Help choose a nickname for USC PG Devan Downey

Gamecock point guard Devan Downey wants a nickname before his senior season begins.

Please post your suggestion in the comments section.

Oh, and keep ‘em clean.

News on a USC recruit & the current USC TE plus a video

Seems USC recruit Chris Payne has to go to JUCO before suiting up in the garnet & black. We wish him the best but we are sure he will do just fine.

Also in news today USC tight end Weslye Saunders is one of 30 players on the watch list for the Mackey Award via Joe Person. All he needs is Garcia to feed him the ball.

Top 10 2010 NFL Draft Eligible Prospects South Carolina Gamecocks

Tarheels fear the gamecocks?

Seems the tarheels would rather play LSU in the 2010 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game than make a return trip to Columbia to play Carolina.

However, UNC is on the hook for $750,000 and has to pony up a suitable replacement. What does one consider a doppelganger for the Tar Heels? Especially this late in the game.

According to The State, Carolina SID Steve Fink said everything is OK as long as UNC finds a good replacement and agrees to reschedule the game. With next year’s LSU-UNC game evidently being engineered by ESPN, seems ESPN may have to help in that search to get a suitable opponent. Seems the way this is going to shake out is USC will open up the season again on ESPN against a yet to be determine foe....I am sure there will be more to this drama soon.

I would like to see USC schedule a game against someone in the Big 12 or Pac 10...thoughts? Maybe we can get the Cal bears to make a trip or Kansas State?

Gamecocks Mid-Week News Clippings

Check out the former Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford being a million dollar pimp. I am sure the ladies around him like him 'cause he is a nice guy and not the "soon to be" QB for the woeful Detroit Lions. Seems some candid photos have popped up again {above} and you would think he would have learned his lesson from the last time he decided to have some good times.

Gamecock Football

• Bobby Bowden still believes in Spurrier
• South Carolina Gamecocks 2009 NCAA Football Predictions SEC Eastern Division
• UNC delays USC series
• Florida Gators: The anointed ones
• Chiefs clear way for Succop to be starter
• What The Hell Happened To Steve Spurrier?
• Georgia Dome sticks as SEC title game spot
• QB's time at N.C. State could be short
• Charges lessened for signee Axon
• Chris Culliver: South Carolina's Leader in The Secondary

Gamecock Basketball

• Downey's moniker

Other stuff

• Equestrian fights for life
• Woodbury leads U.S. Amateur qualifying
• Saturday, former Notre Dame and Carolina head coach Lou Holtz led a group of Irish old-timers in an exhibition game against Japan’s national team.

Garnet & Black Posts

• Can South Carolina Be a Winner in the SEC?

LOHD Posts

• Looks Like Succop does it again
• More news on NCSU for gamecock fans

Looks Like Succop does it again

As reported by The State newspaper this morning. The Cheifs have waived kicker Connor Barth, leaving Ryan Succop as the only kicker on the roster. Congrats Ryan, have a great season, and show the NFL what a 7^th round draft pick from USC can really do.

Succop was this year’s “Mr. Irrelevant,” the last player - 256th overall - taken in the NFL draft. He played 50 games in four seasons for the Gamecocks, converting 71 percent of his field goals with a long of 55 yards.

He made 66 percent his senior season and converted all 30 of his PATs

Also it looks like Brett Farve will not be in the NFL this season, so I wonder who is going to be throwing TD passes to Sidney Rice this year for the Vikings? Could it be Sage Rosenfels???

More news on NCSU for gamecock fans

I hope you read our last update on NCSU and NCSU LB Nate Irving. We hope he gets back to good health soon and gets on the field.

The ACC Media Days is taken place and here are some notes related to NCSU that may be of interest since we play them in 38 days.

N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien is prepared for the possibility that quarterback Russell Wilson will play just one more season for the Wolfpack football team. Wilson, a first-team All-ACC selection as a redshirt freshman last season, is on an accelerated academic schedule and on track for graduation in the spring of 2010. He also is a baseball prospect who’s eligible for the 2010 draft. O’Brien said family health issues – Wilson’s father suffered a stroke about a year ago – could factor into his decision.

Why does this matter to a gamecock fan? With Wilson’s future uncertain beyond this season, O’Brien plans to play highly touted redshirt freshman backup Mike Glennon for a series in the first half in each game.

Other notes from O’Brien’s news conference on interest:

• Tight end Matt Kushner is at full strength after recovering from a knee injury last season.
• O’Brien said safety Javon Walker, who’s also coming back from a knee injury, might not be ready for the start of preseason camp. But Walker is closer to being ready than wide receiver Donald Bowens, who’s out until at least October while recovering from knee surgery.
• Linebacker Nate Irving’s collapsed lung came as the result of a puncture by a broken rib, O’Brien said. Originally, N.C. State announced that Irving had a broken leg and a collapsed lung. O’Brien said the leg injury was a compound fracture, and Irving also separated a shoulder. No matter what it sounds bad and we hope he gets well soon!
• NCSU was picked to finish 3rd in Atlantic Div
• NCSU QB Wilson finished 3rd in Preseason ACC POY award

News on USC Signee Ben Axon

You may recall that USC recruit Ben Axon had a little run in with the law back in May that we mentioned HERE. You could say '22 bags of pot' is no little matter; the good news for this kid is he "has entered pre-trial intervention in Florida, and his felony charge of marijuana possession has been knocked down to a misdemeanor."

This article highlights the current situation with the case and his status with the USC football team is unclear at this time.

We here at LOHD wish him the best and hope he gets things straight so he can join the team at some point.

Gamecocks Weekend News Clips

Here is a quick re-cap of gamecock news....

LOHD Posts

• USC's Eric Norwood at SEC Media Days
• Spurrier's take on QB play for SC
• Gamecocks Land a DB for 2010
• Gamecock Quote of the Day
• Gamecock Related News from Today's SEC Media Day

Gamecock Football
-Spurrier’s road sports new, driven assistants
-Taste of the limelight
-Apologetic Spurrier takes blame for Tebow oversight
-South Carolina newcomers ready for action
-Spurrier’s road sports new, driven assistants
-After average 4 years, USC's Spurrier hopes for better
-Is South Carolina the "DB U" of this decade?

USC Week 1 Opponent

• NC State coach Tom O’Brien updated the status of linebacker Nate Irving recently and LOHD wrote about it HERE...essentially, the coaching staff won’t know anything until Irving meets with doctors sometime in August.
• Matt Hinton, otherwise known as “Dr. Saturday” at Yahoo! Sports, breaks out Excel spreadsheets to quantify Wolfpack QB Russell Wilson.

Ron Morris

• We really hate to admit when we agree with Ron Morris but in this case we do. The Spurrier and Tebow-gate is really not that big of a deal.
• Also another good read from ol Ron....HERE....I agree with the CEO approach.

Former Gamecocks

• Former USC star Pearce becomes Pirates' first baseman
• Broncos sign draft pick McKinley

News from the Gamecocks Season Opening Opponent - NCSU

Many of you remember that NCSU LB Nate Irving was in a car crash in June and suffered serious injuries. NCSU coach Tom O’Brien said this past Thursday afternoon that the star linebacker is out indefinitely and there is a chance he could be out for the season.

During his first public media appearance since the June 28 crash, O’Brien said he won’t know more about Irving’s status until after the player’s next meeting with doctors in mid-August.

Irving, who will be a junior this season, suffered a broken leg and a collapsed lung in the wreck. He was cited for careless and reckless driving after a one-car wreck at 4:40 a.m. on Interstate 40 in Johnston County in which a police report mentioned driving while sleepy as a potential contributing factor.

Hate to hear this news and LOHD wishes him a speedy recovery. Irving led the team with four interceptions last season and made 84 tackles despite missing about one-third of the season because of injuries.

USC's Eric Norwood at SEC Media Days

All-American linebacker candidate Eric Norwood spoke this past Friday at the final day of the 2009 SEC Media Days. The video below is courtesy of TheBigSpur.com--

Spurrier's take on QB play for SC

Spurrier had this to say about Garcia at the SEC Media Days this past Friday....to sum it up....gamecock glory is up to you....

“Our quarterback, Stephen Garcia, has gone through his first spring practice and now he’s going through his first summer of workouts with the team. And if we’re to have a big year, he’s gotta really play well. He’s got to play a lot better than what happened last year. He really was not prepared to play well last year and hopefully he’s much better and ready to play.”

Spurrier's offense have always depended on strong play from the QB and most importantly "smart" play but was this a little to harsh and honest on the young gun under center for SC b/c the last thing he needs is more pressure especially from the coach?