Wasted Away Again in Tommy Tuberville...

Looks like these traditional Ole Miss fans are suffering from the same ex-girlfriend syndrome LSU fans suffer from. Enjoy...

The end of Fat Phil's reign...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!







More to come...

Hottie of the week

In honor of the Rays' first ever World Series appearance, this week's award goes to our very own super-model sports babe, Jenn Sterger. Enjoy...

Doormat Rays go up in the world

They were what Americans call a doormat team – a bunch of losers who played in a dump of a stadium, condemned to eternal futility by the presence alongside them in the American League East of those baseball aristocrats the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. But they aren't laughing any longer in Boston and the Bronx. The Tampa Bay Rays are going to the World Series.

Tomorrow night the Rays open their assault on the supreme prize against the Philadelphia Phillies, newly crowned kings of the National League. And did they ever earn the right. With the nervelessness that can alight on carefree talented youth, the untested Rays prevailed over the Red Sox, the reigning world champions, after one of the most thrilling pennant series of modern times.

Just last Thursday in Boston the Rays staged a collapse for the ages, managing to lose 8-7 after leading the Sox 7-0 with just seven outs needed for a Game Five victory that would have wrapped up a 4-1 series win.

Boston then won the sixth game to tie matters at 3-3, and few were betting against baseball's Houdinis completing yet another improbable comeback on Sunday. But in the end, it was the battle-hardened old hands of the Red Sox who buckled in the decisive seventh game.

First Matt Garza, the Rays starter and all of 24 years old, gave up only one run and a couple of hits in seven ice-cool innings. Then manager Joe Maddon summoned from the bullpen a lanky 23-year-old leftie named David Price. Price may be considered one of the hottest pitching prospects in all baseball. But this was just his eighth major league appearance – with no margin for error after the Red Sox had loaded the bases. No need for alarm however. Price scythed down the last four Boston hitters and the Rays had won an utterly deserved 3-1 victory.

There were of course other heroes, most notably Rocco Baldelli, a vastly gifted outfielder but whose career is threatened by a debilitating disease called mitochondrial disorder, which causes extreme fatigue and muscular weakness. Baldelli missed the first four months of the season, and when he did return on 10 August he was only used sparingly by Maddon. So uncertain is his health that the Rays have refused to extend his contract beyond the end of 2008.

But on Sunday, Baldelli delivered when it mattered most, with a fifth-inning single that drove in a run putting the Rays up by 2-1, a lead they would never lose on a night the 40,473 present at Tropicana Field will not quickly forget.

Thus this most astounding of season-on-season turnarounds continues, under the benign supervision of Stuart Sternberg, baseball addict, one-time Wall Street whizz-kid and former Goldman Sachs partner, who bought effective control of the Rays – then known as the Devil Rays – just four years ago.

Tampa Bay has only been home to a major league team since 1995, when it was awarded one of two expansion franchises that year (the other went to the Arizona Diamondbacks who won a World Series in 2001). The team started playing in 1998, and ran up 10 straight losing seasons, culminating in 2007 when it compiled the worst record in the major leagues, losing 96 games and winning just 66. Only once in that epically atrocious decade did they manage to finish out of last place in the AL East.

But astute observers were aware that, despite the miserable results, something remarkable was stirring in this obscure and much mocked corner of the baseball universe. Quietly Lou Piniella, who managed the Rays until 2005, and then Maddon had assembled an array of young talent that no other team could match.

Baseball's player draft helped of course. Under the system, aimed to foster competitiveness in a league where there is no promotion and relegation, the worst teams get the first choice of young players coming up to the majors. Thanks to their dismal on-field performance, the Rays were able to pick high – and well – almost every year.

The lightning-fast outfielder Carl Crawford was one of the first to arrive. By 2004 Baldelli had joined him, as did the pitcher Scott Kazmir. The team that saw off the Red Sox on Sunday evening included four first-round draft picks in all, among them Garza. Another top prospect and potential superstar is Melvin "BJ" Upton, acquired by the Rays as the second pick in the 2002 draft, who has hit seven homers in two post-season series, all at the tender age of 24.

And then there's slugging third baseman Evan Longoria, former college star from Long Beach, California, selected by the Rays as the third pick overall in the 2006 draft and named to the AL All-Star team last July, in his very first year in the major leagues. A fortnight ago Longoria reached the ripe old age of 23, having hit 27 homers in his rookie season. If Tampa Bay fans have a favourite in this galaxy of youthful talent it is Longoria, seen by many as another Mickey Mantle or Mark McGwire.

By 2007 the Rays were scoring runs by the truckload. All that was missing was a decent bullpen – the mostly unsung but all-important relief pitchers whose job it is to hang on to leads when their team is ahead, and to give its hitters a chance to close the gap when behind. With the arrival of the likes of Dan Wheeler and Troy Percival, and the emergence of Price, that hole was plugged.

Even so, few expected the miracle of 2008. The Rays made a net 31-game improvement in a single year, turning the dismal 66-96 season into a steamrollering 97-65. It was the first time the franchise had ever won more than 70 games in a regular season. The question now is: where will it all end? The Rays' starting line-up this year was the youngest in the major leagues in a quarter of a century. If they can hang on to their precocious talent, there is no reason why they should not build a dynasty to match those of the Red Sox and Yankees before them.

Even in vanquished Boston there are few hard feelings. As Bob Ryan, a veteran sports columnist for the Boston Globe wrote yesterday, "Experience is nice, but nothing beats talent. The best team in the American League East is going to the World Series." And, he might have added, is clear favourite to win it.

Home truths: 'Trop' that flopped

*grey days The Rays may be about the best team in baseball, but they play in its least loved stadium. Tropicana Field has an exotic name, derived from a well-known brand of orange juice. In reality, it's a dreary concrete pile that's not even in Tampa Bay but adjoining St Petersburg.

One of only three closed-roof, artificial turf stadiums in major league baseball (the others are in Toronto and Minneapolis), its main feature is a sloping domed roof designed to lower cooling costs in the steamy south Florida summer and protect it from hurricanes.

The 41,000-seat "Trop" was put up in 1990 on an "If You Build It, They Will Come" basis. But for a while nobody came, and the arena was unused until 1998, when the expansion Rays played their first MLB game there against the Detroit Tigers on 31 March.

Despite several facelifts in recent years, the Trop had anything but a hedonistic tropical feel. The interior is drab and grey. Until this year's success, the place was three-quarters empty for most games.

Rays v Phillies: World Series Dates

Game 1 at Tampa Bay, tomorrow

Gm 2 at Tampa Bay, Thurs

Gm 3 at Philadelphia, Sat

Gm 4 at Philadelphia, Sun 26 Oct

Gm 5* at Philadelphia, Mon 27 Oct

Gm 6* at Tampa Bay, Wed 29 Oct

Gm 7* at Tampa Bay, Thu 30 Oct

*if needed

Mash Here

Week Eight Top 25 Poll

My how the Tide has turned!




1) Texas
2) Alabama
3) Penn state
4) Florida
5) Georgia
6) Texas Tech
7) Oklahoma State
8) Utah
9) LSU
10) Boise State
11) Oklahoma
12) U$C
13) South Florida
14) Ohio State
15) Pittsburgh
16) TCU
17) Georgia Tech
18) Tulsa
19) Minnesota
20) Florida State
21) Boston College
22) Kansas
23) Missouri
24) BYU
25) Vanderbilt

And so it Begins: Puke Orange Week

Best of luck to all of my fellow traveling Tide brethren who'll be forced to endure all of this Saturday:

They've done it!

The D'Rays are going to the World Series!!

Floridan Blogger's Hottie of the week!

Officially as of now through the end, I will begin posting a hottie of the week blog containing a pic and brief description of each of the featured hotties on this site.

And to kick off this new weekly gig, the first award goes to none other than... the 'Bama Twins aka Houndstooth Twins aka Bear's Angels aka insert your nickname here!!




Some may say "Yeah, they're okay", or "I don't find them remotely attractive at all". Heck, I even said the same thing until I was fortunate enough to see them, live and in person, at last year's LSU game in T-Town. Trust me when I say when you see these beauties in person, your outlook on all women will change for the better.

Week Seven Top 25 Ranking

1) Alabama
2) Texas
3) Penn State
4) Florida
5) Georgia
6) Texas Tech
7) Oklahoma State
8) BYU
9) Utah
10) Boise State
11) LSU
12) Oklahoma
13) Missouri
14) U$C
15) Wake Forest
16) Kansas
17) Vanderbilt
18) Virginia Tech
19) Michigan State
20) South Florida
21) North Carolina
22) Ohio State
23) Pittsburgh
24) Ball State
25) South Carolina

*Dropped*
The Polytechnic Institute (of Opelika, AL)

Paying Homage to Vandy...

...because they know the difference between Alabama and Tech aka 'UA's sisterly institute'! GO 'DORES!

Floridan Blogger's Week Six Top 25 Rankings

1) Alabama - Yes, I realize this sounds biased coming from an Alabama fan (obviously), but their seemingly preposterous ranking isn't based upon homer-ism, but simply because of the AP's top five, only two of those teams have played a ranked opponent (LSU and Missouri) while Alabama has defeated two top ten opponents; and Alabama is the only team whose previous six opponents all combine for an overall winning record at 17-14.

2) Missouri - Missouri's opponents all combine for a 13-13 record and they already have a win on their schedule against the 20th ranked (then) Illinois.

3) Oklahoma - Yes, I realize they did in fact defeat a barely legal ranked TCU, but seriously who in their right mind would even hesitate to consider TCU as a top 25-caliber team? But of course, all five of Oklahoma's wins have been by a landslide, despite all of their opponents only combining for a 12-15 record overall.

4) Texas - Another team who has had no trouble handling their inferior opponents, who have all combined for an 11-16 record overall.

5) LSU - Despite having only one win over a ranked opponent, who also was a top ten team at the time of their victory, all four of their opponents have combined for an 8-13 record, with half of those wins belonging to the only ranked opponent they defeated.

6) Penn State - Thus far, they've proven themselves to be the best team in the Big-10. I must also note that they obliterated the measly little team who stunned the media's love interest U$C, two weeks ago.

7) Vanderbilt - Okay, okay, maybe I'm pushing the envelope here, but they have beaten two ranked opponents in South Carolina, and Alabama-Tech, AND they are undefeated. In my opinion, they deserve more than what they currently have.

8) Texas Tech - Well... They are currently undefeated.

9) BYU - One could argue they have yet to play a top 25-caliber opponent, however, have a gander at what they're doing to the opponents they've played thus far. In my opinion, they could easily hang with any top 25 team this season.

10) Georgia - Their only loss was handed to them by a top 10 foe, and it was only by a ten point margin.

11) Florida - They lost to a fairly decent (and very much improved) Ole Miss team by a point, but they have also taken care of business with the rest of their opponents thus far.

12) Utah - Probably the most underrated team in the poll. They've done a great job thus far, and again, they were another team to defeat the measly little team who defeated the media's love interest, U$C.

13) Boise State - Undefeated with a big win over 17th ranked (at the time of their win) Oregon.

14) The Polytechnic Institute (of Opelika) - I realize their offense is overly stagnant, but their only two losses were only by 5 points or less, and they came against ranked opponents.

15) U$C - They crushed Oregon. They crushed Ohio State. They crushed Virginia. Those three victories against those three overrated teams, shouldn't earn them a spot in the top 10, especially when they were stunned by an Oregon State team, with only one win under their belt going into the game against them last week.

16) Oklahoma State - I take it Les Miles left Mike Gundy a goldmine, the way Saban did Miles when he accepted the job at LSU.

17) South Florida - A loss to Pitt really sucks.

18) Kansas - A loss to a team that lost to Pitt really sucks.

19) Virgina Tech - After losing to an ECU team, who then seemed unstoppable, they have rebounded with big wins over Wake Forrest, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Nebraska.

20) Wake Forrest - Let's face it, they're obviously better than Ohio State.

21) Ohio State - They would be ranked 25th (which would still be too high), if the other teams had a way of proving they were any better thus far.

22) Michigan State - They beat Notre Dame!

23) North Carolina - Butch Davis has the arrow pointing upward. If it weren't for a 3-point loss to Virginia Tech, they would be higher.

24) Pittsburgh - They lost to Bowling Green, but defeated South Florida; therefore, they are ranked appropriately.

25) Ball State - Only because they're undefeated.

Myth: Saban Failed at Miami

Courtesy of BamainBham from www.tidefans.com


This has been propagated by some in the media and often picked up by the casual observer. But consider the facts:

Saban took a 4-12 team and went 9-7, one of the biggest turnarounds in NFL history, splitting with NE, just missing the playoffs and getting serious consideration for NFL Coach of the year.

Miami then became a trendy pick for unseating NE in the AFC East, a sure bet for the playoffs, with a few deluded pickers, SI I think, choosing them to make the Super Bowl. Saban then demoted Muschamp from DC, who then went to AU. Miami went from 18th to 4th in total defense. But the problem was at QB. Saban wanted Brees, but the medical staff thought that Culpeppers' leg problem was less risk for a QB than Brees' shoulder problem. The result was that Joey Harrington became Miami's best option at QB. The NFL is a QB-centric league. It is almost impossible to win without a good one - Harrington is awful. Thus, Miami went 6-10, even with a great D. They shut out NE, with Brady hilariously yelling, "they're stealing our signals". Btw, that was NE's last regular season loss for over a year, till last week. Miami went 1-15 the year after Saban.

Legitimate NFL insiders know and say that Saban did a very good job at Miami. It's just some in the media who want to push their anti-Saban agenda, who say otherwise. Remember the year before and after he was there the record was 5-27, the 2 years he was there, 15-17. Saban did a very good job at Miami.

Btw, Nick Saban is far and away the best coach in college football and it's not even close. Pete Carroll and even others have accomplished more at this point, but as I have said on more than one occasion here, Carroll cannot hold Saban's jock as a coach. George Perles, his HC at MSU, said, 'with Nick you get everything'. There is nothing related to coaching at which he does not excel: organization, administration, PR (the kind he wants), player evaluation (Gil Brandt said he was the best in all of football), recruiting, player development, motivation, game stategy, tactics, clock management, etc. He is highly intelligent and gifted - and maniacally driven. It can't get any better than Nick Saban. He makes mistakes like everyone, but anyone who complains is a fool.

Floridan Blogger's Top 25 Coming Soon...

Coming Monday, I'm going to release MY official top 25 poll, with distinct reasoning behind each team's ranking.. Though it won't matter in the end, in fact it'll never matter at all, but for the sheer pleasure of doing so, I'm going to do it!

Peace. Love. Roll Tide!