Gary Parrish

The AP and Coaches polls make less sense than signing Allen Iverson.

I'll tell you why right now.

It's time to Poll Attack !

AP poll: Proof that the Poll Attacks are making an impact came Monday when I learned that Bill Cole ranked the Butler Bulldogs. This is a massive development because, for those who don't remember, Bill was the only AP voter who didn't have Butler on his preseason ballot, which caused me to dedicate a large portion of the preseason Poll Attacks to his inexplicable decision.

I didn't understand why Bill ranked UCLA but not Butler.

It made no sense.

I said so.

And Bill responded this week by moving Butler onto his ballot and dropping UCLA completely despite nothing of note happening with either team between the time his first and second ballots were filed. The only thing that happened is that Bill got Poll Attacked , and he adjusted his ballot to (presumably) avoid another beating. It makes me proud, honestly. I'm bringing change to America one ballot at a time.

In a related note, I'd like to take a moment to make sure Elton Alexander, Al Balderas, Pat Ridgell, Charles Goldberg and Jason Groves understand the season started last week. They all included Mississippi State on their latest ballots, this despite Mississippi State -- at best a borderline Top 25 team in the preseason -- losing its season opener at home to Rider by an 88-74 margin.

Come on, guys.

Try to keep up.

Coaches poll: Remember the preseason Coaches poll and how I pointed out that Southern California/USC getting 22 points was ridiculous? I surmised those "USC" votes must've been intended for South Carolina , and that the geniuses who tabulate the votes incorrectly credited them to Southern California.

No doubt, that's what happened.

Because Southern California got zero points in this week's Coaches poll.

That's more like it.

But what's confusing is that South Carolina got zero points, too.

It's crazy.

South Carolina got one point in the preseason Coaches poll, and if we're assuming the 22 "USC" points should've also gone to South Carolina then it's fair to assume South Carolina should've received at least 23 points in this week's poll. Instead, the Gamecocks beat Alabama A&M by 38 and lost its one point and the other 22 that we're incorrectly credited to Southern California. The only explanation is that the coaches simply wanted to avoid confusion and declined to vote for Southern California, South Carolina, USC or anything close to any of those things. Poor Darrin Horn. Guy might never be ranked again.

Here's a new entry for the always evolving College Basketball Trivia Book ...

Q: What was the first ranked team to lose in the 2009-10 season?

A: No. 18 Mississippi State.

Yep, the Bulldogs lost their home opener Friday night to Rider.

Final score: Rider 84, MSU 74.

The key was Rider making 10-of-16 3-point attempts (62.5 percent). That's not as good as Arkansas' Rotnei Clarke, obviously. But it was still good enough to push the Broncs to a nice road win over the SEC Western Division favorite.

In a related note, Ole Miss is now the SEC Western Division favorite.

Those who enjoy shaking their heads at inexplicable inconsistencies in how the NCAA enforces punishments ought to look at Kyle Veazey's blog at The Clarion-Ledger today. He notes that Mississippi State has been informed there will be no change in the nine-game suspension of John Riek for amateurism issues despite Rick Stansbury holding the freshman out of an exhibition against Oklahoma City.

The NCAA told MSU the exhibition will not count as a game.

So Riek was basically held out for nothing.

And that would make sense if not for the fact that missing an exhibition is helping fulfill Kentucky freshman John Wall's two-game suspension for amateurism issues. In other words, the NCAA ruled that an exhibition can count toward Wall's suspension but not toward Riek's suspension, and if you think the governing body had a good explanation, man, you must be crazy.

Of course there wasn't a good explanation.

Why?

Because there is no good explanation, that's why.

Honestly, I don't care either way. The NCAA can count an exhibition as one game of a suspension or not count an exhibition as one game of a suspension; doesn't matter to me. All I wish is that the exhibitions would be treated the same everywhere. Nothing more, nothing less.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- I'm on football duty at Mississippi State, where the basketball team actually held a public scrimmage this afternoon at Humphrey Coliseum. It's halftime of the football game now -- Florida is up 13-10 -- so I have time to tell you that the Maroon Team beat the White Team 86-56.

What does that mean?

Nothing, actually.

Players switched sides throughout.

But it is worth noting that All-American candidate Jarvis Varnado got 33 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and five blocks in the scrimmage while Romero Osby finished with 31 points and seven rebounds. Meantime, freshman Renardo Sidney scored 19 points.

Does that mean Sidney will finish his MSU career with 19 points?

It looks that way.

There is no update on his eligibility case.

Still no reason to believe anything will be resolved soon.

The SEC media poll and preseason awards have been released.

Kentucky is picked to win the league.

That's smart.

John Wall was voted Second Team All-SEC.

That's dumb.

In fairness, Wall actually finished second to teammate Patrick Patterson in the Preseason Player of the Year race with six votes, so five people besides me on the 25-person panel voted him that way. And yet Wall still somehow ended up Second Team All-SEC, which is crazy, and you'll see why in time, I'm certain. Speaking of, I have a friend who watched Kentucky practice recently. When it was over, he sent the following text: "Just done watching UK practice. Wow. John is incredible. Most vocal and best leader they have. "

So take that for what it's worth.

Anyway, the SEC Media Poll results are as follows:

(Click this link to view the ballot I turned in last week.)

SEC CHAMPION: Kentucky

SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Patrick Patterson

-- EASTERN DIVISION --

1. Kentucky
2. Tennessee
3. Vanderbilt
4. South Carolina
5. Florida
6. Georgia

-- WESTERN DIVISION --

1. Mississippi State
2. Ole Miss
3. Alabama
4. LSU
5. Arkansas
6. Auburn

-- FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC --

G: Devan Downey (South Carolina
G: Terrico White (Ole Miss)
F: Tyler Smith (Tennessee)
F: Patrick Patterson (Kentucky)
F: Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State)

-- SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC --

G: John Wall (Kentucky)
G: Chris Warren (Ole Miss)
G: DeWayne Reed (Auburn)
F: Tasmin Mitchell (LSU)
C: A.J. Ogilvy (Vanderbilt)

I just filed my SEC Basketball Preseason Media Awards ballot with the league office.

It looks like this:

-- SEC EASTERN DIVISION --

1. Kentucky
2. Tennessee
3. South Carolina
4. Florida
5. Vanderbilt
6. Georgia

-- SEC WESTERN DIVISION --

1. Mississippi State
2. Ole Miss
3. Alabama
4. Arkansas
5. LSU
6. Auburn

SEC CHAMPION: Kentucky

-- ALL-SEC TEAM --

G: John Wall (Kentucky)
G: Devan Downey (South Carolina)
F: Tyler Smith (Tennessee)
F: Patrick Patterson (Kentucky)
F: Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State)

SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: John Wall

* Kentucky and Tennessee are clearly the top two teams in the Eastern Division, and Mississippi State and Ole Miss are obviously the top two in the Western Division (though a reasonable man could have the Mississippi schools switched). Where this thing became difficult was when I tried to separate South Carolina, Florida and Vanderbilt. Those three could be in any order from third to fifth and it would make sense to me. But what's most interesting, I think, is how five of the six teams in the Eastern Division (everybody except Georgia) will enter the season with a realistic hope of making the NCAA tournament. My guess is that four of them will -- UK, UT and some two-team combination of South Carolina, Florida and Vanderbilt -- and it really should be fun to watch unfold.

Chris Crawford announced Thursday that he will remain home for college and play at Memphis.

"I just really didn't want to leave," said Crawford, a senior at Sheffield in Memphis. "I want to play in front of my family."

Crawford (ranked 66th nationally at Rivals.com) is the fourth prospect from the Class of 2010 to commit to Memphis. He joins Will Barton (ranked 11th nationally), Joe Jackson (ranked 12th nationally) and Antonio Barton, meaning Memphis now has three top 75 commitments.

Crawford and Jackson played summer ball together for the Memphis Magic Elite.

The 6-foot-4 guard hit the winning shot in the title game of the adidas Super 64 tournament in Las Vegas.

There have been some questions about whether Crawford will qualify academically to compete as a freshman. But a source who has seen the transcript told CBSSports.com this week that Crawford "will be fine" and added that there's no reason to think he won't be eligible. Crawford was also considering Tennessee and Mississippi State.

The NCAA has declared Renardo Sidney "not certified due to non response" and promised to keep him that way until it receives copies of the financial documents it has requested, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

"We've asked for additional information and have not received it," NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said. "When and if we get it, we'll review those documents. If we don't, he remains not certified."

This development marks the strongest indication yet that the NCAA is determined to make the Sidney family explain how it moved from a modest home in Mississippi to a house in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles valued at more than $1 million. It has been reported that the family paid a rent of between $4,000 and $5,000 per month despite there being no obvious way for them to afford such a luxury.

Predictably, an investigation was launched.

As part of that investigation, the NCAA has asked for tax returns and bank statements, but the lawyer representing the family (Don Jackson) has refused to provide either. Put simply, that's the problem. And there doesn't seem to be an imminent solution, because Jackson hinted again Thursday that he will file a lawsuit against the NCAA before he turns over the financial documents requested.

"The bottom line is, they are not going to get income tax returns or bank statements," Jackson told the Clarion-Ledger . "And if this ultimately means that this case has to wind up in court, it will just have to wind up in court."

(Click this link for a July column in which Gary Parrish challenged the NCAA to do exactly what it is doing.)

Mississippi State senior Jarvis Varnado was hospitalized after a Monday workout, according to school spokesman Gregg Ellis.

Varnado is undergoing tests at the Northeast Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.

Ellis described the tests as "precautionary."

"We expect [Varnado] back at full speed very shortly," said MSU coach Rick Stansbury. "We're just being cautious."

Varnado averaged 12.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.7 blocks last season.

Interesting bit of information from Kyle Veazey at The Clarion-Ledger .

Apparently, Jarvis Varnado -- the nation's top shot-blocker -- has agreed to be a walk-on this season to ensure Mississippi State gets down to the requisite 13 scholarships. The move will allow newcomers John Riek and Renardo Sidney to be on scholarship, and allow Rick Stansbury to essentially operate with 14 scholarship players (assuming Riek and Sidney are cleared, which is no guarantee).

Varnado's father, Winston Varnado, told Veazey that the family will take out a student loan.

My suggestion: Just borrow the money from the Sidney family.

If they could afford a rent of $4,000-to-$5,000 , surely they could help with a teammate's tuition, couldn't they?

Renardo Sidney has received academic clearance to enroll at Mississippi State, attorney Don Jackson said Monday. Jackson added that the McDonald's All-American will enroll either this afternoon or Tuesday morning.

"He and his family are currently in route to Starkville," Jackson said.

So that's one hurdle down, but by no means the last for Sidney. The 6-foot-10 forward is still dealing with an investigation into his amateur status based on reports that he and his family moved from a modest home in Mississippi to a $1.2 million home in the Los Angeles area. The NCAA wants to know how the family paid rent on that house, and Sidney likely won't be allowed to compete until the NCAA receives an answer with which it is comfortable.

MSU opens its season Nov. 13.

Renardo Sidney's attorney, Don Jackson, told CBSSports.com on Monday that the NCAA has informed him via email that he will no longer be permitted to participate in its interviews of third parties during the investigation of Sidney unless Jackson signs a confidentiality agreement.

According to Jackson, the email came Monday morning.

"This was an apparent response to the recent media coverage of the Sidney case and my direct criticism of the methods utilized in the investigation," Jackson said. He added that to date the NCAA and Eligibility Center have "failed to establish the existence of violations of any type."

As detailed in Friday's column here at CBSSports.com, Sidney signed with Mississippi State in June after USC opted not to accept his commitment because of presumed concerns about his amateur status. The perception of impropriety stems from how the Sidney family moved from a modest home in Mississippi to Los Angeles and, according to the L.A. Times , rented a house that cost between $4,000 and $5,000 per month.

The NCAA is, among other things, trying to determine how the family paid that rent.

In the meantime, Sidney's status remains unclear.

Former USC coach Tim Floyd spoke publicly for the first time since his resignation last month, granting an interview to his home-state newspaper on Tuesday. Floyd declined to discuss the O.J. Mayo case that led to his demise. But among the interesting things he did share with the Clarion-Ledger's Kyle Veazey is how he refused to tell Renardo Sidney he could not enroll at USC. Instead, Floyd said he made athletic director Mike Garrett deliver the news because "that was his decision."

"I was very disappointed that we made the choice to not recruit him given that I felt like he was a good kid, a good person," Floyd said. "He deserved the opportunity to live his dream, which was to attend USC."

Floyd said he doesn't believe USC's decision to reject Sidney's enrollment was the result of an independent investigation as much as a reaction to a forthcoming story in the Los Angeles Times . Basically, Floyd said he believes USC was concerned with how enrolling Sidney might affect the school's ongoing case with the NCAA, and little more.

"Our school was reacting to an article that was going to be written in the L.A. Times ," Floyd said. "Given the fact that the institution was involved in an institutional control investigation, they viewed it as preventive management."

But, Floyd added: "They could not put their finger on anything."

The story in the L.A. Times was published shortly after USC informed Sidney he was no longer welcome on campus. It detailed how the Sidney family had been renting a home for between $4000 and $5,000 per month, the implication being that there's no way such was done with a legitimate source of income.

Sidney has since signed with Mississippi State.

Whether he will ever be cleared to play for the Bulldogs remains undetermined.

McDonald's All-American Renardo Sidney signed with Mississippi State on Thursday.

"It’s good to be coming back home," said Sidney, a Mississippi native who spent the bulk of his high school years in Los Angeles. "A lot of my family hasn't been able to see me play the last three years and it will be good to be around them again. Mississippi State is a great school with a great program, and I’m coming in to help them win a national championship and build a bond with my new teammates."

Sidney originally committed to Southern California but was forced to look elsewhere when the administration decided not to enroll him, sources told CBSSports.com. One of those sources said that with the Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo cases lingering, the school simply felt it could not risk taking Sidney, who has been a high-profile and controversial prospect for many years, primarily because of his move to California and his father's "consulting" job with Reebok.

"They just couldn't risk anything popping up," the source said. "How could USC tell the NCAA that it learned from the Bush and Mayo stuff if the school enrolled Renardo and something popped up down the road? That probably would've guaranteed them a charge of lack of institutional control, and it's just not worth the risk with the NCAA investigation into Bush and Mayo ongoing."

Sources said UCLA similarly opted not to enroll Sidney.

Still, Mississippi State didn't hesitate to accept his letter of intent.

"We are excited to have ‘Shug’ coming back home where his roots are,” said Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury. "It’s very obvious he brings a wealth of talent and versatility to our program. He has great parents and grandparents, and we are excited to have them join our family too."

Sidney is a 6-foot-10 forward.

Scout.com ranks him as the fifth-best senior in the nation.

McDonald's All-American Renardo Sidney is on the verge of decommitting from Southern California so that he can commit to Mississippi State, according to Scout.com's Dave Telep.

Scout.com rates Sidney as the seventh-best prospect in the Class of 2009.

He's a 6-foot-9 forward at Fairfax High in Los Angeles who is originally from Mississippi.

Sidney reportedly visited Mississippi State this weekend. Assuming he switches commitments, he'll be the fourth top 10 prospect to change destinations since last year -- joining No. 3 DeMarcus Cousins (from Memphis to Kentucky), No. 6 Xavier Henry (from Memphis to Kansas) and No. 10 Abdul Gaddy (from Arizona to Washington). Meantime, No. 2 John Wall and No. 8 Lance Stephenson remain uncommitted.