The Buck Sweep – Aggieland Edition

With rumors swirling that Texas A&M will be our new “permanent” Western Division opponent in the expanded SEC, I have seen arguments on both sides as to whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for USC.  Tryptic over at Garnet and Black Attack did an excellent job of skewering our administration for once again kowtowing to the SEC elites, while others have made pretty weak arguments as to why we will benefit from this new arrangement. 

If I have one beef with the situation I would have to echo Tryptic’s sentiments – at what point is the USC admin going to stand up and at the very least make someone compromise, much less give in?  It seems like we’ve taken a “thank you sir may I have another” mentality when it comes to any type of negotiations within the conference. 

Other than that, my reaction to playing Texas A&M on a yearly basis?  A hearty “meh”.

My image of Texas A&M is that they have a rabid fanbase, very good traditions, but have always played fourth fiddle to Texas, Texas, and oh yeah, Texas.  Which, quite frankly, appears to be why A&M has decided to forge their own path in the best football conference in the nation.

If it actually comes to pass, I will look forward to it, but quite honestly after the novelty wears off I’m sure I’ll look forward to it no more than I did annual contests against Arkansas or Mississippi State.  In other words…meh.

I would like to take just a second to address one pro and one con that I think have built momentum that people aren’t really thinking through:

PRO – This will open up East Texas as a recruiting area for us.  Right, much like our membership in the SEC has opened up the states of Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky for us.  I know Texas is a proverbial hotbed of high school football with all their Friday Night Lights and blah blah blah, but if you think we’re all of a sudden going to start roping in three and four star talent from the Lone Star State you need to think again.  There are something like 1000 FBS and FCS schools in the state of Texas, and they’re bordered by Arkansas and Oklahoma to boot. There are way too many schools nearby that mama can drive to and see her baby play every weekend. I’m not saying we won’t get a guy here and there, but a biennial trip to College Station is not going to change where (SC, NC, GA, FL and somehow NJ) and the way we recruit. 

CON – It’s so far away.  News flash, so is Arkansas.  So are Mississippi State and Ole Miss.  And Vandy for that matter.  People who went to Fayetteville are probably going to go to College Station.  People who fly are going to fly and people who drive are going to drive.  USC alumni in Arkansas will be replaced by USC alumni in Texas.  What is going to happen is we’ll have between 7500 and 10,000 fans in College Station every two years, which I would guess is about the same number we have at every road game other than Georgia and Clemson.  The two schools are ridiculously far away from each other, that’s a fact, but I’d be shocked if it affects visiting attendance numbers. 

Sweeping on…

Dance like no one is watching. CTU defeated USC in baseball on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep, setting off a wild celebration at Doug Kingsmore stadium.  Now, we admittedly poked a little fun at our upstate brethren for how over-the-top the celebration was, but upon deeper reflection we admit we really can’t blame them.  

First, a walk-off win in baseball is always cause for joy that may go beyond the bounds of the accomplishment.  Second, the Tigers did defeat a highly ranked, two-time defending National Champion. Even though they lost the first two games of the series, they beat what is currently the premiere program in the country. And most of all, the pressure of not only getting dominated in baseball, but in football and basketball as well, has been weighing heavily on the CTU fanbase for quite some time now. That explosion of joy at the end of the game was well-earned and totally understandable.

So, when you see a CTU fan don’t make fun of them for their championship-like celebration, just pat them of the head and softly say, “Good for you Sparky, good…for…you.”

Hornwatch 2012. Since the last time I questioned the fitness of Darrin Horn to be our basketball coach, not only have things not gotten better, they’ve actually gotten worse. So it makes perfect sense that he was basically given a vote of confidence by the Board of Trustees and Eric Hyman last week. 

Oh wait, no it doesn’t…         

   

South Carolina Loses to Clemson in Something

We didn’t lose the series, mind you, just one game.  But it was enough to elicit a wild celebration in the upstate.

Foto(shop) Friday: The Gamecock Mount Rushmore

Honoring the four coaches who made the most positive impact on the Gamecock football program

Schedule, Schmedule

Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious spring by . . . well, speculation on the permanent SEC football schedule, I guess.

With recruiting in the slow spot on the calendar, the baseball season barely underway, and the basketball season screaming toward March Madness over for Carolina AGAIN, Gamecock fans are left with the little things, like making fun of CTU (always in season), and arguing furtively over future conference football schedules.

If you are like me, then you’ve heard a little bit of everything in this discussion: nine conference games, eight, a reversion to seven; permanent opponents, elimination of the perms; pod systems (?!?) and even doing away with the divisions entirely. Some folks at other schools [coughgeorgiacough) are still so high from the 2012 schedule fiasco that they are advocating one schedule for themselves and their cross-division rival, and a completely different system for the rest of the league.

Quick aside here: At what point do the Dawgs just come out and advocate for a round robin for everyone else in the league, but Georgia’s future OOC games against Louisiana Tech, Memphis, and Southern Miss count in the SEC East Standings? Its the only logical extension of their current “preserve our Auburn rivalry” argument, which is just a thinly veiled attempt to dodge LSU, Arkansas, and Alabama for the maximum time possible.

USC AD Eric Hyman practicing his stance for upcoming conference negotiations

Oh, and extending this now not-so-quick aside: Play Auburn every year? Tell me again what, exactly, is the attraction in that proposition? I can tell you that, as a school that plays an almost Auburn every year (h/t to the late Lewis Grizzard), the annual meeting with our orange-jort-wearing buddies and their accompanying bovine brides only accomplishes two things: It forces me to wash, ahem, organic fertilizer off my car, and it makes my wife look like Cindy Crawford.

But back to the endless schedule debate: I’d like to make one prediction for the upcoming conference negotiations, and then I’d like to propose a possible alternate solution that has, to my knowledge, not been offered elsewhere.

As for the prediction: I am almost certain that the SEC scheduling negotiations will result in Carolina finding itself at a permanent and marked competitive disadvantage. Why am I so gloomy? ‘Cause our AD has a solid track record of being anything but solid in such meetings. Hyman will be broken by the force of other members, and our football program will suffer for it.

As for the solution, consider this:

Do away with cross-division games entirely. That’s right, eliminate all those games. You want to play someone in the other division? Then schedule them at your own peril. Or, how about this for idea? If you want to play a West team so badly, why don’t you earn your way by beating all the teams in the East and facing the best that the West has to offer in Atlanta?

But I’ve got a feeling that UGa would want to quash that idea pretty quickly.

“UGA Player Put Hashbrowns in Her Pants”

I thought pretty hard about a headline for this story, but then the realization hit me that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and sometimes you just shouldn’t screw with a great headline.  And folks, this is an all-timer:

Now, this story raises so many questions about this situation and the poor, unfortunate co-ed who put hashbrowns down her pants.  Chief among them:

  • What kind of pants are we talking about here? Exercise pants? Soccer pants? Capris? Jeans? Not skinny jeans obviously…well, maybe that’s not so obvious.  This whole hashbrowns in the pants thing is so precedent setting.
  • Did the pants have pockets? Did she put the hashbrowns in a pocket and the writers are having a little fun with the story? Or did she literally pull out her waistband and stick hashbrowns IN HER PANTS.
  • Front, back or side?  This is an important fact that is being left out.  There are places in a girls pants where you just don’t want to put hashbrowns…like EVERYWHERE.
  • The story says she had money to pay for the hashbrowns.  Carli, honey, why didn’t you pay for the hashbrowns?
  • Hashbrowns can be seriously greasy…just not even going to go down that path.
  • Who did she call first?  “Mom, I got arrested.  No, I tried to steal hashbrowns by sticking them in my pants.  Yes, your signal is fine, and I did say I tried to steal hashbrowns by sticking them in my pants.”
  • If you didn’t know about this story, and you heard a UGA athlete was arrested for sticking hashbrowns in their pants, how many guesses as to which sport it was would you make before you said WOMEN’S SOCCER?
  • Why was she taken to jail for trying to steal $1.06 worth of cafeteria hashbrowns?  Couldn’t the cops have spared her the humiliation and just said, “Young lady, don’t put hashbrowns in your pants again.”

I’m sure Ms. Shultis is completely mortified by this whole situation and never wants to show her face in public again.  But in time she will realize this is a golden (no pun intended) opportunity to cash in. 

Go on talk shows.  Do radio interviews. 

Contact Jimmy Kimmel for a recurring “things you shouldn’t stick in your pants” segment on his show.

Come out with a t-shirt that says “Have you seen my hashbrowns?”  I’d buy one.

Heck, come out with a line of pants with a secret “hashbrown pocket”.

I’m available to be your agent Ms. Shultis, I think you could really scatter and smother this thing into a big payday.  I’ll only take 10%.

Or some free hashbrowns.

Alshon’s Great Disappearing Act

No matter the knocks on Alshon Jeffery over the course of the past year – too fat, too slow, can’t separate – Gamecock fans, including myself, have always considered #1 a lock for the first round fo the NFL Draft.  Heck, I would’ve even bet a significant amount of cash the he would be a top 15 pick, even after a sub-sub-par junior season.
 
But after basically no-showing at the NFL Combine, you have to wonder what he and his advisors were thinking.
 
The weekend started off well enough, when Jeffery came in for measurements and weighed in at a svelte 216 lbs., well below the 230 lbs. or so at which he was rumored to be packing.  The fact he was measured at 6’3″ tall instead of his listed height all three years at USC – 6’4″ – seemed to be a non-issue.
 
Then there was the announcement that he would not be running the 40 at the combine.  OK, fine.  Justin Blackmon, considered to be the only receiver better than Jeffery in this year’s crop, wasn’t running either due to a bum hamstring. 
 
But then came the shocking news that Jeffery wouldn’t be doing ANYTHING at the combine.  No bench press, no vertical, no route-running, no over-the-shoulder catches, nada, nothing.
 
What did the NFL folks think of this?  Not much.  Not much at all.  Gil Brandt, a long-time NFL talent evaluator, said this about the situation:

I am disappointed.  Jeffery will be able to do the same drills at South Carolina’s pro day on March 28, but it won’t be nearly as well attended by NFL personnel as the combine.  The guy had a chance to show what he can do. Right now, there is a lot of apprehension about the guy. I can’t tell you why the guy wouldn’t run or work out.      

Then today, Peter King of Sports Illustrated, maybe the most in-the-know media guy there is when it comes to the NFL, wrote in his Monday Morning Quarterback column:

The receiver order: Looks like Justin Blackmon and Michael Floyd of Notre Dame will be the only wideouts in round one, unless (Stephen) Hill sneaks in there. Reuben Randle of LSU and Rutgers’ Mohamed Sanu (the Bucs and new coach Greg Schiano want him) could go 4-5 unless Baylor’s Kendall Wright overcomes a lousy combine.

Notice anyone missing?  Is it possible that by not working out at the combine Alshon has dropped from the second receiver taken to the sixth?  And if he’s the sixth receiver taken, is it out of the question he drops all the way to the third round? 
 
One of the big knocks on Alshon was taken care of when he stepped on the scale on Friday.  
 
But by not working out with the other receivers over the weekend, he came off as if he’s hiding something.  NFL folks don’t like that, and unfortunately Alshon is probably going to pay by sliding down the draft board.   
 
Unless he has one helluva Pro Day.    
 

 

Two for Tuesday

Witness new UNC head man, Larry Fedora, react to a couple of junior commitments (video from WRAL.com):

Two Things here:
1.  Has Fedora gone full-blown Dabo?  Is this the new template for the behavior of a head coach?  If so, a little bit of me just died.
2. Someone has forgotten everything they are supposed to know about NCAA Division I recruiting restrictions from Section 13.10 et seq (publicly commenting on a recruit, publicizing a prospective student athlete before signing, and participation by media members in recruiting visit, etc).  The Tarheels are currently on probation, right?

The Garnet Army of One

When Darrin Horn came to South Carolina as head basketball coach, he brought a youthful energy to a stale program.  Exactly what you would expect a youthful coach to do, right?  To his credit he got the students involved, and was instrumental in the formation of the “Garnet Army” student section.  Decked out in garnet and black camo, the students who had the pleasure of getting seats close to the court created a true home atmosphere for the team.  Horn even gave lessons on how and when to cheer, and encouraged the crowd to yell “THREEEEE” when a player launched a shot from beyond the arc.  The Garnet Army received a lot of air time when the Gamecocks were televised, with perhaps the pinnacle of their fanhood was in a 2009 victory over #1-ranked Kentucky:

Gman has been to the majority of the basketball games this season, bless his tiny black little heart, and the first thing he always points out is how small the crowds have gotten.  Also pointing this out Saturday to his national audience on mocksession.com was Timothy Burke, also known as @bubbaprog on Twitter.  Here is the screen capture from the SEC broadcast, which he posted under the heading “SEC Basketball: CATCH THE FEVER”:

Now, I don’t expect our crowds to be as good for a late season game against average competition like Georgia or LSU as I expect it to be for best team in the country.  However, I would hope to see more seats filled than not, especially in the student section.  Is that unreasonable to ask?

Gman took a couple of shots from the games last week.  Against Georgia the “Garnet Army” looked more like a platoon (or maybe even a squad depending on how many people went to concessions at the same time):

And then against LSU, when the student section was reduced to…that’s right…a Garnet Army of One:

We Have No Objection, Your Honor.

Have you ever been in a courtroom to watch a guilty plea hearing? It’s a tension-filled environment, and for many reasons. But I can tell you from personal experience (as a PROFESSIONAL – geeze, people!) that much of the tension felt by the participants is that some other participant will go off-script and annoy the judge. The prosecutor is worried about law enforcement, the defense attorney is worried about his client, and both are worried that the victim might sound off at the wrong time. All these concerns are based on hard experience won from similar past events, where someone speaks out of turn and the judge rejects the deal that everyone worked so long and hard to reach.

And so it is after this weekend, which saw the HBC, Dr. Pastides, and the-guy-who-hires-and-fires-the-men’s-basketball-coach all fly out to the golden hills of Los Angeles to appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions. The Gamecock delegation was summoned to explain to the higher-ups just how several of our football players could have possibly negotiated leases at a local apartment complex, and how an alumnus could dare to go to work for a not-for-profit that helps young basketball hopefuls.

By all accounts Carolina had an impressive package deal worked out, which would see us fall on our swords and admit wrongdoing, pay a fine, cut a couple/three scholarships, and promise to . . . I don’t know here, maybe not let our players sign apartment leases or not let the private companies that own those lease get lax if someone misses a payment, or maybe prohibit our graduates from going on to work with at-risk youth.

Regardless, the collective wisdom out there on the internet strongly recommends that we all hold our tongues (or keyboards, or whatever) and hope that we don’t inadvertently say something that will anger the NCAA. The governing body is just itching to slam us, I guess, and we would all be wise to avoid giving them an excuse. So, I won’t go off-script. I won’t put the deal at risk.

 Y’all can all relax.

 I won’t suggest that the entire investigation was a stinking pile of dog poo trumped up by a local sports reporter high on hair gel. I promise, I won’t.

And I won’t even point out the bitter irony that we are currently on probation for improperly tutoring (yes, that’s right) prospective student athletes while one of our conference foes suffered no admonition when it recently won a coveted BCS crystal with a player that was widely recognized as having been bought by the highest bidder.

 I won’t point out to the NCAA that the fact they know EXACTLY what and whom I was alluding to in the above-paragraph is just another example of how feckless and annoying their whole system of justice is. I won’t even go there.

I will absolutely refrain from rehashing all the evidence that Clemson Tiger University, a football program built on open and blatant paying of players, is still paying players getting wads of cash from rich aunts winning the lottery on NSD just foolin with around with money and a camera today with no apparent negative attention.

I won’t dare point out that the most storied programs out there – the Bama’s and the Miami’s and the Southern Cal’s – all seem to cheat at every turn, and when the stench of their abuses finally grows so distinct that even the NCAA overlords can’t blame it on the dog any longer, the punishments that are handed down don’t seem to put a dent in the strange competitive advantages those schools enjoy.

I won’t call the system a joke, or the penalties asininely inconsistent.

No, I’ll just keep my head down, stay on the script, and hope the judge accepts the deal.

A Quick Tribute to The Jake

Word came down yesterday that Jake Williams would not be a part of the 2012 Gamecock baseball team.  The vague and speculation-fueling “personal reasons” was given.  Whatever the case may be, we owe Jake a hearty Thank You for the greatest throw in Gamecock baseball history.

Enjoy.