Back in the swing

Hey everyone. It's been a pretty bust few weeks for me personally, which has precluded me from blogging much. I plan to change that now.

A couple things we need to discuss up front:
*Our sports editor, Ben Thomas, recently announced plans to leave for the (Mobile) Press-Register. That's a sad thing for me and for the readers. Ben is a cool dude, a calm leader and someone who made our section better during his three or four years as SE. He also is an Auburn guy. I know you AU fans keep an eye on that kind of thing. I'm guessing Ben's former assistant SE, L.C. Johnson, will be the next guy in line. You all will like L.C. because he values college coverage. That means more Auburn stuff in the paper.

*I'm coaching a mini soccer team two nights per week. We don't keep records. We're 1-2, though both losses were by one goal. We won 6-1 in our last game, though, which I believe is a sign of things to come. I'm supposed to be chronicling the coaching experience in the paper, but things haven't yet come together. We're still in the process of building a new recreational sports page.

AUBURN STUFF
*What is wrong with the baseball team? Nothing really. They lost their first eight SEC games before taking a game from Ole Miss last Sunday. Former St. James ace Taylor Thompson was the first Auburn pitcher to earn an SEC win since April 2006.

I think the team has enough talent to finish 5th or 6th in the league. I want to say coach Tommy Slater is safe -- he's a real asset to that athletic department, in my opinion -- but another miserable SEC record might be the final straw. It's too early to speculate. If Auburn finishes 14-16 in the league, it'll probably qualify for Hoover and everything will be fine.

*Expectations for the football team are too high -- based on some things I've heard from AU fans lately. This is not a particularly powerful team. Guys like Lee Ziemba, Michael McNeil and Chris Slaughter will have to be significant contributors for this team to contend in the SEC West. Relying on freshmen is generally a bad sign. Nine wins is a reasonable goal. Eleven? Seems unlikely to me.

*Jeff Lebo signed a 7-foot guy the other day, junior Boubacar Sylla from Simi Valley, Calif. He's averaging 2 points and 3 rebounds per game right now as a backup. The starter is headed to Rutgers. Lebo said he was dead-set on getting a big man and, well, Sylla is big. Not sure how good he is. He's tall.

*It'll be interesting (to me) to see who all returns for coach Nell Fortner's fourth season. There's talk that PG Whitney Boddie, whom I consider the team's best player, may be pushed to either take her responsibilities more seriously or leave the program. She's been suspended a few times for relatively minor off-the-court issues.

Boddie has shortcomings. Her shot selection isn't the best. Her inability to stay out of trouble is a concern.

Here's the upside: Boddie hates losing. I can't say that for every player on the roster. At least Boddie gives consistent effort on the floor, and plays every game like it's her last night. I think that's critical.