“Gin Blossoms? I thought that guy committed suicide or something. And you can quote me on that.”

I’m fascinated with the ’90s. Yet I somehow missed this bit of sad, flannel-waisted news. To my chagrin, yes, Gambit’s first banana music guru Napoleon Bonaparte Pais is right. Blossoms’ guitarist Doug Hopkins, who penned hits like “Hey Jealousy” and “Found Out About You,” died Dec. 4, 1993 following label pressures and his firing from the band. Nevertheless, the band soldiered on through the ’90s to mild acclaim and plenty of airtime, and now it meets New Orleans at the Allstate Fan Fest, a two-day music, footballin’ and tailgatin’ preamble to Friday’s Sugar Bowl.

In a year where listeners stop at nothing to worship the church of 1993 (read: Pains of Being Blah Blah Blah, Pixies and Pavement reunions, “lo-fi”), these former kings of ’90s rock radio, those jangly, “alt-rocking” Arizonans, have relegated to the party circuit. Chances are if you’re driver’s license is horizontal, you will know the words to these songs.

-

Photo lifted from the UF Library Web site

-

While the Saints were busy pissing away an otherwise lovely Sunday afternoon in the Superdome, Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators were just arriving in town and talking to the media in advance of their Sugar Bowl game against Cincinnati.

-

As if Tim Tebow’s last game being against and undefeated Cincinnati team looking to legitimize their national championship claims wasn’t dramatic enough, Meyer up and decided to announce his resignation yesterday because of health reasons. Though now he’s taken that back and says he will just undergo a “leave of absence”. Walking away from $20+ million a year and a college football empire you’ve built is understandably a tough decision, but when you’ve had health concerns for more than 10 years and your wife has to pack your desk with snack to keep you from starving on the job, at least an extended vacation is an order.

-

But while Florida players and fans are probably in a tizzy over the last 48-hours, everyone in the Cincinnati has had more than a weak to come to terms with the fact that, while undefeated, they’re still Cincinnati and your coach won’t give a second thought to jumping ship in favor of coaching at Notre Dame.

-

Hit the jump for a full transcript from Florida’s press conference (note: It’s really long):

Read the rest of this entry »

-

Photo lifted from The Advocate

-

You’ll have to forgive me for not jumping on the LSU baseball bandwagon earlier but, for someone who was never a fan of college baseball, it didn’t seem right to crash the festivities. (I would’ve felt like the one person at a Halloween party not wearing a costume.)

-

But now the Tigers face off against the Texas Longhorns in a deciding third game and in a few hours we’ll know if Baton Rouge will celebrate yet another sports title or if college baseball will fall back into the blissful obscurity.

-

In any event, if you’re like me and have absolutely no idea what’s going on, there are several places where you can read up on tonight’s game so you can show up to your local drinking tavern and yellow and purple with the best of ‘em. There is one thing I know about baseball, though, and that’s when a team has had hot bats for weeks and are piling up the runs and then suddenly only score once in a losing effort, well, that’s not good.

-

Also, someone contact the LSU writing and English departments about this lady. Really, she’s bringing shame to you all.

by Clay A. Smith

-

-

Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

-

Two disappointing seasons from  the Hornets and the Saints have had New Orleans fans pining for the sweet release of the off season. Between the Saints farcically inept defense and the historical dismantling of the undermanned Hornets in the first round of the playoffs, its been a: remote throwing, hair pulling, head hanging, yell at the TV until the neighbors call the cops kind of year. Well New Orleans fans, you can rest easy. Mean old Chauncey Billups can’t hurt you anymore, and neither can the Saints horrific defense.

-

One person who assuredly welcomed the off season was Hornets point guard Chris Paul . The Hornets’ work horse came up lame in the post season-stung by the injury bug. When Paul wasn’t winning gold medals in Bejing, he was grinding out an 82 game season that ended disastrously in a 63-121 point shellacking at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. For a season in which he averaged 22 points and lead the league in assists, with 11, and steals (2.8)  Paul was named to 1st Team All Defense.  The Hornets’ early exit from this years’ palyoffs prompted questions about head coach Btron Scott’s ability to effectively lead his team. But the Hornets are stand standing by Scott who will return for his sixth season with the team.

-

The Saints have made it a priority to patch up a secondary that has been the joke of the NFL for years now and a short yardage running game that was instrumental in shortening their 08-09 campaign. The Saints got their first look at top draft pick Malcom Jenkins. The rookie saftey out of Ohio State stood out in his first minicamp practice and impressed the Saints coaching staff. Paired with recently acquired veterans Darren Sharper and Dan Morgan the Saints new look defense could do a complete 180.

-

Conversely, with the leagues top offense there wasn’t much the Saints needed to tinker with offensively this offseason.  But with two under-sized running backs in Piere Thomas and Reggie Bush New Orleans was in dire need of a short yardage back. So in addition to revamping their “D” the Saints picked up two undrafted  rookie power backs with the hopes that they would compete to fill the void left by Deuce McAllister. Bruiser P.J. Hill is hoping to make big impact in Saints backfield along with fellow rookie Herb Donaldson. Hill, signed out of the University of Wisconsin, averaged over 1,000 yards in his three seasons in cheese country and Donaldson set a Missouri Valley Conference record with 23 100-yard rushing games.

By Clay A. Smith

-

-

Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

-

The New Orleans Hornets won their sixth consecutive game as the weary Dallas Mavericks were no match for New Orleans. But the Hornets didn’t just beat the Mavericks, 104-88, they showed the swagger that you would expect out of a team that prior to the season was projected to go deep into the playoffs.

-

Dallas was no match for streaking Hornet led by point guard Chris Paul and power forward David West.  Against Dallas Both All-Stars posted double-doubles. Paul had 27 points and 15 assists and West had 19 points and 10 assists. Since February West has averaged over twenty two points a game and has had four thirty point games. Paul has averaged a double-double-posting over twenty one points a game and over eleven assists.

-

The New Orleans Saints said hi and bye to both old and new players as they continue with their off season overhaul. After cutting veteran fullback Mike Karney New Orleans added Heath Evnas who spent his last four seasons as a lead blocker in New England. They also  retained their top deep threat in Devery Henderson.

-

Still, even though Saints’ fans are excited to see Henderson and the New Orleans’ offense continue their air assault from the 2008-09 season, they are all too familiar with the ongoing saga of the New Orleans’ secondary. But the Saints are trying to get the help they need. They signed corner back Jabari Greer from the Buffalo Billsand if that weren’t enough they’ve been in talks with Vikings veteran safety Darren Sharper, Jacksonville safety Gerald Sensabaugh, and the Rams’ cornerback Ron Bartell.

-

Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

-

Boy, oh boy, what a two-week stretch it’s been. Apologies to anyone that wanted an in-depth report on what happened to Melvin Ely’s hair or if that French Quarter Flyer survived to live another day (my money is on he’s just fine, it wasn’t his first mid-air mishap, after all), but you can thank the mess that is Mardi Gras and corresponding horde of out-of-town visitors for the absence.

-

No matter, we got a lot of catching up to do. After all, the Saints reached a 5-year deal with Jonathan Vilma (he of the many languages and dropped gun charges) and re-signed center Jon Stinchcomb. Both are favorites in the locker room and with the media, so at least we know next season will be entertaining. But aside from Vilma, Stinchcomb and Gregg “The Extra G is for Genius” Williams, what do the Saints have in store for the rest of the offseason? Apparently, the Saints are ‘courting’ a number of valued free agents, with WIlliams speaheading much of the search on the defensive side. But how much is a courtship worth if it doesn’t end in marriage? Current Saints defenders should be wary, though.

-

But ofcourse, the story of the past 10+ days has been the departure and immediate return of the Hornets’ Tyson Chandler. I was starting to worry that every Hornet that was in a “Best of” video would be traded. Luckily, that’s not the case (for now, at least). The Hornets are indeed riding high on a four-game win streak thanks in no small-way to Chandler’s efforts on the glass.

-

Speaking of win streaks, how ’bout them Tigers? LSU is in the top-25 for the first time since they made it to the Final Four with “Big Baby” Glen Davis in 2006. That seems like a lifetime ago but thanks to Trent Johnson, these Tigers are looking for another post-season run. They clinched at least a share of the SEC title after beating Florida on Mardi Gras day and are now posed to make a sleeper run on many an office bracket pool.

-

Oh, and pink dolphins! It’s good to be back.

by Clay A. Smith

-

-

Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

-

What was Chris Paul’s and the New Orleans Hornets’ reaction to the un-trading of Tyson Chandler? Well first they, on the shoulders of 37 points from David West,  beat Oklahoma City with a late CP3 lay-up -despite 47 Points from Kevin Durant . Then they “reacted” against Orlando by rolling past the Magic behind Paul’s 36 points.

-

But after all was said and done the thunder rescinded the Chandler trade and the Hornets and Chandler were back to square one. Chandler rejoined the team after he failed his physical in Oklahoma. Though there’s a lot of confusion and  mystery surrounding Chandler’s return to the Hornets one reason the  trade was voided probably was Chandler’s turf toe problems that have been ongoing since the 2006-07 season.

-

Chandler was welcomed back by his coach and teammates-most of which were vocal in their dissatisfaction behind the trade. But his return might be on hold because of soreness in his left ankle. After the Thunder called off the Chandler trade the Hornets stood pat as the trade deadline passed most likely because they realized that the one that didn’t get away might have been the  best pickup for New Orleans.

-

In other news the start of Tulane’s 2009  baseball season has finally arrived. The Green Wave will open their season at home tonight against the Le Moyne Dolphins (Syracuse, New York).  This season the experienced Green Wave will be leaning on the leadership of its ten seniors and seven juniors but they will also be counting on the team’s new pitcher Conrad Flynn. Flynn joins the team from Garyson County College (Texas) where he was All-Conference and brought home the Outstanding pitcher award en route to winning the 2008 Junior College World Series. Flynn is being billed as the teams new ace and a vital part of the Green Wave’s 09′ push for a championship.

-

Photo by Jonathan Bachman

-

Well National College Football Signing day is upon us and there were plenty of kids signing their names to commitment letters at the New Orleans Saints practice facility. This is the third year that the Saints have hosted this signing day event and this year it included some speeches from Saints’ players Jon Stinchcomb and Mike McKenzie.

-

Stinchcomb gave the players practical advice along the lines of “work hard, be coachable and get an education” while McKenzie related a story about how he entered college at Memphis with “a swagger” and ended up being a red-shirt freshman because he was too stubborn to change positions his first year.

-

All in all, though, it was a day for all the kids and their parents to relish in the glory of a free college education. After the opening comments by Stinchcomb, McKenzie and Saints’ owner Tom Benson, players lined up and took turns stating their names and what schools they will be attending in the fall. It went as well as you’d expect a row of 25 high school seniors saying their names would go — that is, quickly and awkwardly. Though we’re lucky no one interrupted the ceremonies to do a speech.

-

Hit the jump for a complete list of players, their high school and where they will go to college (in no particular order).

-

Read the rest of this entry »

by Clay A. Smith

-

-

Photo by Jonathan Bachman

-

Were the Warriors really too much for the Hornets to handle? Did the Spurs really outshoot the Hornets as New Orleans wasted Chris Paul’s heroics? What’s going on at the Hive? Have we entered some Bizzaro land where a team like Golden State can beat the Hornets at home? What about the San Antonio game? Its like the Hornets forgot to pack their defense. Okay, sure, that could be considered a quality loss. But Paul scored 38 points and the Spurs still prevailed. On the other hand the Warriors upset the Hornets at home — a fluke, a baffling aberration right? Maybe not.

-

The Hornets have lost five games this season to sub .500 teams — three of which were in New Orleans. At 28-16 that’s almost a third of their losses- a sobering statistic for disillusioned fans who think the Hornets are a viable championship contender. New Orleans finds themselves midway through the season and still searching for some semblance of consistency. But it won’t be easy. The 29-17 Blazers are just warming up and New Orleans is looking to cure their ills with some timely home cooking. However with the exception of Portland the Hornets should have no trouble dishing out the bitter taste of defeat during a five game stretch against Chicago, Toronto, Minnesota, and Memphis.

-

In other news, Tulane baseball hit the field for their first official practice of the season Sunday. The team was picked fourth in the Conference U.S.A. preview and with the addition of an offensive spark in new lefty freshman Adam Zabel, the team hopes to bring their school a  championship.

 by Clay A. Smith

-

-

The Utes turn the Tide on Bama, stealing the show  as Johnson helps Utes get the last laugh. Now it appears that the 13-0 performance was no fluke. But unfortunately Non- B.C.S. teams will still face an uphill battle.

- After his near-record breaking season, Brees gets zero votes for M.V.P. Most likely because the Saints still failed to finish in the post-season. Even though the rookie class gave Saints high hopes, New Orleans must proceed with caution because defensive help will likely be available for the Saints this offseason, but it won’t come cheaply.

-

The NBA suspended Tyson Chandler for hitting Portland’s Joel Przybillia. Przybillia was fined but the suspension kept Chandler out of the game against the Nuggets. The Nuggets Beat the Hornets even though the Hornets charged, but couldn’t hold on.