Updates on Babalola AND spring practice!

You can read all about both subjects here and here.

WOODY DANTZLER -- SAFETY? Find out more about the Dallas Cowboys' plans for the former Clemson quarterback here.

An interview with Terry Don Phillips

The Greenville News sits down with Clemson's athletic director. Read it all here.

Basketballer Babalola bounces to football team

Well, here's the big story of the day. Olu Babalola, a senior forward on the Clemson basketball team this past season, is trying out for the Clemson football team. Read all about it here, here and here.

NO LEADERS YET: At long last, here's a media update on what's happening on the field during spring football practice. There's also news about former defensive coordinator John Lovett, who has landed a job at Louisiana Tech.

THEIR HOME IS IN THE HALL OF FAME: A couple of Clemson football players, including William and Michael Dean Perry, will be inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.

Recruiting update: Clemson takes an early lead

From the unstoppable Phil Kornblut. Sounds like good news so far.

ATTENDANCE QUESTIONS: A writer at Tigernet attempts to debunk the perception that the crowds at Clemson football games were bigger in the 1980s than they are now.

I'm not too convinced by this. First of all, we have to consider how attendance is being determined. Is Clemson counting tickets sold to games as opposed to the actual number of tickets torn at the gates? Because I seem to recall that season-ticket sales have remained strong through the years. However, having attended games at Clemson since 1976, I tend to agree with those who say that attendance is down compared with the 1980s. Yes, roughly the same number of people have purchased tickets, but to my eye it seems that a slightly smaller percentage seem to be going through the turnstiles.

And then there's this bit:

Tommy West, widely regarded as one of the more popular coaches in Clemson football�s recent history, saw an average of only 69,120 fans per game in Death Valley.

Forget the dubious point about Tommy West's popularity (he certainly wasn't very popular with many fans I know), and whatever criteria the author is using to determine Clemson's "recent football history." Twenty years? Thirty?

The 1998 season under West, when Clemson went 3-8, is an example of what I was talking about earlier. I went to several home games that season, and even on days with perfect weather, it certainly looked like there were around 50,000-55,000 people in the stands. Heck, I remember going to a game that season and some old alum JUST HANDED ME two tickets on the 50-yard line in the North stands right before I went in. He couldn't use them, and wanted somebody to have them.

So I entered the stadium with three unused tickets in my pocket. (I'd been using the two season tickets my dad had, and then this guy gave me two more, and I used one of his.) Did that represent four people at that game for attendance purposes, even though only one ticket was torn? Or just one?

I don't know. Can anybody clarify?

Clemson releases student-athletes' grades

And you can read all about it here and here.

MORE ON BOWDEN'S SPEECH: The Augusta Chronicle was there to cover it.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: It's been a while, but here goes:

1. What is your favorite movie of all time?
Wow. That's a toughie. I guess I'll just have to take the safe route and vote for The Godfather. (Close second: Goodfellas.)
2. How often do you watch this movie?
Every time I can.
3. What's your favorite line out of the whole movie?
Gosh. So many to choose from. How about this: "Leave the gun. Take the canolis."
4. Who's your favorite character from this movie?
Michael Corleone.
5. What scene do you love the most?
The bit near the end where scenes of Michael in a Catholic church going through the ceremony to become godfather to Connie's son are juxtaposed with the scenes of opposing Mobsters being rubbed out. It's brilliant.

Bowden and the fans: Seven years in and still married

Times and Democrat writer Thomas Grant, Jr., has a column on the reception that Clemson coach Tommy Bowden received from Tiger fans in Orangeburg the other day. One fan gave Bowden a confidence-level rating of 7 out of 10.

That sounds about right to me.

NEW UNIS: Fanblogs has a post about the new uniforms Clemson will be sporting this season.

UPDATE: Phillips in running for Colorado job?

Fanblogs is reporting that Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips could be a candidate for athletic director at Colorado.

Stay tuned, as they say.

CHANGES GONNA COME: Clemson is shaking up the hierarchy of its athletic department. Read all about it here.

BOWDEN ON THE ROAD: Clemson coach Tommy Bowden spoke to a crowd of Tiger fans in Orangeburg on Tuesday night.

The (tight) ends justify the means

The Greenville News has a story on Clemson tight end Bobby Williamson, who is adjusting to many changes in his life. Not only does he have new coaches yelling at him during spring practice and all that, but he's also getting married in Las Vegas this week. Congrats, Bobby.

Take it from me; you won't regret that Vegas thing.

Also, here's a story on Clemson's prospects in 2005 at the tight end position.

ADAMS RE-SIGNS: Former Clemson linebacker Keith Adams has been re-signed by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Ticket-price increases: The media catch up

You can read all about it here and here.

TOUGH SCHEDULE: Tigernet looks ahead at what promises to be an exciting and challenging schedule in 2005.

UNDERCLASSMEN STEP UP: Here's a spring practice story I missed the other day.

Gilliam gets his shot to replace Miller

The State has a story about Sergio Gilliam, a junior defensive back who has been cited as a possible replacement for all-world DB Justin Miller, who left school early to join the NFL.

GOOD FEELINGS: It's hard to tell how much of a story like this is on the square, but here's a report from the third day of spring practice which paints a very rosy picture.

TICKET PRICES RISING: Here's the story, which includes lots of helpful charts.

Updatin' on a Sunday afternoon

What a busy weekend. And what a tremendously awesome weekend.

As you readers know, I had the convergence of old friends visiting D.C. for the ACC Tournament and the death of the father of an old friend of mine.

Well, despite the subtext of loss and grieving, it all worked out wonderfully. Here's the itenerary:

THURSDAY: Left work. Drove to Rosslyn (a section of Arlington), found a free place to park. (If you live in this area, you know what a coup that is.) Hopped the Metro there, took it to downtown D.C., walked over to Fado and hung out a while as I waited for my friends to arrive. Fado was loud and crowded, so after the friends showed up we went next door to RFD's (crap name, great hangout with a huge beer selection). After many beers and memories, arrived home at about 1:30 a.m.

FRIDAY: Awoke at 6:30 a.m. Hauled ass to Dulles. Caught 8:55 flight to Charlotte. After delays and such, finally drove off in my rental car in Charlotte at about 11:30 a.m. After lunch at my favorite place in the Queen City, it was off to dad's house to get ready for the 2 p.m. funeral. Service was very nice -- upbeat, not sad, which is how Porter would have wanted it. Saw more old friends, including a few I haven't seen in many, many years. After dinner out with the parents, went out with my friend who had just lost his father. Good times, good talk, then more fun over at another old friend's home.

SATURDAY: Up at 7 a.m. to catch at 10 a.m. flight. Things went much smoother. Arrived home, chilled out for awhile, then the wife and I hopped the Metro to downtown D.C. to console my heartbroken Tar Heel friends. (Hee hee!) More drinks, more laughs, and a cab ride home at 2 a.m.

And here I am. I've got the day off from work, and now I'm going to catch up on some Clemson blogging.

SPRING PRACTICE UPDATE: Go here, here, here and here. And don't forget: The spring football game is April 16.

Tigers tip off ACC Tournament, Tigerpundit hits the road

Here's a rare basketball-related post for you. Good luck today against the Terps, Tigers. I hope you win and then beat the Tar Heels Friday. I was looking forward to taking part in some ACC-related activities on Friday, but a tragedy has intervened to a minor extent.

Allow me to explain.

A friend of mine and his wife are coming up from Asheville for the tournament, and they said I could have a ticket to Friday's noon session -- the winner of today's CU/Maryland game vs. UNC.

However, the father of one of my best friends from Charlotte, who in many ways was like a second dad to me when I was younger, died the other day. As you can see from his obit, he had quite a full life, and was beloved by many. I'm catching an early flight down there Friday morning for the funeral, which is Friday afternoon.

However, I'll be flying back on Saturday morning and I've got Sunday off from work, so I'm hoping to work in some good socializing with my old Ashevegas friends.

Posting should be light to non-existent over the next few days.

In the meantime, on the eve of spring practice, here's an early preview of the 2005 football season.

More on spring practice from the media

The State and the Greenville News both have some reportage on the start of Clemson's spring football practice, which gets under way on Friday.

The State focuses on the "new lingo" that will be floating around the practice field, lingo that's related to new assistant coaches with new plans.

The Greenville News takes a similar tack.

Listen to a spring practice preview

Clemson coach Tommy Bowden held a press conference to discuss spring football practice, which begins March 16. Listen all about it right here.

Speaking of Bowden, here's a story about how he's adjusting to the recent additions to his coaching staff.

ANOTHER WESTZONE PHOTO UPDATE: See it here.

Getting to know a new assistant coach

The State profiles Rob Spence, Clemson's new offensive coordinator. He's a hard-charging perfectionist at work and a man of deep faith away from the sidelines. Also, here's a sidebar about the man who is Spence's football muse.

And now for something completely the same ...

It's the Friday Five! Here goes:

No thinking allowed! Write down the first answers that pop into your head:
1) thing that's on your mind right now
Answering these silly little questions (at least they aren't all deep like last week's)
2) songs you like
Gawd. Well, the wife is playing some Indigo Girls right now, so, yeah, I like that.
3) things that make you angry
Bad drivers; bad parents; Che Guevara T-shirts (here's why); pretentious people; pretentious people in Che Guevara T-shirts.
4) things that make you happy
My wife; family; good friends; good food & drink.
5) people who have made a big impact on your life
My mother; my father; my wife.

Headlines added to Tigerpundit

After many hours of painstaking research and trial-and-error blog publishing, I've finally managed to add Clemson-related sports headlines to the Tigerpundit!

Yes, even though I don't blog about basketball, baseball, soccer or the like, you, my four or so readers, will now be able to know INSTANTLY what's going on in Tiger sports JUST BY LOOKING OVER TO THE UPPPER PART OF THIS PAGE'S LEFT-HAND COLUMN!

That's awesome. Awesome ...

Football program in decent shape academically

But three other teams at Clemson -- men's basketball, baseball and men's tennis -- are not in good shape, according to a recent study by the NCAA.

CATCHING UP WITH CURRIE: Here's Airese Currie's latest installment of his NFL Combine diary. He's not satisfied with his 4.49 time in the 40-yard dash.

RECRUITING UPDATE: From the ubiquitous, indefatigable Phil Kornblut.

WESTZONE CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: More photos here.