Margaret Hoelzer = fast

Hey everyone. Just checking in to pass along that 2006 Auburn graduate Margaret Hoelzer just broke the world record in the 200 backstroke. She broke a record set by 2005 graduate Kirsty Coventry.

Hoelzer's time was 2:06.09.

Incredible.

Jay G. update

Hey everyone. I'm in vacation mode again, which explains why I'm again slacking. Us scribes have a small window of vacay opportunity, early June through mid July, so that explains why it seems like I'm always chillin'.

I'll update where and where I can during the next 10 days or so.

Once we get rolling with Media Days toward the end of the month, I can give you a GEORGE FOREMAN GUAR-ON-TEE that the HABOTN will be back its warmish temperature for a long while.

Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars...

Auburn update, 7/1

BREAKING NEWS @ 8 p.m.: Margaret Hoelzer finished second in the 100m back finals and wins a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. She joins Mark Gangloff.

Hey everyone. It's another day in the neighborhood. I know some of you all aren't that into swimming. I understand. I really do. It's just that I get kinda jazzed about the Olympics and, well, there's not much going on right now in the Auburn world.

I figure if some current and former Auburn peeps are handling business on their sport's biggest stage, you'd probably have at least some tertiary interest.

Did you all hear the Roundtable on WMSP this afternoon? Doug and Baggy still are talking about the Jimmy Johns situation. The topic today was about how perhaps the return of athletic dorms could help curb that kind of lawlessness. Eh. Johns is a kid who made some really awful decisions. I don't put that at Nick Saban's feet. I also don't think there is a "solution" because there really isn't a "problem" ... aside from Johns' chances of living outside captivity before, say, 2015.

I mean, how badly does it suck to be Jimmy Johns right now? Regardless of your athletic orientation, his situation is sad. He's too young to have run that astray by his own devices. Someone gave him a whole lot of bad advice, you know?

As expected, Auburn has shifted its athletic broadcasts to XM Radio. This was a move to conform to the SEC's push toward XM. I am a Sirius subscriber. I am none too happy about this. Of course, XM and Sirius have gained preliminary clearance in their plan to merge. Surely I'll be hearing these SEC games before long...

TUESDAY MORNING AT THE OLYMPIC TRIALS

• Ava Ohlgren didn't disappoint in the 200 IM. She finished fourth behind three former Olympians. Not too shabby. It'll take a lot to move into that second spot, though.
  
• Auburn moved three swimmers (one current, two former) into the men's 200 butterfly prelims. They finished no better than 13th in the morning heats.
  
• Erica Meissner and Kelsey Winters had some impressive swims in the 200 IMs. Neither qualified for the semis, but they knocked at least two seconds off their qualifying times. That's really impressive.
  

WOMEN
Prelims: 200m IM (106 competitors)
4 -- Ava Ohlgren, 2:12.28 ... through to SEMIS
8 -- Julie Stupp 2:13.97 ... through to SEMIS
19 -- Emily Kukors, 2:16.13
34 -- Erica Meissner, 2:18.28
41 -- Kelsey Winters, 2:18.82
51 -- Melanie Roberts, 2:19.16
81 -- Emile Ewing, 2:20.96

Prelims: 200m Freestyle (103 competitors)
19 -- Emily Kukors, 2:00.40
39 -- Margo McCawley, 2:01.80
80 -- Emile Ewing, 2:03.82
85 -- Julie Golden, 2:04.07
86 -- Melissa Marik, 2:04.10
101 -- Caitlin Geary, 2:06.60

MEN
Prelims: 200m Butterfly (79 competitors)
13 -- Andrew Callahan, 1:59.70 ... through to SEMIS
14 -- Tyler McGill, 1:59.75 ... through to SEMIS
15 -- Robert Looney, 1:59.81 ... through to SEMIS
22 -- Andrew Mitchell, 2:00.88
26 -- Will Dove, 2:01.25
34 -- Logan Madson, 2:01.76
51 -- Mark Johnson, 2:02.83

TUESDAY NIGHT PREVIEW

• (ON TV*) Margaret Hoelzer goes for the 100 back championship tonight. She had the third-best time in prelims.
  
• Tyler McGill, Robert Looney and Andrew Callahan race in the semis of the 200 butterfly tonight. They were at least two seconds off the pace in prelims.
  
• Ava Ohlgren and Julie Stupp go for the 200 IM championship tonight. Ohlgren had the fourth-best time in prelims. The top three times came from Natalie Coughlin, Katie Hoff and Whitney Myers. All are former Olympians.

*Tonight's action will be televised on USA Network from 7-8 p.m.

I have give a belated congratulations to Spain, which won the 2008 Euros on Sunday with a 1-0 win against Germany. I thought Spain really played well in the knockout stages. They have a lot of great midfield/striker guys who manned up for a change. This was Spain's first significant championship in two generations. It's about time.

The best match of the tournament, though, was Turkey beating the Czechs 3-2 after being down with 15 minutes remaining. I'll remember Turkey's play for the rest of my life.



If you enjoy Guitar Hero III like me, you'll probably be geeked to know there is some free DLC waiting for you this week. The guitar theme from "Top Gun," performed by Steve Stevens, soon will be added to my catalog. In case you've forgotten the tune, there is a video for your nostalgic enjoyment.

(EDIT: How awful is this video?)

Auburn update, 6/30

Hey everyone. I'll doll this up later. Let's get to what happened this morning at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha.

Updated @ 9:15 p.m.
MONDAY NIGHT SYNOPSIS

• Mark Gangloff finished second in the 100m breast and you know what that means: He's headed to Beijing. This will be his second Olympics.
  
• Maggie Bird finished seventh in the 400m free finals. No dice.
  
• Margaret Hoelzer finished third in the 100m back and has qualified for the finals. She was only .05 seconds behind superstar Natalie Coughlin for second. Finals roll on Tuesday.

MONDAY MORNING SYNOPSIS

• Maggie Bird was the story as far as I'm concerned. She knocked more than 5 seconds off her qualifying time in the 400m free and made the finals, which roll tonight on USA Network (7 p.m.). The problem? Bird still is 4 seconds off Katie Hoff's pace. So it goes.
  
• Auburn will have a lot of representation in the women's 100 back semis tonight. Four swimmers qualified. The top Tiger is Margaret Hoelzer, a backstroke specialist, who posted the third-best time. Margo McCawley, Erica Ewing and Erica Meissner also made the cut. Meissner was awesome. She knocked more than 2 seconds off her best time.
  
• Two Auburn swimmers qualified for the men's 100 back, though they were right on the threshold.

WOMEN
Prelims: 100m Backstroke (122 competitors)
3 -- Margaret Hoelzer, 1:00.86 ... through to SEMIS
12 -- Margo McCawley, 1:02.08 ... through to SEMIS
13 -- Erica Ewing, 1:02.30 ... through to SEMIS
16 -- Erica Meissner 1:02.31 ... through to SEMIS
20 -- Julianna McLane, 1:02.50
53 -- Melissa Marik 1:03.53

Prelims: 400m Freestyle (88 competitors)
7 -- Maggie Bird, 4:09.73 ... through to FINALS
52 -- Chelsea Haser, 4:19.21
71 -- Micah Martindale, 4:21.29
DNS -- Julianne McLane

Prelims: 100m Breaststroke (105 competitors)
19 -- Melanie Roberts, 1:10.16
31 -- Abby MacGregor, 1:10.87
54 -- Julie Stupp, 1:11.90
65 -- Kara Denby, 1:12.28



MEN
Prelims: 200m Freestyle (84 competitors)
22 -- Joey Schneider, 1:49. 42
25 -- Doug Van Wie, 1:49.64
39 -- Will Dove, 1:51.18

Prelims: 100m Backstroke (84 competitors)
14 -- James Wike, 55.31 ... through to SEMIS
16 -- Doug Van Wie, 55.45 ... through to SEMIS
20 -- Kohlton Norys, 55.76
44 -- Max Murphy, 57.11
50 -- Scott Goodrich, 57.22

LOOKING AHEAD TO MONDAY NIGHT

• USA Network will be televising three finals tonight beginning at 7 p.m. CDT.
  
• (ON TV) The men's 100m breast finals includes two former Tigers: No. 2 seed Mark Gangloff and No. 3 seed Eric Shanteau.
  
• (ON TV) The women's 400m free includes Auburn junior Maggie Bird, who had the seventh-best time in this morning's heats.
  
• (NOT ON TV) The women's 100m back semis will include three Auburn swimmers.
  
• (NOT ON TV) The men's 100m back semis will include two former Auburn swimmers.
  

BLOGGING IN PROGRESS

AU Swimming Update, 6/29

Hey everyone. The big Auburn news for the next few days will center around the US Olympic Swimming Trails, which run through Sunday in Omaha. There are 44 former, current and future Tigers participating. Several have a real chance to qualify for the Olympic team.

The Olympics begin August 8.

I'm generally not a swimming guy. I love watching the Olympics and associated qualifying meets, though, because it's often a once-in-a-lifetime situation for these people. You can see the drama unfold. I love it.

In races 200m and shorter, the top 16 in the HEATS qualify for the SEMIS. The top 8 in SEMIS qualify for FINALS.
In races 400m and longer, the top 8 in the HEATS qualify directly for the FINALS.

SUNDAY SYNPOSIS:

• Auburn's situation in the men's 100m breast looks good. Mark Gangloff and Eric Shanteau are 2-3 in that event heading into Monday's final. It looks like someone is going to make the Olympics.
  
• Margaret Hoelzer made the semis in the 100m butterfly -- not her best event -- but didn't qualify for the finals.
  
• Former swimmer Julie Stupp qualified for the 400m IM finals but finished last. The winner of that race, Katie Hoff, set a world record.
  

WOMEN
Semi-finals: 100m Butterfly (16 competitors)
11 -- Margaret Hoelzer - 59.48

Prelims: 100m Butterfly (137 competitors)
5 - Margaret Hoelzer - 58.67
36 - Margo McCawley - 1:00.71
44 - Kelsey Winters - 1:00.97
46 - Emily Kukors - 1:01.01
51 - Melanie Roberts - 1:01.10
81 - Melissa Marik - 1:02.04

**********
Finals: 400m IM (8 competitors)
8 - Julie Stupp -- 4:46.01

Prelims: 400m IM (82 competitors)
7 - Julie Stupp - 4:42.92
12 - Ava Ohlgren - 4:45.44
36 - Erica Meissner - 4:52.32
67 - Blakeley Bunch - 4:58.26

MEN
Prelims: 400m Freestyle (67 competitors)
32 - Will Dove - 3:57.03
42 - Robert Looney - 3:58.06

**********
Semi-finals: 100m Breaststroke (16 competitors)
2 -- Mark Gangloff -- 1:00.17
3 -- Eric Shanteau -- 1:00.63
10 -- Jon Roberts -- 1:01.88

Prelims: 100m Breaststroke (76 competitors)
2 - Mark Gangloff - 1:00.10
3 - Eric Shanteau - 1:00.91
8 - Jon Roberts - 1:01.44
37 - Michael Silva - 1:03.44
39 - Adam Klein - 1:03.76
42 - Jon Hiett - 1:03.90
43 - James Wike - 1:03.97

**********
Prelims: 400m IM (53 competitors)
18 - Andrew Callahan - 4:24.12
49 - Andrew Mitchell - 4:32.44

LOOKING AHEAD TO MONDAY MORNING

Here's a look at events to be contested today and Auburn's top swimmers, based on qualifying times, in each event.

WOMEN
100m Backstroke
3 -- Margaret Hoelzer, 1:00.38
19 -- Margo McCawley, 1:02.79

100m Breaststroke
15 -- Melanie Roberts, 1:09.68
27 -- Abby MacGregor, 1:10.48

400m Freestyle
23 -- Emily Kukors, 4:14.01
30 -- Maggie Bird, 4:15.25

MEN
200m Breaststroke
23 -- Doug Van Wie, 1:49.77
50 -- Joey Schneider, 1:52.01

200m Backstroke
11 -- Doug Van Wie, 1:59.90
23 -- James Wike, 2:02.12

Photo credit: AU/Todd Van Emst