MONDAY RANDOMNESS

- Do not get Sprint/Nextel. I was on Nextel, and I didn’t like it for these reasons: Bad… Bad.. TERRIBLE service; You could constantly be reached on the two way and it was the most annoying thing every invented for a phone; and it just didn’t let you do as much as you can do with a lot of phones i.e. put songs and pictures on your phone. Nextel definitely caters to companies that do a lot of construction/engineering type of work. Then I switched over to Sprint once my Nextel plan was up. Yet again, bad idea. I don’t like Sprint for the following reasons: You can put like four songs on it but it’s a huge hassle and you can’t use the song as your ring tones; same deal with pictures, whereas you can’t use them as your background or phone ID tags; the ring tones that you have to buy through Sprint are $2.50 a pop and expire after 90 days, trust me, I tried to get around it and I refuse to pay for ring tones that expire; lastly, everything (texting, web, SMS, etc) costs money. They nickel and dime you to death. I do like Sprint, I’d just rather have fun with my phone. Also, called up to switch my account and encounter a little rudeness. I called back, complained, and they shipped me out one of those Bluetooth thingies for free (I’m pretty sure that “thingy” is the appropriate and technical term for the device, although I’m not 100% on that.)

- Chili here. If you want to bypass all that bullshit about paying for ringtones, just get a foreign phone that has quad-band capabilities. The US cellphone market is built on squeezing every last dime from you and making you pay for every stupid like ringer and wallpaper, for the most part. There are a few phones out there that allow you to easily transfer things but I've had more success purchasing quad-band phones from an importer called Dynamism and popping my Cingular SIM card in it. Not only do you not have the same phone (RAZR) as everybody and their mother, there are less DRM restrictions to keep you from customizing your phone. Also, hasn't having "cool" ringtones gotten old yet? Nobody gives a fuck that you have the newest Chamillionaire track as your ringer or that you have maybe some old funk tune for when your grandma Esther calls. A year or so the trend was to have an old fashioned sounding ringer as your ringtone. Maybe the new hotness should be a ringer that just yells at you to pick up the phone.

Well... Well look. I already told you: I deal with the god damned customers so the engineers don't have to. I have people skills; I am good at dealing with people. Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?

- We’d like to welcome some new sites to our blogroll and links on the sidebar to the right. Among them are the University of Texas rooted Burnt Orange Nation. Next up is Sports Blog Nation who courted Chili and myself recently to join their ranks. Although we felt flattered, we feel that we’d like to remain independent for the time being. Also, a well put together Maryland Terp blog known as Turtle Waxin’ joins us from above the Mason Dixon. Lastly, we've added some more Seminoles in the form of Chant Rant.

- Chili here again, I don't know if maybe we weren't officially part of the ballot or whatever, but the BlogPoll Awards absolutely shat on us this year. We had a ton of votes and weren't even mentioned in the nominees. Not even for best new ACC blog. I mean, what other new ACC blogs are there out there? Exactly. Maybe next year we'll have our correct papers and the BlogPoll won't Indiana Jones "no ticket" us out of the goddamned blimp that is the college sports blogosphere.

- This has got to be said again: we need Clemson fans over at The Rant messageboard. It's nothing but dawgs over there and we need some (Bowden buzzword warning) parity.

- Brad at The 12th Manchild is reporting that UT lawyers are suing a College Station t-shirt store for desecrating the Longhorn logo. Said logo, a silhouette of the famous Bevo, has its horns sawed off and pointed downwards. This is usually accompanied by the phrase “Saw em’ Off!” My take on this is this thing has gotten way out of hand. The lawsuit was filed about a week after the Horns lost to the Ags in November, but as pointed out on The 12th Manchild, the lawsuit has probably been in the works since before the game was even played. It’d be like if USC tried to sue Tiger Town for having shirts that say “Beat the Cocks” or showing caricatures of a Tiger choking a chicken. I know that’s hard to grasp, but it’s in the same ballpark. As a neutral in this fight, I can honestly say that the t-shirts are a neat idea and I don’t see why UT waited so long to sue and pursue a cease-and-desist because the shirts have been around for a few years now.

THAT MUSIC.... IT'S SO SMOOOTH...

Yacht Rock. Oh yeah.

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST

The following e-mail was forwarded out to the Clemson University staff and student body:

Dear Clemson:

Later today, we will announce that the Clemson/Florida State football game, our 2007 season opener, will be moved to Labor Day evening for national broadcast by ESPN. We made the decision to move the game at the request of the ACC after carefully considering all of the advantages of the national visibility and excitement that accompanies this Monday night game, along with the disadvantages of managing a high-profile event on a regular class and work day.

One significant advantage is that this move will eliminate any Thursday night games, either at home or away, for the remainder of our 2007 schedule. By coming near the beginning of the semester, it will not interfere with scheduled mid-terms or other events. A third advantage is that we have eight months to plan for the game. I will appoint a task force to develop a game-day management plan that addresses class and lab schedules, office hours, parking and other matters that don't typically arise on a Saturday.

We have a campus full of smart and creative people, and I am certain that you can help us make this opportunity a positive Clemson experience.

Sincerely,
James F. Barker, FAIA
President

Hmm, Monday night game to open the season??? Meh, doesn't matter what day of the week, just so long as we get the W.

SAMBO GUEST RANT #2

Well, Clemson just got finished being pulverized by UNC, and they looked pretty bad. If your team is not making any three’s, stop shooting more! But, what did we expect, Clemson to beat an extremely talented Heels’ team? I just hoped that they would hang and make it a fun game to watch, but I lost all interest at halftime. The good news is that Boston College’s best defensive player (possibly the country’s best defensive player) was kicked off the team for doing something stupid, so we at least have some hope of winning that one this weekend. Otherwise, here are my random thoughts, enjoy:

• Big 10 Football was discovered to be overrated, both of their big-time teams got blown out in their BCS bowl games, Ohio State got bitchslapped by Florida and Michigan did not get a happy ending against the real USC. But why? Underpants Gnomes.

• How has the fat guy on Lost gotten larger since living on a deserted island?

• So, I was looking into what movies are going to be coming out next summer and the summer will be full of sequels. With the expected ones like SpiderMan 3, Pirates 3, and Die Hard 4, but who in the hell thought it was a great idea to fund a sequel to Alien v. Predator? If they are going to make a garbage film like that, then there is still hope of Zoolander 2.

• BCS Championship Game? Playoff System? Or Caged Death Match?

• I read an article on how smoking cigarettes can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Well, duh, if you are dead from smoking, of course you cannot get Alzheimer’s. It’s like saying that juggling chainsaws will help prevent erectile problems, but then again, if you can juggle chainsaws, you should be getting laid constantly and should have no problems getting it up.

• When was the last time anyone actually watched an NBA game? I can’t.

• When will the Atlanta Falcons learn that Michael Vick is the most worthless starting QB in the NFL? They claim he needs more time to learn the system, because apparently three years was not enough. And then he got stopped (but not arrested) in the Miami airport for having a secret compartment in his water bottle which reeked of pot. Apparently when asked about the bottle, he folded under pressure and couldn’t throw it away. Ba-da-ching. Also, I thought you had an entourage to take the fall for that sort of thing, especially since he is highest paid player in the league.

• What ever happened to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers? That pink one was hot.

• The Adam LaRoche (the greatest baseball player in the Universe) Update: Adam or Rochy, depends on how well you know him, was traded by the Atlanta Braves this week to the Pirates for a worthless closer and minor league shortstop. I feel, since I am unbiased about the situation, that the Braves got screwed on this deal. Rochy is worth the entire Pirate’s Major League team and AA team only, not to mention some of their all-time greats, even if they are old as hell. They should have held out for more, but then again, they did break their 14 consecutive Division Championship streak last year, which proves they are run by a bunch of monkeys (so imagine that Careerbuilder commercial except the monkeys are wearing baseball caps and you’ve got the Braves).

• I always thought that Justin Timberlake was a shmuck until I saw this:

WORDS TO LIVE BY

I'm in Charleston this week, expensing lobster bisque and filet mignon dinners, so my posting is down to a minimum this week. I will leave you with these words of wisdom, and when I return, I'll have a new DSOT for everyone. Until then; the wisdom of Tracy Morgan.

Clemson Baseball: Where we’ve been… Where we’re headed…

When I hear the word “baseball” come to mind, I’m reminded of smells, tastes, sounds, and good memories. Smells like sweat and dry, freshly raked dirt. Tastes like sunflower seeds and Gatorade on a hot afternoon. Sounds like the distinct “ping” of a metal baseball bat coming in contact with a baseball. Memories like watching Matt LeCroy, Kris Benson (pre-crazy wife era), and Dexter McLeon win the ACC Tournament at the old Greenville Braves stadium after having played a baseball game of my own just a few miles down the road in Mauldin. Some of those great memories come from my own experiences of playing the game in my back yard with my brother and dad, some of those memories come from my own experience as a little leaguer, but the best memories come from days spent at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Obviously, the game of baseball has been around longer than any of us have, but it’s something that is important to us Americans as our basic everyday freedoms in life. It represents the every day pleasures in life that Americans have the privilege of partaking in.

Successful baseball programs have usually had a history of success that they build upon to continually win championships. Prime examples are the New York Yankees, the Atlanta Braves, and the Chicago White Sox. Clemson has seen it’s history built upon success since 1958, the year the Tigers won their first ACC Regular Season Championship. It was also the first year that they played in their first College World Series.

The Clemson baseball program is fortunate enough to have seen two great coaches in Bill Wilhelm and his protégé, Jack Leggett, build the Clemson legacy. Wilhelm coached for 36 years and built a dynasty by leading the Tigers to sixteen Regular Season ACC Championships, seven ACC Tournament Championships, and five College World Series appearances. Coach Wilhelm practically built a respected college baseball dynasty from the ground up.

Jack Leggett: Triple G... Triple OG

In 1994, Coach Wilhelm passed the reins on to assistant coach Jack Leggett. Coach Leggett had been the recruiting coordinator and assistant coach during the 1992 and 1993 seasons. Leggett has continued to build upon the Clemson baseball dynasty by tacking on three ACC Regular Season Championships, two ACC Tournament Championships, and five more College World Series appearances during his twelve year tenure. Coach Leggett even achieved all three feats last year. Leggett’s crown jewel is leading the Tigers to the semifinals of the CWS, just barely being edged out by rival South Carolina (who went on to get shellacked by Texas… sorry, I just had to add that in there). If not that, in April of 1994 and 2006, Clemson ascended to the #1 ranking in the nation according to Collegiate Baseball. The rankings were just the second and third #1 rankings in Tiger baseball history. Seven times in 1994, Clemson defeated a team ranked in the top three in the nation under the helm of Jack Leggett. He also led Clemson to the number one spot in many baseball ranking polls last season, and achievement which they held for a few weeks.

Will the Tigers be celebrating another trip to the CWS come June? I think so.

The Tigers have already been ranked #2 and #3 in the Collegiate Baseball and the Baseball America preseason polls, respectively. Clemson looks to be one of the stronger teams in terms of returning starters. “We must replace some of the good players from last year’s team, but the nucleus is back,” said Leggett. “We have a strong group of infielders returning, as all four starting infielders from last year’s team are back. I don’t think that has ever happened since I’ve been coaching.” The Tigers must concentrate on replacing Catcher Adrian Casanova and outfielders Tyler Colvin and Travis Storrer.

This past off season, Leggett signed fourteen highly touted recruits to build to the Clemson baseball dynasty. I think that I can say for sure that if Jack Leggett hangs around, my kids will be able to see Clemson turn into an unstoppable baseball program. That is... if we can actually WIN a World Series... but I feel pretty confident that this year is special. Of all the teams in the ACC, we are by far the strongest.

DANNY FORD IS GOOD

An anonymous commenter had this to say about our namesake Danny Lee Ford and I thought I would post it and get y'all's opinion on it. Does Danny deserve a shot at the CFB HoF?

Chili,

Danny Ford is a coach worthy of hall of fame consideration given his overall won-loss record of 76% at Clemson including his impressive record of winning well over 60% of his games against either hall of fame coaches or hall of fame coaching candidates. His winning a national title in 1981 puts him in an elite class of coaches which makes him worthy of at least consideration to the hall of fame. Many Clemson alumni feel this way; however, it is important we get out the message across the country.