Peaked Too Early

Ole Miss continues its woes on the road as they have all season with a loss to Alabama Wednesday night 69-58. This team reached a peak around the first week of February and really has not played well since for the most part. Clarence Sanders is the only guy on this team who has stepped up and played well for the team on a consistent basis.

For the Rebels it was Sanders who led the team in scoring once again, as he put up 18 points. Dwayne Curtis followed with 12 points. Aside from that NO ONE was able to contribute the way they should. Brian Smith played for probably two minutes and had 6 points, compared to Todd Abernathy who played most of the game and fouled out with 6 points.

Bam Doyne's average points have gone down on a consistent basis since the St. Louis game. Tonight Bam plays the entire game and scored 4 points. He was 2-9 from the field, 0-4 from behind the arc, and 0-2 from the charity stripe. Not only that, Bam was the guy who took the shots, when the Rebels still had a chance to pull off a miracle. So three straight trips down the court with less than a minute and a half to go: it is Bam turnover, Bam miss shot, Bam miss shot.
WHY? WHY? WHY? If it was not senior day on Saturday, no way I start this guy.

For Alabama, they did not play extremely well, but they found the way to win. They were led by Mykal Riley who had 13 points followed by three players with 12 points. They also crashed the boards very well, and shot 67% from three point land in the second half. However as Andy Kennedy mentioned after the game, the Rebels could have easily won this game. They did not capitalize on the multiple opportunities that were given to them by Bama.

What does this mean for the rest of the season. The Rebels have played their way out of controlling the SEC West to finding themselves in a four way tie for first play with one to play. But a western division championship has no bearings on post season play. Aside from the Rebels playing lights out, Florida not showing up at the SEC tournament, and everyone else in the league forfeiting in the SEC tournament, it is the NIT for the Rebels.

On a side note David Kellum is terrible. I am so glad I was blessed to be able to live within driving range of Oxford where I do not have to listen to him on the radio every game. Not only does he give awful commentary like ........."Abernathy steals the ball but he fouled, or the free throw hits, centers, and rolls of the rim, or Curtis blocks the shot but fouls. He drives me insane. On top of that he blames the game on Sanders for being 3-14 from three pointers, when Clay was the leading scorer with 18 and only one of two in double digits.

With all that being said, the Rebels have one game left against Auburn on Saturday. A win and an Alabama win over MS State and the Rebels win the West. A loss and they can finish as far back as fifth place in the West.

Game time is set for 1:00 on Saturday and it will be televised by Lincoln Financial.

Rebs Travel to T-Town

Ole Miss travels to Tuscaloosa tomorrow night to take on the Crimson Tide of Alabama. Ole Miss is coming off a poor performance at South Carolina and the Tide is coming off of a disappointing loss to in state rival Auburn last weekend. Both teams are in desperate need of a win.

Ole Miss(18-10,7-7) was playing very well just several weeks ago, has just about played its way out of the NCAA tournament. The Rebels would have to win out the rest of the season and probably have to advance to the finals of the SEC tourney to have any shot of making the Big Dance.

Alabama(19-9,6-8) is skating on thin ice with the selection committee. The Tide have struggled as of late and have lost to some teams they should not have. A win at home against Ole Miss and on the road against State gets them into the tournament in my opinion.

With only one week to go in the season, Ole Miss is still tied for the #1 spot in the SEC Western Division. A win against Alabama would be big for the confidence of this team as well as for the fans. I think they would need a win at Alabama also in order to make a run in the SEC tourney next week. This would give them the confidence to win on the road. Which they have only done once this season in the SEC.

Tip-off from Coleman Coliseum is set for 7:00.

Diamond Rebs Pick Up Win

(SID) OXFORD, Miss. – The Rebels found a rhythm at the plate and put up runs in three straight innings down the stretch as No. 16 Ole Miss (7-3) defeated Belmont (5-1) by a score of 4-2 on Tuesday.

Four Rebels notched multiple hits in the game as Jordan Henry led the way with a 2-for-4 performance with a run scored and an RBI. Zack Cozart went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, while Logan Power scored two runs and added an RBI of his own.

Phillip Irwin (1-0) picked up the win as he entered the game in the sixth inning to relieve starter Nathan Baker. Irwin worked 1.2 innings, allowing no runs on two hits. Baker worked 5.2 innings in the start as he gave up one run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Scott Bittle picked up his third save of the season as he closed out the ninth with one run on one hit with a walk and three strikeouts.

Rebels Drop First Series of the Year

The Ole Miss baseball team wrapped up a very disappointing weekend this afternoon as they dropped the final two games in the series to Wright State. I have only seen a couple of games this year in person, but have listened to most on the radio. This team has got a long way to go if they are going to compete at the same rate they have done the past two years. There is one main problem with this team: HITTING. Ole Miss is getting runners on base, but can not bring them home. Some of the players many fans were relying to bring runs home are not connecting at the plate. This has frustrated many fans and I am sure it is extremely frustrating to head coach Mike Bianco.

Baseball is a game, where the season is long and the pitches are many, the problem with Ole Miss fans at this point is that they are living and dieing with every pitch. Ole Miss baseball has become hot with fans over the past couple of years, and there are alot of "new" fans to the game. Many of these fans are treating this team like a football season or team, in their approach to cheering and criticizing the team. All these "new" baseball fans need to realize these type things happen in baseball no matter at the major, minor, or collegiate level, hitters go through slumps and the seasons are long.

I am in agreement that Ole Miss has alot of improvement to do with it's hitting, but I am not ready to jump ship. As a matter of fact, I am so far away from being concerned about our hitting woes. As the season progresses Bianco will find 9 players on our team that can hit. So for now, just sit back, relax, enjoy non-SEC play and call me when SEC play comes around in the next couple of weeks. At that point we will see if this team has what it takes to make another run for postseason success

No Change at the Top

This weekend proved no change at the top of the SEC Western Division as all of the top three teams lost. Ole Miss has the opportunity to gain a game on Mississippi State and really separate itself from Alabama, but completely blew that opportunity. The Rebels were defeated by South Carolina 76-63 in Columbia on Saturday night. As predicted Tre Kelley dominated the game for the Gamecocks as he knocked in 28 points to lead USC.

For the Rebels Dwayne Curtis, Todd Abernathy, and Clarence Sanders each contributed 14 points. As has been about the whole month of February, Bam Doyne did not contribute much as he had 6 points for Ole Miss. Dwayne Curtis continues to miss incredibly easy shots under the goal. It amazes me how many opportunities he has under the basket and how many he can not put in. Kennedy surprised me with the play of Trey Hampton, who contributed 4 points in his fifteen minutes of playing time. This guy has rarely seen the floor all season.

Postgame it appeared Kennedy was pretty upset with the way his team played, as he should be. It was obvious they were not mentally prepared for this game and played flat the entire time, as they shot 37%. This team has all but played its way out of the NCAA tournament in my opinion. The Rebels would have to win out and win several in the SEC tourney to advance to the big dance now.

I was extremely disappointed Saturday night. Aside from Trey Kelley, South Carolina has very little talent, and the Rebels were dominated by them the whole game. At any rate they move on as they travel to Alabama on Wednesday night. The Tide are beatable but have alot of talents and are now playing to solidify their NCAA tournament birth. Tip-off is set for 7:00 and the game is not televised.

You Gotta Love This Guy

Robbie Neiswanger of the Clarion Ledger is reporting on his blog that the Ole Miss basketball team did not practice this afternoon. Instead of practice Kennedy took his team to the Bowling Alley. He wanted to get them out of their normal routine and take their mind off of basketball before this week and a half stretch.

To steal a quote Neiswanger took from Kennedy, Andy said:

"I thought for us and this stage and where we are, it would allow us to just kind of relax a little bit before we have to get our focus back on the task at hand.”

Personally, I really like this and think this is great. Kennedy says he has done this in the past with other teams and sometimes it works, but sometimes it does not. For the Rebels, sake I hope it works for them.

My money is on Kenny Williams that he bowled the best for the Rebels.

Rebs Back In the Win Column

Ole Miss added another win to it's record this year as they defeated the University of Georgia 67-49 Wednesday night. This win moves the Rebels to 18-9, 7-6 in the SEC. The Rebels led and pretty much dominated for most of the game. The Bulldogs had a nine minute drought of scoring a field goal in the second half, which contributed to the Rebels lead.

For Ole Miss Clarence Sanders continued to dominate scoring for the Rebels as he contributed 21 points in the second half. Sanders has inched closer to the season record for the most three point baskets in the season. As for the rest of the Rebels, Dwayne Curtis had 14 followed by Bam Doyne who contributed 12 points. A big key to the game was the contribution of Jermey Parnell who pitched in 11 points for Ole Miss. This was definitely Parnell's biggest game of the year, and it was good to see him contribute with some scoring for once.

This game was big for the Rebels, as they continued to protect their home court advantage. It was also big, because Georgia had been talked about as a bubble team for the NCAA tourney ahead of Ole Miss, with this win hopefully it will put Ole Miss ahead of UGA. The key now to improve the NCAA resume is to get a win on the road. That is a big point the Rebels are missing on their scorecard to get in the tourney.

Ole Miss next two games are on the road, as they travel to South Carolina and Alabama. People are saying the win at South Carolina should be easy, but it will be easy by no means. This team is very talented in my opinion. They have one of the better players in the nation with Tre Kelly he can light it up from all over and can win a game for the Gamecocks by himself. USC is coming off a road loss to Florida on Wednesday night. We will take a deeper look at Bama after the USC game, but the Tide did lose tonight to Tennessee in overtime.

So with one more game under our belt, the SEC race is still neck and neck. MSU and Ole Miss are tied for first place in the west followed by Alabama who is one game back and in sole possession of second place in the west. While you are taught to take one game at a time. You can not help to take a look at how the tiebreaker works. You will see in the post below the rules.

As I state one game at a time and the next game is South Carolina which will be a 6:00 tipoff from Columbia, SC that will be broadcast on FoxSportsSouth at 6:00.

Tie Breaker Rules

Below are the rules for a tie breaker from the SEC website.

Tie Breaker Procedures

For a two-team tie: 1. head-to-head; 2. division record (10 games); 3. record vs. No. 1 team in division proceeding through the No. 6 team if necessary; 4. non-division record (6 games); 5. record vs. No. 1 team in the opposite division proceeding through the No. 6 team if necessary; 6. coin flip by the Commissioner.


For a three-team tie: 1. Total won-lost record of games played among the tied teams (Example: Team A is 3-1, Team B is 2-2 and Team C is 1-3 - - Team A would be seeded highest, Team B second-highest and Team C lowest of the three); 2. division record (10 games); 3. record vs. No. 1 team in division proceeding through the No. 6 team if necessary; 4. non-division record (6 games); 5. record vs. No. 1 team in the opposite division proceeding through the No. 6 team if necessary; 6. coin flip by the Commissioner.


Once a three-team tie has been reduced to two teams, the two-team tiebreakers go in effect.

Quick Note

Ole Miss hosts the University of Georgia tomorrow night in one of those "must win" games. The Rebels need to beat UGA in order to keep their run at the NCAA tournament alive. The Rebels return to Tad Smith Coliseum where they have a 13-1 record this season. They need to continue their dominance at home as this is the next to last home game of the season. It is imperative for the Rebels to get back in the win column before they go on a two game road trip to South Carolina and Alabama.

Ole Miss is currently 17-9 and 6-6 in the SEC. They are sitting atop the SEC West with Alabama and Mississippi State. For the Rebels to win they are going to need to play better than they did on Saturday at Arkansas. I am really looking for more from Bam Doyne who has slacked off the past couple of games. He started the season off hot and has been up and down with his scoring in SEC play.

Georgia is coming into the game with a three game winning streak, most recently a win against Auburn last Saturday. The Dawgs come to Oxford minus one of their key players, Mike Mercer, who tore a ligament in his knee a couple of weeks ago. Georgia is 16-9 and 7-5 in the SEC. Many backet analysts have Georgia as a better chance of getting into the NCAA tourney than Ole Miss.

All in all the Rebs have to win this game.

Mid Week Baseball

Ole Miss had the bats rollin in Oxford today as they beat Memphis 11-9. It was quite a home run derby for the first couple of innings for the Rebels who hit a grand slam in the first followed by three home runs in the second. This Memphis team is evidently not a bad team and is improving year by year. I was not there, but I have a feeling the wind was in favor of those at the plate this afternoon. Would love to know the conditions in Oxford from someone that was there this afternoon.

OXFORD — Ole Miss hit four home runs today, including a grand slam from Cody Overbeck, to beat Memphis 12-9 in a non-conference baseball game at Oxford-University Stadium.Overbeck’s slam came in the first inning. He hit a solo homer in the second, helping Ole Miss (5-1) take an early 11-3 lead on the Tigers (0-1).The Rebels then used five pitchers to hold on down the stretch. Nathan Baker (1-0) earned the win in his first collegiate start, giving up four earned runs in five innings. Scott Bittle picked up his second save, getting the final out with runners at first and second.“(The hitting and scoring) was certainly a change from the first five games of the season, and we needed every one of them,” said Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco. “I alluded to it after our Sunday game with Evansville that I thought we were swinging the bat better and had a chance to get some extra base hits and hit some home runs. We saw that today with some well hit balls.”Ole Miss’ next game is Friday at 3 p.m. at home against Wright State in the first game of a three-game series.

More Practice Facility Talk

I have stated before that I am in complete disagreement with this plan. Ole Miss is not going to build a new basketball arena in the near future. And personally I do not think we need to. I think we need to pump about $25 million into the current coliseum and make it a better place. Schools have done this in the past decade and it has been a huge success. Ole Miss does not need a 15,000 seat arena. When you only have 7,500 people at a game when you are in first place of the SEC West, you know there is little support for the program.

With that being said, why would you build a practice facility away from the current coliseum. The location, while not far, is not even within a true person's walking distance from the arena. It makes no sense at all in my opinion to build a facility away where they have planned. Why not build a practice facility to connect and have it house new coaches offices, practice courts, locker rooms, etc. Why would you want two different locker rooms? Under the current plan you would prepare for practice in one locker room and prepare for a game in another. When you have the opportunity to avoid it, why not capitalize your efforts to try and make it happen.

Here is a portion of the article from Parrish Alford of the Daily Journal in Tupelo:

OXFORD - Ole Miss athletics director Pete Boone hopes to be able to announce plans for a new practice facility for basketball within 60 days."It needs to be sooner rather than later," Boone said, "so we can get into the fundraising aspect. Hopefully within 60 days we can have a basic plan, a look and a cost estimate."In the modern-day landscape of the game, the practice gym is the recruiting tool for basketball that an indoor facility is for football.Beyond recruiting, there is another need for the new gym. Tad Smith Coliseum doubles as a practice area for the men's and women's teams, forcing the teams to schedule around one another for years.The practice gym would have two full-size courts. The teams would share some areas like the weight room and training room.It is unclear right now whether coaches offices would be at the practice gym or remain at the coliseum.The proposed site for the new facility is the dirt lot across Coliseum Drive from the Gillom Center.An arena to replace 8,700-seat Tad Smith, which opened in 1966, is not a part of any present discussion."That's not a reasonable thing to consider," Boone said. "It would have to be state-funded, and quite frankly, there are better uses of state funds right now. Our arena does pretty good when it's packed."Building a new one would be pretty neat to do, but is it something we really need? Probably not. What we do really need is a great recruiting and practice facility."

Crowded at the Top

Coach Andy Kennedy and his basketball team suffered a set back on Saturday as they were defeated by the Arkansas Razorbacks 83-66. This was not a good game for the Rebels. They struggled for alot of the game, but were able to cut the Hogs lead to one going into halftime. Arkansas kept that lead and never looked back as they dominated the second half and never let the Rebels get close.

The Rebels did not play like they had been playing over the last month or so. They seemed to be a little slow and not as focused as they had been in the past. Andy Kennedy took note of this and commented on it post game. He was very disappointed in the way his team played. All I can say is that I am glad I was not at practice today or tomorrow.

Clarence Sanders led the Rebels with 15 points. However most of these points did not come until late in the game, when the lead was already out of reach. The disappointing fact is that Bam Doyne has not produced lately. In his last game in his home state of Arkansas, Bam only produced 7 points and was 2 of 12 from the field. Bam has got to step it up if the Rebels are going to make a run at a divisional championship or NCAA tourney bid.

Arkansas deserves credit also. I felt like they played very well in a must win game for them. They were led by Patrick Beverly with 24 points and Sonny Weems who contributed 19.

The Rebels are now 17-9 and 6-6 in the SEC. They sit atop the SEC West tied with Alabama and Mississippi State. Who both had big wins this weekend. As I stated earlier, Saturday had the chance to go two ways, either Ole Miss would separate themselves or there would be a big jumble at the top. Well the later has happened. The final four games of the season are going to determine who wins the West. I feel like the winner of the West will go 9-7. And with MSU and Alabama playing the last game of the season on a Sunday, we will more than likely have to wait until that Sunday to figure out the seedings.

For Ole Miss, they face a Georgia team on Wednesday who is 7-5 in league play. The Rebels must protect their home court and win this game. I feel like Kennedy will have his team prepared to get things back to the way they were before the trip to Arkansas.

Rebels Suffer First Loss, But Win Series

The Ole Miss baseball team suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday as they were defeated by Evansville 2-1. However the Rebels were able to win the series with wins on Friday and Sunday, here is the SID recap of Sunday action.


OXFORD, Miss. – The Rebels found the bats and got the offense rolling on Sunday as No. 13 Ole Miss (4-1) pounded out 14 hits on the way to a 4-1 win over No. 21 Evansville (3-3) at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field. The win clinched the series for the Rebels in the match-up of top-25 teams.

Brett Basham notched two RBI on the afternoon on a 1-for-4 performance, driving in the tying run and go-ahead run for the Rebels. Justin Henry went 4-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and Logan Power went 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI to help lead the Rebels to the win.

Brett Bukvich (1-0) picked up the win for the Rebels as he worked 6.0 innings, allowing one run on four hits as he walked two and struck out three. Scott Bittle then picked up his first save of the season as he worked the final 3.0 innings, holding the Purple Aces scoreless and allowing only one hit as he walked one and struck out four.

How The West Was Won...Part One

I feel like the upcoming weekend in SEC basketball will probably give us a good indication of how the SEC Western Division will be won. It is a weekend where Ole Miss could separate themselves, or the race could go back to a big cluster. With the final few weeks ahead of us, it is just about anybody's race to win.

Ole Miss goes on the road to Arkansas to play at Bud Walton. It was just about a decade ago when people referred to Bud Walton as Tad Pad West. It seemed like for several years straight Ole Miss ruled Arkansas on the road. However recent times have changed that trend. The Rebels have not been so lucky on the road at Arkansas. As a matter of fact the Rebels have not been so lucky anywhere on the road, until their last outing a couple of weeks ago at Auburn. If the Rebels can play like they did at Beard-Eves, I have no doubt they can beat Arkansas.

Ole Miss is on a four game winning streak. The Rebels as a team played much better against wins over MSU and Auburn than the recent wins against Alabama and LSU. While the team as a whole has not performed well, certain plays have played exceptionally well, i.e. Clarence Sanders who threw up 29 against LSU.

If Kennedy is going to be successful on the road, he knows his team has to get back to player better as a whole. While the team performance has not been outstanding, the one thing this team has shown, is a refusal to lose. I am confident that Kennedy knows his team has got to play better to beat Arkansas on the road. Tip-off is 4:00 and can be seen on Fox Sports South.

Elsewhere around the West. Tied for second, both one game back are MSU and Alabama. MSU has turned it on lately and is playing very well. I feel they should be feared more than Bama. The Dogs travel to LSU, who could either pack it up for the season, or take it out on the other Mississippi school for a heart breaking loss last night. On the other hand, Alabama plays host to an always good Kentucky team. The Tide has lost 2 straight including two games where they held leads before losing in the second half.

All in all, this weekend is a huge weekend for the battle in the West, and to top it off, all of the important games are on TV.

Weekend #2

The Rebels are not going to get to far into the season until they are faced with a test. The second weekend of the season is coming up and they face a nationally ranked Evansville team. This weekend just answer a few more question about this Rebel baseball team. The Ole Miss weekend is circled on alot of people's calendars. A school like Evansville would love nothing more than to knock of a school like Ole Miss. Here is the writeup:

(SID) OXFORD, Miss. – The 13th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels face the first challenge of the 2007 baseball season this weekend as the Rebels (2-0) will welcome No. 21 Evansville (2-1) to Oxford for a three-game series in a non-conference showdown of ranked opponents.

Ole Miss is coming off a two-game sweep of New Orleans while the Purple Aces will be playing on the road for the second time this season after taking two of three from Lipscomb on the road last weekend to open their season.

The Rebels put together a solid opening weekend at the plate and on the mound. In 61 at bats against New Orleans, no Rebel batter was struck out as the team defeated the Privateers 7-2 and 4-0. Brett Basham led the Rebels at the plate as he hit .750 for the weekend with four RBI and three sacrifice flies. He was joined in the offensive outburst by senior designated hitter C.J. Ketchum who hit .667 and freshman Andrew Clark who hit .600 with a 1.400 slugging percentage. Clark’s second at bat of his career resulted in a two-run home run in the opening game.
(SID)

Amazing

That was the word to describe this game. With about 13 seconds on the clock and the Rebels down one, LSU throws the ball inbounds, pass, pass, pass, and out of nowhere Brian Smith steals the ball pushed it up the court, pass to Abernathy, to Sanders in the corner and Clay drains a long two pointer with .6 seconds left. It was one of the most amazing things that ever happened positive for the Ole Miss Rebels.

After Bam Doyne missed a three pointer to try and tie the game, with few seconds left, it looked like the Rebels were finished. However Kenny Williams puts the ball right back in for a dunk to pull the Rebels within one. Even at that point it seemed the Rebels would not win this game. I along with others had already written this one off, but I should have known better. This team does not quit, and tonight they once again refused to lose.

It was a day Glen Davis ruled the paint and drained 2 three point baskets. To top that LSU shot 61% from the field. I would like to know the last time a team went on the road and shot 61% and went on to lose the game. As I watched the post game press conference, Brady was mentally drained and very upset. He was very intense during the Q&A section. In my opinion Brady never gave Ole Miss credit. Not on playing hard, not on Clarence Sanders, not on Andy Kennedy, not one compliment on the Rebels. But then again, I did not expect much.

Overall the Rebels did not play well. In the post game, Kennedy was not even sure if half the players on the team deserved a passing grade. It was the second game in a row that the Rebels did not give an all around great effort as a team. But don't get me wrong this team once again fought back and played hard. Clarence Sanders is one heck of a guy. Lots of people doubted him at times, including myself, but this guy has really shown he is a prime time player in the last month. When no one was there to pick this team up, Sanders answered several times. And once again Brian Smith comes up with a huge still and makes a huge play to help win another game for the Rebels. The guy does not play much, but when he does, he gives it his all. Sanders ends the game with an awesome 29 points, far and away the most on the team. It was a not so good night for Curtis and Doyne who ended with 5 and 8 points each.

I can not remember another game like this that landed in Ole Miss's favor. There have been many a times when Ole Miss has been on losing side in a game like this. Sanders shot could be one of the biggest in Ole Miss history, maybe not the biggest, but one that could have a huge impact on a team that was not supposed to be performing the way they currently are.

This Ole Miss team sits alone at the top of the SEC West all by themselves. They move to 17-8 and 6-5 in the SEC. The Rebels have also won four straight. However if this team wants to continue to gain attention, they have to continue to improve their play from the last couple of games. The road does not get easy as they travel to the always tough Bud Walton Arena to take on Arkansas on Saturday. The game will be televised on Fox Sports and tip off is at 4:00.

I leave you with some quotes from Andy Kennedy:

“I don’t want to put a ceiling on what we can accomplish for the rest of the season, Kennedy said. “Our guys believe in themselves right now.”


(UPDATED) One other thing that I forgot to mention. At the point in the game with about 13 seconds left and the Rebels down one. You will not believe what the Ole Miss Sports Marketing Department was playing. Yes, it was that great Village People classic you all love to hate Y.M.C.A. Are you kidding me??? Out of all the songs they have in that computer and with a band in attendance, our genious staff comes out with YMCA. I have had enough of them. Those that regularly read this page know I can not stand those bafoons. They are a laughing stock of a department. They are paid to get the fans excited and all they can come up with is YMCA, with a team down one point struggling to keep their lead at the top of their division, and they play the Village People. Maybe I should not be posting this on a night that was one of the greatest plays in Ole Miss history, but I had to go ahead and let it out. They are absolutely pathetic.

The Right Decision

The NCAA Football Rules Committee today abandoned changes that cut 14 minutes and several plays from an average football game in 2006 but also angered some coaches and fans."The changes we made last year, overall, did not have a positive effect on college football at all levels," said Michael Clark, chair of the committee said in a statement released by the NCAA. "Our charge is to protect the game and do what is best for college football. Last year's game lost too many plays, but it accomplished the need to shorten the overall time it takes to play a game. The changes we have made for 2007 balance both of these issues."Many Southeastern Conference coaches, including Ole Miss' Ed Orgeron and Florida's Urban Meyer, were against the 2006 rules."I always get concerned when we start changing things for television or to be like the NFL," Meyer said during an SEC teleconference in September. "... It's probably selfish on my part, but I like football. I think we need more plays, I don't quite understand it. I'm very disappointed with how it went through."Rule 3-2-5-e is reverting back to its 2005 form. The clock will now start on the snap after a change in possession, unlike in 2006 when the clock started when the referee signaled the ball ready for play.On kickoffs, the clock will start when its legally touched in play, instead of 2006 when the clock started after the ball was kicked.The committee did vote to make other changes designed to shorten the game - among them shortening timeouts by 30 seconds and moving kickoffs from the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line.

Making Some Changes

OXFORD, Miss. -­ With the addition of one new coach as well as the promotion of a graduate assistant to full-time status, Ole Miss head football coach Ed Orgeron announced Tuesday a realignment of duties for several members of his staff.

John Thompson, who joined Orgeron’s staff last month as defensive coordinator, will also coach the defensive backs, while David Corrao, who for the last two years has served as a defensive graduate assistant, has been promoted to a full-time assistant coaching position. Corrao will coach linebackers.

Corrao, who joined Orgeron’s first staff in the spring of 2005, helped mold Rebel defenders such as All-American Patrick Willis. Prior to arriving at Ole Miss, Corrao spent one season on the Northeastern University football staff as an assistant working with the tight ends.

Before working at NU, Corrao coached at three high schools before landing a graduate assistant position at Syracuse in 2000 and was with the Orangemen through the 2003 season.

Orgeron also announced assistant defensive backs coach Tony Hughes is now coaching tight ends, while last year’s tight ends coach, Hugh Freeze, has switched to coach the wide receivers. Freeze will continue his duties as recruiting coordinator.

Rebs Move to 2-0

OXFORD, Miss. – It was a strong day on the mound for the Rebels as No. 13 Ole Miss (2-0) saw three pitchers combine for a shutout of New Orleans (0-2) in a 4-0 victory on Sunday.

The trio of pitchers, Lance Lynn, Craig Rodriguez and Scott Bittle, allowed only five hits on the afternoon and no runs while striking out 10 Privateer batters and walking only two.

Lynn (1-0) picked up the win as he worked 5.0 innings, allowing only three hits while walking one and striking out six. Rodriguez turned in 3.0 innings of work, allowing only two hits and no walks as he struck out one batter. Bittle closed out the game with one walk and three strikeouts in 1.0 inning of work. He did not allow a hit.

Ryan O’Shea (0-1) suffered the loss for the Privateers as he gave up three runs, all earned, on seven hits in his 6.0 innings of work. O’Shea walked two batters and did not record a strikeout. It marked the second straight day that no Rebel batters struck out at the plate. Stephen Whalen and Adam Campbell both turned in an inning of work each for New Orleans.

"It was a good weekend,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “It’s always good to get a win. We didn't swing the bat as well as we did yesterday. I thought we had two solid days of pitching and defense. We had 18 strong innings on the mound and in the field. We were trying to be aggressive at the plate, but sometimes when you are aggressive you make first pitch outs."

Rebs Continue Strong Play

Andy Kennedy's Ole Miss basketball team is started to draw some attention. With a 75-69 victory on Saturday over Alabama, the Rebels are now tied for first place in the SEC Western Division. The first time they have been at this mark in a decade. This win also guaranteed the Rebels a winning record for the first time since the 2003 season. The Rebels are now 16-8, 5-5 in the SEC.

The Rebels came out of the dressing room fired up and ready to play. They led for quite a time in the first half, before they went on one of their typical droughts. The Rebels got a little cold in the first half and the Tide stepped up their defense. I have to give it to Alabama, they played some of the best defense I have seen this year in the first half. They were able to stop the Rebels with a well executed zone. Top that with some cold shooting on behalf of the Rebels and the Tide took a 38-35 halftime lead.

The second half was up and down for both teams with the Tide going up seven before Todd Abernathy drained a three that started an 11-5 run to bring the game close. At that point the Rebels steppe up the defense and made a couple of steals to make the game alive and exciting again. Ole Miss took the lead for good around the three minute mark and never looked back.

Bam Doyne led the Rebels with a quiet 17 point followed by 15 from Clarence Sanders and 14 from Dwayne Curtis. It was not three pointers that made the difference from Clarence Sanders, it was key free throws down the stretch that helped secure the Rebels lead for good. If it was not for Sanders making the free throws the Rebs lead would have been a lot harder to keep.

This win was big for the program. This win over a ranked team turned alot of heads for those outside of Mississippi who have not been paying attention to the Rebels. This win means alot for the fanbase. The announced crowd of over 9400 was the largest in school history. As one Ole Miss basketball fan put it after the game, "Ole Miss basketball is back."

The Rebels take on LSU on Wednesday. The Tigers are very talented and are coming off a final four appearance just last year. However, they have struggled in some games this year. The Tigers held off a late rally by the Rebels earlier this year in Baton Rouge to claim a victory over Ole Miss.

Kennedy has vowed for his team not to loose at home. If he can keep this promise his team is going to turn alot more heads than it already has. The Tigers and Rebels tip off at 7:00 from the Tad Pad. The game will be televised on Lincoln Financial.

Work Left To Do

ESPN recently put the Ole Miss men's basketball team in the "Work Left To Do" category to finish out the season. The Rebels still have ALOT of work to do before they can even be mentioned as a possible tournament placement. The first test in the home stretch begins with Alabama this weekend. This game is for the lead in the SEC Western Divisional race. A place the Rebels have not been for several years. A win could also give the Rebels their first winning season in over a decade.

However it is going to be a tough test. Alabama is a very talented team that has had it's ups and downs this season. They have been great at times, but also very bad. Their past few games have come down to the wire, and the Tide has barely won. How MSU let them drive the lane to score the winning basket last night is still beyond me.

I feel like the Rebels are ready. They dominated Auburn a week ago and took Wednesday off. It was a much needed rest for a team that has already faced its fair share of challenges this season. If this team plays like they did last week, they can hang with the Tide, and for that matter any other SEC team. I hate that we had a break in action when we probably had the most all around confidence in a team in probably 5 years. However I think they will carry this confidence over. The win on the road at Auburn will do wanders for a team like Ole Miss has not had many big wins like that on the road in quite sometime.

The crowd should be a big factor in this game. It is opening baseball season in Oxford, a sport that every Ole Miss fan alive loves to watch at OU Stadium. Granted it will be cold, I still predict a big crowd will be in force. Why our wonderful administration has not moved the baseball game forward an hour or so, is still beyond me. This would give fans plenty of time to see both of the games. It is obvious in my book the gametime should be changed for first pitch.

If for some reason you can not make it to Oxford this weekend, the game will be televised on FSN at 4:00. I want someone that is watching to give me a postgame of how the "White Out" marketing campaign goes. It should be a good crowd in Oxford this weekend. I know all the talk will be about the let down in the recruiting classes. But that is not why I am going to Oxford, I am going to watch a battle for the SEC West and to hopefully see Ole Miss basketball return to the top once again.

White Out

Once again our wonderful marketing department is following trends about 5-7 years to late. I mean come on, let's be original for once in our history. I mean State, Bama, Michigan State, you name it do this all the time. Do we have to follow suit? I don't care if Fox is giving the shirts away or not, we do not have to wear them.

Granted, I may participate in the white out, but only because I dont want it to look awful on tv, which if probably will anyway, because only half of those in attendance will be wearing the shirts.

Good news is Josh and Jacob Whelan will not have to wear a white shirt, because they are the most pale people on earth and will fit right in with the white out crowd.


Tad Smith Coliseum will be whited out Saturday, as the Ole Miss crowd will be dressed in white for the Rebels' home encounter with nationally-ranked Alabama. Game time is set for 4 p.m. CT.
FSN South, who is televising the game, is providing 4,000 white t-shirts that will placed in each of the lower bowl seats of the arena. Those seated in other sections are encouraged to wear white in support of the home Rebels. All fans are asked to refrain from taking shirts off seats other than their own.

Unbelievable

Yeah I was upset that Robert Elliot signed with State, but I got over it. But then when I read his comment it just ticks me off how stupid some people are and the thought process they have. It is a freakin NUMBER on your jersey. So if State had not been able to "give" him his number, and the Valley would have, I wander if we would have gone to Valley to "ROCK" his number.

I mean how stupid can one kid be. I would suggest even the State fans that read this will agree with me that it is stupid a kid signed with a school, just so he could "ROCK" a number on his chests. Some people amaze the hell out of me at how ridiculous their thought process is.




"At first I was going to go to Florida State or Ole Miss,” said Elliott. “It helped when Croom told me I could come in and wear No. 2. It was really where I could go and feel comfortable and rock my No. 2. I have been wearing it since peewee and that’s the only number I can rock. If I put something else on,it won’t look right on me. I figure you’ve got to look good to play good. I can’t wear those double digit numbers.”

Couple of Days Off

I am going to not post anything for a day or two to let everyone soak up the recruiting sites. I am not able to update as often as the recruiting sites are. With tomorrow being signing day most college sports fans will be all over Rivals and Scout. So enjoy the boards dedicated to recruiting and we will come back with a recruiting round up and an analysis of this weekend at Ole Miss in a day or so.

Until then, Will McKnight committ to Ole Miss, USC or LSU??

Former Reb Makes NFL Hall of Fame

MIAMI, Fla. -- Former Ole Miss tackle Gene Hickerson, who played 15 seasons for the Cleveland Browns as the lead blocker for three Hall of Famers -- Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly and Bobby Mitchell -- was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Eligible for 29 years, Hickerson joins tackle Frank M. "Bruiser" Kinard as the only players from Ole Miss to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Kinard was inducted in 1970.
Also voted in were wide receiver Michael Irvin, running back Thurman Thomas, offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, defensive back Roger Wehrli and tight end Charlie Sanders. Hickerson and Sanders were the two nominees of the veterans' committee.
The six-man class was elected by the Hall of Fame's 40-member Selection Committee who met Saturday in Miami. The newest members of the Hall were selected from a list of 17 finalists that had been determined earlier by the committee.(SID)

Rebs Impressive on the Road

The Ole Miss Rebels showed out yesterday as they defeated the Auburn Tigers on the road 82-59. The Rebels came out of the lockerroom hot and never trailed. They dominated the whole game and for most of the game were ahead by double digits. Everyone that played in the game contributed excellent minutes from Brian Smith to Jermey Parnell.

Ole Miss was led once again by Clarence Sanders who contributed 21 points, all three pointers. Sanders was 7-11 from beyond the line. I really like the way Kennedy is playing him now. Having him come off the bench is better for Clay and for the entire team. Bam Doyne also contributed 20 points as Dwayne Curtis chipped in 19 points and grabbed 11 boards. As much as Dwayne contributed, he still could have thrown up about 30 as he continues to miss simple put backs. I talked about this last week, I know it fustrates the hell out of Kennedy.

The Rebels had an excellent day shooting as they shot 52% from the field and 54% from behind the three point arc. Had it not been for some early fouls in the first half, Auburn might not have scored in the first five minutes. The Rebels had seven fouls a little over four minutes into the game. The free throws given to Auburn kept them around for much of the game.

As I referenced earlier, just about every Rebel that played had a good game. I rarely compliment Brian Smith, but he played a great game for the Rebels. He had several key steals and played some tough defense in the few minutes that he played. Jermy Parnell had some great blocks and Kenny Williams had two spectacular put back dunks that had the players pumped up on the sidelines.

I attended the game yesterday at Auburn, it was my fist road game aside from Starkville to attend in the SEC. If you have not been to a basketball game at Auburn you are not missing anything. I used to think the environment at the Tad Pad was the worst it could be at times. But I am here to tell you it is much better than Auburn. I get to the arena and they are out of tickets, no it is not that they were sold out, it was that they did not print enough. Once I find some tickets I go in and the place is virtually empty. For a team that has been hot as of late and is leading the SEC West on a good weather weekend, I figured the place would be a near sell out. Boy was I wrong. The announced crowd was 6,900 and I doubt there were that many people there. A large contingent of Ole Miss fans were in attendance and were louder than the Aubies for most of the game. Clarence Sanders had a large following at the game that screamed for the Rebels the entire game. It was good to see his family and friends come out in large numbers to support him.

This win put the Rebels a half game back from Alabama for first place in the SEC West. I would figure no Ole Miss fans including myself would have predicted this when the season started. I posted last week a win on the road was key and if they wanted to be true players in the race, they would have to find ways to win on the road. Ole Miss has the week off before hosting SEC Western division leader Alabama on Saturday afternoon. This has the making to be a big week for Ole Miss athletics.

Rebs Take Show on the Road

The 14-8 Ole Miss basketball takes it's show on the road this weekend as they travel to Auburn to take on the 14-9 Auburn Tigers. Both of these teams are coming off wins in mid week games. The Tigers are atop the SEC West in a very tight race in which there is a two game difference between first and last place. The Tigers have surprised alot of team's this season and coach Jeff Lebo really has turned this team around.

To be honest, going into the season, I had already circled this game as a win in Ole Miss's favor. A couple of weeks ago, I erased that circle when I realized that Auburn was going to be a legit player this year. Both of these teams appear to be much better than they were a year ago this time.

Some interesting facts about this Auburn series I will throw at you:

- Ole Miss has only won 9 times at Auburn 113 game series
- As many of you know Ole Miss center Dwayne Curtis transferred from Auburn after his freshman year, after Cliff Ellis was fired as head coach at Auburn(by the way I really liked Cliff Ellis)
- Something many of you may not know, Ole Miss forward Kenny Williams signed with Auburn out of high school to play tight end for Tubby's football team

If my memory serves me correctly, the last road win the Rebels had was in the State of Alabama, but at rival school Alabama the opening of SEC play last year. A road win would build alot of confidence for this team, who lost alot in a road loss at St. Louis earlier this year. To be a true player and make a run for a title a team has to find a way to win on the road. This is going to be a tough tests for the Rebels. Unfortunately this game is not on tv and tip-off is 1:00.