Anyone notice that the Former Morgan Stanley chairman and CEO Philip J. Purcell announced this past Thursday he was contributing $12.5 million (total 24 million dollar project) toward the new improvemnts with the Notre Dame Basketball Arena project, which includes replacing 5,763 bleacher seats with chairs and building a two-story entrance that will house an expanded retail store, ticket offices and a 16,500 square foot hospitality area that will include premium club seating for nearly 800 fans.
Purcell said his days as a Notre Dame student in the early 1960s were "among the best of his life and that sports were an integral part of that."
We need some South Carolina donors to do something like this.......where is rishi?
Friday, October 06, 2006
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
A Good Read for today........ACC - weak?
Saw this article on thestate.com and decided it was worthy to be posted here today. Do read it....it discusses the state of the ACC from a competitive standpoint.
"THAT CLEMSON’S GAME against Wake Forest on Saturday has championship implications tells you everything you need to know about the state of ACC football.
It is pretty sorry.
Boston College struggles to defeat Central Michigan and Brigham Young. Duke is shut out by Division I-AA Richmond. Florida State squeaks by Troy. Maryland barely beats Florida International. Miami is trounced by Louisville and hangs on to defeat Houston. North Carolina defeats I-AA Furman by a point. North Carolina State loses to Akron and Southern Mississippi. Virginia falls to Western Michigan.
The big-time wins outside the conference? This will be a short paragraph. Wake Forest won at Mississippi, which is 1-4. If you need more evidence that the league is wallowing in mediocrity, consider that No. 15 Clemson is the ACC’s highest-ranked team. Not since the final regular-season poll of the 2002 season has the ACC not had a team ranked 15th or higher.
Tommy Bowden says it is too early to make judgments about the conference. “I think the proper evaluation can be after the season,” Bowden said Tuesday. “I think it is awfully early to start evaluating the strength of conferences right now. After four games there are some conferences that are showing more strength and have got more teams in the top 20, top 10 or top 25.”
Actually, with the season approaching the halfway point, there is no better time to evaluate a conference’s strength. Most nonconference games have been played, so we should have a good idea of how a league stacks up in head-to-head competition against other leagues.
Jeff Sagarin makes a living ranking these kinds of things for USA Today. Who knows if his rankings have merit, but they probably are as accurate as any other such listings. Sagarin has the ACC ranked fifth, behind the Pacific-10, Big Ten, Southeastern and Big 12. Fifth does not sound bad until you consider that only the Big East among Bowl Championship Series conferences is ranked lower.
The ACC’s fall has been substantial considering Sagarin ranked the league No. 1 following the 2005 season. Next, in order, were the Pacific-10, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC.
So what happened?
“It’s going to be interesting to see how it (plays) out toward the end,” Bowden says. “It’s always going to go in cycles anyway.”
The down cycle for the ACC probably can be attributed to two major factors. First, the league lost an unusually high number of players to the National Football League. Also, the league’s three perennial powers — Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech — appear to have fallen off.
The NFL took 12 players from the ACC in the first round of the 2006 draft, including four off the Florida State roster. All total, 51 players from the ACC were selected by NFL teams. That is an average of more than four star players per team that left the league.
For whatever reason, Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech appear to have become middle-of-the-ACC-pack teams in the same season. Florida State is ranked 17th, and Virginia Tech is 21st. Miami is unranked.
“With none of those three being (ranked high), I think it gives the perception that it’s a down year,” Bowden says. “Maybe by the end of the year somebody else might jump up there, or one of those three might end up there.”
Clemson probably stands the best chance among ACC teams of jumping into the top 10 because the Tigers appear to be the league’s strongest team. Georgia Tech, which is ranked 18th, might be next. Florida State could end up highly ranked because it has a favorable schedule remaining.
Boston College is 4-1 but is likely to stumble once or twice the rest of the way. That leaves Wake Forest, which at 5-0 is off to its best start since 1987. Wake Forest’s record and Clemson’s strong showing to start the season make Saturday’s showdown in Winston-Salem, N.C., a game that could go a long way in determining the ACC’s Atlantic Division championship.
While that speaks well for Wake Forest and Clemson, it does not say a lot about the league and its overall strength, or lack thereof, this season." written by Ron Morris
"THAT CLEMSON’S GAME against Wake Forest on Saturday has championship implications tells you everything you need to know about the state of ACC football.
It is pretty sorry.
Boston College struggles to defeat Central Michigan and Brigham Young. Duke is shut out by Division I-AA Richmond. Florida State squeaks by Troy. Maryland barely beats Florida International. Miami is trounced by Louisville and hangs on to defeat Houston. North Carolina defeats I-AA Furman by a point. North Carolina State loses to Akron and Southern Mississippi. Virginia falls to Western Michigan.
The big-time wins outside the conference? This will be a short paragraph. Wake Forest won at Mississippi, which is 1-4. If you need more evidence that the league is wallowing in mediocrity, consider that No. 15 Clemson is the ACC’s highest-ranked team. Not since the final regular-season poll of the 2002 season has the ACC not had a team ranked 15th or higher.
Tommy Bowden says it is too early to make judgments about the conference. “I think the proper evaluation can be after the season,” Bowden said Tuesday. “I think it is awfully early to start evaluating the strength of conferences right now. After four games there are some conferences that are showing more strength and have got more teams in the top 20, top 10 or top 25.”
Actually, with the season approaching the halfway point, there is no better time to evaluate a conference’s strength. Most nonconference games have been played, so we should have a good idea of how a league stacks up in head-to-head competition against other leagues.
Jeff Sagarin makes a living ranking these kinds of things for USA Today. Who knows if his rankings have merit, but they probably are as accurate as any other such listings. Sagarin has the ACC ranked fifth, behind the Pacific-10, Big Ten, Southeastern and Big 12. Fifth does not sound bad until you consider that only the Big East among Bowl Championship Series conferences is ranked lower.
The ACC’s fall has been substantial considering Sagarin ranked the league No. 1 following the 2005 season. Next, in order, were the Pacific-10, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC.
So what happened?
“It’s going to be interesting to see how it (plays) out toward the end,” Bowden says. “It’s always going to go in cycles anyway.”
The down cycle for the ACC probably can be attributed to two major factors. First, the league lost an unusually high number of players to the National Football League. Also, the league’s three perennial powers — Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech — appear to have fallen off.
The NFL took 12 players from the ACC in the first round of the 2006 draft, including four off the Florida State roster. All total, 51 players from the ACC were selected by NFL teams. That is an average of more than four star players per team that left the league.
For whatever reason, Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech appear to have become middle-of-the-ACC-pack teams in the same season. Florida State is ranked 17th, and Virginia Tech is 21st. Miami is unranked.
“With none of those three being (ranked high), I think it gives the perception that it’s a down year,” Bowden says. “Maybe by the end of the year somebody else might jump up there, or one of those three might end up there.”
Clemson probably stands the best chance among ACC teams of jumping into the top 10 because the Tigers appear to be the league’s strongest team. Georgia Tech, which is ranked 18th, might be next. Florida State could end up highly ranked because it has a favorable schedule remaining.
Boston College is 4-1 but is likely to stumble once or twice the rest of the way. That leaves Wake Forest, which at 5-0 is off to its best start since 1987. Wake Forest’s record and Clemson’s strong showing to start the season make Saturday’s showdown in Winston-Salem, N.C., a game that could go a long way in determining the ACC’s Atlantic Division championship.
While that speaks well for Wake Forest and Clemson, it does not say a lot about the league and its overall strength, or lack thereof, this season." written by Ron Morris
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
A little look at the political races...
From WLTX/SurveyUSA poll conducted Sept 26 - Sept 28:
Governor:
Tommy Moore (D) — 46%
Mark Sanford (R) — 50%
Lt. Governor:
Robert Barber (D) — 48%
Andre Bauer (R) — 49%
Treasurer:
Grady Patterson (D) — 49%
Thomas Ravenel (R) — 49%
Supt. of Education:
Karen Floyd (R) — 50%
Jim Rex (D) — 38%
(The margin of error is 4.7%.)
Out of those races who do you, the readers of LOHD, favor?
Monday, October 02, 2006
Careful when you call 911 in clemson...
If you call 911 in clemson on gameday, be careful who treats you.
This is a interesting idea and takes Tailgating to the Extreme (or just dumb depending on how you look at it)......I saw this pic in a publication in a Greenville newspaper. It shows Suzanne and Tripp Wingard and their converted ambulance. It has tvs, a sitting area inside, speakers, cooler and plenty of storage on top of a 'ugly' paint job.
They made it a tailgating "emergency response vehicle."
What? Just when you think you have seen it all, a klempson fan goes and does something like this...
Monday Water Cooler Talk....
Interesting Spurrier Quotes...
"I don't want our fans to boo, but please don't clap when we come close," Spurrier told reporters on Friday. "I think it sends the wrong message. Our guys thought we'd done something pretty good, when in essence we didn't do anything but let a game get away that we were in a position to win."
"I don't know if any coach has ever told our fans, 'Please don't clap after we get beat. Even after the Clemson game (a 13-9 loss in 2005), they were clapping like, 'Well, we thought we were going to get clobbered and we didn't get clobbered. So that's OK.' It's not OK. We had a game we had a chance to win ... and we didn't do it."
I have to agree with him b/c we have to change the thinking of the team and of the fans....every game we should think we can win! Comments....
Stat of the weekend
Northern Illinois running back Garrett Wolfe was busy putting on a show for the 10,128 folks gathered at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Ind. Despite being interrupted by a 55-minute weather delay during the first quarter, Wolfe rushed for 353 yards -- the 13th-highest total in Division I-A history -- in NIU's 40-28 win over Ball State. And that after his first two carries of the game both lost yardage. All of a sudden, Wolfe is within range of a record many college football fans thought would never fall. Barry Sanders averaged an astounding 238.9 rushing yards per game in 1988, and no player has even reached 200 ypg in a season since then. After five games in 2006, Wolfe is averaging 236.2 yards on the ground. Sure, it hardly seems conceivable to keep up this pace, but if he stays anywhere close to his current clip of 9.3 yards per carry, anything's possible.
"I don't want our fans to boo, but please don't clap when we come close," Spurrier told reporters on Friday. "I think it sends the wrong message. Our guys thought we'd done something pretty good, when in essence we didn't do anything but let a game get away that we were in a position to win."
"I don't know if any coach has ever told our fans, 'Please don't clap after we get beat. Even after the Clemson game (a 13-9 loss in 2005), they were clapping like, 'Well, we thought we were going to get clobbered and we didn't get clobbered. So that's OK.' It's not OK. We had a game we had a chance to win ... and we didn't do it."
I have to agree with him b/c we have to change the thinking of the team and of the fans....every game we should think we can win! Comments....
Stat of the weekend
Northern Illinois running back Garrett Wolfe was busy putting on a show for the 10,128 folks gathered at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Ind. Despite being interrupted by a 55-minute weather delay during the first quarter, Wolfe rushed for 353 yards -- the 13th-highest total in Division I-A history -- in NIU's 40-28 win over Ball State. And that after his first two carries of the game both lost yardage. All of a sudden, Wolfe is within range of a record many college football fans thought would never fall. Barry Sanders averaged an astounding 238.9 rushing yards per game in 1988, and no player has even reached 200 ypg in a season since then. After five games in 2006, Wolfe is averaging 236.2 yards on the ground. Sure, it hardly seems conceivable to keep up this pace, but if he stays anywhere close to his current clip of 9.3 yards per carry, anything's possible.
Friday, September 29, 2006
AU vs USC recap...
Good article on espn and check out the video when you click here.
Also a reader of LOHD gave us this article and it is good.....click here.
No matter how you look at it the Gamecocks played a heck of a game and Auburn was lucky to leave ole' willy with a 'W.' The crowd was the loudest it has been in a long (very long) time and it was a perfect night for football. Looking onward to the rest of the season ... let's only hope that Carolina plays like that every game and use the loss to auburn as a building block.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Gameday Preview of da Tigers vs. da Gamecocks...
Let's hope USC has more luck than this gamecock....
Auburn preview
7:45 ESPN
Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC
Auburn -14 O/U 37
By the fifth game of the season, everyone is starting to get an idea how the season is going to unfold. With that in mind, this preview will be less about match-ups and more focused on what SC needs to do to win.
News out of Auburn this week
Little has changed for Auburn. Running back Kenny Irons (if you don't know who he is watch on Thursday, you will) is back after sitting out the Buffalo game. He is 100% and the single biggest obstacle for the Gamecocks to overcome. His brother, #4 CB David Irons, has been running his mouth most of the week about how he is going to cover Sidney one-on-one. Auburn is often found in man coverage, but they are unlikely to do that against Sidney. If they are dumb enough to do that, it may not matter if Syvelle or Blake is lying on his back. (more on that later).
South Carolina this week
Syvelle is going to start. After throwing a school record 5 touchdown passes last week why shouldn't he? Cory Boyd wants to play badly and has said that he will come hell or high water. Spurrier interjected that Boyd will only play if he is 100%. With the vagaries of ankle injuries being what they are, Boyd's status will be a gametime decision.
What probably will happen
Auburn will score ... a lot. This game has the potential to be similar in score to last year. The only thing that makes me hesitant to call this a for sure blowout is the vegas line of 14. For some reason (probably because they are experts and have millions of dollars riding on the accuracy of their lines) Vegas tends to be really accurate for the most part with their lines no matter how ridiculous they seem when they open on Monday.
Look for a heavy dose of Kenny Irons and a South Carolina defense that can only hope to contain him. Look for SC's o-line to be overpowered and outmatched all game. This isn't what is going to happen or what has to happen, but it is what is most likely to happen.
That being said, it will still be worth the Gamecocks time to show up and try to win. They can in fact win, but they need many things to go their way.
How South Carolina can win
1. Make Auburn pass
Why - Because it's not running. Auburn is second in the conference and twenty-seventh in the nation in rushing offense averaging 184 ypg. They are seventh in conference and 69th in the nation in passing averaging 183 ypg. Conversely South Carolina is 11th in the conference and 101st in the nation in rushing defense (remember 290 yds by Wofford). The big suprise is SC is 2nd in conference and 3rd in the nation in pass defense. SC has to have the game play to its strengths.
How can USC possibly make Auburn abandon its vaunted running game? By making it ineffective. South Carolina will have to stack the box and have career games from its defensive linemen and linebackers. Corners will be left on islands, and if that wasn't bad enough they are going to have to be strong in run support as well (Fred, I'm looking your way).
2. Get some turnovers
The value of turnovers has been extolled for generations. A rudimentary recounting of their importance would only waste time here. A big part of turnovers is being in the right place at the right time and having the offense commit mistakes. Admittedly there is an element of luck involved, but that element will have to be heavily in South Carolina's favor to pull off the shocker.
3. Get good field position
Field position makes scoring easier. It also magnifies opponent's mistakes while minimizing your own. USC will not start in good field position after Auburn kicks off. Something like 88% of their kicker's kicks go for touchbacks. SC can win the punting game though. USC is #1 in the country in net punting averaging 43 yards per punt. This sometimes overlooked factor will play a big part if South Carolina wins the game.
4. Score
Seems obvious doesn't it? USC has to maximize its opportunities. Think the opposite of the Georgia game (something like Tennessee last year shoud do). SC needs to get into scoring position more than a few times. FGs made at a bare minimum, and more likely USC needs TDs every chance they get.
5. Block someone
SC has to find a way for the offensive line to block. The mistakes being made by this line so far this season include pretty much every one known: missed assignments, slow reaction, false starts, holding, and plain old getting beat. Running lanes would be something nice to ask for from this group, but it might be too much to ask. Pass protection (which is easier to do than run blocking) has to be priority one. This line has had parts of games here and there where they gave adequate protection. For South Carolina to win, the protection must be better than here and there.
Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC
Auburn -14 O/U 37
By the fifth game of the season, everyone is starting to get an idea how the season is going to unfold. With that in mind, this preview will be less about match-ups and more focused on what SC needs to do to win.
News out of Auburn this week
Little has changed for Auburn. Running back Kenny Irons (if you don't know who he is watch on Thursday, you will) is back after sitting out the Buffalo game. He is 100% and the single biggest obstacle for the Gamecocks to overcome. His brother, #4 CB David Irons, has been running his mouth most of the week about how he is going to cover Sidney one-on-one. Auburn is often found in man coverage, but they are unlikely to do that against Sidney. If they are dumb enough to do that, it may not matter if Syvelle or Blake is lying on his back. (more on that later).
South Carolina this week
Syvelle is going to start. After throwing a school record 5 touchdown passes last week why shouldn't he? Cory Boyd wants to play badly and has said that he will come hell or high water. Spurrier interjected that Boyd will only play if he is 100%. With the vagaries of ankle injuries being what they are, Boyd's status will be a gametime decision.
What probably will happen
Auburn will score ... a lot. This game has the potential to be similar in score to last year. The only thing that makes me hesitant to call this a for sure blowout is the vegas line of 14. For some reason (probably because they are experts and have millions of dollars riding on the accuracy of their lines) Vegas tends to be really accurate for the most part with their lines no matter how ridiculous they seem when they open on Monday.
Look for a heavy dose of Kenny Irons and a South Carolina defense that can only hope to contain him. Look for SC's o-line to be overpowered and outmatched all game. This isn't what is going to happen or what has to happen, but it is what is most likely to happen.
That being said, it will still be worth the Gamecocks time to show up and try to win. They can in fact win, but they need many things to go their way.
How South Carolina can win
1. Make Auburn pass
Why - Because it's not running. Auburn is second in the conference and twenty-seventh in the nation in rushing offense averaging 184 ypg. They are seventh in conference and 69th in the nation in passing averaging 183 ypg. Conversely South Carolina is 11th in the conference and 101st in the nation in rushing defense (remember 290 yds by Wofford). The big suprise is SC is 2nd in conference and 3rd in the nation in pass defense. SC has to have the game play to its strengths.
How can USC possibly make Auburn abandon its vaunted running game? By making it ineffective. South Carolina will have to stack the box and have career games from its defensive linemen and linebackers. Corners will be left on islands, and if that wasn't bad enough they are going to have to be strong in run support as well (Fred, I'm looking your way).
2. Get some turnovers
The value of turnovers has been extolled for generations. A rudimentary recounting of their importance would only waste time here. A big part of turnovers is being in the right place at the right time and having the offense commit mistakes. Admittedly there is an element of luck involved, but that element will have to be heavily in South Carolina's favor to pull off the shocker.
3. Get good field position
Field position makes scoring easier. It also magnifies opponent's mistakes while minimizing your own. USC will not start in good field position after Auburn kicks off. Something like 88% of their kicker's kicks go for touchbacks. SC can win the punting game though. USC is #1 in the country in net punting averaging 43 yards per punt. This sometimes overlooked factor will play a big part if South Carolina wins the game.
4. Score
Seems obvious doesn't it? USC has to maximize its opportunities. Think the opposite of the Georgia game (something like Tennessee last year shoud do). SC needs to get into scoring position more than a few times. FGs made at a bare minimum, and more likely USC needs TDs every chance they get.
5. Block someone
SC has to find a way for the offensive line to block. The mistakes being made by this line so far this season include pretty much every one known: missed assignments, slow reaction, false starts, holding, and plain old getting beat. Running lanes would be something nice to ask for from this group, but it might be too much to ask. Pass protection (which is easier to do than run blocking) has to be priority one. This line has had parts of games here and there where they gave adequate protection. For South Carolina to win, the protection must be better than here and there.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Good stuff
Well with all the tabloid hype from TO trying to take his life and Randy Moss having his baby or something like that. Just kidding! Here are two stories that are worth reading about snakes and wangs.
snake story http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15021048/
Wang story http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15018869/
snake story http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15021048/
Wang story http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15018869/
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