• Wait, kid, are you going to be able to pay that ticket back? Among the litany of secondary violations popping up throughout the offseason, a handful of minor fouls at Georgia uncovered last week slipped more or less under the radar. One of the infractions in that case involved unknown players (UGA blacked out names in its report) accepting free tickets to an Atlanta Falcons game; initially, the NFL Players Association had tipped the school to the gift out of concern for illegal contact by an agent.

But today's Athens Banner-Herald uncovers the real culprit: Jay Cutler. According to the school's report, then-Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford, still months from being buried in cash as the No. 1 pick in April's draft, sent Cutler a text message asking for tickets when the ex-Vanderbilt star came to town for the Falcons' Nov. 16 game against Cutler's Denver Broncos. Cutler sent his old friend four, and voila: It's a secondary violation; consider your wrist hereby slapped, Dawgs. Ex-Georgia fullback Shaun Chapas, one of Stafford's best friends on the team, confirmed the names to the Banner-Herald, and clearly hadn't lost much sleep over the $40 "reimbursement" he and each of his teammates had been ordered to pay to the Boys and Girls Club as penance.

This explains Georgia athletic director Damon Evans' push at SEC meetings this spring to allow college players to openly receive NFL tickets from pro players, instead of forcing them to pass under the table. In Evans' words, that initiative "failed mightily."

• David will take Goliath's TV contract and he will like it. Even after Wednesday's minor theatrics from their best friend in the Senate, there was never any doubt about this outcome, really: Both the WAC and the Mountain West "reluctantly" re-upped with the BCS through 2013 for its move to ESPN, cutting off a dramatic countdown to this afternoon's signing deadline. The WAC vote, at least, was unanimous.

Thus puts to bed the exceedingly slim possibility that the proud, defiant Davids might strike out into the wilderness as a rebuke and an example to a wayward civilization. Alas, there's no money in it. (Not even hypothetical money, which is still about all they're getting from the BCS.)

• More on the Gator underbelly. Recalling last week's search for Florida's silver bullet, the Gainesville Sun counts down five possible pitfalls for the unanimous preseason No. 1. Much of the Sun's list is thin -- two of the five items deal with back-ups on a defense that was in the top-10 nationally in every major category last year and returns practically everyone who stepped on the field -- but it still reiterates my emphasis on the importance of protecting Tim Tebow: The left tackle position remains very much in the air, and could be determined largely by whether or not a surprising redshirt freshman (Sam Robey) can hold down the job at center, creating a ripple effect for the rest of the line.

• Preseason heat claims another. It's gotten to the point that you can almost set your watch by it every summer: Another player, Western Carolina freshman Ja'Quayvin Smalls, collapsed and died following "voluntary" conditioning drills on Wednesday. Smalls was in his first workout at WCU since transferring from Georgia Military Academy and had been "removed from the lineup to stretch" after complaining about cramps; no word from the AP on whether, like so many of the other players who fall under similar circumstances, he suffered from sickle-cell trait.

Quickly ... At least one source says Notre Dame and Army are set to renew the Yankee Stadium rivalry in 2010, but it's unofficial and anonymous. ... Academic officers tell the USA Today "cheating and scandal are inevitable" under the NCAA's new eligibility rules. ... Tiny, nimble Michigan signee Jeremy Gallon says he's eligible to play this fall. ... Ohio State fans crashed a Web site in search of ticket updates. The Buckeyes also hired a new quarterbacks coach. ... Tanner Strickland, a possible starter at guard for Georgia, will miss all of 2009 following shoulder surgery. ... LSU adds "LSU" to the front of its jerseys for the first time in school history. ... Police quickly dropped disturbing the peace charges against USC defenders Everson Griffen and Jordan Campbell after a noise complaint last weekend. ... Cotton Bowl tickets are going fast. ... And you might want to turn the sound down before visiting Illinois' new promo page for Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn.