Alabama Baseball Update

While we here at 3SIB primarily concentrate on Alabama/Tennessee football and basketball, we don’t forget about some of the smaller sports at our respective universities.  With that in mind, here’s a look at the Alabama Baseball team.

As of now, Alabama is 15-12 overall and tied for first in the SEC West (4-5) with Auburn and Ole Miss.  Alabama started the season off poorly, dropping their first series to Cal-Poly, losing twice to UT-Arlington, and dropping one of two to Troy.  

After a poor start, Alabama has since rebounded nicely and just in time for SEC play.  Alabama was swept in their first SEC series at No. 17 Kentucky, but since has taken 2 of 3 from No. 8 Vanderbilt and No. 23 Ole Miss this past weekend. 

Alabama has lost several of their top players from the 2005 Super-Regional team, but the youth that has replaced them is very talented.  Alabama is led by senior first-baseman Matt Bentley (.280 7 HR 22 RBI) and junior catcher Alex Avila (.279 8 HR 25 RBI), but there are a few freshmen that are contributing right now as well.  Ross Wilson (brother of Alabama QB John Parker Wilson) has started all 27 games and has performed as advertised.  Another freshman, Josh Rutledge, leads the team in batting average, hits, runs, and stolen bases.  

Taking a look at the remaining schedule, Alabama will play two with UAB this week and finishing the week on the road against LSU.  

Alabama’s remaining SEC schedule is (all sites are 3 game series): @LSU, @ Tennessee, Mississippi St., Auburn, @ Arkansas, Florida, and @ Georgia.  

Alabama senior first-baseman Matt Bentley

Stephen Curry’s Goodies

Rematch?

We’re Sorry, Kenneth and Clemson

Just yesterday, our esteemed Vols to the Wall posted a brief story and a picture of Clemson offensive line recruit Kenneth Page dressed in a Clemson-orange polo holding a handful of neatly wrapped money that appears to be $20K.

Page had briefly posted the picture on his Myspace page before — mysteriously — taking it down. (If you’re innocent, we thought, why remove it?) The picture has caused quite the stir among message boards and blog sites across the Southeast, even if we can’t claim that we had it first.

But today, we at 3SIB received a phone call from Clemson athletic officials threatening a lawsuit if we didn’t clean up our story, which insinuated the Tigers were buying recruits (I mean, it’s normal for a player of Antoine McClain’s caliber to not know the mascot of the team he signed with, right?). A man identifying himself as only “Tommy” chided us for not checking our facts because the photo had been “quite obviously” photoshopped.

To validate his point, “Tommy” had his lawyers send us the original picture of Kenneth, and we here at our proud blogsite wholeheartedly apologize to the Page family and the proud university. As it turns out with the below picture, I guess Kenneth is really an upstanding young man and Clemson is truly not a sleazebag, win-at-all-costs program.

We regret our erroneousness. Here is the real picture of Kenneth. We think he has very pretty hands:

(Credit goes to franc1968 who posted it on thetigernet.com)

Former Miss Tennessee and Miss USA Rachel Smith’s Goodies: A Last Look at Last Night

Well, we’re down and out today in the Volunteer State, and few things can put smiles on our faces after last night’s no-show against a physical and talented Louisville team. But before I get into the analysis, there is one thing that can make Vols men happy today:

Miss Tennessee, Clarksville’s Rachel Smith, the tan-skinned beauty who won Miss USA in 2007.

There, isn’t that better? Sigh. Well, that’s all I can do for you. A tiny bit of day-after analysis before getting into the linky linkies.

For everybody who believes like I believe — that when it came right down to it, this Vols team wasn’t built to beat a big, physical, quick team like Louisville, North Carolina or UCLA — there is a silver lining.

If Bruce Pearl stays (and I have no doubts that he will) the bodies are coming. Oh yes, they are on their way. Consider this:

• How many times this year while watching UT have you thought, “Man, if we just had one more big bruiser who could give us some key minutes, fouls and physicality down low like Brian Williams, I think we’d be able to alleviate some of the defensive pressure from Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism.” I thought that countless times this year, and help is indeed on the way. Chattanooga East Ridge’s Phillip Jurick is 6-foot-11 and a polished defensive player, even if his offense needs some work. The four-star chose UT over Kentucky, Florida and Indiana.
• Think of how far Wayne Chism has come since Christmas. Granted, saddled with foul trouble (and I completely agree with Hooper and Go Vols that those two early fouls had a big impact — but not the biggest impact — on the outcome) he didn’t play particularly well last night. But he was so aggressive down low and showed an arsenal of low-post moves in big games down the stretch.
• How about Chism? Well, he, Tyler Smith (if he comes back, which all early indications are that he will), Duke Crews, Ramar Smith and J.P. Prince will all only be juniors. Throw in Brian Williams as a sophomore and we look like we still have an OK nucleus.
• A top-20 6-foot-9 post is coming in 2009, and Kenny Hall is the kind of player who would have helped us last night. That, and Mr. Scotty Hopson is rumored to be All-Vol…
• Finally, and this is the tough one, I’m not certain we won’t be better without Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith. I refuse to say anything bad about those guys because of what they mean to the program and what they’ve done individually as for Coach Pearl … But when it comes to defending big, athletic guards and getting shots off against bigger guys, those two simply weren’t consistent enough. Lofton played hurt the past few days, and I know it, even if he won’t admit to it, and it’s a shame. When you cut it to its core, Tennessee got the absolute most it possibly could out of a former walk-on and out of a player who chose UT over Arkansas State. Maybe the Sweet 16 was the ceiling for this bunch. But with 6-7 swingman Renaldo Woolridge and (potentially) 6-5 combo guard Scotty Hopson coming in, the days of not being able to match up are soon fading into the past.

Anyway, on to the Links of Sadness:

Even the Hat can’t help the hurt: A Liveblog of season-ending misery

Well, I’ve brought out the heavy artillery.

I simply don’t wear The Hat ever during Tennessee games. When I was in high school, I bought the coolest Tennessee hat ever - a white Vols hat with “university of” in little letters over an arching TENNESSEE written in orange. Being the stupid high school kid that I was, I did what many high school kids do and made the hat look “worn,” getting scissors and ripping out the inner-lining, driving slowly down the road and running the bill along the asphalt and then washing it countless times.

In college, I was a freshman in 1998, and the hat accompanied me on all 10 games I attended during that national championship season. Then, I watched the Fiesta Bowl win over Florida State from my parents’ house - where I lived at the time - with the hat firmly atop my head.

I wore it sporadically the next year, and somewhere between moving to and from Knoxville every summer, The Hat got lost in a storage box. A couple of years ago, I found it again, and I don’t think I’ve worn it for a football or basketball game since - until tonight.

Over time, the whiteness of the hat became yellow, and it settled into a beautiful, comfortable work hat. When I realized the novelty it was, I retired it to the hat rack to only be worn at special times. I figure against the powerful Louisville Cardinals, the Vols will need all the help they can get. It was time for the magic of The Hat. We’ll see if it can help …

7:58 — I walk into Dad’s house after driving the two miles from my own. It sounds like a short trip, but it’s crossing the state line from Alabama into Tennessee. To give you the perfect scene setting of how I feel, they’ve spread chicken manure over the pastures around my house, so it smells like crap - literally - in Alabama right now. Up here, you can see the beautiful mountains and smell the crispness of spring. Honestly. I hate Alabama.

8:06 – Well, the good news is North Carolina is up by about 75 on Washington State. The bad news is we won’t have to worry about the Heels unless we play our butts off tonight. Honestly, UNC is far down on my list of worries at the moment.

8:13 – I just realized we are sitting in the same place - me and Dad - as we were last year during the Sweet 16 loss to Ohio State. “I don’t think that’ll matter,” Dad says. Screw it. I’m not moving. The Hat Trumps All Earthly Things.

8:16 — In case you were wondering, I’m still angry about not getting a one seed. How ridiculous was the Vols’ schedule, a schedule where we rolled up the No. 1 RPI? Well, two teams we played and beat ON THE ROAD OR ON A NEUTRAL SITE (Xavier and West Virginia) are playing for an Elite Eight berth, and playing well.

8:22 – I’m going to throw up waiting. Just thought you guys should know. Chinese food was a bad choice.

8:25 — (Randomly thinking about and praying that Ramar Smith starts and plays most of the night at point guard but stays far, far away from the free-throw line in clutch situations.)

8:26 – NOOOOOOOO! West Virginia and Xavier are going into overtime … Puhleeeeeze don’t let this game be going on while the Vols are playing. Puhleeeeeeeeeeeeze!

8:34 – My Dad hates all the national media. Just throwing that out there.

8:45 – Well, some West Virginia kid named Smith left B.J. Raymond WIDE OPEN with 2 seconds left on the shot clock for a four-point lead in overtime. What I hate, though, is Bob Huggins is ALL OVER the kid who left him open. But goodness, like that poor guy is not going to remember this for the rest of his life. No reason to bash him. Show a little class, Huggins. Teach, just don’t chew him out.

8:50 — OK, WV/Xavier is over. Bring on the Cardinals!!!

Clemson’s Bold New Recruiting Strategy Paying Off

Kenneth Page, a very highly touted offensive lineman, was one of many prospects to choose Clemson over Tennessee this past recruiting season. Many Vols fans wondered how we could be beat out on so many recruits by Clemson. Well I guess we got our answer.

HT: Brahsome.com

This photo of Page holding what looks to be thousands of dollars riding in the back of a car was posted on Kenneth’s Myspace page. However, as soon as Clemson learned of the picture it was immediately removed.

Clemson, a team that is the epitome of mediocrity, has suddenly had unreal success in recruiting. Most people believed this was because of Dabo Swinney, the man that recruited Page and most of their other highly touted recruits, who is considered to be one of the best recruiters in College football. Obviously their recruiting success can be attributed to more than just Dabo.

I guess there is always the possibility that he could of just had thousands of dollars saved up for a rainy day, or maybe he was just holding it for someone (Dabo). Either way it looks like Clemson has some explaining to do. This should be fun.

Richard Hendrix will enter name into NBA draft

Hendrix announced at a presser this afternoon that he will put his name into the NBA draft, but he will not sign with an agent which means he can come back for his senior year if he so chooses. I’m guessing it’ll all come down to how he performs in the pre-draft camps, because right now I don’t believe he’s a first round pick, which means no guaranteed money.

He graduates this May, so this route was really a no-brainer on the part of Hendrix. If you’re a first rounder, leave. If not, you get to play next season with the best point guard (pre-injury, at least) in the country. Plus one more year under the tutelage of Gottfried. You can’t put a price tag on that. Just ask Gerald Wallace.

When Will They Ever Learn?

As if the Ohio State Buckeyes haven’t had enough embarrassment already during the past two “national championship games” (a.k.a SEC Coronation Celebrations), they apparently believe in the try-and-try-again theorem.

Though it hasn’t been formally released, The University of Tennessee and The Ohio State University (it makes me happy to say it that way since they suck so terribly bad against our proud conference …) have all but finalized a deal to play a home-and-home series in 2018-2019.

In a statement released today, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel expressed his disappointment with the OSU administration’s decision to inflict even more humiliation on their pompous and overrated university.

“When I heard about the home-and-home with Tennessee, I was so pissed that I ripped off my sweatervest,” Tressel said. “Thankfully, I have 754 more of them in my closet.

“I’m not too happy about this obviously because we don’t play real football in the Big Eleven, and now with Rich Rod at Michigan, that’s not going to any fun anymore. I guess they want some competition for us. I don’t know. Honestly, I kind of like not playing anybody, bragging all year and having our former players toot our horn and cruising into the national championship game. But whatever. Maybe in 10 years, we’ll have found a way to come within single digits of a Southeastern Conference opponent.”

Consequently, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer was thrilled about the prospects of the series with the Buckeyes, especially after the ridiculous SEC schedule and previously scheduled home-and-homes with Oregon (2010, 2013), North Carolina (2011-12), Oklahoma (2014-15) and Nebraska (2016-17).

“It’ll be a welcome break,” Fulmer said. “But it sure would be nice if we could play Alabama’s schedule every year.”

Former UA great Victor Ellis dies

Former UA great Victor Ellis passed away earlier this evening after a long battle with a rare form of cancer.  Ellis was a 4 year letterman for the Tide and graduated in 2002 with a B. A. in Communications.  He was a two year starter and also a member of the SEC All-Academic Team during his time at UA. 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Victor’s family and friends.  He was a class act both on and off the field and great person to represent The University of Alabama.  This is truly a sad day for UA.  Please keep the Ellis family in your prayers.

    

Pitino versus Pearl: A Matchup Made in Heaven

It’s still two days away, and the stage couldn’t be much bigger, but no matter how huge Tennessee’s Sweet 16 battle with Louisville in Charlotte will be come Thursday, I can’t help but think of the sideshow.

Rick Pitino. Bruce Pearl. Viva animation!

Let’s hope Ricky P. doesn’t wear this…

Seriously, who wouldn’t want to watch this game, sans white and orange suits? Who wouldn’t want to watch these coaches go against each other? I’ve been salivating just thinking of the up-and-down basketball ever since Easter Sunday’s clutch win over an excellent Butler team.

(Regardless of what anybody wants to say, Butler had four senior starters and a freshman who picked them over Indiana and every other Big Ten school, returning essentially the same team that should have/could have beaten the national champion Florida Gators last year in the Sweet 16. Oh yeah, it was also the first time since 1985 that two 30-plus win teams met in the round of 32. I’m just sayin’…)

Since the Butler win, I’ve been thinking about getting a shot at Ricky P. and his up-tempo Cardinals, and I must admit I’m as excited and intrigued as I am nervous.

Growing up a huge Vols fan and a Kentucky hater, I never pulled for Pitino. But, unlike classless attention-grubbing sleazebags like John Calipari, Bob Knight or Bob Huggins — some of the coaches I love to despise — I never hated Pitino. How can you? Well, unless you’re a Kentucky fan, and regardless of what they say, I don’t think they hate him as much as hate that he’s at U of L.

Pitino has always won, and he’s always won with class. A tireless recruiter and possibly one of the best Xs and Os coaches of our generation, he amazingly has only one national championship, but he’s the only coach in NCAA Division I history to take three separate teams (Providence, Kentucky, Louisville) to the Final Four. He’s relentless, he’s brilliant and he beats you at his game with better talent and better teaching. Then? He’s classy afterward. He’s very articulate in his responses and knowledge of the game, he doesn’t blow smoke up anybody’s butt, but he honors the sport and receives honor in the meantime.

For anybody too young to really know a lot about Pitino or don’t get to hear him enough now, just watch Billy Donovan, the Pitino disciple. They approach the game the same way, and that’s why the two are my second- and third-favorite coaches in the country.

Which of course brings me to my favorite: Bruce Pearl.

For all the talk of similarities between Pearl and Pitino, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. They are both great coaches, but Pearl hasn’t proven he can take things to the Pitino Level yet with the big boys (he did it at Southern Indiana). While he has raised Tennessee basketball to levels it has never seen before, it still pales in comparison to Pitino’s body of work. Over time, Pearl hopefully will build a similar resume at Tennessee, but only if the whispers of his leaving are greatly exaggerated and only if he consistently continues to recruit the way he has so far to Knoxville.

Avoid the rush, start your excuse-making now.

Or Your NCAA Tourney Fashion Update…

 The WWL is reporting that Chris Lofton was wearing a walking boot yesterday (All the really cool shooting guards are wearing them these days). It’s said to be only precautionary and that he will practice today. If he’s a go for practice today, then I would wager that this was extremely precautionary.

Finally some good football news for Bama

After not taking part in the first two spring practices for “personal reasons,” Luther Davis was back on the practice field yesterday. More encouraging news was that Zeke Knight was also in practice gear, but he did wear a no-contact jersey.

Other links around the internets……….

South Carolina’s Stephen Garcia’s career may be over before it starts. Maybe Spurrier will pull a Fulmer and institute a 4 strikes and you’re out policy. (HT: The Wiz)

 If you’ve always wondered about the rules of redshirting, SMQ has your answers. He also has some good thoughts about the aforementioned Mr. Garcia…

Joel has every stat imaginable about the UT-Louisville Sweet Sixteen matchup..