A few random thoughts while preparing for the drive to Starkville, Miss., a village that is a bit isolated but not so stark anymore.

Consider that:

Just 10 months after making it to the SEC title game, Phil Fulmer was fired as Tennessee’s head coach.

Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville is thought to be on the hot seat after beating Alabama six consecutive seasons.

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The common denominator — Alabama Coach Nick Saban.

Fans who consider the Crimson Tide to be their biggest rival get unhappy when they see Saban come into a struggling Alabama program and have it mentioned in the same breath as the BCS national championship.

And if Alabama starts to dominate LSU, there will be fewer Les Miles fans in Baton Rouge. Where does that leave the coaches at Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State ? In much better shape, because fans of those teams hope to beat the Tide every year but don’t expect to do it ever year.

Last weekend A. J. Burnett was one of the many professional baseball players who was in attendance at Dickey-Stephens Park and helped the Miracle League raise almost $ 200, 000.

For a guy who had just opted out of the final two years of his contract with Toronto, and $ 24 million, he was very relaxed and having a good time.

As was his agent Darek Braunecker, who lives in Little Rock.

Then this week the news breaks the New York Yankees are interested in Burnett, who had 231 strikeouts last season and an 18-10 record.

The Yankees are known to be willing to pay for power pitchers.

Even better news for Burnett is that the Boston Red Sox are very interested, too.

Those teams dislike each other so much they might make it a personal bidding war for the right-handed pitcher.

It is a win-win for him and the team that signs the biggest check. The Razorbacks football team could not pick a better time to get physical than this week. Mississippi State is a smash-mouth football team. It might be a double-sock game, and that has nothing to do with how physical it will get. The weather forecast is for a high of 53 but that can change in a hurry. Over the years, games in Starkville have been played in sleet storms, howling winds and in temperatures warm enough to wear shorts.

It is very likely the top three finishers for the Heisman Trophy will be quarterbacks from the Big 12. Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Texas’ Colt McCoy have shot to the lead, with Florida’s Tim Tebow, last year’s winner, getting a slow start.

Harrell or Bradford could slip a notch depending on the outcome of their game Saturday.

It was great to read Thursday that Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, will be honored at a gala event on March 12 as the Easter Seals 2009 Arkansan of the Year.

Jones’ business might be in Dallas, but his heart will always belong to his home state of Arkansas.

On a day he was being criticized by some NFL “experts” for accepting Adam “Pacman” Jones back on the team, Jones got the news that all he has done for Arkansas has not been forgotten.

John Hardin Bale IV, 20 months old, is the 2009 Child Representative and he comes from a long line of Bales (Bale Chevrolet has been a part of central Arkansas since 1912 ) who have also given much to the state of Arkansas.

This comes from a reader, who admits it is a long shot. If the Big 12 doesn’t have enough teams to cover all its bowl bids, and Arkansas and Arkansas State win their final two games, the Independence Bowl in Shreveport might match them in what would be a historic game. If the Hogs win two and get bowl-eligible, they won’t turn anything down regardless of the opponent because it gives them extra practice time in December, and a team this young could use more practice. One thing is certain. Whatever tickets Razorbacks fans didn’t buy, Red Wolves fans would.