(Welcome to the A-to-Z Blog. I'll be commenting mostly on Auburn athletics, but will touch on sports of all kinds from time-to-time. If you would like to post a comment to one of my posts or write a comment on a subject of your choosing, just e-mail it to: receagle@charter.net)
March 29, 2008
ANYONE MISSING DAVID MARSH THESE DAYS?
When former Auburn swimming coach David Marsh resigned a year ago, he bowed out after leading the Tiger men and women teams to national championships.
In 2007, the Auburn men's team notched its fifth straight national title and seven since 1997. The women won their second straight national crown in 2007.
There were no national championships for the men or women this year under new coach Richard Quick -- something we predicted a year ago.
Marsh wanted to remain at Auburn until his retirement, but too many promises were broken by athletics director Jay Jacobs. To keep Auburn as the nation's premier swimming and diving school, Marsh realized the it needed an outdoor facility.
Jacobs promised it, but it never materialized. The relationship between the two soured, and Marsh reluctantly left for a job in North Carolina to train future Olympic swimmers.
Many apologists for Jacobs initially disputed this version, saying Marsh was simply moving on to a better job. As months went by, however, it became clear that Jacobs let the best -- let me repeat -- the best -- coach at Auburn get away.
What Marsh did for Auburn swimming during his 20 years -- without any facilities -- was amazing.
Eddie Reese is considered the father of the Auburn swimming program, but he left for Texas after the Auburn University powers-that-be refused to build a facility. Richard Quick followed Reese and was an outstanding coach, but left for Texas and then to Stanford for the same reason -- no commitment for a facility.
Marsh was hired and stuck it out until the James E. Martin Aquatics Facility was built. Marsh finally had something to recruit to, and the program soared to the top.
But Marsh realized Auburn couldn't stand still if it wanted to remain at the top. He pleaded his case with Jacobs and others, heard their hollow promises and finally threw in the towel.
Quick, at 65, was brought out of retirement to take over the program.
While Quick was a truly outstanding coach in his prime, we predicted at the time of his hiring that there would be decline in Auburn's program. And we have seen it this year.
At Quick's age, we simply don't think he has the energy to sustain the program or the ability to relate to prospective young recruits from all over the world the way Marsh did.
Nov. 3, 2007
DON'T BE SURPRISED IF TUBS TAKES $$ AND RUNS
There's been a lot of buzz recently in print and on talk radio shows about various major college football programs being interested in hiring Tommy Tuberville away from Auburn.
Texas A&M is said to be poised to offer Tuberville $4 million a year -- Nick Saban money -- if he'll come to College Station after they pay off the failed Dennis Franchione.
Tuberville has also been speculated as a replacement for Houston Nutt at Arkansas or Bill Callahan at Nebraska. The latest rumor even has Tuberville taking over for Les Miles if Lloyd Carr retires or is fired by Michigan.
So, would Tuberville leave Auburn after nine seasons? If the money was right and the situation was right, we believe he would.
Others say he and his family are happy in Auburn, that they've just moved into a new 9,000 square-foot house, their young children are settled in school, etc.
But Tuberville unquestionably has a long memory that extends back to November 2003 when then-President William Walker, athletics director David Housel and a group of trustees tried to do him in.
Although Tuberville survived the attempt to stab him in the back, just remember that the would-be perpetrators -- with the exception of Walker (dead) and Housel (retired) -- are still around and are still in power on the Auburn University Board of Trustees.
Two of those trustees -- Earlon McWhorter and Byron Franklin -- were on trustee Bobby Lowder's jet that flew -- with Housel -- to a suburban Louisville, Ky., airport in November 2003.
There, they offered Tuberville's job to Louisville Coach Bobby Petrino, while Tuberville and his staff were preparing for the Alabama game.
The story goes that at the half-time of the 2003 Auburn-Alabama game, a TV in the trustees' suite at Jordan-Hare Stadium was tuned to a Louisville game, and McWhorter was overheard to comment, "There's my coach."
Of course, after Auburn beat Alabama, word leaked out to the news media about the secret trip and the courting of Petrino, who at first denied the meeting or the offer. He later fessed up, declined Auburn's offer and got a big raise at Louisville.
In the wake of the uproar from fans and alumni, of course, the power at Auburn abruptly shifted away from Lowder and his cronies and to Tuberville and his supporters. Tuberville got a new contract and a raise, while Walker was forced to resign and Housel was forced to retire.
Since then, Lowder and his inner circle have been biding their time, waiting for a chance to run Tuberville off. It's no secret that Lowder hates Tuberville because Tuberville was able to turn the tables on him four years ago.
Who does Lowder want as Auburn's football coach? Anyone but Tuberville.
That may be why Tuberville could be tiring of the situation in Auburn and be seeking greener grass and a friendlier environment.
One other thing to look for here. What role will the new president, Jay Gouge, play if Tuberville seeks a pay raise and/or a contract extension at the end of the season.
Will Gouge be his own man and manage the situation independently or will he -- like presidents before him (with the exception of the fired William Muse) bend to the will of the trustees.
Some within the Lowder crowd are already setting up a confrontation, saying Tuberville doesn't deserve a raise because of the early losses to South Florida and Mississippi State -- overlooking the road wins over Florida and Arkansas and the near miss against LSU.
If this becomes a bone of contention, Tuberville might, indeed, take a look around. And there are some schools out there that will be willing to pay a pretty penny for him and his staff.
July 22, 2007
AARON TRUE HOME RUN KING NO MATTER WHAT JUICED BOND DOES
For nearly three seasons after he hit his 715th home run on April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron kept adding to the career record that is now under assault by Barry Bonds, 43. He would hit 40 more, the last one with a distinct lack of drama 31 years ago this month before 10,134 fans at County Stadium in Milwaukee.
Hank Aaron in his final career at-bat with the Brewers. He hit his 755th and last home run on July 20, 1976.
It is almost baffling, with more than two months to play in that forgettable Brewers season, that Aaron would hit No. 755 on July 20, then hit no more. But he was 42. His knees were hurting in a season in which he would appear in only 85 games, hit 10 home runs and bat a career-low .229.
"To me he never let up, but he didn't have much left," says Merle Harmon of Arlington, Texas, who called Brewers games. "But if a pitcher made a mistake -- bingo!"
Bonds's father, Bobby, was playing right field for the California Angels and could have easily pivoted right to see Aaron's last home run -- a line drive that left no doubt of its destination -- land about 10 rows into the seats down the left-field line at County Stadium.
Aaron returned to Milwaukee, where he started his Braves career, after the 1974 season. It was his twilight dance, a reminder of earlier glory when Milwaukee was baseball's new western haven; where Aaron played with Eddie Mathews, Lew Burdette and Joe Adcock and hit three home runs and batted .393 in the Braves' victory over the Yankees in the 1957 World Series.
"I saw him hit his first and last home run," Selig said, recalling seeing Aaron smack a ball so hard it nearly struck pitcher Sam Jones in the head, yet landed in Perini's Woods, a grove of trees beyond the center-field fence at County Stadium.
"The ball would jump off his bat like a howitzer," Selig said.
The Brewers of 1976 were 35-49 going into the game on July 20, a far cry from the Braves that the city fell in love with in the 1950s. "For a team with little credibility, Hank was 80 percent of it," said Jim Colborn, who had a 9-15 record as a starter for Milwaukee that year and is now the Pirates' pitching coach.
On the day of his last home run, Aaron, the designated hitter, had done little. In the first inning, he flied out to left, in the third he popped to second base, and in the fifth he struck out against reliever Dick Drago.
"It's always a challenge to face great players who had done so much in their careers," Drago said. "Hank had been in the National League all his career; I don't think I'd ever faced him in spring training."
In the seventh, with Tim Johnson on third, George Scott hit a home run to put Milwaukee ahead, 4-1. Aaron was up next, and on a hanging curveball, he ripped it to left field, exhibiting his classic swing and follow through.
All these years, Aaron's 715th has served as the historic touchstone, the homer that broke Babe Ruth's record; it is the one that is frequently replayed (now as part of a State Farm Insurance campaign), not the 755th.
"I made a mistake and he didn't miss many of them," said Drago. But Drago said he did not recall a midseason home run 31 years ago in a game between two lousy teams. "It was July," he said. "It wasn't an important game. It wasn't the end of the season. There weren't issues that would make me remember. And you didn't think he wouldn't hit another."
But Colborn said that his wife, Jennifer, made a peculiar prediction about the 755th home run. "We went out to dinner," he said, "and she told me: 'You know what? That could be the last home run he ever hits, and it could be a world record. We could have seen history.' I thought it was a joke at the time, and I probably got mad at her and it caused an argument." -- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 24, 2007
WHY ARE HOOVER NAMES BEING CONCEALED?
Looks like the fox may be guarding the hen house in the Hoover High School investigation of allegation of academic fraud involving athletics.
Hoover City Schools superintendent Andy Craig says retired federal Judge Sam Pointer Jr., an Alabama graduate and Crimson Tide booster, will investigate charges of academic impropriety involving athletes at the school.
Hoover Athletics Director Jerry Browning resigned last Monday to take a job at a smaller school, citing philosophical differences with the school's administration and family reasons.
The Birmingham News reported the same day on an allegation that a football player's grade was changed without his teacher's consent, and that another teacher felt pressure from some administrators to provide another player with a certain grade.
Liz Wallace, an officer of the Hoover Parent Teacher Council, said allegations that a football player's grade was changed from an 89 to a 90 have prompted some parents to ask whether other grades should be examined.
The interesting fact surrounding Hoover is that no student-athlete names have been revealed. That's in sharp contrast to the way the Mobile County School System handle similar charges involving two student-athletes who have signed football scholarships with Auburn.
The superintendent in Mobile spoke freely to the Press-Register about the two students whose grades he said were changed -- Nick Fairley of Williamson High School, and Ryan Williams of B.C. Rain High School. In fact, the superintendent went as far to say that Fairley wouldn't qualify academically even before the NCAA Clearinghouse had a chance to rule.
In the Hoover case, of course, we've heard no names mentioned, but Alabama signed three players from that high school in its class of 2007 -- Josh Chapman, Patrick Crump and Kerry Murphy.
We don't pretend to know the academic status of any of those players, but we do know that when Murphy was being recruited, it was generally assumed by most colleges that were recruiting him that he would not qualify to play as a freshman. In other words, he would have to start his career either at a prep school or in junior college.
For Murphy to be qualified as a freshman would be pretty surprising, but, of course, Alabama has pulled this off before (see L'Ron McClain, Harold James, et al).
Another thing of interest about Hoover High School is that when new Alabama Coach Nick Saban made a trip to the school on a recruiting visit, he was greeted as a conquering hero.
There was a pep rally with the school band in the gym, all orchestrated by the school's principal -- who just happens to be an Alabama grad and big-time Bama fan. It's well known that the principal and Hoover football coach steer that school's football players to Alabama and away from Auburn.
It'll be real interesting to see how this case turn out -- and if Murphy turns up on the Alabama campus in August.
May 16, 2007
HARD TO BELIEVE SLATER WILL RETURN IN 2008
The Auburn baseball team heads into this weekend's series against Kentucky with a 30-23 record, but a dismal 8-19 record in SEC play. For the fifth straight year, the Tigers will miss the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.
Despite that, Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs last week gave third-year coach Tom Slater a resounding vote of confidence.
Here's how Mike McClendon, a poster on the au-sports forum describes the Auburn baseball situation:
"I think Slater is between a serious rock and a serious hard place. Jacobs is going to stick with him after this year's disaster, but it won't be without a price. Slater knows that he has to produce next year. It won't be good enough to be a middle of the pack SEC team and just make the tournament in Birmingham. He has to do better than that. The days of simply showing progress are over for Slater. He has to show results.
"If you look at this year's baseball team, it is really a lot worse than the win/loss record. Here are a few numbers to consider:
Team Batting - 10th Team Pitching - 9th Team fielding - 12th Batting Average - 11th Slugging Pct. - 12th On Base Pct. - 10th Runs Scored - 10th Hits - 11th RBI's - 11th Home Runs - 12th (us not them) Strikeouts - 2nd (us not them) Batters struck Out - 10th (them not us) Batters struck out Looking (called 3rd strikes) - 11th Runs allowed - 10th Earned Runs Allowed - 9th Walks - 11th Home Runs Allowed - 10th Wild Pitches Thrown - 1st Hit Batters - 1st (we hit them) Fielding Pct - 12th Errors Made - 2nd
"If you look at these stats, it is easy to see why we are dead last in the conference by a wide margin. Basically there isn't anything we do well. You can argue that the talent has improved, but at the same time it is not showing up on the field. Youth alone won't explain these types of numbers, and the whole "being drafted" argument doesn't work either. Everyone has players drafted. Still they can figure out how to hit the ball, catch it and pitch.
"If you look at these stats it is easy to see that there is something fundamentally wrong, and you have to ask yourself whether this can be turned around in another year by a staff that has obviously failed at the most basic fundamentals of baseball.
"Having a plan is a great thing. Implementing the plan is a lot more difficult. What is happening now is that the implementation is just awful.
"My take on this is that Slater heads into next year in a no-win situation. I do think the team will be improved next year. I don't know if you can make enough of an improvement based on where we are today to make a substantial difference. So Slater goes into 2008 with a very small chance for success and a very large possibility that it is his last year regardless. So you have to ask yourself a very difficult question as to whether the program will be better off in this environment. Personally I don't think so, but we'll see.
"I do think we are going to find out a lot about Jacobs in this situation. Is Jacobs committed to excellence in the program or is he willing to accept mediocrity? That is the big issue here. Right now it appears he's on the mediocrity bandwagon."
March 25, 2007
HOW LONG CAN SLATER HANG ON?
The drum beats for Auburn baseball coach Tommy Slater's head are getting louder at this weekend's sweep at home by a pedestrian Florida team. For those counting, that makes 15 straight SEC losses under Slater.
Unless Slater makes a dramatic turnaround -- and who has reason to believe that will happen? -- it looks like he'll get his walking papers at season's end.
As we wrote earlier, Auburn University President Ed Richardson made a terrible decision when he ignored Hal Baird's advice to give Steve Renfroe one more year to see if he could right the ship.
What Richardson did was to scare off legitimate candidates for the Auburn job, the school wound up having to settle for Slater.
And the Auburn baseball program, once a premier program in the SEC, is now the equivalent of the Vanderbilt football program.
March 18, 2007
GEORGIA SWEEP DAMPENS GOOD FEELINGS
Just when we started to feel good about Auburn baseball coach Tommy Slater, he takes his team to Athens and promptly gets swept by the Bulldogs in the first weekend of SEC action.
What happened in the preseason was nice and all, but what counts is the SEC season.
Now we have another terrible start by Slater's charges. Let's hope this isn't a pre-cursor to another season in which Auburn doesn't make the SEC Tournament.
If that happens, Slater won't be around for the 2008 season.
March 17, 2007
AUBURN SWIMMING & DIVING GET LITTLE RECOGNITION
The Auburn men's swimming and diving team on Saturday won its fifth consecutive NCAA championship and seventh overall. A week earlier, the women won their second straight national championship and fifth in the past six years.
Ever wonder why the sports pages of The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times, Montgomery Advertiser and the Press-Register don't give more than inside coverage to that? And why the TV sports people don't seem to give a rat's ass outside of the Auburn coverage area?
Mobile and Huntsville ran the press release issued by the Auburn sports information office. Credit The Birmingham News for at least having a stringer cover the event.
But can you imagine what would happen if Alabama won a national championship in swimming and diving? Remember when the Crimson Tide won a single national title in gynmastics? It was plastered all over the place. We couldn't get enough stories about Tide coach Sarah Patterson.
What David Marsh has done with this program over the past nearly 20 years -- without facilities in the beginning -- is unbelievable.
Certainly, Eddie Reese would have to be considered the father of the Auburn swim program, but he bolted for Texas because the Auburn powers-that-be wouldn't build a facility. Richard Quick followed him and an outstanding coach also, but left for Texas, and then on to Stanford, for the same reason -- Auburn wouldn't build a facility.
Marsh stuck it out, and finally the James E. Martin Aquatics Center was built. Marsh had something to recruit to, and the program soared to the point that it's the nation's program today.
As for Marsh, he's coached his last meet. He's off to North Carolina and a new job training future Olympic swimmers.
Meanwhile, Quick, 64, will come out of retirement to take over for Marsh.
While Quick was truly an outstanding coach in his prime, we expect to see a dip in Auburn's program. At Quick's age, we don't think he'll be able to relate to young recruits as easily as Marsh did and he won't have the energy that Marsh had.
Feb. 9, 2007
LOOKS LIKE FINEBAUM HAS OFFICIALLY DECLARED SIDES
The headline on Birmingham radio talk show host Paul Finebaum's Web site reads: "LSU's time near with Saban at UA."
Although we don't listen to Finebaum's show, we decided to take a peek at his Web site after hearing about his recent obsession and downright lust over new Alabama Coach Nick Saban. (Is there enough to go around for Finebaum AND "Shane from Center Point"? Where does Mrs. St. Nick fit in?)
It seems now that Finebaum has switched to an Alabama-friendly radio station as his host station, he's started referring to Bama as "us" and "we." No surprise, there.
And we've heard he's declared now that Auburn is irrelevant to Alabama; LSU is all that matters to the mighty Crimson Tide. We suppose he's talking about the Western Division in the SEC.
We wonder what happened -- all of a sudden -- to that old Bama saw about Tennessee being their No. 1 rival?
After losing five in a row to Auburn, maybe it's time they (and Finebaum) turned their attention to another institution.
Meanwhile, we suspect, Auburn will go about winning football games just like it did while Saban was at LSU.
Remember that 0-3 record at Jordan-Hare, Nick? Yeah, we thought you did.
Dec. 27, 2006
WOULD AUBURN BE AFRAID OF SABAN AT ALABAMA?
Despite his many denials, don't be surprised if Nick Saban is introduced as Alabama's new head football coach as soon as the Miami Dolphins are done this weekend.
Even though he would take a pay cut to drop back to the college ranks, money may not be an issue with the former LSU coach. Many in the NFL say Saban is really not happy with the pro game.
So, if Saban takes the job, what would it mean for Alabama? And what would it mean for cross-state rival Auburn, which has been dominating the scandal-ridden Crimson Tide program the past five years?
For Alabama, it would give the Tide program instant credibility -- a coach that has won a national championship in the past three years and revived a sagging LSU program.
Alabama has the facilities and the fan base, and Saban would most certainly make the Tide consistently competitive again in the SEC.
The Alabama program right now reminds of us where the LSU program was in the late 1980s and early 90s when it had a streak of losing seasons and a series of loser coaches. Gerry DiNardo stabilized LSU's program, but he was fired because he didn't get them an SEC title.
For Auburn? A Saban hiring in Tuscaloosa would certainly accelerate the rivalry with the Tide having a legitimate and proven head coach again. But beyond that, it wouldn't mean that much. After all, during the five years Saban was at LSU, Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville's teams posted a 3-2 record against him.
There's one other point to make.
When Saban was at LSU, he had zero recruiting worries -- thanks to the man who he followed. One thing DiNardo did during his tenure on the Bayou was to seal the borders of Louisiana to outside recruiters.
That meant then and now -- even with the dubious Les Miles in charge -- that LSU gets the pick of the litter of every top-drawer blue-chip prospect in Louisiana.
With no competition (Tulane? Give me a break!), LSU cleans up in-state, and then cherry-picks a few prospects out of Texas, Mississippi, the Mobile area and the Florida Panhandle.
Auburn and Alabama have signed some prospect out of Louisiana, but none of them received offers from LSU. The only player in recent memory that Auburn signed from Louisiana that LSU really wanted was in 1997 when Terry Bowden signed defensive lineman Thomas Pittman of Reserve, La.
Pittman, a first-team USA Today All-America, never played a down for Auburn, however. He signed a professional baseball contract instead. He did later get on the football field with Auburn, though. He signed a football scholarship with Florida a couple of years later and played in the 2000 game against Auburn at Gainesville. The Gators won 38-7.
Meanwhile, picture Saban at Alabama. In his first recruiting year, he would get a gold-rush of blue-chippers attracted by a new coach and the start of a new system, etc.
However, when things settle down, Saban would not be able to rely on the ready-made recruiting base he had in Louisiana. He would be competing with Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee for recruits.
And the name Alabama has long since lost the magic it once commanded 30 years ago under the late Bear Bryant.
None of this is to suggest that Saban would not succeed at Alabama. To the contrary, he would. He just would not be the second-coming of the Bear as most Alabama fans view him.
Nov. 19, 2006
ALABAMA'S PROGRAM HAS TURNED CLASSLESS
The University of Alabama fandom used to taunt Auburn people with their so-called "tradition" and "class."
Of course, the Crimson Tide's tradition was lost the day Bear Bryant retired. Since then, Auburn has dominated the cross-state rival in football.
And the Tide showed its class after Auburn beat Alabama, 22-15, at Bryant-Denny Stadium -- the Tigers' fifth win in a row over the Tide. Auburn also remains a perfect 6-0 in Tuscaloosa.
As QB Brandon Cox was taking the traditional kneel-down in the closing seconds, Tide senior LB Terrence Jones flew across the line of scrimmage and took a cheap shot at Cox.
Then, as senior CB David Irons, who made the interception to end Alabama's hopes late in the fourth period, was clobbered in the head by a full water bottle launched by a Tide fan from the stands.
Irons, who had already taken off his helmet, was hit as the Auburn players filed toward their locker room tunnel. He was hit squarely in the face by the bottle.
"A full bottle of water coming at you full speed when you're not looking . . .," said Irons, who received treatment from Auburn trainers. "I didn't think I was going to get my eye back open."
An empty glass Jagermeister bottle narrowly missed one Auburn player.
And after the game, posters on Alabama's Internet boards were full of comments saying, in effect, they were happy that Irons was assaulted.
Tradition and class are no more at Alabama, among some players and fans.
But, with the lack of discipline in Alabama Coach Mike Shula's program, what can you expect?
John Frierson, a columnist for the Florence Times-Daily, wrote this about the bottle throwing incidents:
"I know folks in this state live and breathe football, this game above all others, but the behavior of some of Alabama's fans after what was another painful loss was frightening and disgraceful."
Sept. 25, 2006
WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH BLACKMON??
Since suspended LB Trey Blackmon's name wasn't mentioned by Coach Tommy Tuberville in his pre-South Carolina media briefing, one must assume that the redshirt freshman will sit out his fifth game in a row.
Obviously Tuberville knows more than the rest of us, but this kind of suspension begs the question: When is enough enough?
Blackmon's crime was not drunk driving, it wasn't being in possession of marijuna, it was not being in possession of a stolen pistol without a pistol permit (see Alabama senior LB Juwan Simpson on those matters).
Blackmon's crime, when you boil it down to the simplest element, was walking drunk.
However, the cardinal rule he broke was not immediately notifying Tuberville or someone on the coaching staff about what he'd done.
Tuberville didn't find out about it until a sportswriter for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer called him for comment on it about 10 days later.
We can see where Tuberville is justified by handing down some extra stiff punishment for Blackmon for failing to notify the staff.
But again we ask, when do you go overboard to the point of running the guy off?
The last time Tuberville commented on when Blackmon might return, he chuckled and said, "Christmas?" It's beginning to look like that -- but will Blackmon still be around for Christmas?
Aug. 27, 2006
REMOVAL OF BOWDEN IMAGE SHAMEFUL
We understand former Coach Terry Bowden's image has been removed from the mural on the east side of Jordan-Hare Stadium and replaced with a likeness of Coach Tommy Tuberville.
That's shameful and low-rent on the part of Auburn University an Athletic Department officials, in our opinion.
It's true, certainly, that Bowden left Auburn under unpleasant circumstances mid season in 1998 and that he later made unsubstantiated charges against the Tiger football program.
But removing his image from the mural can't wipe away what he meant to Auburn football at a desperate time when the program was down and out on probation in 1993-94.
All he did was take a team that went 5-6 in 1992 and go 11-0 in his first season in 1993. Who can ever forget the late Jim Fyffe cry of "Eleven-and-0, Eleven-and-O, Eleven-and-O" on Nov. 20, 1993, when Auburn beat Alabama 23-14 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Who can forget Patrick Nix's unbelievable pass and Frank Sanders' equally unbelievable touchdown catch in that game? And James Bostic bolting for a long TD run late that put the Tide away.
It was only the second Auburn team to win 11 games (Pat Dye went 11-1 in 1983), and it was the first time a first-year Division I-A coach had ever gone unbeaten in his first year. Bowden's team also snapped a three-game losing streak to Alabama. Among the biggest wins that season also were a big upset of No. 4 Florida.
Bowden nearly repeated the feat in 1994, winning the first nine games -- including an upset of No. 1-ranked and 17-point favorite Florida at Gainesville -- before Georgia tied the Tigers. The 20-game winning streak was finally broken by a controversial 21-14 Alabama win at Legion Field.
So, in his first two years on the Plains, Bowden compiled a 20-1-1 record. His final tally was 47-17-1.
Yes, he faltered in his later years, mainly because he lost focus on recruiting.
We don't mean to deify Bowden, but you can't just wipe away his years at Auburn by taking his face off the mural. Surely there was space for him and Tuberville.
What next? His records will be removed from the media guide?
July 30, 2006
THE BO-HERSCHEL ARGUMENT
Ever since they completed their illustrious collegiate careers in the 1980s, there's been a running argument over who was the best running back -- Auburn's Bo Jackson or Georgia's Herschel Walker.
The debate was renewed recently when SI.com placed Jackson No. 3 on its list of top 15 all-time great college athletes (of any sport) and left Walker off. Georgia fans were incensed.
Maybe they had a right to be, considering some of the picks included Atlanta Braves OF Brian Jordan and Notre Dame DL Bob Golic. But on the other hand, SI.com's criteria was that their selections had to have starred in two sports. Walker, to our knowledge, never starred in anything other than football.
But back to the Bo-Herschel comparision.
In his four-year career, Jacksonran for 4,303 yards and 43 TDs, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1985. Walker put up more yardage than Jackson in a career cut short by a jump to the USFL after his junior year.
But there's one point that always must be made -- Walker was an I-formation tailback his three years at Georgia, usually getting 30-plus carries per game.
At Auburn, meanwhile, Jackson was handicapped because he was sharing a backfield with two other runners in the wishbone offense. That meant he was getting only about 15 or so carries per game. It wasn't until Coach Pat Dye switched to the I-formation in 1985 that Jackson bloomed and showed what he could really do as a power back as an I-formation tailback.
Of course, Jackson "other sport" in college was baseball, where he hit .401, slugged 17 homers and had 43 RBI in his senior year. In college, he also ran track from 1983-84, qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60-yard dash.
Jackson was the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft in 1986, but opted to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals. He later signed a pro football contract with the Los Angeles Raiders, and became the only man to ever make the NFL's Pro Bowl and be named the MVP of the Major League All-Star Game.
Sadly, a freak hip injury in a Raiders' game ended his athletic career.
I've always wondered where Bo would have wound up in sports history if not for that injury, or if he had decided to stick with baseball. With his pure strength, speed and athleticism, Jackson could easily have been declared the best athlete of all-time had he not been knocked out of the games so soon.
July 16, 2006
JURY STILL OUT ON AUBURN ACADEMIC SITUATION
The long-awaited New York Times expose' on the Auburn football team was hustled onto the newspaper's Web site Thursday night after it learned that it might get scooped by university administrators.
The story was an interesting read, but how much news was there really in it?
The writer likely could have targeted any school in the SEC, save Vanderbilt, and come up with a similar story. It's not news that athletes seek out the easiest courses and the easiest professors -- and that goes for regular students also.
The New York Times settled its sights on Auburn University after a sociology professor, who was passed over for promotion to department chair, squealed to the newspaper about an irregular practice being used by the department chair.
We all know the story by now, so there's no use in repeating it.
There's little doubt that Professor Thomas Petee was wrong in what he was doing for athletes and non-athletes. And this will be fixed by Auburn's administration.
The question left to be answered is what role, if any, did the Auburn Athletic Department, play in this practice?
Who knew what and when? That's where the rubber meets the road in this case.
Auburn fans must hope that officials in the Athletic Department and their underlings' hands are clean, or it could get even more embarrassing.
Some are saying this is not an NCAA or SACS issue. On the surface, that appears to be so. The problem is, we don't know what else The Times might have.
May 28, 2006
BONDS SHOULD BE BANNED FROM BASEBALL
Barry Bonds hasn't yet been convicted in court of using steroids, but a perjury conviction may be in his future. However he has long been convicted by public opinion.
Outside of San Francisco, hardly anyone really took notice that he moved past Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list. Every baseball knowledgeable fan knows that the steroid-intoxicated Bonds would hardly have surpassed 500 dingers had it not been for the "juice."
He should have been kicked out of baseball long ago -- when the federal grand jury testimony was leaked showing his trainer testified he administered steroids to Bonds.
My greatest fear is that he'll hang around long enough to somehow pass my personal baseball hero, Henry Aaron, the greatest baseball player in history, in my view.
Aaron played his entire career at around 180 pounds -- about the same weight that Bonds was before Bonds became addicted to steroids and muscled up to 235 pounds.
And it was all because Bonds couldn't stand the fact that a white man -- Mark McGuire of the St. Louis Cardinals -- set the new single-season record for home runs in 1998.
That was the year Bonds started using, and the comparison photos from then and now prove it.
No matter what Bonds does in the future, he'll always have a shadow over him and he should have an asterisk beside every record he has in baseball. Hopefully, the Baseball Writers Association of American will have the good sense to never consider him for the Hall of Fame.
May 20, 2006
SLATER LIKELY HAS ANOTHER YEAR
The Auburn baseball team lost its last 10 SEC games to finish with the conference's worst record and worst overall record in 2006 -- 22-34.
It was Auburn's first losing season since 1983 and only its second since 1955.
The Tigers haven't had an overall losing record since 1983 when Paul Nix's club went 16-34. Nix went 27-24 in 1984, but it wasn't enough to save his job.
In the 73 years that Auburn has been playing baseball, it has only had six losing seasons.
Now coach Tommy Slater has joined that not-so-elite company of being of among losing Auburn baseball coaches. In addition to Nix's one season, Dick McGowen did it twice (1953, 1955). Then, there were Johnny Williamson (1949), Del Morgan (1938) and Hershel Bobo (1934).
For the third straight year, Auburn will not play in the SEC Tournament, much less the NCAA Tournament. One of those three years belongs to fired coach Steve Renfroe. The past two belong to Slater.
Those are ugly numbers that will not please interim Auburn University President Ed Richardson. Slater is not likely to get the axe this year. But unless there's a dramatic -- and I mean really dramatic -- turnaround in 2007, Slater will be picking a pink slip.
I read one report that said Slater told Richardson when he took the job that 2006 would be a tough year.
What a bunch of hogwash!
College baseball is a lot like college basketball. Unlike football, it doesn't take a lot of players over several recruiting seasons to turn your program around and sustain it. You recruit well, you coach well and you play well.
What has been proven is that Slater is out of his league.
Richardson probably doesn't have the grapes to fire him this year because he doesn't want to admit he made a mistake. But he did.
May 8, 2006
AUBURN BASEBALL TO MISS SEC TOURNEY AGAIN
How many years has it been since Auburn has played in the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover?
Well, with the Tigers being swept at home over the weekend by formerly last-place LSU, Auburn definitely won't be making an appearance this year.
Auburn didn't get there in the last year of coach Steve Renfroe's tenure and it hasn't gotten close during coach Tommy Slater's first two seasons.
Don't look for a backdoor NCAA Tournament bid this year either.
Auburn has gone from being one of the nation's premier college baseball programs to one of its dregs.
Who is to blame? We'll let you sort that out.
May 2, 2006
MCCLOVER SHOULD HAVE STAYED ANOTHER YEAR
NFL Draft 2006 has come and gone, and this year's disappointed Auburn player who may be wishing he'd stay around to boost his stock for next year is DE Stanley McClover.
But after his monster game against Alabama and the accolades that followed, all McClover could see were the glitter, the real diamond earrings, the Escalades and a pocket full of cash in his future.
Oh, McClover got drafted, but in the 7th round -- not the third he was expecting.
And he got picked by a team -- the Carolina Panthers -- that's already loaded at that position. McClover might have been better off to have gone undrafted so that he could have picked a team that needed defensive ends and signed a free agent contract.
The bottom line, though, is that McClover needed another year at Auburn. His lack of experience really knocked him down in the draft.
Getting drafted by the Panthers likely means he will have a short stay in the NFL. By passing up his senior year, he probably cost himself a several million dollars. McClover could wind up in the NFL Europe next season and possibly work his way back to the NFL or be cut by Carolina and catch on with a team that needs defensive ends.
As far as other Auburn players, FB Jake Slaughter signed a free agent deal with Kansas City, where he could be mentored by one of the league's top fullbacks -- former Auburn FB Tony Richardson. LB Travis Williams and NG T.J. Jackson signed free agent deals with the Atlanta Falcons, while WR Anthony Mix signed with the New York Giants.
These free agents could have a better chance of sticking with a team than those who were actually drafted in the 7th round.
April 23, 2006
AUBURN FALLING BEHIND IN ARMS RACE?
With Alabama completing a stadium expansion that will bring Bryant-Denny's capacity to about 92,000, Jordan-Hare Stadium is now behind Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia and LSU in stadium capacity.
Does that mean Athletic Director Jay Jacobs should be scrambling to adds seats? Not at all. Until Tiger fans can consistently fill Jordan-Hare Stadium for EVERY game, not just the big SEC games, there's no reason to add more seats.
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum is a good example. When it was built with an original capacity of nearly 12,500, Auburn fans felt cheated because Alabama's new coliseum (built at the same time) seated 15,000.
But except during the Tigers' SEC championship run and No. 1 NCAA seeding under former coach Cliff Ellis, Auburn has never filled BEMC. Even that year, fans show up only for the SEC games.
Now that discussions are underway for a new basketball arena, plans are for a facility that would seat about 9,000 or maybe less.
The idea is to create demand for tickets.
And so it is with Jordan-Hare. Until there's a real demand for more season tickets and until more than 75,000 people start showing up for the non-conference game, why add seats that go unfilled?
Nebraska is an example of a program that Auburn should hope to copy. Cornhusker games are sold out for every game, whether it's Oklahoma or Troy.
April 17, 2006
CAN SLATER HACK IT AT AUBURN?
Even though the Auburn baseball team has won two weekend series in a row, it's a stretch to believe coach Tommy Slater can even get the Tigers in the SEC Tournament, much less the NCAA playoffs.
In his third year, Slater has yet to get Auburn into the SEC Tournament. That's a shame for a team that once was a powerhouse in college baseball, and one that has arguably the best facility in the country.
Despite what appears to have been good recruiting by Slater, he hasn't been able to convert that talent to wins on the field. Then, there's the issue of players leaving the team. A pitcher, for example, that Slater ran off, Mike Felix, transferred to Troy and has become a star for the Trojans.
Did Ed "The Axeman" Richardson make a mistake in hiring Slater? Yes, but let's go back a little further.
When highly successful and longtime Auburn baseball coach Hal Baird, the job was handed to his veteran assistant Steve Renfroe by then-Athletic Director David Housel.
That was a huge mistake. We assume that Baird pushed for Renfroe and Housel and the Powers-That-Be, i.e. Bobby Lowder, went along. What should have happened at that juncture was a nationwide search for a successful head coach.
Renfroe, for whatever reason faltered badly (though not as poorly as Slater). When Richardson came in swinging the axe, he aimed for Renfroe. Baird stepped in -- not to save his friend -- but to try and save the baseball program.
Baird pleaded with Richardson to give Renfroe one more year to right the ship and then fire him if things had not turned around. Richardson ignored the advice of the man who knew best. As a result, when Richardson went looking for a baseball coach, the top head coaches around the country weren't interested in working for a man with the temperament of Richardson. And they didn't want to get tangled up with an athletic department overseen by a trustee.
And that's why Richardson, after being repeatedly turned down by top coaches all over the country, settled for a guy who couldn't hack it at VMI and was the third-base coach at Florida.
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