Friday the 13th? I mean, we just beat Vandy in Nashville

The Rebels and Commodores got together in Nashville, TN tonight to determine their identities. Really, neither team knows who it is. This is what the teams showed tonight:

Ole Miss:

We've now got a Friday night guy in Drew Pomeranz. He had a solid night tonight going four innings and only giving up two runs. My only concern is the five walks he issued tonight. McKean went three innings and gave up a run. Morgan and Barbeck both worked one inning and only allowed one hit a piece.

So, I'd say our bullpen is solid. We did commit two errors, but I will give the defense a pass due to the awful weather.

As far as our offense is concerned, we are impressive. We got to Mike Minor tonight which is something no team has done this year. He started really strong by only allowing one hit through 19 batters faced, but he lost control and ended up getting the loss. Tyler Hill was impressive in relief, and he had 8k's.

We scored 9 runs on 12 hits, and that production came mostly in bunches. We scored 4 in the 4th, and 3 of those came on a Travis homerun. We scored 3 more in the 6th on a bases loaded, two-out double from Logan Power. This season, Power is batting 1.000 with the bases loaded. CLUTCH

Vanderbilt:

They are a different team from last year. They haven't shown the power they have had in the past without Flaherty and Alvarez in the line-up. The want to play small ball, but they cannot string the hits together.

Their pitching has had a solid season until tonight, but I bet they get it together by the next game.

My thoughts:

Ole Miss showed some guts tonight by getting the first one under the belt against Vandy. I personally think the game tomorrow will be postponed due to weather, and we can expect a double header on Sunday. As someone commented on a earlier, free streaming video is available through the Vanderbilt site. If you feel I left important information out of this post, feel free to comment and add one.

Buk for Sunday?

Tonight's pitching preformance by Brett Bukvich (0 runs, 2 hits, 6 k) has left this blogger and the rest of the Rebel Nation wondering, "Why isn't Brett Bukvich a weekend starter?" Yes, I'm kidding.

Anyway, I really have decided that we should give Brett a look on Sundays. He couldn't be any worse than Barrett, and the Left, Right, Left weekend rotation would be kind of cool.

The whole deal that started this debate was the 3-0 Rebel victory that was acheived by signature Bianco style of play: pitching and defense. Buk only allowed two hits in six innings, and Barbeck and Goforth combined in three innings only allowed one hit. Goforth struck out the side in the ninth.

Believe it or not, the same team that struggled in Mobile and at home with TCU is now on a six game win streak heading into the weekend stint with Vandy in Nashville. One Man to Beat will no doubt have a weekend preview for you, and I will provide you with game recaps.

By using the comments function, let the debate begin on who should be our Sunday starter. I vote Bukvich for now (let your commenting occur in a vacuum, meaning do not take into account that the six innings pitched by Buk tonight hindering him from starting on Sunday).

The Grades are in: SEC East

The grades for the West can be found here.

Florida: A+

You're welcome, Timmy. VICARIOUS NATIONAL CHAMPS, MAWFUKKAZ!

Florida earns a well deserved "A+" because... well, really, I shouldn't need to explain further. They won the BCS Championship, dammit. The SEC owns all of you.

Vanderbilt: A-- (Yes, that's "A minus minus")

If this were anybody but Vanderbilt, they'd have gotten a low "C" or a high "D." Starting 5-0 and earning a #13 ranking, only to lose to Mississippi State and begin a slide into 6-6 is, by the standards of folks who have been to bowl games over the last two decades, pretty bad. But, it's Vanderbilt and they just won a bowl game against a BCS team. My dad was four years old the last time that happened.

But, Ghost, there wasn't a BCS back then.

Shut the hell up. Don't you think I know that?

Anyway, here's something neato on which to chew: Boston College had the longest bowl victory streak in America until the 'Dores showed up. On your victories over ranked teams and bowl championship, congrats Vanderbilt. As for next year, well, I don't really have any clue what's going to happen then. Google up a Vandy blog or something.

Georgia: B-

Matt Stafford is showing you the number two, as in how many more games the Bulldogs should have won. The curse of the preseason AP #1 lives on. Losing to Florida is understandable. Perhaps not by that margin, but still, they're good. Losing to Georgia Tech and Alabama shouldn't be. Alabama shouldn't have been able to score so many points in the first half while simple, fundamental tackling would have kept the Yellowjackets out of the endzone on a few of those long touchdown runs.

Their offensive line was young and their defense was overrated. Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford are legitimate, first-round NFL prospects but it takes more than that to create the national championship caliber team we were all led to believe the Bulldogs were going to be.

Without Stafford and Moreno, their offense should have some trouble getting into a groove next season. As the season progresses, so should the Bulldogs but I cannot imagine them winning more than 10 games in 2009-10 with the Oklahoma State, Arizona State, LSU, and Arkansas on their schedule.

Kentucky: C-

Kentucky jumped quickly out of the gate but faded in the stretch (get it... horse jokes? nobody?). Before everyone realized how awful Louisville actually was, I was very impressed with Kentucky's opening performance. However, after having only won two SEC games by a grand total of two points, it became apparent that Kentucky simply wasn't that strong of a squad.

Their bowl win did impress many, though. To rally from behind by using solid, solid defense takes talent and, get this, good coaching. Kentucky won their third bowl game in a row which, three years ago, would have been a laughable statement.

Hartline needs to step it up and Kentucky needs to amplify their offense significantly in order to improve for 2009. They were very good defensively, but simply couldn't find the endzone as often as they should have.

South Carolina: D+

Stephen Garcia looks bummed that String Cheese Incident cancelled their recent Columbia show. Anyway, South Carolina did what South Carolina does: wiped their collective ass on their expectations. Their season began in similar fashion to Ole Miss' with a good mix of wins and losses but, after week 3 or 4, the Gamecocks went on a tear winning 6 of 7. Sitting on a 7-3 record, the 'Cocks looked like a legitimate dark horse in the SEC East (as much of one as you can be when the BCS champs are involved, that is). Unfortunately, Steve Spurrier must have misplaced his refrigerator magnet schedule thingy because the Gamecocks didn't even show up to their three final games, losing all three by a combined score of 118-30. Were they, for the most of the season, a better team than Kentucky? Absolutely, but their season's end was putrid enough to sink them below the Wildcats.

If South Carolina's quarterback situation can be remedied, even in the slightest, they should see marked improvement for next season.

Tennessee: F

I mean, who in the hell loses to Wyoming?

*Man in suit leans over to a strident Ghost of Jay Cutler. Covering his earpiece with his fingertip, he hurriedly whispers into Ghost's ear.*

pssha-pssa-tapssshss-tapsshshst

Uh huh?

apssshhha-pssh-psshht

Oh, I see... Ahem, while losses to such storied programs as the Wyoming Cowboys and the UCLA Bruins should be expected with such a murder's row of an OOC schedule, Tennessee should not have struggled as they did against their SEC foes. Losses to Auburn and South Carolina could have been avoided had the Vols played as they did against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Wildcats of Kentucky. Their play on the field was rarely good, primarily inconsistent, and oftentimes just plain bad.

The Lane Kiffin hire is interesting in that he is bringing in proven coaches and/or coordinators to hopefully pick up where he leaves off. Tennessee is too talented to win a mere 5 games next season but, if the "talent" wearing the headsets can't get it together quickly, the Volunteers could have another forgettable season.

Reader Submissions

Over the last couple of weeks, we've gotten some kickass feedback. The two following sets of photos arrived in our inbox much to our delight. Enjoy.

First, a couple of self proclaimed "displaced Rebels" were responsible for the Ole Miss related signs at the ESPN College Gameday which was held on the Vanderbilt campus a month or so ago. Their email and photos follow.

Dear Red [REDACTED] Cup,

As you may be aware, Vanderbilt University recently had the privilege of hosting ESPN's College GameDay. Like any dedicated SEC football fans would do, we fought our way tenaciously to the front lines on that shockingly early Saturday morning (5:00 am). As you would expect, our friends carried witty signs against the opposition of the Auburn Tigers, such as "I got my G.E.D. at Auburn" and "My GPA > Auburn's PPG." Other signs, in a self-deprecating manner, made fun of Vanderbilt's propensity for studying, to wit the sign that read, "You People Are Blocking The Library." Though deeply proud to be Commodores, we took the opportunity to proudly informed the nation:

"Tim Tebow Wears Greg Hardy Pajamas."

And with our voices steady, we called "Jevan Snead for Heisman" and lamented how "Phil Fulmer Ate My Other Sign." Additionally, we announced Jerrell Powe's Heisman candidacy and fearlessly observed that "Tommy Tuberville Has Big Ears."

- Two Displaced Rebels.

Dont_Forget_Patridge, another loyal reader of ours, observed this absolutely frightening Auburn fan in the Grove last weekend. If you thought Florida's jort epidemic was bad, then you ain't seen nothing yet. Speaking of Florida and Auburn, seeing this makes it pretty darned clear that the Original Bulldogs' rivalries have sprung out of the Georgian hatred of poorly thought out leg wear. Who knew? The best part about these pictures is that this WarPlainsGer seems to just be awkwardly and uninvitedly standing in someone's tent in the first photograph; almost as if he just walked up and said "War EAGLE can I have some chicken strips?" to no response.

In the second photo, folks are talking to him but at quite a noticeable distance. Normally folks with really awful body odor have more intimate conversations than this fella is having with man-holding-bottled-water.

Daddy, why is the scary man eating our sausage-n-cheese balls?

State of the Opposition - Week 4

The opposition is out to get us. Constant surveillance is required to keep accurate tabs on their where-abouts and goings-on. The British had MI-6 and James Bond. Nixon had G. Gordon Liddy. Lord Zed had the Green Ranger.

We have the internet.

September 13, 2008
Memphis (Week 1; 0-3, 0-2) v. Nicholls Stae (No one cares) 8:00 PM EDT, Memphis, TN
Ark-watch 2008, the continuing statistical saga of Arkelon Hall shows that the spunky mythological character has 896 passing yards after three games. Here's to you, sir. Now, win a game, friend! Ho, there be the Nicholls State Something-or-Anothers. Hoorah for Tigers!

Wake Forest (Week 2; 2-0, 0-0) v. Florida State (2-0, 0-0) 7:00 PM EDT, Tallahassee, FL
The nuveau-riche of the ACC, the Demon Deacons, head down to the country club (if you could ever call Tallahassee that) to face Boss Bowden and the old political establishment. The Criminoles are ranked in the Top 25 - pity for the old man, no doubt. The Deacons take up their burdens and civilize the Seminoles.

Samford (Week 3; 2-1) (BYE)
It is exceedingly difficult to maintain the charade that I care about what happens to Samford football. Nevertheless, I don't want them to sneak up into I-AA dominance without you people knowing because, ask the Bayou Bengals, if you beat a legitimate team in the division below, you have, obviously, answered all the pre-season questions people had about your transfer quarterback.

#4 Florida (Week 5; 2-0, 0-0) v. Tennessee (1-1, 0-0) 3:30 EDT, Knoxville, TN
The dispositive statistic here, obviously, is the Volunteer loss in Los Angeles. But if the Claw-fense grinds it out on the ground like they did against UAB, this one could be closer than expected. Plus, it's in Knoxville. And, you've got to think Tennessee is at least as good as Miami, right? Still, chomp-chomp-chewy-chomp - Gators roll.

South Carolina (Week 6, 1-2, 0-1-Vandy) v. Wofford (2-0, 0-0), 7:00 PM EDT, Columbia, SC
If you throw a visor to the ground in the same spot over and over again, I wonder if it will ever make a hole in the ground. We're sure to find out, just not this weekend. Gamecocks

#9 Alabama (Week 8; 3-0, 0-0) v. Arkansas (Week 9; 2-0, 0-0) 12:30 PM EDT, Fayetteville, AR
NFL scouts have been banned by the University of Arkansas administration through a joint deal with the University of Alabama administration. The administrations would love for their players to get exposure, but they don't want their coaches going home with somebody else at the end of the night. Anyway, Tiders sink Petrino.

#10 Auburn (Week 10; 3-0, 1-0) v. #6 LSU (Week 13, 2-0, 0-0) 7:45 PM EDT, Auburn, AL
If you're checked into the Cup, you almost certainly already knew about this SEC West Pre-Championship Game. And the fun I've poked at Harvard transfer Andrew Hatch betrays the lack of actual LSU play I've seen this season. Maybe Auburn will fumble three times again today, but at home, maybe not. My qualified pick is the team from The Ear Capital of Alabama because I foresee fewer mistakes on the Eagle/Tiger side of the ball than the Bengal/Tiger side of the ball. I hate Auburn.

UL-Monroe (Week 12; 1-2, 0-0) v. Tulane (0-2, 0-1) 3:00 EDT, New Orleans, LA
Here's what I can tell you: Tulane looked respectable (or, rather, the Tide looked bad) in Tuscaloosa. UL-Monroe looked respectable (or, rather, the Hogs are bad) in Fayetteville. Which Pelican State also-ran will turn their moral victory into an actual one? Well, you'll note that Tulane also notched a moral victory against East Carolina, so with their home juices flowing, I like the Wave.

Mississippi State (Week 14; 1-2, 0-1) v. Georgia Tech (2-1, 0-1) 12:00 PM, EDT, Atlanta, GA
The Jackets and Dogs will go off like all the fireworks in 13th Century England. This game will be almost as dour as the expression on Paul Johnson's face. And it will be in front of, like, 35 people or something. Walrus futures continue to drop amid shaky economic times. Ramblin' Wreck.

And, now, to the all-important season ledger. You may recall that I predicted a Vanderbilt loss - one of the many poor choices I've made in life. 5-2 last week with the Vandy pick and misplaced faith in Memphis. Bringing my season-total to an unimpressive 11-3 start. A fairly easy slate again this week. I may be letting my bayou bias get the best of me with Auburn/LSU, but who cares. As long as one of them loses, it'll be a pretty good day.

The Pre-Grove Report and Commentzorz include:

• Hotty Toddy, Gosh Almighty, I'm kinda hoping we hurt somebody.
  
• Jevan Snead's stat line reads, approximately:  20-30-300, 3TDs, 1 INT.
  
• Arkansas outgains Alabama offensively.
  
• All Hail UGA VII; the State of Arizona mourns its inevitable return to football mediocrity.
  
• Bobby Bowden didn't rank Florida State in his Coaches' Poll ballot.  Neither will anybody else after today.
  
• Auburn has allowed 3 third-down conversions.   I'm guess that number doubles - but not much more.

Thoughts?

Vandy Preview

While last season, many attributed their poor record to
Chris Nickson's inability to get the ball to Earl Bennett,
Vanderbilt has been successful because Bobby Johnson isn't
asking Nickson to do anything of the sort this season.
Through three games, Nickson has passed for 252 yards.
That's 84 yards/game. It's not like there's someone else on
their team who is getting all the passing yards. No one else
has even attempted a pass. They just don't throw the ball.
Nickson does, however, run a lot. He has already carried the
ball 49 times (4 more times than he has passed) for 268
yards (18 more yards than he has passed for) which sits him
comfortably at 5.5 ypc. It should be tough for us to stop
Vanderbilt on the ground, but it's nice to know that they
will be unable to play into our weakness (defending the
pass).

At halfback, Vandy boasts Jared Hawkins, a junior who is on
pace for 1,000 yards this season. Coupled with the fact that
Nickson is on pace for the same mark shows just how
formidable a rushing attack Vandy presents. It should be
good to see whether Hawkins, a hard runner, can
effectively get away from Palmer, Cornell, and Walker. I
look for Walker to have a relative breakout performance
somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 tackles, 2 TFLs, and a
PBU in his first career start. I think that Vanderbilt will
give us fits with Nickson running the football, but I do
believe we will be able to contain Jared Hawkins. Let's not
forget that the rebels are only allowing 3 ypc so far this
season, and have only allowed 2.1 ypc in their last two
games.

Vandy's receiving corps isn't used very often, but the ball
goes to Sean Walker more often than anyone else. Walker is a
senior with a whopping SIX catches on the season.
Vanderbilt's receivers aren't really worth talking about.

Vandy's offensive line obviously is pushing opponents off
the line so far, but Nickson's runs are often a good job
running between tacklers by Nickson and waiting for plays to
develop. I think that with Peria back healthy and Greg Hardy
in for a good number of snaps, we'll be able to knock them
off the line and get in the backfield to disrupt the
misdirections we will likely see on Saturday.

On defense, Vanderbilt is really under appreciated. Most of
my observations will come from their game against South
Carolina since that's the only time I've watched them.

The defensive line did a good job causing problems for South
Carolina's O, but I wonder how much of that is South
Carolina's porous offensive line. SC can't seem to get
anything going on offense right now, and that's all because
of their o-line play. We will probably have an average day
against their d-line.

At linebacker, Vanderbilt isn't spectacular, but they aren't
bad either. All their opponents have found difficulty
running the ball, averaging 3.5 ypc. I think they'll give us
some trouble, but I expect us to be able to run a good bit
against them. They haven't played a team that can run the
ball like we can.

Their secondary is what will present the most problems for
us. I don't even have to talk about DJ Moore. He's a legit
corner who has a future in the NFL. But he's not their end
all be-all. The rest of the secondary plays quite well and
is rarely out of position. To beat Vandy through the air,
we're going to have to rely on our wide receivers to be at
the top of their game with crisp cuts and athletic plays. We
also cannot afford to throw interceptions to them. As I said
in my Wake preview, if we throw picks, we lose. Vanderbilt
takes advantage of mistakes.

My prediction: Rebs by 4

What's your prediction?

Walker Gets Start at LB

Allen Walker will get the start at Outside Linebacker on Saturday, and I'm excited about that. No disrespect to Lamar Brumfield, but everything I ever hear about Allen Walker says that he is a hitter. I think the coaches will ask him to get physical (physical) with Chris Nickson. Containing Nickson is something South Carolina couldn't do. Our strategy, I'm guessing, will be to make him hurt.

That is a good idea. I am pro that.

Get Greg Hardy to pressure him, and if the All-American doesn't get him, punish him with Walker.

I am pro that.

Who Is This Guy? D.J. Moore

He is an All-SEC Cornerback, silly. And he plays for Vanderbilt.

But you knew that already, didn't you? We're in the SEC schedule. You all know the two-deep on both sides of the ball for every team, right? Right, well, nevertheless, just for consistency's sake, we should probably establish what makes Moore so special.

29 yards is one special thing - that's how many Moore is averaging on punt returns so far. So, if we (averaging 38.4 yards per punt) kick to Moore this Saturday, we're looking at statistics as bad as about 10 net punt yards when our offense is held. The 'Dores also use Moore in the sporadic offensive maneuver. He has two rushes for 37 yards and sees time at Wide Receiver. Of course, considering the fact that his quarterback has attempted about as many passes as Wes Carroll completes on a good day, Moore is unlikely to be a real threat as a wideout. His 206 all-purpose yards on 7 touches against Rice, though, was the difference between Vanderbilt looking competent-to-impressive against the Owls, rather than a likely wash-out.

Not to mention his two interceptions in Vanderbilt's shocking win over South Carolina. And he's not alone. Vanderbilt's defense has cobbled together 6 interceptions en route to respectability.

The long and the short is that Vanderbilt has a playmaker on offense that everyone worried Ole Miss fans are talking about. There's a playmaker on defense and special teams, though, that might make more of a difference on Saturday.

Women of the Opposition: Vanderbilt

We're back with a formidable task: making the women of our SEC opponents look rather unbecoming, fat and/or generally unattractive. 

This week we take on Vanderbilt, and while the women of this university are intelligent(see: not what men are interested in), they also have loads and loads of money(see: what people at Ole Miss are interested in).

These women must be taken with a grain of salt, because whilst unsavory, they could be heir to the Post-It note fortune.

We do give props to those Vandy women that are upholding the high standard for beauty in the SEC.

Just pick out one or two and don't wander too far to the right

It hurts me a little to write this as my cousin is a current student at Vanderbilt, and although my roots are Southern, I can't quite bring myself to rate her on a scale of one to ten nor put her on this philandering website for your consumption.

However, your input is more than welcome. Bring on your tales of Vanderbilt ugliness. 

The Foghonr's-a-blaring in Nashville

If you missed last nights Vandy/USC game then you truly missed a Vandy game that was insanely interesting to watch. Since we play the 'Dores and the 'Cocks very soon, it was a good opportunity for us to scope out the opposition. Here are a few observations we made:

1. That damn foghorn... I swear. Even Chris Fowler thought it was stupid.

2. Neither Nickson or Smelley were at all impressive. Nickson proved that he is incredibly elusive and, given enough time, can make a spectacular throw or two. Smelley stank it up (HA!) and may ride the pine in favor of Garcia sooner rather than later.

3. South Carolina has an offensive line of underacheivers and Vanderbilt has a defensive line of overachievers.

4. Jared Cook, brother of the beefy wordsmith Jason Cook, will likely end up as an all-SEC tight end by the end of the season.

5. Vanderbilt plays hard. They're most definitely last in the conference as far as talent is concerned, but they're at or close to the top in terms of not letting their opponents push them around. You've really gotta admire and somewhat fear that in an opponent.

6. Obviously, special teams killed South Carolina. Why that upman was anywhere near the falling put is beyond me and the blocked field goal further proves points number 3 and 5. If South Carolina's special teams woes continue to haunt them in the upcoming weeks we should easily be able to capitalize on whatever mistakes they make.

7. How many interceptions are South Carolina quarterbacks going to throw? It's only the second week of the season and they've thrown, what, 6 or something by now? That's unhealthy.

All things considered, the upcoming matchups with the Commodores and Gamecocks are certainly winnable games. South Carolina makes a lot of mistakes and Vanderbilt easily capitalizes on opponents mistakes. If we are mistake free against Vandy, we win. If South Carolina makes typical South Carolina mistakes against us, we win. If neither are the case, well, we are.... Ole Miss.

13 Days Until Kick-off

2006 was a year of Rebel football when some thought the team would bounce back from a miserable 2005, take heed under the guidance of Brent "This would be a great where are you now story" Schaeffer and get back to a bowl game after two losing seasons.

One massive tackle ended one Rebel's season who could be the biggest playmaker on the team this year. He was a little spark plug that took a trick play against Memphis to the house later known as the "McCluster Fluster" or the "McCluster F***."

Not to say this hit was the reason Ole Miss ended up having a losing season, but it sure as hell didn't help. The smack of pads still resonates in my mind. The injury was mysterious as were many things under Ed Orgeron's reign. He had nerve damage in his neck and couldn't lift his arms higher than shoulder level or a broken shoulder or he was decapitated. Nothing was clear other than the realization that Ole Miss lost a great player for the year.

SEC Traditions: The Best and Worst - Vandy

The SEC has received publicity for the tradition and pageantry that surrounds every moment of the season. Even SEC media days has 'Bama faithful giddy like Corky from "Life Goes On."

We care a lot about our teams and our traditions, and every team in the SEC has a tradition that, deep down, every other team admires or enjoys in some realm. We're starting off with one school that sometimes(see: during football season) represents the butt of many jokes in the SEC, but at the RSC, they have our respect and admiration.

VANDERBILT

Best Tradition: Wealth. The name of this institution says it all: Vanderbilt. Their alumni are loaded and well connected. The great and wealthy Cornelius Vanderbilt started the university with a $1 million endowment while also feasting on Pterodactyl eggs every morning and lighting finely rolled cigars with burning pages of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Vandy fans I have met at games over the years are also wise enough to see beyond their sub-par seasons and flaccid tailgating and look forward to the years they'll spend on their private island where they live without the rough and tumble world of college football.

Worst Tradition: The Foghorn. Anyone who has been to a Vandy game has most likely heard the bellowing of this horrible tradition. Wait, let me rephrase that. If you went to a Vandy game where their inept offense actually got the pigskin over the goal line, you have heard this semi-Canadian, definitely not Southern tradition. Okay, I get it. It's like a foghorn on a boat and your team mascot is a boat captain of some sort. Why not shoot off some cannons from a large boat in the end zone? Maybe get an alumnus to give away shares of his company for every point the other team scores, so they'll actually make some damn noise. I'd even settle for showing a clip from the major motion picture "Captain Ron" when "Ron" helps Martin Short's character overcome guerrillas by faking an injury and calling for help below deck.

Vanderbilt, for a SEC school that doesn't even officially have an athletic director, you do pretty well for yourself. A foghorn, wealth and just enough talent to frustrate SEC opponents to the point that makes even the most loyal fan consider selling their season tickets, because in all honesty, a loss to Vandy is pretty much the end of your season.

Malcolm White

So, I know that as an Ole Miss fan I'm only allowed to get excited about football, and that makes a lot of sense considering how dominant we've been in football for the past 40 years...

But I can't stop thinking that we might just be very good in basketball this season. But how can that be? Didn't we just lose the "Master of Angles" Dwayne Curtis? Whatever will we do without a player who can't take advantage of the position of the hoop in order to avoid being blocked?

Enter Malcolm White. I know, I know. Malcolm was a letdown last year. He didn't contribute the way that some of our freshmen contributed, but I still think Malcolm contributed to the team last season (that's photographic evidence). So here's my Malcolm White / Dwayne Curtis comparison.

Dwayne Curtis: 6'7" 270 lbs. - Great scorer; Solid rebounder; Liability on defense; Defensive strategy was to try to draw charges.

Malcolm White: 6'9" 230 lbs. - Wicked nasty hook shot; Had more dunks than DC in limited action; Ability to leave the ground; Aggressive defensive presence who will block a lot of shots

So here's my deal. Dwayne Curtis played like a fifth-year senior who had some skill. He was a leader, and he was consistent. He was never going to be that dominant player who totally changed the game though. Malcolm White can be that player, and with Malcolm down low, our only question is the 4. If Cranston, Henry, or Holloway emerges as being decent, we're going to win a lot of games. We've got guard play for days.

So anyway, my prediction is that we make the big dance and lose in the first round.

We Are....Ole Miss

The Ghost of Jay Cutler, Ivory Tower, and I made the trip to Hoover for the first two games, and all I can say is wow. Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am very critical of Mike Bianco, but I will lay off for now...

Georgia Game:

This Ole Miss team showed a lot of heart, and I am very proud of Lance Lynn and Scott Bittle for their efforts. Lance Struck out twelve and only allowed four hits, and "The Bittler" did an outstanding job as well.

Sorry folks, I needed some Cozart.

Kentucky Game:

I hate Kentucky baseball. Kentucky, huh? More like Ken-sucky.... When they played their first game against Alabama, they would not quit their howling... It was annoying! What made is worse was the fact that the Alabama fans would yell and howl back. Anyway, our team showed tremendous amounts of heart. Matt Smith's homerun was probably the biggest shot I have ever seen in my life (I wasn't really around in the days of Pettway/Head)! Anyway, it was a shot. Michael Guerrero had hit the ball hard for two days straight, and I knew it was only a matter of time before he sent (another)one out. Scott Green embarrassed Overbeck, but he served up a fastball to Guerrero. I was in disbelief of what had happened! I ended up jumping on top of the dugout with kids, infants, random fans, and Guerrero's dad. It was incredible! However, there are a couple of things that I should not overlook. Logan Power's single was huge! He ran the pitcher out of the game, and him being on base was crucial to the walk-off. Another thing I found interesting was that Sawyer Carroll held his arm high in victory when Colin Cowgill hit the sac-fly to send him home. They thought they had the lead for good... Take that Ken-sucky!

John Cohen, Kentucky's skipper, had interesting quotes after the game. "We have had great success against Ole Miss the last few times we've played. We threw two bad pitches in the last couple of innings. I felt they had to win this game to get into a regional. I am pleased with the way our kids competed, but Ole Miss took two great swings when it really mattered. I think overall we played a better game but that is how it works sometimes." Keep in mind that he is a Bulldog at heart. Guess what? John Cohen is a tool bag. What if we had not committed those two errors? We could make excuses too, but we won. Go back to Kensucky you howling tool bags.

Since we are poor college students, we headed home after the game. I listened to today's games on the radio, and I am thrilled we got it done today.

The stars so far:

If you reference this blog post I wrote, I predicted that we would get hot if we had Guerrero and Henry back strong. Guess what? I was right....

Guerrero has been unbelievable! Also, Jordan Henry is back! He is a machine! Kudos to Mike Bianco for sticking with him through the thick and thin. Brett Basham has done an incredible job behind the plate.

Ole Miss becomes the first eight seed to advance to the championship game.

LSU:

They are hotter than a two dollar pistol right now, so this will be the Rebels toughest outing of the year. Nathan Baker will get the nod, and he did well in his last midweek start in Oxford. I think that he will give us four or five innings and probably give up four runs. We will then go to the pitch-by-committee plan with Satterwhite, McKean, and maybe Bittle. This is gonna be amazingly hard, but we can do it. When you're hot, you're hot.

By the way, I have some pics I will be putting up this week. I would put them up now, but the internets is acting up and being slow.

I still hate you Mike Bianco

Saturday's game was a complete tease. The back and forth was almost unbearable. This is how bad it was: I almost though Cody Satterwhite was a good pitcher. Then, the collapse happened. That is the thing about Cody. He looks great for three innings, but then he collapses.

I'll agree with The Ghost of Jay Cutler's assessment. If Bittle's Saturday performance was not enough to prove his worthiness for the Ferris Award, I do not know what is. If I had a vote, The Bittler would get the award hands down.

I'm very proud of Scott. He has fought back after a very tough 2007 campaign. I think he should start our Wednesday game versus Georgia.

Here's the tournament bracket:

Session 1

(2) LSU versus (7) USC at 11:00

(3) Florida versus (6) Vanderbilt at 1:00

Session 2

(1) Georgia versus (8) Ole Miss at 5:00

(4) Kentucky versus (5) Alabama at 8:00

Of course, the losers of session 1 play the next day. The winners of session 1 play the following day. The same is true for the other session as well.

Come on Mike, please do not screw this up.

Dang't Mike Bianco

It just keeps getting uglier for the Rebels, and I am sick of it, Mike Bianco. The big problem is that we suck. I said it. We suck. We cannot get clutch hits, and we cannot field the ball. Heck, we cannot even pitch anymore.

It is do or die time for the Rebels at 5:30 central time this evening. Drew Pomeranz will take the hill for the Rebels, and I hope he decides to not tip his pitches today.

If you cannot tell, I am angry. I was an optimist in earlier years, but now I am an "angrymist". You don't go around preaching this is the most talented and deepest team you have ever had, and then not even make the SEC Tournament. Come on, Mike.

In other news:

Somehow, some way, Mississippi State beat Arkansas during the first game of "Pack the Park for Polk" weekend. Thank you, Mississippi State. Now, we desperately need you to win two more. Also, South Carolina lost to Tennessee. The Rebels, Hogs, and Gamecocks now fill out the 7, 8, & 9 spots respectively.

Another important note: cheer you buts off for Georgia. Rain postponed last night's match-up with Alabama, and now they will play a double-header today. Go Georgia! If they sweep Alabama and we win one game, we are in!

However, if we cannot take two from Kentucky, we need not complain about not making it to Hoover or a Regional because we surely would not deserve to. And that's the bottom line.

Yahhh Trick Yahhh!

Oh Baseball.... Why must you play with our hearts and emotions? About this time last week, the Rebels had one the final Sunday game against Alabama, the Tuesday game with Memphis had been rained out, and the Rebs were sliding.

Oh the difference a week makes. After Must Be The Wind threw in his towel on the season, Bianco's Boys got their brooms out. They came back to beat Memphis on Wednesday and showed a lot of heart. On Saturday, they fought hard to win the first game and cruised in the second game. Sunday, the Rebels whipped up on Vandy once again. Keep in mind, Vandy came into the weekend ranked #6.

The 5 game win streak seemed to be an aberration as the Jaguars of South Alabama poured on 5 runs in the top of the third inning.

Poor fielding and concentration plagued the Rebels that inning. It got so bad at one point that one angry fan yelled "Rebels, South Alabama's better 'an you"
The Rebels, however, were not through. After scoring one run every couple of innings, the Rebels sent the game into the tenth. Scott Bittle, "The Bittler,"


came in and mowed down the opposing batters. The only problem with the whole extra innings thing is that we were in the bottom of our order. Miller, STUYVERSON, and who even cares who after that. Miller does not reach first. So, one out, and STUYVERSON is up to bat. After passing up on a 2-0 fastball, he sent the next one over the fence.

Make it 6 in a row for the Rebels.

Positives about Tuesday's win: heart and competitive spirit

Negatives: stranded base runners, errors, lack of concentration

Next game is tonight at 6:30 pm.
Pitching Match-Ups:
Philip Irwin RHP 5.55 ERA (2-1)
vs
TBA for South Alabama

Prediction:
Rebels 11-7

And now for something completely different!

Calling Ole Miss' weekend sweep of Vanderbilt a "turning point" is probably a bit much. A top team in the Southeastern Conference should never be satisfied with less than a series win at home, so really we only won one more game than we should expect out of our gold standard athletic team.

But 34 hits in one weekend is something completely different.

Completely different from losing a home series against Florida and coming within a cow's fart of getting no-hit by what is shaping up to be a pretty bad Mississippi State team. Yeah, that's a bit different. And nothing says "different's not always bad" like Mike Bianco in April.

So, now we've got a pretty good South Alabama squad for mid-week and the Cajun Corn-dog Cavalcade this weekend. I'll call it a turn-around if we're still in sole possession of first-place in the West after this weekend. But, the South Alabama games are also important. There are seven non-conference games left, and two wins over the Jags will help our post-season resume.

Anyway, hats go off (I can't resist) to Drew Pomeranz and Fuller Smith who had monster weekends. But, to extend the metaphor, we're not yet "turned around." In fact, we're in the middle of a 3/4 turn, which means that our driver's side is exposed to on-coming traffic. Y'ever been broadsided in the middle of a 3/4 turn? Me neither, but I bet it sucks. And before your side-curtain airbag of optimism gets exploded all over my face when we drop two to LSU this weekend, I'm going to remain safely on the sidelines and wait for Mike Bianco to start winning the big game.

HAHA, Cornelius!

All the un-sportsmanlike gloating I can muster goes out to the Vanderbilt Commodores who returned to Nashville Sunday in their customary manner - winless. All the best, LOSERS!