So today in The State newspaper, a guy who covers the Gamecocks decides to tackle the issue of whether Clemson will end up in the SEC.
Strange.
Strange because, before even reading the column, you wonder how much insight this guy has into the situation.
But I'm interested in any stuff written about Clemson, and I'm very interested when said stuff carries a headline that says: "Clemson-to-SEC unlikely to happen."
When I read that headline, I'm thinking maybe the reporter has some SEC connections and is delivering something juicy from that end.
Eh, maybe not.
Nothing against the reporter, Seth Emerson. I know him, and he seems like a hard worker. But he needs to talk to a few more Clemson people if he really thinks the opinion of the average Clemson person can be summed up with this passage:
...the big question being asked among those same fans — and possibly by school officials — is:
Should we think about joining the SEC if that option presents itself?
It probably will not happen. From talking to several people connected with Clemson, including alumni and officials, most seem to prefer the ACC, which it joined as a charter member in 1953.
It should be pointed out that Emerson goes on to make an intelligent and fairly thorough exploration of the expansion possibilities as they relate to Clemson. He concludes that the school needs to keep all its options open while keeping its finger on the pulse of what other ACC schools are doing (or could be doing). Agreed.
But he lost me at the part about "most" Clemson folks preferring to remain in the ACC.
Maybe he talked to Jim Barker or one of his cronies. If he did, the sentiment to remain in the ACC wouldn't surprise me at all.
But if Emerson is trying to accurately gauge the sentiment of the average Clemson person, he needs to work the phones a little more.
In the Greenville News, Bart Wright has it right in his take on the Kyle Parker situation.
And so begins the Tajh Boyd era at Clemson University.
In the wake of the Colorado Rockies selecting Clemson outfielder Kyle Parker in the first round of Monday’s Major League Baseball draft, the school’s football program can turn the page on the past and move toward the future.
And later:
So if you’re holding your breath in hopes Parker will be back, let it go. In all likelihood, he’s gone.
Wright is also highly skeptical of Dabo Swinney's contention that Parker's football ceiling is higher than his baseball ceiling. I tend to agree, given that it's way too early to start talking about Parker's NFL prospects.
But I think Bart goes a bit overboard in comparing Parker's 2009 statistics to those of Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen and Tim Tebow.
Parker's statistics were compiled in his redshirt freshman season.
I'm in love with the kid's arm and quick release, and I think the NFL scouts would be as well. But we simply do not have enough available evidence to say this kid would be a boom or a bust at the next level.
Dabo Swinney talks about the QB situation with ESPN.com's Heather Dinich. Part 1 here, and Part 2 here.
Speaking of Dinich, less than a month ago she spoke with ESPN "expert" Keith Law about KP's draft prospects. Law is not high on Parker, and nothing against him for that; everyone has an opinion, and we'll see whether Parker's high draft pick is warranted.
But Dinich also quoted Law as saying the "buzz" on Parker was second to fourth rounds. Eh, not so much.
Very interesting column from Ron Morris, who looks at the bad blood between South Carolina and Coastal Carolina.
The pettiness falls squarely on the shoulders of USC, which has adhered to an unwritten policy since 1993 that forbids the Gamecocks from competing against Coastal Carolina in any sport.
It seems that at least one member of USC’s board of trustees had a difficult time forgiving Coastal Carolina for seceding from the USC system in 1993. Eddie Floyd has led the political charge ever since to keep the schools apart athletically.
USC’s previous athletics administration adhered to Floyd’s wishes. The schools have not met in football since Coastal Carolina began its program in 2003. They have not played in men’s basketball since Coastal Carolina won in December of 1993. In baseball, the teams have not played since 2002.
Credit Eric Hyman for trying to do away with that nonsense and give this state's baseball fans what they deserve.
Birmingham columnist Kevin Scarbinsky says Alabama has a tough task this weekend at Clemson. But the Crimson Tide has already overcome plenty, and not just on the baseball field.
Alabama shed real tears in April.
On April 2, the day Alabama opened a home series against Auburn, freshman outfielder Andrew Miller’s niece died. His sister’s baby girl, Annabelle Faith Walters, wasn’t yet 2 months old. She’d been born prematurely in February.
If that news weren’t heartbreaking enough, Alabama tried to hold back tears again last week.
Junior DH David Kindred, who’d left the team during the SEC Tournament suffering from shortness of breath and chest pains, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer.
He told his teammates himself.
The university said doctors caught Kindred’s disease early, increasing the chances for a full recovery, but at some point, you have to wonder.
How much real life can one team take?
Alabama and Clemson are no strangers. And it goes far beyond last year's NCAA Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Mitch Gaspard is no stranger to Clemson baseball.
In his first year as an assistant coach at Alabama in 1995 under then-coach Jim Wells, Gaspard and the Crimson Tide traveled to the NCAA East Regional in Clemson, S.C. Alabama lost to the Tigers, 7-4, in the championship round and was eliminated.
The next season, Alabama made it to the College World Series and was again eliminated by Clemson, 14-13.
And, oh yeah: Tide pitching coach Kyle Bunn, a South Carolina native, spent two years at Clemson before bolting for Tuscaloosa last September.
Given the minimal resistance Leggett put up to Bunn's departure, should be an interesting conversation between those two this week when they see each other.
LW
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