Second Verse Same As The First

It was just another day at the office for the Rebels who lost their fourth straight game to an SEC foe losing to Florida 69-58. The Gators were pretty much in the lead for the entire game. Taurean Green led the Gators with 17 points while Clarence Sanders put up 16 for the Rebels. I was very glad to see Trey Hampton put up 11 points for the Rebels who fell to 13-7 and 3-4 in the SEC.

For the past several games the Rebels can just not find a way to win games. This game it was guys like Bam Doyne, Todd Abernathy, and Dwayne Curtis who did not really contribute. Todd Abernathey, as the captain of this team, has got to step up. He has not really contributed since the State game. I have got to say I was extremely disappointed with the play of Bam Doyne tonight, he was basically inexistent. As I stated earlier in the season, if this team could just gel as one we could win games like this, but there are not 5 people on the team who seem to show up ready to play each game.

Turnovers are beginning to kill this team. Either we are dribbling off our feet, throwing it to no one in our inexistent offense, or just plain throwing it to the other team, we are killing ourselves. You are never going to win a game when we turn the ball over like we have the past three games.

The zone continues to kill this team. Billy The Kid was the first coach to go to a zone very early in the game. Our zone offense consists of our point guards dribbling to one side and then to the other. I am not the best offensive mind around, but I know that something has got to change with our zone offense, or we will not win another game.

Personally, the highlight of my night was yelling at former MSU Coach Richard Williams who was sitting on press row, several members of the student body reminded Williams of his days at MSU. Those of you know what I am talking about concerning Williams and his off the court actions. If the coach of the in-state rival school shows up at a game and does not expect to get yelled at, he is nuts.

The disappointment of my night was the alumni crowd at the game. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY PATHETIC. I understand we just played on Saturday and have lost three straight, but come on give me a break. This was a national t.v. game against a top ten team in the nation. I do not know what the attendance was, but it was bad. I place 100% of the blame on alumni within a drive of this game. The students were there in full force the student tickets had been sold our for days. The student body was pumped for this game, and I many that I talked to were very let down by the crowd.

It is crunch time for Coach Barnes and his staff. We are almost halfway into the SEC season. The Rebs started the season red hot and won three in a row. Since then, we have gone ice cold. Going on the road to Tennessee on Saturday is not going to be easy. If the Rebels can play like they did earlier in the season it could be a good game. Gametime from Thompson Boling will be 3:00 and will be broadcast on Jefferson Pilot Sports.

Party Headquarters

I have done some research on this and Worldclassglass is going to become your official site for info on Ole Miss Signing Day Parties. I have information on several parties that are going to happen throughout the South, if anyone knows of more please let me know and I will post them.

OXFORD
QB CLUB PARTY- The official signing day party will be in the SouthEndZone and will kick off around 9:00, they have promised this year will be better than last years, with visit from several different athletic coaches as well as Chuck and Yancy updating the recruiting board.

NEW SPORTS BAR- The Library in conjunction with Rebel Rags will be hosting a party at the new sports bar from 3:00-7:00. There will actually be no cover(imagine that at The Library). Rebel Rags will be giving away various items as well as courtside seats to basketball games for Ole Miss and the Grizzlies.

APPLEBEE'S- The guys from the Grove Report will be hosting their show from the Jackson Ave. location from 6:00-8:00

JACKSON
BUFFALO WILD WINGS - Their will be an unofficial party at Buffalo's beginning at 4:00, instructions are to wear red and blue. Sortof surprised not much more going on in Jackson besides this.

MEMPHIS
Brookhaven Pub- The Rebel Club of Memphis will be hosting a party at the Brookhaven Pub and it will last from 3:00-7:00.

MIDDLE TN
Bleachers Sports Bar- Nashville area Rebels will be gathering at the Bleachers, Franklin location, the gathering is from 4:30-6:00.

JACKSON,TN
Moes- The Jackson club will be gathering at Moes beginning at 5:00

MERIDIAN
Midtown Grille- Lauderdale County Rebels will be getting together at the Midtowne Grille at 5:30.

WINTER PARK, FL
O'Beys's BBQ-Central Florida Rebels will be hosting a function at O'Bey's BBQ around 4:00, pretty impressive a club in Florida is even having a party.

ATOKA,TN
Sparky's- Wherever in Tennessee this is, Rebels will be gathering on Wednesday at 7:00.

I know Gulfport is having a gathering also, but I can not seem to find the info, on it.

Hopefully you will be able to find a party somewhere near your town to celebrate with other Rebels.

Just Got Beat

The LSU Basketball game into Tad Smith Coliseum and defeated the Rebels 79-73 this Saturday. It was a very good game that saw both teams lead by more than ten points at some point during the game. Ole Miss was led by Bam Doyne who scored 11 of his 20 points in the first half. The Tigers were led by red hot freshman Tasmin Mitchell who put up a career high 20 points. The Big Man, Glen Davis contributed 19 points for the Tigers.

The Rebels matched up well against the Tigers who moved to 6-0 in the SEC and 14-5 on the season. On the other hand the Rebels have lost three in a row to move to 3-3 in the SEC and 13-6 on the year.

Ole Miss played very good Saturday but LSU was just too good for the Rebels. It seemed like everytime LSU went down the floor they were making shots or pushing us around. When they fouled, the fouled hard. They are a good team who I think have a chance to go places if Brady does not ruin it for them. Glen Davis can play with any big man in the country.

Ole Miss was able to manage a ten point lead before watching the Tigers go on a 24-5 run to take the lead. This is the second game in a row where the Rebels let a team go on a big run that basically decided the outcome of the game. Coach Barnes has got to do a better job of clock management. I am tired of us coming down to the stretch of the game and we have no time outs left. We take entirely too many time outs too close to each other. I probably would not be upset about the time out situation, if something actually came out of the time outs. We do not draw up plays in timeouts, and if we do they are poorly executed. John Brady drew up plays a couple of times in their timeouts that were very well executed by the Tigers. One of these came at a critical time in the game when it was tied. We have got to do better in this area.

Things do not get easier for the Rebels as the Florida Gators come to town on Tuesday. This game is going to be a nationally televised game on ESPN2. The Gators have been up and down as of recent. I hope the Rebels do not come out flat against Florida and embarrass themselves on national tv. Game time is seven oclock and it should be a big night at the Tad Pad.

Nichols Moving to Europe

Former Groza award winner and Ole Miss All-American Jonathan Nichols will be back on the football field. In an internet exclusive, Worldclassglass, was the first publish the news on the web. The staff at Worldclassglass was able to get a few minutes with Jonathan last night at a local Oxford establishment.

Nichols says he received a phone call from the Minnesota Vikings asking him to go play in NFL Europe for their organization. However, Nichols is not sure in what city he will be placed in Europe. He will be training before the season starts in late March. Hopefully Jonathan will perform well and opent he eyes of the Vikings organization while overseas. The staff at Worldclassglass will try and keep you posted as Jonathan makes his travels abroad.

Reed On The Move

Former Ole Miss player Justin Reed was traded last night to the Minnesota Timberwolves from the Boston Celtics. Reed a part of the Provine Possee while at Ole Miss has averaged less than five minutes a game for the Celtics. This year has been Reed's biggest year as far as production for the Celtics. With Justin's new team hopefully he will get a fresh start with the T-Wolves.

Reed is not the first Ole Miss player to play for the T-Wolves. The man for whom this blog is named Gerald Glass was drafted out of college by Minnesota in the first round. Glass played several years for the T-Wolves before being traded to the Celtics.

The Place We All Love

From the LSUReveille

The men’s basketball team travels this weekend to “a peculiar place to play,” as LSU coach John Brady calls C.M. “Tad” Smith Coliseum.The home of Ole Miss basketball, also known as the “Tad Pad,” has seen the Rebel men (13-5, 3-2) lose only one game this year to now- No. 3 Memphis on Dec. 17, 2005, by 23 points.“It’s a very weird place,” said senior guard Darrel Mitchell. “It’s small and dim; it’s like a mini dungeon. It’s real hard to go up there, so we just have to execute and fight toe to toe with them.”The Rebels play notoriously well in “Tad” Smith Coliseum. They have won 82 percent of their last 151 games and have a 355-173 career record there.Brady said he is confident in his team, citing their performances in stadiums such as Schottenstein Center, the 19,500-seat Ohio State basketball arena, and WVU Coliseum, where 14,000 Mountaineers fans watch West Virginia games.“Our guys have played in some pretty tough spots this year and done quite well,” Brady said. “Ole Miss is a smaller arena, but it’s extremely loud, and the Ole Miss team plays very, very well at home.”The Rebels lost their last two contests in road visits to Georgia on Jan. 21 and Arkansas on Jan 25. The Razorbacks held Ole Miss to 58 points, 11 points below their average. The Rebels shot only 40 percent from the field.Ole Miss sophomore Dwayne Curtis has shot 56.7 percent from the field in Southeastern Conference play and has averaged 16.4 points and nine rebounds per game.Brady said Curtis will probably guard sophomore forward Glen Davis and that they might look like “two whales flopping around” on the court. Curtis is 6 feet 8 inches tall and 290 pounds. Davis is 6 feet 9 inches tall and 310 pounds.“They play well; they know their limitations,” Brady said. “They’ve never been a high-scoring team, so it really comes down to a possession game. We’ve got to be ready to play against a tough-minded, man-to-man defensive team.”Mitchell said he is not concerned about playing at the “Tad Pad” because of the three ranked teams the Tigers played at the beginning the season.“Ole Miss isn’t going to be as tough as the other road places’ environments,” Mitchell said. “We started the season out on the road a lot, so we are especially prepared for the road games. We just have to execute, take care of the ball and cut down on turnovers, and I think we’ll be able to beat them.”The Tigers (13-5, 5-0) will go to Oxford, Miss., coming off a 29-point win against Georgia in the PMAC. The game is set for 2 p.m. Saturday.

THE THUG GAME

I was sitting at home last night listening to the Big Show with Nate and Drew and just after listening to my segment on the Rebel Report, which you can listen to weekly at www.wlezfm.com, I turned it to the Memphis-UAB game. Noticeably absent was the Memphis freshman who was arrested for pot earlier this week. Not a season goes by without one Memphis player getting arrested. Anyway I look up and the cameras pan to the fans in the stands. First of all we all know what Memphis basketball fans are like, they love to just jump on the bandwagon. They are fans who very few went to Memphis State and many of whom I care very little about. But back to the subject, as they pan through the crowd they show none other than Nolen Richardson in the crowd pimped out in a UAB sweatsuit, and best yet he was standing up yelling at the refs. Nolen, the former Arkansas coach, was there to see his number one assistant from Arkansas Mike Anderson who is the head coach at UAB. It made my night to see Nolen in the stands yelling at the refs. Normally a former coach like Richardson would be up in a box somewhere watchin the game. Instead he was in the middle of the Memphis State fans(ugh) raising cain with the refs.

Nolen coached some great Arkansas teams in the 90's for the Razorbacks. I remember when Ole Miss used to play Arkansas at the Tad Pad and there would be bus loads of Razorback fans that would come into Oxford for the game. Arkansas basketball was big time and their fans would go anywhere to see them. One night when we were at the SEC Tourney in Atlanta leaving the Hard Rock and Nolen was walking down the street. He had an entourage of fans worshipping the feet he walked on.

I have stated in the past that I really like Mike Anderson and his coaching. He has done well coaching the Blazers and I think he should be coaching in the SEC. I believe Auburn tried to get him to come coach when they hired Jeff Lebo. I hope he is still around if there is ever an opening in the Ole Miss job.

Disclaimer: I rambled alot in this post. Try hard to follow it. I appologize, but it really shocked me to see Nolen in the stands yelling at the refs.

Road Woes

The Arkansas Razorbacks did not let the Rebels reclaim Bud Walton arena tonight as they defeated Ole Miss 71-58. This loss moves the Rebels to 3-2 in the SEC and 13-5 overall. The first ten minutes of this game it looked like it was going to be neck and neck for the whole game. However with the Rebels up two and looking to extend their lead, a charging foul was called on Clarence Sanders, who preceeded to make his three point shot. A no call here puts the Rebels up five, their biggest lead of the game. Instead the charge call goes against the Rebels and the Hogs go on a 16-0 run and they never looked back. The Rebels never seemed to be there mentally after this foul. This happens too often for the Rebel basketball team, whenever one thing does not go their way, they roll over and die.

The Rebels were led by Clarence Sanders with 12 points all of which came in the second half. I like that Sanders was scoring more, but do not like the fact they all came in the second half. Once again this team does not play on a consistent basis, our guys have got to grow up and play well everynight. The Rebels shot around 40% from the field. The only good thing that came out of this game was the fact the Rebels fixed their rebounding woes from the Georgia game, outrebounding the Razorbacks 35-29.

This two week hiatus from the Tad Pad has hurt the Rebels. They will finally return home this Saturday and will play host to the Western Division leaders, LSU Tigers. This game will tell us if the Rebels are tough or not. I only hope Coach Barnes is able to get this team back playing how they were before they left Oxford.

I got out to check out the baseball facilities this afternoon and hoped to catch a little practice. However, by the time I got out there practice was over. Although I was able to take a picture of the new scoreboard as it is being put in at O-U Stadium/Swayze field. As you can see in the pictures this is going to be a big asset to the staidum. This seems to be a state of the art scoreboard with a video screen. Some doubted where they put it, but I like the location. All areas of the stadium will now be able to see the board. The finishing touches are not done, it is my understanding there will be permanent sponsors as well as rotating sponsors along the outside of the board. First pitch less than a month away against the Billikens.

Is He From Italy??

In the up and coming World Baseball Championship former Ole Miss Rebel David Dellucci will be playing for the country of Italy. Dellucci who was a member of the World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks currently plays for the Texas Rangers.

It appears if you are not on the team of your native country you may play on the team of your ancestors. Do not think that David is the only player in the MLB not on the U.S. team, there are tons of players that are playing for other teams. I am just glad David is getting a chance to participate.

I have followed Dellucci throughout his MLB career. David is a solid player and is a big hit with the fans no matter what team he plays for. I hope Buck Showalter will give him some good playing time this year.

Just A Bad Day

From the very beginning it was just a bad day for the Ole Miss basketball team as they lost to the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens 72-65. It was clear from the tip that the Rebels were not ready to play this game. The team was flat and no one seemed to be prepared. It was a day when the Rebels did not know how to get a defensive rebound. The Bulldogs were ahead for the entire first half and it seemed like they were able to get every tip and lucky shot. The second half for the Rebels looked a little better on offense. Dwayne Curtis led the Rebels with 19 points while Clarence Sanders contributed twelve.

It seemed that no one brought their A game to Athens with them. I will question the coaching staff on a couple of moves. Why did Mike Smith start, I find this odd when over the past few games Mike has played an extremely small amount of time. My other question is when the Rebels got back into the game and were getting stops on defense, it was while they were running a relaxed match up zone. All of the sudden when the Rebels looked like they were about to turn it around on defense we go back to the man to man defense. This did not make sense to me.

Several things contributed to the loss. We did not shoot well from the free throw line which is something we have been doing well this year. Also, neither Bam Doyne nor Todd Abernathy contributed much Saturday. If both of these guys do not contribute we are destined to lose. Another factor that contributed to the loss was the fact Ole Miss had 20 turnovers. It makes it extremely difficult to win a game with that many turnovers.

A point in the game I turn to is when the Rebels are up by one point and have their first lead in the game and had a chance to increase their lead to three. Clarence Sanders was at the line and Jermey Parnell got a stupid lane violation. This violation was followed by an 8-0 Georgia run and they continued this lead until the end of the game.

The Rebels must bounce back as they travel to Fayetteville on Wednesday to take on the Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. With so many players on the roster from Arkansas, hopefully we will be more focused to play.

Got A Little Carried Away

I got a little carried away last night and forgot to post that 4-star running back Cordera Eason out of Meridian has committed to the Rebels. Eason who rushed for almost 2,000 yards last season is a big addition for an already stacked Ole Miss backfield.

I will go out on a line and say this has been the biggest two weeks in Ole Miss athletics in my lifetime. A basketball team that has won three straight SEC games and commitments from some of the top recruits in the nation.

I have got to hand it to Grant and the staff at Rivals, they had some great coverage of the news, and of course their board did not crash like some others did.

Today is another big day in Ole Miss sports, as the Rebels travel to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are a decent team and any SEC opponent on the road is always tough. I would really like to see Clarence Sanders step up and be the break out player for this game. If he gets going the Rebels have a chance to really go places. Let's hope the Rebels can continue their streak.

You Better Believe It

Brent Schaeffer has committed to the Ole Miss Rebels, it was announced minutes ago that Schaeffer will be coming to Oxford. Congratulations to Coach O and his staff on this great pick up. In typical Ole Miss fashion the Ole Miss Spirit board crashed with 3300 people on board. Also there was no audio link that worked, the station in Jackson crashed that was supposed to be carrying the press conference. Next up is Cordera Eason if I am still around and not out celebrating this I will have the news up in about 30 minutes.

A New Record Has Been Set

The Ole Miss ticket office announced today that the season ticket sales record has been broken for the 2006 season. The current number of season tickets that have been sold is 2,742 passing last years record by 100. The funny thing is the cut-off has yet to happen for the purchase of season tickets. It looks like the Rebel faithful are going to continue to buy tickets and blow this record out of the water. Looks as if Rebel fans are going to really be behind this team and we will hopefully have crowds like we did for the Superregional several times this season. First pitch is now less than one month away.

Jock Jams-Are You Kidding Me??

I have been meaning to write this for a while, but have not gotten around to it. I want to express my opinion on how bad the Ole Miss marketing/game atmosphere/environment is. Any athletic event that I go to it seems that those involved in what I will call "Game Atmosphere" are not on the same page or are either about ten years out of date. There is way to much just sitting around while some awful production plays on the jumbotron that is supposed, key word supposed, to fire up the fans and the players. If this fires up one player or fan then they have been in a comma for 15 years.

Lets take for instance the moment before the basketball team runs out onto the court. Our people show some footage that I could have made on my computer and in the background play "Jesus Walks" by Kanye West("George Bush hates black people"). I mean this is the most boring production we could play, I would much rather hear the RebelReboundSound than watch this production. There is dead silence for a minute while people watch the jumbotron. I mean how/when/why is "Jesus Walks" supposed to fire people up?

Lets move on to the pregame warm-ups. I mean let's be serious we are still playing Jock Jams-"Let's Get Ready To Rumble". I can remember sitting at the scorers table at Pillow Academy in 1997 and playing me personally playing this as the Lady Mustang's called out their starting line ups. Why can we not do better than this? This is ten-fifteen years outdated. You go to any other SEC arena and their fans are going nuts with the music being played or the lights being flashed and the players love it. Instead once again we are forced to watch some awful production on the jumbotron once again and everyone feels uncomfortable because their is dead silence and they know it should not be. Yet know "Spirit Crew or Rebel Crew" or whatever they are called are doing anything about it. This is a time when the team is supposed to be fired up and ready to play and vibe off the fans emotion. Not at Ole Miss.

I will now move on to during the game. How many time outs are we going to spend throwing out t-shirts. This is all we do to get our fans pumped up, is throw or shoot t-shirts in the stands. Or we play music from the Blues Brothers every other time out. During last Saturday game our band played maybe twice during a time out in the first half. If you can not understand by now, I am furious with what is going on. The band is there for a reason as are the cheerleaders, so why do we not use them.

Half time is another story. I remember the days when we had awesome half time shows. I do not know if any of you remember this, but one game we had the Budweiser DareDevils. That was by far the coolest thing the Ole Miss marketing department has ever done. Now, these days Derrick Horne arranges some one girl dance performance that we have that is completely embarrassing.

Many of you know that I am a Pete Boone supporter. I have supported alot of the decisions he has made not necessarily all of them, but think he has the right interest in mind. However at this point I am going out on a limb and calling for a change of whomever is in charge of our marketing/game strategy. I have had enough of "The Rebel Express" "The O Zone" and any other cheesy slogan that does not stick. If we are going to start moving in the right direction, it is time for a change in this side of U.M.A.A.

Weekend Recruiting

I do not have too much to write about from the recruiting front, as there were not true committments this weekend. This should not be a let down for the Rebel Nation. We knew going in to this weekend we were probably not going to get committments from guys like Brent Schaeffer or Cordera Eason. These guys are very high profile and we were not going to pressure them into committing this weekend. Coach O does not put a ton of pressure on recruits to commit, like alot of other coaches do. So far this philosophy has worked and I hope it will continue. It appears on Friday Brent Schaeffer will be holding a press conference to announce his decision. I am sure tons of Rebel fans will be logged on Friday afternoon to hear the news.

Just In Case You Forgot

Todd Abernathy Steppin It Up

Its About Time

Ole Miss fans came out to support the Rebels in a win over Mississippi State on Saturday 75-65. The Rebels ended an eight game losing streak to the Bulldogs, in a game that was pretty much one sided the entire game. The only time the Rebels trailed was early in the game within the first two minutes. Junior Todd Abernathy led the team with a game high twenty two points. Abernathy led the Rebels down the stretch when it looked like the the Dogs were about to get back into the game. Ahead by six Abernathy took the ball to the hoop and the Rebels never looked back. Dewayne Curtis added seventeen points and pulled down eight boards to lead the Rebels to victory. The Rebels led by as many as fourteen during the second half, but never could put the game away. This win moves the Rebels to 13-3 and 3-0 in the conference, the best start since the 2001-2002 season.

Some observations about this game:
Our marketing/game production department is awful.(more on this later)
I can not believe that Rick Stansbury did not have his team foul the Rebels in the last minute of the game. The Bulldogs were only down ten and did nothing to try and cut the Rebels lead. I was very shocked he did this, and believe he just gave up. He did very little coaching the whole game.
On the oppsoite side, I felt like Coach Barnes and his staff did a good job. The Rebels changed their offenses and defenses a good bit throughout the game and adjusted to State's every move. While there a few things we still need to work on like knowing how to finish a game, this team is coming along.

I have to complement the fans in attendance. I am glad they decided to come out a support a team that needed the type support they got. I mean we are 3-0 in the conference, let's start treating the team like they should be. I hope more fans will continue to support the Rebels and turn the coliseum into a place like it used to be. Teams used to hate coming to Oxford.

The Rebels have a week off until they travel to Georgia. It will be a tough week for Coach Barnes to keep his team focused. We will see if this team is for real or not when they travel to Athens.

Will The Streak Continue

Tad Smith Colliseum will be packed Saturday for the first time in six years as the Rebels host Mississippi State, the biggest game for the Rebels in a long time. Ole Miss comes into the game with a six game winning streak and 2-0 in the S.E.C. The Rebels have not beaten the Bulldogs in a long, long time and this is the first chance they match up well in quite a while. The Bulldogs come into the game 11-4 and 1-1 in the conference. State shockingly defeated Arkansas last Saturday by two points. The Dogs lost to Florida this Wednesday by about 15. It should be a great game. As far as I know the only MPSA player in the league, my friend Michael Boler will be playing on the court for the Bulldogs. Be sure to yell at him and tell him how you feel when he steps foot on the court.

If you are in Oxford and the surrounding areas and are an Ole Miss fan you SHOULD BE HERE. There is no excuse for not being in attendance, unless you are attending Sam Peters wedding(God Help Us). I can not tell you how important this game is. First of all for the basketball team it will give us an even bigger boost. Even if you are a Barnes basher at least do it for the team, we owe it to the players. I know there are many people out there who have not been to a game in five years due to our record. Well, it is time to come back to the Pad and watch these guys play. Second of all it is the biggest recruiting weekend in Oxford in recent memory with numerous four and five star recruits that will be at the game. I am sure they would love to hear how supportive we can be for a team. Just don't do a cheer for Schaffer like some of the nuts on the public board have suggested. I wanna see you all in Oxford tomorrow, it is going to be awesome.

Big Week

This week has been the biggest week in Ole Miss sports in a very very long time. Things that happened this week:

Ole Miss defeats Alabama on the road for the first time in eight years.
All American linebacker Patrick Wilis announces he will return for his senior season.
Robert Lane announced he is staying put in Oxford and will play whereever Coach O needs him.
Coach O named Dan Werner Offensive Coordinator and Art Kehoe O-Line Coach.
Ole Miss defeats South Carolina in basketball to have its first 2-0 SEC start since 2000-2001.
DeWayne Curtis named SEC Player of the Week.
Men's tennis team ranked preseason number 6.
Multiple commitments for next years football team.
And we still have this weekend, which hopefully more great news will come.

Without a doubt the best news week for Ole Miss in a long, long time

I've MadeThe Big Show

(Oxford, MS) The Big Show, hosted by Drew Levanway and Nathan Best, have employed the services of the staff of Worldclassglass. In an announcement released last week, Best said The Big Show and Worldclassglass have reached an agreement for the staff at Worldclassglass to provide weekly Ole Miss sports reports for The Big Show. Terms of the agreement were not released.

The Big Show is a weekly a sports radio show on WLEZ in Jackson. The show is broadcasted worldwide on www.wlezfm.com every Thursday night at seven. Last night was the first night of a recorded message from Chris Champion of Worldclassglass. The weekly report will be known as the Rebel Report and will be a brief report of the current state of Ole Miss athletics. Last nights Big Show can be listened to by clicking on the link below. The Rebel Report is in the second half of the show.

http://rapidshare.de/files/10949251/6-01_The_Big_Show__3.m4a.html

Find A Way

It was a big time win tonight for the Rebels who found a way to beat the South Carolina tonight 68-63 in front of a crowd of about 5,500 at Tad Smith Coliseum. The Rebels were led tonight by Bam Doyne who put up 23 points. South Carolina was within two points twice in the past minute and a half as the Rebels watched their eleven point lead dwindle, but the Rebels fought back and made it happen.

The Rebels were out rebounded alot tonight on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. For us to complete we are going to have to solve this problem. I was glad to see Marquis Young step up and get a few boards for the Rebs. He has got a lot of work and maturing to do, but he stepped it up and rebounded well when we needed him to. I am also glad to see the Rebels shooting better from the field and from the free throw line.

The Rebel basketball team has their best start since the 2000-2001 season. I am happy for this young team and look forward to seeing them play this year. The Rebels improve to 12-3 and 2-0 in the conference and take on Mississppi State on Saturday at noon.

Say It Loud: I'm Back and I'm Proud

Great News

It appears Ole Miss All American linebacker Patrick Willis will stay for his senior season and will not enter the NFL draft. Willis announced today that he is committed to Coach O and the Rebel program. He wants to come back and graduate with the guys he came in with. This is the type guy P-Willie is. He is an overall great guy and loves this University. If we had more Patrick Willis's at this school, this would be the greatest school on earth. I love this guy, always happy and always willing to talk to you.

I can not express how happy I am for this guy. I love the committment and I do not think he would be here if it was not for where he sees this program going places. He loves this place and is recruiting for Ole Miss like he is the head coach. Guys this program is receiving great news daily. I am not saying we are going to win the SEC West by all means. But things are moving in the right direction after last year's bad season.

Real Quick Notes on USC

They won the NIT last year.
Ole Miss is 7-0 against South Carolina in Oxford.
Main player is 6-6 forward Tarence Kinsey who has had 5 20 point games this season.
They are at the top in both offense and defense categories in SEC.
Defeated Western Carolina on the road, a team Ole Miss had a little trouble with last week.
They are going to be a tough team. Hope we can continue the play we had Saturday.

New Offesive Line Coach

Art Kehoe

David Who??

I can not believe this. The Ole Miss men's tennis team will start the season ranked No.6 in the collegeiate tennis polls. If you would have told me David Donaldson would graduate and the Rebels would still be ranked in the top 25 in the nation, I would have told you that you are nuts. Just kidding David. In all honesty this is the most succesful team at Ole Miss. Coach Billy Chadwick brings his new team into the new year ranked for the 12th consecutive year. This team is full of talent and I can not wait to see them play. For those of you that do not go to matches you are missing out. I am not a big tennis fan, but I know good tennis when I see it. These guys are just about as good as any pro tournament you will watch, I love the competiveness these guys bring to the table. I mean why wouldn't they be good they have boasted the likes of Jim Jacobs and David Donaldson.

Absolutely A Great Hire

Ole Miss head football coach Ed Orgeron announced Tuesday the addition of Art Kehoe and Hugh Freeze to his coaching staff. The appointments are pending approval of the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning.
Kehoe, who has spent the last 27 years at the University of Miami (Fla.), including two years as a player, has been selected by Orgeron to serve as associate head coach and offensive line coach, while Freeze, who as served as Assistant Athletics Director for Football External Affairs at Ole Miss for the last year, will move to an on-the-field coaching position as tight ends coach.
"Art Kehoe is a fantastic addition to our staff," Orgeron said. "He brings energy and great passion for football to our program. He's an outstanding recruiter and has coached some of the best lines in collegiate football."
The addition of Freeze to the coaching staff comes one year after he left the prep coaching ranks to join Orgeron at Ole Miss in an administrative capacity.
"Hugh Freeze is a very organized and detailed person," Orgeron said. "He's well known for his success at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tenn., and he did an outstanding job for us this past year. I am extremely pleased to add him to our coaching staff."
Kehoe coached 25 years at Miami, including the last four years as assistant head coach and offensive line coach, and was the longest-tenured coach on Larry Coker's staff.

Great Quote by New Offensive Line Coach Art Kehoe

''I've never been there,'' he said. ''Everybody I've talked to, and I've talked to a ton of people this week, has told me Ole Miss is a beautiful campus. The facilities are excellent. The people are gung-ho up there about football. I'm going to love it. Throw in Ed Orgeron, and it's a no-brainer.''

We Got An Apology On Our Hands

It appears Bill Ellis, the Alabama Basketball journalist has changed his stance just a little. An article reported on Worldclassglass yesterday has made a little buzz in the journalism world and in response the Ole Miss family has received an apology. Smith issued his statement late yesterday saying he never intended to imply that he was blaming Ole Miss on Chuck Davis's injury. His apology is on the right track, but he did not fully convince me he is sorry for what he wrote. I am not asking for an apology either, I believe journalist have the right to write whatever they want and not have to apologize about it. Although that does not mean I accept his views. Check out the response below.

http://bamabasketball.net/News/articles/192006-1721.asp

Ole Miss Offensive Coordinator

Dan Werner

Meet the New Offensive Coordinator

Ole Miss head football coach Ed Orgeron announced the hiring of former Miami offensive coordinator Dan Werner late this afternoon. Werner comes to the Rebels with tons of experience on the offensive side of the ball. Werner has been in coaching for 23 years with 8 of those at Miami. Werners offense has been defined as 50-50 pass/run. Werner also says he will be given the opportunity to bring his own offense into Oxford and not have to run the USC/West Coast offense.

I think this is a good hire for the Rebels. This is an area of the staff we needed some changes in and we have done that so far. If Kehoe comes along that will be great also. Early word from talking to the recruits is that they are pleased with the hiring of Werner. We will see how that plays out in the near future. For the complete bio and story click on the link below.

http://olemisssports.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/010906aaj.html

Dan Werner and Art Kehoe have been hired by Ole Miss to serve as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. Story developing................

Update........Werner has been hired, but Kehoe is not officially. Is going to visit Oxford this week. He is all but in reportedly. But we have been there before.

This Guy Is Nuts

For those of you that have not read this article by an Alabama reporter who Sparky Luster would refer to as a "homer" you need to read it. It is absolutely absurd. He blames the game and why Alabama lost on the way officials have allowed the game to become. I am not sure what this guy was watching but Chuck Davis was not intentionally hurt nor was he hit or tripped by an Ole Miss player. I admit Clarence Sanders was out of control on that play, but he did not even touch Davis. Davis tore his ACL on the fall going up for the rebound or the blocked shot. I hope Robert Cook or some Alabama resident that is an Ole Miss fan will be sure to call Paul Finebaum and see what he has to say about the game. The Sate of Alabama journalist's as a whole are the most biased journalist in America. Can you think of one sports journalist from our neighboring state that you like (Paul Finebaum, Neal McCready, and now this nut who wrote this article).

I understand Chuck Davis not being in the game hurt the Tide alot. But don't blame this loss on the Rebels or the officials. I called it from the beginning of the season, Alabama was overrated and now they are paying for it.

Take a look at this article
http://www.bamabasketball.net/News%5Carticles%5C172006-2002.asp

Credit Where Credit Is Due

After helping lead Ole Miss to victory at Alabama Saturday, Dwayne Curtis was named the SEC Basketball Player of the Week today, as announced by the league office.
A sophomore center from Chicago, Curtis posted 21 points, a career-high 14 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks in directing the Rebels to their first win in Tuscaloosa since 1997-98. It marked his fourth straight 20-point performance and third double-double of the year. Curtis also totaled 21 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals in Tuesday's victory over Western Carolina.

Stayin Put

Ole Miss junior quarterback Robert Lane announced Monday that he will be returning to school for the spring semester.
"I am pleased to announce that I am returning to Ole Miss to continue my academic and athletic career," Lane said. "The academic and social environment provided at Ole Miss is excellent. As far as football is concerned, I plan to do everything in my power to help Ole Miss win football games. If I am asked to play quarterback, running back, or receiver, I will work to be the best that I can be. I look forward to the upcoming challenge."
"We are glad that Robert will continue to be a member of our football program," Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron said. "Robert is an integral part of our future success here at Ole Miss."

Big Win

The Ole Miss basketball team went into Coleman coliseum for the first time in eight years and defeated Alabama 67-59. The Rebels trailed for all of the first half and seemed to be flat although the Tide never pulled away. The second half was an entirely different story. The Rebels shot 55% while the Tide had trouble finding the basket for the first ten minutes of the half. Ole Miss was lead by DeWayne Curtis who chalked up a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Alabama lost their number one player in Chuck Davis who suffered a torn ligament in his knee early in the game.

This win for the Rebels is the biggest win in probably three years. Not just because we beat Alabama, but we won on the road in the SEC in the SEC opener. Winning on the road in the SEC is not easy. It is also a big moral booster for the team who for since Christmas has struggled in their wins. Hopefully they will continue to keep their play at an upbeat level. The Rebels are now 11-3 and play two home games this week. South Carolina and Mississippi State will bring their teams to Oxford in two games the Rebels believe they can win.

Hopefully the Tad Pad will have more people in the seats this week. I know some people are not big fans of Rod Barnes, but there is no reason not to support this team right now. I will be very dissapointed if their is not a good turnout this week.

I'll try to have some research on the South Carolina team sometime before Wednesday. To be honest I can not even name who their coach is or one player that has been their the past 4 years.

Wild Bill

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - The Denver Broncos on Friday signed free-agent wide receiver Bill Flowers to a future contract, Head Coach Mike Shanahan announced. Flowers officially will be added to the Broncos' roster at the end of the 2005 NFL season in February.
Flowers (6-1, 193 pounds) is a first-year player who spent the 2005 regular season out of football after Cleveland waived him June 20. He entered the NFL with the Browns as an undrafted free agent on May 2.
Flowers finished his career at the University of Mississippi ranked second on the school's all-time list for receptions (149) and sixth in receiving yards (1,795). The 25-year-old also recorded 10 touchdown receptions in 45 career games (19 starts).
(Broncos P.R.)

As Ripley Would Say........Believe It or Not!!

From an article that was run in the Wall Street Journal today. The Nielsen rating for television on college football games were released recently. Ole Miss was ranked 16. I was shocked when I read this to see that we are the 16th most viewed team in America. Those in front of us were Number 3 Michigan, 4. USC, 7. Notre Dame, 8.Ohio State, 9. Florida, 10. Alabama, 15. Florida State, and then #16 Ole Miss.

Those behind us were Number 17 Auburn and a tie for 18 between national champs Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Miamy. Others behind us were Georgia(23), Tenneessee(24), and LSU at #27.

I was totally shocked when I read this and have no explanation as to why we were above some of the caliber teams that are listed below us. Probably has something to do with us playing at 11:00 every other weekend when no one else is on t.v. Good job Rebs.

The New Guy

The Ole Miss baseball team picked up an addition to their roster this week. Jesse Simpson(not not Jessica Simpson) a Right Handed Pitcher from Zachary, LA has enrolled at Ole Miss for intersession and is expected to join the team on Monday. Simpson whose stats in high school include a .8ERA as a senior including a no hitter and a 1.0 ERA as a junior(Central Private). Jesse was drafted out of high school in the 49th round to the Braves. Last semester he attended a JUCO college in Pensacola, FL. By all accounts, he will be a great addition to the pitching staff and possibly in the weekend rotation. Looks like a big pickup by the Rebs.

Polls and More Polls

Below is the press release about the most recent poll from Baseball America. Personally I disagree with their poll, but I will let the Rebels prove that in a couple of months. On another note they ranked MSU number 13. Very over-rated in my opinion.

OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss got more good news for the upcoming baseball season when Baseball America released its preseason All-America teams and rankings on Thursday, placing the Rebels 23rd nationally heading into the season and naming third baseman Chris Coghlan to a pre-season third team All-America selection.

This is the third poll released this season ranking the Rebels in the top 25. Collegiate Baseball had Ole Miss coming into the season at No. 20 in the nation, while RosenblattReport.com slated the Rebels as the 25th best team heading into the 2006 season.

Got A New Job

Former Ole Miss, Auburn and North Carolina State offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone is set to join the football coaching staff at Middle Tennessee State, sources close to Mazzone confirmed yesterday.Mazzone, 48, who will serve as offensive coordinator, was in Murfreesboro yesterday. An official announcement of his hiring is expected on Monday pending approval of the Tennessee Board of Regents.New MTSU Coach Rick Stockstill was unavailable for comment yesterday.Stockstill already has hired former Tennessee offensive line coach Jimmy Ray Stephens to coach the Blue Raiders' offensive line.Stockstill also has retained Art Kaufman, linebackers coach on former MTSU head coach Andy McCollum's staff. McCollum was fired with two games left in the regular season.Mazzone became available when he was released on Nov. 28 after just one year at Ole Miss, where at the beginning of this season he had joined new Rebel Coach Ed Orgeron's staff as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Mazzone reportedly had two years and $500,000 remaining on a guaranteed contract. nthat season, where he was running backs coach and special teams coordinator.After just one season at Oregon State, Mazzone moved to North Carolina State in 2003 and 2004, where he was offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.Mazzone, a native of Raton, N.M., also had coaching stints at Minnesota, Texas Christian, Colorado State and at his alma mater New Mexico.In his playing days, Mazzone was a quarterback who set several school records. He finished fifth nationally in total offensive yards in 1976, when he earned All-Western Athletic Conference Second-Team honors.(TN Paper)

Another Ugly One

Ole Miss defeated the Catamounts of Western Carolina 65-59 tonight. The Rebels played another ugly game and did all they could to lose the game. They trailed for a good portion of the first half. DeWayne Curtis played a good game for the Rebels scoring about 20 points. But no other Rebel really stood out and played a good game. That is something we can define this team by, which is inconsistency. There is not two games in a row where the whole team plays good. This is going to cause problems in SEC play. There was a little scuffle towards the end of the game in which Bam Doyne flipped out on either one of the Catamounts or a referee, it was unclear what really happened. Luckily he did not get suspended. SEC play begins Saturday in T-Town against the Tide.

LIKE IT HOT HOT HOT

CBSSportsline has an article today about college basketball coaches who are on the hot seat. That is right you guessed it, our coach Rod Barnes is on the list. Former coach Rob Evans is on the list also, should be interesting. I know one thing if we do not beat State this year, Barnes's seat will be on fire. Here is their writeup.

Rod Barnes, Mississippi: Don't be fooled by Ole Miss' 9-3 start. The Rebels have beaten nobody in the RPI top 150, they lost by 53 to New Mexico and they have an overall strength of schedule rated No. 287 nationally. Barnes' career 136-96 record is all about smoke and mirrors, considering his non-conference winning percentage (.750) is light years ahead of his SEC mark (.411). In November 2004, Ole Miss announced a "large and celebrated" signing class of six players. Half failed to qualify academically. There's no celebrating that.

More Names Popping UP

Miami OC Dan Werner
Miami OL Coach Art Kehoe ( have been reading the Miami board, lot of their fans are high on this guy)
New York Jets OL Coach Doug Marrone

All of the above mentioned have recently been released from their coaching duties. Story is developing, will try to post more later.

Get Ready

Ole Miss juniors Chris Coghlan and Mark Wright were named preseason Louisville Slugger second-team All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball last week.
The tandem were key members of the Rebels' 2005 team, which put together a school-record 48 wins and fell one win short of the College World Series. The 2006 season begins Feb. 17.Coghlan, a third baseman, hit .365 with 57 RBIs and a team-leading 22 doubles. Wright, an outfielder, hit .311 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs.(Clarion Ledger)