Sights and sounds (and a Dabo sighting)

posted by LW, Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Lot of cool sights and sounds in the aftermath of last night's dramatic clincher against Oklahoma State.

I spoke with Matt Vaughn after the press conference he'd just attended, and he reeked of alcohol. It was the product, no doubt, of a celebratory shower administered by those rowdy fans in right field.

A few minutes earlier, Jack Leggett was up at the podium participating in the press conference with Vaughn, Kyle Parker, Mike Freeman, Chris Epps and Ben Paulsen.

Another player was answering a question, and all of a sudden you saw Leggett's face light up as he looked toward someone entering the back of the room and raised his index finger with the typical "No. 1" gesture.

I didn't bother looking behind me to see whom Leggett was silently communicating with. But a few minutes later, I had my answer.

As soon as the press conference wrapped up, a beaming Dabo Swinney strode to the podium to offer congrats to Leggett and the players.

Both coaches say they have a great relationship, and that shouldn't be in question after the scene last night. And that harmony and respect is notable given the balancing act both coaches had to strike when Kyle Parker was trying to juggle football and baseball during the spring.

That endeavor is much easier said than done, with extremely competitive people trying to look out for their own interests. But these guys appear to have pulled it off masterfully, with their respect and like for each other well intact.

Nothing at all against Tommy Bowden, who was just a different kind of leader than Swinney. But I don't think Bowden would've made a point to do what Swinney did last night.

Does that mean Swinney will win football games and guide the Tigers where Bowden couldn't? Not necessarily. But Swinney's more warm and fuzzy style certainly can't hurt, because it makes folks feel good.

On to the links...

Speaking of KP, Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com writes about his clutch hit.

"It's kind of been biting at me, not getting the clutch hit," said Parker, who lost his spot in the Tigers' starting lineup in the last two games of the Clemson Regional.

So when Parker came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning in Monday night's championship game against regional 3-seed Oklahoma State, Clemson coach Jack Leggett pulled him down the third-base line.

"I felt good when he came up," Leggett said. "He was confident, and he's clutch. He looked poised when he stepped to the plate. I told him, 'I couldn't pick a better guy to be up right now.' He looked me in the eye, and I could tell he was confident."


More on the game in The State, Post and Courier and Independent-Mail.

Here's a little primer on the Tigers' Super Regional foe.

Auburn powerbroker Bobby Lowder is in his last days, and a lot of folks say at not a moment too soon.

But Paul Finebaum says Lowder might have actually been ... wait for it ... good for Auburn.

The poor economy is forcing Conference USA to trim its football travel squads to 66 players, and Tulane's revenues fell a whopping 30 percent short of projections.

More on the bizarre story of Tennessee's axed strength coach.

Someone on the board posted this hilarious faux gathering of SEC football coaches a few days ago, but I figured it was worth re-posting in case anyone missed it.

Tom Dienhart of Rivals examines some Big 12 issues.

Here's a look at Virginia's wild baseball ride.

N.C. State's Tom O'Brien is aware that his Wolfpack is the trendy pick in the ACC's Atlantic Division. O'Brien, though, says the pundits aren't always 100 percent correct.

For evidence, he points to Boston College winning the division last year. Remember which team the so-called experts said was a lock to win the division and conference?

"If you guys knew what the heck you were doing, you would be doing something else," O'Brien said.

He has a point.

LW

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