Clemson fans have completed the transition

If they weren’t fans of our in-state arch-rival, I would almost be sympathetic toward my Clemson brethren right now.  For decades, we just were obsessed with making “BEAT CLEMSON” our entire identity.  I can admit now that in football I would have honestly taken a win over the Tigers instead of an 11-win season any day.  

Now I hear the news that the Tigers are installing countdown clocks all over their football facilities.  Counting down to the National Championship game I’m sure?  Or maybe that dynamic ACC Title game they try and pretend they care more about than USC?  Or maybe it’s just a generic countdown to the opening kickoff type of thing?  Of course not.  You guessed it:  the program that gives insane contracts to coaches and bends itself into pretzels to INSIST that it doesn’t care about beating Carolina is now formally counting the seconds and minutes until we play again.  You have to love it! 

Ah, fond memories pop into my head of that “Beat Clemson” obsession we went through in football before Spurrier.  Again, let me say that I was neck-deep in the middle of that.   Those of orange ilk used to live rent-free in our heads.  Now we’re the tenants in their craniums and that’s how it needs to stay.  

And we need to remember that no one has done more to change the fortunes of this rivalry than Dabo Swinney.  He is likely going to go down as the most popular Clemson coach at both schools when he is done.  Clemson has sold their souls to him to be able to try and prove to Gamecock fans that they really aren’t worried about us.   Therefore, every time we beat them in football, they now have to double-down further and reaffirm their loyalty to old Dabbles.  Hoping beyond hope that eventually the odds say that they will win a football game against us (which I’m sure will happen at some point), somehow that will vindicate the entire foolish exercise.  We’re good with that plan.  We’re all in!  

I have so many really cool Tiger friends who have privately admitted what they actually think about their current path.  Needless to say when you get them 1 on 1 it is unanimously recognized how reckless, short-sighted and disingenuous their choices are- like the big contract, the obsession, the countdown clocks, etc.  But as the old saying goes, “A person can be smart, but people are stupid.” 

Shoot, despite brutal treatment by them for many, many years growing up I still do feel sorry for them and I guess I carry a touch of sympathy.  It is just miserable to be where they are right now, cast as Don Quixote of the Palmetto State attacking the windmill.   At least they have the attention span of the dog in the movie “Up” to fall back on.  The next distracting squirrel (playing a bowl against a team that doesn’t want to be there, facing the ACC “heavyweights,” recruiting all skill players, etc) is always just around the corner.  Hang in there my Tigger pals.  The odds do say you’ll get a win at some point.  

It is a great time to be a GAMECOCK!

GAMECOCK BASEBALL: What a fun first weekend!

I know it was just an opening weekend series against an overmatched opponent.  I also know that we will have to see how Wil Crowe and Joel Seddon handle the Tiggers and the SEC before booking any flights to Omaha.  Regardless, you still had to leave the first three games of 2014 excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.  

Carolina has struggled like everyone else in the last couple of years to produce runs.  We top 40 in the first weekend set!  Pankake, Martin, Greiner and Schrock are an intimidating group of bats in any lineup.  So we have more power complementing our lightning speed on the base paths.  Then there are our starters on the mound.  Jordan “Gumby” Montgomery opened up looking every bit the ace we need him to be.  Jack Wynkoop and Crowe really could give us one of the SEC’s best starting rotations.  

I am usually not one to get ahead of things with bold predictions and I won’t start that here.  But I will say that based on what we have seen and what we expect, this should be a VERY tough baseball team to beat.  Are there land mines out there that could blow that up?  Of course there are.  Clemson looks like they have their best team in a while and the SEC is loaded as always with 8 in the top 25 this week. 

One intangible I am happy this team has is that bad taste in the mouth from giving away the Super Regional last year at Chapel Hill.  We were CLEARLY the better team and lost, but remember my favorite Frank Howard quote… “I don’t want the best team to win.  I want my team to win.”  So I sense that we will play with extra fire and intensity this year. 

Another intangible is that Coach Holbrook has to be eager to take his first Omaha trip as a Head Coach.  Every Gamecock fan on earth is thankful he is the guy who replaced Coach Tanner.  But that spot brings with it the extra pressure of continuing what Coach Tanner built in Columbia.  Coach Holbrook is the man to make sure that happens.  He will get us back to Omaha for sure and I hope it’s this year. 

After all, in College Baseball, the difference between total failure and complete success can be a couple of runs and bad bounces as we saw with the Heels last year.  We are due for a couple of fortunate bounces this year in my opinion.

But even though I am cautiously optimistic and excited, I will keep it calm for now.  Before we start dancing around and boasting, let’s see how that weekend against the Upstate Udders goes and then watch a couple of conference weekends.  Then we can start discussing things like Super Regionals and Omaha. 

It is a great time to be a GAMECOCK! 

More MOO U News: Top 10 potential new In-State Rivals for Clemson

Since the Tigers have thrown in the towel on the rivalry by rewarding Dabbles with a big new contract, here are our suggestions for their new in-state football rival. (One they could beat sometimes):

10.          Eleven Bassett Hound Puppies

9.            A bunch of silk pillows

8.            Richard Simmons

7.            Calhoun Academy

6.            The S. C. School for the Blind and Deaf

5.            A Groucho’s STP Dipper

4.            The ball-pit staff at Chuck E. Cheese

3.            The 5 year old “Upward” squads at Millbrook Baptist Church

2.            Regis Philbin

1.            Any 5 PM Yoga Class at Curves

MOO U News: Jack Leggett excited about Dabo’s new contract!

Coach Leggett claps for joy after hearing of the new contract given to Dabo Swinney.

When Clemson formally embraced losing to South Carolina as a good thing by giving Dabo Swinney a huge new contract, no one was more excited than Tiger Baseball Coach Jack Leggett.  “Shoot, I’ve been losing to the Gamecocks for years so I should get one heck of a deal now,” said Leggett who has been working under the apparent misconception that he should be upset about failing against his in-state rival.  “I don’t blame my agent because I honestly thought Tiger fans cared about getting embarrassed by South Carolina.  Since they actually don’t care, you can look for some hard negotiations coming from old Jack-Leg.”  

In related Tiger news, Brad Brownell has been told he will have his salary reduced in a big way if he keeps beating USC.  “I apologize to the Clemson fan base for not going ‘all in’ to the new rules about our rivals.  I promise to join Dabo and Jack’s way of doing things starting next year.  I never meant to cause disunity or turmoil by defeating the Gamecocks.”  

USC BASEBALL - Are you ready?

CLICK IMAGE ABOVE TO ENLARGE - GREAT DESKTOP IMAGE

Gamecock Baseball is back!

Connor Bright #4

As the Cockabooster awakens from a winter hibernation, one of my favorite topics will get the new year started:  The Yard Cocks!  I know, I know!  I have missed several great chances recently to launch into old Dabo and the upstate crazies.  That insanely short-sighted contract; the pretending that losing to Carolina is now okay, etc, etc.  Don’t worry I’ll have fun with those soon. 

But for now let’s focus on the Diamond.  Coach Chad Holbrook’s boys enter the new season looking strong and talented as usual.  USC will start out at #7 in Baseball America’s rankings and #14 in the USA Today Coaches poll.  Returning are some familiar names including Joey Pankake, Tanner English and Grayson Greiner.  We will need big years from all of them to maintain our high-level of expectations.   

The most notable “holes” to fill in my opinion are the infield and bullpen.  There is NO doubt that replacing LB Dantzler will be difficult.  LB led us in on-base percentage and slugging percentage and will be missed.  With Pankake moving over to third and Max Schrok returning at second, that means two new faces in the infield.  Most likely you’ll see Kyle Martin at first.  Short is still a question mark with Marcus Mooney and D. C. Arendas battling for the nod.  And to close out the infield, how great is it to have the “monster” Greiner behind the plate again? 

More good news is that Gumby is back!  One of my favorite Gamecocks, Jordan Montgomery, returns as the Ace Friday night starter.  The #2 spot in the rotation comfortably belongs to Jake Wynkoop.  So we’re good and seasoned for Fridays and Saturdays.  The third spot is usually somewhat of a question mark and that’s okay. 

More concerning is wondering who our closer will be?  Perhaps outside of how Kyle Martin fills in for LB, this could end up being the big factor in how far we can go.  Freshman Will Crowe could be given the shot, which would likely move either Josh Reagan or Joel Seddon into the Sunday starting spot. 

Finally, with English in Center and Connor Bright in Right, 2/3 of the Outfield is in fine shape.  I’m looking forward to seeing JUCO transfer Elliot Caldwell in left.  If he is as good as we hope, we will have a tremendous group back there.  

Finally there is the schedule.  If you think football is tough in the SEC, take a look at baseball!  Baseball America has eight SEC teams in the top 25 and four in the top 10!  The Gamecocks play 10 SEC weekends, and you can add in 3 games against #13 Clemson as always.  As you can see, it will be the normal “grind” to get to the top. 

But we’ll be ready.  We play at the best stadium in the nation after all.  “The Ray” is intimidating and as good of a home atmosphere that exists in the sport.  So get the peanuts, popcorn and coca-cola ready!  It’s time for Gamecock Baseball!  

Joel Seddon

MOO U News: Dabo asks Spurrier to step outside

Tired of getting humiliated every time he gets in a verbal exchange with Steve Spurrier, Dabo Swinney has decided to focus on age.  “He may whip my fanny every year, and I may look like an idiot when I try and exchange barbs with him, but I can kick that old man’s fanny, I tell you what.”  

Swinney says Spurrier can meet him behind the Li’l Cricket in Pelzer anytime he wants to settle things.  “I’ll even buy him a moon pie and an RC.  That old man wants none of this greatness.  Football wins or not.”

When asked who got the best of things this year between the two of them, Dabo sat in deep thought for a second before saying “SHUT UP,” shooting us the bird and storming out of the room. 

"Hey Steve...You wanna' a piece of me??"

MOO U News: Everyone un$ure why Vic Bea$ley i$ coming back to Clem$on

In a $urpri$e move, Clem$on wa$ able to “convince” Vic Bea$ley to remain in Tigertown for another $ea$on.  The my$tery i$ why Bea$ley would do $o when it wa$ clear he wa$ headed to becoming a high draft pick in the NFL draft.  

$ounding le$$ than believable, Bea$ley $ay$ he ju$t changed hi$ mind and wanted to come back.  I gue$$ we’ll never know what the real rea$on i$. 

$tay tuned!

CLAWS vs. PAWS - FINAL SCORE - 2013 Season!

CLEMSON'S WIN RESULTS IN A TIGER SWAG DEFEAT!

Going into the bowl games, The Tiger Swag held onto a 9 point advantage in our CLAWS vs. PAWS contest.  The Tiger Swag picked USC to win and cover the spread.  They did.  This gave The Tiger Swag 10 points.  His final score for the season was 139.  However, he picked against his beloved Tigers and went with the Buckeyes to cover the spread and win the game.  Clemson won...The Tiger Swag lost (although I am sure he is not too sad about this particular defeat). 

On the other hand, The Cock-A-Booster went with both in-state schools to win and cover the spread.  Both USC and Clemson won giving The Cock-A-Booster a late 20 point surge to pull out the victory!

What a game!  Congrats to both the Gamecocks and the Tigers on great seasons and great bowl wins.

The only thing left to debate is which conference brings home the crystal trophy tonight...the ACC (FSU) or the SEC (Auburn).  I bet most of the TIGERS are pulling for the NOLES and most of the GAMECOCKS are pulling for the TIGERS!??!?!? 

Be patient with us “Oldies” you Young Gamecocks. We’ll get there!

I have said many times that I am grateful my 7-year old is growing up a different kind of Gamecock.  His perspective on USC athletics is the polar opposite of his Daddy’s, and that’s a GOOD thing.  But it does lead to some natural conflict between the generations.  

Let’s start with football.  If you want to know why I am so negative about things, consider 1976-2008 on the gridiron.  I had the pleasure of witnessing 2 football seasons of more than 8 wins in those 33 seasons.  2.  Shoot, throw in the 8-win years and it only “grows” to 7 seasons I think.  Maybe 6, maybe 8, but you get the idea.  Not many!  Add in that Carolina’s record against Clemson in that span was 8-24-1.  Go look it up youngsters if you don’t believe it.  I had only seen 8 wins over our rivals when I turned 38.  

Hoops was no better.  The McGuire years were ending badly when I started going to games I can remember on a regular basis.  Yes, we have won an SEC title in hoops and I enjoyed that.  Yes, we won the NIT twice.  Enjoyed those as well.  But we have not won an NCAA tournament game since 1973.  Yuck.  And my Mother and I drove to Pittsburgh via Big Otter, West Virginia one time just to say that I finally saw one!  Thanks, Coppin State.  

Baseball was the best option for me growing up, no doubt about it.  We did make the College World Series a few times and June Raines had an okay program but nothing to scream about.  Even the first big success of the Tanner era in 2000 ended with the sad losses to U-La-La.  And yes, we had the run to the Title game in 2002 and knocked Clemson out of Omaha the 1^st time then which was fun.  But even with baseball I had to wait until 2010 before we won the national title in a men’s major sport.  

So you’ll have to forgive us “older” fans for wanting to stop and smell the recent roses a bit before “demanding” more from our program.  Sure we want more moving forward, but things are a heck of a lot better than they used to be.  

My son has lived through 8 football seasons so far.  None of them have landed a losing record.  4 of them have garnered at least 9 wins.  Three 11-win campaigns.  A 6-2 mark against Clemson.  The school’s two biggest bowl wins in history.  An SEC East Championship.  I get it why he sees things differently.  And I’m happy.  

Baseball for him is even better:  2 national titles, 2 SEC titles, constant Super Regionals and Regionals, a domination of Clemson’s Jack Leggett, always ranked in the top 10 and watching games in that beautiful new stadium.  Hoops obviously is not fixed yet but you get the idea Frank Martin will get there if we’re patient.  

So I know you young whipper-snappers want more and you’re hungry for it. Good for you.  The rest of us in our 40s will get there too.  Just be paitent with us. 

 LOL  It’s a great time to be a Gamecock!