(UPDATED at 6:41 p.m.)

Tommy Bowden: Motivational speaker

Clemson coach Tommy Bowden shared tales of his up-and-down 2003 football season at an event sponsored by the Anderson Independent-Mail. Check it out.

ELIOTT GETS POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP: Receiver Tony Elliott has been awarded a Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship by the ACC. Congratulations, Tony.

WE'RE NO. 2? Here's something I gleaned from the Tigernet message board. It's a ranking of gameday atmospheres in the ACC. Clemson is rated the second best in the league behind Florida State.

Second best? I've never been to Tallahassee for a football game, but I can't imagine it's better than Tigertown. I guess they gave the Seminoles the nod because they've had tremendous success over the past couple of decades, while Clemson has been up and down (mostly up, thankfully).

THE FRIDAY FIVE: OK, here goes:

1. Are you superstitious?
Only a little bit.

2. What extremes have you heard of someone going to in the name of superstition?
I've heard of people planning their lives around superstitions, but I don't know anybody who does this.

3. Believer or not, what's your favorite superstition?
The black cat one.

4. Do you believe in luck? If yes, do you have a lucky number/article of clothing/ritual?
I'm only a slight believer in luck (more so when I was younger). For some reason, five has always been my number, lucky or not.

And on a football-related matter, when my father and I used to go to Clemson football games when I was a teen, I had a ritual of sorts. I'd go into the stadium early and walk all around it in the same way. Then, I'd try to be near the locker room when the opposing team got off the bus. It seemed to work; the Tigers sure were great in the 1980s.

5. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not?
I don't believe in astrology, because it's just so illogical. However, I do think it's a fun diversion, and I check my horoscope in the newspaper just for kicks. (I'm an Aries, by the way.)