The Wishbone

Week 10 Picks

2007-11-03T00:39:00.000-04:00

Running short on time...here's the nitty-gritty:

LSU 31, Bama 24.

Oregon 31, Arizona State 24.

Ohio State 31, Wisconsin 24.

South Carolina 31, Arkansas 24.

Michigan State 31, Michigan 24.

Navy 31, Notre Dame 24.

Duke 21, Clemson 20.

Week 9 Picks

2007-10-27T00:38:00.000-04:00

I can't say I'm too thrilled about any of these games. I remain fascinated by the possibilities in the SEC East and the Pac-10, and of course the overall BCS picture. But a lot of these games look a lot less lustrous than they appeared in the preseason. Still, they count!

USC at Oregon. I don't think the Trojans will be intimidated at Autzen Stadium. I just think the Ducks are a better team. Oregon, 35-24.

Cal at Arizona State. Much like everyone picking Boston College to be exposed last night at Virginia Tech, everyone seems to be picking Arizona State to be this week's pretenders. I think the Sun Devils are for real, or at least what passes for it in the Pac-10, so I'll go with ASU, 31-28.

Ohio State at Penn State. Another ugly win for the Buckeyes. OSU, 20-13.

Georgia vs. Florida. Quinton is having Tebow-laced nightmares tonight, I'm sure. He'll have more tomorrow night. Gators, 38-24.

South Carolina at Tennessee. I have no idea what to expect in this game. The Vols certainly have the talent to win, but Spurrier just has some kind of voodoo control over the UT psyche. I'll say Gamecocks by some strange score like 18-15.

Duke at Florida State. One of the guys at ACC Nation actually picked Duke to pull the upset. I can see it: early kickoff, so fans won't be fired up, the Noles looking ahead to consecutive road trips to BC and Virginia Tech, Duke's halfway-decent defense against FSU's woeful offense. But seriously, folks, I'm here to tell you -- if Duke wins at Florida State, I think we can finally declare this the weirdest college football season of all time. Unless the defense creates a lot of opportunities for the Devils (turnovers, field position, etc.), FSU just has such an advantage in team speed and depth that this game will probably follow the typical Duke m.o. They'll hang close for way too long, and then give up a couple of easy ones late to make the loss look deceptively worse than it was. That has to be tough to deal with. Heck, look how rough it was for Tech to lose to BC they way they did last night. I would almost rather get blown out than have my hopes dashed after fighting so hard for 55 minutes. Of course, Duke does plenty of both. In any event, it's a real sign of how odd this season is that you could consider the idea of Duke beating Florida State with a straight face. Well, at least I can. I'm predicting that Duke will break its conference losing streak and pull the absolute shocker: Duke, 21-20.

Week 8 Picks

2007-10-19T23:50:00.000-04:00

Well, at we know Duke won't lose this weekend. They're facing mighty Brigham Young-East, otherwise known as BYE. As for the real games:

Tennessee at Alabama. I think this one will be close early, but the Vols will score a few late to make it look like more or a rout than it is. I'll say UT, 35-17. Happy, BCB?

Texas Tech at Missouri. If the over/under is double digits, take the over. Tech, 51-49.

Michigan at Illinois. The battle for second place in the Big Ten. Amazing. Unless Mike Hart totes it forty times, I'll go with Illinois, 31-28.

Florida at Kentucky. The Wildcats won't be able to get the big win two weeks in a row, but they'll come close. Florida is one of the best two-loss teams I've seen in a while. I'll say Gators, 31-30.

Auburn at LSU. I love that part of Clay Travis's book where he ponders why people call Tuberville the "riverboat gambler." Maybe he'll have a chance to hit the Shreveport hot spots. I predict that a fake punt or field goal will backfire on Auburn and key a big LSU win. I'll pick the yellow-and-purple Tigers, 27-9.

Michigan State at Ohio State. Here's my upset pick. Yet another highly-ranked team goes down, and Boston College finds itself ranked #1. Ye gods. Sparty, 28-24.

Week 7 Picks

2007-10-12T22:06:00.000-04:00

When was the last time Missouri at Oklahoma was the game of the week? What a weird season.

LSU at Kentucky. The Tigers might fall behind early, but they won't need another miracle on the bluegrass to pull this one out. LSU, 30-21.

Boston College at Notre Dame. I knew a guy in law school who was a BC grad. He insisted that the Eagles and the Irish were rivals. This game always means more to BC than Notre Dame, but the Weismen won't want to get embarrassed. The trouble is, they don't have the offense to keep up with Matt Ryan, who will jump way up on the Heisman watch lists. BC by 38-21.

Texas A&M at Texas Tech. Wow, Coach Fran needs a win to dial down the heat a little bit. He will not get it in Lubbock this week. In fact, I predict a romp. Tech, 63-28. Call the moving companies.

Auburn at Arkansas. I have no idea. I'll say Tigers, 20-17, but it's a total shot in the dark.

Missouri at Oklahoma. I think this will be a fun game. Chase Daniel is a great quarterback. But OU just has more talent. If they don't let up on the gas, they should hold off a late Mizzou rally. I'll call it for the Sooners, 31-27.

Virginia Tech at Duke. I was all set to write this before Chris Fowler beat me to it. Tech beat Clemson last week by 19, but scored 21 points on non-offensive touchdowns and managed only nine first downs. If the Hokie offense doesn't get into more of a groove, the Devils could keep this game close. The trouble is, Duke is a great team to rack up non-offensive touchdowns against, and the Tech defense knows is has to be opportunistic to bail out the freshman quarterback and the middling offense. Still, I've got to pull for the alma mater, so I'll predict that the Devils protect the ball and get lucky in stalling some Tech drives, and pick Duke to pull off the upset, 21-20.

Week 6 Picks

2007-10-06T01:16:00.000-04:00

Last week's epic dose of upsets has made some of these games slightly less important in the national championship picture, but in some ways more intriguing. On to it! (Oh, and to mollify BCB, I won't be picking the Alabama-Houston tilt.)

Oklahoma v. Texas. The bloom is off the (yellow) rose in this one after both teams lost last week -- the first time that's happened since 1999, I think. I think this could get ugly, because while Texas has not really looked that good in any game this season, the Sooners surely have. Plus, I picked OU to win this one way back in August. So I'll say Oklahoma 35-17.

Virginia Tech at Clemson. Tech's defense will keep them in the game against any team not called LSU, but I don't know what's going on with that offense. It's not all the fault of switching to freshman quarterback Tyrod Taylor, either; Brandon Ore has not been carrying the load. I think the Tigers, playing at home, will get their tailbacks in the groove while their defense stifles the Hokie offense. Clemson, 21-14.

Ohio State at Purdue. What? GameDay didn't go to West Lafayette for this battle of unbeatens? I'm shocked! I think the Boilers will scare OSU before succumbing, 35-27.

Nebraska at Missouri. If Ball State can ring up 40 on the Huskers, what will Chase Daniel be able to do? I'm saying Mizzou, 45-38. You might remember that as the score of the wild 1997 Nebraska-Missouri game, with the crucial difference that the score was reversed -- Nebraska won after the crazy kicked ball in the end zone forced overtime. I distinctly remember where I was when I saw that game: in a bar in Durham with my friend, the rabid Husker fan from Lincoln. So I'll predict a kicked ball on fifth down to springboard the Tigers to victory!

Georgia at Tennessee. This is another one of those contrary conventional wisdom games, where Georgia is the logical pick but people like to call for the Vols in an upset special. I'm with SMQ on this one: Tennessee can't run, can't stop the run, and Georgia can run and neutralize Erik Ainge. Yeah, yeah, Fulmer's on the hot seat and the crowd blah blah. Richt doesn't care. Georgia, 31-20.

Florida at LSU. The Tigers' defense is too good, and their offense is good enough. The Gators will pick up a few meaningless points late to make the score deceiving, but LSU will be in control from start to finish and win 31-23.

Finally, speaking of upset specials, Patrick at ACC Nation is actually calling for Duke to beat Wake Forest! I think it was Ivan Maisel who said last week that, while Duke hasn't quite turned the corner just yet, the blinker is on. This is a winnable game, as the Devils will be able to score some points on the Deacons. I don't even think I have to go too far out on a limb to predict a Duke win, 31-30.

Week 5 Picks

2007-09-29T01:13:00.000-04:00

I gotta go see a man about a thing at the place...so I won't add a lot of my musings. On to my picks.

Cal at Oregon. For some reason, I don't see this as the 100-point shootout everyone else does. I think the Bears and Ducks will play a tad of defense. But still, Oregon at home, 34-27.

Michigan State at Wisconsin. I don't have any inside info from my friend at MSU. But the Big Ten looks awful this year (exhibit A: Illinois being picked to beat Penn State by Mandel and Feldman and SMQ), and neither of these 4-0 teams impress me much. I'm calling for Sparty to get the road upset at calling it Michigan State, 24-14.

Auburn at Florida. Speaking of not impressed, Tubs's seat must be heating up. Florida big, like 35-10.

Clemson at Georgia Tech. Clemson loses a game like this every year, just as surely as the Wreck wins one like this just about every season. So of course everyone is picking the Tigers, to be contrary and go against that grain. Plus, Clemson has that great backfield. But Tech's defense will bend but not break. Mild upset here, Georgia Tech, 24-21.

Alabama v. Florida State (at Jacksonville). Ivan Maisel had a nice piece about Bobby Bowden's affection for the Alabama program. I doubt he has as much devotion to Nick Saban. I'm calling for another low-scoring game. I'll say Alabama, 13-10. But it should be neat to watch.

On Mike Gundy's Rant

2007-09-23T16:45:00.000-04:00

As reported all over the place, including EDSBS, Deadspin, and the FanHouse, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy went ballistic in a press conference yesterday after OSU's shoot-out win over Texas Tech. The reason for his displeasure was a column in The Daily Oklahoman by Jenni Carlson. I posted a longish comment about it over at EDSBS, but then later I realized, Hell, I have a blog, too! So I'll post it here as well.

The story came after OSU benched starting quarterback Bobby Reid in favor of newcomer Zac Robinson. Carlson pretty much said that her impression, largely based on scuttlebutt she's heard around the program, is that Reid was whiny and wasn't tough enough, and the coaches had finally had enough, and benched him despite his talent. I should note that the comments I've seen on a lot of blogs, and especially the ones on the Oklahoman web site, have been strongly in favor of Coach Gundy "standing up for a player" and "calling out the media," especially for relying on "rumor" in "assassinating a kid's character."

I have no dog in this fight, but I think I'm with Carlson. It's not the best article ever written, even from that human interest, use an anecdote as a symbol for someone's character style. But the OSU coaches benched Reid for a reason -- that's not rumor. And (without knowing much about the OSU team), it appears that Reid was thought to be more talented than Robinson. So why the benching? It can't solely be because they were losing this year, because they left Robinson in even after they got annihilated by Troy. He did have some kind of injury, but the coaches had said this year that players don't lose starting spots because of injury, and Reid lost his. Carlson says there have been rumors going back years that Reid is a whiny malcontent, and pointed to video of him laughing during a big defeat, and suggested that might be a reason for the benching.

The benching of a starting quarterback is news, and unless you want the beat writers to simply throw up their hands and say, "Oh well, Coach Gundy must know what he's doing! In Gundy We Trust!" then it has to be okay for writers to suggest reasons for the benching. If, after eliminating the other best possibilities, "attitude" seems to be the reason, I think it's okay to print that.

And either Reid is a nearly-22-year-old multi-year starter who is mature enough to lead a Big XII team -- and consequently, mature enough to accept some criticism of his toughness -- or he is still a little boy who has to run home to Momma when some (girl) bully picks on him. Gundy can't have it both ways.

Ultimately, I think Colorado Coach Dan Hawkins said it best when it comes to the sensitivity of players and their families.

Week 4 Picks

2007-09-22T01:29:00.000-04:00

I sincerely apologize to (both) readers of The Wishbone for not filing picks last week. I've started a new job and find time at a premium. I'm especially upset that I missed my chance to pick Duke's first win in 22 games. The Devils trek up to Annapolis this weekend to play Navy. CNNSI's Stewart Mandel is picking Duke to start a win streak. We'll see, but I hope it happens. And I hope the celebrations goes more smoothly the next time Duke wins. After last week's win over Northwestern, students busted into Wallace Wade Stadium and tore down the goalposts. In the ensuing chaos, a student got konked on the noggin with the uprights. She's doing okay, though, and has a great story to tell.

Okay, moving on to this week's games, I haven't had time to do a ton of research, so please don't rely on these picks for your wagering advice. You've been warned.

Georgia at Alabama. I'm really torn on this one. I could see it going either way. I do like Georgia's defense, at least more than Arkansas's last week. But I'm confused by all this business about Mark Richt closing practice. They can't get too paranoid about Bama. It'll be tough enough to play there; the Dawgs don't need to pucker up worrying about Saban's spies. I think Saban will beat them fair and square, but close, so I'll say Alabama, 24-23, on a Leigh Tiffin field goal.

Oh, by the way, Paul at the Georgia Sports Blog linked to this awesome profile of Larry Munson. I wonder if they'll bury him next to Uga some day. I know that sounds kind of ridiculous, but on the other hand, doesn't a dog mausoleum inside the stadium sound a little crazy until someone actually does it? If anybody would bury their announcer under the hedges, it's Georgia.

South Carolina at LSU. Unlike Lee Corso, I think Spurrier can win the SEC at USC. And I know that the Tigers are a different ball club in the daytime. But they just have too much talent for the Cocks. LSU, 35-10.

Penn State at Michigan. Yes, Notre Dame really is that bad. Penn State, 35-14.

Kentucky at Arkansas. Maybe the most enjoyable game, especially if you don't care who wins. I don't. But I think Alabama showed that a good passer can beat the Hogs, and Andre' Woodson is that. I'm calling for Kentucky to win a road SEC game, 42-31.

Michigan State at Notre Dame. Yes, Notre Dame really is that bad. Michigan State, 28-7.

Duke at Navy. The winning streak continues! Maybe Duke will win enough games for Spurrier to give them an in-season vote in his Top 25 poll! Okay, I won't hold my breath. But I will pick Duke to nip the Middies, 21-17.

Week 2 Pick'ems

2007-09-08T00:02:00.000-04:00

The big game this week is obviously Virginia Tech at LSU. I think the Hokies will play better than they did against ECU. After all, they kind of have to. The conventional wisdom is that LSU's D-line is a lot better than Tech's O-line, and that will put VT QB Sean Glennon under pressure, a circumstance that has yet to yield positive results for the Gobblers. Sometimes the conventional wisdom is that for a reason. Tech's defense is good enough to keep it close, but the Tigers' line play and team speed will overwhelm the Hokies. Plus, how can you pick against White at Night in Tiger Stadium? I'll say LSU by something like 24-13.

By the way, speaking of the stadium with two of my favorite markings in all of football, the Eye of the Tiger and the numbers every five yards instead of ten (my other favorite is the "Bear Down" at Arizona), I read the first chapter of John Ed Bradley's It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium in the bookstore the other day and liked it so much I bought it. A full review to follow in this space later in the season.

There are a few games where the conventional wisdom is telling me to look out for close games or even upsets, but I just don't buy it this time: TCU at Texas, Oregon at Michigan, and South Florida at Auburn. Sure, Texas and Auburn looked awful last week, and TCU and USF are capable of winning. But has there ever been a better lesson in not taking a supposedly inferior team lightly than what happened to Michigan last week? At least Texas and Auburn won't overlook their mid-major foes. And I think these will be great examples of the strides teams make after actually experiencing some game action. I was 3-0 last week, but none of those games were as close (or low-scoring) as I predicted. So I'll go out on a bit of a limb this week and say Texas over TCU by 35-21 and Auburn over USF by 31-20.

As for Michigan, their best bet to is to play ball control and hand off to Mike Hart about a hundred times. Instead, they'll try to outgun Oregon by tossing a few bombs to Mario Manningham. Duck QB Dennis Dixon will find the same holes in Michigan's defense that Appy State QB Armanti Edwards exploited. I think Oregon will pull away late and win 35-24. Michigan and Notre Dame will slump into their "showdown" next week with identical 0-2 records after Penn State demolishes the Irish, 31-7.

I guess I'm going to sound like a Big XII homer, but I also think Nebraska and Oklahoma will win by comfortable margins. The Huskers will get a scare at Wake Forest, but the Deacs won't be able to hang on without injured QB Riley Skinner (who separated a shoulder last week against Boston College), and will fall by 31-21. And Miami will get there eventually under Randy Shannon, but this Oklahoma team looks to me like one of those boring teams that are no fun to pick but just keep winning. I predict a workmanlike 24-14 win in Norman.

I think the South Carolina at Georgia game should be very entertaining. I think the Ole Ball Coach will pull out all the stops and will be able to score on the Dawg D. But I really like Matthew Stafford and I think his experience and poise will pull this one out. I think it will be more high-scoring than most predictions I've seen, but the Bulldogs will get the last bite, 31-27. Also, I wonder if the next politically-correct attack on mascots will involve PETA protesting in Columbia that South Carolina's mascot glorifies cockfighting. I have to think Spurrier would do better in a press conference than Michael Vick.

Oh, I almost forgot: my upset pick this week is Duke over Virginia in Charlottesville, 21-20. Duke actually led UConn at the half last week, 14-11, and was behind only 18-14 until deep in the third quarter. Suddenly, however, the final score became 45-14. I'm not sure whether that was a factor of conditioning (if the Devils wore out), or depth (if UConn had more fresh bodies late), or coaching (if UConn adjusted to something Duke was doing). It's disheartening, to be sure. But UVA looked absolutely inept against Wyoming, and you can't blame all of that on the altitude. The Cavs lost 23-3; at least Duke scored a couple of touchdowns. Virginia racked up only 110 yards of total offense. I have heard a number of UVA fans openly rooting for a Duke win to finally get Al Groh fired, and that kind of attitude doesn't translate to much of a home-field advantage. (The campus's "Beta Bridge," a local landmark, was painted with the words "Groh Must Go" after the Wyoming loss.) One has to wonder if the team is at any risk of also quitting on Groh. Groh has the look of a desperate coach, having yanked starting QB Jameel Sewell in favor of a true freshman last week. That kind of short leash doesn't always instill confidence in a team.

And, Duke always plays Virginia close for some reason. They get intense in this one, and have even had a few on-field scraps in recent years. It's kind of like Memphis and Tennessee -- one of those games that should never be close but always is, and sometimes ends in an upset. In another good omen for the Devils, Duke linebacker Michael Tauiliili is coming back after being suspended for a game. I think conditions are ripe for an upset. Plus, if I keep picking Duke to win, one of these days I'll have to be right...won't I? Some day?

The View from Camden Yards

2007-09-07T00:35:00.000-04:00

I took a little roadtrip this evening to take in some playoff-caliber baseball...and the Orioles. Say what you will about Peter Angelos -- he doesn't spend enough to make the O's a contender, he held MLB hostage over relocating a team to DC, he doesn't pay stadium workers a living wage (although there are signs of progress on that front) -- at least he hasn't auctioned off the naming rights to one of the best ballparks in baseball, Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

I know some of the newer stadiums -- influenced by Camden Yards -- are nice, and probably have even more amenities and are even more fan-friendly. But it's kind of neat to me that a stadium designed to appear retro is actually starting to be retro. Still, it's a great place to watch a game. Spend batting practice on the Eutaw Street plaza, wolfing down a Boog's Barbecue sandwich. The sightlines are good from anywhere, but I like sitting on the right field side because of the view through the outfield into downtown Baltimore. (The view through right field is the famous brick warehouse.)

I found a great ticket on StubHub, well below face value. (With shipping and the commission, the total was about face value.) Until the O's start winning, tickets aren't going to be hard to get, but I wanted something close, and I knew the Red Sox would be a draw. And oh my gracious, there were a ton of obnoxious Red Sox fans in attendance. ESPN's Bill Simmons discussed this phenomenon last week -- how Sox fans take over opposing stadiums -- with a photo essay from Tampa. And every word is true. But at least you can understand when snowbird retirees from up north skip the early-bird special at Del Boca Vista Phase 3 to see the Sox or Yankees at Tropicana Field. And you can also understand locals not going to see the Devil Rays. But Baltimore should do better by the O's. I pronounce it sorry!

Anyway, I was twenty-five rows behind the Orioles' dugout, and had a great view of the O's throwback uniforms. It was Negro League Appreciation Night, and the Orioles were wearing the uniforms of the 1932 Baltimore Black Sox. They were pretty snazzy. Sadly, either my phone-camera doesn't have a zoom, or I haven't figured out how to use it, so none of my pictures of the unis came out well. But fortunately, The Baltimore Sun has some good shots in this gallery. Alert the Uni Watch blog! Uni Watcher Paul Lukas will be pleased to know that the throwback uniforms all appeared to have the proper leg length and sock/stirrup visibility ratio.

During the pregame, the video screen was showing footage of the night Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games played streak. While that was enjoyable, I wondered if the O's hadn't had any highlights since then. The more I thought about it, the more I think, no, not really. But I came to find out that there was another good reason for showing the "2131" footage: tonight was the twelfth anniversary of that game. It was also the eleventh anniversary of Eddie Murray hitting his 500th home run, so that was a pretty cool coincidence.

It was throwback night all around, including on the mound. Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield started for the Red Sox, and at one point the Orioles used a relief pitcher who employed a Dan Quisenberry-style submarine motion. Oh, and I saw one of my favorite plays not once, but twice -- a player from each team hit himself with a bunted ball for an out! Not something you see every day in the majors, and I saw it two times in one night.

Wakefield got knocked around pretty well, and didn't last long. So I got to see newest Sox hero Clay Buchholz, fresh off a no-hitter in his second career start but now consigned to the bullpen, and later, closer Jonathan Papelbon. As an old Devil Rays fan myself, I was glad to see both Julio Lugo and Aubrey Huff playing. But by far the biggest cheers of the night went to David Ortiz. Every time he appeared, shrill cries of "¡Papi!" went up from all quarters.

As for the game, it was a good one. Both teams had one-, two-, and three-run innings, and the score was tied at six until the ninth. Part of the reason for that was two really boneheaded plays by O's rookie pitcher Garrett Olson. Twice in a row -- twice! -- he let the lead runner advance by throwing to first, even when the lead runner was forced! Madness! Still, the Orioles hung in there until the Red Sox manufactured a run in the top of the ninth and brought on Papelbon to shut things down. All in all, an enjoyable time at the old ballyard.

Here are the best two pictures I took (click for a bigger image):

They're not saying "Boo," they're saying "Youk!" Kevin Youkilis gets a big hit.

They're not saying "Drew," they're saying "Boo!" J.D. Drew hits into an inning-ending double play.

The View From Athens & Atlanta

2007-09-05T20:20:00.000-04:00

It was a great night to be a Bulldog. I came into the game nervous, but left pretty satisfied. All the anticipated weaknesses of my team, offensive line and the defense, looked strong. I traveled over to Athens with a loyal reader and we enjoyed the trip, despite being in a car for about twenty hours. We wandered around downtown Athens and then tailgated in high style with Paul Westerdawg.

But, one game was not enough. We decided we couldn't pass up Glavine v. Smoltz at Turner Field Sunday. I intensely dislike the Mets and their fans were out in force Sunday. Is it me or does every Met fan look the same: middle-age, bald, fat, some sort of facial hair, and in a Mets jersey. I swear I saw at least a hundred of those people Sunday and they all match that description. Maybe I'm just bitter over Glavine's first win over the Braves this year.

Week 1 Picks

2007-08-31T12:02:00.000-04:00

From King Bee's Hive:

It looks like Quinton and I will have the same record after this week. I'm glad we're not officially picking the Duke-UConn game, then. I think the Devils can win that one, but will miss suspended linebacker Michael Tauiliili. For fun, I'll pick Duke, 24-21, breaking the losing streak and consigning the goalposts to the pond in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. On to the real games....

Okie State at Georgia. I think the Dawgs should be scared of getting into a shootout. I think if they play a ball-control, pounding game, they'll wear down the cowpokes. But I think it will be tense until late. I'll say Georgia, 28-21.

Tennessee at Cal. I agree with Quinton that Tennessee will have a good year -- I think they can even win the SEC East. But they just have so many little questions for this game, and Cal is not a team to get well against. Coaches always say that teams improve the most between the first and second game, and I think the Vols will prove that. But line problems, receiver questions, and Erik Ainge's finger will stymie Smokey this weekend. Not to mention the sights those Vols will see in the People's Republic of Berkeley. I'm going with Cal by 31-21.

Georgia Tech at Notre Dame. It's been shocking in recent years to see how far Notre Dame has fallen in terms of pure athleticism. Where is the likes of Tim Brown? Are they not paying enough now that Lou Holtz is gone? Whatever happened, it's almost embarrassing to see Notre Dame play against a speedy, talented team like Michigan or USC or LSU. Well, mostly gleefully fun, but also a little embarrassing. We'll see if Charlie Weis goes with Demetrius Jones at quarterback to help level that playing field a bit. I think Weis is going to think too highly of his own alleged genius and do some ill-times QB platooning. I think the Irish won't get into a rhythm, and you know that the Jackets have been scouting this one ever since last year's Notre Dame win in Atlanta. Still, I think it's going to be another snoozy low-scoring affair, with Georgia Tech prevailing in the end, 21-14.

Weekend Picks - September 1

2007-08-31T12:01:00.000-04:00

Oklahoma State at Georgia - I'm a homer Dawg fan, but I'm worried. Okie State's offense is potent with solid skill players, an All-American caliber receiver, and the best of everything Boone Pickens can buy. (I think each player was flown to Athens in his own gold G5 while wearing a top hat and lighting fat cigars with $10,000 bills, if media reports are true.) Bobby Reid leads a good/great offense against a bunch of Georgia defenders who are skilled and fast, but who are also young and inexperienced. The saving grace for the Dawgs will be State's defense, which couldn't stop anybody last year and had their entire defensive line depart in the off season. The key to the game is if Georgia's patchwork offensive line can open enough holes to make Okie State fear the run. If so, UGA can grind out some drives, keeping Reid off the field. Oklahoma State 27, Georgia 34.

Tennessee at Cal - S-E-C! S-E-C! I'm afraid that this entire off season, while everyone was talking about how great the conference was, people missed that the SEC doesn't really return a solid BCS caliber team on paper other than LSU. Everyone else has big question marks. UT is no exception. They return arguably the best SEC quarterback when healthy in Erik Ainge, but who will Ainge throw to? A collection of freshmen, unproven back-ups, and JUCOs. Tennessee will be solid this year, but not in this game. Eastern teams notoriously have trouble out west and I'm picking Cal to beat the coon dogs. The talent may be a push or even favor UT, but Cal has all the intangibles of playing at home with a Pac-10 size chip on their shoulder. Tennessee 20, Cal 28.

Georgia Tech at Notre Dame - I will freely admit that I have not scouted this game as I should, but I don't think I need to, plus a get sick after continued exposure to anything Tech related. I think Tech is a solid team, perhaps the second best team in the ACC. Notre Dame, however, has failed to really impress me recently outside of the USC game in 2005. The Domers don't look like they are going to be anything impressive this year either, with a QB derby in fall practice failing to definitively produce a starter. Georgia Tech 24, Notre Dame 17.

I'm going to Athens this weekend and I'll have full report next week.

BCS Predictions

2007-08-31T00:38:00.003-04:00

I tried this last year, and they were so bad I'm ashamed to even link to them. Yet I remain undaunted. Here we go again.

National Championship: USC (12-0) v. West (By God) Virginia (12-0). I wouldn't be thrilled about this matchup, but it's how I see this thing going. I think all those SEC teams will cannibalize each other, Texas has too many tough road games, and Virginia Tech will lose at LSU. I think this year's big BCS "controversy" will be the margin between an undefeated WVU and a one-loss SEC team. In the end, while voters were content last year to pick their idea of the most deserving one-loss team, I don't see them jumping a one-loss team over a solid undefeated team. Still, I don't think the Mountaineers have enough defense to hang with the Trojans, so I guess I'm jumping on that bandwagon and picking USC to win it all in a shootout.

Rose Bowl: Michigan (11-1) v. Texas (10-2). Unable to get the traditional Pac-10 v. Big 10 game, I think the Rose Bowl will pick Texas. The Longhorns like going to Pasadena, and I think they'll bring more fans and tv viewers than any of the other possibilities (except maybe Florida). Also, I would love to see a game between these two great powers who don't play each other often enough. Anyway, I think it's a tossup but I'll pick Michigan.

Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma (12-1) v. Wisconsin (10-2). So yeah, I think the Sooners will win the Big 12 and return to the scene of last year's best bowl game. They'll be ready for the Statue of Liberty this year and will wear down Wisconsin. Oklahoma to win. Still, I think the Badgers are a solid sleeper pick.

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech (11-2) v. Florida (10-2). This is going to be a fascinating season for the Hokies, no matter what record they end up with. They'll be compelling to watch, and will have so much to play for every week. Still, they're not good enough to beat LSU in Baton Rouge at night next week, and somewhere along the way QB Sean Glennon will go haywire and cost them a game. But they're good enough to win the ACC this year. Florida is better, though, and will win the Orange Bowl.

Sugar Bowl: LSU (12-1) v. Louisville (10-2). I'm really only picking this matchup because I think the Sugar Bowl gets last pick this year. Not that Louisville isn't a decent opponent for the SEC champion, but I don't think they'd travel as many as, say, Wisconsin or Oklahoma. Like I said, I think a one-loss LSU team will get a lot of chatter about a playoff going, but this year I think they'll have to settle for winning the Sugar Bowl, and I'm picking the Tigers. I think they'll be very good, though, and the schedule is favorable -- except for that whole playing-in-the-SEC thing. Florida last year showed just how hard it is even for a great team to get through unscathed. If LSU does that, I have no doubt they'll be playing for the title, and probably winning it.

Okay. Check back in January to see how badly I did at prognosticating!

Notes from Da Bayou

2007-08-28T09:48:00.000-04:00

Don't worry State fans. Yes, you are widely thought to be the worst team in the conference. Yes, you are playing LSU, widely thought to be the best team in the conference. According to Sly Croom, State "has a chance." Although the full quote sounds like State "has a chance" to compete, not win. Les Miles says State is a "quality opponent." Respect.

It's always a good sign when the coach has to point out that the team could conceivably win before a nationally televised game.

In other Louisiana-based news, Vince Dooley will miss his first Georgia home game in 43 years this Saturday when Georgia hosts Oklahoma State between the hedges in Athens. Dooley's excuse? He's accompanying his wife to the head coaching debut of his son, Derek Dooley, at Louisiana Tech. Derek is a former LSU assistant. At least he'll still be cheering for some Bulldogs.

Travis Henry: Goldplated Babymaker

2007-08-26T15:00:00.000-04:00

Shawn Kemp, move over. Travis Henry, former Vol and NFL running back, has been sowing the seeds of love all over the South. And those seeds are powerful. Powerful enough to produce nine children by nine women in four states. While making nine babies with nine women in four states sounds fun, it also sounds unfathomably expensive. Not for an NFL running back though, right? It would be easy if you didn't blow 15% of you after tax bonus on gold chains. Henry blows so much money that his lawyer argues that he won't be able to fund a $250,000 trust for his progeny.

Playing Catch-up

2007-08-21T00:33:00.000-04:00

A few recent items moved me to write, but not in a timely fashion. I'll have my annual pre-season BCS predictions soon. But for now, the hot issues.

1. There's been buzz all summer over whether the Big Ten might expand. A lot of this tracks back to some statements by Commissioner Jim Delaney regarding the prospects of the Big Ten tv network. Since there was nothing else going on this summer, frenzy broke out. Wild speculation ensued: maybe the Big Ten's twelfth team would be Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Missouri, Texas, Florida, Notre Dame, the Dillon Panthers, Wossamotta U., etc.

I don't expansion is going to happen anytime soon. And I also think that the Big Ten might be contrary enough to go to twelve teams and not play a championship game, unless they can somehow play it the week before the Ohio State-Michigan game. But something to remember is that the Big Ten gets awfully clubby and snooty. The schools' presidents make a big deal about how every conference school is a member of the Association of American Universities.

So it stands to reason that the hypothetical twelfth Big Ten school would also be an AAU member, so the conference can continue to trumpet its academic bona fides. I think the likeliest suspects are Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Missouri. I think Syracuse makes the most sense, but I still really don't see expansion coming any time soon. But when/if it does, don't look for any schools that aren't AAU members.

2. ACC Nation speculates about the job prospects of Tiny Terry Bowden, who apparently is thinking about getting back into coaching. Could the ACC handle three Bowdens? Good grief. I think Georgia Tech, Arkansas, and Mississippi State (all mentioned in the post and comments) sound intriguing. But I also wonder if a school like those would take a flier on someone who has been out of coaching for so long. It's not that I think he's forgotten much, but if I were an AD, I would want some sign he's serious and is up for the commitment and drudgery of doing the job every day, instead of whatever his current consultant role at FSU is. So I'd like to see him spend a year as a coordinator at a BCS school or head coaching a mid-major. I don't know, somewhere like Memphis if Tommy West has another 2-10 season.

3. This is just typical. Duke finally makes an appearance in the Fulmer Cup standings thanks to the arrest of linebacker Michael Tauiliili, the Devils' defensive leader. Tauliliili was picked up for drunk driving, assault, carrying a weapon, and other assorted charges. And then not only do they get passed in the EDSBS rankings, but then Duke reinstates Tauiliili, although he'll be suspended for the opener against UConn.

I'm not sure what to make of this. On the one hand, the lacrosse case taught us all about the danger of rushing to judgment, and I don't think anyone will be calling for the expulsion of the whole football team, like some did with the lacrosse team. But on the other, there seems to be a lot more evidence against Tauiliili, and it's probably not unreasonable to have a guy ride the pine if he's facing what the Raleigh paper called "a litany of charges."

I'm not saying Michael Tauiliili is Michael Vick, and I'm not saying he's an angel. So what do we do with those players who fall in the middle, especially at a place like Duke that supposedly is interested in more than just winning? And should the school be harder on him because he might have cost the Devils one of their best (only?) chances at winning a game this season?

4. Dan Shanoff is praying that this year will finally be the one to blow up the BCS. Sigh. 'Twon't happen, folks. At least not this year, and probably not in the next contract, either. Shanoff's fantasy scenario is ending the season with USC, Texas, Michigan, and West Virginia all undefeated, and a one-loss SEC champ "arguably better."

First of all, the odds of what Shanoff wants -- an ad hoc, meet-me-next-Saturday-at-high-noon game totally outside the BCS is just ridiculous. Even assuming there were two clear claimants (like LSU and USC a few years ago), and an available stadium, and enough fans willing to make travel plans on a week's notice right after travelling to another bowl game (frankly, one of the biggest reasons not to have a playoff), it's ludicrous to hope that the schools would agree to some sandlot showdown, just so people like Dan Shanoff can rest easy knowing who the "true" champion is. My goodness, are we so afraid of a little controversy and conversation? What would we blog about all summer if all our questions were answered? Why don't we just see if Vince Young and the rest of his championship Texas team will agree to don the Burnt Orange one more time to see if that team was better than last year's Gators? It's about as likely to happen.

But to answer Shanoff's fauxpocalyptic heartrending question, "Uh, THEN what?," the answer is pretty clear. Whichever of those four undefeated teams finished first and second in the BCS rankings would play for the national championship. The other two might -- might -- play in another BCS game, but maybe not. For simplicity, let's say USC and Michigan finish #1 and #2, and Texas, West Virginia, and LSU finish #3-5, with LSU having the only loss in there. The Trojans and Wolverines would play for the title, and chances are Texas and LSU would play in a game, and the Mountaineers would be stuck with the ACC champion. The USC-Michigan winner would be the BCS champion, and the AP would have the opportunity to award a split title to either the Texas-LSU winner or WVU if they looked more impressive. (Or, to the Texas-WVU winner if they were paired up.)

Why is this so hard to deal with? Sure, some people would assert that a team other than the BCS champion was the best in the country. And sure, some people would like to see some kind of runoff if we ended the season with two outstanding undefeated teams. Heck, I would too, because I love college football. But I don't cry myself to sleep and put a rose, an orange, a sugar cube, and, uh, a fiesta under my pillow dreaming that the Playoff Fairy will miraculously appear the second week of January.

I agree with Shanoff that "the only ones worthy of being laughed at are the people who keep bleating about a playoff like their complaints will change things." Maybe I'm misreading him, though, but Shanoff kinda throws in with that lot. (And he's just plain wrong to call a multi-undefeateds scenario "unprecedented.") A playoff might happen one day, but it will be the sort of NCAA-sanctioned, bureaucratized-to-death contraption that we'll see lumbering along well in time. It won't happen overnight, no matter who finishes this season undefeated.

Shiny Pants Wants Pocket Passers, Not Class Passers

2007-08-05T20:08:00.000-04:00

Shiny Pants is complaining again. No, not complaining about the refs. No, not working to loosen Carolina's drug testing policy. This time he's complaining about South Carolina's tough academic admissions standards. Spurrier is upset that SC's admissions department denied two of his recruits admission to school. Michael Bowman and Arkee Smith, two members of Spurrier's touted recruiting class of last year, were cleared by the NCAA, but denied by SC's admissions department. Andrew Sorensen, South Carolina's president (and former Alabama president) has assured Spurrier that he will see to it that such denials won't happen again. Of course he will. Spurrier has threatened to leave if his recruits don't get in school.

Isn't this super coach, Steve Spurrier? The guy that could win at Duke. I'm guessing Duke didn't let every jock that could run a 4.5 into its hallowed halls. Spurrier would no doubt argue that to win in the SEC he needs lax admissions standards to win. But, he won at UF where admissions standards are higher.

I know UGA has had the same thing happen to them on Michael Grant and Jamar Chaney, both of whom went on to start at other SEC programs. And believe me, UGA's president isn't going to promise Mark Richt to loosen things up for his recruits. So, Spurrier doesn't need a level playing field, he needs the field slanted in his favor.

Spurrier argues that the denials impair his credibility on the recruiting trail. How can he possibly be trusted after two of his guys that he promised admissions didn't get in? I think this argument is simply cover for Spurrier to get some more special treatment from the SC administration. The recruit can always screw up his academics after signing his letter of intent. If you recruit for a school that requires higher standards than the bare minimums required by the NCAA, then you should tell the kid that. If they can't meet those requirements, it's not the coach's fault, it's the kid's fault. Playing for a college program is never guaranteed. Admission to the school of your choice isn't either, no matter what coach says.

I understand that athletes may need some special exemptions for admission to many SEC schools, especially as the admission standards of many schools are drastically rising. But should athletes receive a complete exemption from heightened standards? If so, the university presidents should just let the NCAA set their core curriculum and graduation standards. Why should universities vary their standards when football is involved? After all, we must have a level playing field, right?

Dogs Strike Back

2007-08-02T05:22:00.000-04:00

I've avoided the Mike Vick fiasco mainly because of its complete unseemliness and secondarily because it happened during my summer hiatus. It has obviously angered many, many people. But, the anger doesn't stop there. As you can see here, dogs are also upset.

Mike VI Found!

2007-07-28T07:58:00.000-04:00

LSU announced that they have located a replacement for Mike V, who died this summer. The new mascot is a 2 year old Bengal tiger that should arrive on campus in August when it will be named Mike VI.

Highly upset by this news was Japanese wrestling sensation Tiger Mask who really wanted the job. "I would have growled many, many times if selected."

SEC Media Day Three: Continuing Coverage

2007-07-27T10:10:00.001-04:00

GEORGIA: Mark Richt gave the shortest Q&A session of Media Days. Evidently the Dawgs are just as boring as Richt was. Only two things really stood out in Richt's comments. First, he enjoys being discounted this season. No one is really talking much about Georgia. South Carolina and Kentucky are resurgent programs. The Gators are the defending national champ. No one is really paying attention to the Dawgs. Richt said he understood why the attention is on those story lines and doesn't mind being virtually ignored in Hoover. He also said he didn't mind that not one of his players was selected 1st team All-SEC by the writers in Hoover. Second, when asked what effect the text messaging ban will have on UGA's recruiting, he said they would "text the heck out of 'em" until the ban takes effect. UGA will try to make sure they don't get "outworked" for a recruit during that period. Contact is severely limited after the ban comes into effect, so Richt said the period before the ban is crucial.

OLE MISS: Coach O thought the Rebs "are starting" to act like the championship teams he coached at USC. Like Sly Croom, Orgeron talked about the Rebel's close losses last year and hoped to make more plays this year to win tight games. Coach O had some curious sayings. He said his new defensive coordinator, John Thompson was a great coach of the "back end" and he was good at coaching the "front end." I'm not sure if I want to know what that means. As a side note, why did Orgeron pick Thompson, a guy who was essentially fired by Spurrier two years ago because his defense was so bizarre and ineffective?

Coach O admitted that naming Bret Schaeffer was a mistake and it was done for "recruiting purposes." The QB race at Ole Miss is now "open." The O line should be strong for the Rebels and Orgeron was excited to have some "three hundred poundas" up front on the defense.

LSU: Miles was in the crosshairs for his previous comments about Alabama and the Pac-10. Les wasted no time apologizing for his Bama f-bomb and was conciliatory toward Bama. He insisted that the Bama game was simply another game that LSU would prepare for it as it would any other. One reporter asked how Les would convince his fan base of that. Les also attempted to clarify his Pac-10 comments. They were meant to bolster the now downtrodden reputation of the SEC in the offseason, not to slight the Pac-10, and that it's easier to win a conference that doesn't have a championship game. Uh, OK, Les.

Miles has a reputation of being a buffoon, but I thought he did a good job. He down played his prior controversial comments even though he was asked about them repeatedly. Nick Saban was mentioned in about half the questions asked of Les. He deftly deferred when asked who would win a boxing match between he and Saban. Les seems to realize that he should beat Saban this year and maybe he should just shut up and coach.

Like Bobby Johnson, Les said he was in favor of an early signing period for football. Those are the only two coaches that support the early signing period, although I don't think Mark Richt was asked about it. Miles also said the Tigers enjoyed "getting to the back end."

One last note, expect LSU to return some kicks for touchdowns this year. The new kickoff rule should really help LSU's dwarf burner, Trindon Holliday, to blaze on kickoffs because he will get more returns.

TENNESSEE: Phil sounded like a coach that is still looking for something in his team. Other than Erik Ainge, his skill position players are still largely unproven. Phil talked about his relationship with Pat Summit and that her success is tied to superstar players. Does UT have a superstar to ride to a championship? Phil said Ainge has a chance to be a superstar, which means he isn't one.
Phil sounded like he recognized that receiver is a weak link. UT will emphasize the run, but Phil sounded unsure. He liked his backs, but he didn't sound confident in his line. The defense, however, sounded solid. The only think Phil was concerned about was D tackle. Look for the old style UT strategy: run it effectively, grind it out, and play good defense.

Saban Speaks

2007-07-26T18:19:00.000-04:00

Nick Saban was at his passive aggressive best today in Hoover before the SEC media. It was a typical Saban appearance: terse, tense, and professional. Saban does his best to both ingratiate himself to the viewer and deftly conceal the considerable cracks in his image. Today was no different. If you had never heard of Nick Saban, he would have come off as professional and diligent, like your doctor or priest. He began by thanking the media for the job they do. He also said he welcomed the outrageous expectations he faces on the Capstone and enjoyed being at a place where the standards were high.

The reporters, having heard of Nick Saban, quickly pounced on the obvious questions. What happened with Miami?

Saban gave what every lawyer would have told him to say: at the time he had no intention of leaving the Dolphins and he believed all his statements were true. The problem is that that is a lawyer's answer. If you were even considering, even for a moment, that you might leave for another job, you don't use the future tense. Hell, no coach should ever talk about his job, past, present, or future, in the future tense. It invites problems. Plus, if he even thought he might be the slightest bit interested, you don't make those kinds of statements. The Dolphins job isn't like a college job where you have to maintain the illusion of stability for recruiting, so he doesn't have a ready made excuse for lying. He said he wasn't going to be Alabama's coach in dramatic fashion and should pay the price for it. Tubs got hammered for his pine box comments at Ole Miss, but Saban is a bigger deal because of his past success. Saban just messed up and he deserves the flack.

What about LSU? Saban gave the same response to every LSU question: I respect the people of Louisiana, LSU, and the he loved his time there. He would have loved to come back to LSU, but the job wasn't open. Well Nick, it doesn't matter. LSU fan hates everything that isn't LSU. You've known this and you've now taunted the irritable, angry, and crazy LSU fan base. Get ready for batteries, rolls of pennies, urine, and raw meat when you come to Baton Rouge. Nick also had a line about Miles saying that he had "arguably the best team in the conference" (that Nick thinks Nick built).

Is it me or does a Saban press conference sounds like a management consulting speech? The terms chemistry, responsibility, mission statement, positive energy, and buy-in were all used today. Does Nick have an MBA?

One other surprise. Nick talked about his golf game today. Saban plays golf? Doesn't golf require time that Nick could spend watching tape or ignoring administrative staff?

RIP, Skip Prosser

2007-07-26T18:05:00.000-04:00

Man, this sucks. Wake Forest basketball coach Skip Prosser apparently dropped dead of a heart attack today while jogging. He was 56. Prosser was one of the good guys, universally respected as a competitor, teacher, and all-around person. Even during some of the chippier games against Duke during the Chris Paul era, no one really had anything bad to say about Prosser himself.

Skip Prosser was an instant success everywhere he went -- he was the first coach in NCAA history to take three different teams to the NCAA tournament in his first season. He had a fantastic tenure at Xavier, and maintained the success of the Demon Deacon program after Dave Odom left. In the years since Paul went pro, Wake has struggled a bit. But things were looking up. Wake fans were already gleeful with the 2008 recruiting season early commitments. For more on those signees, check here and here and here (all those links via DBR, and their message board thread, with some nice stories about Prosser, is here).

It's a real shame that Prosser's last season was such a disaster, given how much optimism he had for the future of the program. I know that when ACC fans saw that recruiting news, they knew Wake wasn't going to be down for long. Now one has to wonder if those recruits will stick with the Deacs. Much will surely depend on who the next coach is, and it's way too early to even begin speculating on that. But Skip Prosser made sure that he left the program in good shape, and it will be a great opportunity for someone else, thanks to all the effort he put in. Skip's son Mark Prosser is an assistant coach at Bucknell, and the Bison are scheduled to visit Wake Forest in December. I wonder if they'll cancel that game now (although it's a great game for both teams), but if they do play, I'm sure it will be a bittersweet moment, as it should have been an on-court matchup of father and son.

I heard Fran Fraschilla talking to John Siebel on ESPN Radio a bit ago about Prosser. Fraschilla was part of a group, including Prosser, who went to Kuwait this summer to hang out with some troops and play some basketball. He wrote about the experience here and here. Fraschilla said that Prosser was a teacher to everyone he met, and a good person on and off the court. A lot of people in college basketball, and fans of the game, are going to miss him.

SEC Media Day Two: Continuing Coverage

2007-07-26T10:49:00.000-04:00

VANDERBILT: Bobby Johnson was pretty dry. He stated that Vandy is trying to become more competitive and has come a long way in recent years. Usually, you could count on Vandy making a mistake late in a close game to lose it. Johnson said that was not the case last year. He talked about Vandy's big road wins recently, but that they need to do better at home. He mentioned that they have sold more season tickets this year than ever before, so that should help the atmosphere in Nashville.

Johnson also said he favored an early signing period for recruiting, a view that has so far been in the minority of SEC coaches. Johnson liked the idea of letting a kid sign if his mind was made up. The coaches can stop "babysitting" the recruit and the teams can find out which early commitments are genuine. Also, the football program doesn't have to spend more money to keep track of signed prospects, a concern that is acute with Vandy's athletic budget.

ALABAMA: Too much good stuff for a few paragraphs. Saban will get a whole entry later.

MISSISSIPPI STATE: For all the problems in Starkville, Sly Croom gave a surprisingly upbeat and positive press conference. He noted that they open the season with preseason behemoth LSU and said he wouldn't have it any other way. Sly noted that State is making some progress. Last year State was close to winning some games in the fourth quarter (including against my Bulldogs) just to come up short late. Sly tells his team that he just wants to have a chance in the fourth quarter and if they do, he thinks they'll start winning some of those close games. Sly, the SEC coach closest to a pink slip, recognized that MSU still has a ways to go to be the competitive team State fans want. Sly needs a big win this year and the Egg Bowl.

FLORIDA: Urb described a team of mystery. The Gators return some exciting offensive skill players and a good line, but he doesn't know how consistent they will be. As for his defense, he didn't know much. The defense is skilled and talented, but Urb doesn't really know how the defense will play together or how tough they'll be. One thing Urb knows for sure, he loves Percy Harvin. He said he could talk hours about Harvin. I prefer to block him out of my mind, numb with fear. Urb has the talent, but even he acknowledges that the development of that talent will tell the story of the Gator's season.

Urban was predictably upset about the text messaging ban. He thinks its akin to telling coaches they can only call with rotary phones. Urban doesn't think letters and phone calls are enough these days to develop a relationship with potential recruits. Urb will be breaking keys on his phone until August 1 to develop those relationships.

Urban did request that Pat Dooley punch a reporter in the mouth for asking what will happen if Timmy Tebow gets hurt.

SEC Media Day One: Continuing Coverage

2007-07-25T16:34:00.000-04:00

After Arkansas and South Carolina time slots, here are a few short notes from the proceedings in Hoover:

ARKANSAS: Most of the questions were about the turmoil that has engulfed Nutt during the offseason. I thought Nutt held up pretty well with his usually pulpit fervor. Nutt batted away most of the questions by saying how enthusiastic the Razorback Club meetings were this summer and how excited they were about the upcoming season. He tried to put all that stuff behind them and move on, but I figure it will follow him around until they get a big win.

Nutt did reveal that Darren McFadden still dresses up for Halloween. I need pictures, please.

Nutt also thinks Marcus Monk will break the Arkansas receiving touchdown record. I think he only needs six. I would say that is a safe bet, but given the Arkansas air attack last year, maybe it isn't. I don't see Casey Dick suddenly morphing into Dan Fouts and I don't think he'll have too many chances to show his arm off even if he did. Nutt did say that Monk is one of the best receivers he's seen while covered because he can go up over the defender. That is certainly true and may be Dick's saving grace. He doesn't have to throw a perfect pass to Monk to get a reception. Monk will break the record, but it won't come early in the season.

SOUTH CAROLINA: First, Shiny Pants was late by about thirty minutes. No surprise. His theme was that the Cocks now have a team that matches up with the talent of the jean shorters, the coon dogs, and the Bulldogs. He said repeatedly that this is the first team he's had at Carolina that he thinks can compete for a conference crown.

Spurrier had a good quote on the NBA referee betting scandal. When asked if anything like that could happen in the SEC, Spurrier responded (I'm paraphrasing), "I don't think I've ever said 'That guy called the game like he had money on it,' but I've been involved in some that I thought deserved investigation."

AUBURN: Tubs talked about his offense mostly. He is excited about his stable of running backs and senior quarterback Brandon Cox. But, not all is peachy on the plains. They are still looking for a dangerous receiving threat and their "starting over" on special teams. A theme in Tub's slot was how physical the LSU game was last year and how Cox was never really the same after that game. It sounded like Tubs has enjoyed playing second fiddle to Nick Saban over the past few months. He sounded fresh and ready to start the season.

Tubs did note how brutal Auburn's schedule is with games at Florida, at LSU, at Arkansas, and at Georgia. He talked about how difficult it is to get the entire team ready to play big road games. Tubs identified momentum as the single biggest factor in road games. He'll have his work cut out for him this year.

KENTUCKY: Rich Brooks was cracking them up with his opening line: "I'm baaaaaaack." He said his goal every year is to make it back to SEC Media Days the next year and was glad to get back after everyone questioned his job security last year. Brooks said this was his best football team at UK and that this would be an interesting year for his club. UK's offense will put up some points and Brooks said his defense should be improved, unlike most years.

Broussard Hits the Books

2007-07-25T10:12:00.000-04:00

If you didn't pick up a paper this morning, bruising and oft-injured LSU running back Alley Broussard has decided to leave the LSU football team to concentrate on getting his degree. Broussard was a key backup on LSU's 2003 team and was, at the time, thought to be LSU's next great back. Mostly because of this run in 2003.

In 2004, Broussard broke the LSU single game rushing record with a 250 yard performance against Ole Miss. Then in 2005, Broussard tore up his knee and was never the same. He spent most of last year on the bench, trying to rescue some playing time after getting on Les Miles's bad side. He evidently decided that football wasn't that important and life offered other things.

I've never torn up my knee, but I think it takes a special type of person to come back from such an injury and compete again at the college level. We often take for grated that these players come back to form, but it is more difficult than it looks. Broussard acquitted himself well during his playing days and I wish him luck.

As for the Tigers, Broussard isn't going to slow them down. They have a solid stable without him in Scott, Murphy, Williams, and Hester.

ACC Thoughts and Assorted Items

2007-07-24T23:15:00.000-04:00

Kyle checked in on this week's SEC Media Days, and I thought I'd toss in a couple of words about this week's ACC meetings in Pinehurst, North Carolina, along with a couple other sports thoughts. I'm getting more excited every day the season gets nearer, and I'll start posting regularly when news starts happening more regularly.

1. The media voted Florida State and Virginia Tech as the winners of their divisions, with Tech being named as the overall winner. Tech has a ton of talent, and a (mostly) favorable schedule. They get Boston College, FSU, and Miami at home. The big on-field hurdle is a humdinger of a match September 8 at LSU. Of course, the bigger hurdles may be dealing with off-field distractions like dealing with the continuing aftermath of the April massacre on the Tech campus, and whatever happens in the Michael Vick dogfighting case.

(I'm not saying that should be pinned on VT, unless evidence comes out that Vick was involved with dogfighting while he was in school. But I said last September that Tech has some dirty players, and they need to avoid developing a reputation for condoning thuggery. My point here is the first time a Hokie commits a personal foul, it will give the announcers an excuse to bring up the Vick deal, if they even need an excuse at all.)

2. Anyway, the big stories in the Atlantic Coast this season will be the Tech narratives and the coaching carousel. Four new coaches take over (at UNC, BC, Miami, and NC State), and at least a couple others (Al Groh at UVA and, I think, Tommy Bowden at Clemson) are on the hot seat.

3. Should Duke's Ted Roof be on the hot seat as well? The Devils have lost twenty dadgum games in a row, and as SMQ says in one of his excellent ACC preview posts, "A more competitive team [than last season's] could still be 0-12." They return a lot of players -- they started a bunch of freshman and very few seniors last year -- but the schedule takes a step up. I would be willing to sell my soul to the devil and/or convert to Catholicism if Duke could win at Notre Dame on November 17th, but it ain't gonna happen when wins over UNC, Navy, and UConn might be too much to ask for. Still, Duke appears to be hanging in there with Roof. The Blue Devils were competitive in a few games last year, and I think as long as they win a game and look decent in a few others, Roof will get at least one more try. So there's an iota of optimism, but it'll be a long fall in Durham.

4. One fun note about the Duke team -- they have some great names! Check it out:

Vince Oghobaase, DL
Ayanga Okpokowuruk, DE
Greg Akinbiyi, DE
Michael Tauiliili, LB
Adrian Aye-Darko, S
Chris Rwabukamba, CB
Ifreke Okpokowuruk, DL
Zack Asack, QB
Pontus Bondeson, DL (from Sweden)
John Gutekunst, DB Coach

I'll take that lineup up against anybody's. I'll be eager to hear some opponents' radio announcers tackle a couple of those. Sadly-appropriately named Asack, of course, won't need any help getting tackled.

5. In other conferences, Missouri was picked to win the Big XII North, and I was pleased to see this quote from QB Chase Daniel: "We're honored to be picked to win it, and we'll definitely use that as motivation. We've worked really hard over the last few years to earn some respect, and now that it's coming we need to work even harder to keep it." (link via Bruce Feldman) Finally! An athlete isn't complaining about "being disrespected" or asserting that polls don't matter. Daniel's quote is still mighty bland, but he still becomes one of my favorite players for not automatically resorting to "you don't respect us!" faux-motivation (fauxivation?) or Holtzish poormouthing.

6. Don't look now, but we might be getting a four-team college football playoff once the current BCS contract is up. I think the law of unintended consequences will foul that scheme up, too. But I still remain opposed to a playoff system. Yes, I'm a bowl man. And I am convinced that we can have either bowls or a playoff, and any rigged-up hybrid will be a disappoint to fans of both. I guess we'll find out if I'm right in 2011. Maybe.

7. Finally, in other sports, this gambling NBA referee story is fascinating in a train-wreck way. Here's my guess on the contrarian theme that will crop up soon: Some people will say that if referee Tim Donaghy was betting or manipulating the over/under in games, but not necessarily the outcome, well, maybe that isn't so bad. I mean, who doesn't like high-scoring NBA games, right? If he didn't care who won, and if he called a lot of fouls on both teams to drive up scores, where's the harm? After all, a legitimate referee could call a game tightly and run up the score without cheating, so is what Donaghy (allegedly) did so bad? Note that I don't agree with this line of reasoning, but I'll bet (!) we hear someone take this stand soon.

SEC Media Days Preview

2007-07-24T17:51:00.000-04:00

The SEC beat writers, columnists, coaches, and players will hit Hoover, Alabama this week to attend SEC Media Days. Media Days are the first budding of the baby college football season. It's the first palpable sign that our long, difficult wandering through the wilderness of the offseason is near an end and that the manna of reporting freshmen, then fall camp is only a few days away. Other than a signal of timing, Media Days is usually a woefully boring exercise. The coaches don't say anything interesting. They don't reveal anything you don't know already if you have read a decent preseason magazine. The players the coaches bring along are selected for their leadership and abilities no doubt, but I imagine that they go through a Clockwork Orange training camp that beats any originality out of anything they might say. Plus, all the writers have their stories canned and ready to go, all they need is just the right quote to stick in paragraph 4. Here are the stories every local paper will have a story on:

The most effeminate water drinker that can make d-linemen cry and chew you ass like a champion.

1. Nick Saban - Alabama's new savior will be the headliner, but it's hard to imagine why. The guy never says anything interesting. But, the way Saban says nothing is classic: tense, impatient, every syllable given up begrudgingly. The only good quote that has come out of a Saban presser was when he asked the press what The Weather Channel was and a reporter replied that it was "MTV for old people." Saban has reasons to say something interesting this year. You know someone will bring up how much credit he deserves for LSU's recent success, how the situation in Miami has affected him, and how he feels regarding Les Miles's comments about Bama. It should be fun to see Nick deftly dodge controversy, something he has continually courted since his final days at LSU.

2. Speaking of LSU ... Les Miles - The Pac-10 stinks. Bama is our new f%#*in' rival. SEC #1! Les is always good for at least one wacky quote every two months. With such a concentration of media in Hoover, I'm betting the next bizarre quote is coming Friday, 11ish while defending his prior statements

3. Rich Brooks - After years of coming to Media Days listed on everyone's group of coaches on the hot seat, Brooks can come in with a semblance of respect. Many prognosticators pick his quarterback as the SEC's best. He's widely thought to have the best Wildcat team of his tenure. We've seen Brooks with the "give it our best shot" presser. Now, let's see Rich when he has a little momentum to his program.

I also predict that the media will anoint LSU as the SEC champion this year. The media will pick Florida as the SEC East champ.

As a note of interest to all TiVo owners or Slingboxers, ESPNU will provide live coverage of SEC Media Days. Be sure to tune in.

I hope to have some continuing coverage as Media Days progresses.

I now pronounce thee Man and Tide

2007-07-08T23:09:00.000-04:00

Everybody who read Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer probably remembers the story of the couple who skipped their daughter's wedding to watch an Alabama football game. Well, via the Fanhouse, here's an awesome clip from the upcoming movie A Fall in Dreamland about a guy who was late for his own wedding so he could watch the end of a Bama game.

Also, a clip from the same film demonstrating just how much more rational Auburn fans are. It's not much, but I'm dedicating this post to our favorite Tide fan. We miss you, buddy.

Summer Hiatus

2007-07-02T21:21:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't posted much lately and unfortunately, that trend may continue. The summer is a desert for college sports and I really don't have the time to keep up given the need to earn money for my bosses and to hang out with Georgia Herschella.

I'll be back soon, but probably not for a couple of weeks. By then, I should have a conference preview ready, a few predictions, and coverage of the fall practices. Stay tuned.

Football Fix

2007-06-25T20:25:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you folks, but I'm jonesing for some college football. As the counter at Burnt Orange Nation informs me today, there are 68 days left until the season starts. If, like me, you can't wait that long, it might help to check out Ivan Maisel's countdown of the top 100 moments in college football history. So far, he's revealed #100-#81. There were one or two I might have ranked higher, but it looks like a great start, and it should be a fun time seeing the rest of the list.

One of my favorite college football traditions is the telling of jokes on one's rival. There are plenty that are team/rivalry specific, and a lot of good ones that are interchangeable depending on that day's opponent. I heard one of the latter type this weekend, and it was new to me, so I thought I would pass it on. I have modified it to mock a common target on this site, but feel free to adjust it to suit your needs.

Bubba and Billy Bob are on a road trip and are walking down the street, and they see a sign on a store which reads, "Suits $5.00 each, shirts $2.00 each, trousers $2.50 per pair."

Bubba says to his pal, "Billy Bob, lookee here! We could buy a whole gob of these, take 'em back home, sell 'em to our friends, and make a fortune! Now when we go in there you be quiet, okay? Just let me do the talkin' 'cause if they hear your accent, they might think we're ignorant, and not wanna sell that stuff to us. Now, I'll talk in a slow Georgia drawl so's they don't know."

They go in and Bubba says with his best fake Georgia drawl, "I'll take 50 of them suits at $5.00 each, 100 of them there shirts at $2.00 each, and 50 pairs of them there trousers at $2.50 each. I'll back up my pickup and..."

The owner of the shop interrupts, "Ya'll are Tennessee fans, ain't you?"

"Well, yeah," says a surprised Bubba. "How come you know that?!"

"Because this is a dry-cleaners."

Braves v. Cubs for Daughter's Heart

2007-06-21T21:53:00.001-04:00

The in-laws are in town from Chicago and their are already creeping in on my intention to raise my daughter a Braves fan. As you can see, they are outfitting her in Cubs gear.

Raising my daughter a pro sports fan is going to get complicated. Can she cheer for the Saints and the Bears? The Braves and the Cubs? There are inherent conflicts! I will admit that I care much less about pro sports when compared with college sports, but I can't take this lying down. Anyone got a Reggie Bush onesie?

Paging Scott Howard: Munson Retiring?

2007-06-20T11:34:00.000-04:00

UPDATE: The AJC reports that Munson will only call home games this coming year.

The day all Georgia fans knew was coming, but hated to think about has arrived. Larry Munson, voice of the Dawgs and inspirer or men, is contemplating retirement after 40 years in the box. Paul Westerdawg has continuing coverage. Larry evidently has all the normal health issues that surround being 84 years old. Larry and Georgia AD Damon Evans have discussed several contingency plans if Larry decides he's done before September.

Munson is revered both inside the Georgia community and even by rival fans (see No. 2 in Orson Swindle's most likable people post). He is not only the voice of the program, but in many ways it's soul as well. It's hard to overstate how much Larry is beloved by Dawg fans. Not having grown up a Dawg, I've learned Georgia football through Larry Munson and have, therefore learned to appreciate it through his eyes. He is a reflection of my own attitudes toward Georgia football: unreasonably pessimistic without being defeatist, yet excitable and overwhelmed by unexpected victory. He is an icon of Georgia football, impossible to replicate or replace.

With that preface, I think it is time for Larry to consider walking away. His calls have recently become more lethargic. It takes a while for him to figure out who's caught a ball (or get that info from his spotters). Larry's great, but he's been showing his age and he is well within his rights to leave Georgia fans with his considerable portfolio of mixtape material.

So who replaces Larry? The odds on favorite is Scott Howard, Larry's wingman for 14 years. I generally have a favorable impression of Howard from his time as the basketball announcer. He's as wonderfully unprofessional as Munson is. He's the guy you hear grunting or shouting in the background of some of Larry's great calls. He's the logical replacement. I've heard Georgia graduate and Braves announcer Chip Caray mentioned on the message boards, but I think that's a longshot at best. I would imagine that TBS has Chip on lockdown with his new contract. Buck Belue is on the radio in Atlanta, but I find Buck too sedate. He's more apt to be on TV than calling a game on radio. Brad Nessler is another possibility as he is an Atlanta resident and is generally a superb broadcaster. I could certainly endorse Nessler, but I like that Howard has put in his sweat equity already with the Dawgs fans. Whoever gets the nod will have to fill a huge void left by Larry. I don't envy their job a bit.

Oh, The Places You'll Go

2007-06-19T17:42:00.000-04:00

My Aggie brother called this morning to report he had lined up a trip to Lincoln, Nebraska for me to see his Ags take on the Cornhuskers. I'm pumped. I've always talked about going to non-SEC stadiums to get the feel, but rarely acted upon it.
Nebraska's Memorial Stadium has a great reputation as one of the holy shrines of college football. The fans are supposed to be great and really know their football. I've even heard they applaud the visiting team as it comes off the field. There is one thing I'm not looking forward to, though: corn fed Husker women. I hope I'm wrong, but I can't see Lincoln in the same league as Oxford, Athens, or Tuscaloosa.

The game has gotten me thinking about where else I'd like to see a game. I've been to almost every place in the SEC except Gainsville. (Frankly, I can miss it, but its reputation alone means I have to go there at some point. On the bright side, I won't see UGA lose there.) The obvious answers are places like Michigan, Penn State, Oregon, Ohio State, Notre Dame and the Texas-OU game in Dallas. But, aren't there some other, smaller venues that would be fun? I thought of Boise State and the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia. One of the most fun games I've ever been to was when UTC played Marshall (led by Jim Donnan) in a I-AA game in Chattanooga back in 1993. The crowd was small, but vocal and witnessed a big upset as UTC beat the No. 1 ranked Thundering Heard. Terrell Owens caught four touchdowns for the Mocs. Also add West Virginia to the list just to see how far fans can descend into madness. I've never smelled a burning couch before.

Where else am I missing? Where do you want to go before you can't climb the ramps anymore?

LaRon Landry: Shot In Groin

2007-06-16T08:30:00.000-04:00

Somewhere John Parker Wilson is laughing with Brody Croyle. It all comes full circle. After those highlight reel hits, LaRon Landry has gotten his comeuppance: paintball to the groin. Witnesses did report hearing a faint "Roll Tide!" after the fateful shot.

LaRon Landry, former LSU safety and destroyer of worlds, was shot in the groin in an amusing game of paintball with his Redskins teammates. There is no better way to build up team chemistry than by shooting balls of paint at each other at high velocity, especially if those paint balls end up in sensitive areas.

The only time I went paintballing, I found it an exercise in avoiding heat stroke and Lyme disease carrying ticks. For those of you who have never felt the need, or never gotten the opportunity, to shoot your coworker with a paintball gun, it's not that great. Of course, I've generally liked the people I work with. Shooting your office's version of Dwight Schrute might be worth the lasting impression of taking a paintball, just not to the groin. And you know that's where Schrute is aiming.

Fatherly Advice to My Daughter

2007-06-13T20:04:00.000-04:00

Dan Shanoff, blogger extraordinaire and Gator fan by marriage, has started another outlet in his vast blog empire. This latest entry is titled "Varsity Dad." (Actually, VD started back in January, but I'm just now discovering it.) It's devoted to raising his son to be a sports fan and fatherhood in sports generally. Shanoff has his son Gabe and several of you know I have new baby daughter, Georgia Herschella.

I've been reading Varsity Dad recently and this got me to thinking not just about raising a sports fan, but specifically raising a daughter as a sports fan. As a general matter, girls don't obsess over sports like guys do, but the ones who do are awesome. I doubt seriously that I would have married wife had she not been interested in sports. Our first date was a Braves game. I decided I had to marry her after she requested to stay at the 2000 Independence Bowl after my Aggie brother's friends wanted to leave in the second quarter. Any woman willing to sit in a snow storm to watch two teams she cares nothing about deserves a ring.

In the interest of raising my daughter a sports fan, I offer my first advice to Georgia Herschella. Other advice will follow:

1. Support Mom and Dad's alma mater until you're in college. I am suspicious of any child whose cheered for any team other than their parent's school. They're like kids that cuss at their parents, it's jarring and frightening. What could have gone so wrong? I was an LSU fan even into law school because of my Mom and Dad. You should be barking at least until you graduate high school.

2. Go to the game. Before I played organized sports, I attended sporting events. So did your Mom. You don't need a knowledge of the game to enjoy it. Enjoy the crowd, the band, the jumbotron. Marvel that a boy can make 100,000 people gasp, cheer, or cry.

3. Don't be afraid of the weather. Rain is water. You bathe in it. Someday you will drink it. Rain is not an excuse to run for cover under the upper deck. Check the forecast and prepare accordingly. Your parents will do this for you for the foreseeable future. Learn from their example. (As a side note, I've noticed women's shoes for games where rain is likely is a problem. I suggest flip flops for the first couple of months of the season, but when it gets cold, wife gets nervous. Any suggestions are appreciated.) The only reasons to run for the concourses is lightning (Do not mess with lightning!) and excessive, Texas A&M caliber heat.

4. You may wear a cheerleader outfit at any time. Even to church.
5. Take an interest in what Dad watches and pay attention when he tells you something is important. I remember one of the first moments when I truly fell in love with sports was the 1985 NCAA basketball final between Georgetown and Villanova. Most of us have memories of that game or at least know the story. My Dad came and got me out of bed so that I could watch the second half. Dad watched closely, leaning for a shot to go in, pointing out important players and times in the game. I figured out that it was important, that I was watching something that not only I would remember for a long time, but that Dad would remember for a long time.

Ask questions whenever you want. Dad will be excited that you are showing an interest in sports. This will help you learn the rules for later.

Feel free to offer your own thoughts on my daughter's fandom.

Nifong's Tie

2007-06-12T15:55:00.000-04:00

This photo, courtesy of the AP, shows Duke lacrosse rape case prosecutor Mike Nifong going to his North Carolina bar disciplinary hearing. Notice Mr. Nifong's necktie. Carolina blue. Nice touch.

Dave Neal Will Rule the Universe

2007-06-11T13:56:00.000-04:00

If you've watched ESPNU, CSTV, or any of the Fox regional sports channels, you've no doubt seen the sustained barrage of commercials for the Big 10's new sports network. The channel is supposed to debut in August, but as MGoBlog details, the Big 10 is having problems figuring out just how people will see its programming because no cable carriers seem too interested in carrying the network on the channel lineup.

Undeterred by such problems, it seems the SEC has a similar idea after serious discussions took place at the SEC meetings last month in Destin. Sunday Morning Quarterback has some reservations about copying the Big 10 in this respect. Mike Slive has discussed that the SEC produces over 8,000 hours of sports programming. Not all of it can be consumed by the generous contract of CBS. Overall, CBS has done a great job. We get good games every week on an over the air channel. We have good, professional announcers like Verne Lundquist who at least sound like they appreciate the league. Hardcore SEC marks, though, want more. More games, more competition, more coverage that CBS (or ESPN or FOX Sports Net) would be foolish to broadcast nationally.

No doubt, people with sports watching problems, like myself, will eat up the SEC channel. As SMQ points out, if you add old games to the mix, then you have the potential for dominating the southern, 18-34 male for all the advertisers at Chevy, Copenhagen, Home Depot, and Dr. Pepper. Sure, there are flaws. Not many folks are going to be watching the Georgia-Auburn volleyball match, much less Vandy-Mississippi State football. The response in at least one aspect is that they aren't looking for a national audience, or even a regional audience. The target might be a subregional audience, say central Tennessee and northern Mississippi for the aforementioned Vandy-State game. I can certainly see the regional sports fan being more interested in SEC Olympic sports than the consistent jumble of regional and national sports programming of the FOX Sports outlets. Plus, the clear trend in sports programming is more fractionalization of media outlets, not less. Networks are become more and more specialized, including ESPN. The SEC is simply following the trend and trying to cut out the middle man by creating its own network.

What I really want out of the SEC channel is pure propaganda, an antidote to Mark May, Mike Lupica and all the other writers and commentators who the SEC fans cry about. On the SEC channel, we'll always be the best. If we lose, it will be because we "came out flat" or because Ron Zook somehow screwed it up, but we won't lose. It will be the Kool-Ade for Southern sports fans. After all, aren't we destined for the SEC channel? We already have websites devoted solely to the minutiae of your favorite team. You can now hear your team's radio call anywhere in the country. The question is not should we have the SEC channel. The question is when we will get the Alabama network or the LSU network? All your school's current and greatest athletic feats 24 hours a day. If we don't marginalize ESPN by consistently proving their analysts wrong, we can simply turn to our own homogenized media outlets, shutting our ears and diverting our eyes from anything else. Turn inward southerners!

One downside, Dave Neal as the Rich Eisen of the SEC Network.

Go On Back to Georgia

2007-06-07T21:39:00.000-04:00

King Bee pointed me to Mark Schlabach's latest column on the best game he ever saw, the 2001 Georgia Tennessee game in Knoxville. I'd have to agree with him and say that was the best game I've ever seen in person. Wife somehow scrounged up two primo seats in the lower level of Neyland for the game and I drove down from the leisure of third year law school. The pregame was somewhat ominous because I had gotten royally ripped the night before at a party after literally hundreds of UT fans told me how they were going to disembowel us and put our heads on pikes the next day. Seriously hungover, I was struggling to find the correct stadium much less row and seat.

As a Dawg fan, I expected the worse. Georgia hadn't won in Knoxville since Herschel was a freshman, so I intended to take the beating like a man. Georgia just wouldn't cooperate. Not only did they fight back after the Vols jumped out to a big lead, they eventually took the lead, an occurrence almost unconceivable since Robert Edwards broke his foot in 1995. I remember we all celebrated when Jermaine Phillips made a crucial interception late in the game that stopped a decent Vol drive, but it was just the beginning of a wild last few minutes. As you can read in the column, Travis Stephens took a screen pass 62 yards for what almost every Georgia fan thought was the death blow that UT had routinely delivered to the Dawgs. I remember our seats were so low that I couldn't see Stephens after he crossed the 20. I just looked up at the orange wall of UT fans who were celebrating as if orange track suits were raining from the heavens and Peyton Manning was about to marry their daughters. I have never heard a louder stadium, ever, than Neyland on that play. It was the sound I would imagine produced by 100,000 poor people winning the lottery at once. I also remember this fat, greasy Vol trainer in short pants coming over in front of our section waving goodby to us and saying "Go on back to Georgia" over and over. Hatred is clothed in orange. Tennessee led by 4 with :44 left.

After a somewhat suspect Fulmer decision to squib kick, Georgia got it back at the UGA 41 and quickly marched down to the UT 6 on two clutch, impossible catches from Randy McMichael. Most SEC fans remember the play that won it for Georgia as the "Hobnail Boot" play because of Larry Munson's call of the play. (You can listen here after a scroll down.) Little known fullback Verron Haynes was left wide open after a play fake and caught an easy toss from David Greene.
In the UGA section, everything around me exploded. I'm not much of a celebratory screamer, but everyone else around me went into orgasmic, ecstatic fits of pleasure. Wife and I just looked at each other, rendered stupid and mute from the miracle. Here's a picture we took about 20 seconds after the play.
We went from a swift kick in the testes to the type of pleasure only illegal narcotics can duplicate.

Few things are as sweet as a road upset to a college football fan. In terms of the football game, big road games are high risk, high reward. Everything is stacked against you, so when you win, the fans stay in their section after the game is over to soak it all in. I'm sure we were in Neyland at least forty-five minutes after the game as the band played on.

Later that night at Toddy's in Knoxville, their live band played Rocky Top. I drug wife out to dance and she protested that she didn't like the song (although I'm sure the sobriety of her dance partner was what she was really protesting). I told her that we may never get another chance to dance to Rocky Top after a Georgia victory in Knoxville again. Thankfully, I've been proven wrong since.

News From Da Bayou

2007-05-23T09:08:00.000-04:00

Two important bits of news from Baton Rouge:

1) Les Miles has indefinitely suspended uber-recruit and backup QB, Ryan Perrilloux for attempting to board the Hollywood riverboat casino with a fake ID. Where else but Louisiana does a star football player get suspended for wanting to gamble so bad that he can't stand the shore? We have video poker in every gas station in the state, Ryan. The lottery supposedly supports LSU. You just had to play cards, huh?

While this is a great episode in the lore of LSU off-the-field problems, it cannot surpass the Larry Foster purse snatching incident or the Jamie Brandon kidnapping and boarder run, both of the late '90s.

What was Perrilloux thinking? "I'm the biggest football recruit to ever come out of south Louisiana. I made a huge fiasco out of my recruiting such that everyone in the state knows who I am. I play for perhaps the most rabid, obsessive group of fans in the country. I can slip this fake ID by security." You'll also recall that Perrilloux is under federal investigation for counterfeiting. I'm not sure the casinos are a good place to swap fake bills for real ones. They seem to take security seriously, evidenced by the security camera in the free drink they brought me last time I was in one.

My guess is that Perrilloux will be holding the clipboard for LSU's opener. "Indefinite suspension" in Louisiana is code for "stadium steps, booster cash under the table, voodoo ceremony, no missed playing time."

2) LSU is widely expected to issue a "suck it" statement to PETA when they replace Mike the Tiger who died last week. The animal rights group has urged LSU officials to forgo a live mascot. LSU officials should reply with roaring opposition to such a plan. The practical reason is that they just spent millions on a plush tiger habitat. But, the logical reason is that PETA is being stupid. LSU takes an endangered animal, gives it all the food it wants, provides endless medical care for the animal at its vet school, houses the animal in a multimillion dollar habitat and you think that is bad, PETA? Every animal should have it so good.

Mustain Finally Decides

2007-05-22T09:14:00.000-04:00

Mitch Mustain, uber-recruit, mediocre freshman QB, and general malcontent (in his defense it appears that he is descended from a line of malcontents) has finally decided to join Damian Williams, fellow Arkansas refugee, and transfer to USC. Hooray, Hooray! I can finally stop seeing Mitch Mustain stories.

The focus can now turn to deciding if Mustain was worth all the trouble. After all, he was rated ahead of two other notable freshmen quarterbacks, Tim Tebow and Matt Stafford, while he was trudging through recruiting. Tebow and Stafford shined last year, while Mustain failed to beat out Casey Dick. Arkansas, without a passing game, played their version of a high-speed locomotive, Darrien McFadden at quarterback some during the last half of the year. McFadden looked as good as Mustain throwing it.

Again, if you can't beat out Casey Dick, how do you beat out USC's stable of prep All-Americans? Good luck, Mitch Mustain. And, good luck Pete Carroll. It appears you've landed the most temperamental show mom in college football.

Say It Ain't PO

2007-05-17T21:52:00.000-04:00

As mentioned this afternoon, probable All-SEC corner Paul Oliver has decided to leave Georgia and submit his name to the NFL supplemental draft. Oliver evidently didn't feel the need to go to class or study after deciding that he wanted to stay in school back in January because he is academically ineligible for 2007. Oliver entered UGA as an uber-recruit but hadn't really lived up to his hype completely, except against Calvin Johnson. After several good performances last year, I was waiting for Oliver to turn into that dominant big corner that shuts down one side of the field. He was poise to do that, but forgot that you have to go to college to play college football.

Georgia still has a slew of quality corners in Asher Allen, Bryan Evans, ReMarcus Brown, and Prince Miller but they are all young. The Dawgs will also get senior Thomas Flowers back after an injury sidelined him for most of last year. The defensive backfield isn't bare, but no one has the skills or size of Oliver. Georgia needed good coverage next year because their front seven may struggle with pass rush. Plus, Adarius Bowman must be licking his chops thinking of facing a sophomore corner when Okie State visits Athens to open the year.

As a Georgia fan, I have no excuse. No player on any Georgia athletic team should ever, ever be declared academically ineligible. Rankin Smith should be wondering what he gave us $3 million for. We have an entire staff of people to keep them eligible and advise them. While UGA has increased their academic standing considerably in the past 15 years, it isn't Swathmore. Anyone who gets in and gives a damn can get a degree in something. Paul you screwed up and you let your teammates down.

Off Season Update - May 17

2007-05-17T13:40:00.000-04:00

I hope to return to a somewhat regular schedule soon, but in the meantime here are a few stories of interest from around the SEC:

Auburn - Troubled linebacker Tray Blackmon is back in Auburn after being suspended for the spring. Tubs hopes Blackmon, an uber-recruit and key player in AU's victory over the Gators last year, can get back in the fold and do right for next year. Tubs can't kick him off the team. Anybody who can do this to Kenny Irons will be able to pillage townfolk and possess alcohol while underage at no end.

In other Auburn-related news, Tim Brando popped Stan White in the head with a golf ball this morning at a charity golf outing. Bo Jackson rushed White to the clubhouse where he got a few stitches.

South Carolina - Danny Sheridan and Paul Finebaum interviewed Shiny Pants yesterday. If you listen closely you can hear Sheridan giving a back rub and oral "message" to Spurrier during the interview while Finebaum rubs his feet. The opening line include Spurrier saying that he had been to seven high schools that day, more than the number of high schools he visited during his entire tenure at Florida.

Georgia - There's nothing official out there, but rumor has it that potential All-American cornerback Paul Oliver has some grade issues and might not be with the Dawgs next year. You'll remember Oliver from his masterful coverage of Calvin Johnson in the last two years. Georgia is deep in the defensive backfield, but losing Oliver would hurt badly. The Dawgs have some good young corners, but no one with the ability and size of Oliver. UPDATE: It's official, Oliver won't be at UGA next year. Ouch.
Defensive back isn't the only area where the Dawgs can see the depth draining out of their roster. Young linebackers Akeem Hebron (suspension) and Akeem Dent (foot injury) won't be around for a while.

The Namesake

2007-05-11T00:07:00.000-04:00

This blog wouldn't be worth its name if I didn't link to this awesome post from SMQ in which he laments the demise of the triple option and offers several videos demonstrating its grace and power. They're not all run out of the wishbone formation, but they're all beautiful. My favorite single play:The Bo Jackson montage is mighty good, too, as is Ken Stabler's "run in the mud" for 'Bama, and, like the Bear said, "I can watch that all night." Enjoy, and thanks, SMQ!

UPDATE: Kyle asks for Tommie Frazier. Here's a nice summary (although it's heavy on passes), and here is his iconic run against Florida in the Fiesta Bowl.

Here Comes My Baby

2007-05-10T13:21:00.000-04:00

Here is the fruit of my absence. She's been great so far. We're already playing the Redcoat Band on an endless loop in the nursery. Her cousins have also given her the Baby Bulldog DVD. It educates tomorrow's Bulldog fan today. I can tell her all she needs to know without a DVD player: avoid jean shorts, hate the color orange, and red pants on a man is sexy.

Sports Roundup

2007-05-09T22:13:00.002-04:00

Kyle and the Mrs. were selfish enough to schedule having their baby right when (a) nothing much was going on in the sports world, and (b) I didn't have a lot of time to write about it anyway. So, sorry for the radio silence around these parts. Let's see what's happening. I'll run through this Shanoff-style.

NBA Playoffs: Underway. The Bulls are getting whipped, which must mean the Heat truly stink. Suns-Spurs looks like the de facto championship. I wonder if Tyler Hansbrough had flashbacks when Steve Nash's nose was busted the other night.

NHL Playoffs: Also underway, apparently.

NASCAR: Big announcement coming tomorrow from Dale Earnhardt Jr. He may be leaving his dad's old team, Dale Earnhardt Inc.

College basketball: Moving the 3-point line back a foot, to 20'9". Use that tidbit of trivia for extra credit on Jim Harrick Jr.'s Principles of Basketball exam. In recruiting news, uber-recruit Patrick Patterson will announce his school next week. It's down to Kentucky, Florida, and Duke, with Florida being the supposed front-runner. He'll probably go to the same school as almost-as-uber recruit Jai Lucas, and Florida seems the best fit for the pair.

Major League Baseball: Curt Schilling backs off from flat-out saying Barry Bonds did steroids. I wonder if Schilling made his comments just to get Roger Clemens off the front page. My team, the mighty Devil Rays, say they're not going to replace the crappiest stadium in baseball any time soon. Also, Rickey being Rickey.

Pro Football: Mini-camp time. Is Chris Leak really bad enough to go undrafted? Leak makes me think of former Alabama quarterback Jay Barker. All he ever did was win: 45 wins overall, 28-1-1 as a starter. I think Leak will have a solid career as a backup somewhere, and look how well that worked out for Matt Schaub!

College football: Some charges dropped in the Penn State apartment fight case. Still waiting to see what Paterno decides to do with this one. (Link via EDSBS.) Speaking of EDSBS, be sure to check out their radio show, EDSBS Live -- very funny, and enough of a college football fix to get you through the off-season.

NCAA: The NCAA releases its report cards for Division I teams. The BCS conference teams came out pretty well, although this article says Maryland basketball might be cutting it close next year. Someone with more creativity than me should do a Breakfast Club parody of the teams getting NCAA detention. I think Cincinnati as John Bender is pretty obvious. Myles Brand could do his best Mr. Vernon: "Mess with the bull, you get the Brand!"

Politics: Sports figures on the guest list for the President's fancy dinner for Queen Elizabeth: Peyton Manning, Tim Hasselbeck, Gene Washington, Arnold Palmer, Jim Nantz, T. Boone Pickens (huge Oklahoma State donor), Calvin Borel (Kentucky Derby-winning jockey, functional illiterate).

High school pole vaulting: Allison Stokke. Trust me. It that makes you feel guilty, read this.

So, what did I miss?

Also, we need to clean up, update, and expand the Wishbons blogroll. I have a few I have been meaning to add, but let me know if we're missing any must-read awesome sports blogs. Thanks!

Awaiting a Bulldog

2007-05-01T16:49:00.000-04:00

Loyal readers, I will not be around for the immediate future. Wife and I are going to the hospital tonight in anticipation of the arrival of our first child. Thus, it may prove difficult for me to post in a relevant or timely fashion for the next few weeks. I will do my best, but long periods of inactivity are likely for the Wishbone.

In any case, I hope to be posting more regularly in a few weeks. If all goes according to plan, I may have a picture or two of the future Bulldog in coming days.

Hangin' With Big Al

2007-04-27T00:19:00.000-04:00

Loser With Socks reports that Alabama might get a real, live elephant mascot for its football games. LWS lays out some reason this would be a very bad idea. But add another: They can't take the pachyderm to Erwin, Tennessee. They hang elephants there!

The Spread Cometh?

2007-04-26T18:23:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking recently about the debate started by Kyle King over at Dawg Sports. The debate goes like this: on one side of the argument is College Football Resource who states its hypothesis thusly:

"Auburn's hiring of Al Borges beget LSU's hiring of Gary Crowton, both former Pac-10 offensive coordinators. Florida won a title with a coach it hired because of his reputation as an offensive mastermind. Auburn continues to win the Iron Bowl. Alabama's gotten antsy and hired a competent coach who in turn hired a hotshot young offensive coordinator (Major Applewhite). Tennessee ditched its ineffective offensive coordinator for the more aggressive David Cutcliffe. Arkansas flirted with Gus Malzahn as its offensive coordinator. There's a dramatic shift going on within the conference at the moment, actioned mostly on the offensive side of the ball.

We can argue about how effective Borges has been post-2004, whether Cutcliffe really fits into all of this, how much Florida's offense had to do with the championship and all these other issues again, but that's not really what interests me so much as the trend behind it all. There's an offensive shift going on that has the power to reshuffle the deck completely."

One the other hand is Kyle King who argues that despite the offensive coaching talent in the SEC, running and defense are the true coin of the realm. While I agree with Kyle that defense and the running game will always win SEC football games, I also believe that CFR is on to something, just not as complete a paradigm shift as CFR might propose.

LSU under Gary Crowton will look a lot like LSU has looked in past years with Jimbo Fisher at the helm (Les Miles, an avid run man, won't let Crowton throw it every down.). Nor will Al Borges, Steve Spurrier, or David Cutcliff suddenly change schemes. I think we know what we are getting in those guys and it's more of the same. Mike Bobo and Major Applewhite are potentially gifted coordinators, but both work for head coaches who prefer balance. The major offensive wrinkle of the next five years in the SEC will be Urban Meyer's spread offense. The spread is the next big adjustment to SEC football.

I can hear you now: you idiot, the spread hasn't worked in the SEC, Urban has already adjusted away from the spread, even Mike Shula can stop the spread, etc. I actually agree that the spread has not worked efficiently as a true spread offense at Florida. It's true that UF has won with a great defense and a heady, patient, consistent offense. They have not been the spectacular juggernaut promised by the spread's potential. Many blame Chris Leak alone, but I think it wasn't just his fault. UF hasn't had a great back since Urban has been there and their receivers, while good, were not the speedy, flashy playmakers Urban needs. Despite the publicity of the passing game, the run is the basis of the spread, especially the QB run. With Chris Leak at the helm, Urban was handcuffed. He won't be with Tebow. Add a competent back to the mix, and defending the spread running game gets more and more complex.

"Run it, Timbo."

This year, all the pieces are there for Urban's christening of a new offensive machine, running on the spread offense. He has Timmy Tebow, a plow horse runner who can also throw. With Percy Harvin, the Gator's have a touchdown threat whenever he touches the ball. Harvin, Jarred Fayson, and Andre Caldwell give Tebow a solid group of quick receivers to hit on short routes and screens. And, depending on Chris Rainey living up to his hype, they have a back that can consistently make plays. All the ingredients are present for the Gators to start scoring the way Utah did in 2004.

With that being said, I offer a few fine points on what I think will stop the spread.

Rangy, fast outside linebackers. The spread running game is essentially a group of option draws, most veering off tackle. The other main staple of the spread is short passes in the 5-15 yard range. I think that group of plays put immense pressure on outside linebackers, who in a four wide set, must both guard in coverage and support a draw. This means the outside linebackers have to be quick, both physically and mentally. The OLBs must have the speed to cover, but also the speed to recover defensive space in the case of a broken play QB scramble or a delayed draw. Not only must the linebacker be fast, but also rangy. The spread is all about space. The more the defensive player can consume and occupy space, the less room the offensive can exploit and isolate. The linebacker doesn't need to be gigantic, but must play long, like a basketball player.
Tackles that defend the run first. Again, this is about space. Run stoppers tend to be big and bulky, without the quickness of a pass rusher. They are there to consume space and blocks so that the linebackers can roam around. If DTs can take away the inside draws and sneaks, it shrinks the field for the OLBs and safeties.
Tackling. The spread is designed to isolate a single match up through space and speed: one defensive player, usually your safety, against an offensive playmaker, like Harvin or Tebow. Urban bets that if that match up happens, he will win because the playmaker will be a better athlete. Thus, if that match up happens, the defense must tackle every time. Missed tackles against other offenses are bad, but misses against the spread will turn into touchdowns.
Disguise run support. The base of the spread is not the pass, it is the run. Shutting down a well run option attack is difficult enough, but it become more fearful when a deep pass is a real threat. If a defense attempts to drop into coverage, the spread QB will run. Thus, the defense must make the QB think it is dropping coverage when it is actually attacking the run.

I think the SEC is in for an offensive shift and it revolves around the spread. But, it isn't a revolutionary, pass-happy attack contemplated by CFR, its a running and defensive revolution. The spread is a different way to run the ball effectively through stretching space through speed and isolation. SEC defenses will have to adjust their scheme and players to defend it.

Dawgs Rule the Country Club

2007-04-22T22:49:00.000-04:00

I know you don't care, but this is my blog. Georgia had quite a run this weekend in the country club sports. Georgia's men and women's tennis teams won the SEC tournament and regular season crowns this year, winning both tournaments this weekend. The Georgia women's golf team also captured an SEC crown this weekend. The other golf dawgs got off to a rough start in the men's tournament and eventually fell short to champion Tennessee. I suppose they can be forgiven, as they have spent most of the year at No. 1 in the national polls.

Sabansanity

2007-04-22T21:56:00.000-04:00

Hats off to Saban and the Tiders. 92,138 is an impressive number for a spring game, college football's seasonal masturbatory exercise. This is just a continuation of the Saban-mania gripping the state. As if you'll need more visual proof, here's a video shot by the Bama fan prototype: overfed, overjowled, and over-"traditioned."

"It's just a practice game, Jennifer."

I've also heard that Saban started the game coaching the Crimson team until the White team boosters offered him $25 to change sides for the second half.

I expect a full report in the comment section from Yellowhammer and Bill Curry's Brick.

Does Size Really Matter?

2007-04-22T16:12:00.000-04:00

Over 92,000 fans showed up for the first Nick Saban-era spring game at Alabama yesterday. And if there's any question about Saban's desire to live up to the Bear's legacy -- at least sartorially -- check out the picture, showing Saban in a coat and tie for the game! The White team beat the Crimson, 20-13, but I won't make any jokes about how good it is to be white in Alabama. What I will joke about is how the fun-'n'-gun Tide has maintained its high-scoring ways even after the departure of Mike Shula. And, it's funny that more people showed up for this scrimmage than the actual game against Duke last season. But then again, fans yesterday were pretty much guaranteed an Alabama victory; against Duke, the outcome was in serious doubt.

I predict that this amazing turnout will spur a spring-game version of "Mine's bigger than yours" from the usual suspects, namely Michigan and Tennessee. (Although Penn State is right up there in capacity, they've never seemed to be as obsessed with size as the Wolverines and Vols.) I'd imagine a lot of Tennessee fans spit out their Sunday morning ~~coffee~~ chaw when they saw that Alabama had set any kind of attendance record. In case you're curious, Tennessee drew just over 17,000 to its spring game. Aw. Maybe the Tennessee fans were in the pool.

No More Texts? OMG!

2007-04-18T11:15:00.000-04:00

Mark Sanchez, USC backup QB

The NCAA management committee, the cruel overlord of the intricate code of compliance for college sports, has approved a proposal to end text messaging as a recruiting tool. Ironically, the Ivy Leaguers, probably the same group that invented text messaging, were the group to propose the text ban. I can imagine the SEC complaining about Urban Meyer's legion of teenage girls he uses to perpetually blow up a recruit's cell phone with texts (G8Rs want U bad!), but the Ivys?

I for one am happy to hear about the proposed ban. Mark Richt doesn't know how to email, so I'm skeptical that he can compete with Urban's text posse in sheer volume of attention and prompted phone calls. The real winners have got to be the parents of uber recruits who are now relieved of the burden of paying text messaging fees.

The full proposal goes before the Board of Directors on April 26th.

The only coach more upset than Urban? Houston Nutt.

Virginia Tech Update

2007-04-17T08:25:00.000-04:00

-The Roanoke Times reports that all but three coaches of the Virginia Tech sports teams report their athletes were accounted for and safe. The newspaper couldn't reach the other three.

Ryan Clark (left)

-Of course, the athletes are a tiny part of the university community. Ryan Clark, a member of the Tech marching band, the Marching Virginians, was killed in the first shooting incident yesterday at West Ambler Johnston Hall. Clark was only a few weeks from graduating with a double major.

-The AJC also reports that German professor, UGA grad, and Braves fan Christopher Bishop was killed in his classroom during the second shooting incident at Norris Hall.

The tragedy of this story is hard to overstate. Be sure to read Orson's advice about one reaction you should have to this tragedy, a greater appreciation for your family and friends.

Sympathy for the Hokies

2007-04-16T15:46:00.000-04:00

As I'm sure you know by now, the deadliest shooting in American history happened this morning on the campus of Virginia Tech. King Bee and I want to express our sincerest condolences to the Virginia Tech community.

If you are a member of the Rivals.com community, they have a dedicated message board for the Virginia Tech fans. I urge you to post your sympathies over there. Even if you aren't a Rivals.com subscriber, I still urge you to go over there and take a look at the array of fans offering their condolences to the Hokies. There were over 6,000 people signed on this afternoon. Fans from all sorts of schools including Virginia, Michigan, Georgia, LSU, and Texas have posted.

These types of tragedies remind us that sports are a trivial part of campus life, but they also show us that sports are a great unifier during times of strife. While we root with all our might against some teams or schools, we sports fans are also some of the first to extend our support to that same rival in a time of grief.

Spurrier: "Mr. Governor, Tear Down This Flag!"

2007-04-14T22:41:00.000-04:00

Okay, so the Ol' Ball Coach wasn't that dramatic, but he did state publicly that he thinks South Carolina should remove the Confederate flag that flies at its statehouse. I've always wondered whether that flag gets used against the Gamecocks (and Clemson) in recruiting, and whether the Rebels imagery gets used against Ole Miss. So there's no real downside for Spurrier in making this statement, and lots of upside. One wonders if the presidential candidates who traipse through South Carolina will have the same guts as Mr. Shiny Pants.

I promise we're not turning this into a Spurrier or Florida blog. It's just a slow sports news period, and they're making news. Hopefully, Kyle will make it to Omaha for the CWS or something else interesting will happen. We're always looking.

Spring Truths

2007-04-11T22:02:00.000-04:00

So, your team's spring practice is winding down. The big spring game has come and gone. The depth chart has changed, the freshmen looked promising, next year is your year. Well, let me bring you down a bit. Here are my three eternal laws of spring football:

1. The walk on breakthrough player you kept hearing about, he won't be around come fall camp. He'll still be on the team, but he will go back to his place in the depth chart abyss. For the Dawgs, this player is Jason Johnson. Even last year, the coaches talked Johnson up. He was doing well, catching people's eye, playing his way up the depth chart, maybe even earning a scholarship. Then, when we ran out of tailbacks in the Auburn game last year, did the coaches turn to Johnson? No. They had our fullback move to tailback for the final minutes. Where was Jason Johnson? Ridin' pine, like a walk on should.

You hear about these guys because the second string/scout team players get more reps. I'm sure they do a fine job, but you will never hear of them until next spring because the scholarship guys, the ones who actually play in the games, get all the reps come fall.

2. What is good news for your team is also bad news for your team. This is one thing I hate about spring football, no matter what happens, it's bad for some part of your team. If the offense lights it up, your defense is weak. If the defense dominates, then your O is in trouble. Either way, you should be troubled. I sometimes think about what a good balance would be, but I can't think of one.

3. Injuries tend to outnumber breakout stars. Spring ball is usually good for at least one season ending injury. Just ask Mon Williams. For some reason, spring ball injuries more players than fall ball. The NCAA tried to put in a bunch of regulations on the types and frequency of spring contact back in 1998 to curb injuries, but it didn't seem to work. For every breakout young player, there seems to be a player lost for the year. Georgia seemed to escape the injury bug this year, but after years of shoulder injury purgatory, we were due for a healthy spring.

Spring ball has it's redeeming features: the team gets reps, units get to work together for the first time, the redshirts get a feel for the speed of college. But, spring should be taken with a hint of skepticism.

Plus, spring football is the harbinger of the college sports desert of summer. After Omaha wraps up in a few weeks, you'll have to wade through the summer clinging to baseball and country club sports.

Spurrier Kicks Ohio State

2007-04-04T12:29:00.000-04:00

In typical Shiny Pants fashion, Spurrier has called Ohio State "Runner-up U." This quote shows why Spurrier is both loved and detested. Loved for his brash comments and willingness to ditch coachspeak. Detested because of his brash comments and willingness to kick opponents while they're down.

Hey, Stevie, if Ohio State is runner-up U., what is South Carolina?

In other Gator news, King Bee pointed me to this example of the twisted thinking of Gator Nation. It shows that while non-Gators may not have the scoreboard in our favor, we will always appear to be more normal and classy human beings. (Yes, I realize that class is a measure only of concern to the defeated. Gators still wear jean shorts.)

"Go write the great American novel. Go start a Fortune 500 company. Go Gators."

I'm Happy Basketball Is Over

2007-04-02T21:15:00.000-04:00

Once, I really loved college basketball. The players were fun. They weren't separated from the fans by great distances, facemasks, or hats. The crowd is right on top of the action. I still enjoy the game, but when every good player leaves after one year, it's not as much fun. So, here are my top reasons why I'm glad to see basketball go.

1. The last two minutes. Is there a more exciting and frustrating two minutes in sport? Basketball games are usually a consistent two hours. You know you aren't making a big time commitment, but those last two minutes, filled with constant fouls and time outs, seem to take forever. Only a buzzer beater makes it worth it.

2. My team broke my heart. I really thought Georgia was going to make the tournament this year. We seemed to have a solid nucleus of players and a demanding schedule. Three things kept us from dancing, Mike Mercer's knee, a collapse in Tuscaloosa, and an inexcusable loss to Western Kentucky at home. Levi Stukes should not have missed the Kentucky game, but I honestly didn't think there was much hope then anyway.

3. My bracket is ruined. Damn you Kansas.

4. Baseball is here. Baseball just seems like a happier game. The sun is shinning, the grass is green, the ball cracks off a bat rather than pounds on a hard floor. Baseball is more quiet, more peaceful. Plus, baseball announcers always seem more professional, less likely to scream or spout out a stream of uncontrolled gibberish.

5. I Dislike Gator Success. I don't need to explain this one.

Digger's the Right Man for the Job

2007-03-26T20:33:00.000-04:00

Keith Hernandez and Clyde Frazier proved that sports commentary on real life is both cheesy and amusing. Here's another example from McSweeney's: ESPN Gameday comments on the author's "performance." How can the phrase "low post" be omitted from this story?

Tubby Leaves the Cats

2007-03-22T15:58:00.000-04:00

ESPN is reporting that Tubby Smith, the embattled head basketball coach at Kentucky, is leaving Lexington for ... Minnesota? You mean this Minnesota?

The UK fans evidently hated Tubby, refusing to forgive him for not being Rick Pitino. They also cannot forgive Tubby for not having a better team than Florida (although, who does?). UK fans can't stand losing six straight to the Gators, the basketball neuve riche to the Wildcat blue blood. As a UGA fan, I say, welcome to the club. I will remind the kitties that Tubby did win you a national championship in his first year, so you might have wanted to cut him a bit of slack. At least give the guy a pat on the back as he heads to the great white north.

So who replaces Tubby? Does Rick Pitino have the gall to leave Louisville for UK?

ESPN's Fall Season Preview

2007-03-21T12:34:00.000-04:00

Television broadcast network ESPN has released its preliminary fall season preview. It's filled with high quality programming: A family drama pitting overbearing father against rebellious son (Florida State at Clemson); neighborhood soap operas where people living in close proximity find unexpected bonds of hatred (Oklahoma at Tulsa & West Virginia at Marshall); a law enforcement show about conservative law-abiding citizens attempting to restore justice and truth to a God-forsaken group of gangster children (Texas A&M at Miami); and a show about an inspirational underdogs rising to a great challenge and, in a surprising twist, being totally annihilated by a powerful foe (LSU at Tulane). The TV executives at ESPN have really outdone themselves with the season's lineup.

In a serious question, how is Oklahoma State at Georgia left off this list? ESPN was reportedly the driving force behind putting the game together. Now they can't say for sure they will broadcast it? And, if Virginia Tech at LSU isn't on ESPN at 6:45, then ESPN should cease operations in those two states. The fans of those schools have been eagerly awaiting Tech's visit to Baton Rouge since the Hokies destroyed LSU back in 2002. LSU wants a showcase game and ESPN should provide it.

Spring Notes

2007-03-17T12:08:00.000-04:00

Photo from Baton Rouge Advocate - Michael G. Seamans

I know I promised this last week, but better late than never. Take a break from sweating over your bracket to get a little update from spring practices around the SEC.

Tennessee - The big news in Knoxville is Erik Ainge's knee and the new hurried offense he was to conduct. Ainge will have surgery Monday to repair some meniscus damage in his right knee. He is expected to sit out until July. Ainge will need to recover for summer workouts because most of his primary targets will not be in Knoxville for spring practice. Meanwhile, Jonathan Crompton is running with the first team during Ainge's absence. I know Ainge is the starter and showed great improvement last year, but I was impressed with some of Crompton's fill-in duty last year. In the LSU game he looked good, even though he never really repeated that performance. The reports from Knoxville indicate a workmanlike, but sluggish Vol offense and a defense full of question marks. The Vol coaching staff are reportedly counting on several incoming recruits to start next year. Keep your fingers crossed, Vols.

Auburn - The Aubs need to find defensive linemen and wide receivers this spring and they are doing well with one of those. Reports are that the Aubs should have a solid rotation up front with Mike Blanc coming on. The young guys are showing that there could be some depth at defensive line. The receivers, however, are doing an imitation of Georgia receivers. They've reportedly dropped a load of balls. No word if Tubs has followed Mike Leach's tennis ball machine remedy for the drops.

LSU - The angry and vicious LSU defense has dominated spring practices in Baton Rouge. Media reports talk of an unblockable Tyson Jackson and of a playmaking Curtis Taylor filling in for the departed headhunter, LaRon Landry. That's not exactly the way to instill confidence in dueling quarterbacks Matt Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux. Count on Flynn starting for the Tigers unless he gets hurt. Word is that Perrilloux has worked with the first team, but not near as much as Flynn. Also, look for LSU, much to the chagrin of their fans, to rotate several running backs next year because they have a boatload of good young backs. Gary Crowton is reportedly installing several wishbone/option looks for LSU to run out of, taking advantage of Flynn's mobility.

Georgia - There haven't been many real stories coming out of Athens this spring. New offensive line coach Stacey Searls is trying to whip his group of newcomers into shape so that Matt Stafford will have some protection. The two groups to watch have been Searls offensive line and the linebacking position. The Dawgs lost all three starting linebackers from last year. Brandon Miller, a former uber recruit, has moved inside with a group of nubies and troublemakers fighting it out for the outside spots. I expect the starters for the Oklahoma State game will be Miller, Dannell Ellerbe, and Darius Dewberry (although word is that Akeem Dent is pushing him). The offense needs to get Sean Bailey, who is back from a torn ACL in 2005, in shape and ready to provide a deep threat for Stafford. Reports indicate that Bailey is ready to go and has looked good so far.

Arkansas - Spring practice has just started for the Hogs, but it will be an important one. After all the upheaval of the last few months, this is an important time for Houston Nutt and the Razorbacks. They lost a lot of good players last year and are installing a new offense and a new defense. All you need to know so far is that Darren McFadden is back and the Wildcat formation will be back too. So look for a potent running game from the Hawgs.

Crap.

2007-03-15T21:46:00.000-04:00

Well, Duke just lost by two to VCU in the NCAA tournament. I knew this would be a tough one going on, what with VCU's athletic guard play and solid shooting. But I really thought Duke would pull it out. And they almost did. What did they miss, a dozen free throws? It wasn't like the mighty Ram defense was guarding Duke on those shots, although the VCU press clearly wore Duke down as the game went on. You've got to get your legs into your free throws, young ballers, and Duke had tired legs by the end of the game.

Still, all the credit goes to VCU for sticking with its game plan and forcing a ton of turnovers. They did what they had to do and deserved to win. What really sucks about this is that tomorrow all the dang commentators who were so down on Duke will get to crow like a banty rooster and tell us how smart they were and how Coach K has lost it. Well, all I have to say is that I hope the Duke-haters got their licks in this year, because there won't be many chances like this season. Remember, the last time Duke went through a season like this one, they followed it with a twelve-year run that was one of the most impressive in basketball. Make hay while the sun shines, folks, because you won't get a chance like this too often.

The View From Oklahoma City

2007-03-13T21:40:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the poor picture quality, but I only had the camera phone. Oklahoma City was a nice locale for a basketball tournament. It has a nice arena right next to a big convention center right next to their entertainment district, "Bricktown." Some observations:

1. Julian Wright may be my favorite college basketball player if only because his body is so unlikely. He has a normal size body, but his neck, arms, and legs look like fire hoses. When he moves at normal speed, it looks like he is being controlled by a puppeteer, bobbing his head and limbs as he walks. But, when he plays, he looks somehow natural, as if the only thing that body was ever built for was basketball. All his flailing has a purpose. He can shoot and looks to score whenever he gets it. Now if we could work on those windmill dunks.

2. Kevin Durant is everything he is cracked up to be. He's 6-9, his hands hang down below his knees, he can shoot effortlessly and accurately. He was by far the best player in the tournament and it hard for me to imagine a better player in college over the last several years. He had 37 Sunday and they were effortless. Three pointers that didn't touch the rim, baseline spin moves, he never looked like he was working out there. Everything looked natural. The only knock I have on him is that he never put together a complete game. He would dominate a half and then sort of disappear. If he does put together a complete game, he'd score 50. I thought he might Sunday after he hung 19 on Kansas in ten minutes. Texas is a dangerous team if only because no one will figure out Durant.

3. Another guy that impressed me was Jarrius Jackson for Texas Tech. He could shoot it and drive it down low for tough lay-ins. It's a good thing he is so good, because Texas Tech didn't impress me in OKC. Jackson was their only threat to score for most of the game. Their offense looked completely out of sync the whole game and Bob Knight chewed his players for it. I know they had some big wins, but Texas Tech didn't look ready for the tournament.

4. Is it me or do the promotions people who pick fans for the shooting contests amused with how unathletic their contestants are? Do they get three guys together, make them run, and whoever falls down during the race gets to shoot for new tires or a chicken sandwiches? One guy they picked last weekend looked like he swallowed a watermelon. When he ran to retrieve a rebound, he looked like a weeble wobble rocking toward the ball. If I'm never selected for one of those contests, I will take it as a compliment to my meager athletic abilities.

5. After seven games with every halftime consumed by mediocre dancing girls performing stripper moves, I'm issuing a challenge. ADs everywhere, ban the dancing girls. From now on, I only want three varieties of half time entertainment: Frisbee catching dogs, acrobats, and the quick change lady.

Basketball tournaments are a lot of fun. The setting is more intimate than football. You can hear the players, the crowds get loud in a confined building, and the bands play loud during the breaks. It's a great atmosphere. With that said, basketball may be the most gut wrenching sport ever invented. No lead seems safe. The final two minutes are constant pressure. If Georgia ever gets a team deep into the NCAAs, I would explode under the stress.

Crackin' the Bracket

2007-03-12T02:05:00.000-04:00

A few thoughts about the NCAA tournament:

First, be sure to join up in the Wishbone's ESPN tournament challenge group! The group name is "Wishbone Blog," and the password is "kylekingbee." All readers welcome!

Looking at the bracket by region, here are my quick takes. My "buy" recommendations are for bottom-bracket teams (seeded 9-16) who will make some noise, and my "sell" recommendations are top-bracket teams (seeds 1-8) who will go out earlier than expected.

Midwest. Buy: ODU (12) and Davidson (13). Both of these teams are capable of upsets (over Butler (5) and Maryland (4), respectively). Maryland has to be especially nervous, because even though it got a 4-seed, any of the teams in its subregional are good enough to beat the Terps. Sell: Wisconsin (2). Any team that can score over 50 is a threat to the Badgers, and it sees UNLV (7), Georgia Tech (10), Oregon (3), Notre Dame (6), and Winthrop (11) between it and the regional final. One of those teams will find a way to get past Alando Tucker and Bucky. My pick: Florida (1). I think the other high seeds are at high-risk of upsets, and I think things will open up for the Gators if they play like they did in the SEC tournament.

West. Buy: Gonzaga (10), I guess. I can't bring myself to pick VCU (11) over my Duke Blue Devils (6), but the Rams are exactly the kind of team that matches up well against Duke -- experienced, athletic backcourt, good shooters. I'm very, very uneasy about that game Thursday. But Gonzaga is also capable of surprises. I think their lineup has gelled after some injuries and suspensions. They needed to win the West Coast Conference tourney to be assured of a bid, and stepped up and did so. Their style contrasts well against Indiana's (7), and they'll be fired up to beat UCLA (2) if they get to round two after last year's thriller. (And UCLA returns most of that team, so Zags coach Mark Few will have the scouting report ready.) Sell: Pittsburgh (3). Pitt didn't really have any bad losses this season until getting creamed by Georgetown in the Big East final. But I think Duke matches up well against them and can beat the Panthers. Otherwise, it wouldn't surprise me to see Virginia Tech (4) or Kentucky (8) tank. My pick: Kansas (1). I really like Kansas this year, and especially in this bracket. A Kansas-UCLA regional final would be a great game. Sure, the Jayhawks could lose to someone like Oral Roberts again, but I think they're a lot better than they were back then. I think they would be pushed by teams like Villanova (9) and Southern Illinois (4), but not hard enough to wear them down.

East. Buy: Michigan State (9). The Spartans can beat anyone if Drew Neitzel scores. If they can limit turnovers and transition baskets, they can frustrate North Carolina (1). Now, they're just as likely to go out and lose to Marquette (8), but Tom Izzo knows how to get his teams to the Sweet Sixteen. Sell: UNC. This isn't just the Dukie in me talking. To get out of this region, the Tar Heels will have to beat either Marquette or MSU, then probably Texas (4) and Georgetown (2). Texas is underseeded, and I would love to see GU's Roy Hibbert schooling Tyler Hansbrough. UNC is young and prone to lapses, and they just face too many hurdles to make it to Atlanta. My pick: I think I like Texas, actually. I may just be infatuated with Kevin Durant, but he is a special player, the Danny Manning-type who can carry his team to four wins (or more). The supporting cast is pretty good, too. I'm wary of putting any confidence in Rick Barnes, though.

South. Buy: Um, nobody? Creighton (10), I guess. This is a very top-heavy bracket, though, and I suspect it will go mostly according to chalk (famous last words, I know). I really like Nevada (7) as a sleeper, but Creighton is a good ball club and if it can shut down Nick Fazekas and if Nate Funk gets hot, the Bluejays can pull the upset. Sell: Virginia (4). Holy crap, get all your assets out of this junk bond before it goes belly-up. Just like I said about the ACC tournament, the Cavaliers are not as good as their seed. I really can't understand this one. The funny thing is, and the reason the Wahoos might even be worth sticking with for a couple of games, is that they surely have enough talent to beat Albany (13), and I don't think Tennessee (5) is all that great, either. So UVA might even make it to the Sweet Sixteen (to be slaughtered by Ohio State (1)). But they're certainly not worthy of a 4-seed, compared to the other 4s and 5s in the bracket. Memphis (2) is a real enigma, too, considering what a weak schedule it played. My pick: Texas A&M (3). I think the Aggies are more battle-tested than Memphis, and I think Acie Law IV can get them past Greg Oden and Ohio State.

My Final Four picks: Kansas over Florida; Texas over Texas A&M. I didn't realize I had picked three Big XII teams for the Final Four until just now, and I may change my mind by the time I fill in my actual bracket. And certainly, UCLA, Ohio State, North Carolina, and Georgetown (to name a few) would be solid picks. But this is just my first, gut reaction to the brackets, without looking too closely at a lot of the matches. But I'd be fine with it playing out this way if we get a championship game as good as Sunday's Big XII final between Kansas and Texas. Rick Barnes has made it to a Final Four, and Bill Self hasn't, and that's usually a good indicator of who will win these games. But I think Kansas has more talent overall, and Self certainly won't be unfamiliar with the Longhorns. So my pick to win it all (at least for now) is the Kansas Jayhawks. Rock, chalk, and all that.

Again, please join the Wishbone ESPN tournament challenge group, and good luck with your own picks. And don't mock me too much when mine turn out to be awful!

Thursday Night Wrap-up

2007-03-09T00:17:00.000-05:00

1. As a follow-up to Kyle's Pokey Chatman post, the situation there has gone from rumors to the reporting of the rumors. A classic press technique, to avoid saying outright that "X did Y." Instead, we get "People are saying X did Y." I'll leave it to Kyle to follow this up as he sees fit.

2. In on-the-court news, what a crazy first days for the ACC! Florida State likely ended Clemson's NCAA chances thanks in large part to a questionable call. Clemson has got to be bitter after the late-game refereeing in losses to Duke and FSU. But it should be said that Clemson had its chances. Against Duke, it only had to stop the Devils from going the length of the court in five seconds, and against FSU, it had the ball with a chance to win and threw it away with an over-and-back violation. Clemson may want to blame the refs for its ticket to the NIT, but it had execution errors and problems finishing games, and that's what really doomed them.

3. But at least I called that one. I was dead wrong about the other three games. Miami played its best game of the year and held off Maryland for the upset of the day. I don't think anyone saw that coming, as hot as Maryland was coming into the game and as bad as Miami was. I'm sure Gary Williams set a new sweat record.

4. The Duke game was frustrating to watch, but not without some positives. NC State got a great game from Brandon Costner and beat the Devils in overtime. But I think Duke can use this game as a stepping stone for the Big Dance. First, this was the first time a team shot 60% against Duke all year; if Duke had played even mediocre defense (by its standards), or State hadn't been amazingly hot, Duke would have won. Second, Duke was able to get bench scoring from Marty Pocius, the lithe Lithuanian. That's a nice plus. Third, Josh McRoberts really asserted himself at times, a very positive development. Finally, I think Gerald Henderson would have made the difference, especially given Duke's foul trouble. I'm not predicting a long run for Duke in the tournament, but there's hope yet. But really, kudos to the Wolfpack for doing what needed to be done, and good luck to them the rest of the way.

5. The late game between Wake Forest and Georgia Tech also went against my expectations, although the crowd really did thin out. I listed to the overtimes on the radio, and it sounded like a blast (especially because former Alabama coach Wimp Sanderson was doing the color). Thirty-four points in the first OT! One amazing shot after another! They broke the scoreboard! The hockey arena apparently wasn't equipped to keep scores over 100, so it started showing scores like 9-8 when it was 109-108. Wild. The highest scoring ACC tournament game ever. Eventually, Wake pulled it out 114-112. It was a shame anyone had to lose. Incredible doesn't even begin to adequately describe it.

Overall, quite a day of basketball for the ACC. They couldn't have asked for a more exciting set of games. And it will probably add some fuel to the league's claim to be the best in the country this year if the bottom four seeds in the league can all win a game in the tournament.

UPDATE: I realized belatedly that I hadn't even really looked ahead to Friday. I guess I was exhausted from Thursday's games. Plus, with Duke out of it, I don't care as much. But I'm sure the top four seeds are very happy. Wake better get a good night's sleep before playing Virginia Tech. I'd like to see Al Thornton have a good game against UNC, but I just think Carolina has too much for the Seminoles to handle. The same for BC against Miami. I think NC State can beat UVA if they play as well as they did against Duke, but there are a lot of teams out there who get up to play Duke and fall flat against everyone else, so I don't expect a repeat performance against the Cavs. But I think the Pack has the best chance of extending its run.

6. Elsewhere, Kentucky burst Alabama's bubble, Air Force and UMass probably suffered the same fate, Stanford will have a nervous weekend, and Illinois and Michigan had scares but may still not be safe. Air Force may be the most interesting case here. Last year, they were a controversial addition to the tournament, and an early loss seemed to justify the criticism. They're capable of beating teams with that wacky Princeton offense they run, but they're also capable of some bad losses. I think they're better than last year, but will probably get left out this time. It's all about timing.

7. UCLA also lost, to Cal, in the Pac-10 tournament. That may be one of the bigger upsets of the season. My gut tells me that UCLA will still get a #1-seed in the NCAAs, although obviously it's dicier now. My logic is just that they were so good in a better-than-usual Pac-10, and the fact that the teams vying for the 1-seeds will also have some chances to lose this weekend. North Carolina has to like its chances now, but a loss Friday would almost certainly relegate them to a #2. Likewise Florida. Texas A&M and Kansas in the Big XII and Wisconsin and Ohio State in the Big Ten will probably cancel each other out. So, UCLA may have fallen, but may still get passed on the way down. If I had to bet right now, I'd say your #1-seeds will be the Bruins, the Tar Heels, Ohio State, and Florida, but that's largely dependent on the assumption that Wisconsin and OSU will meet in the Big Ten championship, and that the winner will be unclear by the time the Committee has to hand in the bracket. Of course, Wisconsin would replace Florida or UNC if either of them lose before the conference finals.

More to come over the weekend....

Forecast: Light to No Posting Ahead

2007-03-08T17:01:00.000-05:00

This won't be much of a change from last week and there really aren't enough loyal readers to warrant a post of this sort, but I doubt there'll be much posting from now until Monday. I'm going to Oklahoma City for the weekend to take in the mighty Big 12's basketball tournament. A friend is a Kansas grad and avid basketball fan. When he told me he was considering a trip, I said that I'd never been to Oklahoma. That was reason enough to go. I'll get to see Kevin Durant, Acie Law, Bob Knight, the Jayhawks, and listen to "I've Been Working on the Railroad," so it should be a good time.

I hope to have two posts Monday: 1) a spring football roundup where I'll discuss Erik Ainge's knee, Seth Watts's courage, and Gary Crowton's option attack and 2) a few thoughts from Oklahoma City.

Pokey Leaves LSU

2007-03-08T09:31:00.000-05:00

In a stunning, stunning move, LSU women's basketball coach Pokey Chatman announced yesterday that she will resign at the end of this season to pursue "other career opportunities." Chapman is 90-14 during her LSU tenure and led the team to three final four appearances in four years. She is one of the most successful women's coaches ever. She is young, at the head of one of the nation's best women's programs, and just inked a new deal worth $400,000 a year. So, why is she leaving?

No one seems to know. According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, rumors swirl that Chatman is leaving LSU for the open position at Florida. That rumor seems far fetched to me. Chatman is a former Lady Tiger and an LSU grad. Her playing and coaching career have been spent only in Baton Rouge. You just don't see too many people leaving their alma mater (see: Frank Beamer, Rich Rodriguez) to go coach a rival. If Jeremy Foley can lure Chatman to Gainsville, the rest of us should just quit because he will have attained the status of an AD God, able to smite all others with Bull Gator dollars and top ranked recruiting classes.

ACC Tourney Preview

2007-03-08T00:29:00.000-05:00

The Atlantic Coast Conference tournament kicks off Thursday in beautiful Tampa, Florida. This is the ACC's first journey to Florida, and a rare trip outside North Carolina for its conference tourney. Folks like Gary Williams of Maryland always rail about the NC-centrism of the league, even when he couldn't win it when it was in DC and got his only ACC title in Greensboro. But there's a good reason that, aside from an occasional foray to Atlanta or Washington, the nation's oldest basketball conference tournament is most often held in Greensboro or Charlotte: the fans there go apey for it and fill the place. Holding the tourney in the St. Pete Times Forum, the home of hockey's Tampa Bay Lightning, was surely driven by the conference's recent expansion. It's a big venue, and I guess it's a little easier for Miami and Florida State fans to make the trip. But the place might not even sell out, and some schools have had to dig pretty deep on the donor list to find people willing to go. So, it will probably be a different atmosphere than Old Home Week in Greensboro, not least because all those pasty fans won't know what to do with 80-degree temperatures in March. Heck, even I might rather go to one of the Gulf beaches or Busch Gardens instead of the Georgia Tech-Wake Forest game.

Nevertheless, I think the fans who do show up will have an interesting experience. Some of the games are going to have an impact on the NCAA tournament bubble, and even more will affect NCAA seeding. Plus, I don't think anyone really knows what to expect. To give an example of how tight this conference is this year, UNC's win over Duke last week gave the Heels the 1-seed, but if they had lost, they would have dropped to fifth and lost their bye. Duke is 23-1 over the last eight years of the tournament, but this year they're seeded seventh. Thanks to the unbalanced conference schedule, three of the top four seeds (UVA, UNC, and Boston College) played the three weakest schedules. So I think it's safe to say that we can expect something unusual to happen this week, even if it's only that Duke might not win the thing.

A few thoughts on Thursday's games and possible Friday matchups:

At noon, Clemson (8-seed) and Florida State (9) play what is probably an NCAA elimination game. The Tigers got a lot of infamy for starting out the season 17-0 and then dropping to 21-9. But the fact is that none of those 17 wins were all that stellar, with Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Old Dominion probably being the best scalps they collected. They've had some close losses, and a nice win at Virginia Tech that is likely the only reason they're still on the bubble at all, show that Clemson can compete. They swept the Seminoles this season, but that's a little deceiving. FSU's point guard Toney Douglas broke his hand in the first game, a two-point Tiger win in Tallahassee, and the Noles struggled without him (including a bad loss at Clemson). But he came back for their season finale and scored 13. I think Douglas's return, combined with Al Thornton's consistently excellent performance, will be enough to squeak one out here. And who knows, maybe the Florida crowd will help, too. Either way, neither of these teams should be able to hang with a fired-up (1) North Carolina team Friday.

The afternoon's second game is (5) Maryland against (12) Miami. The Terps are playing as well as anybody in the league right now, and Miami has stunk all season. This one won't even be close. What will be interesting to see is if Maryland can keep their hot streak going for four days and win the whole thing. I think they're better than (4) Boston College, and predict Maryland to win a hard-fought game Friday. A loss there could drop BC towards the dreaded 8-9 game in the Big Dance, while boosting Maryland's seeding very nicely. I think the Terps will run out of steam against a very deep UNC team on Saturday, but they did beat the Heels once this year. Both Coach Williamses will have their teams on a mission this week, and I think a Maryland-UNC semi would be the game of the tournament.

The evening session kicks off with (7) Duke in an unfamiliar spot, playing (10) NC State without a bye. Duke routed the Wolfpack in Raleigh earlier this season, but things have changed since then. First, the Pack didn't have star guard Engin Atsur in that game. Now, they didn't do that well after he came back. But he does create matchup problems for the Devils. Second, personnel problems will be exacerbated by the suspension of Duke's Gerald Henderson after the elbow incident in the UNC game. Greg Paulus will have to continue scoring like he has been lately, and Josh McRoberts will have to assert himself offensively and defensively. McRoberts has scored 12 or fewer in seven of Duke's last nine games, and Duke is 5-4 in those games. He's not the only reason for those losses, but Duke needs to rely on McRoberts this week. I think Duke still has enough talent and defensive pressure to beat State, but I'll be nervous watching it. The good thing for Duke is that the bracket sets up very well for them. If they get past NC State, they'll play (2) Virginia on Friday. The Cavaliers' backcourt combo of Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds has been amazing this year, but UVA needed 42 points from those two and a crazy late shot from Singletary to beat Duke 68-66 at home, and even then, Paulus had an open shot to win at the buzzer. Having Henderson back will certainly help Duke, too. And I don't think Virginia is as good as its record (or seed) would indicate. I think Duke can upset Virginia and make it to the semis, where they would meet Virginia Tech or Georgia Tech, both teams Duke can beat. The Devils aren't deep, and three wins in three days may be too much to ask, and both Techs have beaten Duke this year, but I think Duke would have a better shot against them than against Maryland or UNC. Don't be surprised by anything from Duke after its up-and-down season, including blowing one against State Thursday, but don't be surprised to see them in the finals, either.

The nightcap Thursday is (6) Georgia Tech against (11) Wake Forest. Tech has two great freshmen, forward Thaddeus Young and guard Javaris Crittenton. They beat UNC and BC last week to shore up a likely NCAA bid. Wake upset UVA to keep the Wahoos from claiming the 1-seed (another sign UVA is overseeded, to me), and the Deacons' struggles this year have obscured the solid season Kyle Visser has handed in. But Tech is feeling confident, and the UVA win was Wake's last gasp. I expect the Forum will be quite empty by the time Tech is finished blowing out Wake. Tech would go on to play (3) Virginia Tech Friday night. That will be a great game, too. The Hokies are an experienced bunch, led by seniors Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon and junior Deron Washington. They would have won the ACC if not for late losses to UVA and Clemson, and they've had some inexplicably bad losses this year to Marshall and Western Michigan (!), as well as getting swept by NC State. It would not surprise me at all to see Virginia Tech lay another egg somewhere this week, and the Georgia Tech game seems like a good candidate. I'll predict the mild upset there, especially if the Hokies start thinking ahead to a game against UVA or Duke.

North Carolina still has to be considered the strong favorite to win the ACC tournament. But Maryland is capable of derailing them, and if Virginia Tech doesn't have one of its Jeckyl-and-Hyde games, it can beat anybody in the league. A lot of people want to see a Duke-UNC rematch in the finals, and it could happen, but Duke would have to put together three solid games in three days, something I'm not sure they're able to do right now. It would just about fitting in this Bizarro-world ACC tournament to see a Boston College-Georgia Tech final. It might sound like I'm just playing the chalk, but I think the likeliest final is probably UNC versus UVA, a game I think the Heels would win by something like eight or ten points. But if Maryland beats UNC, I don't think anyone in the bottom half of the bracket would be able to cool them off. It pains me terribly to make those predictions, but it's been that kind of year.

Tune It In and Rip the Dial Off

2007-03-07T11:37:00.000-05:00

The SEC announced a new satellite radio deal with XM yesterday. The new deal is a five year commitment, but not all teams are in on the five year term. It looks like Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State are the original XM line up. Their games will beam to your receivers this year. South Carolina and Florida come on line later. Everyone else is locked into Sirius until 2008, at the least. LSU declined to participate in the new deal and will stick with Sirius.

It doesn't look like your team will get its own channel, though. The Athens Banner-Herald says that Dawg fans might tune into Georgia's visit to Knoxville this fall and hear Bob Kesling instead of Larry Munson. XM says it will try to broadcast a specific team's radio feed at least 75% of the time. I'd say that's an issue. Most SEC fans want to hear their own guys call the action.

No word on how the proposed XM and Sirius merger will effect the deal.

Separated at Birth?

2007-03-05T08:45:00.000-05:00

"I must break you."

"You cut him! He's not a machine! He's a man!" -- Duke

Seriously, I'm glad Tyler Hansbrough's not hurt. It was an ugly way to end a game. I don't think Gerald Henderson's ejection was unreasonable, but I disagree with the referee's decision -- in the heat of the moment, in front of a rabid crowd -- to call the contact a "combative, fighting" gesture, which resulted in a one-game suspension. I guess those refs didn't get the memo that Duke gets all the calls, right? Still, I think reasonable people could differ, and the Hendo Suspendo doesn't strike me as the most grievous injustice known to man. Of course, try talking that sense to the Carolina fans, who are quite a lather. A large plurality of voters in a Charlotte Observer poll (a very pro-UNC paper) think the blow was "as flagrant a foul as you can get," which is just dumb. I saw a thread on a Tar Heel message board urging Hansbrough to press assault charges, which is even dumber. I'll be interested to see what Gerald Henderson's best friend, UNC freshman Wayne Ellington, has to say about the matter.

The bottom line: It was a hard, even flagrant, foul, and a one-game suspension is enough of a penalty, and even that may be too severe. So everyone should just move on. Alas, that'll never happen. I'm sure I'll have more to say about it in my ACC tournament preview, coming later this week.

SEC Basketball Bubble Blurbs - 2/28 Update

2007-02-28T12:05:00.000-05:00

A while back, I gave my opinion of what each potential SEC basketball team needed to do in order to make the NCAA Tournament. I thought I would update that post as we drive into the final regular season games and the conference tournament.

The Teams That Are In:
1. Florida - They've struggled down the stretch, but the Gators are the best team in the conference. They need to finish strong though if they want to keep their No. 1 seed. Last night's whipping at Tennessee didn't help their cause as Kansas has looked strong and will be tough to seed at No. 2 if the Gators falter any more.

2. Vanderbilt - Vandy was in the moment that Brandon Powell punched their ticket. They have nine conference wins and should add two to that total before heading to Atlanta.

3. Tennessee - The Vols won big last night and how could they not? Coach Summitt would have run them until they puked if her cheerleading routine went to waste. (Phil looked on with his finger up his nose. ) The Vols are in whether or not they beat UGA Saturday.

4. Kentucky - The Wildcats are clinging to their NCAA bid, but it is proving slippery. Yes, they have a wonderful RPI, a ridiculous strength of schedule, and will likely get their twentieth win tonight in Rupp. But, if they were to lose tonight and Saturday against the Gators, they would have an 8-8 conference record. If that were to happen, how could the NCAA keep Georgia out? (See below.) Kentucky will get in because they are Kentucky.

Sitting Squarely On the Bubble:
5. Georgia - The Dawgs have a strong schedule, some quality wins, and the potential to get a winning conference record if they beat Kentucky tonight in Rupp (not likely) or Tennessee in Athens Saturday (maybe?). If they win one of those games, especially at UK, I think it will be tough to keep them out. If they drop both, they will need a strong showing in Atlanta, including at least one big upset, to dance. My prediction: the Dawgs win Saturday and get in. UPDATE: Reports abound that UGA guard Levi Stukes is out tonight and maybe for the rest of the year. If Stukes can't play Saturday, I don't like Georgia's chances to win or make the NCAAs.

6. Alabama - Bama has a good record, but they also have lots of visible warts. First, they played a mediocre schedule in the preseason. Second, they fell apart during conference play, including two losses to Auburn. Third, they need to win out to finish at .500 in the SEC. The Tide will need to win out and win a game or two in Atlanta to have a chance. My prediction: Bama falls in Starkville Sunday and misses the NCAAs.

Need a Big Finish:
7. Ole Miss - The Rebs look like they should have a shot, but their RPI and their schedule is weak. They have two more winnable games. If they win them both and get one in Atlanta, they will be in good shape. Drop one of the next two and their toast. Prediction: Ole Miss will lose in Auburn and miss the dance.

8. Mississippi State - State has a similar profile to Ole Miss. Their record isn't as good as the Rebs, but their schedule was tougher. Both teams have similar RPIs. The problem for State is that they have two tough games remaining: in Fayetteville and Alabama at home. State, like Ole Miss, needs those two games and probably a tournament win to be considered. My prediction: State loses in Fayetteville tonight.

Spring Break Outs

2007-02-26T21:35:00.001-05:00

In anticipation of spring football, I'm going to try to compile a few lists for the SEC. Today's inaugural list is players on the verge of breakout seasons. These are players who have been used sparingly, spent last year on the bench, or have taken a redshirt year that are expected to make an difference in 2007.

Brandon LaFell - LSU WR - LaFell played last year, but didn't make a huge impact. He had DeWayne Bowe and Craig Davis in front of him, so his relative inactivity is quite excusable. This year, however, Bowe and Davis have moved on to the NFL. LaFell has the size and speed to ease the pains of losing two receivers of the caliber of Bowe and Davis. Early Doucet should keep defenses from focusing on LaFell and Gary Crowton's new offense should give LaFell plenty of opportunities to catch passes.
Ricky Lumpkin - Kentucky DE - If you listen to the whispers out of Lexington, Lumpkin could be a special player up front for the Wildcats. He is rumored to have been a beast on the scout team last year while he redshirted. The former Tennessee Mr. Football looks to give UK the first big pass rusher they've had in a long time.
Knowshon Moreno - Georgia RB - The Dawgs return a lot of running backs. So many that Danny Ware, the third team back, left early for the NFL despite not putting together a stellar year because he knew he wouldn't get many carries next year. Even with that said, look for Moreno to make an impact in 2007. Everyone who has seen Moreno play seems to rave about him, whether they be coaches or players. Moreno will not be a featured back next year, but look for him to make an impact on the Bulldog running game.
Nevin McKenzie - Tennessee S - McKenzie didn't played a down for the Vols last year, but he will need to do his best Reggie Nelson impression soon. Like Nelson, McKenzie is a junior college guy that needs to step in and start. The Vols really don't have a reliable safety after Demetrius Morley flunked out. Johnathan Hefney, a converted corner, started safety last year and did a good job, but he really belongs at corner. The Vols would love to have a big headhunter to add another dimension to their experienced defensive backfield.

I would include Tray Blackmon from Auburn, but no one seems to know if he will play next year for the Aubs.

The Orange Rush

2007-02-23T12:01:00.000-05:00

Phil Fulmer, emboldened by the return of his offensive mate David Cutcliff, is reportedly tinkering with running a spread'em out, fling it around, no huddle offense this spring. They've even told the fullbacks to find employment elsewhere. Erik Ainge is said to be so excited he is considering spelling his name correctly. My heartfelt concern for the Big Urnge: Who is Erik going to be throwing the ball to? They lost almost all of their proven receivers last year, so it looks like they'll rely on Lucas Taylor, a junior college transfer, a prep school guy, and true freshmen.

This is the type of move you'd expect out of Randy Sanders. After all, the Vols were 96th in rushing last year. So, if you can't run it, tell your fullbacks to get lost in the spring. Where are you Jamal Lewis, Travis Stephens, Travis Henry, James Stewart, etc.? Where will the power T come from? Adrian Foster in a single back set or LaMarcus Coker running sprint draws? That's not UT football. The Vols were at their best when they were running the ball down your throat, hitting a deep ball, and stuffing you with a nasty defense. This seems like a gimmick from the least gimmicky team in the league.

Also, I guess Mr. Fulmer has had a change of heart about the clock rules relating to the no huddle offense. He complained that Georgia's no huddle attack of 2001 didn't give his defense time enough to adjust and it was therefore against the rules. Be sure to remember that complaint Phillip when Erik is standing around waiting for the snap.

Discipline: Carolina Style

2007-02-22T17:56:00.000-05:00

The University of South Carolina, one of the teams that gave us this image:

and was the victim of a player looting session, and who had a quarterback arrested during the season last year, has learned its lesson. Four days after star recruit Stephen Garcia was arrested for "intense beer consumption and belief in his own invisibility," disciplinarian Mr. Shiny Pants has lifted the suspension imposed on Garcia. That's the way to send a message. You're suspended until your hangover subsides or you are released from jail.

How can any program other than the other notoriously lax, yet stupendously successful programs (Florida, Tennessee, Florida State, Oklahoma) compete with such a hard driving boss as Spurrier? Georgia's starting center will miss at least six games this year partly because he passed out on the toilet in an Athens restaurant. Garcia threatens a police officer and is suspended from running for four days. Looks like Spurrier is starting to dole out the same punishments that made Lou Holtz the complete totalitarian that he was. Spurrier needs to learn to drop the hammer on these evildoers, just like he dropped the hammer on the Dawgs with double reverse passes with three minutes left in a game he was winning by 40. I would write more but my eyes are bleeding because of that last sentence.

Wall Street Comes Through For You

2007-02-19T20:44:00.000-05:00

The trading floors were closed today, but that doesn't mean some big business news didn't come out. The long awaited merger of XM Radio and Sirius Radio was announced today in New York. The two companies are the two largest and best known satellite radio providers in the U.S.

Why should you care? The two companies have spent the last four years cutting up the rights to broadcast sports. XM has baseball and some college conferences. Sirius has the NFL and most SEC teams along with other colleges. So if you are a Braves fan and a Alabama fan, you need both services, each with a separate receiver and monthly charge. That's a real headache. Thankfully, the companies have purportedly solved that problem today. It's a real victory for all sports fans. Now you can drive anywhere without losing your team's broadcast network. Eli Gold in Wyoming! Jim Hawthorne in Minnesota!

The deal's not done, yet. It still has to clear some hurdles at the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission, who oversees the nation's anti-trust laws.

The only SEC team not to be on either service? It's the legendary Larry Munson and the Georgia Bulldogs.

Vandy Attacks!

2007-02-18T21:13:00.000-05:00

Vanderbilt students, always a rowdy bunch, look like they've put those lofty tuition payments to good use. The SEC is contemplating a $25,000 fine for the Vandy "athletics department" because the students stormed the court after upsetting No. 1 Florida this weekend. The SEC instituted a new security policy a few years ago after the great assault upon goalposts in 2001 and then several incidents on the basketball court. This would be Vandy's second offense under the new policy after they stormed the court in an NIT game last year. I can't imagine the pent up emotions unleashed in rushing the court after beating mighty Wichita State in the NIT.

In their defense, the Vandy students were merely defending their coach after Joakim Noah's attack. I really like the attempts by the 87 year old security guard trying to stop the onrush of college students.

Storming the court is a quaint tradition that has gotten a bit out of hand, just like taking down the goalposts. It is a tradition of the downtrodden when they rise up to trip the powerful. Times can change, but I don't remember Kentucky storming the court or Alabama ripping down their goalposts. Have fun kids, but stay in your seats. You can pat the players on the back Monday in class. Plus, it's more fun to throw ice at the Gators than kicking them in the shins. This also greatly reduces the chances that you will get punched in the face.

It looks like Ohio State will work off a little bit of their massive rage against the Gators by overtaking them for No. 1 in the polls.

The AD Shuffle

2007-02-16T09:44:00.000-05:00

Two stories of note are out about SEC West athletic directors. First, there are reports that Frank Broyles is being forced out at Arkansas. If true, Houston Nutt has just lost his reserve firepower in the Mitch Mustain debacle. Broyles has been at the center of that ongoing crisis supporting Nutt and making odd comments to alums. Grant Hall has a good run down of all the drama. Fayetteville produces one bizarre story after another these days. Broyles is older than dirt though, so it makes some sense to remove him. However, Broyles is one of the most respected ADs in the country.

In other, more expected news, Skip Bertman has announced his intention to step down as LSU AD next year. Skip has presided over a hell of a run by LSU athletics, including a football national title and a Final Four appearance. Now if they could only get back to Omaha, where Skip was a fixture during his days as baseball coach. All signs point to Georgia Tech AD Dan Radakovich taking the reigns in Tigertown.

Georgia v. Duke Next December?

2007-02-15T17:20:00.000-05:00

The Athens Banner Herald reports that Georgia's Hoop Dawgs are in contract negotiations to play the blue blooded Duke Blue Devils next year in Madison Square Garden. Nothing is final yet, but it seems promising. Georgia has never played Duke in basketball.

I once lived in New York and went to see the cheating, Jim Harrick-led Dawgs take on Texas at MSG when both teams were in the top 20. I had never been to any variety of Texas game and kept asking my wife why their band kept playing "I Been Working on the Railroad." Ooops. That was actually the Longhorn fight song. At least Texas brought their band. Georgia was adopted by one of those amalgams of local high school bands enlisted to provide entertainment for the event. They could only play one song, which they played badly all night. If I was making fun of Texas, I can only imagine what they thought of "our" band that night.

Dennis Felton has done a good job of scheduling opponents that are good teams, but not teams that the Dawgs can't compete with. Duke is having a down year this year, but I imagine they'll be back to their normal dominating ways next year. The Dawgs should be improved next year too, assuming no one leaves the program and Mike Mercer can still play.

The Duke basketball universe has collectively responded, "Georgia has a basketball team?"

King Bee and I will have to place a friendly wager if the game comes to pass.

Glen Davis Suspends Arkansas Players

2007-02-15T10:17:00.000-05:00

LSU star forward Glen Davis was working overtime for Mississippi State last Friday night. Davis was out in Baton Rouge with two Arkansas guards into the wee hours evidently. The Hogs were in town to play LSU and Davis decided to show them a little Louisiana hospitality. The only problem was that the Arky players had a curfew, a term unknown to LSU athletes. Stan Heath promptly suspended the two Arkansas players from the opening nine minutes of their game last night with Mississippi State. Both LSU and Arkansas lost last night.

What were they supposed to do, Stan? Ignore the "irrepressible" Big Baby? Shun the tongue-wagging forward and pass up a night out with Cajun (not "coonass") women in Baton Rouge? It's Mardi Gras season. What could possibly go wrong, Stan? Oh, this.

Braves Finally Sold

2007-02-12T21:58:00.000-05:00

After what seems like years of negotiations and haggling, Liberty Media finally finalized its deal for the Atlanta Braves today, pending MLB approval. The driver of this deal has always been the federal tax consequences of Liberty's Time Warner stock swap for the team.

Braves fans have longed for the days when Ted Turner would wheel and deal for expensive free agents, but those days were over the minute Ted went on the Time Warner board after his buy out. John Schuerholz and Bobby Cox worked their magic for a few years, but eventually Time Warner's tight purse strings and the big payroll of the Mets ended the Braves run of playoff appearances. Braves fans have since wanted an individual tycoon owning the team, not a corporate behemoth accountable to shareholders.

I expect Liberty Media to demand just as much efficiency as Time Warner. So, it looks like Braves fans need to wait for one more sale before they get too excited. There were rumors that Arthur Blank was going to buy the team from Liberty. Hopefully, we'll find out soon if those rumors were true.

SEC Basketball Bubble Blurbs

2007-02-12T19:58:00.000-05:00

It's crunch time for basketball teams. Some teams are on cruise control while others are desperate to bolster their tournament resume. I'll take a look at each team with a chance for post season play and give a likelihood of an NCAA birth.

Teams That Are In:
1. Florida - The Gators are the best team in the country and No. 1 in the polls. Proceed directly to a No. 1 seed. Chance at NCAAs: 100%

2. Kentucky - Big Blue has played a brutal schedule and has performed well. Their six losses were all to teams in the top 50 in the RPI ratings and they have quality wins against Louisville and Indiana. The 'Cats are fighting for a three seed or better, but their remaining games are all challenges and most are on the road. Chance at NCAAs: 100%

Need to Finish, But Look Strong:
3. Vanderbilt - Vandy is a team that until a week ago looked like one of those teams that would get on a roll at the end of the season and get a "hot team" bid. After all, the 'Dores have some dreadful losses, Furman, Wake Forest, Auburn. At the same time, they have a win over Kentucky and Tennessee. They should finish above .500 in the SEC and that will probably be enough, although a win or two in the SEC tournament would help. Chance at the NCAAs: 80%

4. Tennessee - The Vols have a decent resume, but the injury to Chris Lofton really slowed them down. They only have one really bad loss, at Auburn. Their RPI is in the top 15, but they have not won one SEC road game. The Vols have a brutal home stretch in the SEC and they need to beat Alabama and Georgia to have a shot at a winning conference record. If they don't get them, they'll need a couple of wins in the SEC tournament. Chance at NCAAs: 75%

5. Alabama - Remember when Bama was in the Top 5? That was before they played anyone. The Tide doesn't have a real sexy win, although Xavier and Georgia are decent teams. They have a shot at winning at least three of their last six, anything more will be icing on the cake. They'll make it in based on wins alone, but if they had Tennessee's schedule, they wouldn't make it. Chance at NCAAs: 75%

Bubble Teams:
6. Arkansas - Losses to Missouri and South Carolina really hurt the Hawgs. Their RPI is good and they have played a great schedule. The problem is they need a few more wins in conference and they need to win a couple of road games. They have some good wins against West Virginia, Alabama, and Southern Illinois. If they win their remaining SEC West games and get a road win at Vandy or beat UT in Bud Walton, I think they're in. Chance at NCAAs: 55%

7. Georgia - The Dawgs looked solid after beating LSU in Athens a few weeks ago. Since then, they have slowed considerably and their leading scorer is out for the year after a nasty knee injury Saturday. The other Georgia guards must step up because Georgia needs win two or three more conference games. That's possible, if they hold court in Athens against Auburn and Mississippi State. A win at Ole Miss would be great, but a challenge. Chance at NCAAs: 50%

8. Ole Miss - The Rebel's record would say they deserve a shot at the tournament, but their nonconference schedule was pitiful. Their RPI is bad and they have a couple of bad losses. Despite this, they are still in the SEC West and could finish with a winning record in the conference. If they get hot, winning five of their last six (very possible) and get a couple of wins in Atlanta, it's possible. Chance at NCAAs: 40%

9. LSU - Last year's other SEC Final Four participant has struggled this year. They have a great win against Texas A&M, but little else. The Tiger need to go on a streak, beating the rest of their SEC West opponents, and get an upset win against the Gators or in Lexington. That's going to be even tougher if Big Baby can't play. It's going to be tough. Chance at NCAAs: 30%

The conference will be lucky to get seven teams in the NCAA this year. I think five will actually get in because they last few weeks of the conference schedule is more likely to provide bubble teams stumbling through mediocrity rather than teams streaking to greatness.

In related news, the conference has compiled what the SEC tournament would look like if the season ended today.

Weekend Baseball Notes

2007-02-11T17:41:00.000-05:00

Pedro likes Rice

Vanderbilt had a whale of a weekend. The 'Dores beat No. 1 Rice and No. 16 Arizona State at this weekend's Houston College Classic. Ace David Price gave up a few runs early, but Pedro Alvarez helped Vandy break through against Rice. Then the 'Dores outlasted Arizona State in 10 innings. Vandy has started strong.

A team that came into the weekend with high hopes was Georgia, but they got swept in Athens by defending national champs, Oregon State. All-American closer Josh Fields couldn't throw a strike in the ninth Friday and neither could anyone else in the Bulldog bullpen. It looks like middle relief could be a big problem for the Dawgs, as the starters performed well this weekend, but the games got away from the Georgia staff late.

Georgia wasn't the only team getting swept this weekend in a big series. No. 11 UCLA dropped three in Miami to the No. 5 Hurricanes. In the Bruins's defense, the first two games were nip and tuck affairs, both one run Miami wins.

Georgia Recruiting Recap

2007-02-10T18:22:00.000-05:00

I let a few days pass before I posted any recruiting thoughts. Recruiting is an emotional diversion. Fans seem to get way too excited and way too down about recruiting. I've posted before about how recruiting is fun to follow, but it is only a part of college football, unable to guarantee success or failure. While a great recruiting class does not necessarily grant great teams, it is obviously better to be closer to the top of the rankings than the bottom.

With that preface, we Georgia fans seem to be way too down about this class. The Dawgs didn't get a top 5 class, by any measure. One service even ranked us below Georgia Tech, ouch. So, we have to fall back on the old line, "we addressed our needs." Despite the fact that this is a normal statements for those schools that disappointed, in our case it is true. UGA needed two things, offensive linemen and a bluechip running back. That is exactly what we got. Georgia signed a ton of linemen, literally. They signed high school seniors, prep schoolers, and JUCOs. Now Stacey Searles has to whip them into shape because several of them will play immediately.

The Dawgs also got Caleb King, one of the top running backs in the country. You must be doing something good when a down class is still ranked in the top 10 in the country.

Despite the good, this class also exposes some disturbing trends for the Bulldogs. First, Florida continues to outrecruit them. The Gators won the recruiting championship again this year. In fact, Georgia finished behind five other SEC schools, including UT and South Carolina. So, despite a solid class, it isn't like we're getting ahead of anyone.

Second, Georgia signed only two of the top 10 players in Georgia. This group does not include the state's top lineman who defected on signing day. Last year, we got five out of those 10. In 2005, three of the top 10 and five of the top ten in 2004. Richt has talked about simply keeping the Georgia boys home to play for Georgia. There are simply too many good players in Georgia to sign them all, but it should not be too much to ask to get most of the top players. It seems that more and more of the elite players in Georgia are looking elsewhere. This trend looks to change next year as the Dawgs look like they are in good shape with several of the state's best already.

Lastly, as previously mentioned, Georgia signed lots of linemen this year because they had huge holes to fill in next year's line. The Dawgs missed out again on the state's top offensive lineman, Antwane Greenlee. Other than last year's signing of Justin Anderson (who we had to resign this year because he didn't qualify) and Seth Watts, UGA hasn't signed an elite Georgia offensive lineman since 2003. Some have speculated that this is because of Niel Calloway, so I hope Stacey Searles can help to remedy this, although it sounded like Searles lost a personality contest with FSU's Rick Trickett for Greenlee.

In any case, welcome aboard pups.

Reggie Bush, Loved & Hated in Louisiana

2007-02-09T10:01:00.000-05:00

Reggie Bush, former Heisman Trophy winner for USC and current savior of the New Orleans Saints, went from hated Trojan to beloved Saint last year all in the matter of a few hours. When the Texans inexplicably signed Mario Williams right before the draft, the bayous of Louisiana were awash in Cajun yelps of joy. Louisianans understood that Bush was a fantastic player despite the fact that he played for USC, a team that LSU will forever hate because of the "shared" national championship of 2003. Bush delivered on his immense promise as a player that could lift the Saints from their dreary history to a possible Super Bowl. Louisiana forgave Reggie for his past indiscretions in LA and loved him, not only for his spectacular play, but also for his considerable community work in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Consider those days gone, Reggie. Hardcore LSU recruitniks may have a hard time forgiving Reggie for helping USC snag uber recruit Joe McKnight away from the home state LSU Tigers by possibly committing a NCAA violation. It seems there is some question as to how involved Reggie Bush was in McKnight's recruitment. Former players are not supposed to contact recruits.

I figure this latest spurt of Reggie hate will last until Reggie makes one of his spectacular cutback runs in the Saints's opening game.

Wrestling With Nebraska

2007-02-06T12:06:00.000-05:00

There is a disturbing development in Minnesota wresting. It seems that Minnesota high school wrestlers are contracting herpes in record numbers. Actually, it is special type of herpes called herpes gladiatorum that, evidently, only gladiators get. Have fun explaining that one later in life. "Yeah, I've had herpes, but it was from gladiatin', baby."

The culprit, according to Minnesota, is filthy wrestlers from Nebraska.

Now you have another possible explanation when your wife asks you how she got herpes, if "the toilet seat gave it to you" doesn't work.

Why I'm pulling for the Bears

2007-02-04T13:43:00.000-05:00

I'm pulling for Chicago in tonight's game because of a former Dukie, Bears long snapper Patrick Mannelly. The Bears drafted Mannelly in 1998 as a sixth-rounder (198th overall), not typically a spot where you expect to find a long-term starter. But Mannelly made the team and played from day one, and has now played in more games than anyone on the Bears roster. He has snapped every kick and punt in a season several times in his career. Mannelly was part of Chicago's record 180 games without a punt blocked, which ended in 2003.

Pro Bowl kicker Robbie Gould made 47 of 47 extra points and 32 of 36 field goals this season, and a big reason was Mannelly's steady snapping. Two neat pieces of trivia: Mannelly's father-in-law is former major league pitcher Tommy John. And, Mannelly can long-snap a basketball into the bucket from half court! Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri will get more attention, but if tonight's game comes down to a Bears field goal, keep an eye on the snapper and expect the snap to be perfect. Good luck to Patrick Mannelly and the Bears!

Klosterman on Color Commentators

2007-02-03T00:24:00.000-05:00

In the February Esquire, Chuck Klosterman has an essay rating various color commentators according to whether they were better as players or talking heads. It contains what it almost certainly the most thoughtful analysis you'll ever see of Gary Danielson's career for Purdue and the Lions.

Richt to Leave Athens for ... Clemson?

2007-02-02T15:16:00.000-05:00

It's true, but not the Richt you're thinking of. Jon Richt, son of Georgia head coach Mark Richt, has verbally committed to Tommy Bowden and the Clemson Tigers. While Richt the Younger is just a junior, this will only add to the suicidal feelings of Georgia fans over our current mediocre recruiting class. Well, our class is supposedly pretty solid until you compare it with Florida, Tennessee, and LSU, all of whom are loading up on blue chippers. Mark Richt has had Top 5 classes almost every year, but this year the perception is that UGA has slipped. That perception isn't really that fair because we still have a top 10 class as of today. It's just that Richt has missed some of the biggest guys in Georgia for several years now. Calvin Johnson, Chris Scott, Kyle Moore, Tray Blackmon, James Davis, were all big misses. This year, the fence around Georgia has turned into a sieve, as Eric Berry, Cameron Newton, Allen Bailey, and Cameron Heyward are all looking elsewhere. Now Richt can't even convince his own son to play in Athens?

It should return to normal next year because UGA already has some big commitments for 2008 and supposedly leads for most of the state's top prospects.

Could we see a father versus son matchup when UGA visits Clemson in 2013? It's possible, but unlikely.

SEC Baseball Begins Today

2007-02-02T11:45:00.000-05:00

SEC baseball gets underway this afternoon when Tennessee visits FSU. Arkansas also has a series this weekend with Louisiana Tech.

The SEC coaches picked Justin Smoak and the Cocks to win the conference this year. It's hard to argue that pick considering the talent on SC's roster. The Cocks seem to always win the recruiting national championship for baseball, but have had a couple of disappointing seasons in 2005 and 2006 (although last year would only be a disappointing season for a baseball power like Carolina). Vandy is picked second in the SEC East, but I think the Commodores are as strong as the Cocks or any other team in the SEC. They have the league's best pitcher in David Price and an All-American third baseman in Pedro Alvarez. The SEC East is just brutal, with Carolina, Vandy, and Tennessee, all with shots at the conference crown, plus last year's conference champ, plus a 2006 CWS participant.

The Q-Dog Looks to Drop Bombs

2007-02-01T19:05:00.000-05:00

My 2007 to-do list just got one entry longer.

Quincy Carter, once the holder of all Dawg hopes, once the apple of Jerry Jones's eye, is now a Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wing. As a Shreveport resident, I have yet to see the Battle Wings play and feel I must now get acquainted with their players. So, I resolve to buy Quincy dinner in 2007. I don't imagine it could be that hard. I owe him dinner after all, if only for that night in Baton Rouge when he shredded Lou Tepper's genius defense by continually hitting Champ Bailey. The rest of Q's career never lived up to that night, but it did get Q an NFL contract. I'm glad to see the Q-Dog has another shot at football. Maybe I'll even buy a ticket to watch him play one more time.

Drop me an email, Q. You can't resist a Shrimp Buster or some boiled crawfish. I can't have a to-do left uncrossed.

If you thought Quincy was dead, you can get caught up with him through this article from the AJC.

Pork Bellies, SPDRs, BCS Tickets

2007-02-01T13:55:00.000-05:00

The Super Bowl has already spawned numerous stories about how normal people got their tickets to Sunday's game. Some of the more interesting stories involve Chicagoans who purchased a nifty option to purchase Super Bowl tickets at face value way back in 2005. Their magical source was a sports ticket option website. The website, Ticketreserve.com, operates an option market only for big game tickets. You can go on the site and purchase an option to purchase tickets at face value. If your team goes to the big game, you can exercise your option and purchase a ticket at face value. If your team ends up in the Emerald Nuts Bowl, you forfeit your option purchase amount. Additionally, you can sell your option to other fans during the year. So, if I buy Georgia options today for $44, I can sell them during the year, presumably when UGA is winning and the option price is above $44 and turn a profit. Or, I can hang on to my options and see if the Dawgs can get to the championship game.

Here is the Big Board for the 2008 BCS Championship game for each SEC school:

Alabama - $15
Arkansas - $94
Auburn - $94
Florida - $156
Georgia - $44
Kentucky - $15
LSU - $94
Mississippi State - $15
Ole Miss - $15
South Carolina - $15
Tennessee - $76
Vanderbilt - $15

Looks like the Gators are pretty confident in Tim Tebow and a rebuilt defense. Then again, the Gators are pretty confident about anything.

Sports Roundup

2007-01-30T09:13:00.000-05:00

1. Kentucky Derby champion Barbaro was euthanized yesterday. As usual, Deadspin has the most tasteful coverage.

2. A couple of thoughts on the Stupor Bowl. I am staggeringly indifferent to the outcome of this game. I expect the Colts to win big, and for Peyton Manning to be rapidly anointed as the Best Ever. But the two weeks' layoff works wonders on the media. I expect that around Thursday or so, the only available story will be the "counterintuitive" one that goes, Hey, maybe the Bears have a chance in this thing! Don't buy it. Indy has been consistently favored by about a touchdown, and those Vegas folks know what they're doing.

Actually, I'm sort of interested in this proposal -- move the Super Bowl to Saturday night. As a college football fan, I'm more used to watching football on Saturday, and it does make sense not to force people to stagger home from parties late on a work/school night. I was born on a "Super Bowl Sunday" (SB X, Pittsburgh over Dallas), but I don't have any great attachment to the concept. Of course, the problem with this idea is that the NFL has become a religion, and America practices its religion on Sundays.

3. Bobby Ross retired from his perch as head coach of the Army football team. Ross brought the team a measure of respectability, but the Black Knights aren't all the way back yet. As an aside, I'll note that Ross was almost Duke's choice for its last coaching vacancy. I think he would have been a decent choice, certainly more of a "name" than Ted Roof. But there's no reason to believe he would have stuck around at Duke any longer than he did at West Point, and Duke would be right back in the same spot. I routinely heap criticism on Duke A.D. Joe Alleva, and he has made some bad decisions, including bad football coach hires and fires. But I guess I have to reluctantly give him credit for choosing a coach who didn't lose the fire after three years.

4. Sticking with the Duke theme for a moment, controversy continues to swirl over the Devils' win last week over Clemson. In short, Duke won on a buzzer-beater after the officials had a timing error. And so the conspiracy theorists have more fodder. The best take I've seen is from Winston-Salem reporter Lenox Rawlings, one of the best out there (link via DBR). I'm not going to dwell on it, except to say that (a) these things happen, (b) the main error was that the clock didn't start when Clemson stole the inbounds pass before its tying shot, and that could very easily have worked to the Tigers' benefit if they had missed the shot, because they would have had extra time to tie the game, and (c) none of this would be a big deal if Clemson was able to stop Duke from going the length of the court in 4.4 seconds for an open layup. But if the Duke-haters need some proof that the universe does not always bow to the will of Coach K, Dave McClure, who hit the winner against Clemson, hyperextended his knee against Boston College and will miss at least one game. So live with that on your consciences, you voodoo-doll using Clemson fans!

5. The Montreal Canadiens retired Ken Dryden's jersey last night. You could argue that Dryden wasn't the best goalie in NHL history, and that he didn't play on its greatest dynasty...but you'd have a tough argument to make. He was certainly among a small handful of the very best between the pipes. Even if you're not a hockey fan, I would recommend Dryden's book The Game. You could skim the parts about how the sport had changed from the days of the Original Six to the late 1970s at the end of the Canadiens' best run. But the book is a beautifully written portrayal of what it's like to be part of a team, written from the sort of inside, sort of outside perspective of a goalie. Anyway, congrats to Dryden.

6. Also, congrats to Warren St. John for his great story about a soccer team in Georgia made up of refugees from various countries. Warren's going to turn the story into a book. Via Deadspin, here's the word that the story led to a movie deal. And via Dan Shanoff, more inside dope on the film project. Hey Warren, don't go all Hollywood on us!

The Second Year

2007-01-29T21:32:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it, Paul had a great post about college football coaches last week. He asked which coach has the longest tenure without going to a BCS bowl. That got me thinking. How long should you wait before you decide if a coach is a winner or not?

My answer for traditional powers is easily the second year. Let's look at every great coach who recently took over his program, a traditional football power, and what he did in his second year.

Pete Carroll - USC - 2003 Orange Bowl Champs after a 6-6 season the year before
Bob Stoops - Oklahoma - 2000 National Champions after a 7-5 season
Nick Saban - LSU - Sugar Bowl Champs after an 8-4 initial campaign
Steve Spurrier - Florida - 1991 SEC Champs (UF unofficially won the '90 championship, too)
Jim Tressel - Ohio State - 2002 National Champions after a 7-5 season
Mark Richt - Georgia - 2003 Sugar Bowl Champs after a 8-4 season
Urban Meyer - Florida - 2006 National Champs after a 9-3 year

Lloyd Carr won a national championship in his third year. Phil Fulmer won 10 games his second year. Mack Brown won 11 games in his fourth year.

Of course, some coaches don't inherit a traditional power and it takes them longer to lead a team to a major bowl. Bowden, Paterno, and Frentz all built a winning program after years of build up. My point is not that a coach must win or reach a BCS bowl within a few years, just that the best coaches do when they are given the keys to a powerful car. Others must build the car first. That's why I preface my comments by saying that these coaches all had success in the second year at traditional powers, not rebuilding a program.

So, maybe firing your coach after three or four years isn't so crazy after all. Maybe mediocre coaches make big programs mediocre.

Play Ball!

2007-01-26T12:25:00.000-05:00

If you're still recovering from the passing of the college football season and don't care about basketball, then you're probably sweating out your team's Rivals.com star ratings for the upcoming football signing day. Well, stop worrying about that Parade All-American that's thinking about joining your team or the juggernaut that Florida will turn into. There are games to be played. I follow basketball, but not nearly as close as King Bee. Which is why I'm happy to report that college baseball starts this weekend. Actually, last night, with defending national champs Oregon State no-hitting Hawaii-Hilo.

If you didn't know colleges have baseball teams, you're missing out. Baseball is the second most fun sport on campus. The early games can be a little cold, but there is no better way to kill a Sunday afternoon in the springtime than by sitting in Foley Field or Alex Box to watch a baseball game. College baseball still has reasonable ticket prices and concessions. It also, for some unknown reason, attracts scores of good looking girls.

Here are a load of preseason rankings:

Rivals.com - Seven SEC teams, Rice No.1
National College Baseball Writers - Six SEC teams, Rice No.1
Baseball America - Five SEC teams, Rice No.1
USA Today/ESPN - Five SEC teams, Rice No.1

Georgia is on the borderline this year. We're in the top 25 some places, but by no means a powerhouse. UGA baseball pretty much always starts that way, but we've made three College World Series appearances since 2000. Here's a preview from the UGA athletic department. The Dawgs open with Oregon State on February 9th, the same team that sent them packing from Omaha last year.

Do yourself a favor: look up your school's baseball schedule and go to a game.

Ping!

Arenas Wants Coach K

2007-01-26T10:39:00.000-05:00

Gilbert Arenas is upset at getting cut from the Olympic basketball team. So upset in fact that he wants to go back to college and drop "84 or 85" points on Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski because Coach K was responsible for the slight. Why not 100, Gilbert? Arenas has already taken out his frustrations on the Suns, whose coach is an assistant on the USA team, by scoring 54 against them earlier this year.

I'm not a big NBA fan, but this story is funny. I especially like Arenas saying he would give up an entire NBA season for one game against Duke. I'm guessing Coach K could come up with a good defensive game plan because Arenas says he would never pass the ball, imitating the NBA 2K7 video game. That man has some serious pride if he's willing to forgo his $10 million for an NBA season to play one game against the Dukies.

Coach K was seemingly uneffected by the story as Duke won a dramatic game against Clemson last night.

The View From Cartagena

2007-01-25T17:28:00.000-05:00

Vacation time is over, but it was fun while it lasted. Our hotel was right next to some futbol fields, so I got a few shots of Colombian rec league soccer. They played all day on Saturday and Sunday, a parade of little league games and adult matches. I did not get to see a bicycle kick, but did witness a goal in the few times I stopped to watch the action.

We ventured into the foreign equivalent of Wal-Mart and found these chips.

For some reason, they seem to love chicken flavored potato chips down there. I didn't try any, but in hindsight I should have bought this value pack, if only for the celebrity endorser. Many of you may have forgotten him, but he is one of the great diversionary figures in the sports world.

The endorser's name: Carlos Valderrama. What a name! As for his hair, I remember seeing a quote in which he said all the men in his village had hair like that and he didn't understand why it was such a big deal. It's good to see Carlos has landed a cushy chicken flavored potato chip endorsement deal after his days on the pitch.

In 1994, he and the Colombian national team lost a famous soccer game to the USA at the World Cup. The game eventually cost a Colombian player his life. Andres Escobar was murdered shortly after returning home, presumably because he scored an own goal, costing the Colombians the game and a fair amount of face internationally.

I'll be back to American sports soon, hopefully tonight.

Stock up on Metamucil-flavored Gatorade

2007-01-22T00:58:00.001-05:00

By now you've probably heard about James Hylton, the 72-year-old man who is trying to qualify to drive in next month's Daytona 500. Hylton has some qualifications; he was NASCAR's 1966 rookie of the year.

I've been thinking a lot about this, and I've decided that I'm in favor of old people driving in NASCAR because it's the only place in the world where it's perfectly acceptable to leave your left-turn signal on for five hundred miles. And I suppose this means that next year we're going to see Toonces the driving cat in the Indy 500, and how could that possibly be a bad idea?

Somebody's not going to get invited to the Rose Garden ceremony...

2007-01-19T00:53:00.000-05:00

In Kyle's absence, I feel like I have to comment on this news: a Georgia congressman, Jack Kingston, voted against the traditional House resolution honoring the national football champion because he didn't want to vote for the Florida Gators.

Kyle at DawgSports is all over this with a bunch of links, and Orson at EDSBS pretty much rips Kingston a new one. I definitely see Kyle's point that this looks petty, and it is kind of a ridiculous way to get your name in the news. But ultimately I think I have to agree with SMQ that "the sheer irrational, stubborn hate the representative displays here" is "what makes college football great." It reminds me of my favorite line in Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, from an Alabama fan who would never cheer for Tennessee (or, presumably, vote in favor of a Congressional resolution honoring them): "I'd cheer for Florida, Auburn, Notre Dame, Russia, and the University of Hell before the words 'rocky top' would ever come out of my mouth!"

I guess, for Kingston, "Aye" is too close to "Yay." I was curious, then, how he voted last spring after the Gators won the basketball championship. He got lucky and didn't have to make the choice. The bill (H.R. 761) never made it out of committee. The companion Senate resolution passed by unanimous consent, by the way. No word on the whereabouts of Georgia's Senators that day.

There's a project for someone with time to kill -- search the Congressional Record for your favorite team's title-winning resolution and see if anyone voted against it. You might be surprised what you find. For instance, I found out I agreed with Jesse Helms on at least one thing. However, I might have had to vote "Present" on this one.

And that's probably what Kingston should have done if it was really about the rivalry instead of mere spite and a desire to have us talking about him. It's not too creative, though. If he were really clever, he would have introduced an amendment congratulating "a team from the SEC" for winning the championship. At least have a little conference pride, man.