More on recruiting; do we have a Top 20 class coming in?
It's possible, according to The Greenville News.
How cool would that be?
Also, check out this story from The State on Clemson recruit Josh Miller.
And finally, here's an overview of how the last-minute courting of prospects has gone.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Sunday, January 30, 2005
An interesting story about recruiting
The State examines the case of Tony Nelson, a high school player who had committed to Clemson but will not be offered a scholarship. The firing of assistant coach John Lovett, who was courting Nelson, is involved. It's a heck of a read, though it certainly doesn't reflect well on coach Tommy Bowden.
Also, here's an updated list of our commitments. Remember, Signing Day is Wednesday.
The State examines the case of Tony Nelson, a high school player who had committed to Clemson but will not be offered a scholarship. The firing of assistant coach John Lovett, who was courting Nelson, is involved. It's a heck of a read, though it certainly doesn't reflect well on coach Tommy Bowden.
Also, here's an updated list of our commitments. Remember, Signing Day is Wednesday.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
More on assistants' pay; Draft prospects for Miller
The Greenville News reports that the pay for two of Clemson's new assistant football coaches exceeds the salary for university president James Barker!
Now that's a commitment to excellence!
'THE SAVIORS': Underclassmen who are coming out early for the NFL draft, such as Clemson's Justin Miller, could be the jewels in an otherwise lousy class.
WOODROW DANTZLER RE-SIGNS WITH COWBOYS: The former Clemson quarterback, who has found a niche in the NFL as a top kick returner, is back with Dallas.
The Greenville News reports that the pay for two of Clemson's new assistant football coaches exceeds the salary for university president James Barker!
Now that's a commitment to excellence!
'THE SAVIORS': Underclassmen who are coming out early for the NFL draft, such as Clemson's Justin Miller, could be the jewels in an otherwise lousy class.
WOODROW DANTZLER RE-SIGNS WITH COWBOYS: The former Clemson quarterback, who has found a niche in the NFL as a top kick returner, is back with Dallas.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Report: Assistants will make more money
The State reports that Clemson's assistant football coaches will get pay raises, and the new coaches will be making more money than the ones they replaced.
The State reports that Clemson's assistant football coaches will get pay raises, and the new coaches will be making more money than the ones they replaced.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Super Tigers in the Super Bowl
Philadelphia teammates Brian Dawkins and Keith Adams, who were both defensive standouts when they played at Clemson, will be in the Super Bowl together on Feb. 6 when the Eagles meet the New England Patriots. Congratulations, guys.
Philadelphia teammates Brian Dawkins and Keith Adams, who were both defensive standouts when they played at Clemson, will be in the Super Bowl together on Feb. 6 when the Eagles meet the New England Patriots. Congratulations, guys.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
A football-related post, finally
OK, now that the wedding is all out of the way, let's talk college football again.
There have been several Clemson football developments in the past few weeks that I have failed to document, and for that I apologize. I'll try to catch up, so here goes.
THE 2005 SCHEDULE: It's been released, and it looks awesome. (More here, here and here.) We open at home on Sept. 3 against Texas A&M. I anticipate an amazing atmosphere for that game. We also have Miami, Florida State and Boston College at home. I hope I can make that A&M game.
NEW ASSISTANTS: As most of you already know, Clemson has hired three new assistant coaches. They are Rob Spence, who will be the new offensive coordinator, Vic Koenning, who will be the defensive coordinator, and Marion Hobby, who will handle the defensive line. Welcome aboard, gentlemen. Now don't screw up. (More here.)
RECRUITING: Signing Day is Feb. 2, and Clemson is well on the way to a solid recruiting year. Just last week, we added a commitment from all-state running back James Davis of Atlanta. Here's a look at a list of our verbal commitments.
OK, that's it for now. I promise you, my dozen or so loyal readers, that I will be blogging as much Clemson-football-related material as I can during the off-season.
OK, now that the wedding is all out of the way, let's talk college football again.
There have been several Clemson football developments in the past few weeks that I have failed to document, and for that I apologize. I'll try to catch up, so here goes.
THE 2005 SCHEDULE: It's been released, and it looks awesome. (More here, here and here.) We open at home on Sept. 3 against Texas A&M. I anticipate an amazing atmosphere for that game. We also have Miami, Florida State and Boston College at home. I hope I can make that A&M game.
NEW ASSISTANTS: As most of you already know, Clemson has hired three new assistant coaches. They are Rob Spence, who will be the new offensive coordinator, Vic Koenning, who will be the defensive coordinator, and Marion Hobby, who will handle the defensive line. Welcome aboard, gentlemen. Now don't screw up. (More here.)
RECRUITING: Signing Day is Feb. 2, and Clemson is well on the way to a solid recruiting year. Just last week, we added a commitment from all-state running back James Davis of Atlanta. Here's a look at a list of our verbal commitments.
OK, that's it for now. I promise you, my dozen or so loyal readers, that I will be blogging as much Clemson-football-related material as I can during the off-season.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
A wedding story ...
Sorry it's been so long since my last post. We've been quite busy since returning from our New Year's wedding trip to Las Vegas. I promised you, my loyal dozen readers, a rundown on how it all came to pass. I shall attempt to do that now. You can also read the wife's take here.
THE DECISION: We decided to elope early in the fall. Our original plans had us getting married in late July of 2005 at the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo, N.C. It's a beautiful location, and we were hoping on a small affair -- perhaps 30-50 people, tops. We even put down a deposit on the location when we were visiting the area last July.
However, once family got involved in the wedding planning, it became apparent that our small, intimate ceremony was going to be neither small nor intimate. The guest list kept growing and growing and growing ...
So, come early fall, the fiancee suggested that we postpone until perhaps the spring of 2006. I agreed, but suggested something else:
LET'S ELOPE!
The idea immediately appealed to both of us, and we bought a book on the subject. (It must be noted that this was the only book on eloping in the massive wedding section of a large, chain-type bookstore.)
After thumbing through the book, we started getting excited about getting married again. So, we went online and booked a trip to Las Vegas for New Year's.
We told our families about our decision during the Thanksgiving holiday, and to our surprise and delight, they were totally OK with it. But they're cool like that.
Now that we've got the background out of the way, on with the particulars:
DEC. 30, 2004: We depart Dulles Airport at 11:15 a.m. on a flight bound for Los Angeles. Five and a half hours later, we land. It's my first view of the Pacific Ocean, and my first-ever visit to California. After a brief wait at LAX (and a couple of beers), we're off to Las Vegas.
One cool moment: As our flight departed L.A., we flew out over the Pacific Ocean, then flipped a U-turn and headed toward Vegas.
We land in Vegas about 45 minutes later. After a couple more beers, we catch a shuttle bus to our hotel, the amazing Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino.
Man, that place is nice. The STANDARD room is a 650-square-foot suite. It was possibly the best accommodations we've ever had, anywhere.
OK, so we've checked in. That means it's time to hit the casino! We played until the wee hours, then hit the sack. We had a big day ahead.
DEC. 31, 2004: We awoke earlier than usual (three hours' time difference, you know) and caught a cab down to the Clark County Marriage License Bureau in downtown Las Vegas. Because New Year's Eve is one of the busiest times of the year for Vegas weddings, there was already a bit of a line when we got there. After we got the license, though, the line was much longer. A nice lady took our picture as we posed underneath the sign for the marriage license bureau.
After that, we walked about a block and explored old downtown Vegas, now cleaned up, blocked off and dubbed the Fremont Street Experience.
It was a blast. We had lunch at the Golden Gate's famous San Francisco Shrimp Bar & Deli, and yes, I had the world-famous 99-cent shrimp cocktail (and a turkey sandwich). Total bill with beverage: $4.50. The fiancee had a hot dog the size of my forearm for, like, $1.75.
With a suitable protective base put down, it was time for more drinking and gambling.
We did the Old Vegas thing for a few hours, then caught a cab back to the hotel to prep for our big New Year's Eve dinner at Bouchon at the Venetian, which foodies say is one of the finest restaurants in the country. It was quite good, though it wasn't the best meal we had in Vegas.
I will say that I don't believe I'll be ordering pate again anytime soon. (We had it as an appetizer, and I told the wife-to-be that it kind of reminded me of Underwood Deviled Ham, only it was about 25 times more expensive.) The dinner bill, which included several glasses of VERY expensive wine, was nearly $400, but it was worth it.
We finished that in time to head back to the room, where Tipsy Boy here nearly fell asleep. The wife-to-be had to order room-service coffee to make sure I woke up in time to see the amazing fireworks display on The Strip. I did, and the pyrotechnics were indeed awesome.
Afterward, we caught our second wind and hit the casino for a while. Later, at about 2 in the morning, we wandered into the small, swanky V Bar, paid the $60 New Year's Eve cover charge, and had a few more cocktails.
We eventually went to bed at about 5 a.m.
JAN. 1, 2005: It's wedding day!
We had to sleep off a hangover, which we helped cure with an awesome room-service pizza, but we made it on time for our 5:30 p.m. limo ride to the Little White Wedding Chapel and our 6 p.m. ceremony. Yes, it's the place where Britney Spears got married. Basketball legend Michael Jordan also was wed there, as were several other drunken celebrities through the years.
So, we get there, and we're told that we have to take our wedding pictures before the ceremony. That was messed up. First of all, we were both a little nervous, and believe me, it showed in the pictures. Secondly, the "package" we ordered said we got 12 "poses" for our wedding photos. However, that meant that the photographer was only going to squeeze the shutter 12 times. In other words, there were no re-shoots if a picture turned out bad. So we ended up with some really crappy wedding pictures, including a couple where I've been caught in mid-blink. (We eventually lost the pictures during packing for the trip home. Disappointing, yes, but not a huge loss.)
The ceremony itself was actually quite lovely. (Elvis was not involved, by the way.) Short but sweet, and the minister's words ended up being perfect for us. We even wrapped everything up with a prayer. Very nice.
Afterward, we limoed it back to the hotel, snacked on some chips and salsa, changed into jeans and t-shirts, ate at the Venetian's food court, and -- hit the casino again! (Hey, you gotta have some kind of reception, right?)
JAN. 2: This was kind of a casual day. We went back to Fremont Street and gambled, then hit our hotel's casino and gambled some more. (Notice a pattern here?) Oh yeah, we ate and drank some, too.
JAN. 3: During the day, we had an awesome German meal at the Vegas branch of Munich's famous Hofbrau Haus. We both love German food, and it was nice to finally be able to enjoy it for the first time in a couple of years. (There are no good German places in the D.C. area, apparently.)
That night, we had tickets to see Zumanity at New York New York. It's the latest show from the Cirque du Soleil folks. However, we ran into some trouble, both outside and inside the theater.
First of all, the company we had made reservations with had us booked for a 10:30 p.m. show, but the confirmation e-mail they'd sent me said we were booked for the 7:30 show. The Zumanity folks were going to accommodate us at the 7:30 show, but we would have had worse seats than for the 10:30 show, so we decided to wait.
That gave us a chance to check out New York New York, and that was a good thing. We gambled a bit and hit a couple of bars, including an amazing cocktail lounge where the band plays BEHIND AND ABOVE THE BAR!
We both agreed that next time we go to Vegas, we're going to stay at New York New York. It's just ... cool. There's no other way to describe it.
We gambled some more, and had a lovely Italian dinner. And then, it was showtime.
That's when things got a little weird.
We did, indeed, have great seats for the show. However, they were spoiled by the arrival of Anna Nicole Smith and her entourage of fat security guards, purse-toting lackeys and other hangers-on, sycophants and losers. The whole motley crew plopped down RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, then proceeded to block our view by standing up and moving around a lot. To their enduring credit, the Zumanity staffers apologized profusely and brought us a couple of free beers.
But Anna Nicole... damn, what a trainwreck. She didn't clap for the performers, who were truly amazing, and she spent half the night yakking on the cellphone.
At the end of the night, the Zumanity performers did this kind of grand finale on a spinning portion of the stage. It was supposed to resemble a big orgy. (The show's theme is a celebration of human sexuality, and it features topless -- and bottomless -- performers. No one under 18 was allowed into the show.) Zumanity is big on audience participation, so they brought two people onto the stage to join the "orgy." One was a blond surfer dude from Florida named Tad (I think). He was fairly sedate -- he just peeled out of his shirt and kind of cuddled with one of the hottie female dancers.
The other person selected at random to appear onstage? Why, Anna Nicole Smith, that's who. And -- get this -- SHE WAS MIKED UP! That's right. Apparently, she walks around everywhere with a tiny wireless mike box attached to the small of her back. You know, just in case.
Anna took the stage and proceeded to lewdly dry-hump one of the hottie male dancers. I mean, she jumped on top of him, pinned his arms down, started humping him vigorously, arched her back, and showed the audience her O-face.
We were not amused, and the wife was downright disgusted. But what the heck; we had our Vegas "celebrity" sighting.
JAN. 4: Our next-to-last day. We toured a couple of the other casinos. We checked out Bellagio and its famous water fountains, and returned to New York New York. But the highlight of the day was dinner at Emeril Lagasse's Delmonico Steakhouse at the Venetian. This was by far the best meal we had during our trip, and it was one of the best meals I've had anywhere. I didn't know beef could be that good.
JAN. 5: Leaving Las Vegas. Our flight departed at 3:30 local time, and because of nightmarish delays in Dallas, we didn't arrive back in D.C. until 5 a.m. Very tired, but very happy.
Final tally of the trip: One marriage, a couple of great meals, and about $400 in gambling winnings for the wife. (I lost about $300).
Oh yes, and too many wonderful memories to mention.
Sorry it's been so long since my last post. We've been quite busy since returning from our New Year's wedding trip to Las Vegas. I promised you, my loyal dozen readers, a rundown on how it all came to pass. I shall attempt to do that now. You can also read the wife's take here.
THE DECISION: We decided to elope early in the fall. Our original plans had us getting married in late July of 2005 at the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo, N.C. It's a beautiful location, and we were hoping on a small affair -- perhaps 30-50 people, tops. We even put down a deposit on the location when we were visiting the area last July.
However, once family got involved in the wedding planning, it became apparent that our small, intimate ceremony was going to be neither small nor intimate. The guest list kept growing and growing and growing ...
So, come early fall, the fiancee suggested that we postpone until perhaps the spring of 2006. I agreed, but suggested something else:
LET'S ELOPE!
The idea immediately appealed to both of us, and we bought a book on the subject. (It must be noted that this was the only book on eloping in the massive wedding section of a large, chain-type bookstore.)
After thumbing through the book, we started getting excited about getting married again. So, we went online and booked a trip to Las Vegas for New Year's.
We told our families about our decision during the Thanksgiving holiday, and to our surprise and delight, they were totally OK with it. But they're cool like that.
Now that we've got the background out of the way, on with the particulars:
DEC. 30, 2004: We depart Dulles Airport at 11:15 a.m. on a flight bound for Los Angeles. Five and a half hours later, we land. It's my first view of the Pacific Ocean, and my first-ever visit to California. After a brief wait at LAX (and a couple of beers), we're off to Las Vegas.
One cool moment: As our flight departed L.A., we flew out over the Pacific Ocean, then flipped a U-turn and headed toward Vegas.
We land in Vegas about 45 minutes later. After a couple more beers, we catch a shuttle bus to our hotel, the amazing Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino.
Man, that place is nice. The STANDARD room is a 650-square-foot suite. It was possibly the best accommodations we've ever had, anywhere.
OK, so we've checked in. That means it's time to hit the casino! We played until the wee hours, then hit the sack. We had a big day ahead.
DEC. 31, 2004: We awoke earlier than usual (three hours' time difference, you know) and caught a cab down to the Clark County Marriage License Bureau in downtown Las Vegas. Because New Year's Eve is one of the busiest times of the year for Vegas weddings, there was already a bit of a line when we got there. After we got the license, though, the line was much longer. A nice lady took our picture as we posed underneath the sign for the marriage license bureau.
After that, we walked about a block and explored old downtown Vegas, now cleaned up, blocked off and dubbed the Fremont Street Experience.
It was a blast. We had lunch at the Golden Gate's famous San Francisco Shrimp Bar & Deli, and yes, I had the world-famous 99-cent shrimp cocktail (and a turkey sandwich). Total bill with beverage: $4.50. The fiancee had a hot dog the size of my forearm for, like, $1.75.
With a suitable protective base put down, it was time for more drinking and gambling.
We did the Old Vegas thing for a few hours, then caught a cab back to the hotel to prep for our big New Year's Eve dinner at Bouchon at the Venetian, which foodies say is one of the finest restaurants in the country. It was quite good, though it wasn't the best meal we had in Vegas.
I will say that I don't believe I'll be ordering pate again anytime soon. (We had it as an appetizer, and I told the wife-to-be that it kind of reminded me of Underwood Deviled Ham, only it was about 25 times more expensive.) The dinner bill, which included several glasses of VERY expensive wine, was nearly $400, but it was worth it.
We finished that in time to head back to the room, where Tipsy Boy here nearly fell asleep. The wife-to-be had to order room-service coffee to make sure I woke up in time to see the amazing fireworks display on The Strip. I did, and the pyrotechnics were indeed awesome.
Afterward, we caught our second wind and hit the casino for a while. Later, at about 2 in the morning, we wandered into the small, swanky V Bar, paid the $60 New Year's Eve cover charge, and had a few more cocktails.
We eventually went to bed at about 5 a.m.
JAN. 1, 2005: It's wedding day!
We had to sleep off a hangover, which we helped cure with an awesome room-service pizza, but we made it on time for our 5:30 p.m. limo ride to the Little White Wedding Chapel and our 6 p.m. ceremony. Yes, it's the place where Britney Spears got married. Basketball legend Michael Jordan also was wed there, as were several other drunken celebrities through the years.
So, we get there, and we're told that we have to take our wedding pictures before the ceremony. That was messed up. First of all, we were both a little nervous, and believe me, it showed in the pictures. Secondly, the "package" we ordered said we got 12 "poses" for our wedding photos. However, that meant that the photographer was only going to squeeze the shutter 12 times. In other words, there were no re-shoots if a picture turned out bad. So we ended up with some really crappy wedding pictures, including a couple where I've been caught in mid-blink. (We eventually lost the pictures during packing for the trip home. Disappointing, yes, but not a huge loss.)
The ceremony itself was actually quite lovely. (Elvis was not involved, by the way.) Short but sweet, and the minister's words ended up being perfect for us. We even wrapped everything up with a prayer. Very nice.
Afterward, we limoed it back to the hotel, snacked on some chips and salsa, changed into jeans and t-shirts, ate at the Venetian's food court, and -- hit the casino again! (Hey, you gotta have some kind of reception, right?)
JAN. 2: This was kind of a casual day. We went back to Fremont Street and gambled, then hit our hotel's casino and gambled some more. (Notice a pattern here?) Oh yeah, we ate and drank some, too.
JAN. 3: During the day, we had an awesome German meal at the Vegas branch of Munich's famous Hofbrau Haus. We both love German food, and it was nice to finally be able to enjoy it for the first time in a couple of years. (There are no good German places in the D.C. area, apparently.)
That night, we had tickets to see Zumanity at New York New York. It's the latest show from the Cirque du Soleil folks. However, we ran into some trouble, both outside and inside the theater.
First of all, the company we had made reservations with had us booked for a 10:30 p.m. show, but the confirmation e-mail they'd sent me said we were booked for the 7:30 show. The Zumanity folks were going to accommodate us at the 7:30 show, but we would have had worse seats than for the 10:30 show, so we decided to wait.
That gave us a chance to check out New York New York, and that was a good thing. We gambled a bit and hit a couple of bars, including an amazing cocktail lounge where the band plays BEHIND AND ABOVE THE BAR!
We both agreed that next time we go to Vegas, we're going to stay at New York New York. It's just ... cool. There's no other way to describe it.
We gambled some more, and had a lovely Italian dinner. And then, it was showtime.
That's when things got a little weird.
We did, indeed, have great seats for the show. However, they were spoiled by the arrival of Anna Nicole Smith and her entourage of fat security guards, purse-toting lackeys and other hangers-on, sycophants and losers. The whole motley crew plopped down RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, then proceeded to block our view by standing up and moving around a lot. To their enduring credit, the Zumanity staffers apologized profusely and brought us a couple of free beers.
But Anna Nicole... damn, what a trainwreck. She didn't clap for the performers, who were truly amazing, and she spent half the night yakking on the cellphone.
At the end of the night, the Zumanity performers did this kind of grand finale on a spinning portion of the stage. It was supposed to resemble a big orgy. (The show's theme is a celebration of human sexuality, and it features topless -- and bottomless -- performers. No one under 18 was allowed into the show.) Zumanity is big on audience participation, so they brought two people onto the stage to join the "orgy." One was a blond surfer dude from Florida named Tad (I think). He was fairly sedate -- he just peeled out of his shirt and kind of cuddled with one of the hottie female dancers.
The other person selected at random to appear onstage? Why, Anna Nicole Smith, that's who. And -- get this -- SHE WAS MIKED UP! That's right. Apparently, she walks around everywhere with a tiny wireless mike box attached to the small of her back. You know, just in case.
Anna took the stage and proceeded to lewdly dry-hump one of the hottie male dancers. I mean, she jumped on top of him, pinned his arms down, started humping him vigorously, arched her back, and showed the audience her O-face.
We were not amused, and the wife was downright disgusted. But what the heck; we had our Vegas "celebrity" sighting.
JAN. 4: Our next-to-last day. We toured a couple of the other casinos. We checked out Bellagio and its famous water fountains, and returned to New York New York. But the highlight of the day was dinner at Emeril Lagasse's Delmonico Steakhouse at the Venetian. This was by far the best meal we had during our trip, and it was one of the best meals I've had anywhere. I didn't know beef could be that good.
JAN. 5: Leaving Las Vegas. Our flight departed at 3:30 local time, and because of nightmarish delays in Dallas, we didn't arrive back in D.C. until 5 a.m. Very tired, but very happy.
Final tally of the trip: One marriage, a couple of great meals, and about $400 in gambling winnings for the wife. (I lost about $300).
Oh yes, and too many wonderful memories to mention.
Friday, January 07, 2005
I'm back after a long break
Sorry for the lack of posts over the past couple of weeks. I was traveling for the holidays, and then we went to Las Vegas .... and got married!
Yes, we were married on Jan. 1 at the Little White Wedding Chapel in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. We were ensconced in the beautiful Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino from Dec. 30 until Jan. 5. It was perhaps the best vacation we've ever been on.
And Gary, sorry I didn't contact you while we were there. We just had too many days where we were asleep until 3 in the afternoon. I'll post a full run-down of the wedding trip to Vegas in the future. For now, I must rest and nurse this low-grade infection that I apparently acquired on a nightmarish flight home. (Departed Las Vegas at 3 p.m.; after a loooong delay in Dallas, arrived in Washington at 4 a.m.)
Anyway, we're both very happy. That's all for now.
Sorry for the lack of posts over the past couple of weeks. I was traveling for the holidays, and then we went to Las Vegas .... and got married!
Yes, we were married on Jan. 1 at the Little White Wedding Chapel in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. We were ensconced in the beautiful Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino from Dec. 30 until Jan. 5. It was perhaps the best vacation we've ever been on.
And Gary, sorry I didn't contact you while we were there. We just had too many days where we were asleep until 3 in the afternoon. I'll post a full run-down of the wedding trip to Vegas in the future. For now, I must rest and nurse this low-grade infection that I apparently acquired on a nightmarish flight home. (Departed Las Vegas at 3 p.m.; after a loooong delay in Dallas, arrived in Washington at 4 a.m.)
Anyway, we're both very happy. That's all for now.
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