NEWS & NOTES

WAIT, BARNHART COVERS TEAMS OTHER THAN GEORGIA?
Your favorite leghumper, Tony Barnhart, released his preseason top 10 in that Atlanta fishwrap today. He lists Georgia as numbers 1-6 and 8-10, but somehow found his way to slip Clemson into the conversation at number 7. Like us, he has questions about the Tigers' offensive line, but everything else is golden. If you want a real laugh, read some of the comments on his blog. Regularly the most frighteningly dumb mouthbreathers imaginable give their take on Tony's articles, and almost without exception there's a "dawg" somewhere in their handle. Go figure.

WELL PLAYED, COACH KOENNING, WELL PLAYED
Say you're a defensive coordinator. You know the NCAA regulations prohibit you from chewing out your players for being lazy in offseason voluntary workouts. What do you do? If you're Vic Koenning, you call up a reporter and complain, knowing your comments will be published, circumventing those pesky regulations. The players in question are then called out, lighting a proverbial fire under their asses, and all is well. Here is the article in question.

SWEEEEEEEP
The Florida State Seminoles swept the Tiger baseball team this weekend, pretty much dashing their hopes for the ACC tournament. They could still make it, but with the dangerous Georgia Tech squad up soon, things aren't looking good.

THE EYES OF TEXAS ARE UPON... CLEMSON?
I don't cover a ton of recruiting on here outside of signing day. It's highly speculative, full of rumor and pure bullshit, and often a kid who has "committed" to a school will change his mind several times. However one recent Clemson commit is fairly noteworthy. Craig Loston, the top rated safety in the nation and a five star prospect, committed to Clemson over LSU. He had previously been committed to Texas A&M, but withdrew his commitment after their coaching change. More interesting than Clemson plucking one of the top players out of the lonestar state is how Loston found Clemson. He watched Clemson play Florida State on Labor Day last year and fell in love with the way our defense played and with the Death Valley atmosphere. He then sent our staff tape. He recruited Clemson, not the other way around. Here is Loston's Rivals page, with some very impressive highlights of him.

CLEMSON ATHLETES IMPROVE GRADES
16 of Clemson's 19 varsity sports showed improvement in the recent Academic Progress Rate statistics. The APR has great importance, as a score too low will result in the loss of scholarships.