Spanning the globe on a Wednesday morning. ...

If you have ever wanted to sing the National Anthem at an Ole Miss basketball or baseball game now's your chance. The school will hold open auditions Saturday from 10-1 at the auditorium across the street from the performing arts center.

This is an interesting move. I've seen some really good performances to begin these games. Then I've seen some that could have drawn technical fouls or a warning from the home plate umpire.

In other news ...

From ESPN SEC blogger Chris Low, the top five impact freshmen in the SEC West. Chris has Ole Miss' I'Tavius Mathers at No. 3. That's good news for the Rebels. The bad news is that three of the top five true freshmen he lists from the league's top two teams, LSU and Alabama, LSU with one, Alabama with two.

Mathers and fellow freshman Jaylen Walton have both had really good camps. It will be interesting to see Hugh Freeze's plan in the coming weeks and if he'll try to redshirt one. From watching camp and the scrimmages it looks like Freeze is really comfortable wtih Mathers in short-yardage situations, particularly on the goalline. Then Mathers showed his speed on the 58-yard touchdown run last Saturday. That it came against a mix of second- and third-team defenders doesn't diminish the accomplishment. Maybe he doesn't around some of his SEC brethern, but Mathers showed great acceleration once he reached the second level of the defense. ...

From Columbia, With a big season opener against an SEC opponent, Vanderbilt, just days away, South Carolina is working hard to develop its next option at cornerback. Coaches say it might not be the "next guy," so to speak, but the next collection of guys and whoever has the hot hand at the time.

Fro College Station, defense was a soft spot for Texas A&M last season. Now the Aggies have a new staff and a new system - the 4-3 as opposed to the 3-4 for the last two years - and they think they've got a new leader in an old player, senior linebacker Sean Porter. Porter was first-team All-Big 12 a year ago. He's made it a point to spend extra time with the defensive staff and to become more vocal with his teammates. ...

From Lexington, thinks must be going pretty good for Kentucky, because the first topic here is punting. ...