this has been the only real question, to sanction or not to sanction? Both sides could marshall strong arguments. But on July 23rd, nearly eight months after OKTC initially told you that the NCAA had the power to sanction Penn State, the news became official, the NCAA would act. Not surprisingly Penn State was hammered by the NCAA. The school was fined $60 million dollars, all wins, a total of 111 victories, are stripped dating back to 1998, a four year post-season ban is applied, and Penn State loses dozens of scholarships, ten a year for the next four years in its recruiting classes, as well as sees its total number of available scholarships reduced to 65.

Additionally, all players are eligible to transfer immediately.

NCAA President Mark Emmert called the penalties a "stark wake-up call," and said, "The lesson here is one of maintaining the appropriate balance of our values."

Penn State agreed to the penalties, signing a consent decree. That's important because it means these penalties were negotiated and will not be appealed. In essence, Penn State capitulated to some of the severest penalties since SMU's death penalty in order to escape potentially more severe penalties. This is doubly significant because it eliminates the concern, voiced by many, that the NCAA's power grab could lead to even more unjust results going forward. This is the greastest sports scandal of all time, these situations don't arise very often. So an NCAA power grab isn't a valid concern. If Penn State truly believed the NCAA lacked the authority to deliver sanctions, it could have fought these punishments to the utmost. 

Instead, based upon a more full record than any NCAA investigation ever has -- the Freeh report and criminal investigations were exhaustive -- the NCAA acted with a full record of established facts.    

Leading to one inescapable conclusion, for once, the NCAA got it completely right.

SEC Media Days has officially just closed out here in Hoover and I'm now writing this as I fly from Birmingham to Las Vegas for one of my good friend's bachelor parties. Already, it's a great trip. Southwest now has WIFI, which is akin to your grandfather's rustic mountain cabin having a 70 inch HD television with every channel. I'm still in awe. This means I can file the mailbag a day early and focus on making my futures wagers tomorrow in Vegas.

Anyway, as we taxied down the runway to take off the Alabama fans on the plane did a Roll Tide cheer.

That really happened.

Right now the guy sitting next to me, a huge Bama fan headed out for a bachelor party, is making me a bit uncomfortable. Why? Because he hopped on a four hour flight with nothing to read at all. (Yes, I believe he can read, although I'm not 100% sure, he is a Bama fan.) 

Who does this though? Can you imagine getting on a four hour flight with nothing? He's in the center seat right now staring straight ahead at the seat back.

Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers, younger brother of Green Bay Packer Aaron, led the Commodores to a bowl berth last season and attended SEC Media Days yesterday.

This year he is hoping to become the first ever Vanderbilt quarterback to start in two bowl games. He's confident, smart, fearless, and ... hairless.

Yes, hairless.

Also, very patriotic.

These are among the deductions we can make thanks to the Twitter profile picture which Rodgers displays to the world here.

Hoover, Alabama

SEC commissioner Mike Slive works for weeks on his annual message to the media. He writes draft after draft, revises then revises some more. Which is why it's significant that Slive became the first conference commissioner to address the situation at Penn State, albeit indirectly. Midway through his morning address Slive pivoted from recommendations on NCAA rule changes to address the situation at Penn State. "Last week's headlines remind us that we must be ever vigilant on all issues of integrity and that our primary mission is to educate and protect young people."

Slive continued, "No one program, no one person, no matter how popular, no matter how successful, can be allowed to derail the soul of an institution."

Last week Sarah Grimes filed a lawsuit seeking civil damages for an alleged assault by Kristen Saban, daughter of Alabama head coach Nick Saban.

OKTC brought you Saban's initial response, now OKTC has Kristen Saban's answer to the complaint, which was just filed ten minutes ago in the circuit court of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.

Kristen's defense is incredibly detailed and worthy of a read for anyone who read the intial complaint filed by Sarah Grimes. According to Saban's response it was "pretty much an even fight."

I spent Friday playing golf, drinking, and boating.

So the Friday mailbag is now the Monday mailbag. This means you get two mailbags this week. I know, I know, try to contain your excitement.

We've had a lot of awkward fan photos, but so far Georgia fans have escaped ridicule. That changed this week when a brawl broke out a little league game. (No Kristen Saban was not involved). What was the impetus for the brawl? One dad, an Auburn fan, was playing "All I Do Is Win" too loudly.

Seriously.

A Georgia fan took exception.

Leading to this Shakespearean dialogue.

“I’m here to f*** you up,” one witness told the paper that King, the brother of the Harris County All-Stars’ coach, said to Davidson.

This morning Kristen Saban's attorney filed a response to the lawsuit that OKTC brought you last night. 

You can read that initial complaint here.

This motion to dismiss was just filed by Kristen Saban's lawyers minutes ago and we are featuring it in full below. 

Today Joe Paterno's legacy came crumbling down. 

His statue may follow. if he was still alive he'd likely die in prison. That's because Paterno lied to the grand jury and obstructed justice in a massive cover-up that went to the height of college athletics hypocrisy. 

In a scathing report released just minutes ago -- the site immediately crashed -- but we already have the quick takeaways here: Freeh's report cited a "callous and shocking disregard for child victims" as well as a "total disregard for safety and welfare" on behalf of Penn State president Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley, vice president Gary Schultz, and former head coach Paterno. 

In particularly damning evidence the report uncovered that Paterno and other top officials were aware of the 1998 sexual assault allegations. All men have publicly lied about this fact before now. The Freeh report says that Paterno followed this 1998 investigation closely "but failed to take any action."

From a May 1998 email with the subject line "Jerry' athletic director Tim Curley wrote to Schultz: "Anything new in this department? Coach is anxious to know where it stands."