DANNY FORD IS GOD

GOODBYE, DFIG. RIP, SWEET PRINCE.

2008-08-26T07:53:00.002-04:00

Danny Ford Is God is getting a new name: Block C. We changed the name because we wanted people to focus more on the content of our site and not the name, which has stirred some controversy in its time. Block C is, of course, a reference to Coach Ford's iconic Clemson cap

Please update your links as our new address will be http://www.Block-C.com

THINGS TO CHECK OUT IN ATLANTA THIS WEEKEND

2008-08-25T21:35:00.006-04:00

I'm so excited about this weekend, I can barely contain myself. This is promising to be an exciting weekend given the obvious as well as our recent site change and the national exposure that we and the game itself is/are getting. Just the other day I was watching ESPN and saw the commercial for the game this week and went crazy as it was centered around Howard's Rock. You can check it out here. The new College Game Day site is up and running which you can also see. The videos on the site are a bit heavy handed with Bama's balls but still, it's looking good.

There are still a lot of Clemson fans that don't know their way around Atlanta. Given that some of my family is from Atlanta and that Chili lived there for a short time, we're here to provide some helpful hints and ideas to fill time for you folks unfamiliar with the area. First of all, you probably want to check out the Clemson Athletic Department's tips to avoid traffic due to massive road construction downtown and in the surrounding areas. Seriously, I've been there a few times this summer and it is hell. Don't just go gallivanting around without a plan thinking that you are gonna be okay. Once you get downtown, stay there or take a cab where ever you go. MARTA is acceptable during the daytime, just don't forget to bring your shiv as things like this can occur:

I'm pressin' charges!(nsfw, kinda)

I've provided links to some cool things that might interest a few of you taking the trip to Atlanta. And if you can't make it to Atlanta, you can spend your time doing some online sports betting. These are loosely based around my own itinerary and are labeled with the days of the weekend as those would be the be the best days to visit said establishments.

Friday

- For you high society folk, I suggest checking out Kevin Rathbun's steakhouse and restaurant as well as the Krog Bar next door. The restaurant is top notch and the Krog Bar is a hole in the wall also owned by Rathbun that serves wines, salted meats, and cheeses while you wait to be seated at the restaurant.

- For you folks staying outside of the city (the side closer to SC) and want to keep it quiet the night before the big day, I suggest you check out the Movie Tavern. Great films, great service, and unbelievable prices. It's got pretty good food as well as decent prices. I know that the things I paid for there I would have to pay a lot more at any other movie theater. Oh, and they serve booze. And food. Like real food, not just the ballpark or movie theater kind.

- Lastly, is the Brickstore Pub. For you inexperienced or redneck palatted beer drinkers (I'm looking at you, Tiger SACK), stay away. But for those of you that enjoy testing your livers and putting down some good, high gravity, Bavarian beers look no further than this place. It's dark, it's cozy, and I promise you that this place will deliver. Just watch your intake. I'll probably be checking this place out. Not that far from downtown either. Just a brief cab ride.

Saturday

- Essentially, I've heard that College Game Day will be broadcasting from Olympic Park in the heart of the city. Good thing for me as it's only a few short blocks away from my hotel. I'm pretty much dedicating my entire Saturday morning to gameday. I've been corresponding with a guy that works for ESPN, so, hopefully something cool pans out for me.

- Afterwards, most Clemson fans in the know will probably head to Stats Sports Bar & Grill, just a few blocks further from Olympic Park. Here is the physical contact info you'll need, but asking where it is will probably suffice. That place was rocking for not only last year's Tech game but the Peach Bowl as well. They have tables there with kegs in them. Cmon! That's freaking awesome!

- I'm sure there will be some sort of big-to-do with the ESPNZone in Buckhead given the heavy presence of the big red network in the metro area. The place itself is pretty cool and the last time I went I had a decent burger, but it's so far out of the way that I wouldn't worry about it unless you're staying in Buckhead.

Sunday

- Ok, I know this sounds like a bad idea, but I'm throwing it out there anyway. Six Flags Over Georgia. Yes it's labor day weekend but it's still fun and the park will definitely be open on Sunday. Here's a helpful link to navigate around.

- There's also always the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coke, but I'm assuming those will be just as packed as Six Flags would be. You could always check out the big Bass Pro Shop in Lawrenceville on the way back home for you South Carolinians.

Lastly, don't forget that on Monday, September 1st, Chik-Fil-A will be giving out a free three piece chicken strip meal to anyone wearing ANY football logo... be it college, pro, high school, pee wee, whatever. Check that out. I plan on going to the five nearest to me and making a day trip out if it. Why not.

FIVE MORE DAYS.

Word on the street is some new concoction for uniforms.

MUSTACHES AND MAC CUP

2008-08-24T14:41:00.001-04:00

Don't forget the deadline for the Mustache Competition is this Friday, August 29th. We MUST have all submissions no later than 11:59 PM that night. The password to write on a sticky note and hold up in the picture will be posted on Thursday. Also, if you want us to crop the picture to protect your identity, let us know in the email you send with the picture. Send your emails to 'dannyfordisgod -at- gmail -dot- com'. Check out the official rules on the competition by clicking "mustaches" at the bottom of this post. You should be able to scroll and find them.

Also, don't forget to make your picks for the Mac Cup no later than 5 minutes before the first game. I'm assuming the deadline is 11:55 am on Saturday, but go ahead and make your picks anyways before Saturday morning.

Lastly, the following people need to send me an email of how we know you or what your handle is so we can verify that you participate with our website.

Names that need confirmation: cutiger09, clemsoniceman, Oblong Balls Carried with Force, chicagotiger91, Korn Nutz, clemsonjaymo, Willy Korn pulls out, & magic hobo.

If I don't get an email by Friday letting me know who you are and how you participate then consider yourself booted from the group. Sorry to do this, but there's an expensive bottle of booze on the line here and I'm going to use my every advantage to ensure a fair contest.

RARE EBAY OPPORTUNITY

2008-08-23T15:07:00.004-04:00

If you're mulling over the pages of eBay and happen to be checking out South Carolina Gamecock souvenirs and apparel, you might find the following: RARE GAMECOCK "BOWL BOUND" COOZIE!!!

Yes, this is an actual coozie.

The description reads:

"Tired of staying at home for the holidays? What a great way to spend it by drowning your sorrows in alcohol because your team went from #6 in the AP poll to 6 - 6 and without a bowl bid at the end of the year! And what's more perfect to keep your drink cold than an ironic coozie that was made just a little too soon? What makes it better is that this coozie is as rare as the Gamecock's postseason appearances (13 overall, 4-9-0 record). Seeing as the Gamecocks have a 521-523-44 (.479 winning percentage) record in their storied 116 years of football, you're going to have to drink to watch them play so why not keep it cold?"

I can't wait until someone actually bids on this item. Check the seller name. Yeah, I did it. No, I'm not sorry. Why did I kick someone while they were down? They'd do the same to us.

FRIDAY "NEWS-AMINE"

2008-08-22T08:45:00.007-04:00

TWO FRESHMEN TO REDSHIRT
Safety Spencer Adams and middle linebacker Jonathan Willard have been informed that coaches plan to redshirt them this season. Both will be chained to weightstacks, tossed raw steaks 3 times a day, and poked with sticks 'till they're ornery enough. Bulkier freshman Rashad Hall will not be redshirted, however, and should see some time at the safety position.

BOWERS MAY START VERSUS BAMA
Freshman phenom Da'Quan Bowers looks to have cracked the starting lineup. He had been in a near deadlock with Kevin Alexander, but a stomach bug caused Alexander to miss some practices and paved the way for Bowers. Upstate Today has the story.

LINTHICUM MAKING AN IMPACT
Sophomore tight end Brian Linthicum has added muscle this off season and rededicated himself to the game. It seems to be paying off. More weapons for Cullen Harper is always a good thing.

Taa-daa!

TRAFFIC TRICKS
CSTV has some common sense tips to avoid the massive traffic and construction delays that will no doubt plague Atlanta next week.

MOVIN' ON UP
Clemson continues to move up the list of top public universities in the latest US News & World Report. Clemson moves to #22 up from #27 and is listed as a "school to watch" for the improvements and changes the school has undertaken.

DEADSPIN SHITS THE BED
I have to preface this by saying I am an avid Deadspin reader and they've earned their rep as one of the best sports blogs out there (splogs?). We've got a little bone to pick with them on one issue, however.

This preseason they are allowing bloggers from various schools to present a brief preview of their team leading up to the opening weekend. We submitted a request to do the Clemson preview to Deadspin's Clay Travis. We received a very polite response that he had previously chosen another writer. We certainly appreciate the work he's undertaken to provide us with myriad previews for the upcoming season. Understandably deluged with requests, he somehow decided to pick some Canadian motherfucker with zero connection whatsoever to Clemson to write a half-assed preview clearly strung together from a couple Google searches for the Tigers.

Read the preview here.

It consists of a brief mention of the more known faces of the program, requisite shots at Bowden, almost as much space devoted to DeAndre McDaniel as to any other aspect of the preview, and other information sprinkled about that could be easily gleamed from a College Football Live segment. The things that probably piss me off as much as Clemson being (I think) the only school previewed thus far by a third party (wasn't the fucking point of the gimmick supposed to be getting insiders' take on their programs?) is a brief mention of the fact that both Clemson and LSU having identically named stadiums, and the obvious fact that the writer is too lazy or ignorant to do a bit of research and find out that Clemson had the name Death Valley first while LSU used to call their stadium Deaf Valley.

Rant over. Anyway, next year maybe pick someone who's actually been to the fucking campus, eh Deadspin? At least go with a good Clemson blog like The Sporting Gnomes. Seriously.

Please feel free to email Clay Travis and tell him what a fucking load of buffalo diarrhea his choice for the Clemson segment was.

THIS VIDEO MAKES ME HAPPY
In a different way than RedTube videos, though. Check it out.

COPS: MEN DRESSED LIKE NINJAS TARGETED DRUG DEALERS
Don't fuck with the "Shinobi Warriors." Unless, of course, you have guns to counter their "throwing stars, swords, and nunchucks," which if you're a drug dealer you probably do.

MIXTAPE COVER ROUNDUP

2008-08-21T18:37:00.002-04:00

Like some of you out there I love hip-hop. One of the best ways to stay on top of what's "hot in the streets," as the kids say, is to get the latest mixtapes. I cop mine from MixtapeTorrent.com. Browsing their latest offerings one can't help but be drawn to some of the more, uh, interesting mixtape covers out there. Mixtape covers: giving designers proper cause to Photoshop stacks of money, expensive liqour bottles, bejeweled text, and video hos at will since, well, whenever.

C-C-C-C-C-C-Cab-fare!

He's holding his mixtapes up inside of the mixtapes that he, himself, is holding up. Daaamn. Also, pinkies out, Jooz is a motherfucking gentleman.

More like hell up in the barber chair. Kudos for the liberally littered skeletons and awfully bad Remy bottle 'shopped in being somehow held by his clenched fist.

Iron Chef America host dude is NOT enamored with your swordfish meatloaf, Batali.

Nothing wrong with this cover, that just looks like an all-around good time.

Man, I hate this fucking part of GTA IV. Wait.... I think this is intended to be poignant and topical. Awkward silence. Is it wrong if that girl's expression makes me L out L?

Powder used the whole bottle of bronzer, man. This might be the best airbrush work not applied to a novelty t-shirt in a shopping mall stall. Matchin' hats half off, y'all!

CHRIS SHERIDAN GOT JOKES

2008-08-21T09:23:00.006-04:00

Sometimes a piece of journalistic brilliance touches a part of your soul. Even the much maligned sports journalist can whip up a bit of literary magic every now and again that brings to light the human equation in the world of athletics. Then there's this gem from ESPN's Chris Sheridan in a recent article about the Team USA's march through the Olympics.

Deron Williams couldn't talk about the play of the night immediately after the game, because he was the Team USA player randomly selected to take a doping test afterward.

Perhaps he tested positive for that little-known substance called "gamechange-amine."

*crickets*

Sheridan needs 100 cc's of "cockpunch-amine" stat.

Furthermore, Sheridan is such a negative Nancy I don't know whether to hate the guy or salute his persistence in pooh-poohing the "Redeem Team." His coverage of Team USA basically goes like this:

Coach K chosen as head coach.

Sheridan blasts choice, predicts losses.

Team roster announced.

Sheridan blasts roster choices, predicts losses.

Schedule comes out.

Sheridan predicts losses.

Team USA blows out opponents, on to the medal rounds.

Sheridan says meh. Repeat.

Also, in this photo Chris Sheridan looks like the head sister from the Shawshank Redemption if he had cancer and was stuck in an airlock and his eyes had started to bug out from the pressure.

Oh, hi. When I'm not writing about sports I'm raping men in depression era New England prisons.

THURSDAY NEWS

2008-08-20T05:37:00.003-04:00

- Rendrick Taylor redshirting his senior season has become a reality. Personally, I think this is just another example of how Rendrick is a stand up guy and we could use his leadership next year. I just hope all of this works out for him in the end. I've enjoyed watching him play and hope this is the right decision in the end.

- Jerry Buck Inman, the excuse for a human being that murdered Clemson student Tiffany Souers, has plead guilty and wishes to be executed for his crime. Personally, I think this guy deserves to suffer the worst imaginable punishments but unfortunately because of how America is set up he will never get his probably. This is a tough subject and it still gets to me, I just hope a little bit of justice, hope, and awareness can come from this.

- It seemed that Shawn Crawford was the only one that could beat Usain Bolt in the 200m, but the field was blown away by Bolt in a feat of athleticism that the world has probably never seen before. This guy is beyond sick. He got beat and came in fourth but because second and third place were DQ'ed for lane violations, Crawford and FSU Alum Walter Dix brought home Filver and Bronze respectively.

Usain Bolt wins the 200m (sorry for quality).

- 2 Columbia policemen were suspended after arresting a football player back in March. As you remember, Eddie Floyd, a member of the USC board of trustees, whined and complained that cops were targeting the football players in Columbia. Any connection? I don't know but the player in question was resisting arrest and when a guy that big is giving me shit he's gonna get the bull tazer, no questions asked. The officers submitted a plee of not guilty.

SEASON PREVIEW

2008-08-19T18:45:00.000-04:00

Personally, I think paprika's gonna be damned hard to beat.

THE SCHEDULE

8/30 - vs. Alabama (Georgia Dome)
9/06 - vs. The Citadel
9/13 - vs. NC State
9/20 - vs. SC State
9/27 - vs. Maryland
10/09 - @ Wake Forest (Thursday)
10/18 - vs. Georgia Tech
11/1 - @ Boston College (DFIG road trip)
11/08 - @ FSU (DFIG roadtrip)
11/15 - Duke
11/22 - @ UVA
11/29 - vs. Sakerlina

SUMMARY

Cullen Harper is in fantastic form this preseason and has an excellent cadre of backups behind him (WILLY KORNNNNNNNN) in case something was to happen to him. Our backfield is arguably the best in the nation with CJ Spiller and James Davis backed up by star freshmen Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper. Aaron Kelly leads a good receiver corps that includes Xavier Dye, Jacoby Ford, Tyler Grisham, and heralded frosh Marquan Jones. The offensive line has been described politely as “talented but inexperienced” and has been the topic of much discussion. Our season largely hinges on how well they perform this year (NEWSFLASH!) and stout run defenses could cause similar problems to some of last year’s shitty rushing performances (see: GT). The starting five look to be Chris Hairston at left tackle, Cory Lambert at right tackle, Jamarcus Grant and Barry Humphries as the guards, and returning starter Thomas Austin at center. If the OL stays healthy, the offense should be among the most productive in the nation (outside of those gimmick ass Texas Tech bastards).

Defensively, safety Michael Hamlin and DE Ricky Sapp anchor a defense that lost its top four linebackers from last year. Daquan Bowers, the #1 ranked recruit in the country according to ESPN, has proven explosive in practice thus far and is fighting for a starting spot. Stanley Hunter, Brandon Maye, and Josh Miller are currently battling for the middle linebacker spot. Defensive coordinator Vic Keonning has expressed some reservations about his defensive unit (LOL, unit), but he’s rarely been overly positive in describing his squad in preseason.

Dawson Zimmerman is believed to be the leading candidate for starting punter after separating himself from the pack during scrimmages. We don’t have much to say about our special teams, other than they’ll probably continue to be average.

Whoop whoop.

CHILI: Mainstream perception of Clemson this year is generally positive, if not a little misinformed. Admittedly we here at DFIG are perhaps too biased to judge whether another outlet is objective or not, but we try to keep a level head about us (thanks for the advice, Kipling) and not look at everything through orange colored glasses. Bowden has certainly had a rollercoaster ride of a tenure at Clemson, but I think that recruiting and facilities are finally starting to overcome some of the deficiencies we've faced in the past. I don't think it's fair for the punditry to say that Clemson ALWAYS shits the bed. Speaking of media, some asshat from the NFL Network predicted Wake Forest to win the division and backed it up by trying to rattle off all the talent they have at various positions. There is no team in the league with the level of talent Clemson boasts this year. Period. See what I did there? I typed out the word "period" to emphasize how super fucking serious I am. Whammy. There? I lightened the mood with some onomatopoeia.

Of course Clemson can catch their proverbial nutsack on the unforgiving 10 penny nail of failure, but I think that any losses the Tigers will incur this year will be in some of the tougher road games. Legitimate losses, if you will. All the puzzle paces are in place for this to be a very special season for Clemson. I normally tend to be a realist, but I can't help but be a little optimistic about the upcoming season.

PREDICTION: 10-2 regular season + ACCCG victory over VT, loss in BCS game. Man, this is way too fucking optimistic for me. My only caveat is that obviously the OL is flimsy with some injuries, so beware of that. I can see us losing to Bama, Wake, FSU, and/or BC. Sakerlina could be a loss, depending on how they improve over the season. Certainly their defense will be disgustingly good, but the offense looks to again be a bunch of limpdicks.

In conclusion, scuppernongs are tasty and don't ever try to snort BC powder. Just don't do it. *points at you and winks* Also, I don't buy the UNC as dark horse ACC champion thing for one fucking minute. Butchie's gonna need more than a year to turn that ship around that much.

WILLY MAC: Stage door left blasts open and slams against the wall as the hinge breaks. A hearty and ear piercing metal-slamming sound reverberates in the auditorium. The door begins to sway closed as a foot barely manages to block it open at the last second creating a sack-of-potatoes-thud. Willy Mac drags a very basic steel soap box across the floor to center stage making not only terrible screeching noises, but pausing every so often for you to hear him gasp for breath in a half "way-to-excited-about-this-season", half needs to get his fat ass on a treadmill sort of fashion. Finally, the unnecessary noises ceases as he brings the box to a dead halt at center stage. Willy Mac steps up onto the box, clears his throat, and proceeds in his best possible "Resident of Honea Path" accent:

WE GON WIN IT. WE GON WIN IT ALL. ALL DEH WAY BABY. TAKE AT SHYIT TO DUH BANK! OH YOU KNOW IT, SON! HELL, I'D PUT MY DOG AND ALL FOUR TIRES OFF MY TRUCK ON THIS BEYAT. CLAMPSON OVER JEEYORJUH IN DEH BEE-CEE-EYASS DIS YERR!

On a serious note, I worried myself to death starting in July about the coming season. Then all of a sudden, last week I became extremely comfortable and confident. I can't tell at this point whether all the sunshine blown up my ass has gotten to me, or if I can trust my instinct. I'd say its about 20% sunshine at this point, but who knows. As Chili stated, we've got some glaring holes, and if the injury bug from 2006 comes around we might be screwed. Really, I trust Vic Koenning to take care of the linebackers and I trust Brad Scott to take care of the line. I feel we finally have enough talent to overcome inexperience. Also, I feel that the whole Bowden fight policy put me in a good mood as well. It was pretty obvious that as of the VT game last year, we were as fake as a bad horror film as well as unbearable to watch. We'll do fine, I promise. Woooooosssahhh. Goose-frabas.

PREDICTION: An 11-2 season is most probable as well with a win over UNC (Yeah, I said it, let's see what happens. VT is not lookin hot right now) in the ACCCG and a BCS win over either Louisville or a BCS loss to WV. Either way, we lose two games later in the season, not earlier. We've got too much talent. Also, if we lose to BC, you can count on me getting time traveling drunk, pants optional.

You see that? That's right, the glory days are back.

BOWDEN LIKES TO WATCH A GOOD FIGHT

2008-08-15T16:23:00.003-04:00

I mean, I don't hate him, but I don't love him. But when he makes policies on in-practice fights that condones the act, it's hard not to like that aspect of his approach to coaching.

Bowden in fighting in practice:

"Everybody's got a different philosophy. Coming from a family of brothers, we fought a lot, and I love my brothers. These guys are family and they fight, so it doesn't bother me too much when they fight... heat of battle, two-a-days, that's the enemy right now for the next two weeks. I talked to those guys hard about not hitting each other in the head, especially if they lose their helmet. If the helmet comes off, instead of hitting them in the head, we asked them to just choke them. That way we figured we could get 'em off before they killed 'em."

- So far, two people with broken hands via fighting: Jamie Cumbie & Brandon Thompson. Cumbie is still performing and playing even with hand and should be the expected starter for the Bama game. I think it's great because I think it promotes nastiness... something we've found that we didn't have around the time of the Virginia Tech game last year.

Laslty, it's almost back...15 more days...

PREASEASON BLOGPOLL

2008-08-15T10:30:00.003-04:00

Here is our preliminary submission for the preseason blogpoll over at the Mgoblog. Please comment on any changes we should make and we'll submit a final, adjusted poll next week. Also, if you want to see by far the dumbest fucking preseason poll in the history of dumb preseason polls, go here.

Rank	Team
1	Georgia
2	Southern Cal
3	Florida
4	Oklahoma
5	Missouri
6	LSU
7	Ohio State
8	Texas
9	Clemson
10	Kansas
11	Texas Tech
12	Auburn
13	Virginia Tech
14	Wisconsin
15	Arizona State
16	West Virginia
17	Brigham Young
18	Wake Forest
19	Illinois
20	Oregon
21	South Florida
22	Penn State
23	Michigan
24	Alabama
25	Utah

BRIEF MONDAY NIGHT NEWSAMANIA

2008-08-11T22:30:00.001-04:00

- Over the weekend Clemson picked up three star linebacker Corico Hawkins out of Milledgeville, Georgia. Apparently to those in the know, although he is only a three star Hawkins is really nasty and a very physical player that could definitely help bolster the Clemson defense for years to come.

- Former Clemson Track athlete and Olympic gold medalist Shawn Crawford and current Tiger Track member Travis Padgett are competing for the United States in the 200m and 4x100m relay, respectively. Crawford will start on Monday morning, August 18th and Padgett will see action on Thursday night, August 21st as per the Beijing Track schedule (I have no idea if these times are Chinese time or American time, so, go figure.)

- Rashaad Jackson is out with a torn quad tendon as via the ESPN article written by Heather Dinnich (who is becoming hotter the more I read her articles). The good news is that he is going to be replaced mostly by Jamie Cumbie who came to Clemson as someone who didn't even look like he was on the team to entering fall camp as a ten foot tall beast man who enjoyed mushing Kenneth Page's face in a practice fight that occurred a few days ago (Page cut block Cumbie, so, another freshman lives and learns.)

- Clemson had a scrimmage this past Saturday, read more here. On a lighter note, I had a buddy who was actually listening through Dan Scott's show the other morning, discussing the speed rating of Willy Korn on NCAA Football 09 with a listener. Apparently the caller was upset that Korn only had a 74 speed rating in the game. He felt that Korn would be better suited as a 76. Did this really happen? Seriously? Is this how bad it has gotten? Even more so, two freakin points?!?!?!? If you ever feel the urge to listen to that station, let me save you some time:

Host: Go ahead caller, you're on 104.9 THE DRIVE!

Caller: Welp, let's talk about the upcoming season for [Clemson/Carolina].

Host: Well, the offense looks great, but the could be better. The defense is stout but it still needs improvement. Overall, you're looking at either a national championship contender or a dreary sub .500 season.

Caller: Well, how can ya tell there buddy?

Host: During the scrimmages and practice, the offense and defense have looked evenly matched but have shown FLASHES OF BRILLIANCE! THEY'RE GREAT! I LOVE THEIR CHANCES AND YOU SHOULD TOO!

Caller: Welp, thank ye there pal.

Host: Next caller, you're on 104.9 THE DRIVE!

Caller: Welp, let's talk about the upcoming season for [Clemson/Carolina].

[Repeat, ad nauseam]

- Lastly, even though I'm not voting for him, it's still pretty damn funny. Enjoy:

Personally, I'm voting for Robot Nixon. I LOVE HIS CHANCES AND YOU SHOULD TOO!

THE MAC IS BACK

2008-08-08T08:40:00.000-04:00

That's right, you heard me right. The Macallan Cup wheels have officially starting turning and the season is underway. You can sign up for our group at Yahoo College Pick'em (Group ID #5146). The password this year?

This years password: wendypeffercorn

"I've been coming here every summer of my adult life, and every summer there she is oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling... smiling. I can't take this no more!"

2007 Mac Cup Champion

Sambo, Crown Royal XR

2006 Mac Cup Champion

Chili, The Macallan 18 Year Sherry Oak*

* - Due to Willy Mac being an idiot and getting the wrong kind.

Rules:

-If there are any problems, DFIG reserves the right to hold an emergency meeting of parliament and make decisions based on what’s best for our site.

- If you win, we give you a bottle of booze at the end of the regular season. Usually it’s The Macallan 18-year-old, but if you want a different bottle of booze at lesser value, whatever. If one of us wins, the loser buys the winner a bottle.

- This lasts from the beginning of the season until the end of the regular season (naturally). End of the regular season being after conference championships and before bowl games. If you don’t feel comfortable with us having your home address… doing a little bit of stalking… taking some personal reconnaissance pictures of you and your family… then don’t sign up….but if you find a nice pile of manturd… just know…. we were there.

- Finally, we are asking that you actually be a reader of our site. Honor code here people. Also we ask that you use real handles (such as jasonl, NoleCC, Brad, DC87, Sambo, Tully, etc.) and if we feel that you’re using more than one handle you’re banninated. Also, if you know people that posted in previous years that haven’t really kept up with the site in the off season, let them know. Usually, we can figure out who’s who via email addresses so if you don’t usually or haven’t commented, given us feedback, or kept up with the site don’t be upset when you get the boot from the competition. Also, just because you’re a friend or someone we know doesn’t buy you rights to the competition. This is for our regular readers.

- TBIAM automatically loses.

THURSDAY NEWSERCISE

2008-08-07T08:20:00.008-04:00

Emily Stewart '07.... any wonder why we're so happy?

Clemson tops this year's list of "Top 10 Schools with the Happiest Students" in the recent Princeton Review. So, we've got that goin' for us. The campus will certainly be a lot happier if the football team can meet expectations. The Anderson Independent Mail has it covered.

The Astro III in downtown Clemson is closing today. Carmike Cinemas informed staff at the Clemson landmark just 4 days ago that they would close. For those not familiar with the Astro, it’s a small 30 year old theater that shows second-run movies for $2.50 a pop and is a relief to cash strapped students. There is a Facebook group to save the Astro III that has already attracted thousands of supporters. The likelihood of saving the Astro is not high; Carmike is strapped for cash and the theater sits on a valuable piece of land. This is a sad case of another unique Clemson landmark being swept away for some mass market chain bullshit, or a sub shop, or another block of condos from Tom fuckin' Winkopp. I remember going to the Astro with Sambo to go see that godawful movie Phone Booth with a coatfull of beers in the middle of the summer. We paid in rolls of pennies. Good times.

PRACTICE NOTES

Will Vandervort has an interesting article on Aaron Kelly and his consistency. I was extremely impressed at how he was able to bounce back from a devastating dropped ball against BC to help the Tigers drive down the field for the victory in Williams-Brice the very next game.

Also from that article - kicking is so bad that Bowden has declared the field goal and punting duties open for the taking. PUT IN WILLY KORNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN! HE MAKES LOU GROZA ANDTHE GARBAGE PICKING FIELD GOAL KICKING PHILADELPHIA PHENOMENON LOOK LIKE LITTLE GIRLS. BEAUTIFUL, STRONG LEGGED LITTLE GIRLS. Anyway, kicking and special teams have been sub par for a number of years and this is no indication of improvement.

Corey Lambert seems to be developing into team leader. He came into Clemson with extremely high expectations placed on him as is want to happen to highly recruited in-state athletes who stay in-state. He’s taking his time, and using what he learned from Barry Richardson to help lead the inexperienced line corps.His leadership is desperately needed.

INJURIES

WRs Jacoby Ford and Xavier Dye, TE Michael Palmer, and OT David Smith have all missed some practice due to minor injuries. Ford with a sprained ankle, Dye with a bruised shoulder, Palmer with a pulled hamstring, and Smith with a dislocated toe.

MORE RATIONAL DISCOURSE FROM COLUMBIA

Your Mother Slept With Wilt Chamberlain has the scoop on the senile old Sakerlina trustee who thinks all campus cops are out to get their fine, upstanding football players. It must be a conspiracy by cops with "tiger paws in [their] office."

IN OTHER NEWS

The greatest headline ever.

NBC THINKS WE'RE THE JAMS

NBC Sports has their preseason top 25 out today. Clemson is ranked #3, behind Georgia and Ohio State. The only people who rank Clemson higher are probably Clemson fans. Take it with a grain of salt, people.

COACHES' POLL RANKINGS RELEASED

2008-08-01T08:36:00.004-04:00

The preseason USA Today Coaches' Poll was released today; Georgia tops the list while Clemson ranks in at number 9. Number 9. Number 9. Number 9. We reprint the top 10 below, for the whole 25, go here.

1. Georgia
2. Southern Cal
3. Ohio State
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida
6. LSU
7. Missouri
8. West Virginia
9. Clemson
10. Texas

Other ACC teams in the top 25 are Virginia Tech at 15th and Wake Forest at the 23rd spot. Alabama is just out of the poll in the 26th spot.

LEGGETT ISSUES STATEMENT ON FIRE

2008-07-31T10:20:00.002-04:00

On behalf of my wife Karen and myself, we would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. The magnitude of outpouring of support means a great deal to my family. We sincerely appreciate everyone's understanding of our need for privacy at this time. In the upcoming days and weeks, we will be working to establish a fund to aid a fire-related cause. Further information will be forthcoming.

Again, our sincere thanks and gratitude,

Jack Leggett

Also, when he states that they will be establishing a fund to aid fire related acidents, he's speaking of helping others. I find this very respectable of Leggett, especially in his own time of crisis.

STEVE'S SCHEDULING SHENANIGANS

2008-07-30T08:12:00.003-04:00

Grrr! We're tough by proxy!

A reader pointed out to us that Roy Philpott at the great CUTigers.com has taken on Spurrier's spouting off about schedules in his recent article titled "Fun with Schedules." By Philpott's estimation, SC would go 6-4-1 against Clemson's schedule (the tie being a theoretical dead heat with Virginia) and the Tigers would finish 8-3 against the Gamecock's foes. The Tigers, as they tend to do, take the season finale versus Sakerlina. Philpott is correct in saying that it all boils down to talent. The Gamecocks have a stout defense this year with some players any team would be glad to have. Clemson, on the other hand, has one of the most explosive offensive talent pools in the nation, the OL of course being the question mark. Spurrier can try and spin this thing however he likes, but the Tigers are better regardless of the competition.

UNDER STEVE'S SKIN

2008-07-29T11:44:00.006-04:00

Yes, I'm aware that's not the proper Clemson paw in the background. Blame the LSU Photoshopper, not me.

We try not to dwell on Sakerlina too much outside of the occasional police report or during the week of the game. I've seen a couple of the SC blogs out there and it seems every 2nd or 3rd post is taking swipes at the Tigers. Seeing as we don't harbor a staggering inferiority complex like the chickens, we like to think we're above that. Of course we're not above highlighting some of the delightful quips spewed from the mouth of Steve Spurrier in a recent news article.

Spurrier has said in the past that "We will never lose to Clemson again." So much for that, unless you count moral victories, which most Sakerlina fans do.

He's also stated "I don't talk about Clemson." Right, right....

In a recent peice in the Raleigh News & Observer, Spurrier is quoted as saying "I wish one of the sports writers, when they start picking everybody's record this year, would write how they'd do if Clemson played South Carolina's schedule and South Carolina played Clemson's schedule." Perhaps, Steve, the reason they don't do this is because such retarded speculation is the realm of messageboard dwelling mouthbreathers. Clemson doesn't play SC's schedule, nor does SC play Clemson's. The media, albeit less frequently these days, tends to deal in realities, not the sort of whining speculation a revered coach reverts to when he can't succeed in-state. I'll absolutely agree that SC has a more difficult schedule than does Clemson. Them's the breaks, as they say. Tough shit. Having a tougher schedule does not make your team better. The results of Clemson-SC games during the brief time SC has been clinging to the leg of the big bad SEC should prove that.

As someone pointed out, this is further evidence that Spurrier is just becoming one of them. He once spoke of championships and bringing glory to SC and now he just complains about Clemson and the tough SEC schedule. Steve Spurrier... more like Steve Worrier amirite!?!?!? LOLOLOLOLOL!!!1!!!!1!

Spurrier followed up his quote with "But anyway, that's the way it is. There's no big deal about it." This is interesting to me because it fits a pattern in his shit talking. See, men talk and don't back down. Women and guys who wear visors outside of their acceptable areas (tennis courts, golf courses, old timey poker tables) deal in the passive-aggressive. Say something brash, then temper it with a half-retraction and dismiss it as inconsequential. Look at some of his more bitchy quotes over time and you'll usually see a half-assed retraction after the fact.

It appears that, though only 2-1 against Spurrier, with Clemson seeming to gain some momentum in recruiting and in the polls, Tommy Bowden and the Tigers are getting under Steve's skin. This should be fun to watch as it plays out.

LEGGETT'S HOUSE DESTROYED BY FIRE

2008-07-28T19:30:00.004-04:00

Just a quick note to let you know that Clemson Baseball Coach Jack Leggett lost his house in a fire yesterday. Check out the news blotter from WYFF here. We'll keep you updated on the situation. Condolences to the Leggett's and thankfully nobody was hurt.

UNDAUNTED COURAGE: THE SEMI-FICTICIOUS EPIC THAT IS PETER LALICH'S LIFE

2008-07-25T10:50:00.003-04:00

Peter Lalich is a man among men. A mountain bear of a man with a football as a chew toy and a neolithic stone arm from outer space. But no, Lalich wasn't just born into greatness. He had to hit the baptismal fire of life head on in a crazy windmill fashion that only he could pull off with awkward smoothness. Perhaps you have already seen his AMAZING WIKIPEDIA ENTRY. If you haven't seen it, this is unacceptable. Fortunately, I'm here to not only provide you with a link to the article but to also to fill in the gaps that were left out. This is the amazing (semi) true story of one Master Peter Lalich navigated by yours truly with the assistance of a few facebook pictures (thank you public domain laws!)...

Peter Lalich: Harder than galvanized steel... forged in Springfield, Virginia

Young Peter was born on May 18th, 1988 to... uh... Peter Lalich who then subsequently... uh, named his son... Peter... after "Pistol" Pete Maravich. Ipso facto, Peter Lalich is a reincarnation of Pete Maravich but with a penchant for football, not basketball. He then grew up and did some rather insignificant stuff until the day he picked up his first football and threw it into the next neighborhood. Unfortunately for Peter, athleticism can't buy you friends at such an early age and he remained in a secluded sect of youngsters that is usually dominated by tall, goofy kids that nervously interact as little as possible with peers. Life was hard for Peter in Pop Warner, little did he know that life was only about the get much harder.

Lalich, like his hero Jack Lambert, was accustomed to losing teeth in his early football years due to his vicious and often raucous style of play.

The mental toughness that would later show in his UVA years was constructed in searing heat as well as hurricane type storms under thundering skies while practicing and learning from Coach van Gouda at Springfield Middle School. Most of his toughness, as one might assume occurred on the field, actually came from what happened between bells during school. Teenage years can be harsh on a youth, but due to Peter being the "tall, ugly, goofy kid," puberty took it's toll twice as hard on him. At lunch he was relegated to sitting by himself or sitting with the kids that were a hodgepodgery of cracking voices, pimples, and dorkishness. Lalich decided to walk the lonely road... furthering his journey down a war beaten path.

Next came high school. Still no friends. Still no girls. Still a big ug. Peter experimented with Puka shell necklaces, neon green hat/pink shirt combos, feuax burberry sweaters pulled low, and taking pictures with his arms crossed and his greasy bangs pulled into his face. It can't really be explained in mere words. Thus, the photo journal:

It kinda makes me miss high school myself. Things changed however. Peter got a letter telling him he's got a full ride to UVA. Given natural high school social dictation, within minutes he's got everything he could ever want. Parties, chicks, etc. It doesn't matter that he's one ugly mother now. All of that goes away when ya sign with the Wahoos. Especially when you're buried on the depth chart. That's where the real action is. Simply put, Peter Lalich is the fucking man. He's the Bomb.com. Seriously.

In fact, you should friend him on facebook, immediately. The reasoning behind this is the fact that he gives almost daily inspiration in his status updates ranging from statements like "Peter... snow so white, only thing missin is 7 dwarfs" and "Peter... str8 like arm hair." I teared up when I read " Peter... I just do my pete and everytime i speak my sentences are complete LOLOLOLOL."

More so, Peter Lalich knows people. Want tickets to that Skid Row concert minutes before the show? No worries, Peter already has someone stuffing your tickets AND backstage passes in Will Call as we speak. He's got you front and back. You wanna roll with Peter to lunch? Sure thing. He'll just pick up his Kia Sorrento that the dealership lends him and be on his way over. Onward to lunch as you're further impressed that EVERYONE KNOWS PETER. Even the people at Moe's shout to him as he enters! Peter Lalich is a Campus Legend. In fact, he coined the phrase and sent it along to the NCAA football game developers, via e-mail... on his Blackberry. Stunningly, he's so amazing that he even lists Rivals.com as his personal website on facebook!

What's that? You want some beer? Oh he's got you covered man. He's got a fake that can get him in anywhere in town. No problem. Most of the times he just skips the line and goes right in without waiting or getting carded! You know why? Cause he's on the fucking football team... that's why. Just let him go in this seedy gas station and get it for you... He'll be back in two seconds with a case of warm Natty Ice that we can shotgun. *fast forward* See dude, here you go. I told you. Peter is the man. He can... dude, you've got a cop behind you and he's pulling you over. Shit. Dude, our parents are gonna be so pissed. Turns out Peter isn't the man. He's just some strange looking dude who gets drunk, shows up to your party uninvited, gropes the girls at your party, drinks your beer and eats all of your food in the fridge, passes out in a puddle of his own vomit in your front yard, and hopefully... maybe one day he might be lucky enough to have a bad acid trip and go nuts in the middle of your neighborhood street. Ah, the life of a struggling back up quarterback. This is where it begins, Peter. Please stay the course because personally, I enjoy a long drawn out downfall.

THURSDEE NEWS

2008-07-24T13:00:00.001-04:00

MONEY MONEY MONEY DRANKIN DRANKIN DRANKIN

SI reports that Clemson and Alabama will receive nearly $2 million each for the season opener in the Georgia Dome. More importantly, beer will be sold until halftime. BEER WILL BE SOLD AT A CLEMSON GAME. EGADS.

So what will happen when the unsuspecting fan discovers he can instantly kick the action up a notch at the Dome? I like to think it'll go a little something (pause) like this:

[scene: concession stand, Georgia Dome, Aug 30, 2008]

Alabama fan: "Good sir, let me get 8 Chick-fil-A sammiches, a trash bag full of waffle fries doused in polynesian sauce, uh, and a bushel of nuggets. And take my fanny pack and fill it with honey-mustard. I also require a tankard of your finest lemonade."

Concession boy: "Ah, yes, the medium sized Friedgen Meal. Sir, we also are selling beer until halftime today."

Bamafan: (incredulous) "Wait, what the fuck did you just say to me?"

Concession boy: (takes a step back) "Uh... I said we also have beer."

Bamfan: (squinting) "Toying with my alcoholism is like toying with my emotions, Poppa Smurf. This is a college football game, we do our binge drinking before, not during."

Concession boy: "But sir, it's only 8 dollars per 16 oz cup."

Bmfin: (salivating) "Are the cups.... *gulp* are the cups flimsy?"

Concession boy: "So flimsy you can barely hold onto them."

Brmfrrn: (lip trembles) "Please tell me the beer is.. oh God.. lukewarm and watered down."

Concessions: "Indeed. Sir it's really only beer in name alone."

Brmfnnnn: SMASH GRAB DRINK PUNCH VOMIT PUNCH DRINK DRINK YELL DRINK GROPE DRINK *ding* Halftime *ding* APOLOGIZE

Much like SNL writers I don't know how to end a bit. END.

Just pour the beer into this carrying bag on a pole. No, it's not an IV drip. Do IV poles come painted crimson? Didn't think so, bub.

ACC SPORTSWRITERS HEART CLEMSON

Clemson was picked by 51 of 65 ACC media types to win the ACC Championship. 59 out of 65 picked the Tigers to win their division. 5 media members tabbed Wake to win the division. This was the first time since 1991 that the Tigers were chosen to win the league. Clemson, of course, clenched their last league crown in 1991. SPOOOOKY. The State talks about it here.

Pasty manchild and Varsity hot-dog distributor Stewart Mandel is one of the writers who picked Clemson, albiet with some strong reservations.

STACKED OFFENSE

Cullen Harper, James Davis, and CJ Spiller led preseason player of the year voting and join Aaron Kelly and Michael Hamlin on the preseason all-ACC team. The article in The State goes on to note that Coach Bowden may be prepared to move man-beast Rendrick Taylor back to WR after getting some work in the backfield.

INJURY REPORTS

The ACC will become the first CFB conference to release regular injury reports. Twice weekly, baby.

MUSTACHE RULES UPDATE

2008-07-24T11:31:00.001-04:00

Yeah, so… I had top change a few of the rules to the competition. I got rid of the whole “having to wear a mustache for a month” partly due to my graduation on August 9th and a few people were bitching about not only wearing it but having it for the Bama game which I can understand. That’s my fault for the scheduling. So, the new deadline is August 29th. You can check the revised rules below. Also, Chili and I will judge but your input in the judging will be taken and is appreciated. Sorry again for the mid-season shafting, but, get over it.

Revised Rules:

1.) Shaving commences the morning of June 6th. Pictures of your shaved facial hair must be emailed to dannyfordisgod -at- gmail -dot- com. You don’t even have to shave that morning, just some time that day send me a pic of your jaw area etc.

2.) Growing of mustaches shall last until August 29th. Shaving of said mustache before the given date results in a disaqualification and a good ribbing. Pictures of your mustaches must be sent in to the same email address with proof of date on August 29th. (Proof of date will be a password we give you the day of and you can put it on a sticky note and hold it up in your picture. Make sure we can see the sticky note and your mustache clearly.)

3.) Each grower may choose their own facial hair growing pattern for the entirety of the competition.

4.) Winner will be determined by style, creativity, and effectiveness of the mustache by Chili and I using a scale of one to ten starting on August 29th, 2008 and no later than September 5, 2008.

5.) Any style of mustache is accepted. Examples are as follows: Cooter, Hitler (if you so choose), Handlebar, Pushbroom/Earnhardt Sr., Triple H Handlebar, The Captain James T Hook, etc. Pencil thin mustaches do not count.

6.) If there are any problems, DFIG reserves the right to hold an emergency meeting of parliament and make decisions based on what’s best for our site.

VOTE FOR CLEMSON!!!

2008-07-23T11:56:00.003-04:00

Vote for Clemson in the ESPN helmet clash. On a serious note, ESPN needs to stop with these pointless competitions. But seriously, go vote.

Oh yeah, and as of 8pm tonight... 38 MORE DAYS

PERTINENT NOTES & NEWSIFICATION

2008-07-19T13:59:00.011-04:00

- The Sporting Gnomes stumbled upon an article stating that the coaching staff is thinking about redshirting Rendrick Taylor (who is now a senior) so that he can get better acquainted with the runningback position he was moved to during the spring. Another main reason for the debate is that they also want to get Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper some experience as true freshmen.

- I've been getting a lot of questions and comments from friends, readers, etc. about the season ticketing and all the hullabaloo of the new seating plan. IPTAY released two major updates of information on the matter. The first was just a general Seat Equity Plan update and the latter was an update concerning the parking issues for next year.

- Cullen Harper has been put on the preseason 2008 Davey O'Brien QB Award watch list as per the article listed on the CUAD website. As you know, ESPN pulled a little trick last year that most like to call "biased journalism" as they practically ran the Heisman campaign push for Matt Ryan, the dark horse QB candidate out of Boston College even though statistically Harper was as good as Ryan, arguably holding better numbers in more categories given the different styles of offense each respective QB played in (Ok, ok, that comeback at Virginia Tech was ridiculous, but facts are facts.) There are others who speculate that Harper could be a dark horse as well. Unfortunately, as always dark horses are just that... and they never win.

- The WestZone phase II is well underway and IPTAY has been nice enough to set up a webcam for the construction site that you can find here. All kinds of options from live streaming down to refreshing every two minutes. Construction will continue through the season but shouldn't hamper any parking or pedestrian traffic. The CUAD states, "Phase II of the WestZone will include the coaches' offices, new strength and conditioning area, administrative offices, a large team room and expanded equipment room. This component of the WestZone will enable the football staff and support personnel to relocate into the WestZone and free up valuable space in McFadden for our Olympic Sports. Phase II will make a profound impact on our Total Sports Program, as the WestZone will be beneficial not only to football but to the entire department. "

- Cortney Vincent to transfer to Tarleton State after being dismissed for several reasons. Can you say DII Preseason All-American?

- I've been getting anxious about the upcoming season. Actually, I've been getting anxious about thinking about getting excited about the upcoming schedule... in the future... at a later date... on which I'm sure that my stomach will hurt. With that, I've found the 2008 Clemson Schedule widget for the Mac. Couldn't find anything for vista that didn't look completely sketched out. I did however go online and work out a pitiful little "counter until the kickoff of the Clemson/Bama gam e in Atlanta" that looks as if your mom or dad forwarded it to you (as well as everyone else in their address book, judging from the header) in an e-mail. Enjoy. I'm also gonna tinker with an html countdown for the sidebar if I can get one that looks good enough, but don't hold your breath.

42 MORE DAYS

DR. I.M. IBRAHIM PASSES

2008-07-14T22:05:00.005-04:00

Condolences to the family and friends of Dr. I.M. Ibrahim as he passed this past Saturday. Read the Tigernet write up on him. Good man. Good Clemson man. Dr. I. originally convinced then Clemson Athletic Director Frank Howard to allow soccer to be a varsity sport. He became one of the winningest soccer coaches in the country by winning two national championships and 11 conference championships. He also owned The Tiger Sports shop and The Athletic Department stores. Lastly, he was also a fellow blogger with a Clemson flavor. Again, condolences.

BOOBIES AND ASSAULT RIFLES

2008-07-10T13:55:00.004-04:00

So, I'm embracing the territory, culture, and lifestyle around me known as the Simpsonville area and I am going to purchase a second gun. Chili and I were discussing and I've narrowed my selection down to the SIG 9mm or an AR-15 made by either Colt, Rock River, Bushmaster, or again a SIG (even though it's slightly different). I just happened to throw a few related search terms into youtube and this is what came up. Enjoy.

THURSDAY NEWSAPALOOZA

2008-07-10T08:04:00.003-04:00

ESPN has their Insider preview of Clemson available for free here. Go check it out. They rate Clemson as far and away the most talented Atlantic Division team and Cullen Harper, James Davis, and Aaron Kelly as the best in the conference in their respective positions. ESPN also notes that the linebackers and offensive line lack depth and chemistry at this point in time. No surprise there. The preview is wrapped up in essentially the same way every other one this preseason has been; with the caveat that Clemson has been in the position to win before and failed. Nothing is a given.

Trev Alberts, whom Sprint apparently felt was so invaluable in the world of sports punditry that they needed to independently fund him like some sort of Medici family of mediocre talking head benefactors, has some nice things to say about Clemson.

TREV

WEDNESDAY NEWSGASM

2008-07-09T14:19:00.004-04:00

ESPN's Heather Dinich has a nice writeup of Cullen Harper on her ACC blog. The post touches on Cullen's dad Jeff's national title with Georgia in 1980 and Cullen's pursuit of a title to call his own.

According to ScoresandOdds.com, Cullen is a 20-1 shot for the Heisman.

DeAndre McDaniel was not punished by the Clemson student judicial review board last week and will remain on the team for the time being. The board did, however, retain the right to revisit his situation if new evidence is provided. His future with the team remains in limbo and will largely rest on his criminal hearing later in the year. Read about it here. Coach Bowden has shown a willingness to dismiss players who have run-ins with the law. As badly as Clemson needs McDaniel, Bowden will likely stick to form and dismiss McDaniel if he is found guilty. The biggest question mark here is what Bowden will do with McDaniel until trial.

Clemson-Bama is 52 days away but Deep South Sports proves the tat battle has already begun.

Sakerlina fans have been smearing a nasty little rumor around SC and Clemson boards as well as whatever other boards they can weasel into. Some mouthbreathers are claiming that someone - fans, boosters, or even coaches - is mailing out negative information about the Gamecocks to potential recruits. O-kay. What negative mailings are those? The South Carolina media guide? The State Newspaper? Clemson needn't spread negative publicity about Sakerlina, they do a damned good job of that by themselves. Witness a fanbase so delusional they must create boogeymen and conspiracy theories to explain to themselves why they're being outrecruited by the Tigers.

Here's the Clemson version of the localized NCAA 09 commercials. Enjoy.

Buy NCAA 09! Now with new... er.. rosters.

HAPPY 232ND BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!

2008-07-04T14:58:00.005-04:00

"There are no people on earth in whom a spirit of enthusiastic zeal is so readily kindled and burns so remarkably as among Americans." - Mercy Warren

TEH BEARDS TO BEES UPDATING, PLASE

2008-07-02T11:31:00.012-04:00

Some of our readers in the competition have answered their call to arms and sent in their mugshots of said bearded combo. Some of them didn't... err... haven't yet sent in photos (I'm looking at you, Sambo). I, of course, obliged myself and took a bad picture of my somewhat swollen face and have never been more insecure of myself than now.

Reader SACK is going for the Belton-Honea Path Classic Cooter

DFIG reader John B. is going for a hybrid Pirate/Mexican Bouncer combo.

Look at Sambo, pretending to be literate. Hidden inside that dictionary is a copy of Swank.

Like a fine wine or cheese, Jason L's beard is aged, but sophisticated. By the way, I have a buddy who has a framed print of that shirt, awesome retro Clemson art in case you were wondering. My favorite part is the random celebrities thrown in the picture.

Eventually, I'd like to have this pan out into a ratty beard with some tendrils, then finish it off with a nice Cop Stash. Hey, I know it's not that pretty to look at, but at least I don't have mutton chops and feminine glasses like some Florida bloggers out there. Chili kindly opted out of this competition, muttering something about not getting laid with a mustache, but I submit that it's empowering and if a chick can't get with the stache, shes too uptight. Also, what the hell is up with my nostrils?

Keep sending in your pics!

NEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

2008-07-01T10:35:00.011-04:00

NEWS
- RAPE!... AND BUTT FUCKING!... IN GEORGIA OF ALL PLACES! Things have been desperate on their campus for so long that someone finally snapped over at Georgia Tech. Paul Johnson suspended Jerrard Tarrant from the team indefinitely. Kind of interesting that we're kind of going through the same situation, though, this one seems pretty legit. Tarrant was contending for a starting cornerback position as a redshirt freshman coming out of spring ball.

Remember to keep it suave, even in your sexual assault mugshot.

- Four players (Spiller, Davis, Harper, and Kelly) have been named to the Maxwell watch list. Clemson joins Southern Cal and Oklahoma as the top schools with candidates on the list, each having four. Ricky Sapp and Michael Hamlin have also been named to the Bednarik preseason list as well.

-All but two Clemson freshman signees have made it to campus and enrolled in second summer session. The two men down are Xavier Brewer still needs to take a summer class back home. Jared Crittenton didn't meet our standards and was released from his LOI. He has signed with Memphis.

-Kyle Parker was named to the Freshman All-American team for being a stud with a bat. Now if only he could figure out that whole defense thing, we'd be great. I'm still predicting he never plays a down of football for Clemson.

- The Deandre McDaniel's plot thickens as the women who filed the charges against him was identified as Ms. Abra Weeks. Good thing that we're not UGA or USC or the like because her getting killed by psychotic fans right now would not help Deandre at all. Bowden plays it smart and remains mum on the situation.

- Graduate Assistant Michael Morrell has been hired on as the new director of men's basketball, replacing Josh Posterino who replaced Shaka Smart who accepted a job at Florida. Here's a run down: Morrell -> Director of Men's Basketball; Posterino -> Assistant Coach; Shaka -> Gonzo to Florida; Clemson Women's Basketball -> Could still get beat by any girl's JV high school team in the upstate.

- The US Army Corps of Engineers tells their residents of Orlando "Just chill out man, it's not a big deal. Don't worry about it..." regarding bombs that they may miss during a cleanup of a one-time bombing range from WWII turned local neighborhood.

RECOMMENDATIONS

DFIG Recommends: Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka - we're not big fans of the Firefly Muscadine Vodka. Terrible. We wouldn't recommend that to anyone. We do, however, promote the sweet nectar that they bottle named Sweet Tea Vodka. We've never tasted a better liquor drink in our lives. Here's essentially all you need to do:

- Fill one glass with your preference of cubed ice.
- Fill glass 3/4 full of Fire Fly Sweet Vodka.
- Fill rest with Minute Made lemonade.

BEST. DRINK. EVER.

SHOW OFF YOUR MANE... MANG

2008-06-30T13:59:00.005-04:00

The first month of the official DFIG Mustache competition is coming to a close and we are halfway through our "Freestyle" growing period as of tomorrow. If you would like to send in a photo of your hairy mandible and a description of the growth pattern you're going for, do so by sending us an email with an attached photo to dannyfordisgod -at- gmail -dot- com. We'll post the strongest showing on the site.

WEEKEND SENDOFF

2008-06-27T11:47:00.001-04:00

ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOPUP

2008-06-27T06:29:00.001-04:00

NEWS ON CLEMSON PLAYERS IN NFL

2008-06-26T16:50:00.002-04:00

Summer boredom has set in with me so I did you the favor of catching up with some former Tigers in the NFL and combined some pertinent links to info on each one. As always, there is a brief smattering of videos and pretty pictures to keep you entertained.

It's kinda ironic that Chansi Stuckey and Justin Miller roomed together at Clemson. It's even quirkier that they were both drafted and retained by the New York Jets. Here's an interesting point to look forward to this season: Both are coming off season-ending injuries that happened around the same time last year. Chansi has made some news, taking every bit of free time he had from the injury to improve his game and strength. It seems he will enter the mini camps slated as the number three reciever for the team. Miller is also doing well for coming back from a knee injury, as per USA Today. He seems to be earning some favorable light after he clocked some chick in a club fight last year around this time. A site by the name of MVN has listed Justin as a make or break player for this coming year, although I'm not so sure that I'd listen to an author that looks like an internet tough guy.

Tye Hill has been mentioned very little in league news as he was also sidelined with a season-ending injury but per his website he is making a strong case to turn around a terrible Rams defensive backfield (Yet again, another author who moonlights as a human train wreck working for MVN). Bernie Miklasz, who's staff picture is worse than his last name, states in what amounted to be just a long name dropping list (so what does that make this post?) that the Rams coaches seem to be pleased with his progress through OTAs. After reading this article, I came to the conclusion that if you don't take a good picture, you should put one on your columns.

Charlie Whitehurst seems to be getting cozy on the Chargers sidelines while Anthony Waters yearns for playing time. In yet another name list from yet another hideous author (this time of the female persuasion) it is stated that Whitehurst's chances at rising through the ranks might have been killed through the signing of a three year contract extension for Billy Volek, the current #2 man at QB for the Chargers. Coaches are impressed with Waters's hard drive and eagerness to play. Also, a four game suspension for Scotty Cooper at the beginning of the year could help Anthony get on the field for the first time in his pro career. Shades of Alvin Mack... minus the not going to the pros part.

Pretty much what Anthony Waters's off-season film sessions were like.

Charles "Baby Eater" Bennett hasn't seen and probably won't see playing time... ever. But hey, at least he's in the big show, makin' his money, and had a good college career that he can reminisce about and perhaps parlay him into some airtime for Clemson football in an announcing role like Patrick Sapp did.

Also with the Bucs, Gaines Adams continues to be a beast. He has, however, discontinued beasting McDonald's Big Mac's for the time being. The Buc's coaches can't wait to get Gaines back on the field as he apparently went Steve Lattimer (I promise, that's the last Program reference for this post) with his workouts this off-season and did everything short of eating the 45 plates off of the weight racks in the Tampa Bay work out room.

I couldn't find anything on Philip Merling besides this sketchy website and the following picture of him at an OTA:

This leads me to believe that the Derrick Hamilton theory might be alive and well with a PO Box address in South Beach. Although, Jason Taylor heading out of Miami has to be good news for him in some fashion or another.

Nothing new from Leroy Hill who's playing for the Seattle Seahawks. If by nothing you mean he's still considered to be one cog in the machine of one of the leagues nastiest defenses/line backing corps. Also, apparently the weather in the PAC Northwest is much more forgiving to football players than it is in the South. Who knew, right? And yes, he still looks mean as hell.

I thought that by this point in his career, Brian Dawkins aka minor god of the safety religion, would be thinking about retirement or at least plans after football. While he is doing great things in the community that some of the leagues more established players are known for doing (see his Burn Prevention Golf Tournament as well as his fight to prevent the Beetus), he is ready to go for this upcoming season and is in better shape than he's been in previous years.

B-Dawk, always reppin' Clemson in the best ways

Lastly, Nick Eason has resigned with the Steelers, participated in a few Pittsburgh area youth football camps, and has stayed under the radar for the most part.

MCDANIEL SITUATION UPDATE

2008-06-26T12:47:00.001-04:00

Larry Williams of the Post & Courier has an update on the DeAndre McDaniel situation and tells us that witnesses have come out in support of McDaniel. Read about it here.

NEWS ROUNDUP

2008-06-24T08:50:00.003-04:00

First the bad news. Linebacker-moved-to-DB DeAndre McDaniel has been charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature after reportedly choking his girlfriend and throwing her down a flight of stairs at University Village. Here's a writeup from The State. Disgusting news, and all we can do is hope it's not true despite how it looks. Clemson earns 3 Fulmer Cup points as well.

Ray Ray McElrathbey has declined Clemson's offer of a graduate assistant spot and has decided to play football at Howard. He can begin to play immediately as they are D-IAA. Ray Ray was a credit to the program and will be missed. We wish him the best in all his future endeavors on the field and off.

Clemson will host the South Carolina Beekeepers Association this July. So, uh, that's cool.

DFIG RETALIATES

2008-06-20T13:12:00.013-04:00

As you may or may not have... well... unless you troll tigerforums.net (which doesn't exist so I think he linked to Tiger Net) like your life depended on it you haven't. So let me introduce you to Third Saturday in Blogtober. Here's the skinny: Remember this picture?

Clemson recruit Kenneth Page

Well, this whole fiasco of Clemson supposedly droppin bills to get Page to come to Clemson was settled. We even talked about it here. TSIB also dropped a few notes on the story. Somehow, Clemson fans from said forum showed up months later, swamping the comments section of the post launching volleys back and forth. They emailed us and asked our opinion on their "lim'rick" (Yeah, it's spelled limerick but they're SEC fans so they probably have little to nil education past primer, possibly junior high so cut them some slack please. At least they got the format down!) Let's take a look at a few sections of said mispronounced literary piece.

Tommy Bowden’s daughter certainly is regal
And we can gawk at her now that she’s legal.
And we have, you can bet
She’s all over the Net
Apparently, Clemson’s new formation is the “spread eagle.”

Accompanying picture:

HAR HAR! Man, did you see that there? Whudda funny munkeey! Ain't no Lowren Bowdn but it made me layaf jus tha saym!

Three months ago we wrote a post
About Clemson recruiting the most
We thought it was dead
But Tigers weren’t fed
So they keep coming to irritate Ghost.

Speaking of beating the dead horse, how long ago did that Lauren Bowden picture hit the presses? Also, I'd like to submit Exhibit A into the court evidence. If you're gonna try and nail our dicks to the porch, make sure yours isn't there already, "...you're fuckin' hypocriticizers too. So shut the fuck up!" (I had to fit that reference in here somewhere... it's a slow month. But seriously, the movie wasn't half bad regardless on what everyone else in the world says).

Swinney’s recruiting magic made him adored
His skill at drawing in talent can’t be ignored
But it’s seems kinda fishy
Recruits are wipin’ with fifties
Takes me back to the days of Danny Ford.

Ok, fine, you got us there. But hey, he learned from the best, didn't he? Bama fans calling other programs out for cheating and dirty recruiting. That makes my eyes hurt so much that I can only look at my monitors for moments at a time so that my retinas won't burn off from the amazing stupidity venting off of their website. And yeah, I said monitors. Plural. That's how I roll. Two monitors. Somewhere there's a GT fan reading this who's jealous.

So, how does it feel, Tiger fans, when you hear
About the “real” Death Valley that strikes fear?
I can poke fun, you see
We’re the “other” UT
But at least our orange doesn’t look queer.

I made a few deductions at this point. We were actually the first Death Valley. LSU fans sometime later coined the phrase "Deaf Valley" because of the noise they could generate but as always with an SEC school, things got lost in translation. The author didn't do his research thus negating his argument and making him look less informed and intelligent on his subject matter. He clearly doesn't "KNOW HIS HIISSTRAY ON DUH EYESS EE SEE!" The "other" UT statement... was that a poke at us... or at Texas? Clarify this please. "But at least our orange doesn't look queer" You're right, your orange isn't even an orange. It's piss yellow in the Crayola box. Lastly, "queer" is a hefty adjective to be throwing around at someone when you're the one writing the limericks.

I ran out of steam, patience, and time for this article at this point but I did find the image of Richard Simmons dancing on the hill quite funny. Next time, do your home work and try to keep out of the cheesiness. Furthermore, your blog isn't specific enough in where your loyalties lie. Are you a Bama fan? Tennessee Fan? Bill Dance fan? Also, pretty good jarb considering that it comes from a grown man using the handle "Crimson Daddy." That reminds me, I need to register TigerDaddy69420 on tigerforums.net so I can join this epic battle of cunning smooth talk and debate. Lastly, big ups to Tide Druid for keeping it classy and targeting Tony Franklin as opposed to Clemson fans.

I threw in a winking smiley face so that Crimson Daddy knows it's all in good fun. TEE HEE.

ANALYZING EXPECTATIONS

2008-06-20T09:49:00.003-04:00

The Sunday Morning QB has a brilliant article on the Tigers and the high expectations surrounding the team coming into the 2008 football season. I particularly like that they don't jump on the "we've heard this before" bandwagon that most mainstream outlets and blogs have hopped on when talking about the Tigers. Some ESPN pundit erroneously declares that Clemson has been picked to win the ACC for years without coming through and it suddenly becomes canon. It is true that the Tigers have underachieved in recent memory. Trust us, we know that as well as anyone, but we do refute the level of underachievement attributed to Clemson by most people. SMQB points out that the Tigers have also beaten expectations, and if anything it's bullshit to say Clemson is an underachieving team and more factual to say they are highly inconsistent. Tommy Bowden's tenure is a rollercoaster, not a slope.

DON'T FORGET, SEND IN YOUR PICTURES FOR MUSTACHE WAR

2008-06-06T10:04:00.001-04:00

I'm just saying, you're all going down.

"1a) For DFIG readers, I'll give you a head start. Pictures of your shaved facial hair beside a printed date for Friday, June 6, 2008 (newspaper preferably) must be emailed to dannyfordisgod -at- gmail -dot- com. You don't even have to shave that morning, just some time that day send me a pic of your jaw area etc."

WELCOME TO THE SOUTH

2008-06-05T10:23:00.005-04:00

I couldn't help but snap this photo of a campaign sign on my way to work the other day.

Look closer...

You might be a redneck if... you vote for this guy.

DFIG CHALLENGES YOU TO A MUSTACHE WAR

2008-06-03T11:15:00.006-04:00

Trust me, this is gonna be awesome.

So some friends and I were chillin out maxin and relaxin all cool, and while shootin some b-ball outside the school we decided to start a mustache competition. Similar to the Australian born but internationally known competition referred to as Movember (Official site), we wanted to grow mustaches for an allotted amount of time. The original rules as stated in an email I sent to my friends are as follows with slight adjustments for privacy:

1.) Shaving commences the morning of June 7th.

2.) Growing of mustaches shall last until August 31st. Shaving of said mustache before the given date results in a disaqualification and a good ribbing.

3.) Each grower may choose their own facial hair growing pattern from June 7th until August 1st. (IE grow what you want, be it grizzly adams beard, mustache, fumanchu, etc.)

4.) On August 1st, we shall reconvene and shave everything except our mustaches. You must keep your mustache for the entire month of August.

5.) Winner will be determined by style, creativity, and effectiveness of the mustache by a panel of three judges to be named at a later date using a scale of one to ten on August 31st, 2008.

6.) Any style of mustache is accepted. Examples are as follows: Cooter, Hitler (if you so choose), Handlebar, Pushbroom/Earnhardt Sr., Triple H Handlebar, The Captain James T Hook, etc. Pencil thin mustaches do not count.

As I have now extended the competition to include our readers, some modified rules will now be presented:

1a) For DFIG readers, I'll give you a head start. Pictures of your shaved facial hair beside a printed date for Friday, June 6, 2008 (newspaper preferably) must be emailed to dannyfordisgod -at- gmail -dot- com. You don't even have to shave that morning, just some time that day send me a pic of your jaw area etc.

2a) Pictures of your mustaches must be sent in to the same email address with a printed date on August 31st.

4a) Since we are on the internet, just follow the previous instructions for 1a and 2a but for July 31st.

5a) Chili and I will do the judging.
5b) I just wanted to have a section "b" somewhere in here to justify all the sections labeled "a."
5c) All submissions will be judged a little later than August 31st, but no later than a few days (September 5th at latest.)

Don't forget about Friday!! Set your alarm! Write it on a calendar! Put a reminder on your phone! Also, tell your friends and forward this link to them. Happy growing and good luck!

NEWS NEWS AND NEWS

2008-05-31T11:55:00.004-04:00

- As you may have noticed, our football team has been getting some pretty high pre-season rankings, most notably by ESPN (#7), The Sporting News (#8), and Athlon Sports (#10). Now there's rumor that Phil Steele has put us at #5 in his magazine which is due out June 10th. Give his website a check as he takes it back to seventh grade by releasing one team a day until the release of his magazine. Phil Steele is a complete and total douchebag for doing that. I'm sort of waiting for Sports South or FSN South to name us champions of the universe. Also, I find it cute that he ranked a Gamecock team with tons of questions for next year at #18.

- Latest Clemson news from ESPN is that Bowden and Purnell have signed contracts through 2014. They're a little late on the Purnell extension as it was reported about two weeks ago. Also, I've been try to forget about how Bowden held us hostage via the Arkansas coaching search late last year. It's a bitter pill to swallow when your school signs an extension with a coach who was actively in talks to not only jump ship but to take his entire staff with him which would have left Clemson high and dry. Thanks for bringing up the bad memories!

- The Clemson golf team lead the second round of the NCAA finals and are currently tied for second place after the third round of play. I'm not a big golf guy, but any national championship for Clemson gets me excited. Check out the final round of play here and let's hope our boys bring home one of those awkward planks of wood that is a natty. (That video browser only works in Internet Explorer 6.0 or later versions.)

Nice 'Clerks' reference, Todaro's!

APB: FIND US SOME EMBARASSING GAMECOCK DECALS

2008-05-31T10:47:00.002-04:00

So, since I've moved to Simpsonville I've noticed a recent trend around and on I-385 and it's not so much shocking as it is hilarious. Yes, it's related to Gamecock fans and yes, they're making themselves as well as our state look bad... again.

Oh ok, nothing seems wrong here. Wait what's that.

"You're damn right I pull for a team that went from #6 in the nation to 6 - 6!"

I'm just at a loss for words. Nothing against the marines, I guess I'm just disappointed in his delivery, that's all...

DFIG READERS: If you're out and happen to snap some similar "Embarrassing Gamecock Decals" send them in to feedback -at- dannyfordisgod.com and we'll put them on the site with due credit given.

VINCENT BOOTED OFF TEAM

2008-05-20T09:30:00.004-04:00

Per The State: As expected, Cortney Vincent has been kicked off the team. Vincent violated team rules last year, got a DUI in December, and did poorly in school this past spring. This means Clemson has to replace all three starting linebackers from last year. Which is the bigger liability for 08 - our offensive line or our linebacker squad? Both units will have some talented newcomers stepping in, but the losses still hurt. Take it to the comments section.

NEWS & NOTES

2008-05-14T09:18:00.004-04:00

Oliver Purnell has finally signed the contract extension that was announced in March. Good.

Upstate Today has a nice article about Clemson's 2009 recruiting efforts to this point. Depending on which recruiting service you believe, Clemson has secured verbal commitments from the top two safeties in the nation, Craig Loston (5 star, #1) of Texas and Devonte Holloman (5 star/4 star, #2) of powerhouse Charlotte Independence in NC. A number of 4 stars have also committed and a lot of top recruits have Clemson high on their list.

With more sports blogs (spogs?) popping up every day, the new crops are moving into the realm of extreme specialization. One of the more interesting new ones is called Athletes Making Babies, celebrating the many sports stars who can't keep it in their fucking pants.

The ACC discussed and subsequently shot down a plan to add a 9th conference game to the football schedule, which would have put them alongside the Pac-10 as the only conferences to have a 9 game conference schedule. Coaches were concerned with bowl eligibility as beating SC State is easier than beating NC State. The current college football climate is one in which quality scheduling takes a backseat to playing cupcakes to pad the win column, and this decision is right in line with the current modus operandi (not that the ACC doesn't have its share of weaklings). I am on the fence about this one. I'd much rather play another ACC team than the Citadel or SC State, but I'd rather play a powerful nonconference team like Bama or UGa than Duke.

George Bennett, longtime Clemson fundraiser, will be honored by the SC Athletic Hall of Fame. Congrats to Mr. Bennett on the honor, and on his service to the university.

Former Clemson lineman and 1992 5th round draft pick Curtis Whitley has died at the age of 39. He played for six years in the NFL and battled substance abuse. As of now the cause of death has not been announced. Our condolences go out to his friends and family.

2008 PRESEASON POLLS

2008-05-08T08:05:00.004-04:00

A reader passed this LSU site on to us that lists the rankings from various preseason polls in a handy graph form. As you can see, Clemson averages 9.5, with rankings as high as #6 (one AP voter who writes for the San Jose Mercury News), and as low as #20 by a January College Football News poll that was written when it looked as if James Davis was gone. Georgia is pretty solid at number 1, and that's hard to argue against. Southern Pigskin lists West Virginia as their preseason #1, and I fail to understand how you rank a team with a new staff top-to-bottom as the best team in the country. Feel free to give your take in the comments.

NEWS & NOTES

2008-05-07T09:27:00.000-04:00

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.

CU BILLBOARD IN ATL

2008-04-22T21:25:00.001-04:00

DFIG reader Jeff asked us to post this:

I've talked to several people at IPTAY, the Athletic Department, and various other Clemson organizations, and have gotten alot of support for this...

Idea: A billboard in downtown Atlanta that proudly exalts the Tigers upcoming game in the dome against Alabama. The spot is I-20 and Memorial Avenue near the Capitol. The money needed is $13,000 for both sides of the billboard for 4 months, plus installation and the vinyl. If anyone is interested in donating or pledging or just wants more info, please send me an email at russellmarkmillerjr@yahoo.com

If 500 people on this board gave $10, there's $5,000 right there, so don't think you can't contribute. I barely make any money and can't really afford to donate alot, but every little bit helps.

The billboard is reserved for us and is just waiting for the initial $4,000 payment for it to go up. Go Tigers!

-Mark Miller
c/o 2006

PS: I'm not asking for checks or $$$ right now, just asking for "pledges" to see if we can do this! Thanks to those who have said they'd give...can yall send me an email just saying a ballpark amount you'd feel comfortable giving, so that I can have some idea of the total attained/needed?

EXTREME KORN REPORT: SPRING KORNSTRAVAGANZAPALOOZA

2008-04-22T13:00:00.000-04:00

Jam goes on english muffins.
This is a TOAST bed, motherfucker.

ORANGE & WHITE GAME POST THOUGHTS

2008-04-21T12:15:00.002-04:00

This season's Orange and White game was pretty interesting. I didn't go to last years game, but it's good to see that it's no longer just first stringers vs the rest of the depth chart. It's good to see they might actually try and start selling (in an promotional sense, not monetary) this game and get people to come out. They actually tried to distribute the talent around on both teams. I'm not going to go through stats and such, so you might want to check out the Clemson Athletic Department article.

Some reactions that I felt necessary to be covered after stewing on them for a week:

- Our depth on offensive line is crap, but to their credit they're really young and inexperienced. I think our first stringers did well, but they really need to work hard this off season and get on the same page.

- To be brutally honest, Willy Korn is starting to show that he's getting antsy in the pocket. I think that there might be a conflict of interest where Willy wants to run but the coaches don't want him to. I say, let him go with his instincts. The kid practically shit out state championship rings in high school, so let him do what he needs to do to win. If that involves playing chicken with a freight train on the other side of the ball, then so be it.

- Our defensive line is seriously the meat and cheese of our defense and I love it. Chris Rumph has done an excellent job here at Clemson and I hope that we can realize this and keep him around when other schools come waiving checks at him like the stockbrokers from Trading Places.

A brief look into the future. Here we see a few ADs from other schools vying to get Chris Rumph on the phone.

- Aaron Kelly is just great. I feel as if I could throw babies continually at him when he isn't paying attention and he could swaddle, feed, and put each one to sleep before I had the chance to reload.

Don't worry, he does this all the time (Chilishop)

- After spending hours upon hours going over spring game film and slaughtering a baby lamb on my Clemson football alter at home, I liquidated all of my assets sans car and house and put everything on Clemson to win THE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP NEXT YEAR. ALL THE WAY BABY! WHOOOOOOOO! WE'RE GOING TO MUSH FACE OTHER TEAMS ON OUR WAY TO THE CRYSTAL BALL, BABY! YYYYEEEAAAAHH!!!! YYAAARRRGGGHHH!!! No seriously, I'd be elated with a ten win season and/or an ACC championship bid next year. Of course, come November I'll probably be singing the tune of "Fire Bowden" for getting to and losing the ACCCG next year.

SOLID ORANGE WRAP UP

2008-04-13T23:49:00.005-04:00

Besides the baseball team getting swept (we totally suck now... I can't believe I actually thought we were going to be awesome) and the rain and lighting cutting Eddie Money's set to about 8 minutes the entire event was awesome. Here are a few clips of the first night. Wyclef Jean absolutely rocked. I got to meet him at the meet and greet and he was pretty cool, as were the Wailers.

Wyclef had an amazing set.

Don't necessarily agree with his presidential views, but at least he did some old school stuff too.

The Wailers (Bob Marley's former band) had an awesome set too.

The Movement had some pretty good stuff as well.

If any of you guys have any pictures or videos from the weekend that you would like to share you can send them to use via the feedback email and we'll put them up. Also, if you went, let us know what you thought about the event in the comments section.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR SOLID ORANGE WEEKEND

2008-04-10T14:54:00.002-04:00

If you haven't heard about Solid Orange Weekend then [insert hilarious yet subtly quirky "out of radio contact" remark here]. Clemson's new found call to the motherland for pilgrimage has been issued. Thankfully, you have me to guide you through the key points of the weekend that would interest your average DFIG reader.

One of the main pulls is the home series against the #4 ranked UNC Tarheels baseball team this weekend. As of late, our boys on the diamond have had a rough go of things and pulling some wins out this weekend could be really exciting. Freshmen students can check out free giveaways on Friday at the lawn at Littlejohn before the game.

Of course there is the annual Spring Game. Last weeks scrimmage was apparently shit, so let's hope that our guys come ready to show off. The game is scheduled to start at 1pm. No idea if they're still having the equipment sales beforehand as they have in years past. I have no idea how the parking is going to go seeing as this is the first year they've had the Solid Orange Live. In years past, Chili and I have been able to roll up and easily find an orange spot directly in front of the hill, tailgate, and then walk right in that gate. As I say again, I don't know how parking is going to go now and also I don't know how cool the cops will be this year with drinking on the streets but if I had to guess they'll probably be pretty lax. Here's a handy parking site from the CUAD or check out a map below.

Click to enlarge

For those of you with kids you might want to check out the field day to be held on the lawn at Littlejohn from 10am till the spring game starts. Info can be found here. Also, I think there might be a carnival on the old practice soccer fields (now known as the parking field in the middle of Littlejohn, Fike, and Death Valley) in town so look for that. Don't quote me on that last one but I think it's in the cards. If it is happening, look for it to be going on all weekend. As cheezy as it sounds, it's insanely fun to experience one while hammered. No peer pressure, but I'm just saying. It's as fun as you make it.

As Chili mentioned earlier, the Sons of Clemson game will be held before the spring game and it marks yet another day that Danny steps foot on Frank Howard field. Here is some CUAD approved literature on the game with info.

I'm more than sure the Esso as well as many of the fine establishments downtown will be open before, during, and after the spring game. Personally I'm going to shoot for TTT's Upstairs because I like to drink PBR, watch grainy satellite feeds of random sports, inhale moldy Winston smoke, and have good ol' boys give me seething "Eat shit and die" looks for invading their private territory.

Also, if a few of you are planning on going to the ticket office to bitch about seat equity please do me two favors: 1) Just don't do it. This is the way most college football programs are run (which is the way it should be). The people who pay and donate more money get better parking and better seats; 2) At least be nice to the people behind the counter... they have souls too, even if they don't show it at work. Otherwise go sit on a rusty nail, pal.

For those of you with Facebook, you can check out the nifty and easy to navigate Solid Orange Live group.

Lastly, there are some pretty awesome acts playing on Friday (alternative and rock) and Saturday (country music) nights. Below is a list of some of the performers. Personally I'd like to check out the Wailers, Eddie Money, and Wyclef Jean. You can find schedules in that first link at the top or on the Facebook group page. Also, $35 for the regular crowd, $25 for student with CUID. Expect to pay a $2 handling fee at the gate if you don't pre-order. Pretty neat all in all in that since Freedom Weekend Aloft left Anderson, Clemson can step up and hit one out of the park.

UPDATE (04/11/08): If you're a commuter student that parks and takes the bus, don't even bother coming to class today. Just take the day off and start your weekend early. Parking and bus routes are beyond screwed. Near Death Valley is figuratively a ground zero for commuter students today.

DANNY RETURNS TO COACHING AT CLEMSON!

2008-04-09T14:03:00.004-04:00

Although maybe not in the form some people have been hoping for...

Coach Ford will head up one of the two teams that will compete in the Clemson Sons Bowl prior to the Orange and White game. Brian Dawkins and Charlie Whitehurst will be his assistant coaches while Jeff Bostic, Homer Jordan, and Michael Dean Perry head up the other team.

The full rosters are as follows, per Scout.

White Team Numerical Roster
 No Name Pos Years Hometown
 1 Woody Dantzler QB 1998-01 Orangeburg, SC
 1 Randy Anderson QB 1984-87 Spartanburg, SC
 1 Donnie Jewell PK 1991-93 Concord, NC
 10 Michael Allen DB 1995-98 Conway, SC
 11 Tribble Reese QB 2005-07 Mountain Brook, AL
 12 Jeff Scott WR 2000-02 Columbia, SC
 21 Henry Guess WR 1992-95 Cordova, SC
 31 David Dunham LB 2002-05 Lake City, FL
 32 Mitch Belton CB 1988-90 Columbia, SC
 33 Tony DeSue RB 1993-96 Virginia Beach, VA
 34 Mike Samnik TE 1988-91 Clearwater, FL
 35 Tony Kennedy FB 1988-91 Elizabeth, NJ
 37 Kevin Laird P 1995-98 Brandon, MS
 42 Altroy Bodrick LB 1998-02 Cameron, SC
 46 Chad Carson LB 1998-01 Newnan, GA
 49 Jamie Pleasant DB 1987-90 Sumter, SC
 56 Jason Fendley OL 1990-93 Westminster, SC
 78 Alex Dial OL 1990-92 Columbia, SC
 81 Jason Davis WR 1990-93 Pensacola, FL
 93 Carlos Curry DL 1992-95 Decatur, GA
 Coaching Staff:  Jeff Bostic, Homer Jordan, Michael Dean Perry

Orange Team Numerical Roster
 No Name Pos Years Hometown
 1 Chad Jasmin FB 2000-03 Vecherie, LA
 3 Patrick Sapp QB 1992-95 Jacksonville, FL
 7 Tony Horne WR 1994-97 Rockingham, NC
 18 Chuck Lynch P 1990-91 Wyndmoor, PA
 18 Fletcher Anderson PK 2000-03 Columbia, SC
 23 Rod Gardner WR 1997-00 Jacksonville, FL
 24 Chris Hart DB 1986-89 Miami, FL
 27 Kevin Johnson CB 2000-02 Orangeburg, SC
 27 James Trapp SS 1989-92 Lawton, OK
 29 David Richardson PK 1996-98 Clemson, SC
 44 Levon Kirkland OLB 1988-91 Lamar, SC
 44 Jason Greene DL 1998-00 Loris, SC
 53 Tommy Sharpe C 2001-04 Albany, GA
 54 Geoff Rigsby SN 2002-04 Greer, SC
 56 Tim Jones LB 1991-94 Rock Hill, SC
 60 Jeff Taylor BAN 1987-89 Seneca, SC
 67 Josh Smith DL 2001-03 Easley, SC
 83 Stephon Wynn TE 1991-94 Winnsboro, SC
 86 Trey Howell WR 1986-88 Sumter, SC
 99 Lamarick Simpson DL 1992-95 Rock Hill, SC
Coaching Staff:  Danny Ford, Brian Dawkins, Charlie Whitehurst

Also, just because:

I don't know man.

OP TO LSU: GTFO

2008-04-08T17:24:00.004-04:00

Coach Purnell has denied any speculation that he would entertain an offer for the LSU head coaching job, stating that he has "long range goals for this Clemson program. We just announced a contract extension three weeks ago and I am happy here."
Article.

BIG BASKETBALL SIGNING SOON...

2008-04-08T12:59:00.002-04:00

Perhaps it is a sign of progress in the Clemson basketball program that the Tigers are about to beat out Florida, Georgetown, and UCLA for one of the top basketball prospects in the 2009 class. Milton Jennings, of Pinewood Prep in Summerville, is on the verge of announcing he'll be a Tiger.

OTHER TIGERS SEEK PURNELL

2008-04-08T11:21:00.002-04:00

According to this article in the Seattle Times, Oliver Purnell is believed to be LSU's prime target for their vacant head coaching position. Joe Alleva just left the AD spot at Duke to take the same spot at LSU (great pickup, take the guy who massacred the lacrosse scandal and let football absolutely flounder) so there are already some ACC ties there. I'm not clear whether Purnell has signed his contract extension with Clemson yet. Could be interesting, but I hope we hang on to OP.

SPRING FOOTBALL!!!!

2008-04-08T08:48:00.004-04:00

It's just like regular football, but sloppier and with better weather.

The search for a new left tackle is on. Junior Corey Lambert and senior Jock McKissic are currently battling it out, but as this article states, heralded freshman Antoine McLain is waiting in the wings to take the spot.

The o-line struggled in the last scrimmage after a successful initial drive. In my experience watching Clemson scrimmages, you can't really gauge offensive efficiency as well as you might want to based on how they do against their own defense. Defense has long dominated Clemson scrimmages, and this season has been no different. Still, the o-line is going to be the lynchpin of a successful 08 campaign, with our linebackers being another important factor.

GoUpstate.com has a great piece on the many setbacks and successes of Stanley Hunter, the former Byrnes Rebel who has battled adversity to gain a foothold with the Tigers.

Apparently Willy Korn is enjoying his time out of the spotlight. Sure he is... sure he is.

Tommy Bowden fucking LOVES baseball. And tights. And Kyle Parker. "I've watched him practice and I've watched him play," Bowden said in an interview with CUTigers.com.

"He's really good looking. If I was a girl, I'd be very interested in him. He wears those tight pants. When you wear loose stuff, you can't tell the definition of a guy's body. In baseball, everything's tight and you can tell he's very well put together."

Willy Korn has been seen strutting around in denim shorts and a half-top outside of Bowden's office window in an attempt to sure up a roster spot.

HILARIOUS MUPPET SHOW OUTTAKES

2008-04-03T13:45:00.003-04:00

Random, but funny. Enjoy. (HT: Scott A.)

HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY DANNY!

2008-04-02T12:26:00.004-04:00

Ah, reminiscing about things that happened before I was born.

FORMER BAMA LINEBACKER SUCCUMBS TO CANCER

2008-03-27T14:41:00.003-04:00

I know we're playing them and all in the dome come Labor Day but I thought this pertinent news given our fan base and many of our present and former figures in Clemson Athletics Alabama pedigrees and ties. Former Alabama linebacker and graduate Victor Ellis died at age 28 earlier this week according to Tide Druid and Roll Bama Roll. If you feel like it, check out his foundation's website. Condolences to the Crimson Tide family.

DANNY DAYS ARE BACK! ER... OR NOT

2008-03-27T13:12:00.002-04:00

A Clemson recruit with bundles of cash? Is this 1980?

A minor shitstorm brewed on the internets this morning and piddled dookie throughout messageboards from ACC schools, that rival SEC school, and even some of the bigger sports blargs out there. Apparently carrying around huge stacks of bills is unusual to a number of people. I had to ask a number of friends before I found out that me and Kenneth Page are the only people around who don't leave the house without bricks of dead presidents. A highly touted Clemson OL recruit, the aforementioned Kenneth Page, posted a photo on his MySpace page of him stackin' bundles. After the "Photoshop experts" on Tigernet claimed over and over that it was a fake (it's not), they played the excuse game. I don't know what to say, but a reader copied us on this post from a Clemson message board, take it however you want:

Talked to both Kenneth Page and his head coach Robin Bacon this morning.

Here's the story from them.

Kenneth was recently out in California as one of five finalists for the Alfred M. Watkins Memorial Scholarship. Both his father and mother came along and both have relatives that live in California. They got to see one of his uncles right before he passed away a week later. They also got to see his great uncle on his father's side of the family. This uncle is a very, very wealthy man. He owns nine ATMs and realized two were empty and low were very low. So they went to the bank that morning to get money to fill them up with. Kenneth said he had never seen that much money before so he took a picture with it. He wants to reassure everyone that yes, he didn't take a single cent or keep a single cent of it.

Someone copied this picture off of Page's facebook and tried to spin it into something that it wasn't.

Bacon added this - "It is a shame when people want to tear down a kid who is a good Christian kid and a great role-model for other student-athletes, but that is the society we unfortunately live in today."

PRACTICE? WE TALKIN' BOUT PRACTICE?!?

2008-03-26T21:06:00.001-04:00

"When the cops yell 'freeze' make sure to put your hands up like this."

STEPHEN GARCIA: HERO

2008-03-26T08:27:00.003-04:00

Drankin, puttin' out "stove fires," what can't this guy do?

HEY PAUL!

2008-03-25T11:31:00.012-04:00

Clemson basketball fans: Dorsia is overrated anyways.

I can imagine that I was feeling the same immediate reaction of seething murderous rage that many readers of this website were feeling as the roller coaster that is Clemson basketball finally derailed at its apex and came crashing to the ground in horrible fashion through the second half of the Villanova game. A few thoughts on the game itself:

- I think we played the best basketball we'd played all year long during the first half. I also firmly believe that the refs did a decent job of not falling into basketball politics (i.e. calling fouls that didn't happen and letting obvious chops go uncalled) during the first half.

- Terrence Oglesby got cold throughout the game and it became really hard to watch him take shots. Also, his key areas seem to be free throws and insanely deep threes. He's potty at defense and even worse at any shot worth two points.

- Some readers caught the Purnell call in show and some of them said they thought they heard OP say something to the effect of "Now that Booker is gone, we're going to need Grant to step up." The readers said he kind of choked stumbled over Booker's name but it sounded like he said it. I'm thinking if two people caught it that maybe there is something that should be looked at.
UPDATE: I'm pretty sure he said Booker's name but it was just a slip of the tongue. I think he meant that Booker needed to step up now that Mays is gone.

- The officiating was terrible in the second half. So was the commentary. Those guys were practically blowing Jay Wright, even as he was getting T'ed up for his Coach K-esque sideline language. Nova played a little dirty and got away with it. All in all, it made me wish I had a neighbor who was a Villanova fan so I could knock on his door and then proceed knock his teeth out. Unfortunately, my neighbor is an Auburn fan so I try to avoid eye contact at all costs because I'm really just an internet tough guy. Plus the guy is kinda huge... I'm getting off track and making myself look like a pussy, so back to the post.

- We did check out early in the second half and it cost us dearly. When we stopped using the press, the game was lost. I think one of our reader's commented something like that in the preview post. Credit to whoever said that, take it in the comments section on this post.

- Most of the comments from the last post were from 1am to about 5am. Way to go guys. Good showing. It's nice to know we're your choice of reading material after coming home late from downtown.

On the season I think we did great. We were third in the ACC for the regular season. We made it to the finals in the tournament for the first time since the 60's. We made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in ten years. We resigned OP for a millenia. We're starting to recruit kids who can play AND shoot free throws. We're on the up and ups and I'm excited about it.

To all those who are still pissed... NEWSFLASH: BESIDES INTERMITTENT FLASHES OF BRILLIANCE, CLEMSON HAS NEVER BEEN GOOD AT BASKETBALL. EVER. Be happy with what we've got. It takes years to decades to build a program and it's rare for a program to be built overnight. That being said, I can't wait to see what we can do in 2009.

VILLANOVA BASKETBALL PREVIEW

2008-03-21T13:16:00.002-04:00

#22 Clemson (24-9, 5 seed) vs. Villanova (20-12, 12 seed). Friday, March 21st, 9:50 PM, CBS HD, XM Radio Channel ???, WCCPFM 104.9 in the upstate (Live feed).

Line: Clemson -6, Over/Under 145

The More You Know: This is the first trip Clemson has made to the NCAA tournament since their opening round loss to W. Michigan back in 1998. This is Villanova's fourth straight tournament bid. Check out more insanely useless Clemson tourney facts authored by presumably Tim Bourret.

Insanely useless opinions authored by two drunk guys with an internet bullhorn:

Chili: Willy Korn walks on to the basketball team to lead our troops to victory and turnS the Clemson NCAA tournament experience into a spectacle one could only liken to Space Jam meets the Harlem Globetrotters mashed up with NBA Jam. HE'S ON FIRE! No, but seriously, Clemson loses.

Willy Mac: We play a fairly good defensive team in Villanova, but at the same time a younger and less talented team than us. At first when I saw that we had drawn Nova on the selection show my heart dropped. Then I remembered that this team isn't as scary as teams they've produced in years past. From what I've seen on television this past season, they have some pretty good guard play but are just unorganized on offense (not that we're organized in any manner) and they run themselves ragged playing non-effective defense. Also, teams that can shoot the three can usually beat them and we can make it rain all day long. I have no idea what their free throw percentage looks like but I'm sure it's better than ours. Lastly, basic fact is that they only have two guys averaging over 10 points a game... we have five. I expect us to beat the upset hype and win this one... and cover the spread.

NCAA TOURNAMENT NEWS & NOTES

2008-03-20T09:48:00.004-04:00

The Clemson Tigers earned the #5 seed in the Midwest Regional and will face the #12 seed Villanova Wildcats from the Big East. Clemson will play Friday night at 9:50 PM on CBS.

Deadspin has a fantastic rundown of the game for your perusing pleasure.

If you've not done so already, JOIN THE EXTREME BRACKET EXPLOSION!
League ID: 55284
Password: korn

Clemson has locked up Coach Oliver Purnell through 2014. He's 94-67 in five years at Clemson and has improved the team every year. Coach P will now be in the upper third of the conference in terms of compensation. This is a great move for Clemson, and hopefully Purnell will break the string of coaches who build the Tigers only to ditch them for a bigger payoff at another school.

Pat Forde writes about best-case and worst-case scenarios for all 64 tournament teams in this article. His worst-case for the Tigers: losing to 'Nova. Best-case: Tigers crash the Final Four.

THE B-BALL POST WE SHOULD'VE POSTED DAYS AGO

2008-03-20T08:41:00.000-04:00

Weeeeeeee!!

Wow, so much Clemson news has transpired since our last real post. Sometimes real life steps in and makes it hard to post, our bad.

Here's what went down in Charlotte at the ACC tournament:

Clemson coldcocked Boston College, 82-48. Their relentless defense stifled the Eagles and never let them get anything going.

Clemson snapped their 22 game losing streak to Duke by downing the Devils 78-74.

The Tigers went on to lose to UNC by a score of 81-86. The game went back and forth for a while but the Tigers couldn't quite overcome the Tarheels and lost in their first appearance in the ACC Tournament Final since 1962.

Clemson placed 2 players on the 2008 ACC All-Tournament Team: K.C. Rivers and Trevor Booker. James Mays and Cliff Hammonds made the 2nd team. Terrell McIntyre was the last Tiger to make the first team, doing so in 1998.

Some thoughts about the ACC Tournament:
- I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cringe every time Mike Hogwood was forced to mention "Shawty Get Low." The league needs to think really damned hard before they choose another "official song."
- Sticking with announcers, Jeff Capel has no business being in any profession where insight and articulation are key. I overheard someone ask "Who the hell is this mushmouthed idiot?" during the games. Plus he's a Tarheel and the last thing we need are more of those guys doing color commentary.
- Sticking with Tarheels, somethings gotta be done about the number of Carolina fans who get their grubby paws on tournament tickets. I understand that they had better odds of any team to win the whole thing, which would lead more fans to want to attend, and that they have more fans than most schools (bandwagon FTW!), but this is a conference tournament and shouldn't be a home-court advantage for one team. Fans from other schools are bound to sell their tickets after their teams bite it, but could we come to an agreement not to sell them to anybody in baby blue? By the time the final game came around, 75% of the arena was filled with a delicate mixture of Tarheel wine and cheese alumni and foothills bandwagoners rooting for the bad guys.

SCHEDULE CHANGES AND NOTES

2008-03-19T14:03:00.002-04:00

- The baseball game against Furman originally scheduled to be played tonight at 7:15 in Doug Kingsmore has been postponed till tomorrow afternoon at 5 o'clock due to rain & etc.

- Don't forget to check out our guys on the court Friday night when they play 12 seed Villanova in Tampa. The game should be on CBS.

NEWS & NOTES

2008-03-13T11:05:00.004-04:00

- The Georgia Sports Blog has a post up detailing the longest tenured coaches without a BCS bid and our very own Tommy Bowden is #1, having gone since 1999 without getting to sit at the cool kids table. Tommy fans: *shakes fist* "DAMN YOU, OBJECTIVE FACTS!"

- Today's ACC Headlines features a fascinating look at the Tiger basketball team's free throw woes and how, by sinking just 26 free throws away from being 27-3 and 13-3 in the league instead of their current 22-8, 10-6 clip. Before people step up and say this sounds mysteriously like Tardnetter's claims of Clemson only being 3 pts away or 4 plays away from an ACC title in football in recent years, I submit that it's harder to compare these sort of tough-earned plays to a gimmie at the free throw stripe.

- The Ray Ray situation is continuing to snowball and be picked up by multiple national and local news outlets, often with misreported facts on the matter and in virtually every case but one with extreme prejudice against Bowden and Clemson. Tony Barnhart of the AJC nails the situation fairly and objectively in his piece "No Tears for Ray Ray."

- The ACC Tournament is this weekend, with Clemson playing Friday night at 9:30 against the winner of the BC-Maryland game played today. Results will be posted here.

EXTREME BRACKET EXPLOSION!!!!!!

2008-03-13T08:02:00.004-04:00

Are you man enough to step up to the EXTREME BRACKET EXPLOSION? ARE YOU??!??

DIAL UP YAHOO ON THE INTERWEB AND STEP THE HELL UP.

Group ID: 55284
Password: korn

NEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

2008-03-12T15:30:00.001-04:00

NEWS

- Of course, the men's basketball team beat Virginia Tech this past Sunday afternoon on Senior Day. Both sides battled back and forth and Oglesby yet again drained some more monster threes (5/7 on the day, 17 points total) and Demontez Stitt won the game in the final seconds by making two free throws. Great game. KC Rivers and Cliff Hammonds received all ACC honors. Oglesby was honorable mention for the freshman team and James Mays got honorable mention for the defensive team. Check the team out Friday at 9pm for our first tournament game. We get a bye for Thursday since we are third seed

- Four NCAA track & field National Championship invites have been garnered by the following:

Men's: Travis Padgett (60 meter), CJ Spiller (60 meter), and Mitch Greeley (Pole Vault).

Women's: Patricia Mamona (Triple Jump)

Congratulations and good luck!

- The baseball team nearly blew it at home against UNC-Greensboro by a score of 11-10. They went 11-0 until same late game rallies including one in the ninth cost them the game. Some of our pitchers need to get it together after the Wake Forest debacle. We can't keep winning by scoring into the double digits and barely squeaking by everytime. Stoneburner had yet another great outing as well as Kyle Parker. If Kyle Parker is anything like this on the football field, we're gonna have a battle. Chris Epps, Ben Paulsen, and Mike Freeman continue to be absolute ballers. Get over to the game at 4pm today if you can and are in the area.

- The AAFL will probably fold before training camp opens a la their wikipedia entry. It was a cool concept while it lasted but because of the bad economy, no major backer, and no television contract it looks like our friend Marcus Katz will be needing to find himself a new job. Marcus, if you're out there and still have us on google alert, let us know whats up in the comments section.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Willy Mac: Pat O'Briens - Whether you're in Memphis (sorry that you'd be there), San Antonio, Cancun, Orlando, or New Orleans (the one I went to), you're bound to get a good stiff drink. For some reason they're stable drink is a non-Irish hurricane (which I ironically pounded in New Orleans). This thing was so strong and so sweet that I nearly had to get Liberty Medical on the phone cause it nearly gave me the Beetus. Also, mixed drinks are your best bet as singles are usually a tad more than a half and half and doubles are pretty much just full glasses of alcohol stirred with a Q-Tip dipped in the desired mixer. Best shots in New Orleans too. Also, you get to take some of the glass ware with you and they even package it up so you look extra touristy. If you'd like to dry their hurricane mix you can go to just about any grocery store and buy their death in a bag. Best served on rocks and not blended. Also, check out their online store as they sell hats, t-shirts, hurricane glasses, and several mixers as well. Just follow the link up top.

Chili: My recommendation is Montana Ale Works in Bozeman, MT for all the Fat Tire you can drink and some good billiards. Seriously Willy Mac you could've just posted "HEY Y'ALL I JUST WENT TO NEW ORLEANS!" instead of recommending a quasi chain bar that 95% of our readership isn't within 200 miles of. My recommendation this week is that Willy Mac shuts the fuck up. I'm just kidding, pal. My actual recommendation is for the hilarious blog Stuff White People Like. It's funny because it's true! Swimwalk!!

BOWDEN & CO. DROPS TROUGH, PROCEEDS TO GIVE RAY RAY A STEAMER HAT

2008-03-10T12:39:00.014-04:00

Bowden: Not really a Clemson guy.

After reading a couple of articles about it, and listening to EDSBS's take, I took a few days to mull over my initial reaction of the whole "Ray Ray McElrathbey scholarship" situation. My initial gut reaction was to gather a West Virginia-esque mob and chase Bowden and his staff out of town with pitchforks and torches ("Not much has changed in Clemson." Just thought I should go ahead and get that terrible Gamecock chain email joke out of the way). Now that I've slept on it a few days, my current gut reaction is to find Bowden and put my thumbs into his eyes and press as hard as I can. Seriously, he claims to be such a good person and has shown a bit of the "Second Chance" mantra that his father has, then he will turn around and do something like this.

Now keeping this in mind, Ray Ray plays running back and took a back seat to Davis, Spiller, and Sadat Chambers last year due to an injury and separation of talent. Now that we signed two huge recruits to add to our running back stable, we need to shave some fat from the ass of our ball carrying squad. Chambers gets moved to safety and Ray Ray gets dropped and is supposed to eat shit and grin. I could understand if the guy's situation was different, but at least give him a chance.

Here are some stream of consciousness statements from my point of view:

- Ray Ray's rough past and his decision to adopt his little brother and the accompanied situation is a huge public relations boost for Clemson. Doing this is really bad PR for us.

- The injury didn't help, but people tend to forget he did start 13 games on special teams as a freshman and did alright.

- He's graduating as a JUNIOR with two years of eligibility left. He had some troubles with academics a bit back, but got on the honor roll while taking 21 hours last semester. Also, he seems to be in good enough graces to be a potential candidate for graduate school.

- Clemson has said that as long as he pursues a degree here, they will honor his scholarship. There is not a specific time frame on this so I'm taking from this that if he took seven years to graduate they'd give him the money but if he graduates in three then screw him if he wants to stay here and play football.

- Why not cut a lower level player that will probably never make an actual impact and has enough money to go here as a normal student. For instance, someone who joined as a walk on and got a scholarship, why not cut them? They've proven that they have enough money to pay for Clemson by themselves and the usual trend for walk ons is to never actually make it happen (sub Aaron Kelly and Tommy Sharpe).

- They have offered him a Graduate Assistant job in the athletic department, but no further chance to continue his football career.

- Ray Ray was a three star athlete coming out of high school and if I'm not mistaken he was moved to running back before he was injured. Why not move him to safety (a position we;re pretty thin at for the future) like we did with Chambers and cut that walk on player.

- Our community (that more than likely wants the kid to stick around and finish out his career) has invested too much time and effort in this situation for one person who represents and makes decisions for us as a whole to tell him to just hit the bricks.

-Now what? We're just going to shut the door on someone who has worked hard to pull himself up? We're going to make him and his little brother move their life somewhere else just because a few guys drawing on a whiteboard don't like how he fits in? If anything this guy should be rewarded. We have to think about Fahmarr as well. This much change and instability could be a terrible thing to go through after all he's already been through.

- Bowden's logic is backwards. If you're going to play the Bobby Role and give people more chances in life after mistakes, you don't fucking turn around and let the people that do well for themselves eat shit.

- Word is that Ray Ray started slacking off on the football side of things but I think I would to if I could see the picture that was being painted in front of me. Move me to another position or something.

- Even if this whole football thing didn't pan out for him, a graduate degree as well as a Sociology Undergraduate degree from Clemson would open so many doors for this guy that would normally be closed to this guy based on his background. I mean, this really reminds me of the whole Yusef Kelly ordeal (in which Bowden had disagreements with Kelly and wanted him gone but didn't have many reasons till the brawl, but by then it was too late. Also the fact that Kelly was a graduate student gets in my head too, among other similarities).

[ Side note: Much respect to James Davis who stuck up for Ray Ray in this whole situation. It could cost him some carries due to locker room politics, but that was yet another stand up gesture from our best running back. ]

Honestly, I have stirred emotions about this whole thing, but I don't like it. It's a very weaselish move on behalf of Bowden and it just solidifies the fact that Bowden has no idea who his troops are and could care less about their well being to boot. He's just putting on this academic graduation front for his own resume and will drop Clemson in a heart beat if he wins the ACC Championship this year (or hold us hostage for more money). He's not a Clemson guy, I don't like him, I want him out. Seriously, maybe it'd be best if he found some place else to go should he get some more offers.

Best of luck, boys.

FANTASY BASEBALL

2008-03-10T00:10:00.001-04:00

Reminder: Please sign up for fantasy baseball now, we've only got 4 participants at this time. The draft has been moved until March 15th at 530(EST), so you've still got a week if you want to play.
We need at least 4 or 5 more teams to make it interesting. If we get at least 10, I will personally donate a bottle of liquor (TBD) to the winner. Since this is a long competition, I think it will only be fair to offer an incentive. Once again, the league info is:

League ID: 122123
Password: HDDVD

It's hosted by yahoo, as normal for our fantasy events, in case y'all forgot. Clemson Baseball update to follow in the next day or so.

DSOT 20: NO COUNTRY FOR DUMB POSTS

2008-03-07T08:57:00.010-05:00

While you were pimping your duck, I was trolling Tigernet.

I've heard this same Sakerlina joke in a dozen chain emails and, no, it's not funny there either.

Some places put fluoride in the water, in Ninety-Six they add lead.

If you are a high school graduate there are only 2 reasons to watch a high school football game: you have a family member on one of the teams, or you are a coach. If you are attending to watch recruits for your college team of choice then it is almost a given that you are a mouthbreathing creep. I also love it how this guy asks who else will be attending, like droves of other fans can't wait to go watch mediocre football from aluminum bleachers. "Gonna follow any recruits?" uh... not back to their houses to stare through the windows like this guy probably will.

Because inquisitive drunks want to know.

Reminiscing about a "classic" zinger from the morning's comic pages in real life would get you open-mouth stares like you had a dick growing out your ear. Doing it on a messageboard just gets you DSOTed. There have been some terrible and nonsensical Spurrier on Tigernet but this one might beat all.

I LOVE LAMP. EMOTING IS HARD.

Victory=Turtlehead.

And I leave you with this gem from the Fighting Gamecock Forum, where every post is dumb shit. It is nice to see a little self analysis from the cluckers, even though this guy probably got banned for his troubles.

TIGERS LOSE A TOUGH ONE TO GT

2008-03-07T08:12:00.003-05:00

Clemson traveled to Atlanta last night to face Georgia Tech for their senior night game and fell hard 80-75. The game was close than even the score indicates, with both teams trading leads throughout the game until Tech took a slim lead with 10 left to play and hung on. Clemson hung on to the very end. A bit o' bullshit occurred when Cliff Hammonds ran into another Tiger teeth first and hit the ground hard, lying face down. The officials failed to stop play, as the NCAA rules clearly dictate when a player is injured and in a situation where he could be further harmed. I think a Clemson player sprawled out on his stomach, barely moving, in the fucking paint is cause for an officials' time out. However no such pause was called, and Tech used its 5 on 4 advantage to drain a three and extend their tiny lead with 2:41 to go. Add this to a blatant no-call on a foul on an attempted KC Rivers layup near the very end of the game and you have just cause to be a little pissed about the officiating.

FREE THROWS. FREE THROWS. FREE THROWS. FREE THROWS.

So I said I thought there were some deficiencies in the way the game was called. I feel that that's true, but it is not the reason Clemson lost. Again the Tigers lose a game down the stretch that they should've had well in hand if they could hit their damned free throws. Clemson was 9-17 at the charity stripe (basketball lingo!), a stat that doesn't include the missed frontends of one-and-ones. For whatever reason, Cliff Hammonds (DFIG's favorite Tiger cager) was handling the ball in the last minute of the game. A 44% career free throw shooter should not be the guy streaking to the basket and getting to the line when it counts. I'm not taking anything away from Cliff, he is a monster. He played with a broken wrist and still put up 15 and 8 and came right back into the game after breaking a tooth. Nonetheless he shouldn't have been the guy shooting FTs at the end.

The bigger picture we're looking at is whether or not Clemson can hang on to a top-4 spot in the league to get that valuable first round bye in the ACC Tournament. A victory against Virginia Tech on Clemson's senior night is really a must. Damnit Tigers, you lost to a 12-16 team and played absolutely sloppy and flat most of the time, and had no excuse not to seal the deal with this game. We will be doing a Q&A with a VT blog about the game, that should be up soon.

TUESDAY NEWS

2008-03-04T09:25:00.003-05:00

Hopefully everyone caught the Tigers' amazing comeback in College Park on Sunday night. The State has a summary of how the Tigers came back from a 20 point deficit and how freshman Terrence Oglesby drained a 3 with just seconds remaining to seal the deal on a 73-70 win. Clemson had three heroes in the second half: Cliff Hammonds for his tremendous block, James Mays for his steal and game-tying dunk, and TO for his coldblooded three that clenched the game.

Hammonds is one of the most versatile players in Clemson history, and is -- to reuse an overused sports cliche -- the glue that holds the team together. He is the model of a student-athlete and I feel he deserves for his jersey to hang in the Littlejohn rafters. Unfortunately, it looks like Cliff will be finishing out his memorable career with a broken wrist.

Catch Clemson's next game this Thursday at Georgia Tech, 7 PM on ESPN.

For your viewing pleasure: an upstanding Maryland fan has a snack then watches his team choke.

And..... WHAMMY

EXTREME KORN REPORT: CONSUMER ALERT!!!!!!!!1!1!

2008-02-27T15:45:00.006-05:00

Jersey: awesome, color coordinated Zubaz: EXTREME.

ZUBAZ!!!!! ZUBAZ!!!!!

THEY'RE BACK! The most EXTREME pants you can slip your legs into (unless Levi's makes a pair of jeans out of TERIYAKI BEEF JERKY covered in FLAME DECALS) are back from the 80s!

Now I'm sure you're all with me, but I've been writing letters to Zubaz literally each and every day since they went off the market DEMANDING they start up production again. Well, apparently my letters weren't ALL returned to sender, because the Zubaz machine is back in gear. TITS.

My bad for not including more KORN news in this EKR, but we'll be on the scene when (IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME) Zubaz makes a pair in ORANGE and PURPLE and sends the first pair to MISTER KORN.

Get your ZUBAZ here! Tell them you want a new variety in ORANGE AND PURPLE! WHOOOO!!!

PURNELL CALLS ON HIS POSSE

2008-02-26T15:12:00.005-05:00

The following is an email sent out to the entire student body a la Coach Purnell:

Dear Students,

I want to thank you for your great support that you've provided our basketball team this year. As you know, at this point in the season, each game becomes more and more important as we fight for seeding in the ACC and NCAA Tournament. This Wednesday we face the biggest game of the year up to this point as we play Miami at 7:30pm in Littlejohn Coliseum. It is pivotal for us to have a great crowd! We have such a great home court advantage when Littlejohn is full and as you know this begins with the students. You have been great all year long and we need you for two more games!

Let's make Littlejohn louder than ever as your Tigers take on a very good Miami basketball team. Don't forget to wear Orange and I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday Night at 7:30pm.

Go Tigers!
Oliver Purnell

Side Note: Have you ever noticed that Cliff Hammonds looks exactly like Mike Epps

I wonder if OP and Cliff have similarly styled arguments in practice.

BASEBALL RETURNS

2008-02-23T18:07:00.007-05:00

The Tigers are at it again, and things are looking bright after the first day of NCAA Baseball play . The Tigers, ranked as high as 13th in some polls, and as low as 23rd by Baseball America, are looking forward to another good season, and maybe a return to the CWS. The polls are split on who in the ACC will be contenders but you can definitely expect North Carolina, Miami and FSU , among others, to be tough this year. As usual, the chickens in Columbia are ranked higher than Clemson and will soon start the smack talking, though this is the one sport they usually fare well in.

After having their season opener against Mercer canceled due to inclement weather (or the threat of it) Friday evening, the Tigers played a double header on Saturday in a great start for the Tigers in 2008. The first game went to the Tigers in a 12-5 showing where returning starter Doug Hogan went 3/4 with a two run homer in the game. Starter Ryan Hinson got the win, going for 5 innings in good form, allowing just 2 runs off of 5 hits, and 3 walks while striking out 4. In other good news, Stan Widmann, who was drafted by the Oakland A's in the 39^th round has returned to form after sitting out most of the 2007 season with an injury. He singled to bring in Clemson's first run of the season.

In Game 2 returning starter and former outfielder DJ Mitchell had a very shaky start but got the win, going 5 innings and allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. Clemson scored 6 runs in the first three innings and cruised to a 6-5 victory with closer Matt Vaughn picking up his first save of the year. Perhaps the biggest story of the day is freshman Chris Epps, a right fielder from Stone Mountain GA ( Dunwoody HS). Epps went 3/3 with 2 runs and 1 RBI in game 1, and 2/4 with a two run homer in the 3rd inning of game two. That put him 5/7 on the day. Definitely a bright spot on the roster, if you ask me.

Look forward to more weekly updates on the baseball scene each Sunday.

In other news:

It's time for DFIG's annual fantasy baseball league to begin. It'll be conducted under the same rules as last year and hosted by Fantasy on Yahoo! Sports, as usual and the league will be open to all of our readers. We request that everyone name their team based on the name by which you post on the site so we can keep track of everyone. We also request that if you're not going to keep up with your team please don't bother registering one. We had several teams last year that ended up not playing past week 2, which resulted in nearly a third of all games for everyone else being easy wins, which really sucked when it got to the end of the year. The preliminary date for the live online draft is March 9th at 2pm, so try to get your teams in before then. We'll start play and draft when we get enough teams. The draft date and time is up for suggestions as well since we can change it. Sign up now with the following info:
League ID: 122123
Password: HDDVD

In still other news, the HDDVD format has officially lost the war to BluRay (damn you Sony). While I'm happy that I refrained from buying an HD DVD player before its demise, I'm sad that this format war was not in the end decided by the porn industry. They've lost their hold on it...

One quick recommendation though, is Penn and Teller's BullShit. It's a show they've been producing on Showtime for the last 5 years. I recently downloaded the fifth season and it is absolutely awesome. That is, if you like to see every popular myth and hippie/liberal cause debunked with very convincing evidence. They have departed from magic in this show and showcase their atheistic, libertarian points of view while attacking some of the most crackpot causes in America with humor and cynicism. This season the targets ranged from Wal-Mart, the ADA , Nuclear Regulation, and my favorite episode: Breast Hysteria, where they argue that women should be allowed to walk around topless wherever men are. I'm not a libertarian, but these guys are great. Check them out. Here's part of an episode they did on PETA, brilliant.

FORMER TIGERS LAND IN NEW ALL-AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

2008-02-21T15:15:00.004-05:00

This year's new spring football league (competing with the Arena League) just had their draft recently and some of our guys made it. Nathan Bennett (T) and Roman Fry (G) landed with the Alabama team, Tennessee got Woody Dantzler (QB), William Henry (T), and Reggie Merriweather (RB), and lastly Kevin Youngblood (WR) gets to play on Ford Field for the Michigan team.

This is the first spring league for football that I can actually see garnering some attention as it's kinda set up as a minor league system for the NFL. The basic premise is that all players have to be college graduates. Each team will just be called Team Alabama, Team Texas, etc. The corresponding teams will play in major college or professional venues in their respective states (Team Tennessee plays in Neyland, Team Michigan plays at Ford Field in Detroit). Lastly, teams will feature players that played for in state colleges with some non-regional players on the roster. Plans for an Indiana team out of Purdue and a North Carolina team out of Raleigh are in the works for 2009 if the league doesn't fold. I hope they don't try to lump us in with North Carolina cause I can't stand that they did that with the Carolina Panthers.

NEWS & NOTES

2008-02-19T13:03:00.007-05:00

- Clemson's Athletic Department, always with its finger firmly off the pulse of the student body, is now acting to curb fun at Clemson baseball games. In an email sent to Clemson's Student Body President Josh Bell, John Seketa requests help curbing "organizations that set up a tent, cook-out [sic], play flip-cup, etc... and never come inside to watch the game." He mentions that students "leave the facility like a tornado zone" and that their actions are contrary to the family atmosphere desired at Clemson's sporting events. I agree that Clemson's family atmosphere at sporting events is a signature aspect of our university and should be preserved. However I would also point out that Clemson is a university, and college students need a fun and loose atmosphere in which to enjoy sporting games as well. This is just my (Chili's) opinion, but college baseball is boring as hell most of the time. Sitting around and drinking and screaming horrid things at the outfielders is a time honored tradition at Clemson and shouldn't be changed in any way. However if the outfield screamers are indeed leaving behind garbage they ought to be reprimanded in some way. I just know Clemson well enough to know that they'll eliminate students drinking at baseball games before they urge them to throw their trash away. Something about using a bazooka when a flyswatter would do...

- Coincidentally, on Sunday night IPTAY launched their new campaign to raise $10 million campaign to expand the baseball stadium and help fund smaller sports. The budget will put new seats and stands beyond the outfield fences and beside the batting cages.

- Sticking with baseball, you Charleston area Tigers should attend the February 27th matchup of Clemson and College of Charleston at Patriot's Point. The game is at 5 PM and you can pick up tickets here.

- The Men's basketball lost to FSU in Tallahassee tonight by a score of 64-55. This drops
Clemson to a 19-7 overall and 7-5 in ACC play. KC Rivers, Cliff Hammonds, and Trevor Booker were the only double digit scorers. Check out the box score.

- The Charleston Post & Courier has a great article on Cliff Hammonds, one of the most underrated players in the league. Not only is he rising to the top of the scrappy Tigers lineup, he's an academic star to boot. He's majoring in pyschology and the most difficult and time consuming of all majors at Clemson: architecture. He's doing all this while having a wife and child. Oh, and he got a 4.0 last semester. People this great at everything sometimes just make you feel like crap.

WHAT REALLY GRINDS OUR GEARS!

Chili:
Ashley Judd. Okay, she doesn't anger me, but the sports coverage of her does. WE GET IT, she's a Kentucky fan. We needn't be reminded of this every time she's at a game. Oh, look, there's Ashley Judd watching... SEC Basketball. I guess she's a better actress than I thought she was because she's managing to look vaguely interested in a basketball game involving Mississippi State. Come to think of it, she's a lot like her favorite basketball team. You know, in the 90s they were great and got a lot of attention, but they've made some poor career choices (Billy Gillespie, every lame thriller she's ever been in) and are generally irrelevant in 2008 and now when people think of them it's just sort of "meh."

Don't send me any more damned Facebook application requests. I don't want to be a zombie, or a pirate, or a ninja. I don't want to play Oregon Trail with you, either.
People who reminisce about the Oregon Trail deserve a good cockpunch. "Hey, remember when you'd like... ford a river and.. uh... your oxen would die? Man, that was awesome." No, no the fuck it wasn't.

I'm not going to rant about all the Ohioans in Charleston, I'm really not. It's a free country, move where you want. Some of my best friends are Ohioans. That being said, nobody here cares about your team. We know you love the Buckeyes. Good for you. In Charleston you're generally a Clemson or a Sakerlina fan. It's not that we don't believe all your yarns about how awesome OSU is, or that we don't respect your long winning history, we just don't care. Not at all. Not. One. Bit. And if I see you trotting down the street wearing a Buckeye jersey and a nut necklace I might laugh and point. Don't take it personally.

Willy Mac:

Pretty much everything Chili said with the addition of this: If I pay a car wash place almost 30 bucks to clean my car, then DO YOUR DAMN JOB. Please take the time to actually wipe down the inside and vacuum. Now, I realize that not many USC fans probably read this site, so please pass the message along for me when you see them. Also, enjoy the following hilarity of some guy that broke into a liquor store, then became trapped. I can't tell if he was already drunk, but I'm guessing he was.

HELLO?

2008-02-12T20:02:00.000-05:00

Is it me you're looking for?

UNC BASKETBALL PREVIEW

2008-02-10T17:45:00.000-05:00

Clemson (17-5, 5-3 ACC) @ #5 North Carolina (22-2, 6-2 ACC). Saturday, February 10th, 6:30 PM, Fox Sports Net, XM Radio Channel 190, WCCPFM 104.9 in the upstate (Live feed).

Line: North Carolina -8.5

The more you know: UNC has never lost to Clemson at home, going 52-0.

Preview:

Right now, the Clemson Basketball team is well into rollercoaster mode as it has already seen it is fair share of extreme highs and lows just… and we’re only midway through the in conference schedule. One thing is certain and that is UNC is an extremely good team. So good in fact that the regular season championship as well as the ACC Tournament championship will probably come down to either Duke or the Tarheels. On the other hand, Clemson has shown flashes of brilliance and hope as well as terrible form and lack of concentration.

Tyler Hansborough's senior page in his high school yearbook. And yes, from as much as I can tell, he was being serious about it.

The keys to victory will be to do two things they’ve had relative trouble doing all season: make their free throws and not fall prey to the stab and pass offense. All season teams have driven the ball inside only to hit a man wide open on the arch. UNC can shoot the lights out from that range and it’s extremely important for us to not leave them uncovered. Also, for as long as I can remember Clemson Basketball has been known for their poor free throw shooting percentage. That’s one of the key points that Clemson has to address before they can actually expect to consistently beat teams as good as UNC. The time we faced UNC was at Littlejohn earlier this season and we dominated most of the game. A big factor in that game was the fact that the Tigers were able to play patiently and Trevor Brooker was able to be aggressive with Tyler Hansborough and get him off his game. The Dean Smith Center can be a very hostile environment so the Tigers have to act quickly and make smart decisions and keep the Tarheel crowd a non-factor. You can fully expect the Tarheels to show up in their usual cookie-cutter national contender form, let’s just hope the Tigers show up like they did back on January sixth.

Beating North Carolina would be about as awesome as this video. Random, but enjoy.

2008 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE RELEASED

2008-02-08T13:16:00.000-05:00

From the Clemson Athletic Department

Aug. 30 - #Alabama
Sept. 6 - THE CITADEL
Sept. 13 - NC STATE
Sept. 20 - SC STATE
Sept. 27 - MARYLAND
Oct. 9 - ^at Wake Forest
Oct. 18 - GEORGIA TECH
Nov. 1 - at Boston College
Nov. 8 - at Florida State
Nov. 15 - DUKE
Nov. 22 - at Virginia
Nov. 29 - SOUTH CAROLINA

Season Ticket Information: 1-800-CLEMSON
# - at Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
^ - Thursday evening game on ESPN

PIMP MY COACH

2008-02-08T11:35:00.000-05:00

Tommy Bowden shows up in style to a recent IPTAY meeting. I like the stadium pants and the orange boat shoes, just maybe not together. Link to source article.

THURSDAY NEWS AND VIRGINIA PREVIEW

2008-02-07T18:12:00.000-05:00

NEWS

- The spring game for football has been tentatively set for April 12th. Wonder how Willy Korn's "shoulder injury" is healing up?

- The baseball season is set to begin on February 22nd at home with a weekend series against Mercer in Doug Kingsmore. 4PM Friday, 2 PM Saturday, and 1PM Sunday. Check out the remainder of the schedule here.

- The basketball team destroyed Boston College last Saturday, 78-56. Five Tigers scored in double figures and saw a strong defensive performance from Clemson's younger players including Terrence Oglesby, David Potter, and Raymond Sykes. Last year there were times that I worried we made a mistake recruiting the latter two but they have really turned it around. The stat column didn't show it for that game but they played with a lot of emotion and intensity. Box Score.

- CJ Spiller posted a national best time of 6.58 in the 60 m dash last Saturday at the Carolina Classic. He also beat out a few professional times in the 60m and it's the schools fourth fastest time for the 60m.

- Cliff Hammonds was named to the ESPN All-District Team. He is a senior with a 3.2 GPA. Impressive, but what's even more impressive is that he's a double major in architecture and psychology. Congratulations Cliff. But seriously, the only career I could see a former college athlete with superb grades and those two majors winding up as would be a Ghostbuster.

- The State has an interesting article about Clemson's recruiting of Jamie Harper and how the high school star almost changed his mind.

PREVIEW

Clemson (16-5, 4-3 ACC) @ Virginia (11-9, 1-6 ACC). Thursday, February 7th, 7:00 PM, ESPN2 HD, XM Radio Channel 190, WCCPFM 104.9 in the upstate (Live feed).

Line: Clemson -3

The more you know: Clemson is 63.5% as a team on the year for free throws, but have gone 24/30 in the past two games. The Tigers also lost to UVA last year in Littlejohn in terrible fashion. Shitting the bed in the final minutes of the game, they allowed the Cavaliers to score 15 unanswered points and beat them.

Our take:

Willy Mac: At first glance I thought that this could be a great opportunity for a hiccup game but UVA really has been that bad this year. Granted that they've nearly beaten some good teams in the final seconds, they've also lost to some decent at best teams like Seton Hall and absolutely go pounded by Xavier. I think if we play smart and just make some of our free throws we should be fine and come away with a win. Considering injuries and players being banged up, we're playing some really good ball right now sub the loss to Miami. I just hope the refs actually call a clean game and not one like they did against Boston College and Wake Forest with all the holding and arm push-offs.

OP is tired of the no-calls for holding as mentioned briefly Monday night in his show.

Chili: Forthcoming.

ELECTION '08

2008-02-07T15:21:00.000-05:00

Some candidates offer you a formation. We offer you a play. What others may malign as a gimmick and possibly dangerous for exposed receivers we present to you as a daring change of pace that will keep the defense on its toes. The fresh influx of talent at skill positions and a new crop of linemen aching for the zone just begs for SCREEN FOOTBALL. If set up correctly it is a perfect breakout play. Don't believe the detractors. Running the ball every play is so 1980s. Welcome to the FUTURE.

The future.

The future.

Paid for by Mad Scientist Labs, LLC. Remember running is lame, screens are shiny and new and fun. You do love shiny things, don't you?

ELECTION '08

2008-02-07T13:29:00.000-05:00

James Davis... ...CJ Spiller... ...Andre Ellington... ...Jamie Harper... names like these, in times like these, require decisive action. We need a formation we can trust. Would you trust your players' careers to some new-fangled "screen?" Ask Jacoby Ford what he thinks about that. The choice is simple. Stable. Old-school. Reliable.

Wishbone. For Clemson. For America.

It was good enough for Danny, it's good enough for me.

Paid for by Friends of Danny PAC. Remember, screens are for queers and Madden players.

CLEMSON FINALLY FINISHES THE JOB

2008-02-06T12:45:00.000-05:00

UNBELIEVABLE. According to ESPN, Clemson's recruiting class is ranked second in the nation behind Miami. Florida, Alabama, and Georgia round out the rest of the top five. So far our buddy Jeff Merritt was correct with his predictions of getting two out of three of the final major recruits in Jamie Harper and Antoine McClain. Jerrell Harris made the expected choice and went to Alabama. Surprisingly, we stole Under Armour All-American Tight End Dwayne Allen from Georgia. This is definitely one of the best recruiting classes Clemson has put together during the post-Ford era and unfortunately for you Bowden haters, you have to give it up to Tommy and his staff. In all we have 10 recruits that are in the ESPN 150. Also seven recruits are ranked in the top five of their respective positions. This looks to be a great haul for us. Check out the complete signings a la ESPN.

Jamie Harper: Cookie cutter running back from the smash mouth mold.

HITLER IS A GAMECOCK FAN

2008-02-05T21:42:00.000-05:00

This video has been floating around Tigernet and Rivals lately, and it comes from The Chicken Curse. Pretty damned hilarious, hopefully we'll see some more from them soon.

"I was going to sell them at Bojangles and make a fortune."

NOM NOM NOMINATED

2008-02-05T11:00:00.000-05:00

Checking out Every Day Should Be Saturday as I tend to do compulsively, I noticed that we were nominated for Best ACC Blog in the 2008 College Football Blog awards. We think that's cool, and we thank our buddy Andrew Reed and anyone else who nominated us.

NATIONAL SIGNING DAY PREVIEW

2008-02-04T08:29:00.000-05:00

Wednesday is national signing day for high school football players, the day when the dust settles on fierce recruiting battles and recruits sign on the dotted line. Not long ago, this was about the only day the average college football fan paid great attention to the ranking and recruitment of high school athletes. Now, with sites like Rivals.com and Scout.com making a business out of reporting the day by day changes of impressionable teenagers, recruiting has been pushed into the mainstream of college football fandom. Check out Bruce Feldman's book Meat Market for more lamentations over the business of recruiting.

Because every post should have a picture. And because it's fucking awesome.

Personally, I honestly could care less about the day to day decisions these recruits are making. Just from following along with Tigernet I've heard about kids who are "100% committed, but could change [his] mind later." This is the sort of 100% commitment that Pamela Anderson has thrown into her marriages. Most of these kids will change their mind time and time again, and Rivals is betting on you hanging on their every whim for a subscription fee. What I'm getting at with this whole rant is that I put little value in the pre-signing day shenanigans and find the hard news once the names are signed and LOIs faxed far more pertinent.

So far, 23 players have committed to Clemson. Rivals and Scout rank the haul so far at 14th nationally. ESPN ranks them at 4th in the country. Interestingly, last year ESPN had the Gamecocks' recruiting class in the top 5, to the outright derision of the most vocal Tigers. This year the shoe is on the other foot and it is curious to see many Tigers bragging about ESPN's take on our class. Regardless of who ranks the class, the Tigers are looking great right now.

Jeff Merritt supplies us with his take on how Signing Day will boil down for the Tigers:

Will this be a Great Signing Day, or the Greatest Signing Day??

The 2007-2008 recruiting season is about to come to a close this Wednesday, February 6^th. While many schools have finished up with all their prospects or ran out of scholarships, the Clemson Tigers are in it with 3 top players who plan to announce their choices on National Signing Day, Jamie Harper RB, Jacksonville, FL, Antoine McCain, Anniston, AL, and Jerrell Harris, Gadsden, AL. It should be noted that Clemson already has a #4 ranked class by ESPN, (of course #10-12 is more realistic by other outlets, we’re just gonna go with #4… yea, I like that better.) It should be no surprise that the MAN, the Legend, Dabo Swinney is the recruiter of record for each other these top out-of state prospects.

Jamie Harper RB 6’ 0” 220lbs. 4.4

Harper is the biggest fish of them all. This running back is so special that he was worth two offers- meaning his teammate Daniel Andrews’s first offers were from Miami, Florida and Clemson; the three main contenders for his services. Jamie is considered by some to be the #1 running back in the state of Florida, giving Clemson a chance to pluck the top ball carrier 2 out of the last 3 years from the sunshine state. Things look good for the tigers here, as multiple sources have reported that Clemson is his leader, and the fact that Daniel Andrews, his best friend, not just teammate, best friend who got offered in order to be a package deal with him, is already committed to the Orange and White. Another strong indication is that a few months ago, a top RB from New York tried to set up an official in order to commit…. Clemson had to deliver him the news that they would not be accepting his commitment and would be ending their recruitment. Why would we do that unless we had someone already silently committed? Harper’s press conference is set for 12:20pm. Offers include – UF, Miami, FSU, UGA, Illinois, and Clemson among others.

Antoine McClain OT 6’6” 317lbs

This is where things might get interesting. McClain hails offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, LSU, Florida, Tennessee, and UGA. Antoine made his official visit to Clemson for the weekend of the Clemson Football team banquet, and was blown away. So much that it was believed that Clemson was in second place to Auburn for his services. Recently, Auburn’s class has filled up and has stopped recruiting McClain, putting the Tigers from the Upstate in the drivers’ seat. Don’t be surprised if the # 13 ranked Offensive tackle according to Rivals.com announces for Clemson at his press conference scheduled for 10:30 am.

Jerrell Harris LB 6’2 220lbs 4.5

Harris reminds me a lot of the linebacker Clemson lost out on a few years back, Geno Hayes who went on to absolutely star at LB for FSU – too bad there was no offense. He is the prospect that highlights the title of this piece. Regardless if Clemson lands this unbelievable playmaker that has offers from Southern Cal …(enough said), the Tiger will have a great signing day. Now if by some slight chance Jerrell shocks everyone and leaves the state of Alabama for Clemson, with the possibility of landing Harper and McClain, this could be the greatest signing day in Clemson history. But the chances of getting all three kids to leave state and head to the foothills of South Carolina seem pretty slim.

Put me down for “great”. Prediction - Harper and McClain choose the tigers while Harris rolls with the tide.

Willy Mac reacts to losing out on the big recruit.

BRIEF SATURDAY NEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

2008-02-02T11:39:00.000-05:00

NEWS

- The Tiger baseball team is ranked 23rd in the Baseball America Poll and 16th in the Sports Weekly Coaches Poll. God, February 22nd can't get here fast enough. This should be a good year of baseball after last years semi let down. What I'm not looking forward to is the effect skipping all those classes to go drink beer in the outfield is going to have on my grades. How many times have you parked in Lot 5 and just said "Screw it, it's too nice out to waste today inside in some boring class," then wandered over to Doug Kingsmore Stadium?

- The basketball team is well into the patented "Clemson Rollercoaster Mode" as they have gone 3-4 since the semester started back. A brief injuries run down: Trevor Booker is questionable to start; Stitt is out for at least two weeks; Mays is still banged up but will play. Today's Boston College game is sold out and if you're a student at Clemson I strongly encourage you to put your ass in seat at Littlejohn for that one. WCCP FM will be broadcasting the game for free. Check out that link for their internet broadcast. Clemson has boosted their free throw percentage to 63% overall with a 75% (15-20) at the Miami game. Let's hope this is an upward trend. Also, we face Boston College guard (I think?) Tyrese Rice who has a 22 point average per game.

A depleted Tiger basketball team faces a tough challenge in BC's Tyrese Rice

RECOMMENDATION

Moe Joe Coffee Company - Run by a former Clemson football player and graduate, Moe Joe is the only true local coffee place out of a handful that have popped up in Clemson. You've got the national Starbuck's, that crap store in Bilo that I can't even pronounce, Spill the Beans which started in Greenville, and Jittery Joes, a UGA based company. I can vouch that it's some of the better coffee in town. Oh yeah, the fact that they have great food and, oh yeah, my favorite, a good selection of premium cigars. Just do me a favor and buy local because not only is it a quality product but I'm just sick and tired of seeing national chains come into Clemson and force local businesses into closing down.

DUKE BASKETBALL PREVIEW

2008-01-19T14:19:00.000-05:00

#23 Clemson (14-3) @ #5 Duke (14-1). Saturday, January 19th, 6:00 PM, ESPNHD, XM Radio Channel 192, WCCPFM 104.9 in the upstate (Live feed).

Line: Duke -9

The more you know: Clemson has lost to Duke 21 times in a row, 12 times in a row in Cameron, and has only won twice in history in Cameron Indoor. Last year Duke won with a David McClure last second layup after a highly controversial clock error.

Our Take:

Chili: I'm interested to see how Duke handles Clemson's inside game, lead by Trevor Booker, and how Clemson handles Duke's intense defense and outside game. I also want to see how Clemson's talented freshmen handle the environment at Cameron. I have no doubt in my mind that this will be a close game, as several of Clemson's recent matchups with the Devils have been, but I think Clemson's poor free throw shooting and the pressure of playing in Cameron will take their toll on the Tigers.

Duke 80, Clemson 75

Willy Mac: Clemson is definitely out for blood this time. Sour over a questionable shot clock change the officials made at the end of the game last year, they look to probably control this game much like they did the UNC game. Duke is just as good, if not better than UNC. I think Clemson does control most of this game but the noise and atmosphere should be a big factor. As always, this game comes down to free throws and we suck. I think if Booker plays a smart game we should hang in there till the last second. Also if this thing goes to overtime we lose.

Clemson 86, Duke 89 OT

DAVIS COMING BACK TO CLEMSON.

2008-01-18T16:27:00.001-05:00

It's official, James Davis will be allowed to return to Clemson. The NFL and Clemson's compliance department determined that Davis had no contact with agents that would violate his amateur status. The NFLs deadline to declare for the NFL draft was Tuesday, January 15, but they allow a 72 hour grace period to rescind any declaration. This is great news for Davis who will not only have the chance to hone his skills for another year to be better prepared for the NFL, but will be able to earn his degree. This also, of course, should bolster Clemson's chances in 08.

DAVIS COMING BACK TO CLEMSON?

2008-01-18T14:03:00.000-05:00

The Charleston Post & Courier is reporting that James Davis is having second thoughts about going pro. "Multiple sources confirmed Friday afternoon that Davis, who last week announced his decision to skip his senior season and enter the NFL Draft, has expressed interest to Clemson about returning in 2008." Clemson's compliance office is busily trying to see if Davis can return after the January 15 deadline to go pro and could possibly issue a decision today.

I'd say it's great news, but I want to sit back and see if he can return without penalty. It seemed like everyone around Davis was urging him to stay, and with a sudden abundance (Olive Garden calls it abundanza) of junior tailbacks going pro, it seemed like poor timing. Let's hope he can return to the Tigers.

Ahh... Yacht rock... what emotion of mine can you not echo with your smooth tones?

EKR: THE MOST AMAZING PICTURE EVAR

2008-01-17T20:51:00.000-05:00

HOLY SHIT PEOPLE THIS IS THE GREATEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE AND I ONCE SAW A SHARK EATING A LION EATING A MIDGET WHILE THE MIDGET WAS SINGING "ENTER SANDMAN" AND EATING A LUTHER VANDROSS BURGER DONUT. SRSLY U GUYS. CHUCK NORRIS WAS IN TOWN BECAUSE HE'S RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, AND HE ASKED KORN TO BE HIS SECRETARY OF AWESOMENESS. MORE LIKE RAWESOME AMIRIGHT?
HERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WILLY KORN AND CHUCK NORRIS DID IN CLEMSON YESTERDAY:
1) SHOOK HANDS AND SHOOK THE WORLD
2) DRANK DOWNTOWN. AND I DON'T MEAN THEY WENT DOWNTOWN TO DRINK, I MEAN THEY LITERALLY DRANK DOWNTOWN. BLAM.
3) KARATE CHOPPED THE PARKING NAZIS. JUDO CHOP!
4) MANAGED TO ORDER A MILKSHAKE AT MAC'S WITHOUT GETTING THE STINKEYE FROM THE GUY BEHIND THE COUNTER. TRUST ME, THAT'S EXTREME AS BALLS.
5) ATE SO MUCH THAT JUST MORE BBQ CHANGED THEIR NAME TO FUCK, NO MORE BBQ.
6) COMPLETED BEER PASSPORTS AT KEITH ST. NOT JUST THEIR OWN, BUT EVERY BEER PASSPORT THERE.
7) REENACTED THE 1993 MASTERPIECE "SIDEKICKS" SCENE FOR SCENE.
(SENSING A THEME WITH THESE? YEAH... EXTREME. EXTREME.)

I WISH THERE WAS A SUPER-CAPS-LOCK BUTTON FOR ME TO SHOW YOU HOW IMPORTANT AND EXCITED MY TEXT IS. WILLY KORN MEETING CHUCK NORRIS. MY ADRENAL GLAND JUST CAME. I'M SO EXCITED YOU GUYS I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING HOLY SHNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

EKR...HEART ATTACK OUTTTTTTTTTTT

UPDATE: KELLY STAYING, DAVIS LEAVING

2008-01-09T16:57:00.000-05:00

Scout.com is reporting that Aaron Kelly, who was thought to be gone as recently as this morning, will stay at Clemson for his senior year. I'm really pleased he decided to stick around.

Rivals.com has James Davis leaving for the NFL. Davis arguably one of the best Clemson running backs since the Ford era will be sorely missed as one of our top leaders and, obviously, the better and more dominant running back of our current stable. Let's just hope this changes the minds of some other running back prospects thinking about going elsewhere. DFIG would like to thank James and wish him the best.

BIG FAT BOWL CHALLENGE RESULTS

2008-01-09T08:52:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to whoever the hell goes by the Yahoo! tag william.brown21 for winning this year's Big Fat Bowl Challenge, picking 24 of 32 bowl games correctly (straight up, mind ye, not against the spread). The following is the top 10, bottomed out by yours truly.

1	LSU beats OSU 63-17 william.brown21	412	24 of 32
2	Sharp Picks briant_008	397	23 of 32
3	Coby DuBose content.king	395	21 of 32
4	fasteddie esink26	387	20 of 32
5	Tully Sucks Asshole samuelfosteratcu	368	22 of 32
6	The Ol' Ball Sack dblackm5806	366	21 of 32
7	Playoffs? Tom W	366	21 of 32
8	a770Tiger a770tiger	363	22 of 32
9	Struz's Pick thestruz	359	20 of 32
10	Chili Chili	354	21 of 32