THURSDAY NEWS & RECOMMENDATIONS

NEWS

- Basketball beats Miami,but just barely and much in the same sloppy, non-aggressive fashion that we have gotten used to. A few things were solidified here, however: Raymond Sykes is awesome at blocking shots. James "Usually reapplies to Clemson in" Mays finally got it together in the classroom and made it to the end of the year, good lookin' out big fella. Speaking of Sykes and Mays, they need to workout with the defensive line on the football team to get big and mean. Trevor Booker is a mean and aggressive dude who is going to leave a huge set of shoes to fill when he graduates. Lastly, watching K.C. Rivers shoot threes used to be fun and automatic, now I'd rather have staples removed from my skull.

- The Tiger Baseball team rallied to beat a good Winthrop team. I'm glad we actually pulled this one off. Yet again, our pitching is still suspect, but that's expected February and March. Also, our big sticks pulled us out of a jam yet again. Thank the stars and Danny Ford's influence on the cosmos that we convinced this guy to come to Clemson.

- The Spring Football game has been set for April 14th. I've been meaning to tell you since I see it every time I go in the ticket office, but I guess the CUAD website beat me to it. Oh well, now you know.

- Hamlin, Rendrick have surgery on there feetses and all goes well... old news unless you've been hiding under a rock. If you're too lazy to click the link, they both are in boots till next month and should miss part of spring practice but are still doing strength training with the team. Hamlin might miss more of spring, possibly the game. Both are scheduled to be healthy hosses for the opening day of practice in the fall.

- Travis Storrer finally gets some ink to paper on a minor league baseball contract and settles down in Chillicothe, Ohio. Here is the low-down a la the Chillicothe website. I'm happy for the guy cause he really worked his butt off for us and is one of the main reasons that we got to the big dance. I think he's gonna go places and make it out of the farm leagues.

- Bad news for Clemson fans, Jim Grobe just signed a ten year extension on his contract with Wake. This is kinda unbelievable that Wake has the chance to have a football legacy in the ACC. If you woulda told me that the Deacs would win the ACC championship three or four years ago, I would have laughed at you and probably would have tripped you up during a serious presentation of some sort just to spite you for having that opinion.

RECOMMENDATIONS

- David Burke's Flavor Sprays - Burke is a world renowned chef based out of New York who has come up with these sprays that help you cut out the stuff you can't have on a diet. He was recently on a Ron & Fez show (XM 202, Noon - 3pm) plugging these sprays and apparently, it's like tasting the real thing. I've heard personally from others that have tried it that it really does taste like the flavor on the bottle and not just some cheap knock-off that you'd find elsewhere. Also, these sprays are diet and diabetic friendly. Also check out his gourmet pops. I can tell you first hand that they are great.

- Peter Millar - Website - They have a great selection of shirts, pants, shorts, vests, and ties for their spring line. Nice uses of greens and blues. Give it a shot, if you don't like it or if it isn't bright enough for you, theres always TailorByrd to fall back on, however they are putting out some weird, darker colors for spring. I can half expect Chili to make some joke about how I like shirts with "perty colors" and he'll probably take a jab at my slow-wittedness. So there, I'll go ahead and get it out of the way.

COMBINE RECAP

Just try and imagine the following scenario: Work out till you can’t move on Friday, then you run five miles afterwards. The next morning you wake up at 6 o’clock in the morning, get to the airport, and board a plane with seats that are way too small. After you get off the plane and wait on your baggage, you grab a cab; “RCA Stadium, please.” As soon as you get there, a microphone is shoved in your face. People are measuring your arms and hands, pinching your skin, making you lift more weights even though your arms are about to fall off… time starts to fly by. You put on a shirt with “Adams” pressed on the back that they give you. Then you head out to the field, stretch out, tighten your shoelaces, and run a 4.64 in the 40-yard dash, the fastest out of all the other defensive linemen. Your fate is sealed and your agent comes up to tell you that “you don’t have to worry about money anymore” before he scurries off in an Ari Gold-like fashion to scream at someone on his cell phone. The experience of the NFL combine might have gone something like this former Clemson Defensive End Gaines Adams. NFL scouts have been salivating over tapes of Gaines Adams crushing tiny UNC players for a few months now and they have been dying to get him on a football field to see what he can do first hand. All eyes were on the consensus All-American at this weeks NFL combine and he did not disappoint at all.

Gaines Adams: Still lurking about in Cam Sexton's nightmares.

Along with his performance at the 40-yard dash, Gaines also posted a broad jump of 9’11” and 35 inches on his vertical jump. In short, Gaines Adams is everything the world of professional sports thought that he was: an athlete in all sense of the word. Adams has been rated by many people as the fourth most valuable player in this years draft, however, he probably won’t go until the seventh pick of the first round. One thing is for sure, he has separated himself from the rest as the top defensive lineman in the draft, leapfrogging the previous holder of that title, Jamaal Anderson from Arkansas. The things that scouts are most impressed with are his wing span, his mental presence on the field, and his hard work ethic. The only thing that seems to hinder Adams is his lower body size, although many have speculated that he could add another good 15 to 25 pounds of muscle with the correct weight training program. On the flip side, something that pro scouts have picked up on is his ability to drop back into coverage if needed because of his size and speed. He has also given some scouts a look as an outside linebacker for a 3 – 4 defensive scheme because of his weakness as well. He is doing a great job of making lemonade from his lemons. He improved his discipline and technique against the run as well during his junior and senior seasons under the tutelage of Clemson defensive line coach Chris Rumph and defensive coordinator Vic Koenning. The two coaches helped Adams hone his valuable skills as well as helped him be aware of things that helped take him to the next level. Adams will join his former teammate and defensive line buddy Charles Bennett in the NFL ranks. Last year, Bennett was drafted in the seventh round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"I heard tingks... good tingks."

Fortunately for the Clemson football program, they can now brag that along with Adams they sent five Tigers to the combine this year. Unfortunately for our football team, two of those players never got to complete their senior season in Death Valley. Former Tiger linebacker Anthony Waters ended his season last year in the first game via a torn ACL when the Tigers trumped Florida Atlantic. Waters used his time wisely though, making leaps and bounds with his upper body strength and providing leadership and help to his teammates from the sidelines. Waters, still a little shaky on his feet, did not participate in running drills but was able to compete in everything else. On the bench press, he had 25 repetitions of 225 pounds. The other former Tiger, cornerback C.J. Gaddis, decided to forego his senior year and enter the draft early after his rollercoaster junior year last season. Gaddis possess great strength as well as blazing speed, attributes that helped him make his decision to jump early for the NFL. He ran a 4.45 in the 40-yard dash, one of the faster times for day six. He also had 20 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press which is impressive seeing as most defensive backs in the draft only manage to make it to the mid-teens. Many experts thought he needed another year from his up and down season last year, though physically he is more than ready for the next level and can learn what he needs to from coaches on his further team. Personally, I think he just wasn't ready mentally. He'd constantly forget his assignments and get blown deep. It reminded me of Ty Hill in his junior season. I think that if he had stayed, he would have been an All-American easily. I think he won't do jack sh*t his first few years in the league, if he does anything at all. That senior year in college is so crucial for maturation and finishing of players and it gets over looked way too much. But hey, I can see his side of the point. I can imagine his viewpoint as being the following: I'm in a program that's not going to win any rings next year and my coaches left Anthony Waters in to tear his ACL late in a lopsided game, who's to say they won't do it to me and get me hurt?

He never listened to our coaching staff, what makes you think
he would listen to the "experts"?

The other two former Clemson players that were invited to the NFL combine are Duane Coleman and Chansi Stuckey. Both men put up average numbers but that can be attributed to their off season schedules. All is well however, because both make up for their average numbers at the combine from their performances during games and their leadership qualities. Stuckey and Coleman have game changing abilities and attributes. Stuckey is known for simply making jaw-dropping circus catches that he makes seem impossibly easy. Coleman seems to have a knack for knocking lungs loose and having perfect coverage technique and closing speed. Also, Coleman is one mean motherf*cker on the football field. He is just crazy enough to punch someone twice his size right in the face (2003 Peach Bowl & 2004 Brawl w/ USC... see below). You need a meanstreak in the pros to survive and Coleman has a great one. Although, his worries should be focused elsewhere as he has been red flagged for his off the field problems, more than likely spurned by his recent arrest on charges of possession of marijuana.

Duane Coleman is almost Mike Tyson scary... which is... you know... scary.

Overall, Clemson’s combine invitees gave solid performances that can only help them with their transition to the NFL. Clemson has set it’s pro-day for NFL scouts to take place on Tuesday, March 13th.

WAKE N' BACON

Would you like some fatted pork product with your morning wood?

Have you ever thought to yourself, "My morning routine would greatly benefit from the addition of pork products delivered bedside immediately upon my awakening?" If so, then the Wake n' Bacon is for you. Ed Orgeron loves giving these as gifts and has a custom king size edition that grills 3 lbs. of thick cut bacon and emits an alarm with the aid of 4 air horns. He also has the wristwatch edition, which looks a lot like a small Foreman Grill with a watch duct taped to the lid.

It's BACON!!!!

MARKISH JONES: THE JOHN KERRY OF LETTERS OF INTENT?

I made this picture, so damned right I'm using it again.

As February winds down and the dust settles on this year’s recruiting cycle, we thought we’d take a look back at a particularly contentious situation that occurred on signing day. We’re referring, of course, to the Markish Jones situation.

THE LOWDOWN

Signing day for Markish Jones went down like this; Jones, South Carolina’s Offensive MVP of this year’s Shrine Bowl and a 4-star prospect out of Broome HS, signed his letter of intent (including his mother’s signature) to attend Clemson. He does not immediately fax it to Clemson. Jones calls Florida State coaches to inform them of his decision. An hour later, he and his mother sign a second letter of intent, this time to Florida State. This time, they fax it off. It was reported that Tommy Bowden spent nearly two hours that afternoon on the phone with Markish and his mother and that after the conversation they called the Broome head coach and asked him to locate and return the unfaxed Clemson LOI.

Within the week, Clemson coaches petitioned the ACC, who sent the matter to Torie Johnson, director of the National Letter of Intent in Birmingham, Alabama. The NLI ruled that once the letter was signed by a player and their guardian, it was binding. The Tallahassee Democrat noted that this interpretation would likely be at odds with many schools’ own compliance interpretations.

Markish Jones closes his eyes, shuffles the papers, and signs 'wherever.'

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Upon hearing of the NLI’s decision, Markish remarked that he was “not disappointed at all. I think it’s best that I just go ahead and to Clemson because it’s about being around people you’re comfortable with.” He also stated that he was 50-50 between schools prior to signing day.

More interestingly, Jones added “I think it's definitely all for the best right now with all the rules and the ACC talking about Florida State getting on some kind of probation and all that. I didn't want to make them go through that or me having to go through that."

Jones did not offer clarification as to what probation he was talking about, but the Spartanburg Herald-Journal noted that an ACC official confirmed that FSU didn’t break any rules relating to its telephone conversation with Jones, and would not face any penalties. It’s possible Tommy could’ve pressed Jones over his conversation with FSU coaches and scared him about the possible ramifications.

Tommy Bowden had this swipe at the FSU recruiting process: “It was pretty much a technical issue as far as legality about who could sign (the letter of intent). After we did the research, it was cut and dry. Obviously it was pretty good work on (Florida State's) part by trying to undermine the rules and regulations of the NLI, but it did not work.”

Sterger and her friends are going to settle this dispute with a KY wrestling match. Because when KY wrestling is involved, we all win.

ANALYSIS!

The recruiting process is a nasty beast and it gets hairier and smellier every year. While, arguably, most of the backstabbing and recruit snatching occurs in the SEC (see Urban Meyer: all your recruits are belong to us, pretty much anything Saban touches, Brad Lawing’s “proxy calls”) the ACC is not immune to skullduggery, as this case clearly proves. FSU coaches, knowing that Jones had signed a LOI and chosen a college, persuaded him to bury that contract and fax one to them. FSU has stated that their compliance department doesn’t consider a signed LOI binding until it is in the hands of the coaches. Regardless of this, the coaches knew this was poor ethics, and more than a little desperate. FSU had a recruiting class ranked lower than usual this year, and may have been in dire need of Jones's service, explaining why they went the extra mile to snatch one from Tommy.

One might dispute that it was Markish’s choice to switch to FSU, and they’d be right, but the point of contention is what exactly made him change his mind. We may never know what the FSU recruiters told him, and what Tommy later told him, but we do know that none of it should've happened. Recruiting is big business, and is corrupt enough as it is. The NLI did college football a service by putting their foot down on this matter and setting limits on just how far overzealous recruiters can go. Had Markish Jones come out and objected to being switched to attend Clemson, this situation might not be as clear cut as it is. In a recruiting season that didn't go exactly as Clemson fans would hope, there was a silver lining.

ARKY EYES TDP BUT HE'S STAYING PUT

There’s a certain set of ostrich-skinned cowboy boots that walk the length of the West Endzone on game day Saturdays here at Clemson… and there was talk of Arkansas looking into seeing how much it would take to get those boots to walk in the direction of Fayetteville. Those boots belong to current Clemson Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics named Phillips the 2005-06 General Sports Turf Systems Athletic Director-of-the-Year for the Southeast Region of Division I-A. He was also a player at Arkansas for their current athletic director, 82-year-old Frank Broyles. He also served as the senior associate athletic director there from 1988 – 1994. When Frank Broyles announced his forthcoming retirement for the end of this year to the Board of Trustees at Arkansas this past Saturday, they focused their attention on two men who were connected to their university and that could possibly replace Broyles. The other man who was thrown in the bubbling stew of rumors is former Clemson head coach Ken Hatfield who also played defensive back at Arkansas, earning a national championship ring for the 1964 season.

On Tuesday, Terry Don announced to the press that he hadn’t even been contacted by Arkansas, but he made it a point that he wasn’t about to pack up and go anywhere. “To be as clear as I can be, I very much enjoy working at Clemson University. I have no intentions of leaving Clemson. I am not an applicant or intend to be an applicant for that job at the University of Arkansas,” stated Phillips, who is now entering the sixth year of his contract as the Clemson Athletics Director. “The University of Arkansas has not called me, I don't anticipate them calling me, and I'm happy here.”

This off-season has proven to be somewhat of a test for the Clemson administration with many coaches and staff getting generous offers from a multitude of organizations both from the college and professional levels. Most of the key players of the Clemson football coaching staff had been either been considered, contacted, or offered lucrative contracts by teams such as the University of Alabama, the University of South Carolina, and the Oakland Raiders just to name a few. Only one man, former running backs coach Burton Burns, jumped ship. But he can’t really be blamed for accepting the same position under Nick Saban at Alabama, all the while accepting a pay increase that dwarfs what he was earning here at Clemson.

Phillips also stated that he loves Clemson and everything related to it. He also said one of the main reasons he remains steadfast in his decision to not even consider a move from Clemson is the support he receives not only from the fans, his coaches, and the athletes, but the overwhelming support he has received from President Jim Barker and the Clemson Board of Trustees. “I know we have unequivocal support by the president and trustees to have a great athletic program,” Phillips stated. "We have our challenges, but I feel very good about Clemson [and it’s future].” I for one can say that I’m glad that the Texas-native will be strutting his stuff in the West Endzone next fall in those impeccable boots of his.

Current Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips gives Arkansas the preemptive "no no" in their search to replace Frank Broyle.

BOWDEN VS. BOWDEN

Coming soon: Our writeup of the Markish Jones saga.

MORON GARCIA... ER... MORE ON GARCIA

The State said that a "concerned citizen" pointed out Garcia's drunken conduct to police in 5 Points. In the land of Gamecock Forums, of course this could only have been a Clemson fan, right? To the first poster: if the police were occupied with getting all the drunks in 5 Points home safely, who would patrol that trashy strip for crack sales and QB/WRs slugging student body presidents? I guess Clemson fans have to head to Columbia to "have a good time" according to the second poster, that is, if you define "have a good time" as "have a 27% chance of being assaulted or robbed by a scholarship athlete." I'm not arguing that Clemson has more to do than Columbia, it is the state capital after all, but 5 Points itself offers almost nothing that tiny downtown Clemson doesn't already.


One of the many warning signs of a true Kool-Aid drinking, zombified, Darth Visor fearing dolt is that they use a variation of a Gregg Doyel quote to denigrate Clemson, you know, since they can't use, say, a winning record or academic excellence to do that. I believe the original quote from Doyel was meant to dis NCSU basketball by comparing them to some inaccurate idea of Clemson football. While nothing that comes out of Doyel's mouth isn't premeditated to piss off someone for the sake of attention, it is particularly ironic that a Sakerlina fan would slander any other team's fans with the phrase "overbearing fan base too biased to see...reality."

Clemson fans have a quote that more accurately sums up our arch nemesis, "South Carolina Football: The arrogance of Notre Dame with the tradition of Wake Forest." Though this, too, is flawed, as Wake has more than one conference title ever.

Of course this Tiger took the silliness of our Cock-loving enemies down 26 in stride:

TDP 4 AD @ UA?

With Frank Broyles out at Arkansas, the Razorbacks are looking at one current and one former Tiger as possible replacement ADs. Terry Don Phillips, who played for Broyles at Arkansas, has stated publicly that he has not been contacted for the job, but it seems inevitable that they'll come calling. Ken Hatfield, the much-maligned former Clemson and Arkansas coach has also had his name thrown in the bubbling stew of rumoration. Greenville News article on the subject.

BEISBOL!

Willy Mac has set up a Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball league for all DFIG readers. Join Danny Ford's All-Hamericans here using Group ID# 74841, password: asianchicks. Because, you know, Asian chicks are pretty great.

UPDATE VIA WILLY MAC: For those of you that have joined, let me know if you want me to switch up the draft, rules, etc. by sending me an e-mail to my gmail account. Thanks.

WEEKEND NEWS RECAP

- Stephen Garcia, the highly touted freshman QB for USC apparently likes to drink a little. And that's not ok with Columbia cops. The Bo Bice wanna be was released on a $465 bond according to a completely biased GamecockAnthem.com article. I love how they put the term "concerned citizen" in quotations. They also failed to mention how Garcia was about to get crunk on the cops and the only thing that calmed him down was the batons that the cops whipped out.

- The men's basketball team took another loss at the hands of a decent Maryland team today. In all seriousness, this is getting tiring. I knew that we'd get owned by the conference schedule. They face Duke on Thursday night in Littlejohn... oh boy. I will say that we did get the shit end of a lot of calls that shouldn't have called and the refs (Mike Wood, Ray Natili, Ted Valentine... just three WONDERFUL guys) and let a lot of questionable things go. I will give them credit though, Maryland just out hustled us and cut right through our full court press.

- After taking George Mason to the woodshed on Friday, our baseball team turns around and drops a game to them and has to rally to win today. Overall, I was not impressed with their Saturday and Sunday performances and this is a terrible way to start off the season for a team as highly touted as ours is. I think it's prolly just beginning of the season kinks that we can easily work out.

Stephen Garcia: Didn't he used to be the lead singer for Seven Mary Three?

BOP HARD

Have you ever broken a Puerto Rican dude's arm for sweatpants money?

BARKER RESPONDS TO CRITICISM

This is an e-mail sent out by Prez Barker today. This is all I wanted, an explanation. This should be great fodder for dumbass remarks that are to be made by the TNetters.

Dear Clemson:

In recent weeks I have learned that the words "One Clemson" are easy to say
but harder to live. However, any success we've had as an institution is the
result of operating as a unified institution. That does not mean everyone
at Clemson thinks the same and never disagrees. In fact, a great university
is one that welcomes a free exchange of ideas, encourages debate and is not
afraid of change. Such exchanges are healthy and productive. However, we
are in danger of becoming deeply divided because of questions and
misperceptions about our process for admitting student-athletes. To have a
healthy discussion, we must all have the same facts and discuss them in an
atmosphere of respect and courtesy.

Let's start with facts about our general admissions process. Nearly 14,000
students applied to attend Clemson this fall, and about half of them will
be turned down because of objective criteria such as grades, class rank and
test scores. Some of those who are denied will appeal the decision, which
means they will appear before a board of faculty and admissions officers
who will consider each student on a case-by-case basis. It is by nature a
subjective process that offers a second chance.

By NCAA regulations, our process for admitting student-athletes is similar.
Those who do not meet objective criteria are sent to an appeals board
comprising faculty, admissions officers and Vickery Hall staff. They
consider each appeal on a case-by-case basis, with the goal of determining
whether or not an individual can be successful at Clemson. The committee's
purpose is to identify reasons to admit, not deny. If they do deny
admission, the decision can be appealed to the Provost by the Athletic
Director. Because the process is subjective, it is not infallible. At times
we admit a student who does not qualify under NCAA guidelines, and at times
we deny a student who goes on to be successful at another institution.

There is evidence that our system works well. We are bringing outstanding
recruits to Clemson, and our graduation success rate (a new NCAA mandate)
is among the nation's highest. There is also evidence that the process may
need to be evaluated and revised. The bottom line is that our process is
not perfect, but it also is not a barrier to competitiveness as some have
suggested.

Any administrative process can usually be improved through thoughtful
analysis and review. Few are improved through hasty changes made in anger
or in response to criticism. I will commit that Clemson will conduct a
thorough review of its process, with full involvement of faculty,
admissions officials and athletics staff. Ultimately we may decide to keep
the process we have, make minor modifications, tighten standards further,
or create an entirely new system. My only directive will be that we have a
process that maintains academic integrity while not putting Clemson at a
competitive disadvantage. This is not a competition between academics and
athletics: it's between Clemson and all the institutions who are recruiting
the same students.

One of the hallmarks of Clemson is its competitive spirit. We love to win,
and we have chosen to compete at the championship level. We know that we
cannot be successful unless we are able to recruit, retain and graduate
talented student-athletes. But we also insist on winning with integrity,
and we have proven that we can do both.

Sincerely,

James F. Barker, FAIA
President

MERCHANDISING!

Check out our brand-new DFIG Shop and pick up a shirt to voice your opinion about Recruitgate 07. Disclaimer: Personally I like Barker, and don't think he's the problem, but a lot of people don't feel that way, so why not give them a shirt?

THURSDAY RECOMMENDATIONS

Chili:

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints – Trailer - This movie is in the same vein as other New York coming-of-age stories like Chazz Palminteri’s A Bronx Tale and, like that film, is a true story. IMDb describes it as “a coming-of-age drama about a boy growing up in Astoria, N.Y., during the 1980s. As his friends end up dead, on drugs or in prison, he comes to believe he has been saved from their fate by various so-called saints.” The movie stars Robert Downey Jr, Chazz Palminteri, Rosario Dawson, Eric Roberts, and Shia LaBeouf, among others.

Wallstrip Podcast – Website - This is a great video podcast that the New York Times described as “Squawk Box meets Saturday Night Live.” While that might not necessarily be a compliment, Wallstrip has become a favorite addition to my iPod. Each day, blogger chick Lindsay Campbell presents a new stock and tells us why it’s trending and accompanies the stock profile with a bit of humor and interviews with experts and CEOs. Some sort of wacky skit usually follows the analysis. While they rarely hit on stocks before they are on the national radar, they cover stocks whose long-term future is bright and provide some solid advice.

Gladys Knight and Ron Winan's Chicken & Waffles - Website - Great southern cooking, a great place to take visitors while in Atlanta (If they don't want to spring for Bone's, that is). The Midnight Train: 4 chicken wings and a Belgian waffle, enough said. The fried green tomatoes are the jams. Don't miss the sweet potato cheesecake, either. Open till 4 AM most nights, if you dare go downtown at that hour. And, yes, I dare.

Waffles: great side dish or greatest side dish?

Willy Mac:

Sorry to throw two Apple products on you, but...

Video iPod - Website - It's everything all the other iPods are, except one extra thing. Yeah, it plays movies, TV shows, and music videos that you download from iTunes. This thing is so addicting I would need a support group and twelve steps to stop using it. It has 20 hours of battery life for audio use only and six and a half for video use. The downsides to it are that you can only really put movies and stuff that you buy directly from iTunes on it. Nothing else really works, I tried and it wouldn't let me do it, but I'm sure there is someway to do it. More downsides to it are that it scratches easily (probably another ploy to get you to buy a protective casing for it) and, of course like most other iPod products when they first come out, it's only available in black or white. It comes in 30 GB and 80 GB.

MacService - Website - If you own a Mac and damage your computer, it's ok. These guys can save the day. They're relatively cheaper than all the others I checked out and they offer 24 hour shipping. The only downside is that the place is in California so you have to ship it out, wait for it to be fixed, and get it shipped back. So, you're wondering what I did? I set my MacBook down on the table go get a drink from the fridge and return to find it on the ground (I don't know how it happened) with a crack on the top right of the screen. It basically made the last for inches of the right side of my display a big jumble of rainbow colors. It turned my 17 inch MacBook into a 13ish inch MacBook with a rainbow plaid accent. Oh well, when I finally get the money saved up, I get to flush about eight $800 down the toilet.

SIGNING DAY RESULTS

Clemson signed a good class yesterday, ranked as high as 14th and as low as 26th nationally. something to be proud of. (Click here for the results) However, it could have been a great class akin to what our feathered friends in Columbia landed, if it weren't for interference from the academic administration of Clemson. I'm not referring to recruiting kids who can't meet minimum standards of the university and NCAA Clearinghouse. I am referring to recruiting kids who meet all academic standards, only to have a university board force the coaches to call up the recruits the day before signing day and ax their scholly. Mickey Plyler, Clemson alumn and local radio show host/blogger, sums the situation up perfectly here.

This entire situation brings to mind the clash between academics and athletics that occurred during, and ultimately ended, the era of Danny Ford. Uttles and some of our older Clemson fans will understand the Ford situation better than I and can probably explain the similarities a bit better.

Plyler details the situation better than I could ever hope to, so read his blog for the nuts and bolts of the fiasco. My thoughts on it are basically it seems the administration is handicapping the efforts of our football team. How can Clemson turn the corner if they can't recruit the same players as our biggest competitors? How can I throw my support behind a football team I know will always be an 8-4, 8-5 alsoran? I don't believe in sacrificing academic integrity for the sake of athletics, as many big time programs have done, but I also think it's silly to hold our athletes to the same standard as a Duke or Vanderbilt. You can't tell me that Dwight Jones couldn't make our academic standards but had no problem meeting those of UNC, a top 10 public university.

Read the Plyler blog and let me know what you think about the situation. Things are going to be nasty in Tiger Town for a while now and this might result in a new coach or a new president, at the very least.

BASKETBALL WOES

Someone please remind me: At what point did the Clemson Basketball season start picking up the traits of the Clemson Football season?

Perhaps I was wrong with my 20 win prediction. Perhaps Sambo might have been as well. I stated that we'd get 20 wins.

"And come on Willy Mac, predicting a 20 win season when we have 17 wins already? I'm pretty sure Clemson will take at least 3 of the next 13. Here's a real prediction, 25-5 with a Sweet Sixteen loss to Kansas." - Sambo

Well, we've taken ONE out of the last six. That leave us with seven games left. Is it a realistic possibility at this point in the season that we get only one or two more regular season wins? I could only stomach half of the Georgia Tech game. I know that we REALLY SHOULD be happy with our basketball program, since we've never really had a lot of success in that department, but come on, one out of the last six? Somebody needs to get it in gear. Let's just hope the basketball season doesn't turn into the nosedive that the football season did.

Clemson takes another loss at the hands of the Yellow Jackets.

SUPER BOWL

Chili: Am I the only one who doesn't really give a crap about the Super Bowl? Of course I'll watch it, I mean I'm still a man. The Rant has some cool bets going on for various Super Bowl minutiae.

Maybe the best thing about the Super Bowl is that the media blitz will finally end, though it was not without its high points. Listening to Ludacris's radio show on XM yesterday, he called it the "Soul Bowl" in honor of the two black head coaches and he and the guy who played Ashy Larry ruminated on the possibilities the coaches would roll in late, or with an entourage, or drive their Bentley directly onto the field.

Until the Panthers are in it again, the only thing the Super Bowl means to me is that I'll know which hat rednecks are going to purchase en masse from FootLocker next week.

Oh, and Colts by 11.

Willy Mac: I agree totally with Chili. The NFL is not that entertaining for me. It's almost too perfect. Too many perfectly trained, big-headed athletes reaching the pinnacle of their careers. They make the game look too easy and theres not enough sell to hold my attention for more than five minutes at a time.

I guess the main problem I have with the NFL is that there is nothing but money that ties a player to his team. Not city pride, team bonding, relationships with the coaches, the fans... all of that can be bought out by any organization. That's my infatuation with college football. When people graduate, they never really leave. That's a big reason why you see a lot of players that retire from the NFL go back to their alma maters to help out in some way.

Long story short: Yeah, I'm watching it cause it's the last bit of American football till next August. Am I going to be flipping? That'd be a yes as well.

Bears by 3.

FOOTBALL NEWS

Coach Spence has turned down the Raiders, who are now looking at Sakerlina's Dave Reaves for their QB coach position.

Jon Richt, son of UGa coach and adolescent hairstyle enthusiast Mark Richt, has committed to Clemson for the 08 football season. With the tumult surrounding Joe Tereshinski III and the whole QB position at UGa, the family agreed there'd be too much pressure if the coach's son was thrown into the mix.

You can find him the first Tuesday of each month at Snip-Its.

COACHING CHANGES

Clemson has hired Andre Powell, formerly of UNC, UVa, and Sakerlina as their new runningbacks coach. Powell handled special teams duties over the past two years as well, addressing one of the Tigers' needs. He also has good recruiting ties in North and South Carolina.
The Charleston P&C is reporting that Rob Spence is in talks with the Oakland Raiders for a coaching position with their organization. I can see it now, "bubble screen to Randy Moss, two yard gain."
Dabo Sweeney has turned down an offer from Nick Saban at Alabama, who might want to try and steal coaches from a more successful program if he wants 'Bama to succeed, though Dabo is an incredible recruiter.