Tiger's tail, er, tale
posted by LW, Thursday, February 18, 2010
A few observations and links as I get my questions ready for tomorrow's Tiger Woods press conference...
It's been amusing reading about the carefully staged event that'll be put on by Woods and his PR team.
The most amusing part: That it's being labeled a press conference.
Problem is, Woods isn't taking questions.
The root for the term "conference" is "confer," but there won't be any conferring in this gig. Woods has invited a select group of reporters and supporters -- wait, is that redundant in this case? -- for this predictable exercise.
Boy, can't wait.
The noted Mike Lupica thrashes Tiger in this column, as does Tim Dahlberg of the AP.
As does ... Ernie Els?
Ernie Els was upset that Woods would take the attention away from the Match Play Championship, whose sponsor, Accenture, dumped him.
"It's selfish," Els told Golfweek magazine. "You can write that. I feel sorry for the sponsor. Mondays are a good day to make statements, not Friday. This takes a lot away from the golf tournament."
Dang, the Masters is gonna be fun.
Moving right along from Tiger to the Tigers...
I'm usually not particularly giddy with baseball in February, but I'm actually kinda looking forward to the start of Clemson's season this year. Maybe it's just a desire to get past this long, cold winter.
In the Greenville News, Ed McGranahan writes about catcher John Nester.
After splitting the job with freshman Phil Pohl the first half of the season, Nester settled in and hit .344 in his last 40 games.
Nester and Pohl are again joined at the hip entering the season, which starts Friday at Doug Kingsmore against Miami of Ohio. Freshman Spencer Kieboom also could squeeze in some playing time.
Coach Jack Leggett won't say if he favors one over the other, but based on last season's numbers it's no contest.
“Hopefully I'll be in there more than I was last year,” Nester said Wednesday. “I've been working all summer and all fall trying to get ready for it. Phil's been playing pretty well as of late, too, so whatever is going to help the team, I'll do whatever role I need to.”
In the Independent-Mail, a look back at Dan Pepicelli's cold call to Jack Leggett.
Also in the GN, a piece on Andre Young.
The smallest player in the Atlantic Coast Conference is coming up big for the Tigers.
The 5-foot-9 Young has been a spark plug of late, which is welcome news as Clemson heads down the homestretch of its season -- five games remain before the ACC Tournament.
“We can gather ourselves and get some rest, but we’ve got to keep it going,” Young said after Clemson’s 10-point victory against Miami on Saturday.
Duke survives at Miami, and I have an admission to make:
Brian Zoubek might not be the worst player in college basketball history, as I thought he was.
He's been pretty good the last two games.
Maybe Clemson's coaches can use Zoubek as the model for making Catalin Baciu into a serviceable player by the time his college career is done.
In The ACC Sports Journal, Part 3 of a one-on-one interview with John Clougherty.
The interviewer touches on the alleged bias in favor of Duke and North Carolina, but the way the question was posed comes off as, uh, less than adversarial.
And I'm not sure the answer -- "Hey, we get e-mails!" -- is all that satisfying, either.
ACCSports.com:
Let’s address the fan complaint that always comes up, and everyone knows your desk is flooded with these gripes. “The ACC wants Duke and Carolina to win. Clougherty is putting his best officials on their games, and they’re getting all the calls.” Based on the data you just showed and the accountability standards that are in place, the idea that there is any kind of bias toward Duke or UNC is absurd. But that issue will never die, will it?
Clougherty:
It’s been here as long as I’ve been here, and I’m certain it was here long before me. I don’t see any of the fan mail and email that comes in, but they’re all answered and put in a binder. At the end of the year, I see it. Last year there were 91 pages of emails that came in about our officiating.
And we have the best referees going. Just look at the postseason. Our officials always wind up in the NCAA Tournament and in the Final Four. And of those 91 pages, a lot of them center around Duke and Carolina. If I were to take this to my next speaking engagement and pull out any page to read, they would laugh.
But I’m glad. This isn’t a negative, because these fans are so passionate. We have to feel good about their level of interest. I have 91 pages of e-mails, five to a page. They care!
Man, Virginia is fading fast. They fell behind by as many as 23 points in last night's home loss to Florida State.
Yes, this is the same team that was at one point tied for first place in the ACC standings.
Three games in five days are not fun, folks.
Bennett substituted for Landesberg with 14:27 remaining in the second half, at which point the Cavaliers trailed 46-30. Landesberg returned with 7:40 left and the Seminoles ahead 54-35.
The only time he had sat for that length of time was when he picked up two first-half fouls at Wake Forest.
"We didn't have any answers," Bennett said. "I said, 'Let's get some guys with some fresh legs.' He looked sluggish tonight, as did everybody. It looked like we were stuck in mud."
Speaking of the ACC, it's still a pretty good conference relative to other conferences. But during the broadcast of last night's Maryland-N.C. State game, there was a startling stat:
The last time the ACC had just one team in the AP poll was 1977.
At present, No. 6 Duke and No. 23 Wake Forest are the ACC's only representatives in the AP Top 25.
Wake lost at Virginia Tech two nights ago. Something tells me the folks in the ACC office will be pulling hard for the Deacs this weekend at N.C. State.
And even a win over the downtrodden Wolfpack might not be enough.
Speaking of 1977, that's an apt description of the broadcast quality of some of these ACC basketball games.
Brutal.
Greivis Vasquez must love playing N.C. State.
Given the chance to hoist up another salt-in-the-wounds 3-pointer at the finish, Greivis Vasquez looked at the N.C. State students and shook his head, getting the last word without uttering a single one.
As an opponent, State fans may not be sad to see the Maryland star go. As a foil, who could ask for anything better?
In his final visit to the Triangle, Vasquez scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half as Maryland turned a 10-point halftime deficit into a nine-point win. He may not be missed around the RBC Center, but he will miss playing here.
"Definitely," Vasquez said, straight-faced. "It's a great building, those are great fans and it was a great game."
Easy for him to say: He's 7-0 against the Wolfpack in his career after Wednesday's 67-58 win.
Ken Tysiac is skeptical that the ACC can get seven teams into the NCAA Tournament.
Andy Staples endeavors to re-rank the 2007 signing classes based on -- gasp! -- production.
Looks like surgery is going to keep Jacory Harris from participating in spring practice.
And it looks like Darrell Green can still run kinda fast.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
A few observations and links as I get my questions ready for tomorrow's Tiger Woods press conference...
It's been amusing reading about the carefully staged event that'll be put on by Woods and his PR team.
The most amusing part: That it's being labeled a press conference.
Problem is, Woods isn't taking questions.
The root for the term "conference" is "confer," but there won't be any conferring in this gig. Woods has invited a select group of reporters and supporters -- wait, is that redundant in this case? -- for this predictable exercise.
Boy, can't wait.
The noted Mike Lupica thrashes Tiger in this column, as does Tim Dahlberg of the AP.
As does ... Ernie Els?
Ernie Els was upset that Woods would take the attention away from the Match Play Championship, whose sponsor, Accenture, dumped him.
"It's selfish," Els told Golfweek magazine. "You can write that. I feel sorry for the sponsor. Mondays are a good day to make statements, not Friday. This takes a lot away from the golf tournament."
Dang, the Masters is gonna be fun.
Moving right along from Tiger to the Tigers...
I'm usually not particularly giddy with baseball in February, but I'm actually kinda looking forward to the start of Clemson's season this year. Maybe it's just a desire to get past this long, cold winter.
In the Greenville News, Ed McGranahan writes about catcher John Nester.
After splitting the job with freshman Phil Pohl the first half of the season, Nester settled in and hit .344 in his last 40 games.
Nester and Pohl are again joined at the hip entering the season, which starts Friday at Doug Kingsmore against Miami of Ohio. Freshman Spencer Kieboom also could squeeze in some playing time.
Coach Jack Leggett won't say if he favors one over the other, but based on last season's numbers it's no contest.
“Hopefully I'll be in there more than I was last year,” Nester said Wednesday. “I've been working all summer and all fall trying to get ready for it. Phil's been playing pretty well as of late, too, so whatever is going to help the team, I'll do whatever role I need to.”
In the Independent-Mail, a look back at Dan Pepicelli's cold call to Jack Leggett.
Also in the GN, a piece on Andre Young.
The smallest player in the Atlantic Coast Conference is coming up big for the Tigers.
The 5-foot-9 Young has been a spark plug of late, which is welcome news as Clemson heads down the homestretch of its season -- five games remain before the ACC Tournament.
“We can gather ourselves and get some rest, but we’ve got to keep it going,” Young said after Clemson’s 10-point victory against Miami on Saturday.
Duke survives at Miami, and I have an admission to make:
Brian Zoubek might not be the worst player in college basketball history, as I thought he was.
He's been pretty good the last two games.
Maybe Clemson's coaches can use Zoubek as the model for making Catalin Baciu into a serviceable player by the time his college career is done.
In The ACC Sports Journal, Part 3 of a one-on-one interview with John Clougherty.
The interviewer touches on the alleged bias in favor of Duke and North Carolina, but the way the question was posed comes off as, uh, less than adversarial.
And I'm not sure the answer -- "Hey, we get e-mails!" -- is all that satisfying, either.
ACCSports.com:
Let’s address the fan complaint that always comes up, and everyone knows your desk is flooded with these gripes. “The ACC wants Duke and Carolina to win. Clougherty is putting his best officials on their games, and they’re getting all the calls.” Based on the data you just showed and the accountability standards that are in place, the idea that there is any kind of bias toward Duke or UNC is absurd. But that issue will never die, will it?
Clougherty:
It’s been here as long as I’ve been here, and I’m certain it was here long before me. I don’t see any of the fan mail and email that comes in, but they’re all answered and put in a binder. At the end of the year, I see it. Last year there were 91 pages of emails that came in about our officiating.
And we have the best referees going. Just look at the postseason. Our officials always wind up in the NCAA Tournament and in the Final Four. And of those 91 pages, a lot of them center around Duke and Carolina. If I were to take this to my next speaking engagement and pull out any page to read, they would laugh.
But I’m glad. This isn’t a negative, because these fans are so passionate. We have to feel good about their level of interest. I have 91 pages of e-mails, five to a page. They care!
Man, Virginia is fading fast. They fell behind by as many as 23 points in last night's home loss to Florida State.
Yes, this is the same team that was at one point tied for first place in the ACC standings.
Three games in five days are not fun, folks.
Bennett substituted for Landesberg with 14:27 remaining in the second half, at which point the Cavaliers trailed 46-30. Landesberg returned with 7:40 left and the Seminoles ahead 54-35.
The only time he had sat for that length of time was when he picked up two first-half fouls at Wake Forest.
"We didn't have any answers," Bennett said. "I said, 'Let's get some guys with some fresh legs.' He looked sluggish tonight, as did everybody. It looked like we were stuck in mud."
Speaking of the ACC, it's still a pretty good conference relative to other conferences. But during the broadcast of last night's Maryland-N.C. State game, there was a startling stat:
The last time the ACC had just one team in the AP poll was 1977.
At present, No. 6 Duke and No. 23 Wake Forest are the ACC's only representatives in the AP Top 25.
Wake lost at Virginia Tech two nights ago. Something tells me the folks in the ACC office will be pulling hard for the Deacs this weekend at N.C. State.
And even a win over the downtrodden Wolfpack might not be enough.
Speaking of 1977, that's an apt description of the broadcast quality of some of these ACC basketball games.
Brutal.
Greivis Vasquez must love playing N.C. State.
Given the chance to hoist up another salt-in-the-wounds 3-pointer at the finish, Greivis Vasquez looked at the N.C. State students and shook his head, getting the last word without uttering a single one.
As an opponent, State fans may not be sad to see the Maryland star go. As a foil, who could ask for anything better?
In his final visit to the Triangle, Vasquez scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half as Maryland turned a 10-point halftime deficit into a nine-point win. He may not be missed around the RBC Center, but he will miss playing here.
"Definitely," Vasquez said, straight-faced. "It's a great building, those are great fans and it was a great game."
Easy for him to say: He's 7-0 against the Wolfpack in his career after Wednesday's 67-58 win.
Ken Tysiac is skeptical that the ACC can get seven teams into the NCAA Tournament.
Andy Staples endeavors to re-rank the 2007 signing classes based on -- gasp! -- production.
Looks like surgery is going to keep Jacory Harris from participating in spring practice.
And it looks like Darrell Green can still run kinda fast.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
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Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.