In case the No. 5 jersey on the cover of the SEC football media guide was too subtle, the cover also includes the helpful line, “Home of FIVE consecutive BCS National Champions.”

Can you name all five? I’ll give you a hint: Vanderbilt is not one of them.

Seriously, props to the SEC for a little bragging. It’s all in good fun.

Rogers Communications Inc., the Toronto-based media conglomerate whose holdings include the Toronto Blue Jays and numerous print, electronic and cable television involvements, announced Thursday it is launching a national, twice-monthly sports magazine.

Sportsnet will tap the resources of Rogers’ all-sports television channels and radio stations while calling on its experience in magazine publishing, which includes such titles as Maclean’s, Chatelaine, Flare and Canadian Business.

“You need a certain amount of scale,” said Ken Whyte, executive vice-president of consumer publishing with Rogers Publishing. “I wouldn’t want to be a stand-alone publisher trying to launch a sports magazine.”

Sportsnet will debut in the fall with a circulation of 100,000 copies, and will be available by subscription and on newsstands. It will focus on major professional leagues and top amateur events. Among some of its big name hires: Toronto Star columnist Damien Cox and the Globe and Mail‘s Stephen Brunt and Jeff Blair.

(Source: The Toronto Star)

Just when you thought the Jalen Rose vs. Grant Hill story was dead, Mike Krzyzewski is ready to chime in on the situation.

“Obviously, that was a poor choice of words and very insulting to everyone here at Duke but especially, not just our African-American players, but any African-American students,” Krzyzewski said on The Waddle & Silvy Show on ESPN 1000 in Chicago Tuesday. “When you judge within a race, you start judging, like you put categories as to who you are. I think that’s just the wrong thing to do.”

As for the notion that none of the Fab Five would have ended up at Duke, Krzyzewski says that wasn’t the case. Read more

Dancing on Ellen is not helping your image, brah. Not at all.

The NFL Players Association announced today it has informed the NFL, NFL clubs and other necessary parties that it has renounced its status as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the players of the National Football League.

The NFLPA will move forward as a professional trade association with the mission of supporting the interests and rights of current and former professional football players.

Happy Friday, folks.

Sure, Spiderman can shoot webs out of hands, but can he body check the bad guys? Well, there may be some new superheroes in town that do just that.

The National Hockey League and comic-book legend Stan Lee announced today that they are creating a media company which will launch a new superhero franchise targeting tween boys, The Guardian Project.

The Guardian Project will feature 30 “guardians,” each representing an NHL team. The NHL says the content will “organically and authentically incorporates various NHL elements but is not set in the world of hockey.”

Guardian Media Entertainment is the new company which will oversee the project, which is slated launch in January 2011.

“I’ve always believed that every great plan starts with a great story,¨said Lee in a statement.” In the creation of GME and its unique and unprecedented relationship with the NHL, I truly believe we have the perfect combination from which to launch 30 new superheroes and excite young fans around the globe.”

The 30 “Guardian” characters will be revealed during the 2011 NHL All Star Game January 30.

More information is in the press release after the jump.

Read more