Official Site of the Southeastern Conference

Every Monday morning, the "Melting Pot" will take a look at articles from the nation's writers about the happenings from the Southeastern Conference.

--- When it comes to football recruiting, the ACC still trails the SEC writes Tim Stevens of the Raleigh News and Observer.

"The two leagues' recruiting strongholds overlap. The SEC's reputation and success continue to grow, and the league is routinely generating teams in the national championship picture. The ACC is not."

---  Ron Morris of the The State talks South Carolina, and how Athletic Director Eric Hyman has whipped the department into shape.

"Talk to almost anyone about Eric Hyman, and they are likely to relate immediately how South Carolina's athletics director is the product of a military upbringing. Texas Christian University football coach Gary Patterson mentioned it. So, too, did Lamar athletics director Billy Tubbs. The same goes for Kevin O'Connell, USC's executive associate athletics director. Then you spend a day with Hyman, and it all comes into clearer focus."

--- Kentucky's lofty basketball goals are now coming into focus, tabs Rick Bozich of the Louisville Courier-Journal.

"Disregard the official schedule. The University of Kentucky basketball team's next opponent is not South Carolina. It's not Vanderbilt or Mississippi. It's not anybody in the Southeastern Conference. No, Kentucky's next opponent is expectations."

---  The post-game scenes at Thompson-Boling Arena are memorable, says Tom Mattingly of www.govolsextra.com.

"The post-game scene with the visiting team has often provided media and staff alike some memorable moments."

---  Vanderbilt sophomore guard Brad Tinsley takes a foray into the blogosphere, penning this piece for The Oregonian.

"My sophomore season at Vanderbilt so far has been a blast as our men's basketball team has tasted success while battling through adversity and I -- far from home back in Oregon -- find myself growing in new ways."

---  Barring another surprise, the SEC coaching ranks are set, say Cecil Hurt of TideSports.com.

"Finally, we can survey the Southeastern Conference football coaching landscape for the 2010 season and assume that it isn’t going anywhere. It is always possible that a public faux pas could strike on some unsuspecting campus and shuffle the deck again in mid-May. But somehow that seems less likely with Lane Kiffin, the leading candidate to be a contestant on the "Mike Price Is Right!" show, already out of the SEC picture."