Update

These are the days when my job isn't so hard. At least there was some good out of all of this.


Also, did you see that blogger say that UT had no chance against Kansas? What a maroon. What a gulla-bull.

Auburn vs. South Carolina Runnning Diary

It’s time for another running diary. What? You had better things to do than read 2,700 words on a battle between SEC also-rans? I thought so.

This time it’s for the first SEC tip of the season for the 2009-2010 Auburn Tiger men’s basketball team. The Tigers struggled early in the year, but are currently on a 4 game winning streak as they start their last SEC season in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. The opponent for today is the South Carolina Gamecocks. Let’s get on with it:

· I actually had tickets to today’s game, but the three straight days of snow and ice has kept me watching this one from my warm couch in sunny Madison, AL. I hate that I missed it, but I’ll make up for it next weekend against Kentucky. No chance we lose that one, right?

· Whit Watson and Barry Booker set the stage in the SEC Network studio. Booker is having trouble speaking already.

· We can’t even watch our basketball game without having to hear about the team up the road again. Why would any of the fans watching this game care? I hate Alabama…

· Watson and Booker quickly discuss Tennessee’s impending doom against Kansas today. With Tyler Smith I’d put UT’s chances at slim to none. Without? Well let’s just say I’m not feeling any Ewing Theory potential.

· Two formerly ranked SEC teams already in progress, with Vandy leading Florida on the stage in Nashville. That’s nice. More UK talk follows. I thought tip was at 12:30?

· To say the crowd is sparse is an insult to an actual empty arena. I hate that I missed this game even more now.

· Dave LaMont and former Auburn Network commentator Joe Dean are calling the game for the “SEC Network”. The Tigers are in the home whites, with SC in their road blacks.

· DeWayne Reed makes the star watch. It’s good to know they haven’t actually watched him play this year.

· Reed, Sullivan, Waller, Hargrove, and Lett are the starters. A little surprising Lebo goes with Lett instead of the better offensive player Knox. He doesn’t seem to be any better at the tip either, as he loses it to Muldrow.

· Downey is left open but thankfully misses. Frankie shows he is still the most aggressive player by grabbing the rebound and taking in the entire way for the layup. Reed follows with a steal at midcourt, but blows the bunny.

· Waller misses an ill-advised three, but after an offensive foul by SC, he nails his second try. Hargrove follows with a steal and hits Waller for an outlet. Waller goes into the defender who has the charge, but drops his back foot and turns it into a block-and-one. However, because Waller plays for Auburn, he misses it. The effort seems to be there, but it’s almost comforting that the other problems are still there [/sarcasm]

· Sullivan puts pressure on the defense and draws the foul, and misses both free throws. Embarrassing…

· Thankfully Devan Downey is not being very Devan Downey and commits another turnover, but Auburn blows another layup, this time it’s Knox.

· After both teams miss, Downey blows by Reed for two, and then gets a charge right afterwards. So much for that…

· 7-0 lead deteriorates into a 7-7 tie at the first break. Auburn has been energetic early, but couldn’t convert on the easy points.

· A Knox dunk, missed SC three, and Reed draws the foul. He finally hits a free throw, and then promptly misses the second. We’re nothing if not consistent.

· Hargrove can't finish a steal and is now guarding Downey on the perimeter. Deciding this wasn’t enough of a mismatch, he leaves Downey alone WITH THE BALL and Downey nails the now wide open three. There are no other words I can really say there…

· After misses on each end, Reed drives the lane again, but this time gets blocked. If Auburn is doing one thing right, it’s attacking the SC interior. Waller then takes advantage of SC’s reaction by nailing a three.

· Downey is left open again. I’d ask if anyone has watched film, but they’ve PLAYED against this guy for four years. Unacceptable.

· The second break gets us to 13-13. Auburn should be up by at least 6. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so pessimistic, but I am what Jeff Lebo has made me.

· Downey is the only offense the Gamecocks have, but it’s not hard when he’s left alone for multiple threes.

· Hargrove actually displays one of his strengths by faking coming out for the screen, then darting behind his defender and receiving Waller’s pass for a wide open layup. He is what he is.

· Waller gets beaten off the dribble by a white guy. Lett has to help and no one is left on the weak side when the layup misses. Put-back slam.

· KENNY GABRIEL SIGHTING! As I once heard about another #22 in Auburn, he needs some cornbread…

· South Carolina gets their first free throws and their first lead by knocking them both down. They have made more than Auburn. So it’s not the ball…

· Vandy puts up 53 in the 2^nd half and drops Florida. Good for them.

· SC starts pressing the ball handler. Auburn keeps skip passing and finally gets an open look before I the shot clock runs out. Didn’t look great, but at this point I’ll take it. Down 20-19 now with 8 to go.

· Little Earl Wallace makes an appearance. I loved watching him play last weekend, but when a walk-on can get on the floor in a close game, it doesn’t say much for Auburn’s depth. The third break has us still at 20-19 with SC going to the line.

· As Jerry pointed out earlier this week, Auburn’s 2pt FG% is excellent, and Auburn finally starts going for the intermediate jumpers and Hargrove knocks one down. Sullivan can’t make his runner. Knox pulls the board but Downey steals it and steps on the baseline. So much for that.

· Muldrow is playing very well now. He blocked Knox after good ball-movement and he’s knocked down two 3’s. Knox is the only player with the same body type, and he’s just not strong enough to handle him.

· Reed hits Knox in mini-transition for the dunk and the lead. Sullivan follows a missed shot with an offensive rebound. He can’t get the putback, but he makes up for it by hustling behind the Gamecock that comes out with it and tipping a steal to Malone. At the final break of the first half, Auburn has the lead back 23-22 by forcing 7 straight SC misses. That’s not counting steals.

· South Carolina works for an open 3 and hits it, but Auburn follows with a missed 3, offensive rebound, and Reed driving and passing to Knox for the bunny-and-one. He actually makes the free throw, so we’re back to a one point lead.

· Dean praises Spinella (the white guy) for moving without the basketball for a layup. He actually just kinda starts standing next to the basket while wide-open and waits for someone to pass him the ball. Solid defense there [/sarcasm]

· Reed runs the 2 man play with Knox again, except there are 4 SC defenders around them. No matter, he spins away from them and makes the layup to cut the SC lead to 1 with less than 2 minutes to play.

· Dave LaMont has now mentioned that Joe Dean coached at UCF and BCS three times in one half. As if SEC basketball fans needed an introduction. I miss him calling games with Jim Fyffe. Though most of that is just missing Jim Fyffe.

· Hargrove makes an UGLY drive and gets bailed out. At some point SC has to get in foul trouble right?

· LaMont and Dean praise Hargrove’s shooting stroke. He responds by making only one of two free throws. Of course. At least it’s tied.

· SC responds with a three and a steal, but the end of half play is basically everybody getting out of Downey’s way. Auburn forces a bad shot and goes into the half down three, 32-29.

· 1^ST HALF REVIEW:

1. Auburn has been awful from the line. 3 of 8. If we didn’t think this was a Lebo trend last year, we know it now. I no longer have the desire to get mad about it. This is not good for Jeff.

2. Neither team is shooting particularly well. Both are under 40% overall, and Auburn is 2 of 9 from behind the arc. They’re even below their usual average inside the arc at 10 for 24.

3. For teams led by senior point guards, the play has been sloppy. Yahoo doesn’t keep track of steals, but it can’t be good for either side.

4. The good news for Auburn is that SC’s best interior player, Muldrow, has two fouls. Banulius also has picked up two. Only Frankie Sullivan has two for Auburn.

· LaMont makes sure we don’t forget Dean coached at UCF and BSC again, and then sells a horrible Dean joke. Well at least he’s trying.

· SC starts with the ball and forces a foul on Sullivan, but Auburn comes out with a rebound after a miss.

· LaMont keeps guessing at SC’s colors until Dean finally tells him it is garnet. So he’s trying, but didn’t actually read a media guide.

· Reed throws a Kafka-esque inbound and it leads to an easy layup for Galloway. Muldrow follows a Hargrove missed three with a tip in and Carolina has their largest lead.

· Reed misses a three from the same spot that Hargrove missed, but Hargrove pulls a rebound and gets a BIG third foul on Muldrow. He even knocks down both free throws.

· Knox makes a nice block and his Reed for the outlet. A tough layup goes down and it’s a one possession game until Galloway nails a three with a hand in his face. The 3pt defense has been less than desirable this year, but Auburn did everything right that time.

· We learn with 3 minutes gone in the 2^nd half that Tuberville is headed to Texas Tech. Good for him. As for Tech, y’all have fun winning games in the exact opposite way you’ve been winning them under Leach.

· Knox flashes the low post moves that get him in the game, but you just wish he wasn’t a senior.

· Downey is hitting less than a third of his shots, but Auburn still trails by 6 until Knox unexpectedly nails two freebies.

· Hargrove and Knox do a great job when facing defensive mismatches with a steal, but Hargrove throws it away on a 2 on 1. Like I said, he gives and takes away.

· Reed and Downey start playing 1 on 1 with their teammates lackadaisically helping. Maybe ESPN just told them they wanted to get the Star Watch right.

· Reed is pushing the ball up the floor on EVERY possession. SC was pressing and apparently he got tired of it.

· SC misses two wide open threes, including an air ball, and still gets 2 on a lay-in because Hargrove doesn’t put his body on his man for the rebound. It is things like this that make you realize it just looks like he tries hard.

· At the 12-minute break, Reed has already scored 10 in the 2^nd half and is at the line for a plus-one and actually makes it. The lead is now 52-50 SC.

· Knox commits an unnecessary foul when stepping out 35 feet from the basket. Awesome…

· After a turnover, Reed finally tries to out-run everybody one too many times and can’t get a VERY contested layup. He tries it on the next possession after a Downey error and nails it…somehow over Muldrow for the tie.

· Downey takes over and pushes the lead right back to 4 with a tough inside play and an assist. It doesn’t take long to figure out that he’s their best player. Reminds me of Steve Smith really (the Carolina Panther, not the former Atlanta Hawk).

· Two more SC baskets after bad Auburn possessions puts the lead to 8 before Hargrove can draw a foul. The lead is 8 and Auburn has got to step it up before this gets away from them.

· Hargrove only gets one again. Muldrow misses but The White Guy somehow gets the rebound. Thankfully Reed blocks him with a held-ball.

· Knox thinks that the best option when triple-teamed is to walk with the basketball in the lane. Fantastic.

· Downey hits a three from Notasulga for a double-digit lead. Sometimes you gotta tip your cap. Knox thankfully gets another easy basket and a trap forces a bad pass. Big possession with 5 and a half to go.

· In the positive, Auburn is in the bonus and Knox actually hits one of the free throws. With 5:14 the lead is 7. Still need a stop here.

· The Geico Charlie Daniels commercial will NOT get old. I love that old guy.

· The crowd is lackluster. The band is lackluster. You almost can’t blame the team for acting the same.

· Downey hits another LONG three and Auburn has to go away from the zone. Knox makes it at the other end again, but 2 for 3 isn’t gonna work.

· Auburn stays in the zone and Downey finally misses. Reed goes to the well one to many times on the sprint-out and it leads to a wide open three for SC. With 3 minutes to go the lead is 11 and the outlook is bleak. Auburn is going to HAVE to hit 3s down the stretch.

· Auburn starts being aggressive on defense early and picking up fouls. Not the worst idea when you’ve got a veteran PG like Downey.

· The two minute mark has us with SC hitting two free throws to Auburn’s 1. Auburn gets the rebound but turns it over. Not looking good for the home team.

· Especially when the guy Auburn decides to foul is Downey. SC is bad at the line, but Downey is the one you don’t want to put there. Naturally he hits them both.

· Auburn finally fouls the right player and gets a chance to cut the lead, but miss 2 threes before Reed gets fouled on the putback. He misses both, but Knox rebounds and puts it back and the Tigers force a turnover. Reed gives it right back after the inbounds pass. Such is life as an Auburn basketball fan…

· SC misses both free throws again and Auburn cuts the lead to 7 on a Reed layup. Notice that I’m only mentioning two players scoring for Auburn? That’s somewhat less than desirable.

· Downey hits two free throws before the 1 minute mark and Hargrove misses an ugly layup attempt. Auburn stops pressing and this one is all but over.

Final thoughts:

1. Downey took this game over and his teammates helped when needed. Reed tried to take it over and didn’t get any help from any Tigers other than Knox.

2. Auburn only showed flashes of maximum effort. That would be one thing in March, but this is the first conference game of the year. This might be the worst sign for Lebo.

3. More of a season observation, but it infuriates me to no end how poor the free throw shooting has been under Lebo. You would think that after missing the NCAA tournament solely on your poor free throw shooting that the problem would finally get fixed. It still isn’t. That’s some of the worst coaching you can provide.

4. The effort problems can’t be placed just on Lebo or the players. When you play in a 10,000 seat arena and not even half of that bother to show up, it’s tough to give everything you have. I’m not immune from my own criticisms today, but I shouldn’t have to feel bad about not going and cheering for those kids.

5. South Carolina isn’t that good, but they’ve got a top of the line player that can win them just about any ballgame. That’s part of what happened today.

Our Song of the Day

Texas Fight, Texas Fight,
And it's goodbye to crimson turds
Texas Fight, Texas Fight,
And you'll put over one more win.
Texas Fight, Texas Fight,
For it's Texas that we love (2nd) best.
Give 'em Hell, Give 'em Hell, Go Horns Go,
And it's good-bye to all the rest!

Yea Orange! Yea White!
Yea Longhorns! Fight! Fight! Fight!
Texas Fight! Texas Fight,
Yea Texas Fight!
Texas Fight! Texas Fight,
Yea Texas Fight!

The Eyes of Auburn are upon you,
All the livelong day.
The Eyes of Auburn are upon you,
make bammer go away.
Texas Fight, Texas Fight,
For it's Texas that we love (2nd) best.
Give 'em hell! Give 'em hell! Stand up and yell
And it's good-bye to all the rest!


That's right...I freestyled "Texas Fight"

Die in a fire Mike Fischer. Die in a fire

http://perezhilton.com/2009-12-22-carrie-underwood-shows-off-her-sparkler

Because sometimes you get bored during Christmas week at work:

James Jones (XMPP): Drew Brees sees that last piece of pizza, and he'd like you to have it
James Jones : no, he insists
James Jones : Drew Brees picked you up at the airport
Bryant Hamby: Tim Tebow once got Blackjack with one card. That card is known as the John Wall card.
James Jones: Drew Brees helped you move, without needing pizza and beer
Bryant Hamby: Tim Tebow was late for practice one day.The rest of the team had to run laps for being early.
James Jones: Jake Delhomme tried to change your baby's diaper. Your baby is dead
James Jones: Steve Smith was asked to write the preamble of the Declaration of Independence. He wrote down "89", screamed at the teacher, and walked out
James Jones: When you asked Julius Peppers to help you move, he showed up 3 hours late, moved couch cushions, sat down for another hour, drank all your beer, then moved a California King sized bed by himself and left.

More:

• Jon Beason snuck into your house and cleaned up. He doesn't care if you know it was him. Nobody would have noticed anyway.
  
• Ryan Kalil thinks Robert E. Lee made some good calls at Gettysburg. He shouldn't be held accountable for his own soldiers dying.
  

And so we've come...to the end of the road

From the date of Jeff Lebo's hire until December 20th, 2009, I stood behind Jeff Lebo. If there was any fan who supported him more blindly, I'd like to meet them. With a program like ours, you have to be given time to get things going the right way. Because of that, I was willing to give him 3 to 4 years to get things working. As long as the team kept progressing, injuries aside, I was happy with his job.

That progress is gone now. There are five seniors and the best player is a lightly recruited sophomore point guard. Interior play is as bad as it was when our tallest starter was 6'6". Interior defense is awful. 3 pt. FG defense is awful. All we have are steals. That doesn't do much when our opponent scores every time we don't take it away from them. Free throws are still awful. It's to the point now where it's not even funny. You'd think that when free throws cost you a shot at the NCAA tournament (and they did last year), you would try and fix the problem. Nope. Still there. Now we can't hit anything else either.

Dwayne Reed has regressed to the point where it's a little embarrassing that he's out there. Last year he was Auburn's second best player. This can't go on anyone except the coaches. And that's why they can't be allowed to take this team into the new arena. Teams can be turned around in short order in basketball with the right coaches and players. I'm not asking for miracles. I'm just asking for progress. The University has done it's part. Now we need a coach ready to do his.

For the love of everything...

read this