montgomeryadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:
6.27.2008

Your Daily Fix, 6/27

Hey everyone. It's another warm day in L.A. (lower Alabama) and I'd really like to be in the pool right now.

I have added a pool shot, captured by yours truly in April, to provide some vicarious enjoyment. We like it hot here at the HABOTN, but we all have our limits. I'm there.

I was talking with one of my pro-Alabama friends, Citifinancial magnate Jeff K., and he thinks the answer to all this misbehavin' on campus is to resume use of athletic dorms. They were all but outlawed a decade ago because they often afforded comforts that regular students didn't have. They also were havens for questionable moral/legal events.

HOTTIES:
What do you think? I believe Jimmy Johns was going to peddle cocaine regardless of his living arrangements.

I talked with former DC Will Muschamp ther other day about The Recruiting Situation. If you'll recall, he told me months ago that early commitments would become The Next Big Thing in college football.

Lo and behold, Auburn currently has 17 commitments. Texas, Muschamp's current employer, has 19. It's not even July yet.

Here are a few other things Muschamp had to say about this.

  • First is best: Many recruits take mental notes about which programs are the first to show interest and offer a scholarship. Mid-major schools have known this for years, yet their (relative) lack of prestige prevented many prospects from committing. Now, big schools like Auburn and Texas (and many others) are making their feelings known much earlier than before.

    The Auburns and Texases of the world have much more allure.

    ``A whole lot of kids put stock into who recruited me first," Muschamp said. ``It's all about relationships. When you're building a relationship, kids feel closer to the people who believed in them all along."

  • What about overcrowding?: Schools generally have no more than 25 scholarships to give. What happens when some big-time prospects decide to play at Auburn or Texas in February ... when the team already has a full class?

    Muschamp said proper planning can help teams avoid that potential snag.

    ``We know which kids we like and we've been talking with them and watching them for a long time," Muschamp said. ``This is like marriage: Once you're in and you accept that offer, that's it. We're committed to the kid and he's committed to us. That's a done deal in my mind."
Remember, though, that the deal isn't done in the NCAA's mind until February. That's when committed players sign binding Letters of Intent.

I'll share more of the conversation next week.

Literate Auburn fans know about Phillip Marshall, who has covered Auburn for the Huntsville Times since 1990. Not anymore. Today is his last day in print journalism.

Phillip has signed on with Auburn Undercover, which debuts next week. I can't wait to see what zany things P-Marsh will spew once freed from the shackles of orthodoxy. Maybe a jump to the Interwebs will give him the Hall of Fame support he so richly deserves.

A friend of mine forwarded me a YouTube link that was so funny that I just had to share it with the HOTTIES.

Check this out:


The only bad thing about the catch is that it didn't really happen. So it goes.

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.
6.26.2008

Your Daily Fix, 6/26

Hey everyone. And we're BAAACK from the District and feeling great about our decision to live in Alabama. I know this place has its drawbacks, but I don't regret aiming my professional career away from big-city work. Almost everything I need is within five miles of me here. Plus, I know many of the people in my neighborhood and most of 'em are pretty cool.

Some things I can do in DC that I cannot do in Montgomery:
a.) Walk to the store
b.) Walk more than 1,000 feet without sweating
c.) Use a convenient mass transit system
d.) Buy (good) food from a street vendor
e.) Hang out with my friends Marty and Jennifer J., who live near DC

(Today's picture was shot from Rosslyn, Va., at the Iwo Jima Memorial.)

OK. We have Auburn stuff to discuss.

I was in D.C. when coach Tommy Tuberville et al. snagged their 17th commitment earlier this week. He is DB Reggie Taylor, who is from the same high school (Peach County in Georgia) that produced HABOTN fave Chris Slaughter. Taylor considered offers from Iowa State, Ball State and Memphis. Some other big-name schools (ie Alabama and Florida) have shown interest ... but not the super-serious kind.

Taylor, like many of his future classmates, attended one of Auburn's camps earlier this summer.

Here is your updated Auburn 2009 Commitment Tote Board:
HIGH SCHOOL
LB Harris Gaston, Birmingham (Bessemer Academy)
WR Brandon Heavens, Birmingham (Bessemer Academy)
QB Raymond Cotton, Mobile (Faith Academy) ... though he's moving this summer
DT Terrence Coleman, Mobile (Williamson)
DE Jamontay Pilson, Greenville (Greenville)
TE Philip Lutzenkirchen, Marietta, Ga. (Lassiter)
TB Rodney Scott, Cross City, Fla. (Dixie County)
LB Jonathan Evans, Mobile (Blount)
WR Travante Stallworth, Leesville, La. (Leesville)
WR Ladarius Perkins, Greenville, Miss. (St. Joseph)
OL Andre Harris, Hampton, Ga. (Lovejoy)
WR LaVoyd James, Mobile (Williamson)
OL Aaron Moore, Frisco, Texas (Centennial)
DB Reggie Taylor, Fort Valley, Ga. (Peach County)

JUNIOR COLLEGE
LB Eltoro Freeman, Alex City (Miss. Gulf Coast CC)
DE Wilfred Journet, Lafayette, La. (Copiah-Lincoln CC)
DL Nick Fairley, Mobile (Copiah-Lincoln CC)
*all three signed with Auburn out of high school in Feb. 2007.

There is an outside chance that Quan Prowell, a senior this past season, will be selected in the second round of the NBA Draft tonight. Maybe 5%. There are three teams that have shown accelerated interest, but word is that Prowell probably will play for someone's Summer League team in an effort to make a roster in the fall. He's such an intriguing player. If Prowell could swap personalities with Doc Robinson, you'd have one hell of a player. As it stands, Prowell doesn't show a lot of fire. If he was more laid back, he'd be asleep.

This isn't Auburn sports per se, but an AU student has qualified for the World Series of Poker main event. We're talking about ESPN, Vegas, the whole thing. His name is Adam Mills and he's a 2004 St. James graduate.

I talked with him earlier today for a story that will run later. He's the ultimate casual player ... who just happened to win a pair of important online tournaments. There are approximately 8,000 players qualfied for Vegas. None of them was a bigger longshot than Mills.

I'll share more later.
6.23.2008

Still on vacay

Hey everyone. I'm just droppin' in to report that I'm still on vacation in The Nation's Capitol and enjoying the heck out of myself.

This picture represents the view from our balcony this morning around 9. It's a lovely place about three blocks NE of the White House.

We attended the DC United-San Jose game yesterday. The Good Guys won. We went home happy. I'm going to see dinosaurs and the constitution today.

I was going to see the Newseum, but admission is $20. The Advertiser's parent company, Gannett, put a ton of money into the Newseum and I'm bitter than we don't get in free. So I'm not going. Plus, do I really need a crash course in how news is produced?

UPDATE: I just learned, way later than the rest of the world, that George Carlin has died at 71. I don't know what to say. He's the greatest comedian of my lifetime. The second, Sam Kinison, died in 1992. I don't laugh like I used to ... and Carlin's passing makes the world even less humorous. Dammit.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Questions? Comments? Join in by commenting on the blog below or by emailing me at jgtate@gannett.com.

follow me on Twitter

• THE RING OF FIRE •
INAUGURAL CLASS
Phormerly Phred
Scottie B. in Tennessee
crudup
Hoopie
Ron Mexico
hip-hopanonymous
AUnMobilz
Sullivan013
Scott from Tucson
scottatl
jhag **FRANCHISE PLAYER**

CLASS OF 2008
Peter Frankenschmidt
Mr. Sensible
WarEagleRK

CLASS OF 2009
eddie4au
FakeSteveJobs (aka FSJ)
AUBigCat
michael
Steve from Columbia (aka SteveFC)
kristina
Jet

WHERE EAGLES SOAR
AUFan365 was Larry Bailey, 1948-2010

FEELING THE HEAT
WarEagleGirl
TarHeelTiger
Kathy
D. Miller
Dear Leader
j-z
Norm
digger4au
Harrison
LuvAU1968
cincytiger
mytommyd (is supposed to be mrtommyd)
ehyoutiger
wtc
IV
wakeriderof87
Sean
Scott Chocolate
NoVaTiger
Taylor
BinOBA
wes
Aeronaut
chip chip
Spongeworthy
Loganville Tiger
E-Bro
Ephemeral
au1n04
FearlessFreep
coosa
bear82
wartiger
patdyeswildturkey
atlantatiger
JD the Biscuitator
shesaid
depressedAUfan
dnatl

NOTABLE NEWCOMERS
Cousin Humpers = Bammers (aka CH=B)
dan dan the AU fan
bellefay1
API
Jay 'W. not Tate'
missinit
Craig Miller
AU1292
MLF
Comm'r of Flesh Wounds
Stupup74
61northak
Jimmy
bigdaddy334
Secondaid
Andrew
SCoats
astatguy
Jason Crawford
paulmain
Lowcountry Tiger
BigEZ
Will
WDCWE

MY PEEPS
Wifey
cpf
GritzNGravy
roundtable
Josh_Moon
MrsFrontRim & FrontRim
ChuckCrim
troyznoiz

FIRST DOCUMENTED POSTER
Buck

BANHAMMERED
Hamburglar
ROLLTIDEROLL
hairydawg
DavidOku
Jay_G (an impostor)
WarEagleogDotCom

Powered by Blogger

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]

Advertisement