Well, consider this day completely hijacked by the SEC catfight initiated this morning by Lane Kiffin, when Tennessee's new coach accused Florida coach Urban Meyer of "cheating" for calling then-Gator commitment Nu'Keese Richardson during Richardson's official visit to Tennessee last weekend. (Or, more precisely, initiated when Kiffin plucked Richardson and cornerback Marsalis Teague from under Meyer's nose on Wednesday, when both UF commits suddenly signed with the Vols). Florida, seeing no need to air dirty laundry, elected to address the accusation against its coach discreetly and professionally, behind closed doors, where it wouldn't be blown out of proportion by the ... ravenous ... media ...

Actually, you know what? Screw that. The Gators are bringing the smackdown:

Lane Kiffin apparently owes Urban Meyer an apology. And the new Tennessee coach needs to read the NCAA rule book.
[...]
Kiffin's accusation is false, because there is no NCAA rule that prohibits a coach from calling a prospect while he's visiting another school during a contact period. This past weekend was a contact period.

"There is no rule that would prohibit Coach Meyer from calling a prospect at Tennessee on a Friday or Saturday during an official visit during a contact period," said Jamie McCloskey, UF's NCAA compliance director. "There's never been a rule. I've been doing this for a long time. Not only has there never been a rule, there's never been a discussion about having a rule."

UF athletic director Jeremy Foley said he confirmed with the SEC that Meyer didn't break any rules and demanded an apology from Kiffin. That brought out the big guns: Conference commissioner Mike Slive hammered Kiffin this afternoon for violating the SEC's code of ethics, under which "coaches and administrators shall refrain from directed public criticism of other member institutions, their staffs or players."

In Kiffin's defense, there was no such response from any corner when South Carolina's Steve Spurrier (wrongly) accused Kiffin of a similarly petty recruiting violation on Kiffin's first day on the job back in December. Still, when the league commissioner throws his weight around, it's time to swallow your pride:

"I apologize to Commissioner Mike Slive and the SEC, including Florida AD Jeremy Foley and coach Urban Meyer. My comments were not intended to offend anyone at the University of Florida."

Frankly, I'm a little disappointed in Kiffin's contrition. As I said this morning, I don't care either way about minor rules violations, but the audacity to invent a rule out of thin air, then call your most imposing rival on it in public, is the kind of chutzpah that will take you straight to the top in this country. I liked the guy who was willing to call one of the top coaches and recruiters in the country a cheater, in no uncertain terms, whether he was right or wrong. Obviously, that guy didn't care about offending anybody.

Not so this afternoon. Welcome to the SEC, kid.