It's no secret that Johnny Manziel is Outkick the Coverage's favorite SEC football player of all time. 

But even we continue to be amazed by his feats of athletic excellence.

Last night he homered during San Diego Padres batting practice while wearing jeans and boat shoes. Then he executed one of the most amazing first pitches in history.

How so?

He reenacted his fumbled touchdown pass against Alabama.

Really, he did.

Watch.  

I once dated a guy named Ted*. [Names changed to protect the innocent. For some reason, the only fake male names I could think of were Marshall and Ted. I really need to broaden my fake male name repertoire for the next column I write that may air any past dating grievances. My reputation is on the line here, and dating a guy named "Ted" does not help my case.]

 At the SEC Network announcement on Thursday, I had the chance to interview Kevin Sumlin. 

You can listen to that entire interview here. I think y'all will enjoy it. Sumlin has rapidly become one of my favorite SEC coaches and we talk about a variety of subjects during the interview. Including Johnny Manziel, the new stadium expansion, recruiting, and what shows Sumlin likes on television.

Sumlin says, "I'm a "Mad Men" guy."

Mad Men is one of my six favorite television shows on the air right now:

1. The Americans

2. Homeland

3. Mad Men -- For those of you who say this is too low, it's not that I presently dislike Mad Men, it's just that I'm more excited to watch the first two shows on this list. 

4. Game of Thrones

5. Modern Family

6. Veep

So of course I want to talk about Mad Men with Sumlin as much as I can. 

My next question was who is Sumlin's favorite character. 

Sumlin's response, "I'd rather stay away from that."

Yep, he declined comment on his favorite Mad Men character. 

 Charles Ramsey is an American hero. 

In a time when most of y'all are focusing on eating ribs and salsa dancing with your neighbors, Ramsey rescued three women who had been kidnapped for a decade. 

I tweeted this out last night, but today I decided that merely Tweeting this out wasn't enough. 

Nope, we had to go ahead and announce that Charles Ramsey is our beaver pelt trader of the week. 

On Tuesday. 

That's how remarkable this interview is. 

Get this man a McDonald's endorsement deal. 

Immediately. 

This is the best thing since the buttchugger video. 

That'ha

On Thursday the SEC and ESPN officially unveiled the newest big moneymaker in college athletics, a 24/7 SEC Network. 

The biggest news from the event was that the network will carry 45 football games a year, a daily tripleheader. Of course, OKTC readers have known that was likely for over a year now. 

But what other news came out of the event? And what should SEC fans want and need to know about the SEC Network going forward?

By the time y'all read this I'll be on the road with 3HL to broadcast our Friday show from the Clippers-Grizzlies playoff game in Memphis.

So I'm drafting the mailbag after a long day spent in Atlanta at the official announcement for the SEC Network.

Next week I'll give y'all a good rundown of the SEC Network and all the major details surrounding that network's launch. In the meantime, the biggest news from the announcement is that 45 football games will air on the network. OKTC told you a year ago that between 40 and 50 games were likely to air on the network.

And that ESPN owns 100% of the network, which means the SEC has to be receiving a guaranteed payment that is mind-boggling.

An ESPN guarantee of $500 million a year wouldn't surprise me, potentially more.

In the meantime, my beaver pelt trader of the week award goes to the writers for "The Americans." The season finale was absolutely spectacular. Seriously, beyond extraordinary. You need to be watching this show. It's only 13 episodes long after its first season and it has now become my favorite show on television.

I'm hoping they don't have a "Homeland"-esque trip up with season two.

Also, as Jason Whitlock Tweeted me Thursday night, we may have a looming Dana-daughter situation on "The Americans."

I can barely handle one spy/terrorist's daughter ruining a great show, if we end up with two?

Shudder.

On to the mailbag.

A month ago Clay and I were discussing how best to entertain you all until football season starts again. I suggested he send me to the Masters, but Clay was doubtful they'd give OKTC a press pass. (Golf- so stuffy.) Instead he decides on The Interstate Mullet Toss and Gulf Coast's Greatest Beach Party at Flora-Bama Lounge, Package and Oyster Bar on the Florida-Alabama line. Mullets and a beach party? IN. I invite my friends Ruthie and April, who will come in handy as photographers and body guards. 

Yesterday NBA free agent center Jason Collins announced he was gay.

As part of that announcement ESPN decided to have gay basketball writer LZ Granderson and NBA analyst Chris Broussard on to discuss the announcement.

It did not go well.

Primarily because Broussard, speaking for many who share the same view, said he couldn't support Collins's decision because he believed being gay was a sin. In particular, Broussard said, "I'm a Christian. I don't agree with homosexuality. I think it's a sin, as I think all sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is."

Broussard continued, "If you're openly living that type of lifestyle, the Bible says you know them by their fruits, it says that that's a sin. If you're openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, I believe that's walking in open rebellion to God and Jesus Christ."

In a summer vacation that would break the internet, Johnny Manziel and AJ McCarron are planning a beach trip to Cancun or Key West.

We know this thanks to the intrepid reporting of Laken Litman at USA Today.

McCarron told USA Today, “We’re either going to Key West or Cancun and will hang out with our other friends. Me and him, we don’t ever let that (football talk) bother us. He’s a good friend of mine, and he’s a funny dude.”

If this trip happens, I'm quite confident the resulting page views when vacation trip photos hit OKTC will pay for one of my two kids to attend college.

Potentially both.

Selfishly, I'm rooting for Cancun as the beach destination. But I'm not going to complain either way. After all, how can I complain about a trip that's destined to pay for at least one of my kid's college tuition?

It's Friday, you're pretending to work while reading OKTC, and it's mailbag time.

Let's dive in now.

First, our beaver pelt trader of the week comes via nominee from Brian H.

"Tavon "Bulldog" White... inmate in Maryland prison. Got four female guards pregnant (one twice). Two of them had his name tattooed. P.I.M.P. read the Gawker story if you haven't already..."

From Gawker:

"Tavon White fathered five children by four different guards between 2011 and 2012. Two of the women later had “Tavon” tattooed on their bodies (one her neck, the other on her wrist). One was given a diamond ring, and both were allowed to drive Mercedes Benzes belonging to White. A third woman was provided an Acura. No word on what the fourth woman got."

Remember seven years ago when USC lost to UCLA and for a brief moment it appeared possible there would be a rematch of number one Ohio State and number two Michigan for the BCS title?

It was 2006, the SEC had won two titles in the BCS era, Tennessee in 1998 and LSU in 2003. The Big Ten had nearly matched that haul with Ohio State's 2002 title and for a moment it appeared the 2006 title would be the Big Ten's possession as well. This would mean that the Big Ten and the SEC were still on equal footing, the two lions of the college football universe, still staring across at one another.

Who knows what might have happened if Ohio State and Michigan had played for the 2006 title? Imagine if Michigan had won the game, does Lloyd Carr hang on longer, does the disastrous Rich Rodriguez regime never happen? Does Jim Tressel, now with two titles in his belt, not feel the need to go all in with Terrelle Pryor and the resulting shenanigans that led to his downfall never happen? (Although, Ohio State fans would probably rather have Urban Meyer, so maybe the scandal worked to their benefit). If Arkansas's Reggie Fish just lets the ball roll into the end zone for a touchback, do Urban Meyer's Gators still become dominant? Remember Meyer only won a single other SEC title, in Tebow's junior year, 2008. Hell, if Houston Nutt wins the 2006 SEC title is there any way he gets run out of Arkansas? Is he still there? Where does Bobby Petrino end up?

It has been over seven years now since the Big Ten reached its high water mark of the BCS era.