News of the day, 1/26

Hey everyone. We've got a few Auburn-related items shakin, so let's get to business.

First, though, allow me to thank you all for making this the HOTTEST Auburn blog on the 'net.

Alabama 97, Auburn 77: That's some old-fashioned humbling stuff right there. I wouldn't say the Tigers played poorly overall, but defense obviously was a major issue. Alabama built a 17-0 run in the first half that basically held. Auburn cut it down to 15 late. Too late.

The Tide hit 48 percent from three-point range and 54 percent overall. Perhaps most incredibly, the team home team committed only four turnovers. That pretty incredible efficiency.

What does this mean for Auburn? That depends. The team was on a three-game winning streak before this debacle, and it's still reasonable to think Jeff Lebo's team can finish in the middle of the SEC pack. This is an OK team that will have good nights (Ole Miss) and bad ones (you just saw one).

I'll let you decide if that's acceptable. As my buddy and co-worker Josh Moon often says: It's all about football at Auburn.

On the football recruiting front, Auburn landed DT Freddie Smooth (great name) on Friday. He is Auburn's 25th commitment of the year, though three of those kids already are enrolled. What do I think of Smooth? He's an unrefined big body that could become Josh Thompson. It'll take a few years at least ... just as it did with Josh.

News of the day, 1/24

Hey everyone. Sorry for my relative lack of bloggage during the past 48 hours. I had the previously discussed in-touch-with-the-people enterprise where I spoke with 15 of Montgomery's finest citizens about politics. This wonderful piece will run one of these Sundays.

I'm currently at the AU-LSU women's game, which is a bludgeoning.

I know there are plenty of items to discuss. Chief among them, gauging from my inbox, is the situation facing tailback recruit Enrique Davis. I believe Auburn still has a legitimate shot with him. I'll have to elaborate on this later because this fine game awaits.

LSU won, 79-59. Yuck.

OK. On to other matters.

On the subject of Enrique Davis: Auburn definitely is back in this thing. Tony Franklin and Eddie Gran met with Davis, the nation's top prep-school tailback, at school in Virginia on Wednesday. The kid was pretty impressed with the things Franklin wants to do with him. When it's all said and done, I predict Davis again will sign with Auburn. All that time he spent betrothed to Auburn will make his decision straightforward.

One other item to consider: He isn't yet qualified. Don't assume he's a sure thing.

I've put some thought into the Jeff Lebo quandary that we had around the HABOTN last week. In the comments section, we had a pretty protracted bitch session about Lebo's value as a coach.

I think we all can agree that he's a good tactician hampered by a roster that probably isn't up to SEC standards as a whole. That's obviously his fault, I know, but good coaching can make up for a lot of things. I firmly believe Lebo's team would be good right now if Josh Dollard and Vot Barber were on the floor.

As for Dollard's alleged medical problem, I saw him today. He works out with the team and everything. Weird.

Anyway, if I was the athletic director, I'd be more tempted to replace Nell Fortner or Tom Slater before Lebo. I mean, I like Nell. She projects a classy and sophisticated aura which surely benefits Auburn at some level, yet I often have this feeling that she's getting outcoached.

As far as Slater goes ... I think Auburn baseball should be very good given its facilities, weather, recruiting area, tradition and interest. If the Tigers again fall short of an SEC Tournament bid, I'd have to think Slater would be dismissed.

One small story from the LSU>AU women's game. LSU center Sylvia Fowles is my favorite player in all of women's ball. I just like her style -- very aggressive and good yet rarely out of control. Anyway, LSU coach Van Chancellor is talking after the game ... going on and on in his old-school way (he's a 64-year-old Mississippi native) about his team. Fowles keeps looking over at him with this weird face.

So we're leaving the room a few minutes later. Fowles turns to me and Columbus Ledger-Enquirer ace Christa Turner and says: "Did you all understand anything he said?"

Christa and I laughed.

"He's my coach and I maybe get half of it."

--------------
GEEK ZONE
--------------

Big day for me yesterday: New downloadable content for Guitar Hero 3. It was NONE OTHER than one of my favorite songs of all time ... Boston's "Peace of Mind."

Boston owns. Well, I should day Boston owned. The singer, Brad Delp, offed himself last year. There goes the reunion tour.

Of course, someone already has posted the song to YouTube. Kid is playing expert, hit 292k. Sick.

My best (so far) is 185k on hard. (UPDATED)



The song pack (only for the 360 right now) also comes with Foreigner's "Jukebox Hero" and Journey's "Wheel In The Sky."

Questions? Comments? You can email me at: jgtate@gannett.com

Photo credit: Todd van Emst, Auburn University photography ace

News of the day, 1/22

Hey everyone. It's been a few days. I know, I know. You've been thirsting for more of the HABOTN. We'll, I'm here for you. Again.

Let me start by saying that I'm super geeked about the new project we're beginning at the Montgomery Advertiser. On Wednesday, I'll be wading into east Montgomery asking people for their opinions on the BIG primary on Feb. 5. You may be thinking to yourself: Jay G.? Sports writer? Politics? I just do as I'm told. Plus, one of my bosses said it'll be "fun," so I hope to see at least one of you during my joyous journey.

I know so much about politics.

Enough about that. On to the show ...

First, let me love you on briefly for helping make this the HOTTEST Auburn blog on the 'net.

The Auburn men play Presbyterian College tonight. Seriously. In the middle of Southeastern Conference season. The team's mascot is the Blue Hose (in the "Blue Sox" vein) and are 0-20 on the road this season. Should be a fun time.

Fun times on the SEC women's basketball teleconference today. A few pranksters infiltrated the call, for reasons I'll never understand, and asked vile questions of Arkansas coach Tom Collen and others. Vile? One asked, in less eloquent language, how menstrual cycles affect the players. Bizarre. I'm trying to get a transcript for you all.

UPDATE: Here's a story from the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader about the situation.

I'm a little surprised by some emails I've been receiving about James Willis and Auburn's recruiting efforts in Mobile.

Now, we all know Mobile has been an Auburn stronghold for a while. Former assistant Joe Whitt handled that area for years and did a great job. Now that territory has been passed to Willis. While it's true that Alabama appears to be in an advantageous position down there -- gaining commitments from Mark Barron and Destin Hood and moving into the race for Julio Jones -- I certainly don't fault Willis for that.

Recruiting is random in a lot of ways. The things recruits find alluring vary widely. To draw conclusions based on a handful of kids doesn't make logical sense. Auburn's coaches have demonstrated recruiting acumen. They have good classes and bad classes. So do most programs. I suspect that the Mobile panic wouldn't be an issue had Enrique Davis not de-committed. If he ultimately signs with Auburn, which remains a possiblity, then what?

Plenty of the HOTTIES peeped that Duran Duran video, which was encouraging. I can't talk about Auburn all day every day. So I'm sharing another video. This one is "Love Is A Stranger," by Eurythmics.

Let me do this in bullet form:
*Eurythmics are one of the great groups because they made great songs from so many different genres. Stuff like this and "Sweet Dreams" are electro-pop. "Here Comes The Rain Again" is awesome in its own way. Then you have the hard-rockin' "Missionary Man" and "Would I Lie To You." Then you have dreamy pop like "There Must Be An Angel."
*Annie Lennox has The Best Voice in popular music and that's not up for debate.
*She's gorgeous. Again -- not debatable.
*This video scared me when it came out. I was 11 and I found the monkey threatening.



Questions? Comments? You can email me at: jgtate@gannett.com

News of the day, 1/20

Hey everyone. It's been a pretty lazy Sunday for me. Still, there are some topics to discuss. Let's get to business.

Big up to you all for taking a new average of 72 seconds to peruse the HOTTEST Auburn blog on the 'net.

The football team landed another commitment today, its 24th of the year, when Enterpise TE Ken Adams announced plans to sign with the Tigers. Auburn was the only major-school player to offer Adams a scholarship. That's either a shrewd diamond-in-the-rough pick (i.e. Dontarrious Thomas) or a what-were-they-thinking deal (i.e. Oscar Gonzalez). Either way, Tommy Tuberville now has 24 players committed or signed.

The men's basketball team beat Ole Miss 70-67 on Saturday night. This already has been a hot topic among the 1/18 comments. I don't have much to add aside from admitting that I was a little too harsh on DeWayne Reed. He comes and goes during a game, but he's good when he's going. He was critical on Saturday. If they had Barber and Dollard, that would be a pretty good team. Considering the dropoff with UK and Florida this season, Auburn might have had a chance to slide into the NCAAs.

The women lost at Kentucky today by seven points. F DeWanna Bonner had an off game and, well, that's how it goes. She's the only go-to player on the team right now, though I think G/F Sherrell Hobbs deserves credit for being an outstanding complementary player. She's the perfect Scottie Pippen. The problem is that Bonner is more Toni Kukoc than Michael Jordan.

This has nothing to do with Auburn, yet I'm intrigued that the Associated Press already has written an obit for Britney Spears. It's common for news organizations to write stories ahead of time for famous people who may be nearing the end of their lives. Our favorite 26-year-old star may or may not be in that boat, though I don't need Dr. Phil telling me she's troubled. She's just being a spoiled multi-millionaire who spent her adolescence getting everything she wanted and now doesn't know how to quench that thirst. One thing is for sure: She's one energetic hussy.

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of 80s music. I've been spending too much time lately perusing YouTube for music videos from the old days and, to my surprise, almost every video I seek is posted. I can't imagine growing up now days. Back in '83, I had to wait for MTV to play my favorite videos. No computer. No internet.

Anyway, here's one for you. Duran Duran's "Union of The Snake," a swell song accompanied by a non-sensical video:



Questions? Comments? You can email me at: jgtate@gannett.com OR you can post a comment directly to the blog. Click the "comments" link directly below.