The Billikens

I am going to be away for a couple of days, so I figured I would go ahead and make this posts. As I have stated earlier, I think this is a big game for the Rebels. It is the first game on the road that the talent level of our team will be about the same. It is also the last non conference game of the year before SEC play begins for Kennedy's Klan.

The Billikens last outing was against North Carolina, in which St. Louis led for much of the first half. They have a RPI of about 54 and they usually have a pretty good crowd at the ScottTrade center which seats over 22,000. St. Louis is 9-3 with losses to Texas A&M, Southern Illinois, and UNC. All traditionally pretty good teams. The above facts, show that this game is going to be a tough one for the Rebels.

I have no prediction one way or the other as to who will win this game. All I know is all of our guards have to come together and play good in the same game. Abernathy, Doyne, and Sanders have all had good games, but they all need to have a good game together. Along with the Curtis and Williams down low the Rebels could put together a decent team.

On a sidenote from the USL website: "The series is tied 1-1 after the Rebels upended the Billikens 77-64 in Oxford last season. The Billikens' win came on Dec. 15, 1954, in St. Louis by a score of 82-68. "

Tip-off is at 1:00 on Saturday and is being televised on SportsSouth.

Coach Ramblings

There has not been too much talk on who will replace Matt Lubick as the wide receivers coach at Ole Miss. When I first heard this, I fealt like they might move Grant Heard to WR coach, as he is on the staff now as a graduate assistant. The more stuff I hear and read, the less likely I see this happening. Some have suggested move Hugh Freeze to wide receivers coach. I guess Orgeron is probably going to wait until after the college football season is over before he makes a final decision on this.

More Awards for Cozart

OXFORD, Miss. – Rebel shortstop Zack Cozart earned first team All-America honors and Ole Miss was ranked No. 20 in preseason polls released by Collegiate Baseball magazine recently the publication announced.

It is the second preseason All-America honor for Cozart, who is also a preseason candidate for the Brooks Wallace Award that honors the nation’s top collegiate baseball player. Ole Miss, who finished the 2006 season with a 44-22 record and advanced to host an NCAA Super Regional for the second-straight season will open the season ranked nationally for the fourth-consecutive season.

“It’s a tremendous honor for Zack to be selected as a first team All-America heading into the season and one that he deserves,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “It’s exciting anytime you can open the season ranked and it is a testament to where we are as a program that we have been ranked so many seasons in a row.”

Cozart returns to help lead Ole Miss as he finished the 2006 season second on the team in batting with a .338 average and helped lead the Rebels to the second-most wins in a single season a second-straight Super Regional.

Ramblings

This appeared in the Clarion Ledger today. I could be for or against this. I do not want to give up a home game to play this, but I would do this to replace a non conference away game like Memphis or Missouri. Another stipulation is that I would want this to be in Atlanta and not in Orlando. The more I think about it the more I am not in favor of it though due to attendance. Would love to hear your thoughts.



Ole Miss has been approached by representatives from the Chick-fil-A Bowl and Capital One Bowl about playing a non-conference, neutral site game.
John Hartwell, Ole Miss' senior associate athletic director for finance, said the Rebels are entertaining the notion of playing a game in Atlanta's Georgia Dome or Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Fla., the sites of the two bowls, respectively.
"It's really a trend with all of the bowl folks," said Hartwell, who handles Ole Miss' scheduling. "They're trying to put together neutral site matchups utilizing the stadiums they have."
Dates and opponents have not been established because Hartwell said discussions are "very tentative." But he said Notre Dame has been mentioned as one possible opponent in a game.

WE ARE............

MARSHALL. While I do not usually post on things like this, I recommend that you go see the new movie. It is a great flick from football fans and movie fans in general. It tells the great story of a University and the tragedy they faced. I had always heard about this tragedy, but never really knew the whole story. For anyone that is younger than 35 you probably do not know too much about this story either than bits and pieces. It is a great story and I recommend you go see this holiday season.

Oh yeah to make an Ole Miss connection to this movie. Remember it was Marshall that Stewart Patridge and the Rebels defeated in the Motor City Bowl. They show clips of recent Marshall teams at the end of the movie, but I did not notice our bowl game in there although I might have missed it. Be sure to stay after the credits role to see these pics.

First Poll Out

As Sparky posted, the first baseball poll form Collegiate Baseball is out. I really thought the Rebels would be ranked a little higher than this. As the defending SEC Champions, I don't think we got much respect. I mean 20th is good, but the past two years we have been a heck of alot better than the 20th team in the country, and I do not see this year's team being any different. I guess they assume we lost alot of people. They need to do their research and look at the talent we reloaded with. I think Mike and his boys will prove them wrong.


1. Rice (57-13)
2. Clemson (53-16)
3. South Carolina (41-25)
4. Arkansas (39-21)
5. North Carolina (54-15)
6. Miami, Fla. (42-24)
7. Texas (41-21)
8. Vanderbilt (38-27)
9. Nebraska (42-17)
10. Virginia (47-15)
11. Georgia Tech. (50-18)
12. Cal. St. Fullerton (50-15)
13. Florida St. (42-21)
14. Arizona St. (37-21)
15. Texas Christian (39-23)
16. Tulane (43-21)
17. Wichita St. (46-22)
18. Tennessee (31-24)
19. Pepperdine (42-21)
20. Mississippi (44-22)
21. Baylor (37-26)
22. Georgia (47-23)
23. Stanford (33-27)
24. Oklahoma St. (41-20)
25. Southern California (25-33)

Some Big Scorers

Ole Miss defeated Alabama A&M last night 81-57 at Tad Smith Coliseum. They were led by Dwayne Curtis and Clay Sanders who scored 25 and 23 respectively. Sanders started the game hot draining 4-4 from the three point land and scoring the games first 12 points.

Interesting to see that Andy Ogide started the game for the Rebels. Kennedy has played Rodney Jones and Andy Ogide the last two games. I was beginning to think he was going to redshirt Jones and Ogide, but I like the fact they are playing. I assume they could still be redshirted, but I have not heard one way or the other. Two players you have not seen to much of recently is Xavier Hansboro and Trey Hampton. I would not be surprised if one of these players is not with the team much longer. I expect one of them to split ways with Kennedy. Also, Greg Hardy got into the game last night. His first game to dress out for the Rebels since leaving the gridiron. He did get in the stat books with a rebound, but failed to score.

I have said from day one that a big game this season is next week as the Rebels travel to Saint Louis. If the Rebels could win this game, they would go into conference play with a 12-2 record. It is going to be a tough match for the Rebels, and will be just like SEC play. I really like this game on the schedule as it will prepare the Rebels for conference play.


OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Dwayne Curtis scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds Friday as Ole Miss defeated Alabama A&M 81-57.
Clarence Sanders scored 23 points, Kenny Williams had 13 points and 13 rebounds and Bam Doyne added 11 points for Ole Miss (11-2). The Rebels finished unbeaten in nonconference home games at 7-0.
The Rebels have won 20 of their last 21 nonconference home games, including 11 straight. Ole Miss is off to its best start since 2000-01, when the Rebels started 11-0 and eventually advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Cornelius Hester led Alabama A&M (5-5) with 19 points, 18 coming in the first half. Trant Simpson added 17 points for the Bulldogs.
Sanders connected on five consecutive shots in the opening five minutes, including four 3-pointers. The Rebels used the surge to take a 16-11 lead and never trailed again.

He's The Stat Man

OXFORD, Miss. – After a review of tape from the 2006 season, Ole Miss running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis actually earned an additional yard, which left him with an even 1,000 yards rushing for the year.
“Our tape review revealed an improper spot had been made on one of his carries in the Auburn game,” said Senior Associate Athletics Director for Media Relations Langston Rogers. “Stacy Holmes, who is our official scorer, agreed with what we saw on tape and the corrected game file has been received by both the NCAA and the SEC.”
Green-Ellis becomes only the third Ole Miss player to gain 1,000 yards rushing in a season. Kayo Dottley did it twice, gaining 1,312 yards in 1949 and 1,007 in 1950. Deuce McAllister gained 1,082 yards rushing in 1998.

As I Hinted

From today's Oxford Eagle:

Tupelo native gone for lack of commitmentHancock, meanwhile, was dismissed by Bianco because of “lack of commitment to the program.”“With matters like that and things inside the program, it’s tough to say too much about it,” Bianco said.“If he wanted to be a part of this program, he needed to show more than he was showing.”Hancock, a product of Tupelo High School, made 79 starts over the last two seasons in the outfield and at designated hitter. He’s also pitched out of the bullpen and made one start at first base.He hit .277 (75-for-271) in his Ole Miss career with five home runs, 54 RBIs, 30 runs and 25 doubles. As a right-handed pitcher, he had a 4.63 ERA, allowing six earned runs in 11.2 innings.

Jon Jon Gone Bye Bye

It appears Jon Jon Hancock has left the Ole Miss baseball team. The reason for him leaving appears to be mutual. I can not say I am upset over this move. Jon Jon was not an everyday player. I think he has a chance to make it in the pros in a minor league organization as a DH.

Hancock at times seemed to not put forth alot of emotion towards the game. While he played well for the Rebels and got some key hits it seemed that at times he and Bianco appeared to not get along all the time. Bianco demands alot from his players. I guess Jon Jon had just had enough.

Oh well, that is definitely his loss.

Big News for the Rebels

OXFORD — Former Texas quarterback Jevan Snead said tonight he will transfer to Ole Miss.
Snead, who was rated as the nation's sixth-best quarterback by recruiting service Scout.com out of Stephenville (Texas) High in 2005, left the Longhorns program after playing as a backup to Colt McCoy his freshman season. He visited Ole Miss' campus last weekend and chose the Rebels over Houston and Texas Christian.
“I just made my decision a few minutes ago,” Snead said. “I'm going to be excited working with them and in that offense. It's going to be a great offense to get me ready for my dream, which is to go to the NFL. But right now I'm ready to get there and make a big impact when I play and help the team out.”
Snead said he plans to enroll at Ole Miss in time for the spring semester. He must sit out the 2007 team because of NCAA transfer rules, but will have three years of eligibility remaining beginning in 2008.

Update

Some of you may have been wondering why there have not been any posts for about a week. Well my dad had a kidney transplant on Thursday night and has been in the hospital since then. He is still in ICU and they are monitoring some heart problems. We are praying that things will settle down a little bit this week. Hopefully when that happens I will be able to posts some more stuff.

Until then, the Rebels had a good game last night against South Alabama. It continues to surprise me how much Bam Doyne has improved.

Rebels Cruise to Victory

The two Rebel players who needed to step up after not so good games on Saturday bounced back and performed well for the Rebels. This game was in the Rebels hands from the beginning. By my calculations all the players on the Ole Miss team who dress out got to play tonight. This was a good blow out win for the Rebels who have not had one all season.

(C-L)OXFORD — Bam Doyne scored a career-high 25 points and Dwayne Curtis added 16 points and 11 rebounds as Ole Miss defeated Louisiana-Monroe 87-53 tonight.
Curtis, in his second appearance after being sidelined with a preseason foot injury, recorded the double-double with more than five minutes remaining in the first half. He played only briefly in the second half.Clarence Sanders added 10 points for Ole Miss (8-2), which has won nine straight over the Warhawks.

Willis Honored with All American Status

NEW YORK – Patrick Willis tacked on two more prestigious All-America honors to his ever-growing list on Tuesday, this time receiving first-team recognition from the Associated Press and The Sporting News.

The Ole Miss senior, who won the Butkus Award last week as the nation’s top linebacker, is the first Rebel to earn AP or Sporting News All-America status since tight end Rufus French in 1998.

Willis has already been tabbed a first team All-America selection this year by the Football Writers’ Association of America, the Walter Camp Football Foundation, The Gridiron Gazette, SI.com, CBSSportsline.com, Rivals.com and Scout.com.

The Bruceton, Tenn., native was previously honored as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year by both the AP and the league coaches.

Who Dat??

The New Orleans Saints appear to be on track to win their division and make a run in the playoffs. While I realize they are miles and miles away from the Super Bowl wouldn't this be one heck of a story if the Saints were to make it all the way. This is a team who's owner neglects them daily and has tried to move them out of the city multiple times including as often as last year. This is a team whose city is still trying to recover from the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. This is a team who finally saw the light and got rid of their awful coach and a quaterback who was extremely terrible and made some of the worst decisions I have ever made. This is a team who picked up a first round draft pick who many thought of as one of the best players ever in college football. This is a team who has a running back that is one of the best all around players on and off the field in the NFL and spends most of his life away from the spotlight. This is a team who as the Saint's announcer put it on the radio yesterday, "I believe everyone in America's second favorite team is the New Orlean's Saints." This is a team who has the worst luck in the history of professional sports. This is a team who is one of the worst franchises in NFL history.

This is a team who has a very good chance of making it to the Super Bowl.

This is a team who says:

WHO DAT SAY GON BEAT THEM SAINTS???


(I wanna know everyone's thoughts of the Saints and if anybody believe's they have an actual shot at the Super Bowl.)

As Predicted

Going into the game I figured the Tigers would win by 12 or 14. As it turns out that is how the game ended as the Rebels lost 82-70 to Number 16 University of Memphis. It was a game where the Rebels appeared at times they would be able to have a chance to win. At the end of the first half the Rebels went on a heck of a run and only trailed by three at half time.
That run did not return in the second half as the Rebels were not able to catch up with the Tigers who at one point led by 23.

Ole Miss was led by the play of Clarence Sanders and Todd Abernathy who scored 18 and 16 points respectively. The disappointment was Bam Doyne who only scored seven points, many of which came late in the second half. Doyne could not find the basket shooting a miserable 1-12 from the field. I was also a little upset about how many minutes Dwayne Curtis was allowed to play. It was clear from the getgo that Curtis was not in shape to play. He contributed 17 minutes and was held to two points.

There were a couple of things I was surprised about. One was the size of the crowd, while the Forum seats alot of people, there was no where near packed house. I was yet again let down by the amount of Ole Miss fans in attendance. Memphis has one of the largest Ole Miss fan bases, yet there were not that many Rebel fans in attendance. I find no excuse for this. My second surprise was the fact that Coach Cal was pretty reserved for most of the game. His normal "show" was held back and he actually coached this game.

The Rebels return to the court on Tuesday as they face Louisiana Monroe.

Cerasoli Out

This does not surprise me at all. When asked in the off season about Cerasoli, I could tell that Kennedy was not a big fan of him from the get go. This was another signee of Rod's that he built up to be a savior that did not pan out. He was probably more connected to former assistant Tracy Dildy. To be honest I was surprised he lasted this long.

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy announced Friday that Justin Cerasoli is no longer a member of the Rebel basketball team.

“Justin has left the team for personal reasons,” said Kennedy. “We wish him well in all his future endeavors.”

A sophomore guard, Cerasoli saw action in seven games for the Rebels this season. The Chicago native averaged 3.4 points and 1.1 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game.

Cerasoli signed with Ole Miss in July 2005 and sat out last year after transferring from Seton Hall.

Sleaze

There are very few people and things I dislike more than John Calipari and University of Memphis basketball. Calipari and his slicked back, greasy hair will be dressed in his pin point suit and working the sidelines this Saturday. I do not believe he even coaches during the game. All he does is walk up and down the sidelines and wine at the refs about the smallest fouls.

Why am I rambling about this? Well the Rebels will be traveling this weekend to take on the University of Memphis this Saturday in basketball. I enjoy going to this game and have made several trips to the Pyramid and the Forum to watch this matchup. The Rebels have won four of the last seven meetings between the two teams.

The Rebels will have a new face on the court this week as Dwayne Curtis returns from a foot injury he suffered in the preseason. It would surprise me if we see twenty minutes from Curtis as he is still recovering from this injury. Curtis, an All SEC member, was a big part of the Rebels gameplans as they went into this season. However two other big men in Jeremy Parnell and Kenny Williams have stepped up and played great games for the Rebels the last couple of games. It was the guard play that struggled the last time the Rebels took the court against New Orleans.

It was good to see Bruce Pearl and the Volunteers beat Memphis last night. However this will mean the Tigers are mad and I expect them to come out mad and hot early against the Rebels. Hopefully our coaching staff took a few pointers from the UT game and saw some weaknesses in the Tigers. I expect Memphis will lead most of this game, however if the Rebels can contain some of the key Tiger players like Tennessee did we could hang in there.

The game will be televised on CSS and tip-off is at noon on Saturday.

The Rumor Mill

Rumors are floating all over the internet about a possible QB transfer to Ole Miss. That transfer would be Texas true freshman Jevan Snead. Snead is requesting a leave from Texas as he does not see much playing time in his future. It appears that Texas will be granting his release for this former 4-star recruit out of high school. Several sites are reporting that he is supposed to be meeting with Ole Miss in the near future about a possible transfer. All I can say on this is I will believe it when I see him on campus. If I was a betting man, I would bet he never steps foot on the field at Vaught Hemingway.

Willis Wins the Butkus

The honors continue for Patrick Willis as he won the Butkus award a couple of hours ago. To be honest I did not think Willis had a chance to win the award going into the ceremony. With the way things are in modern day sports, only players whose teams that are at the top in there league win awards. I was glad to see that the voters actually looked at true talent instead of what team he played for. Willis was also named to the Walter Camp All American team.


ORLANDO, Fla. - Ole Miss senior linebacker Patrick Willis was named the 2006 Butkus Award winner on Thursday evening at the 2006 Home Depot/ESPN College Football Awards Show. Willis, a Bruceton, Tenn., native is the first player from the state of Mississippi to take home the award honoring the nation's top linebacker.
"My heart was beating so fast I didn't hear them call my name," said Willis, who was named 2006 SEC Defensive Player of the Year by both The Associated Press and the league coaches. "My foster mother turned to me and told me they called my name, I'm still in shock."

"I would like to thank my head coach Ed Orgeron, my foster parents Chris and Julie Finley, my teammates and the entire Ole Miss family for supporting me throughout my career," said Willis, who became just the second player from the SEC to win the award joining Alabama's Derrick Thomas who took it home in 1988. "I feel so honored to have my name listed next to Dick Butkus, as he is one of the all-time greatest linebackers to play the game. Words cannot describe how thrilled I am to be able to accept this award."

"We are very ecstatic for Patrick," said Orgeron. "This was one of the reason's he came back, to help put Ole Miss in the national spotlight. Winning this award brings prominence to Ole Miss on the national level and let's linebackers around the country know the importance we place on the position. Patrick plays with the tremendous passion of a Warren Sapp. He is very deserving of this award."

Unbelievable

A story ran in the Miami Herald today concerning an interview a reporter had with Lakeland High School running back Chris Rainey. Rainey admits to a reporter all sorts of gifts and money he has received, a clear violation of the Florida High School Athletic Association. Rainey is committed to the University of Florida and is an all star football player for Lakeland. Rainey is coming off the best game of his career. He ran for a school-record 326 yards and three touchdowns.

My question is will the NCAA get involved with this or is this just boosters of his high school giving him the gifts. You have to listen to the interview, it is one of the funniest things I have listened to in a while.

Link to Audio

Coaches Honor Willis

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the second time this week, Ole Miss senior linebacker Patrick Willis was named the Southeastern Conference’s top defensive player. Willis was recognized by the league’s coaches on Wednesday after earning SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors by The Associated Press on Monday.

Willis, a native of Bruceton, Tenn., led the SEC in tackles for the second-straight season. This year he was the only SEC defender to average more than 10 tackles a game with 11.4. His 137 stops rank sixth in the nation, and he’s third in solo tackles with more than seven a game. The winner of this year’s Conerly Trophy (awarded to the state of Mississippi’s top player), Willis is also a finalist for the Butkus Award and was a runner-up for the Nagurski Award.

Some Baseball Talk

Will Kline really proved some people wrong last year, including myself. I can remember early in the year and last year when Will Kline would go into the game I would say a few choice words and hold my breath that he would not blow our lead. I think starting with the Mayor's Trophy last year Kline turned out to be our most dominant pitchers. He went from being a player no one wanted in the game to a player everyone was calling for to pitch for the Rebels. I hope Kline will continue to improve this year. Some of you basebal experts want to break down the pitching staff and who guess at who our starters will be. As the season is about two months away.

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss junior right-handed pitcher Will Kline was named to the Roger Clemens Award watch list honoring college baseball’s pitcher of the year the Greater Houston Baseball Association announced recently.

Kline helped lead the Rebels to the 2006 Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship a year ago and helped Ole Miss host its third-straight NCAA Regional and second consecutive NCAA Super Regional. The Rebels posted a 44-22 record, marking the first back-to-back 40 win seasons in program history and the second most wins in a single season-ever.

“We’re very excited for Will Kline to be considered for this award and it is certainly one for which he is worthy of being nominated,” Ole miss head coach Mike Bianco said. “Will is a tremendous pitcher who was a big part of what we were able to do last season. He is definitely among the top pitchers in the Southeastern Conference and in the nation.”

More to Come

Ole Miss senior linebacker Patrick Willis was named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press today to lead five players from Mississippi schools on the All-SEC first and second teams.
Willis, who won the Conerly Trophy last week as the top player playing at Mississippi’s four-year colleges, led the SEC with 137 tackles, 87 of which were solo.

Gators in National Championship

After the USC loss last night, I was afraid there was going to be another Big Ten rematch for the national championship. I was quite shocked when I read this afternoon that the voters had pushed Florida from number 4 to number 2 which moved them up in the BCS rankings. The last thing I wanted to watch was two Big Ten teams playing in the national championship game.

I am a fan of the bowl system and am not in favor of the playoff system. With that being said if they came up with a playoff system that truly works I will not argue against it. I just think the NCAA is so messed up in their leadership and regulation that there is not possible way they will ever come up with a true and fair playoff system.

I do believe there are sevearl flaws in the BCS system though. It definately does not play well for a team like Ole Miss and they more than likely could never be a national champion if it ever came to that(key word IF). If we are going to use the BCS system then we must require all the BCS conferences to have championship game. If we would require that it would eliminate some of the problems we had this weekend. I think it was wrong that we almost allowed a team that did not even win it's conference to play in the national championship.

Everoyne has there opinon on the system and these are just a few of my confusing thoughts.

Johnson's Out

All the rumors have turned out to be true. Linebacker Rory Johnson has signed with an agent out of Atlanta and is entering the NFL draft. Several have said that Johnson could not find his way to the classroom this semester and does not have a shot at making his grades. However, his mother denied these rumors today on sevarl internet sites.

I personally think this is a bad move for Johnson. Others however believe that he will turn out ok in the league. Johnson is saying he entered the draft to "go ahead and start making some money."

Momma Said.......

Someone needs to tell this guy the story of Rufus French........

OXFORD — Rory Johnson’s first season as an Ole Miss Rebel might be his last.According to his mother, the junior linebacker is considering an early jump into the NFL Draft. Johnson, who transferred from Hinds Community College last August, finished second on the team in tackles with 94.“(The NFL is) something we’ve just been thinking about,” Rebecca Johnson said tonight. “We’re thinking and praying to let him make the right decision on what he wants to do.”(Clarion Ledger)

Rebel Frosh Get Attention

Both of these guys performed well for the Rebels this year. I was a little concerned about Shene early in the year, but he put my concerns to rest. As far as Jerry goes I think he had an outstanding year and has the chance to be one of the best offensive lineman in school history three years from now. I hope Jerry can continue to improve under offensive line coach Art Kehoe's leadership.


OXFORD, Miss – Ole Miss freshmen John Jerry and Joshua Shene both picked up their second All-Freshman honors after the duo was named to the 2006 SEC All-Freshman Team by The Sporting News on Friday.

Jerry, who started all 12 games for the Rebels at left guard, led Ole Miss with 26 pancake blocks and helped pave the way for Rebel running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis to finish second in the conference with 999 rushing yards, which also ranks fourth all-time in Ole Miss history.

Shene was just as outstanding, making 14-of-17 field goals on the season, good for 82 percent. Shene connected on a career-long of 52 yards versus Northwestern State and made all 20 of his PATs on the season.

Both Jerry and Shene were named second team Freshmen All-America by Rivals.com earlier in the week. They joined Rebel freshmen Greg Hardy (defensive end) and Marcus Tillman (defensive tackle), who picked up first team Freshman All-America honors by Rivals.com.