Coaches Voice Their Opinion on Bianco's Rebs

OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss baseball team was picked to finish second in the Southeastern Conference’s Western Division by the league’s coaches in a preseason poll released on Wednesday.

The Rebels received one first-place vote for the Division Title and were picked to finish second to the Arkansas Razorbacks in the preseason poll. South Carolina was picked to win the SEC’s Eastern Division and also picked to win the overall title.

Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team. Each coach also voted for one team as an overall conference champion. The Southeastern Conference has named a regular season champion as well as a tournament champion. Prior to the 1996 season, the tournament champion was considered the SEC Champion.

Ole Miss is coming of a 44-22 season and claimed the 2006 SEC Tournament Championship before advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals for the second straight season in 2006. The Rebels are the only program in the SEC to host an NCAA event each of the last three seasons as Ole Miss has played host to three-straight NCAA Regionals and back-to-back NCAA Super Regionals.

Rebs Win a Key One

I stated yesterday this game was a big one for the rest of the season for both teams. I think the Rebels made a statement that they are not ready to go away just yet, as they defeated the Bulldogs 85-73 at the Tad Pad tonight. Aside from the first few minutes, the Rebels had the lead for most of the game. It was the first game in which the Rebels had an answer for every run the opponent put on them. There were multiple times in this game where State cut deep into the lead before someone from Ole Miss answered with a big play.

The Rebels were led by their seniors tonight. Bam Doyne and Clarence Sanders scored 23 and 22 points. The announcers were very high on Sanders(they don't have to put up with him every game like the rest of us do). Todd Abernathy also had a very big game for the Rebs as he contributed 19 points and 10 assists. Dwayne Curtis also chipped in 14 points and eight boards for the Rebs.

I felt like this was probably the best all around game the Rebels have played this year. While we have played better for certain times throughout the year, this was the first complete game we have really played. Aside from the first 5 minutes when their were entirely too many turnovers, we played well. I felt like Mississippi State did not capitalize when they had the chance. Had they come out hot and capitalized on our turnovers, it could have been an entirely different game.

It still infuriates me how our big men miss some of the most simple baskets under the goal. We probably missed 10-12 points tonight on baskets under the goal that we could not capitalize on.

While this is an exciting win for the Rebels and has alot of the Rebel nation pumped, we can not get too carried away. In the SEC you have to win games like this one to stay alive. The season still has alot of games to go, and the Rebels are right in the middle of it. A win on Saturday at Auburn could really be a huge boost for the team. I am not saying it is a must win, but would makeup for some losses that slipped away earlier this year.

As Kennedy stated about the win, “It’s important and we’re happy about it, but it still counts as one win,”and added "There’s still a lot of basketball to be played and we can’t be satisfied.”

I'll be at Auburn if anyone would like to join me please give me a call.

Orgeron Gets Extension

OXFORD, Miss. ­ Ole Miss Athletics Director Pete Boone announced Tuesday that he and head football coach Ed Orgeron have agreed in principle to a two-year extension to Orgeron’s existing contract.

Boone said he will now forward his recommendation for the contract extension to Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat as well as to the UMAA Foundation Board of Directors for their approval.

Orgeron, who was named head coach in December of 2004, is in the second year of a four-year contract, which is the longest allowed by law in Mississippi. The contract extension would run through the 2010 season.

Although the Rebels have gone 3-8 and 4-8 during Orgeron’s first two seasons, Boone said he feels progress is being made.

“We are pleased with the progress Coach Orgeron has been able to make in his first two years,” Boone said. “We anticipated the resurrection of this program would take four to five years. He has assembled an extremely talented coaching staff and their superb recruiting efforts give Ole Miss fans reason for optimism in the immediate future.”(SID)

Game of the Season

I am titling this the game of the season for both Mississippi State and Ole Miss. This is a must win game for both teams and will be the turning point in the season for the team that wins in my opinion. I think Sam H. and David A. would agree. Both teams are at a cross-roads, both have about the same record, and need this win to boost their confidence. State is coming into the game having lost ten straight road games in the SEC and all of Ole Miss past six losses have been by less than ten points.A win would give both teams 14 wins for the season. And would actually put them close to the top in a very tight SEC west race.

There are still over 1,000 seats available for the game tomorrow night, which I am not to thrilled about. At the MSU game in Starkville earlier this year there were 10,313 in attendance. I am sure there will be a large contingent of Bulldogs at the game tomorrow. There have been many times in the past few years where the Dogs have been loud and in charge of the Tad Pad.

A pep rally before the game is being hosted to pump up the students before the nationally televised game on ESPN's Super Tuesday. Tip Off is set for 6:00.

Willis Still Getting Awards

I did not get to see the Senior Bowl due to the fact it was on the terrible NFL network, but I understand that Patrick Willis had a pretty good game. Patrick was awarded the South's defensive player of the game. He lead all defensive players with 11 tackles. I am hearing this week at the Senior Bowl improved Patrick's draft stock a little. I project he will be a mid to late first round pick. I think his speed may knock him back a little bit in the NFL, but he is going to be a heck of a player for somebody. Am I the only one that think his speed will affect his status?

Rebels Fight Back, But Not Enough

Another game, another deficit the Rebels tried to overcome, but couldn't. As Vanderbilt defeated Ole Miss 85-80. The Rebels found themselves down 10 at half and at one point were down by more than that. They came out feisty in the second half and had the lead a couple of times, but only by one point. In the end the Rebels could not put the Commodores away as they went on a 6-0 run late in the game to pull away.

The Rebels were led by Bam Doyne who contributed 22 points. Bam had a great game, it was his first SEC game to really take control. Bam played like this in pre-SEC play, but has not performed like this in about a month of play. Dwayne Curtis added 12 as Clarence Sanders and Todd Abernathy both pitched in 11.

The Rebels starting five played small and we stayed that way for most of the first half, as Brian Smith started. Sanders did not see the court much if at all in the first half. He came out in the second half and threw it up as he normally does. To give him credit though he did make some big three's at key points in the game. I was a little disappointed with the play of Dwayne Curtis I think he is a step slow and misses way to many easy layups. His slowness caused us a few points on defense and he seems to always be the last player up and down the floor. Which is not odd for a post player, but it seems it happens more often for Curtis. On the other side, I really like the play of Kenny Williams. He fouled out yet again today, but I think he is a huge asset to this team.

Some loyal Rebels are saying the referees cost us this game. I do not believe that. Yeah there were some bad calls, but it did not cost us the game. Our cause was not helped at the free throw line. To of our key players Bam and Todd both missed key free throws late in the game. The Rebels were 9-18 from the charity stripe. You can see in that stat where the game could have been turned around.

This was another game of ups and downs for the Rebels. They are digging themselves in too big of a hole to comeback and win these games. However I think this team still has a handful of wins left in them. They are fighters and continue to improve as the season goes along. It is my opinion if this team had been coached by Kennedy over the past two years, they would have won this game tonight.

The big game is Tuesday night. It is a nationally televised game on ESPN as the MSU Bulldogs come to town. The Dogs are a good team and we need to play a 40 minute game to beat them. We also need to have fans in the stands, I plead for those of you that can easily get there, to be at this game. Tip-off is earlier than normal at 6:00.

WOW

The headline sums it up about tonight's basketball game. The Rebels came back from a 10 point deficit to win 83-69 over Tennessee. The Rebels outscored the Vols 55-31 in the second half. Many reports from the Tad Pad said that the place was rocking in the second half as the Rebels began to take the lead. Listening on the radio was very frustrating, as it was my first SEC home game to miss in probably five years.

The game was a game of ups and downs if I have ever seen one. Ole Miss held a lead for several minutes in the first half before watching that lead dwindle away to end the half. Ole Miss shot 34% in the first half before ending the game shooting in the upper 40's. To tell another story Clarence Sanders had 2 points in the first half to come out and score 18 in the second. He was a man on fire. This guy is just frustrating to watch. He is either on fire or ice cold. As one loyal reader put it, "It was the ugliest 20 points in the history of the game." But without him tonight the Rebels would have never been able to come back in the second half.

Dwayne Curtis had another strong game with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Bam contributed 13, which I still believe he needs to contribute more. He continues to underperform in SEC games thus far.

The Rebels have yet to be able to put together a 40 minute game this season. However tonight this team did not give up, just like they did not give up on the road at Florida. I really have to give it to Kennedy on this one. I do not believe teams of the last couple of years would have been able to come back from a deficit like they did tonight. They would have rolled over and accepted the loss.

The Rebels move to 2-4 in the SEC for a 13-7 record. The was a big win for the Rebels as it was a home game they had to have to keep the fans interested and to keep any postseason hopes alive. They will travel this weekend to Nashville to take on a red hot Vanderbilt team. Vandy is coming off road wins of both LSU and Kentucky. It is going to be a tough one for the Rebels. Game time is set for noon and it will be televised on the Dave Network.

Sam H. Speaks His Mind

The loyal reader's of this site know that Sam H. and David A. are the two local State fans who grace us with their presence regularly. Both are good friends of mine. By the way where has David A. been, have not heard from him in a while on here. Anyway I would like to congratulate Sam H. for having his letter to the editor published in The Reflector. I think Sam hit the mark on this one.

The editorial staff has pointed out the obvious and should be commended for it. The NCAA's Minority Opportunity and Interests Committee that is on a crusade to push this issue is more than likely the same one that has pushed for NCAA member schools to get rid of Native American mascots. The entire organization perpetuates a disease of late-stage political correctness. The symptoms of its victims are extreme nausea and an endless repetition of the phrase, "Are they serious? Come on."My personal views on the state flag are pretty moderate. I do not appreciate the fact that it offends many people and has the tendency to continuously give the rest of the nation the impression that our state is still drowning in the 1960s. On the other hand, our state did vote to keep it, overwhelmingly. It is a state's right for which our country's 200-year-old Constitution has always allowed. The First Amendment says nothing about the right to not be offended. Do I wish we would change it? Sure. Then this essentially meaningless matter would not keep popping its head up in places where it does not need to be. Namely, in the NCAA' s Minority Opportunity and Interests Committee.To reiterate the The Reflector's point: What does this have to do with college athletics? The mission statement of the committee states that it is to "focus [on] ... the enhancement of opportunities for ethnic minorities and women in coaching, athletics administration, officiating and the NCAA governance structure." What opportunities are enhanced with this proposal? Overall, opportunities for ethnic minorities and women, along with anyone else associated with a Mississippi university or college, are being withheld for no good reason. Unless one considers the smug self-satisfaction that comes with barring non-discriminating universities from various "enhancement" opportunities over an issue that the institutions have nothing, directly or indirectly, to do with.

NCAA

The NCAA actually did something smart for a change. To be honest, it would not have surprised me if they had voted for the ban.

An NCAA committee decided today it will not expand its ban on postseason championships in Mississippi and South Carolina.
The Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee said the NCAA should continue its moratorium on bringing predetermined events like NCAA basketball regionals to the states, but should not branch out to include events that are awarded based on regular-season play, such as tennis and baseball regionals.Committee chairman Robert Vowels Jr. said in a statement that banning such events wasn’t fair “since institutions do not have control over the placement of the Confederate flag.”The committee was acting on a request from the Black Coaches Association to stiffen sanctions in Mississippi, whose state flag contains the Confederate emblem, and South Carolina, where the Confederate flag is displayed on Statehouse grounds. The committee also noted the flag is not displayed on any NCAA campus in either state.(AP)

Alcohol Task Force Makes Recomendations

The Ole Miss ATF has sent their recommendations to the Chancellor on how the campus should manage their alcohol policy. As you can read in the report by the Clarion Ledger below, I believe these are good recommendations. I think they wisely chose to fight the battles they can fight.

A newly adopted “two strikes” policy would become permanent at the University of Mississippi under recommendations made this afternoon by an expert committee on alcohol abuse.
The Alcohol Task Force committee, formed in October after several high-profile alcohol-related incidents at the university, presented its final report to Chancellor Robert Khayat today.Among the recommendations:- Make permanent the two strikes policy, which says students who are caught violating alcohol policies twice can be suspended;- Require all freshmen to undergo alcohol education;- Clearly indicate on student ID cards who is and is not at least 21;- Issue harsh punishments to non-students who violate on-campus alcohol policies, such as revoking season tickets to sporting events or banning them from campus;- And lift the campuswide ban on alcohol, a recommendation that split the committee nearly down the middle.Khayat said he would have to discuss the report with the university’s Executive Management Council before deciding which initiatives to pursue.He gave no immediate indication of when that might be.(Clarion Ledger)

The Next Powe??

OXFORD — Chris Strong, South Panola High's star linebacker who is expected to sign scholarship papers next month with Ole Miss, has transferred to Genesis One Christian School in Mendenhall.
Strong said he begins classes at the private school Wednesday.
Strong, Mississippi's Mr. Football and the No. 1 prospect on The Clarion-Ledger list of the state's 10 Most Wanted list of recruits, said he is attending the school to help him achieve NCAA initial-eligibility standards for freshmen.
"I'm just trying to get my grades up," said Strong, who decided to transfer to the school two weeks ago. "I've got to do what I've got to do to get eligible for college."
Strong is rated as a four-star prospect on a five-star scale by Rivals.com and Scout.com, national recruiting services that analyze the talents of high school prospects. Rivals ranks him as the 53rd top prospect in the country, regardless of position; Scout ranks him No. 73.Players must meet several criteria to be eligible as a freshman in NCAA Division I. They must graduate from high school, with a grade point average of 2.5 or above in 14 "core classes," such as math, science and English. Additionally, they must score at least 17 on the ACT.A sliding scale exists that allows for eligibility if a player scores lower in one of the areas but higher in another.Darel Thigpen, Genesis One's top administrator, could not be reached today for comment.Genesis One, which has about 225 students in grades K-12, was in the news last spring when it was among dozens of non-traditional schools nationally whose academic reputations were questioned by the NCAA.In July, the NCAA "cleared" Genesis One, along with 21 other schools, authorizing transcripts from Genesis One to be used by athletes seeking initial eligibility for the fall of 2006.On Dec. 22, that list was updated. But 12 schools, including Genesis One, are still listed as being cleared "only for prospects entering college in the fall of 2006, and they are subject to further review."(Clarion Ledger)

Only A Few Weeks Away

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss’ Zack Cozart continued to rake in the honors in the preseason as the Rebel shortstop was tabbed by Baseball America as a member of its All-America team. It is the third time this preseason that Cozart has been selected as a First Team All-American by an organization or publication.

Cozart has also been named First Team All-America by Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association. The junior has also been named to the preseason watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, honoring the nation’s top baseball player.

Gators Hold Off Rebels

The Florida Gators were up 25 at one point in the second half but held off a run by the Ole Miss Rebels to win 79-70 on Saturday. The top ranked team in the nation was just too talented for the Rebels to play with. Some of the best passes and assists I have ever seen were made by Florida this weekend. They are a good team and have plenty of talent to make it to the final four again.

The Rebels were led by a second half charge from Clarence Sanders who scored 15 of his 17 in the second half. Eniel Polynice also added a hot hand in the second half scoring eight. Polynice had a chance to cut the lead to four with about two minutes left, but it barely rimmed out.

I was very glad to see the Rebels fight back and not give up in this game. When they were down 25, they could have easily rolled over and packed it up. Instead they fought back and went on a 29-11 run to come back on the Gators.

The Rebels have to get more contribution from Bam Doyne who contributed 11 against Florida. Bam has not carried his weight in the past few games. To be the leading scorer, he is going to have to score more than 11 or 12 a game. Also no points out of Jermey Parnell and Kenny Williams hurt the Rebels. Both of these guys fouled out with no points.

At any rate the Rebels come back home to play Tennessee on Wednesday night. Tennessee is a pretty good team, but has lost a couple as of late. It should be an interesting game to see how the Rebels react to two straight losses to arguably the best teams in the conference.

Out of Commission

I will be out of commission for the next several days as I am getting some dental work done. I will be spending my time this weekend watching the Rebels play basketball on Saturday and the Saints play football on Sunday.

Coach Kennedy has mentioned several times since the game last night that he was going to change some things up with the personnel before the games start. I can not imagine what he is talking about, but I have a feeling we might see a little bit less of Clarence Sanders. He is not frustrated with Sanders taking shots, he is just frustrated with the stupid shots that he takes. He is killing us in these games where he is taking stupid shots. It should be interesting to see if he cnages anything in the 48 hours since last game.

My what the world has come to if the Saints could win on Sunday.

Played Hard

The Rebels played hard again tonight but came up short on the road at LSU losing 62-55 .The Rebels trailed for most of the game, but LSU only took a double digit lead a couple of times. The lead was never out of reach and was one or two possessions away for the overwhelming majority of the game. The Rebels were led by the 12 points of Clarence Sanders in his 1000 shots, most of these came in the second half. The story of the game is the Rebels leading scorer only contributing 8 points. This is the second or third game in a row that Bam has not contributed his share. Ole Miss was able to play with Glen "Big Baby" Davis as he was held to 11 points in the game.

The Rebels who fall to 12-6 and 1-3 in SEC only shot two free throws the entire game, which is unbelievable. Listening on the radio it seemed to be a scrappy game that was well fought on both ends. As Kennedy put it on the post game, "I don't think the National Basketball Hall of Fame is going to ask us to Fed Ex this game into them for their archives."

As has been the past 5 games, the game has come down to the second half in trying moments. Only once have the Rebels capitalized on their chance to win a game in the past five. In the SEC on the road when the other team is going to give you a chance to win the game you have to capitalize on that. Kennedy recognizes this and recognizes their is some problems with his team as he commented on the radio, "I'm not so sure their our some guys on our team that want to play, and I'm gonna remedy that." Let's just say I am glad that I will not be at practice tomorrow.

The road does not get any easier as the Rebels travel to the O'Connel Center to take on Florida, the defending national champions. We all know how that will end, but hopefully the Rebels will give them a run for their money.

By the way as I type this Bruce Pearl is a nutcase. His team is on the road at Auburn trailing by three or four with a minute left and he got a technical. I agree with Bruce that it was bad call, but he has to learn how to control himself when the game is that close. I like a technical foul on a coach more than anyone in America, but you have to learn when to and when not to get them. With a minute left in the game is not the time.

More Coaching Saga

The coaching carousel at Ole Miss is not over. It was reported today that David Saunders will no longer be the linebackers coach at Ole Miss. Saunders came to Ole Miss just last year from serving as the head coach at Milsaps. This was Saunders second stint at Ole Miss.

The interesting thing in this story is that Saunders and Orgeron were reported to be good friends, and had been for a long long time. There is more to this story than we will ever know in my opinion. I hate to see this happen to Saunders. By everything I have read and heard he has made some good impressions with high school coaches and recruits. I hope he will land on his feet somewhere soon again.

I had reported yesterday there would be some more changes in the staff, but I do not think this is the end of it. To be quite honest I am very surprised all these coaching changes are happening at this time of the year.

The SID Version

OXFORD — John Thompson is the new defensive coordinator of the Ole Miss football team, the school announced in a news release today.
Thompson, a former head coach at East Carolina and defensive coordinator at Southern Miss and several other schools, has spent the last year as athletic director at Central Arkansas. Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron served as his own defensive coordinator during his first two seasons with the Rebels.Thompson coached Orgeron in 1983 when Orgeron played at Northwestern State of Louisiana, and then Orgeron worked under Thompson as a graduate assistant in 1984.

It's Official

Well as it has been reported and rumored over the last several weeks, the hiring of John Thompson to Ole Miss is official. Thompson will act as the first defensive coordinator under the Orgeron administration. Thompson comes to the Rebels with years of experience and has coached on some successful teams. He most recently coached at South Carolina as a co-defensive coordinator, however he did not coach last year as he was serving as A.D. at Central Arkansas.

To be honest, I did not think that Orgeron would ever hire a defensive coordinator to work under him, but I am glad he did. I think this might take a little bit of the work load off of Orgeron. But do not get me wrong I still believe that Orgeron will still have a major role in the defense and the plays that will be called.

I am hearing that this is not the end of all the coaching moves, and another Ole Miss coach could be leaving the staff soon on the defensive side of the ball. Looks like there will be some more moving around of coaching duties as the shift in coaches continues.

Rebs Survive Hogs

Well it wasn't pretty, but it was a win. As the Rebels held off a late second half run by the Arkansas Razorbacks to win 74-72. It was a good game for the big men as Dwayne Curtis led the team with twenty points, included 2 late free throws to clinch the win for the Rebs. Also, Kenny Williams had a great day. This guy is not an all star player, but he plays extremely hard and is a key ingredient for this Rebel team. I really like him as a player and what he brings to the team.

Guard play for the Rebels as average as Todd and Clarence both had 13 and Bam chipped in eleven, most of which came late in the second half. Ole Miss had a 14 point lead before Arkansas went on a 16-2 run to take the lead. Arkansas had a couple of chances to win at the end, but did not really get a good look at the basket.

The Rebels once again did not finish a game well. While they did win, they did not finish well. This was a good learning experience for the team, who had failed in their past three attempts to hold onto or win a game in the second half. The referees were miserable on both ends. They made bad calls against Ole Miss and Arkansas, they really let the game get out of control in the second half.

All in all a good win for Coach Kennedy and his staff. The road continues to get tough as the Rebels travel to LSU on Wednesday.

Ross Is Boss

This has to be the biggest win in Carol Ross's history at Ole Miss. With back to back wins over top 15 teams, this team is gaining some attention.

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -Arminitie Price scored 18 points, including two clutch run-killing baskets late, and Mississippi won its second straight game against a ranked team with a 77-74 victory over No. 5 LSU on Thursday night.
The Rebels (14-4) snapped LSU's 10-game winning streak and are off to a 3-0 start in the Southeastern Conference after beating then-No. 11 Vanderbilt on Sunday and the Tigers (15-2, 1-1).
Ole Miss built an 18-point lead - the biggest deficit surrended by LSU this season - in a frenetic first half and held on as Sylvia Fowles and Quianna Chaney led a 20-5 run for the Tigers to start the second half.
The Rebels snapped an 11-game losing streak in the series against LSU and have now won five straight. It's their best start in conference since the 1991-92 season when they finished 11-0.

As Rumored

OXFORD — John Thompson, the former defensive coordinator at Southern Miss and Arkansas, confirmed he has spoken with Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron about a position on the Rebels’ staff.
“Let me just say that we’ve talked,” said Thompson, the athletic director at Central Arkansas. “Coach Orgeron is a friend of mine and we’ve been friends for a long time and, yes, we have talked.”Thompson coached Orgeron in his first season as defensive coordinator at Northwestern State in 1983. It was one of several coaching stops for Thompson, who has 19 years of experience as a defensive coordinator at Florida, Arkansas, Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech, Memphis and Northwestern State. Thompson also had a two-year stint as East Carolina’s head coach.Thompson did not say he was offered a job by Orgeron. Neither did Central Arkansas president Lu Hardin.“It is fairly public that he has been approached by Ole Miss and that is a tribute to his ability,” Hardin said. “Obviously, my understanding is his name has been mentioned for many defensive coordinator jobs. We hope he stays, but understand opportunities have to be examined.”(Clarion Ledger)

Pre-Season 13

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss found itself ranked yet again with the release of another preseason poll as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America tabbed the Rebels as the No. 13 team in America heading into the 2007 season in its poll released on Wednesday.

It is the fourth poll released to date that has the Rebels ranked in the top 25 as Rivals.com (11), Collegiate Baseball (20) and Baseball America (25) all ranked the Rebels nationally.

Ole Miss is coming of a 44-22 season and claimed the 2006 SEC Tournament Championship before advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals for the second straight season in 2006. The Rebels are the only program in the SEC to host an NCAA event each of the last three seasons as Ole Miss has played host to three-straight NCAA Regionals and back-to-back NCAA Super Regionals.

With the 44 wins in 2006, the Rebels posted back-to-back 40-win seasons for the first time in school history. Ole Miss was 48-20 in the 2005 season

Dogs Beat Rebs

Pretty much like I thought the game would end up. The Rebels lost by ten. Clay Sanders took way to many shots. Even though he scored in the double digits he took an enormous amount of shots. The Rebels did not get the production they needed from the inside game. I do not know if Parnell has scored in three games. I like Greg Hardy's hussle, but not sure if he is a basketball player. He plays the hardest on the team, but can not quite find the basket. The Rebs are going to loose alot of games like that this year, so get ready for it. Every now and then they are going to shock someone big, as I have already stated in a post this year.

Give some credit to the Dogs, when the game was close, they found a way to pull away and win. This is something the Rebels have not been able to do in three straight games.

It is the SEC and things do not get any easier as the Razorbacks from Arkansas come to town this weekend. I don't expect it to be near the atmosphere that we had against Kentucky, as a matter of fact it would surprise me if half of those in attendance at the Kentucky game show up for the game Saturday.

My favorite Kennedy quote thus far:


"You're not going to beat Mississippi State or the Mississippi School for the Blind when you are 9-of-39 from your two (main) guys"

In State Rival

This will be quick. The Rebels and the Bulldogs renew their roundball rivalry tomorrow as the Rebels travel to the Hump. I think MSU has a better team than most people believe. However they have lost three in a row. With this being said, they will be hungry for a win. As will the Rebels who have not won in Starkville in a long time and have blown two straight games with leads in the second half.

This will be a big game for the Rebels as their conference schedule continues to get harder after this game. If they can play hard like they did on Saturday and make a few more shots, they should be able to play with the Dogs. This game is not on tv, so we will be forced to listen to Kellum on this one.

Also, expect some more news out of the athletic department soon on staffing changes.

Greenwood Company Carries the Load and Helps Out Jackson

With more than eight months to go before the first ball is struck in Mississippi's lone PGA Tour event, tournament director Randy Watkins is predicting the tourney will draw its best field of golfers ever.

That's saying something for an event that last year drew the likes of gallery favorite John Daly and two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer.The Viking Classic, named after its new title sponsor, Viking Range Corp., will be benefitting from changes in the pro golf tour as well as fortuitous timing, Watkins told the Greenwood Rotary Club Monday.This season, the PGA Tour is dividing into three segments. The first 33 weeks of the regular season will include a points competition, where the top finishers will qualify for a four-week playoff for the inaugural FedExCup. The season will conclude with the fall series, in which the Sept. 24-30 Viking Classic is the second event.

Viking takes over the title sponsorship from Southern Farm Bureau, for whom the tournament was named the previous eight years. (Commonwealth)

Chadwick At It Again

The Ole Miss men’s tennis team is ranked No. 6 in the preseason Fila Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national team rankings, released Tuesday. This marks the 13th consecutive year for the Rebels to begin the season in the top 10.Ole Miss is one of two teams from the nation’s toughest conference (SEC) to be ranked in the top 10. Georgia, who finished runner-up last year in the NCAA Championships, secured the top spot in the rankings, followed by Baylor, Ohio State, UCLA and Illinois. Following the Rebels at No. 6 is Duke, Virginia, Stanford and Pepperdine. In 2006, the Rebels captured their fifth consecutive SEC Western Division Championship and advanced to the NCAA “Sweet Sixteen” for the 11th time in the history of the program. The Rebels return six of the top seven from last year and will be joined by German standout Matthias Wellermann, who becomes eligible at the start of the semester.

Rebs Blow Another Lead

The Ole Miss Rebels blew their second half time lead in a row as they lost to Kentucky 68-58 in a close game in Oxford. Things started off well for the Rebels as the lead was back and forth for a while before going into halftime with a two point lead. The Rebels came out cold in the second half and played very streaky. Kentucky led for most of the second half but by only a couple of possessions each time. The Rebs kept trying to cut into the lead, but the Cats had an answer for every shot by the Rebels. In the end it was the more experienced, confident, talented team that one.

The Rebels played well but when you shoot 33% in the second half you can not beat a good team like Kentucky. I felt like they had good looks at times, but when Bam Doyne and Clarence Sanders do not score in the second half, this team is not going to have a chance to win any game. Kennedy says this team does not have the mental confidence it needs. You can see this when guys are contemplating on taking a shot and double clutching all the time. This is something that will take time to overcome, and Kennedy is still trying to convince this team how to handle a loss. They are so used to losing that it does not effect them. But this is only something that comes with time.

Coach Kennedy is getting alot of this team, alot more than Barnes could have. But you can tell that he is frustrated with his talent. As I watch the post game press conference the one thing he says that can help this team is recruiting. And he is right, but that is not going to change the way this season goes.

This team is going to win a couple of big games, mark my word, but they will also lose alot of games also. I just hope the fans will continue to support the team like they did last Saturday. There were times where the Tad Pad was rocking and it felt like years when the Rebels were competing for titles. I would love to see this type atmosphere for the rest of the season. And the players and Kennedy deserve for it to be this way. As long as they are playing hard there is no excuse for the "fans" to give up on them just yet.

As far as the lights go in the Tad Pad, I was somewhat impressed. Projection lights projected the Ole Miss script and the logo onto the season the whole game. During the player lineups all lights were cut off and red and blue lights were flashed all over the court. In addition a video was showing on the "video board" of former great teams and players like Sean Tuhoy, Elston Turner, Raheem Larkhart and Keith Carter. After the announcements, the perimeter lights above the stands were left off and only the bright lights were turned on over the court. It made the court brighter and easier to view. Aside from the minute or so delay where there was nothing but silence in the pre game show, I was pretty impressed with the show. Finally I was glad to see the Ole Miss marketing/game day crew do something impressive, I was afraid the only thing they knew how to do was throw out t-shirts.

C-A-T-S...CATS CATS CATS

This is the chant of the most successful SEC basketball team in history. These Cats role into town this weekend with the same 11-3 record as the Ole Miss Rebels. Ironically the Rebels had the same record this time last year. However this 11-3 team seems to be alot better this year than last.

The Rebel team is at a crossroads. They went on the Road a week ago and blew a 13 point lead to lose to St. Louis. This has to kill the confidence of the team(Word is Kennedy made them watch the game on the bus back to Oxford. The Kentucky team that comes into Oxford, is not your normal top 25 Kentucky team. While they are still a very good team, they are as beatable this year as they will ever be. If the Rebels can some how come out hot early and continue this throughout the WHOLE game, they should have a pretty good chance to win. However after last weeks performance, I have no clue what will happen.

An opening win for conference play is not normal for Ole Miss. A league opening win against Kentucky is unheard of for the Rebels. So this win would be huge for the confidence and the fan base.

Ole Miss fans will not come and support Ole Miss basketball until they have won multiple games in a row. It is a fact and will be that way until we turn this program around. It infuriates me that as of Thursday there still 1,000 tickets available to the game. If you are able to make it to Oxford on Saturday night, I see no excuse for you to not be at the game. For those of you that are not within a 3/4 hour drive you can catch the game on Fox Sports South with tip-off at 7:30.



Oh yeah.......If you are coming get to the game early as they are making use of the new lighting/laser system for the first time this season. This should be a new added bonus to the Tad Pad.

Fox

Am I the only one that thinks the Fox coverage of college football is miserable. I have been pretty ticked off by watching these games. The quality of the broadcast is miserable. I think every game that I have watched something has been wrong with the audio. Whether it is the referees mic, the side line reporter, or commentator it seems like there is something always wrong.

The camera angles and shots seem to be bad also. In last night's Orange Bowl one of the cameras was blurry the entire night, yet they continued to use the camera to show portions of the game. And tonight they broke away from a long LSU run to show the Notre Dame cheerleaders doing pushups.

Another thing that makes me mad is the no name announcers. Aside from Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long(who I am not big fans of anyway) they have sub-par play by play and color commentators.

College Football belongs on ABC,CBS or ESPN. Fox can have NASCAR, MLB, and NFL, but please give the BCS games back to a network that normally does college sports.

Am I the only one that thinks this?

The Weekend

The weekend did not start out well as the Rebels blew a 16 point lead to St. Louis on the road. I only watched the second half and was a little disappointed with the execution in the second half. It did not seem like we could throw it in the ocean at some point. And Dwayne Curtis looked like a freshman at times making stupid fouls. We can not win games in the SEC if Curtis is going to have more fouls than points.

I was really hoping to win this game to build momentum opening up SEC play in Oxford. I felt like if we would have won this game the fans would have been fired up for the Kentucky game this Saturday. After watching this performance, I think some fans will stay at home this weekend instead of coming to Oxford. Ole Miss basketball fans are so fair-weather that after a loss like this, we will not have a good crowd on Saturday. I hope I am wrong and hope to see you all in Oxford on Saturday.

On a different note I had a great weekend in Mobile/Gulf Shores. I was able to spend some time with a great group of people to ring in the New Year's at the infamous Flora-Bama. Several loyal readers of Worldclassglass were in attendance including Cook and Marshall. Cook did put on a special performance of "Cliff - The Taliban Man" I would recommend the next time you have the privilege of spending some time with Cook, ask him to perform this stunt. Which is a combination of Ole Miss most recognizable fan, Cliff, and members of the Iraqi militant group.

All in all I hope we all have a great 2007 and hope to be spending New Year's next year at a bowl destination.