There's only two seasons in the south: the football season and the football pre-season

Interesting de-evolution of hoops coverage noted in Eric Prisbell's article on SEC basketball:

...But with the exception of Kentucky's Big Blue Nation, how many SEC fan bases pay much attention to non-conference play?

Most, [C.M.] Newton said, don't turn their attention to basketball until after the football season, which includes National Signing Day in early February. The SEC tournament in New Orleans two seasons ago was dominated by spring football talk. And Newton said it was "inexcusable" that his local newspaper in Alabama did not have a story in Wednesday's editions about the upcoming Alabama-Florida basketball game.

"The media in our area has dissipated to the point where it has affected basketball some," Newton said. "Nothing in the paper Wednesday about the game. That's not the exception, that's the rule in the South. The newspapers have dried up. They don't have the money or interest. It's a different world..."

Hey, it's not just in the Bay Area. However, the Sacramento Bee really deserves props for its prep coverage. Yes, there's not a football franchise in Sactown but there is the NBA yet that doesn't crowd out the high school athletic happenings in the area.