2.15.2010

Furlough Day Two: Monday

I am on a mandated and unpaid furlough as required by the Advertiser's parent company, Gannett. As such, I am not permitted to participate in blog-related activities for one week.

So we have these pre-loaded entries. That's all.

It's up to you to keep the HABOTN fresh until I return on Sunday, Feb. 21.

Have a nice day.

220 comments:

  1. Furlough Substance better than no substance

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  2. Photo finish folks!

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  3. I was a distant 3rd, Seanzie. Y'all had already posted afore I got here. I blame Jet.

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  4. THT, I actually read Jet's comment, hit back and still made the first post.

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  5. Happy Washington's Birthday (Observed)/President's Day

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  6. And yes, I'm rubbing it in. Not that you care or anything.

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  7. Dingetty-ding-ding-dong.

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  8. how is everyone doing on the monday day 2 of the furlough

    boo to furlough

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  9. It's what I do.

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  10. well it's a good week for furlough. The only thing to talk about is how bad our basketball team sucks. Really...1 point in OT?

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  11. 5 for 22?

    I had a fraternity brother with Reed's bball persona.

    He couldn't believe he was 1 for 17 from the floor.

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  12. that's ok, Seanzie... that's just one less DC I'll drink today.

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  13. I find it interesting that Saban is more popular than God in Alabama. It seems the Bible belt has developed a beer belly.

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  14. THT - you're talking about the basketball floor, dance floor, what?

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  15. THT, I had that same frat brother. Thought he was All-World at intramural sports. Wanted to play QB, Point Guard, Striker. His stats were usually something like this:

    QB: 10-32. 1 TD. 3 INT. 4 sacks, 10 yards rushing on 10 attempts.

    PG: 7 points. 3/15 from the floor. 1/8 from the arc. 1/8 on free throws. 2 Assists. 10 turnovers.

    Striker: I think he had 1 goal all season.

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  16. The idea of Auburn going after a top basketball coach would be intriguing. Basketball is very different than football. Two top basketball recruits each season and you are doing well. Does Auburn want to shell out the buck to be a top notch basketball program? The new area, while state of the art, isn't that big. My guess is that we look to be occasionally competitive. If we were going for the gold, the arena would have been bigger.

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  17. I had one of those too. My guy was backup QB in highschool to a fellow who went on to do really good things at Troy and is now a head coach at a small private college in the Gump (the other guy, not my friend). In intramurals, according to my friend we always ran the wrong routes. At least he was always good natured about it and could take a considerable ration of crap from us (as well as the opposing team members).

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  18. Look back at the history of Auburn basketball. Occasionally competitive is what we do. If a coach gets too competitive for too long he is gone.

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  19. once again, FURLOUGHS....BOOOOO!

    we miss you JG....wherever you are.

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  20. Where is our horse ridin', jockey buddy who tends to show on furlough?

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  21. Monday.....yippee.

    (dripping with sarcasm)

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  22. 1949-1963 Eaves 14 213 100 .681 124-75
    1963-1973 Lynn 10 130 124 .512 84-88
    1973-1978 Davis 5 70 61 .534 42-48
    1978-1989 Smith 11 173 154 .529 84-114
    1989-1994 Eagles 5 64 78 .451 29-55
    1994-2004 Ellis 10 186 125 .598 73-87
    2004- Lebo 5 77 74 .509 28-51
    Last 2 set of digits is SEC record and you have to go all the way back to Joel Eaves to find a winning record in the SEC.

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  23. Who will be our leading rusher next season? Early on I think it will likely be someone with experience, likely Fannin. I don't see McCalleb doing it because I can't see him as a 20 something carries a game guy. Aycock was a QB in high school, but maybe he does something. By the end of the season it may be Dyer, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

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  24. Anonymous11:41 AM

    AU folks were right to be angered when JJ was hired. He didn't have the experience and was anticipated to be a puppet. He has learned the job while training and has even produced a few notable accomplishments. He is however, still a puppet and you will continue to see JJ and TJ hovering in the football coaches hair until Al Davis ..errr ...BL,et al are finally moved out.

    Blaming JJ for hovering won't do any good. He is doing as expected by the string puller(s). Recent economic calamities have broken some, but not all of the strings. This will all take care of itself in time. Unfortunately, complaining won't speed it up and will only serve to expose our old dirty laundry and reopen divides within the AU Family.

    From the cheap seats, it seems that a BBall coaching change is needed. If certain promises were made, it would make sense that AU should honor those promises. We have a track record keeping of not keeping promises with coaches that don't deliver as deemed appropriate. If we promised the arena then it seems to me that AU has taken too long to deliver the new arena(promise) and that is why the coaching sit has festered.

    If we didn't promise the arena, then ya gotta wonder why nothing has been done.

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  25. SteveFC,

    I have to take exception with your comparison of arena size to the dedication Au has to winning B'ball. Cameron Indoor (Duke) has a capacity of only 9314 and I think they are pretty dedicated to winning b'ball.
    I think building a smaller arena is a positive move toward improving the atmosphere for AU b’ball and that help with home court advantage which goes toward winning.

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  26. Wade, I hope you are correct, but I really can't see Auburn becoming anything more than an occasionally challenger in the SEC in terms of basketball. Actually, we could probably field a better basketball team from our football recruits. They would definitely be taller.

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  27. Somehow I keep picturing a runningback by committee approach this next season until one guy steps up to be the guy. I expect Eric Smith to get his shot. McCalleb will definitely get a significant number of carries.

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  28. I too look for the guys with experience to carry the load for at least half the season unless Dyer really shows his abilities early in spring and fall practice.
    Has happened but not likely.

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  29. Wade ... exactly.

    Hoopie ... on balance, I agree with most of what you had to say. JJ works for "The Man" or "The Men." It doesn't bother me like it bothers others. I don't see the big deal with JJ on the sideline. He's the AD. Hey, we're pulling in the same direction for a change. It's a positive. Embrace it.

    I guess what bothers me is the double standard that gets applied (not often here, but in other places), but I noted that someone used it today on the other thread saying they wanted a coach "that loved Auburn."

    JJ loves Auburn, and was hired because he was an Auburn guy. And that's not good enough for the masses.

    Is he Jeremy Foley? No, but he's growing into the job, and aside from men's hoops, we're either competitive or heading in the right direction (jury may be out of baseball).

    As for the new arena, I don't view it as a promise to Lebo. It's a promise to Auburn. I'm glad we've done it. As much I've defended Jeff, and still believe he's a much better coach than he's given credit for, I'm afraid he's damaged himself to the point where he won't be able to succeed. It happens.

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  30. Saban has more fans on Facebook than God in the state of AL per Stan Diel.

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  31. A day without Jay is like a day without sunshine.

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  32. I have absolutely no problem with Jay Jacobs. I think he has done well. I earned a lot more respect for him when he hired Chizik. No, I am not talking respect in looking back. I am talking respect at the time. It took guts to hire a guy with Chizik's Iowa State record and I respect Jacobs for that. There were no guarantees that ChizCo would succeed, although things certainly look promising.

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  33. With regard to basketball, the head coach of a basketball team has far more impact on the way the team performs than the coach of any other sport. For that reason, I think it is possible for Auburn to shoot for the stars, although I don't think we will.

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  34. Seanzie, sorry it's taken so long to answer your question. I have been VERY busy today! Well, my thoughts are this: All I've heard is what a dangerously fast track it is. But, since they've shortened it, their speeds are still almost as fast as they were from the original starting point. They may as well have just left it where it was. I do agree with putting the wall up, though - either that or putting a whole hell of a lot of padding around those steels beams. I also read yesterday that the guy that died was terrified of the track. As horrible as heis death was, if he was that scared, he should have withdrawn from the competition. I hope that doesn't sound callous because I don't mean for it to.

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  35. heis??? That should be HIS.

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  36. It will be interesting to see what the approach will be.

    Will JJ (and the prez, and the PTB) use the arena as the only bait? Translated, are they interested in hiring a young guy and paying him $750k? If you do that, then you're looking at a guy who is likely to fail or use Auburn as a stepping stone.

    Or will they view $93 million as an "all in" on hoops? That means they'll have to double the salary of position to $1.5, which would put Auburn in the middle of the SEC. I don't see Auburn going above $1.5 million, but that salary and the new arena would make Auburn attractive in the market. I hope that's the route they choose.

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  37. I can't believe they let him hang around as long as they did:

    Snowball fight

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  38. Reality TV is something else. I am watching a show about guys walking around in fields searching for rocks from space. How exciting can life get?

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  39. It's good to be the AD.

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  40. Hoopie, point well taken. But, like I said I'm done commenting on the subject. :-)

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  41. Auburn AD- Dream Job.

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  42. C'mon Luv.

    It's fun to mix it up a little!

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  43. Eddie ... You can be my Tim Jackson. Ha ha ha.

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  44. Tim Jackson is one guy I have no interest in being or associating with. At least JJ is a genuinely nice guy in person...can't say the same about TJ.

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  45. Just messin' with ya, Eduardo.

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  46. Jet - I nominate j-z to be your TJ.

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  47. J-Z will be Assistant Athletic Director for Concessions Services.

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  48. With a specialization in Popcorn.

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  49. His first project(ile) would be a new popcorn distribution system.

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  50. Hmmm, Popcorn Cannon. Interesting.

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  51. 2-4 inches of snow my butt.

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  52. Jet, I vote against j-z's proposed plan to offer Boone's Farm as a drink option in J-H kids' meals.

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  53. But I hear he wants Woodford Reserve on the adult meals.

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  54. Anonymous1:19 PM

    Jet, You and I ARE actually pretty close on this. All AD's work for the "man" to some degree and most certainly JJ and TJ love AU. AU has had too much Al Davis-type micro-management because the power has been held by such a small group and because of their personalities. That is not JJ's fault.

    I think that is reasonable to say that JJ has grown into the job and has the ability to grow more. I don't see that a new AD would benefit AU.

    I have no idea if the arena was promised to Coach Lebo or not. I was just clumsily pointing out(speculating) that arena promises may explain why he is still at AU.

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  55. Is that only going to be available with an extra-large order of popcorn?

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  56. Hoopie ...

    As to Lebo, it seemed to me a 50-50 call on whether to keep Lebo after to the 2007-08 season. JJ chose stability over change. So Lebo goes 10-6 in the league last year, almost makes the tournament and makes the quarters of the NIT. No reason to change at that point. This year, though, has been a disaster. Some will say Lebo is "owed" some time in the new arena. Our debt is to the program.

    As to the management, our feelings about the PTB are well established. But our philosophies aren't that far apart.

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  57. Doesn't 99.999999% of people work for the man?

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  58. Eduardo ... exactly.

    If you aren't The Man, you're working for him.

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  59. Jet, sure it's fun to mix it up a little. I don't think the position of AD is something that should be
    "grown into." It's too important of a job. So far, though, as you and Hoopie have pointed out, JJ hasn't done anything too disastrous. I just wish he would show the same respect to other programs as he does the football program. I.E.: I feel he should have been at the UAT bball game because not only was it the in-state rival, but because they also recognized a coach and team from the 80's that did very well while at Auburn.

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  60. What's the problem with Jay Jacobs?

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  61. Jet - given your wisdom, I'm probably wrong. But if Lebo accepted the job with the stipulation that he'd be in a new arena in 4 years, then I firmly believe he should have at least a year in the new arena... but it better be a good year.

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  62. Seanzie, I think he's a goober.

    Tar Heel, promise or not, I think Lebo has at least another year.

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  63. Luv ... I don't know why he wasn't there ... he should have been. Maybe was sick. I don't know if anyone has asked for the record.

    The Jay bashing touches a nerve because many (not saying you) use him as a punching bag for their issues with Lowder, et. al. The bottom line is that he was no more or less qualified to be an AD than Damon Evans was at UGa. Yet, Auburn folks seem to like to eat their own.

    I don't know many folks who don't have to grow into their jobs.

    Oh, well. Mrs. Jet says she wants the laptop.

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  64. Luv - as much as I would love for Lebo to be a great AU coach (he's a UNC grad), if there was no arena promise, he has no business coaching at AU after this season.

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  65. I think Jay has done a decent job since he's become AD. The biggest problem I have is the thing that happened with the swimming complex. His biggest task to date was hiring Gene Chizik, I think mosst of us are ok with that.

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  66. and Jet is right about Lebo...his job in 2007 was not very good but he had an excellent year in 2008 and made a run at the tournament and by all rights we should have made it. It will be Jay's decision as to whether or not Lebo should be granted a reprieve for this season. Personally, I think it's a waste of a season and if you get another guy+open the new stadium you could gain much more momentum.

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  67. Jet, you are correct about Auburn eating their own, which troubles me. It use to be a Bama thing. People are quick to criticize.

    As for Lebo, if he gets one more year you really need to give him at least two. I believe we graduate 4 starters and we don't have anyone contributing significanly scoring wise off the bench.

    You think this year is bad? Next season you may consider this season an up year.

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  68. My qualm with JJ is scheduling for Basketball and football. I think we could do a ton better in basketball and it is a shame to play so many no name teams in football. I like the 1 OOC game that is marque, but can't you find respectable games to go along with it? Also, can we ever get a home and away with a big 10 powerhouse program? Just once in my lifetime?

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  69. Whose fault is that Lebo doesn't have talent to replace what he is losing? The man has never had depth and that falls on his shoulder.

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  70. Eddie, I take it that means you agree that another year of Lebo would be a waste?

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  71. As for the blaming, I will leave that up to those with more experience.

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  72. Steve- I am firmly entrenched in the camp of not letting Lebo return to coach next season. That would be correct.

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  73. Great topic today.

    Lebo stays for at least one if not two more years. He fields a better team next year. Several facotrs went into his hiring and retention. Jet is right on his quote from the prior thread. In bball, if you are not pushing the envelope, you are going to get waxed.
    As for attracting a crowd, the women's team is losing and they still draw more. Nell has the girls out at the local schools, car pool lines, everywhere inviting people to come. This was done even witht the stars they had last year. AU men's team, nothing. Start there.

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  74. I think Lebo should be gone. I hate saying that because I personally like the guy. However, we've seen what he can do. He's been here long enough for us to determine that he is not going to reach the upper level in the SEC...maybe not even the middle level.

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  75. Other than Sullivan, none of these guys could start for UA, Troy, USA. IMO.

    Lebo has no players. Is it his fault? Look at the ones that were run off. They had other issues that Lebo did not put up with. A few (3 come to mind) went elsewhere and were succesful. Is he a bad coach for that? I am not sure. Maybe too many of the issues on one team was the problem.

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  76. Cliff Ellis had the Cliff Dwellers.

    Jeff Lebo has Lebo's Losers.

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  77. I'm not saying he should stay, I just think he does. as stated earlier, $750k will not get you much.
    Look at coaches from Sam Houston State, Niagra, No. Illinois. Doesn't have to be a BIG name. Maybe someone in the AD office shoudl ask around to recruits about JL's reputation. What are the kids saying about JL, AU, etc. He might be a winner trapped ina losing program, but if kids think he can't win, they will not come and he won't win.

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  78. The women's program will be back. I don't have any problem with it.

    As for the men, I don't see how we will be better next season with most of the starting lineup graduating.

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  79. Eddie,

    I agree with you on the scheduling. In football I know they want to make sure the lowest number of home games we have in a year is 7 due to the money it brings in, however the scheduling for football was a big reason why I didn't renew my season tickets a couple of years back. It just wasn't worth it to me.

    As far as basketball scheduling goes, it's a lot harder than football due to the presige (or lack there of) of our program. The big schools won't travel unless it's a big time matchup.

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  80. Is it too soon to discuss recruiting for 2011?

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  81. Steve, I think the guys he has committed to Au already are much better than the ones that are leaving. I don't care if they are seniors. They are not good. I am not saying AU will be atop the West next year, but I think they will win more than 4 SEC games.

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  82. 2011 recruiting is in heating up.

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  83. Eddie,

    Also turning down the UCLA game to start this coming season was a bad PR move. I know it's not the income of a home game, but still it was a pretty big time game that could kick start our season this year. (I know someone thinks it's because of pride that I think it was a bad decision, but that's not it.)

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  84. AU takes 4 OL next season. I mentioned this to those that get the 'private' newsletter about 3 weeks ago.

    The top targets are the kid from Cullman, Spanish Fort, Springdale Ark, and from AZ

    All 4 are at least 6'5" and 300lbs as an 11th grader. Too eary to say we get all 4 but I think 3 of the 4 AU willl and next February.

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  85. steve, to follow up on a prior post. Chizik learned the early commitment thing from MBrown. I think that was written by JayG previuosly in an inerview. I can see that happenng at AU. Look for this class to fill up even faster than last years. Behind the scenes, several players got locked out because of waffling or just waiting. If AU wins more game sthis year, and looks good doing it, the class will fill up quickly.

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  86. Any word on the defensive side of the ball, wtc? Particularly at DT and DB.

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  87. The prior post should have read that Au will land 3 of the 4 on the list.

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  88. I have heard several rumors that they already 2-3 private confirms, but not yet ready to release any names. I have been trying to find those names but I believe this staff is on vacation now. Or it maybe next week.
    No one is going duck hunting though. I do know that.

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  89. I would have liked to see us play UCLA too. I would also like us to stop playing teams like Furman or Arkansas State. There are only two possible results of those games and neither are good. If you want to sell more season tickets, you schedule games that will be competitive. I would have no problem playing someone like Southern Miss every year. They aren't great, but they are a respectable opponent.

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  90. If you look at our 2010 schedule, we should get off to the same hot start we got off to last year.

    Arkansas State
    @ Miss State
    Clemson
    South Carolina
    La Monroe
    @ Kentucky
    Arkansas
    LSU
    @ Ole Miss
    UTC
    Georgia
    @ Alabama

    Clemson will be playing the role of West Virginia this year, however if our QB play is passible to start the year, we should start out 6-0 or 5-1 before the Arkansas game.

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  91. I don't really care if they go duck hunting or not, but I do hope to see a few more early commitments.

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  92. Who is the "1" in your 5 - 1 scenario?

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  93. Don't underestimate MSU or USCe. Both of those teams could surprise us.

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  94. IMO-Dyer is the starting TB by end of game 2.

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  95. wtc, I wouldn't expect Dyer to be the starting TB after game 2, but I would call it likely by the second half of the season.

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  96. Norm,

    My 1 would either be Clemson (not sure what they have coming back) or us catching SC when Garcia has his one or two good games per year.

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  97. I don't think we have to worry about Chiz and Co. going duck hunting.

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  98. I really, really want to beat UGA this year. My next door neighbor is a Georgia fan. On Friday, he made the following statements:

    1) "Georgia always beats Auburn."
    2) "We beat you bad last year!"
    3) To my son, who was wearing an AU cap - "Let me go inside and get you a Georgia cap. You want to be a winner, don't you?"

    Btw, this guy grew up in ATL, but has never set foot in Athens. That doesn't stop him from having UGA stuff all over his yard.

    Even with all that, I still want to beat Bama worse.

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  99. Bode Miller finally got another medal. It only took him 8 years.

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  100. Tar Heel, I'm not saying I want Lebo to return next year, I just think he probably will. It seems TPTB have a "maybe he'll turn things around next year" mentality. Since he had a good season last year, they gave him this year. They are probably thinking since they beat the in-state rival and played GREAT against UGA, they have a glimmer of hope for next year.

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  101. AU should have built a very small arena. 2-3K seating. this serves a two-fold purpose. first, if the bball team is any good, it will be a hot and hard to get ticket and help generate the interest in how to get in. second, when they peg out the suck-o-meter, fewer people will be exposed to it.

    you just keep the dump for graduations etc. people have spent years working a good *ss-grove into the wooden seats a BEMC. it lends itself nicely to snoozing through a graduation ceremony.

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  102. Now that it is puppet hour (even though it appears that nobody is here), I have to mention what I saw on Friday afternoon. A grown man was walking out of the grocery store with two large stuffed animals. He stopped right outside the door, put one of them down, held the other one up, looked into its eyes, smiled at it, then gave it a big kiss.

    Michael, will you please explain this to me?

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  103. ScoCho - the only explanations I come up with are not favorable for the "kisser" in your picture. Weird, very weird.

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  104. I think the one he kissed was a large frog, if I remember correctly. I wonder if he thought it was going to turn into something.

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  105. Frog kissing killed the thread.

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  106. I got no substance, but I got ice cream. I win.

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  107. Ice cream good.

    Leftover spaghetti for dinner. One of those things that might be better the second time as all the flavors integrate.

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  108. Scott Chocolate - I can explain your story to you. That man was me. The stuffed animal that got kissed is my wife. The other stuffed animal is my wife's stuffed animal.

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  109. Downhill to the Ice Cream

    Gold -- THT
    Silver -- Jet
    Bronze -- ???

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  110. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  111. HUGE NEWS...

























    jhag JUST GOT ACCEPTED TO AUBURN UNIVERSITY

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  112. Congratulations. Now, are you going to accept AU?

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  113. Not to get too political, but apparently we have captured one of the big Taliban guys.

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  114. Not sure, ive been crying for 10 mins straight

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  115. First acceptance?

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  116. Aiight -- who is going to start spamming jhag and making sure he goes to Auburn?

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  117. He doesn't really need a new truck, he needs an AU education.

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  118. Jhag ...

    One question: Are you in the Ring of Fire for FSUBOTN?

    I didn't think so.

    You know what you need to do.

    Now, go do it.

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  119. Ok, so I take the dogs to the bathroom at 7. I watch some tv with the wife and then take the dogs out again at 8:45. What do I see????????Snow everywhere. WTH is going on? I need Al Gore's phone #.

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  120. Congratulations jhag..Going to Auburn will be one of the best decisions you will ever make. The memories and friends you make will last a life time. The doors that it opens for you will never close. Good luck and enjoy.


    P.S.....Don't ever ever leave.

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  121. I agree with WTC on Dyer. I see him getting the starting job pretty early. The kid is going to be the real deal.

    I also agree/disagree with some of the talk surrounding the basketball program.

    1. The new 9500 seat arena is perfect. By all accounts it will be one of the best in the country.
    2. It will definitely help with recruiting. Sorry SteveFC, but these kids do care about the facilities. And these new facilities will do wonders.
    3. With or without Lebo I think Au will turn the corner soon and be a perennial top team in the SEC. Don't believe me. The team plays hard, but doesn't have talent. Look at the 1st class to sign on to play in the new Arena. One of the top classes Auburn has had in a very long time. Some have even suggested the best overall.

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  122. Congratulations, jhag! All kidding aside, I don't think you can make a better decision than Auburn! Warning, she gets in your blood and you can never get her out - not that you would want to!

    WAR EAGLE!!

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  123. I've missed y'all. I have been busy being gatiger, impersonating Norm and getting into Michael's business.

    Good to be back to myself.

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  124. Well, now that you're back and no longer impersonating me (in either name), I'm going to bed.

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  125. Congrats JHag on your acceptance to AU!
    I was accepted to AU along with other schools, but I chose a different route, despite my deep love for AU, because of financial reasons. Part of me regrets that each and every day.
    Make sure you go where your heart tells you to go... you don't want to look back when it is all over and regret your decision.
    Good luck.

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  126. I was going to post earlier... but the talk of Lebo staying or "deserving" another year or (dare I say more) is pure blasphemy.... after reading those comments I was too depressed to post anything.
    JHag's good news brought me from hiding.

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  127. Anonymous10:13 PM

    jhag .....War Damn Eagle!

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  128. Jhag,

    I can't imagine loving a place more. You get the chance to start at Auburn at a very cool moment in time for the University. If you decide to come to AU, here are a few things you can look forward to:

    1) The new Village residence halls are awesome. You couldn't ask for anything better. (Plus, it is where all the sororities are now housed)

    2) Think of the exciting football that you would be able to witness. You would be a freshman along with Auburn's most high ranked (arguably)recruiting class ever.

    3) You would be there for the opening of new basketball arena, and hopefully, a new era in AU basketball. Plus you would live right next door in the Village.

    4) You are going to Auburn University. That should be enough.

    I wouldn't trade my Freshman year here for almost anything in this world. Congrats again. Please let me know if you need anything. I am old now (A Senior), so I know my way around the place.

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  129. thanks everyone!!! this is a great day for me! I am shocked and I constantly am thinking about where to go now

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  130. DMiller, I understand. If it looked like Auburn was going to have a chance to be significantly better next season, I would say give him one shot in the new arena, but with 4 starters graduating, it doesn't make a lot of sense. If you give him one, you may as well give him two, because things don't look promising next season regardless of who the coach turns out to be. If he was promised the new arena, yea, he should probably get one more year, but it will likely be a wasted year unless a miracle occurs.

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  131. Jhag - congrats man! Not only did you get accepted to go onto higher education, but you got accepted by a school that is very dear to most everyone on this blog, and made us the family we are now. War Eagle! Way to go!

    On a side note it was the HABOTN Ring of Fire status that I'm certain made it impossible for Auburn to not accept.

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  132. Good morning, Hotties! Congrats, jhag! I'm going to play Devil's Advocate, of sorts. I know how much the Hotties LOVE Auburn and it certainly would be a great choice, but you have to weigh all your options and do what's best for you. I would be remiss, though, if I didn't say that I wish I had known about it 24 years ago. Also, my friend was accepted there on a music scholarship, but she chose another path. As much as she knows the decisions she made led her to where she is today, at times she does truly regret not going there.

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  133. Congratulations jhag!!! WARRRRRR EAGLE!!!


    Happy Birthday, Dear Leader. Are you going to launch a missile at anyone just for kicks today?


    I'm off to prison. I hope they'll release me with an ankle bracelet this afternoon. Y'all have a great day.

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  134. Darvin finally getting some love.

    http://cfn.scout.com/2/946722.htmligers1

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  135. Jhag- Go to Florida :)!!

    Congrats on getting accepted. Choose wisely.

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  136. Another slow morning on the HABOTN...

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  137. Anonymous7:41 AM

    JHag,

    Congrats on your acceptances.

    Choose your college based on the programs you are interested in (majors), your comfort level with faculty, environment, etc., and where YOU want to be.

    Remember, some things may change over your college experience (such as career goals), but what you want out of it is what you put into it.

    Be well and best wishes.

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  138. jhag-Congrats on the acceptance. You will have some tough decisions from now to enrollment time. Good luck. Maybe you can play a little bball at AU for Lebo. He will be looking for 4 new starters. I bet you are probably better than at least three of them now.
    That is why AU will field a better team next season.

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  139. I have a difficult time thinking next years team will be better. If they can't beat out the "talent" (term used loosely) on the floor right now, I doubt they'll be better next year with very little experience.

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  140. anyone read the finebaum's article? http://blog.al.com/press-register-sports/2010/02/finebaum_gene_chizik_copies_ni.html

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  141. Fearless, I try to avoid him like the plague. Is it worth reading?

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  142. its pretty rough...he talks about how auburn can never consistently beat bama as long as saban is there....blah blah blah

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  143. You gotta love the Westminster Dog show... it's the only time the term 'b*tch' can be used affectionately on tv .

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  144. wtc, cool avatar (literally and figuratively)

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  145. So, he's changed his tune. Before it was Auburn couldn't beat UAT as long as Saban is there. Now it's Auburn can't consistently beat them... blah, blah, blah is right!

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  146. D. Miller and they love to use it too! Why can't they just say female???

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  147. When I saw the disrespectful picture of Chizik wearing the AL shirt on the front of al.com, I knew not to read it.

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  148. Well, as if the name wasn't reason enough for me not to read it, Fearless and Kathy just gave me two more!

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  149. The Whippet won the hound group.... I liked the Ridgeback, and it didn't even place.

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  150. Who is this Finebum you speak of?

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  151. yeah kathy, i knew better too, but I enjoy finding more reasons to hate finebaum

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  152. drivel season sucks.

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  153. jhag congratulations on being accepted by Auburn University.
    Think long and hard, do what your heart tells you to do.
    Auburn is a great University and my time there has served me well thoughout many years.
    The things you will take away from there will be egual to or greater than the education.
    My very best wishes to you my young friend.

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  154. Is Ari going to relay to someone higher up that we need a new thread. This one is dead and not even a Beasley! can save it.

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  155. Is a new thread really going to liven things up that much?

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  156. If youtube wasn't blocked by Big Brother...

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  157. The Westminster Border Collies have nothing on my Cooper.... they should feel lucky he's not in NY.

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  158. I was wondering when you were going to put up his picture again. He is SO cute!!!

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  159. Thanks Luv. He certainly thinks so... we do too.

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  160. uhm, just to clarify, "norm" is not short for "Norman". But, thanks for the acknowledgement.

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  161. is it short for 'normal'? or did you just want to wreck my rhyme homes? ;)

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  162. crap, Eddie beat me to it.

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  163. Scottie- Has the snow moved on from your area yet or is old man winter still having a go at it?

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  164. it's not bad right now. still bitter cold. got a couple inches on the ground at my house. it wasn't a problem to get to work today, though. i had to shovel my driveway yesterday or wouldn't have been able to get out.

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  165. hsrt 4hsrt 45rth rth 45y h45yht sfth w46uyh4h5ry h4h46 h5rths7rt 45rth rth 45y h45yht sf9th w46uyh4h5vry h4h46 hh rth 45y hsrt 45rth rth 45y h45yht sfth w46uyh4h5ry h4h46 hh45yht sfth w46uyh4hs6rt 45rth rth 45y h45yht sfhsrt 45rth rth 45y h45yht sfth w46uyh4h5ry hv4h46 hth w46uyh4h5ry h4h46 hh5ry h54h46 h

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  166. That's authentic frontier jibberish.

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  167. hey, does anybody have an in-dash DVD player in their car? my new Saturn has the double-size opening and i'm thinking of getting one with a DVD touch-screen so mrs. scottie can watch movies when we travel to AU for games. any suggestions?

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  168. If you'd like to know Norm's real name, please an email to me at jet@ihatenorm.com. Serious inquiries only.

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  169. Kodi for deep snapper!!! You heard it hear first.

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  170. D. Miller, are you "working" from home today?

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  171. American Curlers just screwed themselves

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  172. How many hits does ihatenorm.com get a day?

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  173. I am leaving for a conference this afternoon.... so, yes... right now I am at home.

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  174. The conference is in Huntsville, right?

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  175. I was close, right? I was testing my memory, which we know isn't the greatest.

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  176. huge break for the US curlers...
    tough stone coming up.....

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  177. missed it...
    Last stone for the Germans...

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  178. yeah... pretty close...

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  179. ouch... Germany takes a 3-1 lead.

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  180. I think I could be a world class curler. Does Birmingham have a curling league?

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  181. Doubtful. Why don't you start one?

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  182. Anonymous12:00 PM

    Paging Norm ....

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  183. hrm.... I may have to gauge interest in getting one started

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