Cocks lose to Vols by 2

Cry if you want too Dave....Today the Gamecock basketball team put up one heck of a fight (as a gamecock should) but again we fall on the losing side by the score of 89-87. Seems the same ole' story for this season...close but no cigar.

And with that the Odom era (at least as Coach) has come to a end; I still think he will get a job in the AD office.

Odom, who came to South Carolina after a successful 12-year stint at Wake Forest, had a lackluster record of 128-104 with the Gamecocks. His only NCAA appearance was a quick one: an opening-round loss in 2004. He can claim two NIT back-to-back titles to his credit.

Let the 'new coach' hunt begin today, let's not wait till Monday Mr. Hyman...here is a list to start with on your journey.

Need more on the McElrathbey issue

Despite what many in the SC Press Corp may think, Clemson is not a 'angel' and has their own set of "black eye's" on the program to deal with....but how doesn't the SC media dig deeper into the issue? This is just the surface...

It takes a outside reporter - here - to write a good story about it. Again if this was USC....then the media, especially Ron Morris, would be grinding that axe deeper. I just don't get it.

Cocks vs Vols

I agree with Dave here and let's all pray for the USC Men's Basketball team today....pray for a win.

The Gamecocks’ reward for winning the previous game is a match with No. 4 Tennessee, which is going to be a tough task. But no matter what happens today, this season’s USC team will leave Atlanta with at least one victory, something last year’s team didn’t.

To read up on the match up-

Match-up Preview
Morris Article

So what are South Carolina’s chances of defeating fourth-ranked Tennessee today in the SEC tournament quarterfinals?

Imagine if Spurrier handled it the same...

“It’s your job to ask the question, it’s mine to say no.” Take a second and think of Steve handled this the same way Tommy did recenlty - here - would the media just let it slide and play along? I say nope...not one bit b/c the SC media would eat a story like this up if this was a SC football issue. Why is the SC Media givingTommy Bowden a 'pass' on this issue? Oh and the "DUI" Vincent issue?

Gamecocks hold off LSU 77-73

South Carolina broke open a tight game with a 19-5 run and Dave Odom’s retirement plans were put on hold as the Gamecocks beat LSU 77-73 in the opening game of the Southeastern Conference tournament today.

South Carolina hit six 3-pointers after trailing 43-41 early in the second half.

Odom announced in January he would retire at the end of his seventh season as South Carolina’s coach. He’ll get at least one more game with the Gamecocks advancing to play regular-season champion Tennessee in the quarterfinals Friday.

Birth control for squirrels

Yeap you heard right...seems our friends at Clemson are studying away on how to create birth control for squirrels. I couldn't make this stuff up....Graduate students will be testing two types of contraceptives to try to control the gray squirrel population. Seems squirrels are being squirrels and biting trees/shrubs in the area and this is a problem. Alumni and taxpayers alike have to be proud that their money is being put to good use in the pickens county school.

Wyrick out at USC

University of South Carolina associate athletic director Chris Wyrick is leaving to go someplace else....

That school appears to be Arkansas.

Wyrick was hired March 22, 2006, to oversee the Gamecock Club, the athletic department's athletic fund-raising organization. Wyrick also is spearheading the department's ongoing capital campaign in which USC hopes to raise $75 million to $100 million over seven years.

Basketball awards handed out today for some at USC

A pair of University of South Carolina players received postseason Southeastern Conference honors Tuesday from the league's coaches.

Point guard Devan Downey was named to the All-SEC first team after leading the league in steals (3.17 a game) and ranking second in assists (5.2) and third in scoring (18.3).

Also, center Mike Holmes was named to the all-freshman team. After an up and down start to his career, Holmes has come on and has had three double-doubles in his last six games and scored in double figures in six of his last seven.

Take that Blue Hose

Carolina might want to re-think adding a game to its 2009 schedule that invovles playing Presbyterian at Sarge Frye Field. The game was add due to the prior week's cancelled game with Gardner-Webb. This meeting with Presbyterian was the first match-up for the Gamecocks against the Blue Hose since 1998 and first since PC became a NCAA Division I program.

With that being said the Gamecocks won in extended innings by the score of 2-1 thanks to the bat of Reese Havens. The series dates back to 1901 with Carolina now leading it 39-19.

What would you do?

If you were in Spurrier's shoes with the recent string of bad press associated with the USC football squad, how would you handle it? You know the stuff I am talking about here and here and here and here and not to mention the story here. Then our friend, Ronny Morris writes this today.....the hits keep comin'.

So with all that being said now...what would you do if you were the coach of the gamecocks? Would you put a curfew on the players? Would you ban players from going to Five Points? Or should he simply say the next player who gets in trouble is gone?

Oh and contray to popular belief with upstate media and many IPTAY members...Tommy is not a saint and has some problems of his own to deal with (Vincent should have never been allowed to play in the Peach Bowl after the DUI charge...if Spurrier allowed it with one of his players it would still be in the news 3 months later about how bad he is blah blah blah) but they just don't grab the headlines as easy a gamecock mistakes...why is that?

Did USC show up?

The past two games for USC have been down right ugly.....today No. 4 Tennessee closed the regular season with an 89-56 victory over South Carolina. Read more here. I can truly say that I am ready for the Odom era to end. It was a good ride but it reminds me a lot of the Lou Holtz era....a few highs but too many lows.