Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hare Stadium

The Most Exciting Game Ever

2010-11-30T15:29:00.000-05:00

I was driving my son to school this morning in the pouring rain, listening to Bill King on the radio. Bill is a radio host for a show that deals exclusively with college athletics, primarily football. As we were creeping down Business-85 due to the Noahide deluge, my son posed a question. “Dad, what was the most exciting football game you have ever seen…whether in person or on T.V.?”

Wow. That question befuddled me. I pride myself in not being stumped by my 14 year old son, but this time, he had me. I have witnessed a number of exciting football games. The most exciting one?

I witnessed Auburn score 19 unanswered points to defeat #2 Florida 27-17 in 2006.

I was in the swamp in 2007 and saw Florida Auburn’d again 20-17 with not one, but two last second field goals.

In 1989 I was at Jordan-Hare to witness the first ever Iron Bowl played there. Auburn defeated the #2 Crimson Tide 30-20.

I was in Birmingham in 1982 to witness Bo Jackson dive over the goal-line pile with two minutes left as Auburn snapped a 9 game losing streak to the Tide, winning 23-22.

There are numerous others that I could recount.

Then there was Friday. Black Friday, the crimson crowd will forever call it. Down by 24, the Tigers came back and defeated the Crimson Tide IN Tuscaloosa AT Bryant Denny 28-27.

I was NOT at the game, but watched every gut wrenching yet glorious moment of it sitting in my 50 yard line living room chair.

Was this year’s Iron Bowl the most exciting football game I have ever witnessed? It is hard to say that. It might be. It certainly was/is at this moment in time.

Having contemplated my son’s question, it suddenly occurred to me. There is no right answer. For you see, each of the games I mentioned above have their OWN place in time/history as the most exciting.

This year’s Iron Bowl doesn’t take the place of those other games in terms of excitement; rather it has its own place. A place that will be remembered throughout the ages. A place I shall never forget.

Frankly, I believe that is what college football is about. It is what gives college football its passion and color. Those games, those comebacks, those wins when you least expect it, those never die, never quit drives that bring the sheer joy, drama and electricity of the game to fans like us. They give us those “high five” and “War Damn Eagle” moments. Moments we remember and cherish for a lifetime.

It’s what causes us to ponder, “was this the most exciting game I have ever seen?”

Perhaps it was.

28-27.

War Eagle.

How sweet it is!

WJLaneSr

Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat

2010-11-09T09:58:00.000-05:00

Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat. For those of you who didn’t study Latin, this phrase is the premise of the U.S. legal system. Translated literally, it means “the burden of proof rests on who asserts, no on who denies.” Our legal system, as well as most other nations that are republics or democracies, translate this into a doctrine which means “one is innocent until proven guilty.”

Under this doctrine, the burden of proof is on the one bringing the charge. The “charger” must bring enough compelling evidence to convince a diverse sampling of reasonable people that the evidence is factual, overwhelming and beyond any reasonable doubt as to its truth. In the case of remaining doubt, the accused must be acquitted....i.e. found innocent.

This right is in fact, so fundamental, that most democracies and republics explicitly include it in their constitutions. And lest one thinks that this doctrine only pertains to legal issues within a court of law, most journalistic codes of ethics state that journalists should refrain and desist from referring to persons under investigation as though their guilt is certain.

This brings me to a second point. Due Process: the principle that all legal rights are owed to a person according to the law. At a very basic level, “Due Process” is essentially the concept of “fundamental fairness”. For example, in 1934, the United States Supreme Court held that due process is violated "if a practice or rule offends some principle of justice so rooted in the traditions and conscience of our people as to be ranked as fundamental". A principle like “ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat.”

I have no information on the allegations begin brought against Cam Newton, his family or Auburn University. I don’t know if Urban Meyer is involved or not involved. I don’t know if Mr. Bond, Rogers or anyone else is telling the truth or fabricating the truth. I don’t know any facts, one way or the other. I don’t know if money was asked for, was not asked for, was received, not received. I don’t know any facts at all.

What I DO know is that there was/has been a rush to judgment on Cam. Large and supposedly credible media such as the Orlando Sentinal, FoxSports, ESPN and others have bandwagoned themselves to unprincipled journalism. And this rush to judgment violates everything we hold dear and near as a free people. It violates the very principles which we, ourselves, would want to be judged by were it us that was accused. And it violates journalistic integrity.

For this reason, not because Auburn is having a great year, not because Newton is a bona fide Heisman candidate, not because I am a fan; people should be outraged...disgusted....highly vocal. No one, regardless of how high profile, or low profile for that matter, should be presumed guilty and drug through the mud without regard for the principle of presumed innocent, and due process to find otherwise.

WJLaneSR

Spooky

2010-10-28T10:54:00.000-04:00

Maybe it is all the Halloween hoopla. When we arrived safely home from witnessing the “Taming of the Bengals” down on the Plains, Trunk ‘r Treat awaited us. Little goblins and ghosts, ninjas and pumpkins, and even “Thing 1 and Thing 2” paraded by our trunk.

Trick or Treat week had begun.

Now I don’t consider myself particularly superstitious, but I did find it a bit ironic that following the commencement of Halloween Week, the BCS weekly poll was announced with Auburn ranked #1. My son was thrilled, and immediately wanted to call his Granddaddy. We then called our daughter, who is in chiropractic school in Oregon to inform her that her alma mater had jumped the Waddling Ducks in the BCS poll. She was thrilled. She even sent me a copy of the Oregonean Paper stating that Auburn had stolen Oregon's thunder.

I began to ponder, contemplate, reflect, chew over, mull over, deliberate and think about what I would write. I read the newspapers, the fan internet boards and perused a magazine or two. I listened to the pundits on ESPN, Sports Sound-off, and others. I thought to myself, “What else can be said about Cam Newton and the Auburn Tigers?” And besides, I didn’t want to jinx things. (O.K., so maybe I AM a little superstitious.) And yet, what better week to write in one’s blog that revolves around Auburn Football than this week? But I just haven’t been able to get my mind around what to write.

Ernest Hemingway’s words haunted me: “Writing is easy; you just sit at the typewriter and bleed.”

It is now Thursday morning, and I find myself sitting in the Delta Sky Club on the mezzanine level in the San Francisco International Airport. My flight to Atlanta has been delayed for two hours (no reason given) and the comments make me realize, “Auburn is relevant again.”

These comments stem from the fact that not only the expert analysts who write and speak college football for a living have Cam and the Tigers on their minds, lay people do as well. I am wearing an Auburn shirt, and have had several people remark how well Auburn is doing, and how Cam Newton is “the real deal”. What is most fascinating is that this is coming from people in PAC-10 country.

Last night, while sitting at the hotel bar watching the Giants make Texas Toast out of the Rangers in Game 1 of the World Series, one of the locals struck up a conversation with me. He was a Stanford fan, a PAC-10 fan, and felt as if his Cardinal(s) could hold their own with Auburn. He did admit that Cam Newton was something special, and he thought Cam would win the Heisman this year. He went on to say, “What was that guy’s name from Alabama who won the Heisman last year? Is he still playing, or did he go pro?”

Wow.

How quickly people forget or just move on. That which was relevant yesterday is irrelevant today. And that which was irrelevant yesterday is relevant today. Back in my part of the world, the Tide fans think no one will EVER forget Ingram’s name. Here in the Bay area, however, they know about Cam Newton, but couldn’t remember Mark Ingram.

I think the best thing about Auburn being ranked #1, with a front runner for the Heisman Trophy, is that it has put Auburn back on the map. It has made the Tigers relevant again. People all across the country are talking about them, writing about them and know who they are. The Crimson Tide is yesterday’s news. And there is nothing the cross-state rivals can do about that.

Spooky, isn’t it.

"Jambalaya, Craw Fish Pie, File' Gumbo"

2010-10-18T12:07:00.005-04:00

What an exhausting game. After it was over, I felt as though I had sprinted down Pat Dye Field. (That would be a site for sore eyes!) My neck hurt from looking to the left as Cam ran down the field, then looking to the right as an Arkansas pass soared the other way.

I’ve never seen so much scoring in a football game during regulation.

Heck, Jeff Lebo's basketball teams never scored 65 points.

A few rows over from us, two Arkansans had removed their shoes, but it was no use. Not enough fingers and toes to count that high.

At the end of the day, 65-43 would make all the highlights, Cam Newton would be solidified as the front-runner for the Heisman, and Auburn would find itself ranked #4 in the first BCS poll. All this with a suspect-at-best defense.

And now we turn to my favorite food.

Louisiana creole cuisine is a unique style of cooking that originated in and around the bayous of the Mississippi River delta region. New Orleans became the city known for all things creole.

The holy trinity of Creole cuisine is chopped celery, bell pepper and onions. The two most famous Creole dishes are Gumbo and Jambalaya.

Gumbo is really a stew with whatever meat is available. In the bayou region of Louisiana, that would be shrimp, crab, oysters, crawfish, chicken and/or sausage. The stew often contains file’, which is nothing more than ground sassafras. It always has a roux base (thickening with fat and flour), and it isn’t true gumbo without okra. Why the okra? Because the name of the stew comes from the African word “gombo”, which means okra.

Jambalaya combines ham with sausage, rice and tomatoes. There is red jambalaya and brown jambalaya. The red jambalaya is native to New Orleans, and the color comes from a combination of tomato paste and shrimp stock. Brown jambalaya comes from rural Cajun areas, and gets its color from “tasso”; pork shoulder that hangs in the smokehouse.

Add to that a little "Bam! Kick it up a notch! Whooobaaa!" (meaning some Louisiana hot sauce for you non-creole connoisseurs) and it doesn’t get much better.

The Creoles are visiting the Plains this weekend, bringing their palate for wild things with them.

Gumbo, voodoo dolls, rougarou…all led by a carpet bagging mad hatter.

Les Miles coaches as if he’s been drinking Hank William's favorite from a big fruit jar while cooking up LSU’s football version of jambalaya, craw fish pie and file’ gumbo.

Auburn will have to bring their “A” game to beat LSU. The offense will need to eliminate the mistakes (holding penalties, fumbles and end of the half time management), and the defense will have to….well….kick it up a notch!

If they do, Auburn could be sitting at 8-0 after tangling with the Bayou Bengals.

If not, the Creoles will emerge undefeated.

I'm picking Auburn by a slim 3 points. Maybe that's going out on a limb, I don't know.

One thing is for certain, however. On Saturday afternoon, the northeast corner of Jordan-Hare will definately smell like corn dogs.

Killing hogs

2010-10-14T15:51:00.004-04:00

My granddaddy raised hogs.

I still remember the last hogs he raised. I was maybe 12 years old. He let me name one of them, and I named him Tobey.

My mother still talks about how he raised and slaughtered hogs. She tells how, when it came to hog-killing time, my grandfather (actually my great-grandfather, but I knew him as my grandfather), after a hog had been killed and gutted, would immediately send the liver to the house. That delicacy would have his name on it, and would be eaten for supper after a long, hard day of slaughtering hogs.

Hogs were the prime source of meat for most families in the rural south, especially during the depression. There were a couple of reasons for this. Number one, it didn’t take a lot of land or resources to raise hogs. All that was needed was a place for a pen, some water for drinking and mud wallowing, and slop. Pig pens could be found anywhere, using most anything to keep the pig penned up; plywood, tin, fencing wire, barbed wire, whatever was available. Slop would be, well, slop. Grandaddy had a can on the back porch that "parts and leftovers" would be put in, and then carried down to the pigpen and tossed into the trough.

The second reason was even more important. There was almost no part of the hog that couldn’t be used….with the exception of the squeal. Every part of the hog had a food-use...the head, the meat, the guts, the feet, and yes, even the tail. Chitterlings, souse meat, scrapple, jowls, tounge, brain, ears, fat, and even the snout (sometimes called the "rooter") would be saved and eaten. One of my favorite "other parts of the hog" are the "cracklin's", that hard residue left in the bottom of the cast iron pot after the lard has been boiled all day and then poured into containers to harden. I love the cracklin's cooked into cornbread.

Nothing from the hog would be wasted.

My granddaddy used to say, on the first cold day of fall, that it was “cold enough to kill hogs!” That day was usually mid-October.

Come to think of it, October IS a good month for hog killing.

The way to kill hogs back then was to hit them in the head with the back of an axe or sledge hammer, or shoot them in the back of the head or between the eyes. As soon as the hog was knocked down or shot, a farmer who knew what he was doing would take a very sharp knife and pierce the jugular vein. This was called, “stickin’ him right in the goozle.”
The hog would then be scalded, scraped, cleaned, cut up, chopped, ground, cured, and smoked.

When the day was done, and the hog(s) had been slaughtered and dressed, there was always a celebration of sorts. It was a great day. Another autumn had come and there would be meat for the winter. The smokehouse was full again. All was right in the farmers world.

Saturday will be a good day to kill hogs. They will have to be hit hard and brought to their knees. There can be no mercy with the blood-letting. Auburn needs to hit them "right in the goozle".

Mid October. A touch of fall in the air. Hog killing time.

It won’t be easy, but killing hogs never is. It’s a messy job and a long day of hard work.

But the result will be worth it. Another win in the smokehouse. More meat to chew on. And at the end of the day, nothing left of the hogs except, maybe, a squeal or two.

Beat Arkansas.

Wilmore, Wesley and a Wild Turkey Win

2010-10-10T18:24:00.001-04:00

We drove to Wilmore, Kentucky on Friday. Wilmore is the home to Asbury University (formerly Asbury College), and Asbury Theological Seminary. It is also home to some very dear friends. Bobby is a theological student in his final semester of seminary at Asbury, Phoebe, his wife, works in the Theological Seminary administrative office, and Tim is the president of Asbury Theological Seminary.

Julie, Will and I had a great visit and dinner with Bobby, Phoebe and their twin girls. Tim was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, preaching.

The purpose of our visit was two-fold. First, it allowed Julie a full weekend visit with Bobby and Phoebe, and second, it allowed Will and me to attend the Auburn-Kentucky football game.

While walking around the seminary, another couple drove up wearing burnt orange shirts very similar to the one I was wearing. They looked at us, smiled, and said “War Eagle!” Needless to say, this caused the statue of John Wesley, only a few feet away from us, to smile. The father of Methodism was holding his right hand up as though he wanted someone to put an orange and blue shaker in it.

Immediately I thought to myself, Notre Dame might have touchdown Jesus, but Asbury has “War Eagle Wesley!”

Our son was wearing an orange and blue striped Auburn toboggan. I’m sure he heard Wesley’s Auburn cry as well, for he stepped up to the statue and put the toboggan on Brother Wesley’s head. Old John was ready to go to the ballgame with us!

After walking around the campus, we decided to drive back toward Lexington to a restaurant. What should be parked out beside the Asbury campus? An R.V. with a big “War Eagle” across the side. Seeing Asbury dotted with Auburn orange and blue….along with my strong Wesleyan leanings……made me want to….well…shout "War Wesley Eagle!"

Will and I parked and tailgated with a large number of Auburn faithful who had made the pilgrimage to Kentucky. We met fans from Cullman, Opelika, Birmingham, Huntsville….I kept looking for the short man from Epworth, but I guess the head of the Methodist Movement decided not to attend the ballgame after all. Maybe he had a preaching engagement back in Wilmore. Go War Eagle Wesley!

We discovered something while tailgating. There isn’t a hamburger, chicken or taco joint within a couple of miles of the stadium. Being in Kentucky, I was certain that the Colonel would be on every corner….but NOOOO….not in Lexington. Will and I found a convenience store and purchased some 7-11 tuna sandwiches, a nuke-a-burger, and two slices of fake lemon cake.

I must admit however, prefab sandwiches taste really good while watching a bunch of chickens make the Tide roll away.

As for the tangle of two different cats….well, Auburn sure likes to make things interesting, don’t they.

Three of Kentucky’s finest were sitting beside us at the ballgame, and together they drained 750 ml of Wild Turkey. How they got the bottle into the stadium is still a mystery, but by the time Auburn got the ball with just over seven minutes to play, the amber liquid had taken its toll.
When I was in school, I learned that liquid could be changed into gas (steam), and it could be changed into solid (frozen). But what I was never taught was that liquid could be changed into language.

The now drunk Lexingtonians began cursing Cam Newton and the Auburn drive with every touch of the ball. And even though I was born in Alabama and didn’t fall off the tunip truck last night, they were using some words that even I hadn’t heard before. Must have been some sort of wild turkey call. Or maybe a wildcat’s whine when he’s cornered with no way out. Whatever it was, I told my 14 year old son to cover his ears.

I must say, though, that though they cursed with more gusto that a sailro, they had more faith in Auburn than I did.

They were certain that Auburn was going to drain the clock, drive the ball down the field, and kick the winning field goal with no time left on the clock. Maybe Wild Turkey makes one see visions of the future….I don’t know.

But every Wildcat fan around us predicted what would happen. And they did it with such colorful language that the October leaves were given a run for their money.

As for me, I kept waiting for a holding penalty.
Or an illegal motion.
Or a fumble.

But my well liquored neighbors sitting to my right had seen the vision. They had predicted the future. They had cursed their own Cat blue.

And in the end……they were right……right down to the last drop.

And as they quietly grumbled to themselves as they left the stadium, I looked up and thought to myself...."my heart is strangely warmed”.

Defense and Field Goals

2010-10-05T10:05:00.002-04:00

One week earlier they were outmanned, outplayed and embarrassed. The Tom Osborne led Nebraska Cornhuskers took them to the woodshed, picked up a piece of split cordwood and put a whipping on them that was demoralizing and deflating. The visiting Huskers thrashed the Auburn Tigers 41-7 in front of a sellout crowd and national television audience, and the game wasn’t even that close.

Afterwards, Coach Pat Dye challenged the defense to pick themselves up and look in the mirror and have some Tiger Pride. There was an SEC game only 7 days away. Coach Wayne Hall and the rest of the defensive staff put the Tigers through torment and anguish that week. “Get Tough!” was the mantle.

The following Saturday, October 9, 1982 the defense was strong, hard hitting and tough, giving up only 72 yards rushing for the day. On the very first play, the Auburn defense dropped the Wildcats for a 4 yard loss, and that set the tone. The Kentucky Wildcats got inside the Auburn 20 yard line only once. A 51 yard pass from Randy Jenkins to Alan Watson with 35 seconds left to play, the Wildcats found themselves on the Auburn 10 yard line. On the very next play, Dennis Collier intercepted the ball for the Tigers. The defense didn’t give up a touchdown that day.

It was a good thing that the defense stood tall, because the offense, led by Bo Jackson and Randy Campbell, couldn’t put the ball in the endzone.

It became a day for the place kicker.

Through the first 4 games of the season, Al Del Greco was one of five in field goal attempts. In fact, Coach Dye considered benching Del Greco for another place kicker. Prior to the Kentucky game, Del Greco was quoted as saying “I read that if I missed one more attempt, they were going to find someone else.”

Al Del Greco set a Southeastern Conference record against the Kentucky Wildcats that day. He kicked six field goals in one game, which accounted for all of Auburn’s 18 points. In fact, had a 39 yarder not been 2 feet wide left, he would have had seven.

Up until that point, George Portela held the Auburn record with 5 set in 1977.

With successful kicks of 22, 28, 26, 23, 39 and 38 yards, Al Del Greco wrote his name in the record book.

After the Kentucky game, he said, “I just wanted one more opportunity. Maybe now, everybody will believe in me.”

Auburn won the game 18-3, giving them a 4-1 mark, while the Kentucky Wildcats went to 0-4-1.

The Tigers finish the season 9-3 that year. They would celebrate a tremendous victory in the Iron Bowl. The win would end the Tide’s Iron Bowl win streak at 9. “Bo over the top” would be Bear Bryant’s last game against Auburn. The Tigers would go on to defeat Doug Flutie and the Boston College Eagles in the Tangerine Bowl that year.

But those memorable feats would occur later that season. On this day, it was Al Del Greco who was the MVP.

Twenty-Eight years to the day from this Saturday, when the Auburn Tigers once again tangle with the Kentucky Wildcats.

The Other Games

2010-09-30T20:35:00.000-04:00

Driving from Atlanta to Spartanburg this afternoon, I listened to Sporting News Radio, ESPN, and one other satellite sports radio. Finally, I got tired of hearing the same regurgitated message over and over, albeit from different mouths. They were all drinking the same Kool-Aid, eating the same food, and salivating over the same game. You’d think there was no other ballgame on Saturday besides the Florida – Alabama game.

Rather than puking my own version of their shows and feeding it to you like a mommy bird does, let’s just say that the major news media are star-struck with Saban, Ingram and Richardson, and no one other than Mike Leach gives Florida a fighting chance.

But I digress.

There are, in fact, other games to be played on Saturday. Some of these “other” games have a great deal of significance. Because the national media refuses to seriously acknowledge the magnitude of them, I therefore take it upon myself to be the chief informer of the “other” games implications. Besides, I want to rid myself of that nauseating feeling one gets when too much syrup has been ingested with the pancakes. And might I say, sports radio was pouring the Aunt Jemimah on thick this afternoon.

The first “other” game of significance: Georgia at Colorado. Mark Richt cannot afford to lay a Rocky Mountain egg in Boulder. The death nail may already be in the executioner’s hand, but if the Dawgs get avalanched, the hammer will surely hit the nail.

“Other” game #2: Miami at Clemson. Although the ACC has taken it on the chin outside the conference, both of these teams still have a legitimate shot at their conference title. The winner has a huge leg up, and the loser goes home only dreaming about what might have been.

“Other” game #3: Oklahoma at Texas. The Red River Rivalry (too many “r’s” there…used to be the Red River Shootout, which was much easier to say) had some luster removed last week due to the surfing crowd’s invasion of Austin. However, the Big XII title is still reachable for both.

“Other” game #4: Tennessee at LSU. Although this one should be a no brainer with LSU winning easily, nothing is a “no brainer” when the mad hatter is involved. If Tennessee slips into the bayou and steals the stripes off the Mike the Tiger, the SEC west becomes a two team race.

“Other” game #5: Notre Dame at Boston College. O.K., who around here cares? However, I do respect the Pope and therefore the Catholic brawl makes my list.

FINALLY..”other” game #6: Stanford at Oregon. Two diametrically opposed philosophies clash in a PAC 10 showdown. Although no one east of the Mississippi cares about this game, an eyeball should stay on this one. Why? Because the winner might just slip into the BCS National Championship Game.

Well, there you have it. The other games that actually have some significance this week. Oh, and lest I forget, the Warhawks of Louisiana Monroe have breakfast at Auburn. This should be a non-event and hopefully the first team Tigers will get some well earned rest.

Living on a Prayer

2010-09-27T11:13:00.001-04:00

It was midway through the 4th quarter on Saturday night. The Auburn University Marching Band struck up that world-famous 1986 single from Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet” album. Most of the 15,000 students sitting in the southeast corner of the endzone weren’t even born when the quarter-century old song began. Yet that song, which has topped the Hot 100 pop list for more than a decade was sung loud and strong by the student section, and it caused me to stop and reflect.

“Whooah, we’re half way there…..whooah, living on a prayer”…….

Then it dawned on me….we ARE almost halfway there. We are entering week # 5 of the college football season. WEEK # 5!! Half the season is almost done! Can you believe it?!?

Maybe that’s why some of us love college football so much. Maybe it’s because, unlike the NFL, we only get a taste. Just enough to make us want more. And then the regular season is over. Just when we get started good, we're halfway there!

No pre-season. No 14-15 game season. No multi-game post season playoff (and no, don’t get started on the debate….that’s not the purpose of this blog. Maybe another one one day).

“Whooah, we’re half way there….”

And the song also made me ponder the season we are in the midst of. Let’s touch some key "halfway there" topics:

#1. The Georgia Bulldogs. Who would have thought that they would be 0-3 in the SEC at this point? Driving home yesterday, one station on Sirius Radio was predicting that because of the loss to Miss. State, followed by another late-night jail-cell phone call to Coach Richt, that his days were indeed numbered. They predicted that a loss out on Rocky Mountain High this weekend would send Richt down an avalanche in Colorado.

#2. Arkansas might have a great quarterback in Ryan Mallet, but they haven’t learned how to win. When you have the reigning national champions down 20-7, you don’t just try to hang on. If you do, you’re going to get a double dose of run over…which is what happened. What happens now to Petrino’s hawgs?

#3. The Gators are starting to come around. After figuring out how to take a snap (the Boiling Springs Pee-Wee league could have taught the mighty Gators something in this regard back a few weeks ago), they seem to be getting stronger and stronger. This week’s showdown with Bama might spell trouble for the pachyderms, because Florida is better than Arkansas.

#4. South Carolina’s defense isn’t as good as everyone thought. Is this because the teams they played prior to Auburn (Southern Miss., Georgia and Furman) weren’t very good offensive teams?

#5. Mississippi State would probably be 4-0 at this point had Cam Newton gone to the spotted bulldogs instead of Auburn. Instead, Miss. State is just a noisy gonging bell.

#6. Tennessee is worse than we thought. When a Vol celebration breaks out like it’s 1986 because UAB is defeated in overtime, something is BAD wrong. Does anybody fear the Vols anymore?

#7. Kentucky, with all it’s improvement, is still a basketball school. They will not contend for the SEC East.

#8. Vanderbilt may have gotten their signature win for the season against Ole Miss, but this year Ole Miss is the Old Maid of the conference.

#9. Speaking of Old Mrs., the Nutt-house seemed to put it together this past week against Fresno State. But that says nothing. The Rebels (or did they change their mascot to the Reb-less) are to the West what Georgia is trying to become in the East…..Irrelevant! Who would have thought on both accounts?

#10. Alabama’s running game may be better than it was last year, but their defense is not. They are a very good football team, but championships are won and lost on defense. I just don’t see a repeat.

#11. LSU continues to be schizophrenic and will be as long as a madman is at the helm. They have glimpses of greatness….glimpses of worse than mediocrity……great play calling…..poor play calling…..and the team just doesn’t seem to be in sync. In most cases, Less is More, but at LSU, Les is less. A loss to Bama, which will probably happen, to Auburn, which seems more than a 50% chance now, and to Arkanses, which I also think will happen, turns the heat up on Les….even More.

#12. Where would Auburn be without Cam Newton? I’m sure glad I don’t have to know. He is a one man wrecking machine. Having said that, Auburn has won 2 games late, coming from behind, and shown a resilience that I didn’t expect. This is the stuff that CAN separate a good team from a great team. Auburn is NOT a great team………yet. But they have a chance. They, like the Gators, seems to be getting better each week. Auburn is a little beaten up, and with La. Monroe this week, they should get a little rest before resuming conference play.

A few non-sec comments: NC State is a very good football team, Stanford is a team I wouldn’t want on my schedule this year, Michigan might just upset Ohio State this year, Arizona may be the pac-10 spoiler, and I guess a longhorn never met a Bruin it could hook. You think Muschamp slept well Saturday night after his defense was shredded?

Well….that’s it for the “almost” midpoint. We’re halfway there, and some teams are just living on a prayer.

“We’ve got to hold on, ready or not…..you live for the fight when it’s all that you got….whooah, living on a prayer…..”

#1 vs #1

2010-09-21T09:57:00.001-04:00

The internet is full of “Dyer vs. Lattimore” game fodder this week. “The State” newspaper in Columbia, S.C. has an article by that title. Bleacher Report, ESPN’s SEC blog, and the Anniston Star feature articles with the same theme. The story lines wiggle between which running back was REALLY #1 coming out of high school, to what “might have been” had Lattimore chosen to team-up with Dyer at Auburn as opposed to choosing his home state Gamecocks. The buildup of these two kids facing off against one another is such a major theme for the Auburn-South Carolina football game this week that you’d think it was Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed…….but which one is which?

Simply looking at the statistics, through the first three games the two backs compare as follows:

Mike Dyer: 39 attempts / 212 yards / 5.4 Yard Average / 1 touchdown
Marcus Lattimore: 70 attempts / 333 yards / 4.8 Yard Average / 5 touchdowns

What do these statistics tell us? On the surface, not very much. But just beneath the surface, they tell us a lot.

First of all, on the surface these statistics tell us that Lattimore is getting, and will get, more touches of the ball than Dyer. One had only to watch Carolina’s game with Georgia to see how Lattimore is fed the ball. For old-fashioned SEC aficionados, it felt very pre-1990’s…
And then Steve Spurrier came on the scene and (virtually) single handedly changed the college football landscape. He brought the fun and gun offense to Florida, won and won big with it, and his passing attack bred the offshoots found all around the country: Run and Shoot, West Coast, Spread, Pistol….

Which is why the “beneath the surface” story is so fascinating. For you see, it is that same Steve Spurrier who is now running the football as though he were taking a page out of Vince Dooley or Pat Dye’s playbook.
What changed? Well….Spurrier has a very good running back in Lattimore. AND, Spurrier still doesn’t completely trust quarterback Steven Garcia.
Dyer, on the other hand, isn’t getting the number of touches Lattimore gets. But, rather than just under 5 yards per carry like Lattimore, Dyer is getting almost 5 ½ yards. For each touch he gets, he’s producing more yardage.

Auburn seems to be bringing Dyer along a little slower than Lattimore, but as the season rolls on that will certainly change. Also, unlike Lattimore for South Carolina, Dyer is not the leading rusher on his team. Big Cam Newton is.

So what can we glean from all this? Well, let’s just say that Spurrier is Spurrier.

I always liked the analogy that Tommy Tuberville used about Steve Spurrier. He and Spurrier were golfing buddies, and Tuberville would say “if you get Steve on your home course, and just kind of stay close to him…..when you get on the back nine and see that short 335 yard par 4……YOU know that you pull a 3 wood out and just lay it up. But Steve is going to pull out that driver. He can’t help it. He gets impatient. He feels the need to put you away. And many times, when he does, he pushes the ball way out of bounds and opens the door for you to beat him. And he does the same on the football field.”

Moral of the story? Spurrier will try to run the ball using Lattimore. Auburn needs to keep it close. Maybe even get a lead. Spurrier is going to get impatient and put pressure on Garcia to make something happen. And when that pressure comes, Garcia is prone to make mistakes. And THAT will be Auburn’s big opening.

My prediction: Dyer rushes 15 times for 105 yards, Lattimore rushes 25 times for 110 yards and Auburn wins: 21 – 17.

WJLaneSR

The Toilet Game

2010-09-20T19:07:00.001-04:00

I am finally recovering from a looong weekend in Auburn. With the sweet aftertaste of a glorious come-from-behind overtime win against those South Carolina felines, I have finally taken a deep breath to clear my mind.

Now, what to blog???

Frankly, after this weekend I just couldn’t keep John Lennon out of my mind. After all, the weekend WAS a little Helter Skelter, especially there at the end.

But that isn’t the reason I have had the late Beatle singing in my ears.
No. Rather, it is because our regular tailgating spot has (at least temporarily) closed their bathrooms to the paying public. That’s right….although we pay to park in their lot and have been able to use their facilities for the past 8 years while doing so, with no warning, the bathrooms are now off limits. Closed, go away, this is a no wee-wee zone.

Where to go when nature calls? I mean….where to go when you gotta go??? Cross legged tailgating ain’t much fun! Not to mention that you don't really BUY adult cold beverages, you RENT them!

Did someone say Clemson has a lake and Auburn needs one?

After much fussing and debate, we were finally able to use the bathroom for a short period of time. I have to say, though, that a tailgate without a toilet is like a dam during a flood. Something's gotta give!

I’m sure the founding fathers meant for us to have Life, Liberty, Toilets and the pursuit of Happiness!

Heck, there was a time on Saturday afternoon that I was even willing to put down the seat without having to be reminded for just a little bit of relief…

Which brings me to John Lennon.

Lennon wrote a song entitled “Imagine”. As I was trying to figure out where I was going to use the bathroom, the song just kind of came to me, albeit with different words:

Imagine there’s no bathroom
It’s easy if you try
No stalls to hold us
Makes us want to cry
Imagine all the people
Peeing in the street
You may say just try and hold it
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday they’ll reopen
So our tailgating can return to fun!

‘til next time,

WJLaneSR

Auburn with a lake?

2010-09-12T16:12:00.000-04:00

It's Auburn-Clemson week. SEC vs. ACC. ESPN gameday crew coming to the Plains. National recognition for both schools. Similarities abundant. A renewed rivalry that ended in the early '70s. And it reminds me of one of my favorite writers.

The late Lewis Grizzard ranks alongside my all-time favorite southern writers. His genre was journalistic satire and humor. He was an award winning syndicated columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and was thrilled when he moved there from the Chicago Tribune. To use his words, he had been “held hostage as a prisoner of war” in the frozen north until Atlanta called him home.

Grizzard began his profession as a sports columnist, and is often credited with the description that “Clemson is just Auburn with a lake.”

Grizzard’s analysis would be correct if one only looked at the similarities. In fact, it is very difficult to describe the two schools WITHOUT looking at the similarities. Both are State Land Grant Institutions. The schools have comparable architectural design. The layout of each school is extremely similar. Then, to top it off, both schools use the Tiger as it’s mascot with orange as one of it’s predominant colors.

While it is true that both schools have these analagous commonalities, including counting John Heisman as one of their early coaches, Grizzard’s analysis is incorrect.

Clemson is NOT Auburn with a lake. Fact is, without Auburn, there would be no Clemson football.

In 1892 Walter M. Riggs graduated from A&M College of Alabama (later to become Auburn University) with bachelor of science degree in engineering. Being class president, director of the school glee club, and member of Phi Delta Theta, Riggs was a campus leader. He was also a member of the school’s first football team.

Riggs became a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater rather than pursuing a career in mechanical engineering. He was so competent and enthusiastic about coaching the Tigers from Auburn that in 1895, he was assigned the duty of finding a new head football coach. He found John W. Heisman (of the Heisman Trophy lore) growing tomatoes in Texas and brought him back to The Plains for a salary of $500 per year.

The following year, Riggs left the Auburn Football Team in the capable hands of Heisman, and accepted the job of beginning a football program in Clemson, South Carolina. The college had no mascot, they had no colors and they didn’t even have any uniforms. Auburn agreed to help out the upstarts from South Carolina, and they gave Riggs some practice jerseys (some orange and some navy) to take with him. The jerseys had been washed so many times using Number 2 washtubs full of lye soap and washboards that the navy jerseys looked more pale purple than blue. Because the orange didn’t fade as easily as the navy when washed, Riggs chose orange as the dominate color for his new team.

Riggs brought the Tiger name with him, and called his new football club “the Clemson Tigers”.

Without Auburn, the Clemson football club would never have been orange and purple. It never would have been the Tigers. It probably never would have begun a football program in 1896, and John W. Heisman would have never left Auburn to coach at Clemson.

Historians have noted that Walter Riggs is the “Father of Clemson Football”. If that be so, then Auburn is the grandfather of Clemson Football. And that’s a heck-of-a lot more than just Clemson without a lake!

Cowbells Tolling

2010-09-10T12:21:00.001-04:00

Robert Jordan was assigned to blow up the bridge. He knows, when he receives his assignment, that he might not survive it. But he also knows there is camaraderie when facing an enemy in hostile territory. He knows the need to surrender oneself for the common good of his fellows. To do “as all good men should” means to be willing to sacrifice self. It means laying it all on the line. For Robert Jordan, it meant death over defeat.

I don’t know if Nick Fairley ever read Ernest Hemingway’s novel about Robert Jordan. He certainly played as if he did. After all, the junior defensive tackle had one interception, one fumble recovery, 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. He played as if he were a cloned mixture of Reggie White and Darrelle Revis. While the offense was sputtering in a bell-acious hostile environment, Fairley’s assignment from defensive line coach Tracy Rocker was simple: sacrifice yourself for 60 minutes and don’t let the bell-hounds out your grasp. Do it for your team. They will be there to drag you off the field of battle when it’s over. Surrender self for the common good of the team. Rocker asked Fairley to be like Hemingway’s hero.

Hemingway borrowed a line from John Donne and used it as the title of his novel. Most people think the line came from a poem entitled “No Man is an Island”, but actually Donne wrote it as prose in a piece entitled “Meditation No. 17”. Those memorable first words of the Meditation are: “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of a continent, a part of the main.”

Certainly Donne’s words were taken to heart by the men of the orange and blue on Thursday night. No one particular player was able to beat Mississippi State. It took a team. Not just the offense….in fact one might say “not the offense”, but also the defense. Not just Cameron Newton, but also the Nick Fairley led defense (here I insert a shade-of-memory shout-out to Wayne Hall, Auburn’s defensive coordinator during the Pat Dye era, as Scarbinsky did today in the Birmingham News) won the game in a manner reminiscent of his coach and mentor’s days on The Plains. No man was an island in Starkville.

Mississippi state circled September 9 as the turning point for their program. It was the first SEC game where the cowbells were legal. It was Thursday night on ESPN. It was against an SEC West opponent. It was their opportunity to gain respect. The cowbells would move them over the hump from that dreaded left side of the SEC bell curve. They had everything to win. Auburn had everything to lose. Even the prognosticators had pointed to this as a “trap game” for Auburn.

But State forgot one thing. They forgot to read Hemingway’s novel. Or even Donne’s Meditation.

The last line of Donne’s Meditation No. 17 reminds us of a bell. It reminds us of a bell we cannot escape. Certainly that is what every Stark-vegas Bulldog was thinking as they entered Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. They must have been thinking, "Auburn....this is a bell you cannot escape!!"

That famous and often quoted last line reads “…for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee”. Hemingway took part of this line for his novel: “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. Donne spoke of it as a death bell.

But as much as the maroon clad bulldogs rang their cowbells in an effort to confuse, frustrate and finally get the Auburn Tigers to roll over and die, it didn’t happen. Rather, Donne’s words came hauntingly back…..”For whom the bell tolls……it tolls for you.”

Is it Christmas Eve?

2010-09-01T08:25:00.000-04:00

It’s Christmas Eve.

Not really, but almost.

Although tomorrow isn’t Christmas Day, it does begin another season of NCAA college football. With the Thursday night kickoff, the Southeastern Conference jumps right in with South Carolina taking on Southern Mississippi.

Later this weekend, the rest of the conference joins in and it looks like this:

Alabama hosts San Jose State
Arkansas hosts Tennessee Tech
Auburn hosts Arkansas State
LSU and North Carolina meet at the Georgia Dome
Mississippi State hosts Memphis
Ole Miss hosts Jacksonville State
Florida hosts Miami of Ohio
Georgia hosts Louisiana Lafayette
Kentucky visits Louisville
Tennessee hosts UT Martin
Vanderbilt hosts Northwestern

With most of the SEC playing scrimmage games this week, rather than predict winners and losers, I will go out on a limb and give predictions regarding each team’s Head Coach. You can hold me accountable for my predictions at the end of the season. If you have any comments, concerns or questions, feel free to chime in.

MY PREDICTIONS

The NCAA will not reverse their decision that the only Jeremiah the Right Reverend Houston Nutt will be able to preach from this year is found in the Good book, not the Mug Shot Book.

During the heat of a game, Bobby Petrino will cuss out and then fire an opposing team’s ball boy for wearing a team logo hat.

Lawyer turned Coach Derek Dooley will invoke the attorney-client privilege during all Vol team meetings.

Joker Phillips will find that having no returning starters on the Kentucky offensive line is no joke.

The hot seat that finally gets Mark Richt is the bench his team uses at the Clark County Jail.

Urban Meyer will continue to suffer from Esophageal Reflux from eating too much crow and having no Tebow steaks in his diet.

The Ol’ Ball Coach Steve Spurrier will find that his name is the only thing with a “spur” in it, as his tame roosters cause him to finally move out of a Columbia hotel also.

Les Miles will…..well…..be Les Miles.

Robbie Caldwell will take over for Jeff Foxworthy on “who wants to be smarter than a turkey farmer?”

Nick Saban’s statue will have the “s” missing from his name, but it will have more charm and personality than the Rain Man himself.

The bells Dan Mullen will hear ringing at the end of the season won’t be from Starkville cows, but rather BellSouth….as bigger programs come knocking on his door.

Gene Chizik will find himself neck deep in a post season recruiting battle for one of college football’s most prized recruits……Gus Malzahn.

That’s how I see it. What about you?

WJLaneSR

Ewww that smell!!

2010-08-31T10:44:00.000-04:00

Although I am not anally ritualistic, one could call me a creature of habit. There are things about me that I tend to repeat over and over. Some of those are good and some not so good. For example, I like to be at the front of the line when boarding an airplane; therefore I am predictably early to the airport. I brush my teeth after brushing my hair. I eat street bagels for breakfast and “o-bento” Japanese lunchbox virtually every day (when in New York). I feel something is missing about a church service when there hasn’t been a congregational recitation of the Apostle’s Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. I only use Old Spice original scent stick deodorant. My comfort zone finds itself in the rituals of everyday life.

One ritual that I have maintained for the last two decades is the Wall Street Journal. Although I am not a professional market analyst, I find the paper interesting and stimulating. Some days, however, I just read it for the discipline, and this is where the ritual comes in. When I was in graduate school at Emory University, I had a professor who said “Read something every day, even if it’s the newspaper. Read it from cover to cover. Read the articles you are interested in. Read the ones you are not. Just read. It is the only way to stay current and informed.” I took that message to heart, and have as a ritualistic discipline read the Wall Street Journal as my first order of business every morning for the past 20 years. It is the “why” behind coming to work early every day. It is my time to read.

This morning, as I was reading the WSJ (and I no longer read the print version, I now read the online version), I came across an interesting article entitled “Why Do the British Stink at Basketball?” Hmmm. I never really thought about it. I guess I should have. I am married to a Brit. I eat shepherd’s pie and Yorkshire puddings. My son lives and breathes basketball. Once upon a time, I even had a subscription to the Wisdon Cricket magazine, which detailed the minutia of Cricket statistics for every team in the U.K. and the West Indies. But it never really occurred to me that the British stink at basketball.

The point of the article was to question the decision by the NBA that the New Jersey Nets and the Toronto Raptors would cross the pond next March to play a pair of regular season games --- the first ever --- in London. The move to play in Europe wasn’t a shock, as the league has players like Spain's Pau Gasol, Germany's Dirk Nowitzki and Serbia's Peja Stojakovic, who have become marquee names. In addition one of the NBA's newest owners is a Russian oligarch. The article goes on to say, “the only part of the spectacle that doesn't entirely add up is the league's choice of venue: London.” In the U.K., basketball not only isn’t one of the top 3 or 4 sports falling behind soccer, rugby and cricket. The popularity of basketball even falls behind snooker.

That being said, maybe the NBA sees the fertilizer potential behind that methane smell. Do the British stink at basketball? Yes. Do the Brits care about basketball? For those over the age of 16, not really. BUT, in a survey done by the United Kingdom Department for Culture, Media and Sport, children in London and Edinburgh ages 11 to 15 were asked what type of sports jersey they would like to own. 47% of these children responded “NBA jerseys”.

The NBA is not holding its nose. They are betting that “stink” you smell regarding the British and basketball is the smell of money.

Until next time,

WJLaneSR

Sponge Bob's Neighbor

2010-08-27T11:28:00.000-04:00

Living in a house shaped like an Easter Island Moai Head, Squidward is the narcissistic neighbor of Sponge Bob. He works as a cashier at the Krusty Krab, a job he thoroughly dislikes. Squidward could be described as a malcontent, a delusional egotist who displays an unjustly air of superiority. Although Sponge Bob and Patrick (the pink starfish who lives under a rock) consider Squidward their friend, the feeling is anything but mutual. An ambiguous character, one is never sure if the six tentacled cephalopod is a squid or an octopus.

The voice for the clarinet playing Squidward is Rodger Bumpass. Bumpass, whose voice acting credits include “The Jetsons” ( a cartoon that is more MY generation than “SpongeBob SquarePants”), is the brother-in-law of Ben Stiller. Bumpass is married to Ben’s sister, Amy Stiller. Bumpass enjoys riding a recumbent bicycle when he visits Alma Mater which is located in his childhood hometown. As an in-joke by the producers of the “SpongeBob SquarePants Movie”, Squidward does too.

Bumpass is loyal supporter of his Alma Mater. Although the war cry was “Go Indians” when he was a student, in the fall of 2008 the mascot was changed to the “Red Wolves”. The “Indians” mascot was used to honor Osage Nation that inhabited the area in the 1800’s. However, due to outside pressure claiming that the usage of “Indians” was racist and bigoted, the school retired their mascot on February 28, 2008 during the last basketball game of the season. There was a groundswell of support amongst students to call themselves “The Squidwards” in honor of their famous alumnus. Never taking this seriously, the school officially became the “Red Wolves” of Arkansas State University.

The scarlet and black Arkansas State Red Wolves are in the Sun Belt Conference. Other schools in this conference include Troy, Louisiana Monroe, Western Kentucky, Louisiana Lafayette, and Florida Atlantic University. Not only do the Red Wolves have conference affiliation in common with these other schools, they also have opponents in common. Each of these Sun Belt Conference schools are scheduled to play at least one Southeastern Conference school during the 2010 football season. Arkansas State opens their season with Auburn.

The Red Wolves have a new offensive coordinator this year, and his name is Hugh Freeze. His is a name that may be familiar to Southeastern Conference fans as Freeze was the interim head coach at the University of Mississippi in 2007. Freeze, who was 20-5 over the last two years at Lambuth University, took the offensive helm at ASU on February 26, 2010. During the past half decade, Freeze’s offense averaged 465 yards per game, and over 40 points per game. He is both a student and teacher of “up-tempo, wide-open spread offense.” His teams have averaged 50 passing plays per game during the past 3 years. Opposing defensive coordinators have called his schemes “confusing and ambiguous, very hard to figure out”.

Sounds a bit like Squidward. Here’s hoping Auburn can get into his Moai Head.

‘Til next time,

WJLaneSr

'Tis the Season.....

2010-08-26T08:45:00.000-04:00

Chops and links sizzling over red hot charcoal. Cold pints wrapped in traditional crested mugs. Flags of battle hoisted high above decorated canopies of shade. Insulated coolers packed with provisions and potions. Occasional battle cries from fans intoxicated by libations and atmosphere. Children wearing jerseys of past and present heroes while tossing footballs and imagining glory. The orchestrated chaos of festive tailgation.

It’s football time again.

It has been some time since I last updated my blog. Like Brett Favre, I took a semi-retirement hiatus. Also like the mad Mississippian (and for my Tide fans, note how to spell “Mississippi”), I just can’t stay away. After all, the first game kicks off one week from tonight. I wonder if Favre will be watching as his Southern Miss Golden Eagles take on the University of South Carolina Gamecocks.

To prepare for this year’s season, I attended the New York City/Southeastern Conference Kick-off banquet last night. The featured speaker was Brad Edwards of ESPN radio. Mr. Edwards, a Bama graduate, talked about his #1 ranked Crimson Tide, and shockingly predicted that they would lose at least 2 SEC games this year. His prognostication was that Arkansas, in Fayetteville, would upset the Tide, and that South Carolina, in Columbia, would do the same. The reason: Florida is packed right between those two games.

Edwards also predicted that the winner of the SEC East would have at least 2 conference losses, and that it would come down to Georgia or Florida….the last drunk standing after the World’s Largest Cocktail Party. Interestingly, he predicted that Arkansas was poised to win the West, and might do it going away.

As for LSU, Edwards believes it is do or die for Les Miles, and in his opinion, Miles will be gone after this season. The Mad Hatter will take his nonsensical Tea Party somewhere else.

Edwards predicted that the Vols would struggle, Vandy may not win a conference game, and Mississippi State would upset someone they aren’t supposed to beat. He finished his speech by saying that the two real question marks in the conference were Ole Miss and Auburn. His take was that both had the schedules, excitement, quarterbacks and potential to run the table. He did NOT think they would, and said that both schools could also find themselves losing 3-4 conference games each.

Finally, Edwards predicted that there would not be an undefeated SEC team this year, and because of that, the BCS would put two teams from other conferences in the National Championship Game. His final prediction: Kellen Moore, QB of Boise State, would win the Heisman Trophy.

I found all of this very interesting, coming from an Alabama graduate. Will any of this come to pass? Who knows. After all, that’s why they play the game. And besides, today…..everyone’s guess could be right.

Until next time…

WJLaneSR

A True Paladin

2009-11-03T09:00:00.002-05:00

Needless to say, I could write an entire entry into my blog on the sweetness of Auburn’s victory over Ole Miss. Yet, no matter how much I articulate and memorialize the victory while sitting around the blogging campfire, it is not the subject for today.

Today, I want to discuss Auburn’s upcoming game with the Furman Paladins. Yes, that same Furman from Greenville, South Carolina. From my home, the drive to their beautiful campus is just over half an hour. It is a great school with high academic standards, and one of my wife’s best friends (as well as work colleague) graduated from there. Her name is Kim.

Kim is one of the dearest Christian women I have ever met. Her faith is real. Her opinions are well thought out. She is smart. She has an almost dry sense of wit and humor that I find not only funny, but also refreshing. The things she loves, she loves with passion. She is a great mother to her two children, one who is at Presbyterian College and the other at The Citadel. And her husband, Jeff, couldn’t have asked for a better wife.

Kim is a cancer survivor. Unfortunately, her husband Jeff was not. The two of them suffered through more physical difficulties, virtually at the same time, than any family should ever have to. This past July 20, Kim’s soul-mate Jeff passed from this life to the next after a long battle with colon cancer. She had undergone her own surgery and therapy for breast cancer. (By the way, whenever I wear a pink bow, I wear it not just for women in general, I wear it for Kim).

Frankly, this blog could have been about Kim’s husband, for you see, Jeff was an All-American at Furman, who went on to coach there and at N.C. State. He eventually was the athletic director at Boiling Springs High School when three of my daughters were there. In fact, one day, while it was POURING rain, he went to my second daughter’s car and turned off the lights….getting drenched in the process. That was just the kind of guy Jeff was.

But this is about Kim. Although she tells me that she is o.k. and plowing through, I can’t imagine how difficult the last three months have been. I’m sure there are times when she would say that she isn’t much of a fighter OR survivor, but that just isn’t the case. Kim is both. My wife has witnessed it much closer than I, but even from my distance I have seen it. I am proud to say that she is my friend. I am proud to say that she is one of my wife’s closest friends. I am proud to see her faith in action. And if Kim Snipes is anything like what a Paladin supposed to be, then she is the truest Paladin. And because of Kim, I can’t help but be a fan of the Paladins….even if I will be rooting for my Tigers this weekend.

WJLaneSR

Drugs and Keys

2009-10-30T13:11:00.002-04:00

I have been on some really good drugs this week. After spending the better part of a day in the emergency room with a kidney stone, and trying to get some relief with lesser drugs, the E.R. Doc finally had the nurse give me morphine. After that, I didn't feel the pain of the stone any longer, the pain of getting taken to the woodshed by LSU, or any other pain. In fact, I felt no pain at all. Morphine was the key to giving me some much needed relief. And thank God for that key.

Speaking of keys, there must be hundreds of books, pamphlets and DVD’s on the subject “Keys to Success.” I did a google search and came up with “Keys to success in marriage”, “Keys to success in business”, “Keys to success in life.” There were keys to success in dieting, financial management, attitude, career, motivation….the list goes on and on. Whenever I hear a phrase beginning “here are the keys to success in….” I think to myself, “does this mean that the answers were always in the box we carry around? Do we already have the answers and someone else just needs to open them up for us?” Sounds kinda metaphysical to me.

Rather than opening up a box today, I want to look around the box. Maybe it's the remnants of the morphine keeping my head a little fuzzy, but rather than giving you what I think are the keys necessary for Auburn to be successful against Ole Sis on Saturday, I am going to give you some non-essential skeleton keys that MIGHT just make the difference. Here are my skeleton keys for success:

Ole Miss is known for their cheer “Hotty Toddy”. A hotty toddy, according to Exquecher Rolls of Scotland, is a mixed drink of Scotch and water served hot so that it is more palatable to women. The word “toddy” comes from the Scottish “Tod’s Well”, which supplies Edinburgh with water.
Auburn, on the other hand, has “Bodda Getta”. Let’s be honest, here. You can’t really shout “bodda getta” without a belly full of Blue Ribbon Beer or Jack Daniels. There ain’t any “hottie toddy….hootsie tootsie” at Auburn. And at the end of the day, which one would you rather bring with you to a bar fight?

Next, Auburn has the champion mascot, “Aubie”. Aubie has been the College National Mascot Champion six (6) times since 1980. He has finished in the top five another seventeen (17) times. Aubie has made appearances on every major television channel, and is an ambassador for Auburn University.

Colonel Reb, on the other hand, died an ungraceful death. Ole Miss doesn’t use him anymore. He was bringing disgrace to their hallowed school for learned Mississippians. You might remember him: the white bearded old man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and carrying a cane. He was the mascot that caused websites to pop up everywhere calling for a boycott of “everything Ole Miss” because he was too much like a plantation owner. Unlike James Dean, Colonel Reb became “a rebel without a cause” and he became “Ole Dis-Missed”.

Finally, isn’t it interesting that the University of Mississippi is found in a town called “Oxford”? Somehow, those two words just don’t seem to go together….Oxford…Mississippi. As I recall from my grade school education I received in Alabama, this would be called an oxymoron. Two words of contradictory meaning used together for a special effect, such as “wise fool”, or “legal murder”. Another would be “Oxford, Mississippi”. Of course, it would probably be safe to say that most people in Mississippi wouldn’t know an oxymoron if it hit them, and in fact, probably think it is a stupid beast of burden who needs to be yoked and plowed.

Again, you just don’t have that with “Auburn, Alabama”.

And which one would you rather take to a bar fight. Someone from "Oxford", or someone from "Auburn"??

Call it drug induced dillusions, or call it guessing, I am tossing these skeleton keys on the floor.

I am boldly predicting an upset on the early afternoon Plains. The keys, when scattered on the floor, say “Auburn 27 – Ole Miss 24”.

And that’s as scientific as I can get it.

WJLaneSR

Gonna Have Big Fun....

2009-10-21T16:55:00.000-04:00

“Thibodeaux, fountainbleau, the place is a buzzin’, Kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen, Dress in style, go hog wild, me oh my oh, Son of a gun we’ll have big fun down on the bayou…..well jambalaya, crawfish pie and-a fillet gumbo, cause tonight I’m gonna see my mon cher amio, Pick guitar, fill fruit jar, and be gay-o, Son of a gun we’ll have big fun down on the bayou.”

Hank Williams first released this song back in 1952, and it reached number one on the country charts almost immediately. It remained number one for 14 straight weeks. The song is clearly Cajun in theme, and encapsulates the fun and excitement on a Saturday night in the Louisiana bayou.

Saturday night on the bayou. It’s that time again. Auburn and LSU. Strange things happen when these two old rivals come together. Allow me, for a moment, to stroll with you down memory lane.

It was 1988. Auburn’s national championship hopes were on the line. Auburn was leading 6-0 with less than two minutes left in the game. LSU quarterback Tommy Hodson threw a touchdown pass to Eddie Fuller which caused the crowd to roar so loud that it registered on the campus seismograph as an earthquake. LSU won, 7-6.

In 1994, LSU led 23-9 going into the fourth quarter. Auburn had a 13 game winning streak going on at the time. Auburn intercepted 5 Jamie Howard passes in the fourth quarter, returning 3 for touchdowns, giving Auburn a 30-26 victory.

The next year, down in the bayou, Patrick Nix dropped back to pass out of the Auburn endzone. He thought he heard a whistle blow, stopped where he was, and sacked for a safety. Auburn lost the 1995 game, 12-6.

The following year, in 1996, while the two sets of Tigers were playing at Jordan-Hare stadium, the old Sports Arena was burning to the ground. The flames were so high that they could be seen from inside Jordan-Hare. Jarrett Holmes missed three field goals that day, and LSU won 19-15.

In 1999, Auburn went into Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge on Tommy Tuberville’s birthday and showed no mercy. Not only did they beat the Bengal Tigers of LSU 41-7, they celebrated the win and the birthday by smoking cigars while standing in the endzone.

In 2001, the game was moved to December because of 9-11 and the World Trade Center tragedy. LSU won at home that night, 27-14. Tommy Tuberville had to get security to escort him to the team bus.

In 2004, Hurricane Ivan almost forced the game to be delayed until later in the season. However, on Friday morning it was announced the two teams would play as scheduled. The defending national champion Bengal Tigers came into Auburn and took a 9-3 lead. Because of a failed extra point, the Auburn Tigers were in striking distance. With 1:14 left to play, Jason Campbell hit Courtney Taylor for a 16 yard touchdown pass. Auburn missed the extra point, but a personal foul was called on LSU’s Ronnie Prude. The second time was a charm, and Auburn won, 10-9.

The winner of the 2004 game, John Vaughn, became the goat in 2005. He missed 5 field goals in Baton Rouge and LSU won 20-17.

In 2006, the pair of Tigers entered the game at Jordan Hare Stadium with their highest head-to-head ranking ever. Both teams were early season national title contenders. LSU led 3-0 at halftime. Auburn took the lead with a third quarter touchdown, and held on to win, 7-3. It was the lowest scoring game between the two Tiger teams since 1935, when LSU won 6-0.

The 2007 game was played down in the bayou , and will be remembered for the winning field goal kick that never happened. Down 24-23, LSU was driving the ball. They were within field goal range with the clock running. LSU had one time out left. In one of the most discussed plays of 2007, the Les Miles led Tigers decided to try a long pass to the endzone before a possible fieldgoal attempt. The pass was caught and LSU won 30-24.

Last year the College Gameday crew came to Auburn for the matchup between Auburn and LSU. Auburn took a 14-3 lead at halftime, only to come out and squander it. LSU changed quarterbacks, and ended up winning 26-21. It was LSU’s first victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 10 years.

Which bring us to 2009. Saturday night. A renewal of the rivalry between two foes. Strange things can happen down on the bayou on Saturday night. Does Auburn have one up its sleeve? What will Les Miles do? We’ll have to see……Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun down on the bayou.

WJLaneSR

Kentucky Fried

2009-10-19T12:35:00.000-04:00

He was doing what any decent father would do. Protect his children. Is there a more noble duty? And in this case, they weren’t even HIS children. They were just children, and they shouldn’t be subjected to it. He was just doing what was right.

It happened last week in Norwell, Massachusetts. Jared Garfagna and his girlfriend, Sara Mohn, were waiting for their order. Not “patiently” waiting, mind you. After all, it takes a while to deep fry chicken.

According to the authorities, they started shouting vile profanities at the counter clerk, as well as toward the person cooking. There were children waiting in the order line, and a bystander, waiting for his order, told the couple to stop using profanity. He said, “There are children in line….watch your mouths.”

According to witnesses, this just made the couple curse even more. The man again said, “Please…don’t use that kind of language in front of these children. It isn’t appropriate!”

What happened next can only be described as foolish and stupid. The couple proceeded to hit and kick the man until he was on the floor of the local Kentucky Fried Chicken. He had lacerations on his head, under his eye, and across his cheek. By standing up for those children in line, he subjected himself to a Kentucky Fried Beating. Unbelievable.

Which reminds me of Saturday night, when the Auburn Tigers, of their own accord, subjected themselves to a Kentucky Fried Beating. Unbelievable.

Rather than standing up for innocent children, however, they were just standing up before the snap count. (Can anyone say, “Another illegal motion penalty”?)

Instead of putting the Wildcats of Kentucky away when they had multiple chances, Auburn was showing it’s undisciplined self by having, on one drive alone, six…count them…penalties. And when the defense had the chance to legally stand up and be counted…during the last six minutes of the game, it fell down on the floor and gave up two touchdowns AND a victory. A Kentucky Fried Beating.

The Tigers are now in a precarious situation. They must go on the road this week to Death Valley. Baton Rouge. The Tiger Den. LSU awaits on Saturday night.
If the Tigers don’t find an answer to their sudden impotence on offense, they won’t be Kentucky Fried this week. They’ll be filleted and gumboed.

WJLaneSR

Losing

2009-10-12T11:27:00.002-04:00

Maybe it is apropos that I quote Mr. October. Although he was never a hero of mine, I can’t disregard his impact when post-season play began. I have some very good friends who are Red Sox fans, and to them I apologize for quoting a former nemesis from the Yankees. However, when the shoe fits, wear it.

Reggie Jackson once said, “I don’t mind getting beat; but I hate to lose”.

As I sat with a stoic stare at my old fashioned, non-plasma non-flatscreen television set on Saturday afternoon, that quote oozed from the depths of my memory. I had done all the screaming, fussing, cussing and discussing that was in me. I had no words left.

After watching a wide-open would-be touchdown pass float well beyond the receiver; after multiple fumbles causing multiple Arkansas touchdowns; after watching the Tigers sleep through the wakeup call until midway through the third quarter; after watching the first half offense look like it needed a dose of geritol; the quote hung in my craw.

“I don’t mind getting beat; but I hate to lose.”

But lose Auburn did. The Tigers lost in every facet of the game. They didn’t just get beat, because getting beat implies that both teams showed up and did their best and one team just got beat by a better team. Big Blue didn’t show up. Auburn had no fire in the gut. Sometimes it looked like the Tigers had no guts at all. For more than half of the game, the Auburn Tigers weren't just getting beat. They were losing. And losing it. Defeated. Manhandled. Overpowered. Outsmarted. Outcoached. Outscored. Taken to the outhouse. Or in this case, taken to the Pig Pen.

I hate to lose.

Finally, after getting a little bit of respect in the media….after getting a little positive press for the head coaching hire….the good guys from the Plains of Alabama reverted back to that same old condition they had WAY too many times under Tuberville: they couldn’t handle the success. Arkansas, with the worst defense in the SEC going into the game, looked like a pros. Auburn’s offense looked like The Tony Franklin System reincarnated. Somebody, PLEASE, throw out the trash and make sure those three ring binders with that dadburn system gets tossed with it!!!

For every sickening minute --- and yes, I watched EVERY sickening minute --- I said over and over to myself: “I hate to lose.”

I don’ t have anything to say about gut-check time, getting back on the right track, overcoming adversity, moving on, playing better, being shorthanded, being young, not having many scholorship players, or any other cliché about the future of Auburn Football. Right now I just have a pit in my stomach. I hate to lose.

I guess I should say something positive to Arkansas and Coach Bobby Petrino, especially after the blog I wrote a few days ago. O.K…….here goes. I’ll quote another great sports philosopher, the great Yogi Berra. Here’s the quote for you, Coach Petrino, and for your Hogs: “You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you.”

WJLaneSR

Can you smell that smell??

2009-10-09T09:43:00.004-04:00

I don’t know when grunge became cool. They say it has something to do with Seattle and a dead guy named Cobain. I don’t know when it became acceptable to use horrendously bad language in public….especially in front of women. I don’t know when hearing “F-bombs” dropped no longer brought embarrassment. I DO know this; call me old-fashioned, but my ears still turn red and I still duck my head when I hear that bomb dropped.

The behavior of some people is analogous to walking around in a cloud of dust, sprinkling dirt on all they come in contact with. They seem to be happily dirty. They don’t try to explain it. They don’t try to hide it. They don’t try to fight it. For them, it is a part of their character, and a fact of their life. In many ways, their behavior is as slovenly filthy as Pigpen from the Snoopy comic strip. But whereas Pigpen was kind of cute in his dirty ways, other people are not. They're just nasty.

Maybe that’s why Bobby Petrino is a good fit for Arkansas. They are Pigpen central. Home of the Razorbacks. Chitterling country. Can you smell the Pig Sty?

You certainly can when you observe Petrino’s behavior. This past week the Southeastern Conference has been debating the “Excessive Celebration” rule. Really, it is an “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” rule. And if you look up the words “unsportsmanlike conduct” in the dictionary, you will find a picture of Bobby Petrino. Oh, he may have a great offensive mind, but his demeaner is simply offensive.

Not only is he a sojourner coach looking for his next gig, he has one of the filthiest mouths in all of football. When ESPN or CBS has a Hogs game, they cannot show Petrino more than a couple of seconds without showing, in glaring and colorful clarity, F-Bombs, the Lord's name in vain, and other words being mouthed out toward coaches, referees, players and the camera. Cover your kids eyes and ears when he is being shown and turn down the volume. Mama, you don’t wanna hear this!

My mother would have taken a bar of Dial soap and a fingernail brush to his tongue. That smell in Razorback stadium isn’t from the Boar Hog they have down by the endzone, it is the stench that comes from Petrino’s mouth over on the sideline. As Jack, who worked in the Machine Shop at Columbus Mill, used to say about a Plant Engineer: “That man sho’ can cuss!”

Tomorrow, Auburn plays the Hogs in Fayett-nam. I hope they packed a lot of soap for the trip, because even though there is an artificial rug for the turf, there will be plenty of filth flying around that will need to be scrubbed off.

War Eagle!
WJLaneSR

Vol-In-Tears

2009-10-06T10:11:00.002-04:00

“I have a perfect horror of words that are not backed up by deeds.”

Those were the words of Teddy Roosevelt spoken at Oyster Bay, New York in July, 1915. Roosevelt didn’t like people who “talked big”. In fact, during his term as the governor of the state of New York, he fought privately with Tom Platt, the party chairman, over a political appointment. Platt came out publicly in the paper and said, “I’m going to ruin Roosevelt!”

Of course, that didn’t happen, Roosevelt went on to run for the Presidency, and eventually won. Platt was basically never heard from again.

Over the last 6-8 months, a lot of noise has come from Old Rocky Top. “We’re going to sing Rocky Top all night long in Gainesville after we beat Florida in the Swamp.” “We’ve closed the recruiting gates to Memphis.” In fact, Lane Kiffen has become the Mouth of the South.

The Volunteer Nation bought into the boy with a golden tongue. They ate the orange jello he was selling. They were infused with a dose of the citrus vitamin.

Then came the disease which seemed to permeate Neyland Drive.

Hoof and Mouth Disease. This disease causes painful blisters in the mouth and on the palms of the hands. It can, and often is, passed from one person to another. The blisters begin in the mouth, causing lesions that get on the hands. Much like spewing venom from the mouth and settles on the hands.

You could also call it “The Lane Kiffen Disease”. For all his venom spewing, it seemed to settle on the hands of his receivers. I am sure that is why they couldn’t catch a ball that was thrown to them. Maybe they should have stayed away from the orange kool-aid.

While all of that citronic clutter was being heaved from the rocky summit, down on the Plains all was quiet. Just work. Hard work.

When asked what was going on down there, the response was only: “We’re just doing what we do.” Do What We Do. DWWD. The Gene Chizic motif.

The showdown in Knoxtown was the tale of two programs. Hype, hoopla, Big Orange. Low key, quiet, flying under the radar Big Blue. I was there.

The final score was Auburn 26 – Tennessee 22. The game wasn’t that close. The Vols were dying from Hoof and Mouth disease. And Auburn was taking a page out of Teddy Roosevelt’s bag of quotes.

When asked about the incident with Tom Platt, his response was: “I have always been fond of the West African proverb: Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”

Under Chizic, that’s what Auburn does. Kiffen, on the other hand, continues the truth of the old Southeastern Conference proverb: “No fruit sucks like the Big Orange.”

War Eagle!
WJLaneSR

Have you ever seen the Rain?

2009-09-21T14:25:00.003-04:00

Bosco and Tanner were in the front yard barking. Neither seemed overly upset, just excited. Something clearly had their attention. I thought it was because they didn’t recognize my son and me. Perhaps that was correct, but I think there was another explanation. Although unrecognizable to me at the time, it was a foreshadowing event.

My mother decided to stay home. My son, my dad and I packed up my full-sized gas guzzler SUV with the ice chest, fat-saturated snacks, portable table and stadium seats. With totem window flags in place and magnetic helmet stickers on the doors, we were ready to leave. At that moment, there was no thought of the carbon footprint we were leaving; only the Tiger Paw print we were hoping to leave on the stomach of some Mountaineers.

We took the westerly trek down Interstate 85, and there were momentary glimpses of the sun playing hide and seek from behind the clouds. I began to think to myself that the weather was going to hold off, and it was going to be a good night. One of those songs that just kind of sticks in your mind…you know, the ones that you can’t get out of your mind when it finds itself buried within the gray matter….began to hum around in my cranium. Not that I really KNOW the song, just that my son likes to play it. It’s by The Black Eyed Peas and the words are something like: “I’ve got a feeling….that tonight’s gonna be a good night…that tonight’s gonna be a good good night…..”

We tailgated, libated and belly sated ourselves before heading to hallowed grounds. It was a little humid, but otherwise pleasant. The band was circling the playing field as we found our traditional seats. The stands were a sea of orange speckled with navy, with a smattering of yellow in one endzone corner and two upper deck corners. Just over my right shoulder, it was purple.

The rain began as a few drops, which soon turned to buckets. Just as the two teams were fininshing their warmups, the purple behind my right shoulder gave birth to a thunderbolt. The delay was begun.

It was then that I realized why Bosco and Tanner, who don’t live with the same families, were together in my parents’ front yard barking. They were gathering two by two. It’s the only explanation, because the next hour the rains came in diluvial proportion. I was expecting Noah to come floating out of the locker room tunnel, because Jordan-Hare Stadium was quickly becoming a lake.

The students never left. They sang. They shouted. They partied. One student was overheard shouting, “I love a little water with my bourbon”. The stadium sound system belted out Dan Fogerty of Credence Clearwater Revival singing “I wanna know...have you ever seen the rain?” And even after the watershed delay, the students were revved up to a level I haven’t seen in a couple of years. It carried over.

The eagle didn’t fly Saturday night. He couldn’t because of the weather. Instead, I heard that a dove was released to see if he would bring back an olive branch. I'm sure that happened, because Auburn handed that peace gift to West Virginia in the first two series of the game. It was as if Auburn said, “Welcome to Auburn, sorry about the rain, here….take a couple of touchdowns on us. It’s a southern hospitality thang.”

And still…the students never let up. They never sat down. They never quietened down. They were too loose, too wet and too happy to stop the enthusiasm over a couple of hand delivered touchdowns. After all, the night was young, and a coupple of gift wrapped TD's ain't gonna stop the rain that had become their party.

Auburn seemed to get stronger as the night wore on…the crowd seemed to get louder as the clock ticked on….the mountaineers seemed to make more mistakes as the Alabama evening beckoned on….and an orange and blue rainbow seemed to appear on the horizon as evening turned to late night. (O.K., it was a blimp of some sort behind a few lingering clouds, but let’s not mess up a good story).

A game that started out as a continuation of the last time Auburn and West Virginia met, spun on a wet and muddy dime, and became something altogether different. It was as if all those lingering doubts and concerns and leftover feelings of 2008 were washed away. Literally. Auburn’s defense rose up from the mud that was the stadium floor, and sealed a victory with an interception run back for a touchdown.

Oh, sure, Auburn has a long way to go. But this all has a new feel to it. And West Virginia was a pretty good football team.

One of the first things Gene Chizik said after he was introduced as the new Head Football Coach of the Auburn Tigers was, “we’re going to get Auburn back to where it was, to where it should be. But we’re going to build our program the right way, and we’re not going to take any shortcuts.”

Kind of reminds me of what Noah had to say about building the ark. And THAT’S something a couple of dogs can bark to.

WJLaneSR

From Hot to Cold....or "Blowin like a breeze?"

2009-09-17T15:50:00.001-04:00

We arrived the day before. The weather was o.k., clear, a bit breezy. It was really hard to tell where downtown was. We drove 70 miles from the Pittsburg airport to get there.

Our hotel was beside the interstate. It was late afternoon when we arrived, and we were hungry. We ate dinner at a chicken-wing type bar that seemed more suited for the NASCAR crowd than for a college town. Thank goodness we decided to drive around and find the stadium. Had we not done this, I don’t know if we ever would have found it the next day. It was hidden between two “almost heaven” mountains.

I can’t help but remember that weekend last year as this Saturday’s game approaches.

My son, my dad and I made the trip to Morgantown last year to see the Auburn/West Virginia game. And that weekend sticks in my mind, my craw and my gut as the straw that broke the camel’s proverbial back for the 2008 Auburn Tigers. It was a Tiger team that fell apart that night.

It was cold. My son had on two shirts, a sweatshirt and a heavy coat. He was still cold. I had on a long sleeve shirt, a coat and gloves, and I was cold. Sitting high in the endzone facing the wind with the stadium down in a holler between two hills didn’t help, because the wind shot directly toward us as though we were in a wind tunnel.

The following January, I had a conversation about that night with Mark May. Yes, that Mark May from ESPN. I was in the concierge lounge at the Marriott East in New York, just across the street from the Waldorf, the night before the College Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Mark May was staying at the same hotel as me. He came into the concierge lounge, and we struck up a conversation. It centered around Auburn, because I had on my orange and blue “AU” cap.

May told me that he was at the West Virginia game, and knew something wasn’t right when he looked at the Auburn sideline. Although at the time Auburn was ahead, the players NOT on the field were huddled around the jet heaters trying to get warm. They weren’t paying attention to the ballgame. He said that Coach Tubs got so mad about it that he had the heaters turned off at halftime, not to be turned on again during the game. He said that coaches were yelling at each other, players were shivering, and everyone seemed to be confused. I didn’t recall seeing any of this, but I was a part of 3 generations of Lanes being frozen by a Big East windstorm at the time.

What I DID see in the second half was heat from the other sideline. Heat in the form of Noel Devine. I saw him zip around, through and over Auburn’s defense for 207 yards rushing. I saw an Auburn defense coming apart at the seems. I saw an Auburn offense that never could find the seems. Mark May saw a football team on the sideline falling apart right before his eyes. A national television audience saw a Tuberville coached team quit late in the fourth quarter…giving up a meaningless touchdown because the team was already defeated.

Fast forward to this week. Auburn is favored in the game. It won’t be cold. Both offenses have big play potential. This will NOT be an easy game for Auburn. It will be even more difficult for West Virginia.

For all the hype of both these offenses, and all that hype is deserved, this game will be won by the defense. The defense that can put the other offense in 1st and long. The defense that can keep the other offense off the field. The defense that can put fast, speed rush on the quarterback. And the defense that can stop two potentially potent rushing games.

I do predict a high score. But when the dust from the Plains settles (and it may be mud, according to the weatherman), it will be Auburn 34- West Virginia 24.

WJLaneSR

Just Another Thursday Meeting

2009-09-10T16:11:00.002-04:00

The meeting was uneventful. We exchanged business cards. We exchanged pleasantries. We talked about when they had done business for a former company I worked for several years earlier. He asked about some people I knew, I asked about some people he knew, we basically “caught each other up".

Bud worked for The Hartford. They had been our Worker’s Compensation carrier at my previous company. He wanted meet with me, pitch the business, and I was willing to listen. After all, I was in New York anyway, and he was buying lunch. I had sat through what seemed to be hundreds of these type meetings before, and hundreds since. It was just another Thursday business-lunch meeting.

We ate lunch outside on the pavilion, pastrami sandwiches if I recall, because the day was nice. Breezy, but nice. Of course, there’s always a breeze downtown.

After lunch, I took the subway back to our offices.

That was Thursday. Thursday, September 7.

At that time, The Hartford’s office was in one of the surrounding buildings. It was Building #6. That’s where our meeting took place, and that’s the last time I saw Bud.

Tomorrow marks the 8th anniversary of 9-11. 5 days after I was at #6 World Trade Center. The following Tuesday after I had been there on Thursday. Bud was one of those people never found.

I’ve thought about this often over the last eight years. How I could have been meeting him on Tuesday of the following week instead of Thursday the week before. Was it a scheduling issue? Was September 7th always the date we were going to meet? Did we change the date? I really don’t remember. I’ve tried, but I just don’t.

What I DO know is, I could have just as easily been there on 9-11 as 9-7. As were thousands of other people.

Usually, I write about fun things like first downs and touchdowns. I brag on my Tigers and rag on the other SEC teams. And I will do that again.

But not today. For we are on the eve of the 8th anniversary of my generation’s Pearl Harbor. The U.S. attacked. On her shores. War declared.

Tomorrow is a day of remembrance. I happen to be in New York as I write this, and I see many people going about their everyday business…the hustle and bustle that IS the city. I wonder how many of them will pause tomorrow….and remember….and honor the fallen.

Let’s never forget. I know I won’t forget. I won’t forget how I could have been there on Tuesday instead of Thursday. I won't forget what they did to us. And I won’t forget Bud.

WJLaneSR

Dancing with the Stars

2009-09-09T10:21:00.001-04:00

She is the artistic director of the New England Dance Ensemble in Manchester, New Hampshire. She learned the art as a boarding student in Chester, England.

Barbara made sure her three children – Dan, Patrick and Katie – had an eye for the arts and an ear for classical music. “The boys danced. Being from Wales, I just felt they needed that exposure. We don’t find it weird (in England) for boys to dance. Here in America, there’s a social stigma attached to it and it’s not a cool thing to do.”

While at the same time raising her three children, her family hosted dancers from around the world, including the English National Ballet, the Royal Ballet, and the National Ballet of Madrid.

Not only did all three children learn to dance, they also learned to play musical instruments. The oldest of the three, Dan, learned to play the piano. In fact, he became somewhat of a novice concert pianist.

When he was growing up, Dan and his brother also enjoyed playing with the other boys. Especially football. They were the only brothers in their neighborhood who practiced ballet on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and practiced football on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning.

By the time Dan was in high school, he was the quarterback for Trinity High School. They would win the state championship that year.

Dan reflects that “ballet involves great athleticism and flexibility. When you watch some world class dancers and watch their ability, it is pretty impressive. Dance and football are very similar with commitment, dedication and the amount of people involved. It requires a tremendous amount of teamwork.”

Dan continued his passion for football, but never gave up his love for dance. Playing tight end at Ursinus College, he became hard-nosed as well.

Being from New Hampshire, he became good friends with Chip Kelley, head football coach at Oregon, and Gary Crowton, coordinator at LSU. The three of them became known in football circles as “The New Hampshire Mafia.”

Dan became a part of Urban Mayer’s staff at Utah, and followed him to Florida, where he became offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Then, in December 2008, he was hired to replace Sylvester Croom as the Head Football Coach of Mississippi State.

His name is Dan Mullen. And on Saturday, he brings his maroon clad bulldogs into Jordan-Hare Stadium to face the Auburn Tigers.

He hasn’t given up playing the piano, but now he also plays a cowbell. And being the head football coach at an SEC school isn’t a bad gig. I guess you might say that now, he is dancing with the stars.
WJLaneSR

All things are become new

2009-09-07T19:43:00.002-04:00

What a strange Labor Day Weekend. The dawning of the 2009 college football season. The end of summer. The beginning of a new school year. The Good Book would sum it up like this: "Old things have passed away, behold, all things are become new."

And yet, I entered the weekend feeling as though I were brining some old baggage with me. It felt a little like "not ALL things are become new."

Not that this was a typical and normal Labor Day Weekend for me. Quite the contrary. One of my daughters was in Charleston where she goes to school. Another daughter was in Charlotte where she will be attending school. And yet another daughter was on her pilgrimage way to Portland, Oregon. My wife was riding with her across the fruited plain, traveling some 3000 miles in a Honda Civic. They were enjoying the wide expanse of states like Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. All the while my son, who is 13, was spending the weekend camping in the North Carolina Mountains.

So that left me…and the dog.

Fortunately, I have a nephew who is going to school at Spartanburg Methodist College, and between him and my “Charlotte” daughter, they tag-team dog sat. This freed me up to take advantage of my favorite pastime. After all, Saturday was the start of a new Auburn football season. And besides, I already had someone lined up to teach my Sunday School Class for me.

So, all by myself, I loaded up my Expedition with a stadium seat and other paraphanelia. Then on Friday evening I headed for my parents house. They lived in a small town on the Alabama/Georgia border. What should have been a 4 hour drive turned into something much more. A large contingent of the Virginia Tech nation was heading to Atlanta, and the holiday weekend traffic had already begun. To top it off, when I got below Atlanta, I-85 is a total mess. Literally.

Arrive I did, though, and on Saturday I travelled to the Plains of Alabama with my parents to see the Auburn Tigers play.

Which brings me to the baggage I felt I was bringing. You see, I had this nagging feeling that Deja Vous was about to happen. That I was about to see a rerun of the Tony Franklin experiment. Not that I WANTED that to happen, mind you, but that shadow, like a little demon-dude, was sitting on my shoulder. And he was still sitting there when I entered Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Until I saw the kickers come out to warm up. I began to watch Assistant Coach Trooper Taylor working the sideline crowd (most of whom were recruits). He was jump-hipping them, sneaking up behind them and “goosing” them, jumping into their photo-ops, and just having fun. And the recruits were eating it up. They were laughing, high-fiving, and having a blast. Unlike what I saw last year, which was much more business-like when visiting with recruits.

The team came out with a vigor and enthusiasm that I hadn’t seen in quite some time. And the sideline signals didn't look like a cross-walk crowd in Manhattan just as the traffic light changes.

Then it dawned on me….this wasn’t a Tony Franklin team. Not at all. This was something different.

To continue the weirdness of the evening, a family of 6 showed up to sit in 4 seats right in front of us. They squeezed, sat on top of each other, and clearly didn't know Section 13's manners and etiquette. Oh, they weren't foul mouthed or bad, they were just standing up, taking pictures, talking to people around them, and asking questions about how much these seats cost, what did you think of the last coach, and what do you think of this one.

My dad leaned over and whispered a question to me. “Does he look like anybody to you?”

My response was direct and immediate. I told him “Yes, he looks just like Gene Chizik, and even sounds like him.” We agreed that this was as close to a twin as one could get. And I have to say, I’m not convinced RIGHT NOW that it wasn’t Coach Chizik’s brother.

The eagle flew pregame, and for the first time I ever remember, it flew outside the confines of the stadium for a minute…but came back in. The band played, the tigers roared, and as we all know, Auburn was victorious.

The baggage I came with was unloaded in Section 13 Saturday night. This wasn’t last year’s team. This was something else. Maybe something special. Well over 500 yards offense, the longest play from scrimmage in Auburn history, a true freshman who rushed for 150 yards (first time that has happened since Bo Jackson), and a second running back with over 100 yards rushing as well. Two 49 yard field goals….I could go on and on.

Will all this continue into next week when an SEC opponent comes into town? I don’t know. There’s not a little shadow-dude on my shoulder to tell me. After all, the old things have passed away, and behold, all things are become new.

WJLaneSR

College Colors Day

2009-08-31T17:17:00.000-04:00

Maybe it’s in your closet hanging behind that charcoal suit you haven’t worn since Easter. Or perhaps it is under those branded golf shirts in your bureau. It could be a t-shirt, a knit shirt, or a dress shirt. Possibly it is a blouse, or hair bow. You know it as your lucky game-day apparel, and you know what I am talking about.

It’s time to take it out, dust it off, wash it, iron it, kiss it, go through whatever ritual you have for it…and then put it on….because Friday is College Colors Day.

College Colors Day is an annual celebration organized by the Collegiate Licensing Company and it’s consortium of colleges and universities. Your alma mater, favorite school or team, or local university is probably participating. All of the schools in the SEC and the ACC are.

College Colors Day, which coincides with both “back to school” and the kickoff of intercollegiate athletics….including football (yeah!! and for me…War Eagle!!)…seeks to celebrate and promote the traditions and spirit that make the college traditions great by getting fans, alumni and students to wear apparel of their favorite college throughout the day of Friday, September 4, 2009.

Therefore, I invite you to join me….as I will be wearing MY favorite Orange, Blue and White shirt, to put on YOUR favorite team apparel…and make Friday an exciting College Colors Day. Heck, you can even bring your pom-pom shaker to work or school if you dare!

There’s nothing like the college traditions. And what a great way to start the first weekend of the new college football season.

I just hope my shirt still fits. I’m not sure that charcoal suit does.

WJLaneSR

1 Week Away

2009-08-27T14:34:00.002-04:00

We are one week away. Only 7 days. Next Thursday evening. Its college football time again.

The lineup may not be laden with heavy hitters, but there are some pretty good matchups, I think. The marquee game will be the Gamecocks of South Carolina versus the Wolfpack of North Carolina State. This game will carried by ESPN, with a kickoff time of 7:00 p.m. eastern.

As the Ol’ Ball Coach prepares for his 5th season as the top cock-of-the-walk, he does so with the expectations of being “middle of the pack” in the SEC east. Visiting Raleigh to play the Wolfpack will not be the easiest feat, but the Gamecocks need this win. Without that momentum, it could be a very difficult following week with a trip to Athens, Georgia waiting on them.

Other games on Thursday night see North Dakota State visiting Gene Chizic’s former troops at Iowa State, and North Texas at up-and-coming Ball State (David Letterman gives a cheer from the Ed Sullivan Theater!)

And finally, for those who can’t sleep on Thursday night, don’t take a Tylenol PM. Just keep your television on ESPN, and at 10:15 pm EST you will see Oregon at Boise State. And before you snooze in your recliner, this may actually be the best game of the night. Oregon enters the game at #16, and Boise State enters at #14. There is a lot on the line for these two programs.

And just in case your double espresso of college football on Thursday night doesn’t get you through to Saturday’s big kickoff day, you can tune in to ESPN on Friday night and catch Gus Mulzahn’s former Tulsa team square off in the Big Easy against the Green Wave of Tulane. Friday night on Bourbon Street. Could it get any sweeter?

Saturday’s lineup looks like this:

For all you early-morning Bloody-Mary types:

12:00 Noon Eastern
Kentucky at Miami (Ohio) ESPNU
WKU at Tennessee SEC Network
Navy at Ohio State ESPN
Minn. at Syracuse ESPN2

1:00 PM Eastern
Jax State at Ga. Tech ESPN360

For the Tailgating crowd:

3:30 PM Eastern
Georgia at Okla. State ABC
Jackson St. at Miss. St ESPNU
Missouri at Illinois ESPN
Baylor at Wake Forest ESPN2

And finally, for the Dinner-Time night games:

7:00 PM Eastern
La. Tech at Auburn ESPNU
Mo. State at Arkansas ESPN360

8:00 PM Eastern
Alabama vs. Va. Tech ABC

10:00 PM Eastern
Maryland at California ESPN2

10:30 PM Eastern
LSU at Washington ESPN

So…hope you get enough college football next week…it’s the first full week. Don’t be like the little boy at the church dinner-on-the grounds, though. He ate so much that it made him sick. He never wanted to see another spread of food like that again. At least, until the next time.

WJLaneSR.

Swine Flu Alert

2009-08-20T14:55:00.002-04:00

The H1N1 virus is a serious threat. The World Health Organization raised the pandemic level to 5 a couple of months back, which basically meant that it was spreading from country to country.

The company I work for has taken the H1N1 threat very seriously. We have put into place contingency plans “just in case” the pandemic becomes a problem.

But let’s be honest. The H1N1 flu hasn’t been as fatal as first thought. In fact, more people are dying in this country from the REGULAR flu strain than from H1N1.

Of course, autumn isn’t here yet, and that’s when flu season really begins.

Which begs the question….when all of us tailgater, road-tripper, football fans gather in large stadiums this fall….will we be subjecting ourselves to the H1N1 flu? I don’t know.

But Ole Miss sure seems to be concerned about it.

In a press release from their Althletic Department, Ole Miss has reacted quite strangely to the H1N1 threat. Here is the release and I quote: OXFORD, Miss. - In an abundance of caution regarding the potential exposure of various flu strains, Ole Miss officials announced Tuesday that Saturday's planned "Meet the Rebels Day" has been cancelled for this year.
"After consultation with our team physicians and Coach Houston Nutt, we felt it was in the best interest of our football team to cancel this year's 'Meet the Rebels Day'," said Ole Miss Athletics Director Pete Boone.
"While we may be over cautious regarding the flu, our season opener is less than three weeks away and we can't take any chances," Nutt said. "We certainly regret not being able to interact with our fans at this time."

I gotta tell you, I don't know if I have ever seen anything quite like this. I was TOTALLY taken back by this announcement from the Rebel Athletic Department.

But after thinking about it a while, I finally understood.

You see, H1N1 is also known as……SWINE FLU.

The Reverend Head Coach Houston Nutt has tried very hard at Ole Miss to distance himself from his days at Arkansas as the Head Boar Hog. He won't even use the name "Arkansas" around Oxford...only calling it "that school." And it makes perfect sense that he wouldn’t want anything swine related around his current football program. They are a pre-season top ten pick, are coming off a great year last year, had a very good recruiting year, and some say will contend for the SEC West championship. Why would he want to upset his apple cart over H1N1?

After all, you could say it was “swine flu” that got him run off from Arkansas.

WJLaneSR

The Art of Being Right

2009-08-17T15:33:00.002-04:00

O.K. First things first. I’m only going to gloat for a minute. I was right. No doubt about it.

I told you that I thought Todd would be named the starting quarterback, many of you sent me messages of disagreement, saying it would Burns or Caudle. In fact, most comments were that it would be Burns. But...I was right. Todd was named the starting quarterback for Auburn. (This is the part where I beat on my chest a little, with a wiley grin, and say "told you so!").

Which for some strange reason reminds me of a philosopher I once studied while in college.

His name was Arthur Schopenhauer. In 1831, he wrote a short treatise entitled “Die Kunst, Recht zu Behalten”. “The Art of Being Right”.

Maybe you are married to someone who practices this philosophy. I don’t know…I’m just saying.

I don’t remember all 38 methods it states can be used to show that you are right, but I remember a few. Let’s see….

Generalize the other person’s specific statements
Yield admissions through questions
Choose metaphors favorable to your propositions
Find one instance to the contrary
Exaggerate your statements
Interrupt, Break and Divert the dispute

Seems like Arthur was trying to teach us how to lie.

But that wasn’t the purpose of his treatise. The purpose was to teach one to debate…Particularly to debate legal issues.

Which brings me to Delaware’s Democratic Governor, Jack Markell. It seems Governor Markell, in an effort to increase his state’s coffers, has proposed legalizing single-game and parlay wagering on sports to help erase their budgets deficit.

Boy, has this ticked off the major sports agencies.

The NFL, NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball and the NCAA putting up strong objections, and have joined forces to legally battle the little state of Delaware on this issue. (I couldn’t find where Ultimate Fighting or World Championship Wrestling gave any sort of objection, or even cared).

Nevertheless, the legal debate has begun, and the joint sports associations have started their media blitz trying to show that widespread legalized gambling would threaten the integrity of their sports by creating incentives for cheating and game-fixing.

In May, Delaware’s Supreme Court ruled that this “sports betting plan” did not violate the state’s constitution “as long as chance is the predominate factor in winning or losing.”

The case is now before the 3rd Circuit in Philadelphia, where both sides will get their opportunity to legally debate the issue. There are very strong opinions on both sides of the aisle.

Who will win the debate? I don’t know…..Ask Arthur Schopenhauer.

Now as for who’s right…well…that's another question.

WJLaneSR

Back in the Saddle

2009-08-12T12:35:00.000-04:00

My hiatus is over. Dog days, two-a-days, and school days are upon us. Locker rooms across the country have the fragrant smell of sweaty socks and jocks. Body parts are chafed, itching, burning and peeling. It’s Gold Bond Ointment and Powder time. Its football time again.

Since we last conversed, many things have changed in my life. My oldest daughter moved from Charleston and is headed to Portland, Oregon….with a 1 month pit-stop at our house. My youngest daughter totaled her car in a one vehicle accident that sent her and the vehicle on a three flip rollover (she’s o.k.). My middle daughter went to Nairobi, Kenya on a mission trip, came home and passed 4th semester Spanish during her “mini-mester”. My son was tapped into the Order of the Arrow in Boy Scouts, and has his ordeal this weekend. And my wife and I celebrated our 29th anniversary. Being “ever the human resources professional” that I am, I should add…that’s 29 years without a break in service.

I learned to “twitter” during my hiatus, and find that it is interesting, and temptingly addictive. It gives new meaning to the phrases: “just how much do you want to know”, and “I don’t believe I’d a told that”.

So now, summer comes to a close. Down on the Plains, the Tigers are already in the midst of two-a-day practices and in fact had their first scrimmage last night. Many questions remain to be answered, and most will continue to dangle like a participle until kickoff time on September 5th. The most pressing question is, “who will be the starting quarterback?” My beloved wife of 29 years would say, “Who cares?”

I do.

Therefore, I offer to you my assessment of the quarterback situation at Auburn this year.

First and foremost, I believe WITH CONVICTION that Gus Malzahn already knows who he wants. I believe the “fair shot” thing is just that….to make sure that none of his gunslingers believe they were slighted and not given a fair shake. That being said, my assessment:

Kodi Burns: Malzahn has known him since the high school days. Malzahn likes him personally and recruited him at Arkansas. He has big-game experience, and this always has to be taken into consideration. However, he has shown consistently that although he has a tremendous amount of athletic ability, he makes bad decisions. Or at least incomplete ones. And while we are talking incomplete, he has a passing problem and it is still apparent if you look at the summer workout videos on any of the Auburn sites. He is still throwing behind and at the feet of receivers.

Neil Caudle: It’s now or never for the Spain Park superstar. His knee problems seem to be corrected, and in the spring game he showed much more poise than he had shown during most practices. His problem, before the spring game, was WAY too many interceptions in practice. Although he came from a spread offense, he will never outrun anybody. My suspicion is that he will fade into the background for good, if not named the starter.

Chris Todd: There was no question he had shoulder and/or arm problems last year. His passes had no “umph” to them, and most floated like a sunbather on an Inner-Tube. Has his arm strength come back? Is he now what he was purported to be when he was almost/woulda/shoulda/coulda been the starter at Texas Tech? As with Caudle, if not now for him, then never. He’s worked hard and those closest to the situation indicate he has the best grasp, mentally, of Malzahn’s offense.

Two freshmen: Rollison may be the future. Or Moseley. Many say Rollison reminds them of a young Jason Campbell. But even the young Jason Campbell got roughed up when he entered the SEC. It’s just no place for a freshman, no matter how good they are. My feeling is the freshmen quarterbacks redshirt. Clearly they are the future, but not the right now future.

All that said….what do I think? Let me put my finger up and feel the wind.

I think it ends up being Todd. Why? Just a hunch. Mostly based on what I hear about his grasp of the offense mentally. But hey, I could be wrong. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.

Oh….and one more thing before I forget. My family grew by one this past week. My son has a thirteenth birthday next week and he got one of his presents early. He’s a Boston Terrier puppy. And his name is Carnell.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSR

25 years ago and today

2009-06-15T16:43:00.002-04:00

Maybe what goes around does come around. I mean, here we go again.

The Collegiate Commissioner’s Association is taking up the topic of a football playoff for Division I schools. The wildest proposal will come from the Mountain West Conference.

All the Commissioners can do, however, is make a proposal to the Bowl Championship Series Presidential Oversight Committee. Talk about political, the committee name alone has the feeling of a billion dollar lobbyist reception at the Waldorf!

How many times is this topic going to be discussed, debated, and ultimately not acted upon? And no, the first time this came up was NOT when Auburn got left out of the party back in 2004, although for most Tiger fans it feels that way.

In fact, it made the headlines 25 years ago. The NCAA Division 1-A college football coaches were having their meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. It was June 9, 1984. One of the delegates to the conference was Georgia head football coach and athletic director Vince Dooley. During the session, the delegates voted almost unanimously for a proposal that called for a playoff game to determine a national champion in football. (Remember Tommy Tuberville’s call for a “plus 1” game?) Following the vote, Coach Dooley was quoted as saying, “It’s a step forward. The public wants one. The press wants one. In my opinion, it would be really good for college football. It’s time we have one.”

The proposal was offered to the NCAA Council’s legislative meeting on June 28th in Chicago, where it was shot down. It was discovered at that meeting that the Conference Commissioners were unanimous in their opposition to a playoff of any kind.

And here we are, 25 years later. Same issue. Same story.

In an interesting tidbit of trivia, the same day Coach Dooley reported the results of the coaches votes regarding a playoff, the Associated Press Gridiron Gauge came out. This was a poll which used a number of factors to determine who supposedly had the most difficult college football schedule for the upcoming 1984 season. That honor belonged to none other that Auburn.

In 1984, Auburn would open with Miami, the reigning national champion. Add to that schedule Texas, Southern Miss, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Florida State, Ga. Tech, Mississippi State, Florida, Cincinnati, Georgia and Alabama, and you have what the AP called “the toughest football schedule in the nation.”

Let’s compare that to the schedule for 2009. Louisana Tech, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Ball State, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Furman, Georgia and Alabama.

Interesting comparison, huh? Just a couple of things I thought you might be interested in thinking about today.

WJLaneSR

Marissa's trip

2009-06-11T15:08:00.004-04:00

There are so many things I could write about today. I could write about a friend having surgery today, and praying it all went well. I could write about Alabama being put on probation yet again, leaving the window of "repeat offender" open until 2014. I could write about the passing of a great swim coach at Auburn.

I choose to write about my daughter's trip.

As you may or may not know, our second daughter departed this morning for Nairobe, Kenya. She is part of a mission team that will be in Mwingi working with Real Life Church in nearby Kamuwongo (about 2 hours drive from Nairobe). This is the first Christian Church to be built in that area of Kenya, and they have just over 50 members.

My daughter's team will be supplying food, medical aid and education to the children of that area.

Attached are photos of the church building as of yesterday, the mission team from South Carolina, and the symbol/logo that is on the team's t-shirt.

Needless to say, mom and dad are hoping she and the team stay safe, accomplish much, and have a life changing experience.

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and support.

D-Day

2009-06-06T10:29:00.005-04:00

It was 65 years ago today. June 6, 1944. The invasion of Normandy. D-Day. The 1st and 29th Infantry Division of the United States Army faced the 352nd Infantry Division of the German Army. It was Germany’s best trained division. The place was Omaha beach, which had high bluffs, heavily funneled bunkers, machine guns and artillery. 5000 American soldiers died that day, most within a few hours. It is estimated that 20,000 American soldiers were wounded.

One of those wounded was a young lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers who landed with the 1stth Infantry Division.

He was assigned to the First Engineer Specialty Brigade. Having already participated in the invasion of North Africa, Sicily and Italy, battle was no stranger to him. But his recollection of D-Day would be different.

“When the ramp was lowered from our landing boat, the entire company became inert,” he recalled. “Except for me as a lieutenant, and hey, I was just an engineer, we were leaderless and almost incapable of action. Every officer and sergeant was either killed or wounded, and it became a struggle of survival and rescue. Boys from Georgia, Alabama, New York, California and all over the country were dying right beside me.”

He was also wounded. A piece of shrapnel tore into his left arm during the invasion. He wrapped it up and continued his effort to survive and rescue. His left arm would never be the same.

He received a purple heart for the wound he received in the Battle of Omaha Beach on D-Day. He would also receive a Bronze Star. He went on to fight in the Battle of Okinawa, and achieved the rank of Major. He considered a military career, but decided to resign his commission after the war. He was more interested in teaching and coaching young men.

He became a football coach, and in his pre-game talks to his team, he would often draw analogies between the great battles he had fought in World War II, and the battles about to take place on the gridiron.

Most Auburn fans only know of him as “the gentleman head football coach.” After all, he was at the helm of Auburn’s football team for 25 years.

The Stadium bears his name. In fact, when the stadium name was changed from “Cliff Hare Stadium” to “Jordan-Hare Stadium” in 1973, it was the first time in NCAA history that a stadium was named for a living, active coach.

His name was Ralph “Shug” Jordan.

And today, I don’t want you to remember him as the beloved and endeared Auburn Football Coach from the 50’s to the 70’s. No, today I want you remember that he was just another boy, a boy from Selma, Alabama, who stood side by side with other young men….some from Georgia, some from New York, some from California, some from Alabama….

Today I want you to remember him as one who fought for country and for our freedom. I want you to remember that 65 years ago today, he, along with others who were our country’s best and brightest, hit the beaches of Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno and Sword. Remember that he was wounded along with thousands of others as they hit the Normandy Beaches on D-Day.

His name was Ralph “Shug” Jordan. And he IS a “true” American hero.

WJLaneSR

Golden Years

2009-06-02T12:38:00.002-04:00

the Rome Georgia Daily News reported that the Northwest Georgia Auburn Club had their annual meeting on Monday, June 1st. It was attended by approximately 100 excited Tiger fans from Rome and the surrounding area. Hoping to hear some “red meat” that would excite the fans, the faithful showed up clad in their Tiger Attire. What they heard from the Tiger’s offensive coordinator was instead quite reserved. In fact, there was no talk of Tiger Prowl or Big Cat Weekend.

Rather, there were words of caution. And maybe this was the correct approach, because the upcoming season does have a lot of unknowns. When asked about spring practice, the response was “We knew coming in that we had to get tougher physically, and that’s what we worked on in the spring. We spent a lot of time with our offensive backs and our wide receivers because if you look at the cold hard facts, and I looked at the game film from every game played last year, we just haven’t had a very productive running game in two or three years. Some people think that the offense we are putting in is pass first, but this offense is run first. ”

When asked what he thought of the results from the spring, particularly in regard to the lack of run production last year, the response was “We’ve got to find people who enjoy knocking folks down and stomping on them. That’s what we’re looking for on our offensive line. And frankly, our line isn’t very deep. But we won’t be a real good football team unless we do that.”

Needless to say, the quarterback situation and the wide receiver situation drew the most questions. “We’ve got a couple of quarterbacks who saw action last year, and we’ve got some young quarterbacks coming in. They’re going to be under tremendous pressure to perform. The potential is there. A couple of our quarterbacks are going to be fine quarterbacks one day…maybe even great. Whether they will be fine players this fall remains to be seen. As for wide receiver, we’ve got a couple of young guys that are going to have to have big years for us. They’re going to have to play now. I don’t know if they’re ready or not, but we’ll see.”

Those comments were made by Auburn Offensive Coordinator Gene Lorendo on June 1, 1969, 40 years ago this week. One of the young quarterbacks he was talking about was sophomore to be Pat Sullivan. The assessment that he had potential and maybe could even be great one day was spot on. One of the young wide receivers who would have to step up, and who Lorendo wasn’t sure was ready, was sophomore to be Terry Beasley.

The words he spoke at the Northwest Georgia Auburn Club could have just as easily been said this year. Auburn DOES need some youth at skilled positions to step up and perform. Some even have potential greatness, but they have to “live into it.” And the offensive line needs to block so that Auburn can have a formidable running game again.

Jeff Beard, who was the Athletic Director at Auburn during those days, was also at that meeting 40 years ago. He told the crowd assembled at the Coosa Valley Fairgrounds outside Rome, “I believe we are about to enter some golden years in Auburn Football’s immediate future. I don’t believe for a minute that all our golden years are behind us.”

Well said, Director Beard. Let’s hope the same thing can be said of Auburn today. There are more golden years ahead, and they’re not all behind us.

WJLaneSR

Big Cat Weekend

2009-05-30T11:44:00.002-04:00

O.K., I’ll admit it. I was a little skeptical when I first heard about the “Tiger Prowl”. You remember that, don’t you? All of the coaches allowed under NCAA rule hopped into a stretch hummer limousine with Auburn magnets and flags and criss-crossed the state of Alabama visiting schools, building relationships, giving photo-ops and signing autographs. As the momentum began to build during “Tiger Growl”, I began to see that this was not a recruiting ploy aimed at me, a 50 year old, but rather aimed at 18 year olds.

And I began to understand.

Push the fast-forward button 1 month.

All day yesterday, the “inside media” teased the Auburn faithful with “big news” that would be announced at 7:00 p.m. Auburn time. Who knew what the big news was? How was it kept so secret?

At 7:00 p.m., Rivals, Scout, Alabama Live, Auburn Undercover, and several media outlets posted stories about Auburn’s Inaugural “Big Cat Weekend”.

Arriving on the Plains last night and today, for a weekend of wearing flip-flops, t-shirts, hanging out, pie-eating contests, home-run derby and chillin’ with all of Auburn’s current football players, coaches and their spouses, came 25 to 30 of the top rated recruits in America. It is a weekend of family and fun for the “Big Cats”.

How is this for a list: The #1 AND #2 rated running backs, one from Texas and the other from my home base of Spartanburg, South Carolina. The nation’s #2 rated wide receiver. The nation’s #4 rated offensive tackle. The nation’s #6 rated offensive guard. The nation’s #18 rated defensive end. The nation’s # 2 rated outside linebacker, who flew in from Connecticut. The nation’s #4 and #15 rated cornerbacks. And this just begins the list.

And I continued to understand.

This coaching staff is willing to think differently, within the rules, and recruit as hard as anyone out there. They are not conceding one inch of turf, and are recruiting in areas Auburn has never been….Connecticut, California, Texas, etc.

And now, the latest news is…..you can join in the fun of the “Big Cat Weekend”.

At 9:00 p.m. Auburn time today, there will be a “Toomer’s Corner Walk-Thru”. All Auburn fans are invited to come to the corner, and roll that traditional tree. (A little birdie told me that it’s possible there could be guests there). It is the final activity planned for the Big Cats today, and everyone else is invited to participate as well.

It’s time to show your Auburn Spirit. Head to the Plains if you can. Take plenty of toilet paper with you. Show your Auburn Spirit. Shout War Eagle! And let the Big Cats see what Auburn is really all about.

WJLaneSR

Get Along

2009-05-28T12:19:00.002-04:00

I don’t know if grammar is taught in school anymore. Maybe it has gone the way of Latin, which also is a curriculum course of bygone eras.

I never liked grammar. Not that it was too hard or difficult, but rather it wasn’t the language I spoke. Being married to a former subject of the Queen, who found her rebellious ways and abdicated her English loyalty to become a naturalized U.S. citizen while she was in college, I have been reminded throughout the years that mine is NOT the Queen’s English.

Mine is more chattahooglish. But, thanks to Ms. Claudia Malleson, I did learn the parts of speech, including what intransitive verbs were. Call my grammar lazy; just because I don’t USE the English language properly doesn’t mean I don’t KNOW the English language.

An example of an intransitive verb is two words used together, such as: “get along”.

Those words remind me of Woody Guthrie’s “Whoopee ti yi yo, get along little doggie, it’s your misfortune and none of my own.”

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive has changed that up a little. He has informed the head football coaches, who are vacationing (cough, cough) I mean meeting in Destin, Florida this week, that he expects them to tone down their rhetoric toward one another, and just “get along”. According to Slive, the back and forth vicious idioms between coaches are a a misfortune to the conference AND to everyone involved. Whoopie ti yi yo.

The Reverend Houston Nutt, an evangelist of sorts and the head Ole Miss-erable Rebel, said of Slive’s message to the coaches who were meeting in conclave, “He brought it today….he came with it today….I thought he was pretty good.” Sounds like Reverend Nutt was ready to pass the plate after Slive’s sermon. Not that a plate needed passing, considering the CBS/ESPN deal. Can I get an “Amen!” Reverend Nutt?

I suspect Coach Kiffin was sitting on the back pew doodling on his bulletin and shooting spitballs at the Ole Ball Coach, and I’m sure one of the deacons had to remind mad-hatter Les Miles to remove his cap while in church. Saint Richt never saw any of this, as his head was bowed and his eyes were shut in reverence.

Saban probably took a page out of Napolean’s book and put two cushions in his seat so that he would look as tall as the other coaches. That buzzing noise? That’s just Rich Brooks snoring in the back. Petrino wanted to see a fight in church, while Urban Meyer was busy texting the Florida Lettermen’s Club to find out if they had received their tickets in Section C.

Afterwards, did they sit around and sing KumBaYa and roast marshmallows on the Destin beach? Or maybe sing Sister Sledge’s “We are Family”?

Nah. Probably Not.

After all….what extended family that comes together for a week at the beach “gets along?” Especially when so many of the cousins are dysfunctional.

Chizik probably just shook his head saying to himself…”just get me back to Lee County.”

WJLaneSR

The Flora-Bama

2009-05-26T17:24:00.003-04:00

It was at my wife’s church office Christmas luncheon. She is the Director of Children’s ministries at the church, and I was the spouse that she brought along. Sitting at our table was her colleague and very good friend, Kim, and her husband, Jeff. Yes, he and I share the same name, so there is that “man-name-bond” that we kinda have…sorta…kinda. Kim is the Administrative Lead Person for the church.

While most would think that we were probably sitting at the table discussing metaphysical spirituality of the preacher’s sermon from the previous Sunday, we were in fact discussing a topic of much more….uh….fascination. Yes, that’s a good word.

I didn’t know anyone else in Boiling Springs even knew what it was, much less where it took place. But Coach Jeff did.

We were talking about the state of Alabama, and all of those major cities you find in lower, rural Alabama. Places like Opp and Enterprise and Brewton. And in the midst of the discussion, Jeff said, “there’s a place down in Alabama right next to Florida called the Flora-Bama.” My immediate response was “yes there is…and it’s where they have the mullet toss every year.”

I was floored. Couldn’t believe it. Right here, at the church office Christmas luncheon sitting at my table in South Carolina was another person, besides me, who not only KNEW about the Flora-Bama, but had been there. It took a couple of minutes, but I remembered it was in Perdido Key.

My wife asked me, “what is a mullet toss?” To which I replied, “It’s a fish…with a gizzard.” I told her that a contestant would stand in a 10 foot circle in Alabama, and throw the fish as far as he or she could into the state of Florida. A contribution for each fish flung is given to local youth charities.

My friend Jeff knew about this upscale establishment because he used to recruit that area of Alabama for a University where he was a defensive coach. I knew about the establishment because….well….let’s just say that he knew about that upscale establishment because he used to recruit that area of Alabama for a University where he was a coach.

We laughed about that, and frankly I all but forgot about it. Until recently. A few weeks ago, the Flora-Bama had their 25th mullet toss. I stumbled across that information, and it reminded me of the lunch we had at Christmas, which reminded me of how important times like lunch and laughter and reminiscing are. Times not to be taken for granted.

Coach Jeff….thank you for the laughter, humor and memory of that lunch. This mullet’s for you.

WJLaneSR

Benny's Hole

2009-05-22T20:13:00.005-04:00

What a disaster. I started my journey home for the holiday weekend this morning at 6:00 a.m. I should have known better. Memorial Day weekend is one of the worst times of the year to travel, and trying to get a flight out of LaGuardia on this particular Friday was, let’s say, horrendous.

My flight was delayed…..delayed…..overbooked…..and yes, I hit the lottery. Late this afternoon I found out that I would not be leaving today, but rather on the 6:00 a.m. flight TOMORROW (that’s Saturday for all my retired friends who don’t keep up with the days anymore).

Soooo….I decided to do some more work on my book. Yes, I am writing a book. An adventure you might say, that began about 13 months ago. I’m getting close to the end, with about 300 pages written. I’ll bet you didn’t know I could put together that many words. But….I decided to let the cat out of the bag today, and let you know about it. So today, instead of writing about Auburn football mingled with a little southern humor/wisdom, I’m going to give you a tease. Hey, I’m tooting my own horn, o.k.??!! It’s been a long day, and besides…it’s my blog.

So here it is….a bit from my first novel, a work in process, tentatively entitled “Benny’s Hole”.

“Why do they have to wiggle so much?” Ellis asked.

Of course, this was wasn’t the first question he had asked since they kicked off their shoes, rolled up their blue jeans and headed for the creek bank. Ellis was always asking questions. “Why do clouds look like rabbits? Do you think we’ll see a snake? Can I catch a mud puppy? How many worms do we have?”

Ellis was struggling with a night crawler that just didn’t want to cooperate. Every time he attempted to stick the golden barbed hook into the worm, he seemed to wiggle out of the way. “Hold still!” he screamed at the grayish brown crawler, as if the worm had ears and could understand a shrieking Alabama drawl.

Frankie laughed to himself. Watching the determination on Ellis’s face, which was contorted with his short pink tongue rigidly sticking through the gap where his front teeth were supposed to be, made Frankie think of his mother. Not that his mother didn’t have her front teeth. It was just reminiscent of the way she slid her wire framed glasses down her long straight nose, got really close to her sewing needle, and with determination pushed a thread through the eyelet. She always seemed to stick her tongue out in the process.

“Got him!” Ellis screamed. And indeed he had. The night crawler seemed to flip back and forth, dangling from the hook that now pierced its midsection. Ellis finally slew the dragon…..or at least hooked the worm.

It was a “rite of passage”. No longer will the other boys call him a baby. He conquered his fear of the sharp barbed metal and the worm it skewered. He had overcome the fright of the wiggly unknown. He had experienced that dramatic moment when a boy finally and successfully baits his own hook.

“Will it bite?” “Will it bleed?” “Will worm guts come flowing out like boiled okra?”

Ellis had passed the hurdle. “He’s growing up,” Frankie though to himself.

Being the ten year old big brother of little Ellis, Frankie believed it was his job to show Little Brother the ropes. That included fishing for bream in Benny’s Hole.

On lazy spring days; it was the place Frankie migrated to. Not just for the fishing, although on a good day it would offer up enough blue gills for a small fish fry, but also because of the big hickory tree that had grown close to the creek bank.

Blue Jays and Starlings and Woodpeckers alike enjoyed the tree. Not only for the nuts it bore, or the nests it held, but also for the insects that seemed to inhabit it. The shade provided an ideal spot for a young boy to daydream about life and fishing while listening to the repetitious sound of a red-headed woodpecker tapping a hole just above him.

A dream of how one day he was going to get out of here, and leave all this behind.

So, if you want to know more about Ellis and Frankie….well…..one day in the not to distant future, you’ll have to read the book.

Take care.

WJLaneSR

Walk On

2009-05-20T17:16:00.002-04:00

A gallon of gas cost 50 cents. Interest rates were 16%. The teenagers were flocking to see “Blazing Saddles”. “Jaws” and “The Exorcist” had people squirming in their seats.
It was the year of the “Thrilla in Manila”. The top selling albums were “AWB – Average White Band”, “Physical Graffiti – Led Zeppelin”, and “Red Octopus – Jefferson Starship”.

And he graduated from Auburn University.

It was May, 1975.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree. He then went to the University of Montevallo and earned a Master of Arts degree.

He played for Shug Jordan. In fact, he walked-on in 1970. In 1971, Jordan gave him a full football scholarship. He excelled both on the field and off it.

And in 1975, he graduated.

He was a part of that magical, miraculous 1972 football team that earned the name “The Amazins”.

He was a writer for “The Plainsman” while at Auburn. His major was journalism.

And in 1975, he graduated with honors from Auburn University.

He wrote a book that came out last year entitled “Walk On”. It is an autobiographical journey that explores those historical times at Auburn from 1970 to 1975. In his words, “there was a cultural change that was going on, not only in football but in the whole of society….we were, I guess, vessels of that change.”

After leaving Auburn, he never really looked back. For you see, with all the joy he experienced being a part of “the Amazins”, there had been an awful lot of pain as well. He went away to California, as far from Auburn as one could get and still be in the continental United States.

He was invited, coaxed, and finally convinced to come back to Auburn for a reunion in 2002. It was the thirty year reunion of “the Amazins”. Although he had severe reservations, he came back for the gathering. And it was there that he faced the demons that haunted him.

There he was. That old teammate who taunted him every day. Every single solitary day. Taunted him with the most vile racial slurs one could use. And said them with venom. Told him he was worthless. That he was less than human. Words that hurt and hurt deeply. Words you don't just "get over".

His adversary, that old teammate, the one who brought back haunting memories of hatred and racism, walked over to him. He didn’t say a word. He just hugged him. Hard. More than just a greeting hug. A real hug. A man-hug. A hug with tears in his eyes.

“We didn’t say anything. We just hugged. And it wasn’t one of those little hugs. And that was all we had to do. It’s 30 years later, and world really has changed. Even at Auburn.”

That reunion was the prod that Thomas Gossom needed to write his book. The book that came out in the fall of 2008. And Gossom is giving all of the proceeds of the book sale to the Auburn University Scholarship Endowment Fund.

You see, Thomas Gossom, or Thom Gossom as he is now known, was the first African
-American athlete to graduate from Auburn University. It was 34 years ago this month.

And although he has gone on to be a very successful actor on HBO and the big screen, an award winning writer and producer, and a corporate executive with BellSouth, it was the reunion that changed him.

And now, instead of walking away from Auburn with hurt and pain, he is walking on at Auburn again, to challenge and educate and motivate a new generation of students….of all color, race and creed.

And his challenge to all of us, in whatever we do, is…..Walk On.

WJLaneSR

A Dark Night

2009-05-18T10:37:00.002-04:00

Maybe I’m not the batman enthusiast I thought I was. I haven’t seen “The Dark Knight”. I have no interest in seeing Heath Ledger as “the Joker”.

Mind you, when I was little, I religiously watched Adam West as “Batman”, and Burt Ward as “The Boy Wonder” fighting crime and contending with the villains of Gotham City. Of course there was “Alfred”, the loyal butler. Commissioner Gordon and Chief O’Hara were always found in the police commissioner’s office. But I think my favorite character was Burgess Meredith as “the Penguin”. I also loved the way each show would end with the narrator articulating a cliffhanger tag about next week’s villain with the words “Watch the next episode!”……

Although I have no interest in seeing Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of the caped crusader, I am in the minority. Heath Ledger won an Oscar for the Best Supporting Actor in the movie, and it is one of the top 15 moneymakers of all movies. The age group that this movie appeals to the most, and who have spent the most money viewing it, are the 17-23 year olds.

Maybe that explains Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Since 9-11-01, there has been a parade of yellow jacketed security encircling the playing field at Jordan-Hare, with the stadium announcer proclaiming with about 7 minutes left in any given football game: “For your safety and security, please stay off the playing field following today’s game. All exits at Jordan-Hare Stadium are now open.”

The yellow garbed security are poised and ready to arrest, tackle, or even hose if necessary, any violator of the “stay off the field” rule.

But let’s be honest. What Auburn student doesn’t want to run out onto the field, have a little fun with their friends, and celebrate?

Evidently, Auburn listened.

The week before graduation, on a clear, dark Saturday night, the “War Eagle!” and “Eye of the Tiger” and “Living on a Prayer” that is normally rocking the concrete and steel of Jordan-Hare Stadium was replaced with the thundering sound effects of “The Dark Knight”. Yes, Batman came to Pat Dye Field at 10:00 p.m. that evening.

Over 2000 students brought quilts their grandma’s had made, blankets they had purchased at WalMart or J&M, picnic baskets full of less than healthy munchies, and spread out all over the playing field. It was movie night at Jordan-Hare.

The Black Knight was shown in high definition on the jumbo-tron, and Pat Dye Field turned into Auburn’s 2009 version of a Drive-In Theater, without any cars.

Aubie showed up and drove a mini “bat-mobile” from the player’s tunnel, with smoke and background music like it was a Saturday in October….only this time playing the historical “Batman Music”. He was adorned with a mask and cape, and pictures were made with the caped Tiger-Crusader.

One nursing student was quoted as saying she came because she wanted to see the movie, and because she had never been on the playing field at Jordan Hare…..and who knows if or when that opportunity might happen again.

O.K., I’ll be honest. If I had the opportunity to sit on the fifty yard line to watch “The Dark Knight”, I probably would have been there too.

I do wonder, though…..just how dark was that night at Jordan Hare Stadium?

WJLaneSR

The Big Orange Mouth

2009-05-13T09:52:00.002-04:00

He’s perhaps the greatest storyteller of all time. An author of adventures seemingly written for youth, but saturated with adult irony, symbolism and sitz en lieben. I have a copy of one of his volumes in my office, and from time to time, peruse it for humor and wisdom.

Perhaps Lane Kiffin should have taken his advice. Lest you don’t know Coach Lane (no relation to any family member of mine, by the way), he is the new Head Football Volunteer for the University of Tennessee.

It seems that this past week, assistant Vol Coach Eddie Gran was booted off Pahokee Florida High School’s property because of something Lane Kiffin said back in February. Gran was coming to the school to present a scholarship offer to junior Antonio Ford, but Principal Ariel Alejo said “no one from Tennessee is allowed on school grounds until Coach Kiffen comes to Pahokee and publicly apologizes for what he said.” And he told Coach Gran to leave the property....immediately.

Wow! What did Kiffin do that so upset the Pahokee school administration?

It seems it all had to do with one Nu’Keese Richardson, who was a student at Pahokee and signed a scholarship with Tennessee. The day after he signed, Kiffin accused Florida coach Urban Meyer of cheating and said he could not trust officials at Pahokee High with handling Richardson's paperwork. "Someone at the school was going to screw it up," Kiffin said Feb. 5. "The fax machine wouldn't work, or they would have changed the signatures - all the things that go on in Pahokee." Kiffin went on to say, "For those of you who haven't been to Pahokee, there ain't much going on. You take that hour drive up from South Florida, there ain't a gas station that works. Nobody's got enough money to even have shoes or a shirt on."

As it turns out, Urban Meyer not only did NOT cheat (at least in the recruiting of Richardson)….the rule Kiffin accused Meyer of breaking does not even exist.

Philip Marshall, senior writer for Auburn Undercover says, “Lane Kiffin has proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.”

Yes, Coach Kiffin should read one of the greatest authors of all time, and heed his advice.

That advice?

“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.”

Of course, this is a quote from the great Mark Twain. I have these words written on a piece of paper that serves as a bookmark in my copy of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. The volume has a prominent place in my office.

Coach Kiffin, Mark Twain would tell you, “Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”

WJLaneSR

An Autumn to Remember

2009-05-07T15:08:00.001-04:00

October 1. The first crisp breeze of fall was in the air. It was football season, and for the southeastern United States, that meant Saturday pilgrimages to hallowed structures of iron, concrete and steel….with chorusing shouts and hallelujiahs.

It was Tuesday. I was still reeling from the 30-21 thumping that Tennessee had given the Auburn Tigers on Saturday, this a week after beating the Texas Longhorns 14-10.

We were living in rural South Georgia, and there was nothing else on television.

I remotely clicked it over to the Super Station. After all, it was the last week of the regular season.

It was late in the game. Jose Rijo was pitching. I don’t remember what inning it was, but the Reds were up 6-0. I thought to myself that I would just watch until it was over. After all, they had given it a good run.

Slowly, the Braves rallied.

It was reported in the Greenville, South Carolina newspaper that a local physician was watching the game as well.

David Justice came to the plate. I sat up on the edge of my seat, because there were two outs in the ninth inning. The Bravos were behind 6-5 with a runner on base. I don’t remember who it was.

The good doctor, so it was reported, was also sitting on the edge of his seat.

Reds reliever Ron Dibble got the sign. Fastball. Low and away. Justice can’t hold back on them, and he can’t hit them.

Skip Caray, the longtime Braves announcer who has now gone on to his reward in heaven, was announcing the game on the Super Station. Not too much verbiage. Only just enough.

He said, “Dibble winds and deals…..long fly ball…..”

The police were called to the physician’s house, according to paper. His wife thought someone was breaking in, and she dialed 911. It seems that when David Justice hit the Ron Dibble fastball that was low and INSIDE…not outside….he screamed at the top of his lungs, “Get Out!!! Get Out!!! Get Out!!!”

Fortunately, the two officers who arrived at his house with their blue lights flashing were Braves fans as well….after all, Atlanta’s “AA” farm team was located in Greenville at that time.

I am sure I was screaming also.
Caray continued “From Worst…to First! Listen to this crowd!!! Gotta borrow this one from you, Dad, ‘Holy Cow!’ After a David Justice home run in the 9th with the Braves down 6-5 and coming from the cellar with less than ten games to go in the season!!!”

I don’t believe I have ever experienced as much excitement about Baseball as I did that fall. Maybe it was because the Braves were all but written off. Maybe because it was all so unexpected.

I remember I stayed up late that night. I was riveted. I couldn’t sleep. All I could do was stare at CNN Headline News waiting for the west coast scores. “Twenty after the hour and Ten of” was when they would show the scores back then.

It was a bicoastal, late night pennent race, and it kept me, and many more like me, up until the wee hours of the morning….1:50 a.m…..ten of 2:00 a.m…..when the score came in. The Braves had done it.

It captivated the entire Southeast in the autumn of 1991.

Yes, it was the best of times…..it was the worst to first of times.

WJLaneSR

Talking Baseball....Baseball and the Braves...

2009-05-06T15:05:00.001-04:00

I admit, most of my blogging centers around one particular college football team, with a little southern humor and perhaps a life lesson threaded through the less than Queen’s English vocabulary. But today will be different.

Not that I won’t be thinking about the Tiger Prowl, or summer workouts. In fact, I could write about spending some time with a friend who used to play against Auburn, or an acquaintance I made with a person who’s father coached against them. But I’m not doing any of that.

Rather, I am going to be nostalgic. Baseball nostalgic.

I watched the Braves last night….trying so desperately hard to keep from getting swept by the Mets. Making a run in the bottom of the ninth after a typical Mets error….bringing Chipper Jones up to bat with the winning run on base. Oh, for the good old days…..but alas….Chipper isn’t quite the Chipper of his youth, and a long fly ball out ended the game. They looked like the Braves of old…..if you’re as old as me. The Braves BEFORE the streak…the wins…the World Series.

I remember when we used to go to old Fulton County Stadium and buy cheap tickets, then walk down close to the field because you and 1847 other people were the only ones there.

The year was 1979. A bumper sticker was floating around that said, “Go Braves…and take the Falcons with you!”

Ah, the good old days. Thirty years ago.

Do you remember the Braves roster in 1979? Let me jog your memory. The Braves opened the season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Starting pitcher for the Dodgers…none other than Terry Forster. When asked what he thought about the opening game against the Braves, he said, “Just look at him (Dale Murphy) over there. Doesn’t drink. Doesn’t smoke. Doesn’t take greenies. Nicest guy you’d ever want to meet. Hits the hell out of the ball, hustles like crazy, plays a great centerfield and isn’t trying to get anything from anybody. Doesn’t he just make you sick?!?”

Of course, in 1979 the Braves were still trying to determine if Murphy should be a catcher, first baseman, outfielder, or bench warmer.

And Murph’s teammates? Behind the plate were Bruce Benedict and Biff Pocaroba. In the outfield was Barry Bonnell, Jeff Burroughs, Gary Matthews, and subbing were Rowland Office and Brian Asselstine.

Infield was Jerry Royster, Glen Hubbard, Bob Horner and Darryl Chaney.

The pitchers that year included Phil Niekro, Larry McWilliams, Rick Mahler, Rick Matula, Eddie Solomon, Preston Hanna, Gene Garber, Tony Brizzolara, and Tommy Boggs.
The Braves were playing in the NL West back then, and the Big Red Machine won that division. The Braves? Dead last. 66 wins and 94 losses.

This was the year that Buzz Capra was released by the Braves.
This was the year that Dave Campbell was traded to Montreal for Pepe Friaz.

Fortunately, a little help was coming. Brett Butler was drafted in June, 1979, along with Brooke Jacoby and Paul Runge.

Last night I thought about how bad those Braves were in 1979. It felt a little bit like Déjà vu, as I watched the Braves of 2009.

Oh, yeah….one other thing. The Manager of the Braves in 1979? Bobby Cox.

WJLaneSR

A-Day, Spring Football, and My Assessment

2009-04-24T12:06:00.000-04:00

Leading up to spring practice, which culminated Saturday with the A-Day football game, Auburn had many issues that needed to be addressed and many questions needing answers.

First on the list: the offense in general. Coming off a year when the offensive personality resembled the sixteen personalities of Sybil, with the excitement of the daily Bond index, something had to be done. Auburn had a way of letting drives stall inside their opponent’s 30 yard line, and rarely got large chunks of yardage in a single blow. It was almost a foregone conclusion that if Auburn fell behind by more than a touchdown, they didn’t have the ability to come back and win. Finding an offensive personality was priority number one.

Next on the list: find a running game. With a returning senior who should have a better year than he did as a junior, as well as a young, fast kid who showed his speed during A-Day, the running game, especially in the red zone, should be improved.

Third on the list: build on a defense that is ornery and nasty, but lacks depth.

In essence, play Auburn football…..

This was the assessment 25 years ago by Auburn’s head football coach Pat Dye, following the spring A-Day game of 1984.

Auburn had just finished a season where they had gone 11-1, won the SEC championship, and had beaten Michigan 9-7 in the Sugar Bowl. And yet, according to Dye, it was that same team that couldn’t put anyone away. And when the only team to beat Auburn that year, Texas, jumped out to a 10-0 early lead, Auburn had no way to come from behind.

In fact, Auburn had tremendous problems in the red zone that year. Case in point: in beating the Georgia Bulldogs in 1983, Auburn outgained the Dawgs 356 yards to 168, yet only won the game 13-7. Not to mention that Auburn failed to score a touchdown on Michigan in the Sugar Bowl, settling for a game winning three field goals.

Dye’s assessment of the 1983 Auburn football team: “We were a great team. But we couldn’t finish things. I just hope we can do better in 1984. We have a senior running back coming back in Bo Jackson, and a young tailback right out of high school who can fly. Brent Fullwood has a chance to play next year.” In fact, with Jackson concentrating on track in the spring of 1984, Fullwood was the A-Day game’s leading rusher with 114 yards.

Now here we are, 25 years later, coming off a much different kind of season than in 1983. But the issues and questions are remarkably similar.

My assessment?

This year, with what will hopefully be a more engaging attack offensively, will be difficult. Auburn certainly will not be the best team in the conference. But this year’s squad should at least have an offense with personality.

As for the offensive personality---that will be left to the defense.

War Eagle….

WJLaneSR

A-Day Game and Country Music

2009-04-17T15:41:00.001-04:00

While the northerly crimson-neck pachyderms are trying to fill their circus arena for the annual spring redneck game in Bear-Waller-Holler, down in East L.A. (Eastern Lower Alabama) the good guys are preparing for their A-Day game, brought to you by the U.S. Navy. Kickoff on the Plains will be at 1:00 p.m. Central Time.

And while the Sabanites will be proclaiming that theirs was the better atmosphere on this day of football in the state of Alabama, I would beg to differ. Not because of what takes place on the field, but rather what will take place off the field.

For you see, in little ole Auburn, Alabama, the festivities begin tonight. And the A-Day game is only a part of the weekend festival.

Auburn will host the “Sticks Country Music Festival” at Parker Hill, which will begin tonight, and run all the way through the wee hours of Sunday morning.

More than a dozen country music artists will be performing, including that “Redneck Woman” Gretchen Wilson, Academy of Country Music Award winner Trace Adkins, country music award winner and beauty queen Sara Evans (who, by the way, is the wife of former Bama quarterback Jay Barker, and is spending the A-Day weekend…for both schools….at Auburn!), country chart toppers and Grand Ole Opry member Diamond Rio, as well as others.

And just so they make sure it has a REAL country flair to it, camping and coolers ARE permitted.

A two-day pass to Auburn’s version of Woodstock, with a little football jammed in the middle, is $85. But unlike Woodstock, New York, Parker Hill has “executive women’s restrooms”, not port-o-potties. These have running water, mirrors, working toilets, and best of all….they are for women only! As for the fellas, well, let’s just say there are enough port-o-lets to handle all that your coolers can bring.

Country music, real pig-pickin’ barbeque, friendly faces, coolers welcome, and a little Auburn Football thrown in the middle….now THIS is a showcase of true southern culture.

And that’s just another reason why I like Auburn.

WJLaneSR

Who's Number One??

2009-03-26T13:59:00.002-04:00

Many Americans are out of work. Many are laid off. Many have seen their life savings and their retirement nest egg dissolve like a sand castle overrun by a foamy ocean wave.

The economy is in shambles. Businesses are failing. Banks are insolvent. Homes are in foreclosure. The deficit will take decades to pay down. And the experts speak like buffoons.

And what does the United States Senate Judiciary Committee decide to do in the midst of all this? Hold hearings to examine antitrust issues involving the Bowl Championship Series.

That’s right….with the economy muddled in an economic disaster unlike anything the world has seen since the Great Depression, the most pressing question on our senators collective minds is “Who is REALLY number one in college football?”

WHAT?

I mean, hey….I too think that Utah got an unfair shake this past bowl season. But Senator Hatch (Rep. from Utah who by the way is leading this shenanigan), what the heck are you thinking??? You’re going to use taxpayer time, effort and money to debate this issue in the hallowed halls of the Senate rather than using that same time, effort and money to get the country back on its feet again? What the…..

And just to make sure I use good journalistic integrity and cover all the political bases, these hearings have bi-partisan support from non-other than the President himself!

President Obama, Senator Hatch…we all want fairness of play. No one would like to see a solution to the National Championship dilemma in college football more than me and my Auburn Tiger friends (see History.2004.AuburnFootball.GotCheated.Com). But now is NOT the time to argue over whether the BCS is violating anti-trust laws regarding a college football national champion.

For Pete's sake, men!

Who really cares which team is lifting a Tiffany Crystal Football in the air, when at the same time people are forced out of work, out of their homes, and out on the streets.

What we really want to know is what are you doing about THAT??

As Charlie Brown would say…..”Good Grief!”

WJLaneSR

Bernie Madoff

2009-03-20T08:28:00.000-04:00

His penthouse apartment is only three blocks from my office. In fact, I can see the building when I look out my office window. Frankly, I never thought about it, cared about it, or even knew about it before January. But now, I can’t help but think about it every time I look out the window.

Not that he is there any longer. No, he traded his penthouse apartment for a 10 x 10 state owned and operated cross-bar motel room. Whether he has a cell-mate or not, I don’t know. His wife, on the other hand, is still living in the penthouse…..at least for the time being.

Of course, I am talking about Bernie Madoff.

I knew who Madoff was, in that I remembered him from the days when he was chairman of NASDAQ, but I never knew about his Investment Securities LLC. Not that I would have, because I didn’t have millions of dollars to invest….and in this case, thank God.

Others, primarily Jewish and rich, knew him quite well. Many Jewish charitable organizations such as the Jewish Cultural Institution Group and Yeshiva University invested their money in his fund. Little did they know, it was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme. A scheme that he ran for almost 20 years. A scheme that cost investors, by some estimates, a total of over $60 Billion.

It has been interesting to be in New York, and see and hear the public reaction to Bernie Madoff’s guilty plea to running an investment scam that was essentially a Ponzie pyramid. Expressed feelings have run the gamet from outrage to bitter, especially among the Jewish community about the damage caused by his scandal to the image of the Jews. One writer in the New York Post called him “an ememy of the Jewish people.”

Being someone who has spent his life evaluating, coaching and trying to understand human personality….I AM primarily an H.R. professional, after all….I have spent some time thinking about this man Madoff. How did he gain so much trust? Why did people believe in him so much? Why did they entrust him with their entire, at least for some, retirement and wealth? Especially when he was such a cheat and crook?

It was hard to understand. Hard to explain. Where did he learn to cheat? To lie? To steal? And to do it in the face of regulators, lawmakers and the public in general. To believe that he was above the law, and could do whatever he pleased, and do it in whatever way he wanted. After all, HE….was Bernie Madoff.

And then I learned an important detail. Just after finishing high school, Mr. Madoff headed south to get his life education. In 1956 he was a freshman…..at the University of Alabama.

And that explains it all.

WJLaneSR

Garden Party

2009-03-18T09:03:00.000-04:00

It has many acronyms. “Not Invited Tournament.” “Not Important Tournament.” “Nobody’s Interested Tournament.” “National Insignificant Tournament.” “Not In Tournament.”

Some say it is nothing more than a tournament to see who the 66th best team in the country really is. So strong is the stigma of the NIT as a “consolation prize” for teams with tenuous hopes of getting into the NCAA tournament, and ultimately failing, that Irv Moss, a journalist with the Denver Post wrote, “that one little three letter word….NIT…is far more cutting than any four letter word could ever be.” In fact, David Thompson, the N.C. State All-American, called the NIT “a loser’s tournament.”

But is it true?

Fact is, 31 of the 65 teams earn automatic bids in the NCAA tournament, and in fact many of those teams are weaker…sometimes FAR weaker….than teams who are invited to the NIT.

To give the NIT credibility, a committee of former NCAA head coaches, chaired by C.M Newton (former head coach of Alabama, Vanderbilt, and former athletic director of Kentucky), selects and seeds teams using a similar format to the NCAA. Higher seeded teams always get to play at home, and the final four is played at Madison Square Garden in New York. By doing this, Newton is quoted as saying, “this is the ‘little dance’, not the ‘loser’s tournament.’ What we want to have is a true basketball tournament where there are no preconceived ideas of who gets to New York.”

Tonight, the Auburn Tiger men’s basketball team plays in round 1 of the 2009 National Invitational Tournament. They enter as a number one seed. And as for being “not important, insignificant, not interested,” for the Tigers, nothing could be further from the truth.

Korvotney Barber, Auburn’s senior forward from Manchester, Georgia, said,” we’re very excited about (playing in the NIT), because it is our first time being in postseason play since I have been here. I want to go to New York. I’ve never been to New York, much less Madison Square Garden.”

As a number 1 seed, Auburn has home-court advantage all the way to the final four in New York City.

Remembering the words of Rick Nelson, just win Auburn….and you’ll get to go to a Garden Party. And that’s a pretty nice dance.

War Eagle

WJLaneSR

The Streak

2009-03-09T11:40:00.000-04:00

“Here he comes…Boogity Boogity….there he goes….Boogity Boogity….and he ain’t wearin’ no clothes….”

And with those words, Ray Stevens capitalized on the 1974 popular craze of “streaking”. In fact, his satirical song about a man trying to protect “Ethel” from being “mooned”, streaked all the way to number 1 on the billboard top 100 that year.

The term “streaking” was actually coined by a Washington, D.C. reporter in late 1973 who was “covering” a mass nude run at the University of Maryland. At approximately 2:00 p.m. on a Thursday in October, over 500 students, both male and female, exited the Bel Aire dorm and raced across the campus, wearing nothing but ski masks and tennis shoes. The reporter, who was broadcasting live via pay phone proclaimed, “they are streaking past me right now! It’s an incredible sight…” The next day the Associate Press Wire proclaimed, “Maryland students streak naked across campus,” forever associating the word “streaking” with “running naked”.

I couldn’t help but think about this tidbit of Americana as I looked at the streak. In fact, it is an incredible sight. And if you missed them this past Saturday, then they streaked right past you.

That’s right, the Auburn University men’s basketball team.

No, they weren’t playing round-ball in their birthday suits, but they were streaking. In fact, they have the hottest streak going in the SEC. Don’t look Ethel…you might get a free shot!

The Auburn men have won 8 of their last 9 SEC contests, and they are currently on a 4 game win-streak. That is the longest win-streak of any…..that’s right….any team in the SEC. And who has the longest losing-streak? Basketball powerhouse Kentucky, with 4 straight losses.

Let’s look at the streaks, Ethel. You might just get an eyeful. These are the streaks heading into the SEC Tournament in Tampa.

Auburn W-4
Vandy W-3
Miss St W-2
S. Carolina W-1
Florida W-1
Bama W-1
Tenn L-1
Georgia L-1
Ole Miss L-1
Arkansas L-2
LSU L-2
Kentucky L-4

Keep on streaking Auburn…..Boogity, Boogity!

War Eagle!

WJLaneSR

February 20th

2009-03-06T10:22:00.002-05:00

February 20 will be remembered for a long time, I think. Maybe you don’t remember what you were doing on that Friday, but I certainly do. I had meetings in the morning, rushed to JFK airport only to find my flight was delayed, and finally arrived back home in Spartanburg late that evening.

Also on that day the Auburn Men’s Swim Team was pulling away from the rest of the SEC during the Conference swimming championships.

But these are not the reasons I think February 20th will be remembered.

No, I think it will be because of a meeting that took place. A summons to appear.

If you know anything about jurisprudence, you know that if you are being accused of wrongdoing and/or sued, that your best venue is to have the case thrown out on summary judgement. If that doesn’t happen, then the next best thing is to have the case decided on summary judgement. What you DON’T want is for the case to be handed over for a trial before a jury of “peers”.

The same is true with the NCAA. When a prelimary letter of inquiry (PLOI) is received by member institution, with questions pertaining to potential allegations, the school in question wants a paper response, and a summary judgement….hoping it is all thrown out. What the institution does NOT want is to have to appear before the entire Infractions Committee of the NCAA to plead their case.

Which brings us…..once again…..to the University of Alabama. Already under shadow of a near-death penalty experience with the NCAA, they found themselves once again having to respond to rule-breaking allegations. They were summoned to appear before the Infractions Committee on February 20th.

This time it was over text books being bought on student-athletes’ scholarship accounts for other students not on scholarship. Alabama admits that this happened on numerous occasions, was pervasive in that it wasn’t limited to only one sport’s athletes, and that it was brought forward by a whistle blowing employee of the school bookstore.

Alabama self-imposed some “playing-time” penalties on a few football players. A couple of employees were put on wage freeze and reprimanded. All of this was good. But it was after the fact.

The NCAA would NOT give a summary judgement on the latest case of Tide Rule Breaking. Rather, as a committee they found the University of Alabama guilty of “Lack of Institutional Monitoring”.

Lack of Institutional Monitoring is only 1 level below Lack of Institutional Control. Lack of Institutional Control is what got SMU the death penalty in football, and has cost many other schools dearly with long probations, no TV, no post season bowls, etc.

February 20th, the NCAA told Alabama they were guilty of Lack of Institutional Monitoring. Kind of like manslaughter vs. murder. And now Alabama waits for it’s sentence.

Maybe I am wrong, but for a school that was told they were only inches away from receiving the harshest penalty the NCAA could give out….the death penalty….and being under the window of the “repeat offender” classification….I think the outcome is going to be serious. Very serious.

And February 20th will be remembered for a long time.

WJLaneSR

From the Sickbed

2009-03-05T11:14:00.002-05:00

Maybe it was dirty ashes.

At least, that's when it all started.

We went to the Ash Wednesday service at our church and my wife started coughing. That was 10 days ago, and she is still coughing. In between, she spent several days in the bed with the flu.

Then our youngest daughter got it. Then I got it. Then our son got it. It must have been dirty ashes.

Or maybe it was the snow. All the weather change that came with the winter wonderland we called our back yard for a couple of days now turning quickly to spring grass needing to be mowed.

During our bout with demonized bronchatic flumonia, the Auburn Tiger lady's basketball team won the southeastern coference regular season championship and the Auburn Tiger men's basketball team kept on winning...sweeping Alabama. I wish I could cheer without coughing.

And now, springtime is about to burst upon us. March madness. Grass needing to be mowed. Spring Break. Golf.

Did I mention golf?

Thanks to my good friend Mr. Patterson, I want to share some of his bits of wisdom regarding golf. It will help your score. It will make you a better golfer. It will make your 18 hole walk much nicer. So, here's Mr. Patterson's wisdom:

Don't buy a putter until you've had a chance to throw it.

Never try to keep more than 300 separate thoughts in your mind during your swing.

When your shot has to carry over a water hazard, you can either hit one more club or two more balls.

If you're afraid a full shot might reach the green while the foursome ahead of you is still putting out, you have two options: you can immediately shank a lay-up or you can wait until the green is clear and top a ball halfway there.

No matter how bad you are playing, it is always possible to play worse.

Everyone replaces his divot after a perfect approach shot.

It is surprisingly easy to hole a fifty foot putt . For a 10.

Counting on your opponent to inform you when he breaks a rule is like expecting him to make fun of his own haircut.

The shortest distance between any two points on a golf course is a straight line that passes directly through the center of a very large tree.

You can hit a two acre fairway 10% of the time and a two inch branch 90% of the time.

If you really want to get better at golf, go back and take it up at a much earlier age.

Since bad shots come in groups of three, a fourth bad shot is actually the beginning of the next group of three.

When you look up, causing an awful shot, you will always look down again at exactly the moment when you ought to start watching the ball if you ever want to see it again.

Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe.

If you want to hit a 7 iron as far as Tiger Woods does, simply try to lay up just short of a water hazard.

There are two things you can learn by stopping your back-swing at the top and checking the position of your hands: how many hands you have, and which one is wearing the glove.

A ball you can see in the rough from 50 yards away is not yours.

It's easier to get up at 6:00 AM to play golf than at 10:00 to mow the lawn.

Golf balls are like eggs. They're white. They're sold by the dozen. And you need to buy fresh ones each week.

It's amazing how a golfer who never helps out around the house will replace his divots, repair his ball marks, and rake his sand traps.

If your opponent has trouble remembering whether he shot a six or a seven, he probably shot an eight.

Here's to springtime and golf!

WJLaneSR

Christmas Present

2009-02-27T10:03:00.002-05:00

I am told that on occasion, Christmas presents arrive early, and aren’t given until much later. I wouldn’t know about that, because at the Lane house, whenever a Christmas present arrives at the door, everyone wants to tear it open “right now!” No need for waiting….let’s see what is inside the box.

But for him, this present wasn’t like that.

It arrived on Christmas Eve, but wasn’t fully delivered until just over a week ago. That’s a long time to hold onto a present. But they said, “We wanted to do it this way. He just means so much to us, and this was our way of doing it.”

He has had a very difficult year thus far. He found out in December that there was an inoperable malignant tumor in his brain. To say it was devastating news would be an understatement….for himself, for his family, for his friends, for his team.

And so they wanted to give this one to him.

As stated earlier, it arrived on Christmas Eve…..in 1985. Born in Hawthorn Victoria, Australia. Some said the boy was born with gills. Others said he must have webbed feet. Still others would look at his back to see if there was a fin. But he had none of those…he was just a boy who loved the water.

He decided to earn his college degree from Auburn University, and swim for their perennial championship swim team. And just over a week ago, he gave his coach a belated Christmas present.

Matt Targett, before diving head first into the James C. Martin Aquatic Center’s pool, turned to the sea of orange and blue sitting in the stands. He raised his arms high above his head, which elicited a raucus response from the overflow crowd of Auburn fans who had packed the Aquatic Center to witness the Auburn men’s swim team in the SEC Championship Tournament. What they witness was sheer domination.

Targett backed up his brashness by diving into the pool, and torpedoing to an NCAA-record time in the 400-yard freestyle. And behind his leadership, the Auburn men’s swim team left the rest of the Conference behind capturing their 13th consecutive….that’s right….13th consecutive Southeastern Conference Championship.

And then Targett, speaking on behalf of the entire Auburn men’s swim team said, “We did this for Coach Richard Quick…..our swim coach….who is here today, but has been suffering with a brain tumor. He told us before we swam, to just go out there and finish the job that we started earlier this season before he got sick. Coach Quick is such an integral part of our lives, and we wanted to give this championship to him as a gift. He just means so much to us, and this was our way of doing it.”

The tears couldn’t be held back from Coach Quick’s eyes. And being the great coach that he is, he would take no accolades, but said of his senior leader, “Targett’s great….look at what he did.”

All the boy born on Christmas Eve did was break the SEC record in all seven events in which he competed, and swam the fastest time this year anywhere in the nation in the 100 meter freestyle. And then he was named the SEC Male Swimmer of the Year.

Now Coach Quick and Targett-led Tigers head to College Station Texas for the NCAA championships which begin March 19. Maybe the team has one more present under their swimcap to present Coach Quick. If so, it would be the best present he’s gotten since receiving his tragic health news the week before Christmas, 2008.

WJLaneSR

Hard Times

2009-02-25T15:30:00.002-05:00

“Hard times are coming.” That’s what T.K. used to say. T.K.’s real name was Todd Kimsey. He was my college biology professor, and he wanted everyone to call him T.K. It was the fall quarter of my freshman year, and T.K. stood looking out the window of our classroom. He announced, with his speech pattern of ever protracted syllables, “yeees….hard times are comin.’ I’ve got a frieeeeend who said to me….Toooodd….one daaaaay, they’re gonna plow up that rooooaaad…..and plant potatoeeees. Hard tiiiiiimes are coming.”

Well, T.K., I think they may be here. Or soon will be.

You know, it’s interesting how people will take more risks during “hard times” than during “normal times”. For example, people will choose not to spend money on brakes that need replacing….choosing to wait a little longer before putting on the new shoes. Or let the treads of the tires get a little balder before buying new ones. Of course, any number of arguments can be made as to why that should NOT happen. But it does.

Being in the tire business right now must be as difficult as any other retail establishment. Struggling is probably the buzzword.

He owns a tire mart. It’s right there on the main Boulevard in the middle of town. And although the President was addressing the world on national television last night about the economic crisis and his plan to put the United States on the road to recovery, he didn’t watch.

It wasn’t because of lack of interest, for surely anyone owning a small business is interested in the economy right now. And it wasn’t because he didn’t care. In fact, all his friends and neighbors say he is one of the most caring people they have ever met. He has been called a civic leader. A business leader. A person who has led by example all his life. A person whose whole life has been about helping others.

These were the words that Bill Bowles said about him.

Bill should know. He has known him for more than 25 years.

He wasn’t watching the President speak because he was being honored at the Hilton Garden Inn. The dinner was $75 per person, and was sold out. And they were going to make sure his legacy would never be forgotten. This would be done by establishing a scholarship in his name, and then endowing it for posterity.

Last night, over 200 people came together in southwest Georgia, in the town of Albany (which the locals pronounce al-BIN-y), to establish this scholarship. In 2010, some lucky Southwest Georgia high school student will be awarded a $25,000 scholorship to attend Auburn University. The Southwest Georgia Auburn Club is making sure of that, and the scholarship will be named after him…..73 year old E. Cleve Wester.

Cleve Wester was an offensive tackle on Auburn’s 1957 National Championship Team. He was toasted by his former teammate, Jackie Burkett, who said, “Cleve was a good player who was liked and respected by his teammates.” Another of his teammates, Teddy Foret, said of him, “He’s just a super guy. He’s always smiling and always your friend.”

The entire current Auburn football coaching staff attended the event, along with athletic director Jay Jacobs. Former Auburn (and NFL) football players Will Herring, Ben Leard, and Joe Cope, along with former coach Pat Dye were on hand, along with other local celebrities.

At the end of the evening, when asked what this day had meant to him, that the new coaching staff had taken their time to come; that the Southwest Georgia Auburn Club had honored him this way; that the Auburn family thought enought of him to endow a scholorship in his name; Mr. Wester’s answer was short and to the point. It also spoke volumes about the man and his loyalty to Auburn. He simply said, “It means we’re one. War Eagle. ”

Maybe he was teaching us a lesson and giving us a glimpse, that for Auburn football at least, hard times are about over.

WJLaneSR

Pink but not Floyd

2009-02-17T12:41:00.000-05:00

The Auburn Tiger Women’s Basketball Team is now ranked #3 in the country. With a conference record of 10-1, and an overall record of 25-1, the Tigers are off to their best start since 1992. The only blemish on their otherwise perfect season was at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens back on January 29th. Since that defeat, Auburn has won 5 straight.

Well, it is now time for revenge. The grudge match will take place on Sunday, February 22nd at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff will be at 2:00 p.m. Central Time, or for those of us in South Carolina, 3:00 p.m. The Georgia game will be a “Think Pink” game, and everyone who attends is encouraged to wear pink for breast cancer awareness. I read an article this past weekend about one women’s team who wore pink uniforms, and the journalist called it “interesting.”

Increasing the awareness of breast cancer by wearing pink is more than just interesting. It is about saving lives. It’s about understanding the cancer and how early detection significantly increases the chance of survival. It is about how to live with the cancer, and fight the cancer on the road to wellness. It is about finding support from others who may be on the same journey, or who may be willing to walk the journey along side a person affected.

Wearing pink is about help for today, and hope for tomorrow.

It is estimated that over 242,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2009. This is more than just interesting. It is a call for action.

I’ve heard it said, “Real men don’t wear pink.” Well, for all of us men out there, I say “Dare to Wear Pink!”

And a great place to wear it will be at the Auburn-Georgia Women’s basketball game. General admission tickets for the game will be $2.00 at the door.

If you don’t have anything pink to wear, I’ve heard from a very good and reliable source that Tiger Rags will be open on Sunday beginning at Noon, and will be selling pink Auburn shirts for the occasion. And I’ve also been told that if you look at Coach Nell Fortner’s feet for the game, you will see her in pink Converse All-Star sneakers.

So head to Auburn for the grudge match on Sunday, if you can. But even if you can’t, or even if you could care less about the basketball game…..get involved in breast cancer awareness.

It really is a matter of saving lives.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSR

Lucky 13

2009-02-12T12:48:00.002-05:00

Right now, I am enjoying a nice cup of tomato and rice soup from “Au Bon Pain”. And you thought people in New York didn't eat exotic lunches!!

Au Bon Pain is in our building, and all I have to do is take the elevator to the lobby, turn left, and “Voila!” I am there. I don’t have to exit into the shivering winter cold, I don’t have to step out into the taxi-fumed atmosphere…just walk from our lobby into their store.

As I got on the elevator for my ride back up to the 27th floor where our offices are located, all the while holding my precious tomato nectar close so as not to spill it on other passengers, I noticed the numbers. Or rather, I noticed the lack of one. I guess I had noticed it before, but had really paid no attention.

There is no floor 13 in our building. None. Which means that my office is really on the 26th floor, though the elevator shows it to be the 27th. The button panel goes from 12 to 14. No 13. I guess there really are a lot of superstitious people out there who think the number 13 is unlucky. I guess they wouldn't want to work on the 13th floor. Frankly, I'm not sure I would either.

Coming back to my office, I had the number 13 on my mind, as I settled in for a nice quiet cup of hot soup. “Just eat my soup and read the Wall Street Journal On-Line” I was thinking to myself. And what should the headline be?

You guessed it. The number 13. The stimulus package that is about to become law will provide most of us law abiding, tax paying citizens a whopping additional $13 per week for spending in order to stimulate the economy. There’s that number 13 again. I think I feel myself shiver.

I wonder what I will spend my $13 on? Let’s see…in New York, I could buy 1 more pack of cigarettes per week….if I were a smoker, which I am not. So I won’t be spending it there. Hmm…I can buy one more bottle of wine per week. Maybe that will help the California wine industry. Or I can buy an additional 12-pack of lite beer per week. After all, Milwaukee could probably use the money. But if I use my $13 to buy wine, or a twelve pack of beer a week, I might need even MORE money to deal with the consequences of those purchases. I know, I can buy a book at Barnes and Noble, but it will have to be paperback. The newest books are all hardback and cost more than $13.

Maybe I can rent two movies from Blockbuster each week with my $13, as long as they are older movies. If it is a new movie, I can only rent one, but maybe have enough money left over to buy a candy bar to eat while I watch it. I could always buy a pack of socks from WalMart, but I won't have enough money to buy underwear to go with them. Or I can put 7 gallons of gas in my car.

One thing I CAN’T do with my $13, however, is get a haircut. It costs me $15.

Boy, am I ready to go out and stimulate our economy with my $13. Aren't you? This must be our lucky day.

WJLaneSR

Daughter's Mission Trip

2009-02-08T20:32:00.005-05:00

O.K., so I don't usually do this. In fact, I have never done this before...at least on my blog. But I think it is worthwhile. And it is something I believe in. So I am going to give her some space on my sacred posting area.

I am talking about my daughter, Marissa. Her letter is pretty self-explainatory, but I can testify to the fact that it is all true. Some of you will get this letter personally through the U.S. "snail" mail, but I'm letting her post the letter here in case there are some of you who don't get the personal letter, but feel inclined or moved to act on it. So, here goes....this is her letter:

Dear Friends and Family,

I have been given the opportunity to join a group of Christians who will be travelling to Nairobi, Kenya in order to provide medical, educational and spiritual missions to the people living in the city slums and surrounding area. Although the team will be comprised of Christians from many denominations, it is being organized through the Northside Baptist Church in Greenwood, South Carolina.

The mission trip will begin June 11th and will run through June 27th. The cost of the trip will be $3,600 which will include roundtrip airfare from Atlanta to Kenya, all food, shelter, transportation in Kenya and the necessary costs of conducting the mission.

I am sharing this with you because I am hoping you will partner with me to make this trip a reality. Several years ago, I began to feel God calling me to work with underprivileged, lost and forgotten people. God has given me the opportunity to respond to this call by participating in such projects as Salkehatchie Summer Camp, a mission trip to Leon, Nicaragua, and a summer working in Rock Hill. Now, the Lord has opened an opportunity for me to respond in Kenya.

Would you consider helping me financially? Any amount will put me closer to Nairobi. Any contributions beyond my needed $3,600 will go to additional group-wide mission trip expenses. The due date for this is April 1. My home church, New Beginnings United Methodist Church, has set up an account to receive donations. Please make checks payable to New Beginnings United Methodist Church, and in the memo line write “Marissa Lane – Kenya Trip”. The address is:

New Beginnings United Methodist Church
210 Rainbow Lake Road
Boiling Springs, South Carolina 29316

I am looking forward to this trip, where I will have the opportunity to share the love of Christ, the work He has called me to, and the hope that this will bring to those living in the poorest conditions of Nairobi, Kenya. If you are interested in seeing one of the youth centers I will be working in, go to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFbNK-_A9Qs

Thank you for prayerfully considering how to assist me in this ministry opportunity.

In Christ,

Marissa S. Lane

Thank you for praying for, and assisting if you feel so led, my daughter as she prepares for this mission opportunity.

WJLaneSR

Stimulus

2009-02-05T13:03:00.000-05:00

I am pretty excited about the recruiting class that Auburn signed yesterday. In fact, as the day wore on, the experience of seeing our Tigers sign an “unexpected” highly rated wide receiver from Texas was….well…..stimulating. You know…like a stimulus.

Now THAT’S a word that is being thrown around a lot these days. Actually, the word stimulus means taking something externally and injecting internally to get a reaction. Our five senses do that for our body all the time.

So taking yesterday’s “stimulating” class of new Auburn Tigers, I decided to write something about stimulus. Or should I say, I decided to write something about the “stimulus package” that is before the Senate right now. I want to point out a few things that are packaged within that $900 Billion Stimulus Bill.

$2 Billion is earmarked for FutureGen, a coal power plant in Illinois that Department of Energy defunded last year because they said it wasn’t efficient.

$246 Million tax break for Hollywood Movie Producers to buy motion picture film.

$650 Million for coupons to buy digital television converters.

$88 Million for the Coast Guard to design a new ship.

$248 Million for new furniture for the Department of Homeland Security Offices.

$448 Million to construct a new office complex for them (see item just above).

$600 Million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees.

$125 Million for the Washington D.C. Sewer System.

$150 Million for the Smithsonian Institute.

$1 Billion for the 2010 Census.

$1.4 Billion to study ways of handling rural waste disposal.

$6 Billion to turn Federal Buildings into “Green” Buildings

$110 Million to upgrade the Farm Service Agency’s computer system.

$500 Million for building repairs at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland.

$160 Million for “Paid Volunteers” doing community service.

$100 Million for reducing the hazards of lead-based paint.

You get the idea. There are numerous wasteful provisions, at least in my opinion, of the Senate version of the stimulus bill being debated that, at a minimum, must be questioned as to their “stimulus” of our economy. If you feel the same way, then by all means, let your voice be heard.

Do we need a stimulus bill passed? Everyone agrees….yes. But it doesn’t need to be laden with more pork barrel fat.

Anyway….War Eagle!

WJLaneSR

Groundhog Day

2009-02-02T11:46:00.003-05:00

James Morris was a storekeeper in Berks County, Pennsylvania. As with all good storekeepers, who in detail kept a journal of all inventory, customers, accounts receivable and accounts payable, Mr. Morris also kept a personal diary. Mostly it was an account of the day’s activities, so that he had a record of what transpired. Because the year was 1841, there were no blogs or e-diaries he could use.

On February 4, 1841, Mr. Morris wrote the following in his diary: “Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate."

And with that simple journal entry, Groundhog Day in the United States was born.

Well, today is Groundhog Day. It occurs every year on February 2nd, and depending on whether you believe Punxsutawney Phil, General Beauregard Lee, Woodstock Willie or Staten Island Chuck determines whether you think there are six more weeks of bad weather…..or spring is just around the corner.

As for me, I prefer the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray playing the main character, over the actual Groundhog Day. I love the way he had to live each day over and over again until he learned to give up his selfishness and become a better person.
The great thing about having so many famous and well-known groundhogs is that you can choose which one you want to follow and believe. You can choose which hog to believe. Or you can choose not to believe in the rodent’s ability to foretell the next six weeks weather. It’s all about choice.

This brings me to another important day this week. Wednesday is National Signing Day, which is the first day a high school senior can sign a binding National Letter of Intent for college football. Nearly every high school senior who has been offered a scholarship to play college football will sign a letter of intent on Wednesday. It's a day of choice. A day to choose their new school.

To the average fan, the fan that looks forward to tailgate fellowship but has little interest in the game itself, Wednesday will be just another day. But to those of us who are die-hard fans of big-time college football, Wednesday is cultural phenomena. A mini-holiday of sorts. A day spent surfing the web for the latest breaking news of our favorite team and who has faxed in their letter and how many stars he has beside his name. A day for fan-parties and ESPNU watching. A day that represents the culmination of all of the off-season recruiting that takes place in order to keep a team competitive on the national stage.

It is college football’s Groundhog Day. A day when some programs see only a shadow of what might have been, and will face more difficult times. Or a day when some programs don’t see a shadow, but see a real future with their class…reminding them that the next season is just around the corner.

War Eagle!
WJLaneSR

A Birthday Rock

2009-01-12T14:39:00.002-05:00

Today is my birthday. I know, we all have them, and it beats the heck out of the alternative. Well, for me, it is a big one. I turned 50 today. Hard to believe, but it's true. I've seen 1/2 century, and I'm looking forward to seeing the other half.

I won't tell you what I wished for when I blew out my candles, but I will tell you
that with so many candles, I had time to wish for a lot of things before the fire and smoke set off the alarms. One of the things I wished for was a Rock. Which brings me to this story.

He was certain that Tony Mandarich would be the one. Speaking of the Michigan State giant, he said “Heck, he even got some votes for the Heisman Trophy!” In fact, Mandarich, the 6’6” 317-pound offensive tackle placed sixth in the Heisman voting.

But it was not to be for him on this day. Nor was it to be for Mark Stepnoski, the powerful guard from the University of Pittsburg.

No, because when the envelope was opened in the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Manhattan back in December, 1988, it was Tracy Quenton Rocker who had been voted the Outland Trophy winner as college football’s outstanding lineman for 1988. “I’m shocked. I’m surprised” was all Rocker could say. “I’ve been double teamed by offensive linemen all season, and I never expected this.”

It didn’t surprise his position coach, though. Wayne Hall, who was Auburn’s defensive-line coach, said of Rocker: “We didn’t do anything fancy to show him off, like moving him around. He was there at left tackle and the head coach of everybody we met said he was the best they’d ever played against. Of course, we also had a couple of other pretty good ones on the d-line with him.” Asked how he built Tracy Rocker into an Outland/Lombardi winner, Hall’s answer was simple and to the point. “I got out of his way.”

Frankly, it was pointless to move Rocker around. With Benji Rowland at nose guard and Ron Stallworth at right defensive tackle, Auburn had three all-conference defensive linemen opposing teams had to face.

Tracy Rocker was the one who struck fear into opposing coaches, though. When asked about Rocker following Auburn’s 20-10 dominance over Georgia in 1988, Coach Vince Dooley had only two words: “Sheer Dominance.”

Rocker’s 354 career tackles are the most by any Auburn down lineman in school history. He had 21 career sacks, and 48 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Quenton Riggins, who is now a color commentator for the Auburn Network, played linebacker just behind Rocker. He is quoted as saying, “Every week coach would fuss at me for not getting to the line to make a tackle. It was no use to fuss, but the truth is, Rock had them tackled before I could get there. It was just amazing to be behind him and see him dominate like he did.”

Well, today Tracy Rocker is coming home. He has been named the new Defensive Line coach for the Auburn Tigers. And if he can instill into the young defensive linemen anything of what he had when he was playing at Auburn, the defensive line should not be a concern.

One of Auburn’s greatest has come back home to coach. Welcome home, Tracy. Oh, and this was the very Rock I wished for.

So Happy Birthday to Me.

WJLaneSR

Coaching Carousel

2009-01-08T11:28:00.001-05:00

Waiting in line to receive a ticket from a bundled-up woman inside the big red cylinder shaped like a candle. Listening to the Christmas music bellowing through metal speakers. Walking across mushy sawdust evenly strewn across the Fairfax baseball field before climbing aboard the carousel centered over the pitcher’s mound. Finding the perfect horse and hopping on. Sometimes riding the inside horse. Sometimes riding the outside horse. Sometimes relegated to the middle horse. Racing the persons seated next to you. Never winning, but never losing. Always fun and exciting.

This was a Christmas tradition for all of us who called our home “the Chattahoochee Valley.” The annual Christmas Merry-Go-Round was not only a treat for youngsters, but for those young at heart as well. And this tradition continues even today, though at a different location.

My wife worked at a carousel when she was in high school. She heard the piped classical music and saw the hand-crafted horses and the smiling faces daily. She worked the Riverview Carousel at Six Flags over Georgia. Built in 1908, that carousel turned 100 this past year.

She always thought that getting engaged on that carousel while the music was playing and the horses were bobbing up and down might be the epitome of romanticism. I don’t really know about that, but I DO know it was not where we got engaged.

There’s another carousel taking place as well. This one has been called, appropriately I believe, the “Coaching Carousel.” And right now in the Southeastern Conference, it is in full force. Paul Gattis of the Huntsville Times even wrote an article about it this past week.

Borrowing some of his research, as well as my own observations, let’s climb aboard the carousel and look around.

Gene Chizik left Iowa State to become head coach at Auburn. Paul Rhodes left Auburn to become head coach at Iowa State. Ken Steele left Alabama to go to Clemson. John Chavis left Tennessee to go to LSU. Dan Mullen left Florida to go to Mississippi State. Ed Orgeron left the Saints, after leaving Ole Miss last year, to go to Tennessee.

You get the idea. Keeping up with the coaching moves is enough to make your head spin.

Like watching kids at a carousel. Sometimes climbing on the inside horse. Sometimes the outside. Sometimes relegated to the middle. Going up and down, and round and round. Only stopping long enough to let a new group on, while the old group scrambles for left-over and empty seats. And then the Merry-Go-Round begins again.

Just like college football.

WJLaneSR

The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl

2009-01-06T13:30:00.004-05:00

In Mrs. Malleson’s ninth grade English class, I had to read an American fiction novel. I chose Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The basic premise of the book was that reading books to develop critical thinking is bad, and should be outlawed. Therefore, books were burned at a temperature of 451 degrees Fahrenheit. Because the book was written in 1953, it was supposed to remind the world of the “book-burning” that took place under Nazi, Germany, and how censorship is a thought-destroying force.

I quickly read the book, and forgot most of what I had read, as all good ninth graders would do. In fact, I’m surprised I even remember the theme of the book, much less pertinent details.

And then I remembered.

I guess I was a junior in college when I remembered Bradbury. Perhaps it was because, as liberal arts major, I began to see how literature and the arts enabled one to think critically. To form one’s own informed opinions and thoughts.

Or perhaps it was just because I happened to see a copy of his book in the college library, and gave no thought whatsoever to the education I was receiving.

Frankly I have no I idea why I picked it up.

But I did.

I picked up another book by Bradbury, only this time it was a compilation of short stories. One of those stories was entitled, “The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl.”

It is a story about a man who committed a murder, and then tried to cover it up. The more evidence he destroyed (wiping away finger prints, etc.), the more it made him the prime suspect, until finally, when all the fingerprints were removed, he was caught.

I haven’t thought about this short story in quite some time. Until this past week. And it was the title of the story that I remembered.

You see, it has been a LONG bowl season. And it’s not over yet. In fact, although all the BCS games except the National Championship Game has been played, there is still one non-BCS game to be played.

But as of Thursday evening, around midnight, after Oklahoma and Florida have finally run the clock out, we will have reached “the fruit at the bottom of the bowl.”

Oh, sure…I enjoyed several of the other bowl games. I enjoyed seeing Vanderbilt win their first bowl game since the mid 1950’s. I enjoyed seeing an Ole Miss team go to Texas and beat the high octane Raiders of Texas Tech. And I REALLY enjoyed seeing the Utes of Salt Lake City pour it on the Crimson Tide.

But I’m also tired. Tired of a ballgame every night. A ballgame that screams out to me, “Watch Me…..Watch Me…..”, and find in my weakness I comply.

Even though Auburn wasn't even playing in one of them, though it seems everyone else was, I would comply.

And now, I’m tired of not getting enough sleep. I’m tired of the bowl season, and I’m ready for it to be over. I’m so bowl saturated with bowls, that I really don’t care who wins the national championship. It's not going to be Auburn, so what does it matter.

Frankly, I’m just glad that we’ve finally reached the fruit at the bottom of the bowl.

WJLaneSR.

Happy New Year and Luck...

2009-01-01T19:02:00.000-05:00

In 1967, Bobbie Gentry wrote the ballad “Ode to Billie Joe”. One of the lyrics mentions them: “Papa said to Mama as he passed around the black-eyed peas, "Well, Billy Joe never had a lick of sense; pass the biscuits please."

I put them in a pot last night before we watched the ball drop. Letting them soak all night long, it made cooking them a lot quicker today.

Yes, I’m talking about those black-eyed peas.

Being from the Deep South, it is a tradition to eat black-eyed peas and collard greens or turnip greens on New Year’s Day. This is supposed to bring good luck for the year ahead.

So this morning, I cooked the peas with a piece of fatback and plenty of water. I made a pan of buttermilk cornbread, cooked some corn and pork, and settled in for a long day of parades, football, eating and relaxing.

I was always told that the peas stood for good luck, and the greens stood for paper money….the more you ate on New Years, the more you had that year.

Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day isn’t a tradition that began in the southeastern U.S., however. It actually goes all the way back to the Babylonians. In fact, in the Babylonian Talmud, compiled around 300 A.D., it is written that “these good luck symbols avail, and you should make it a habit to have Qara (a bottle gourd with water), Rubyia (black-eyed peas), Kartie (leeks or onions), Silka (spinach or other greens), and dates on the table at the beginning of each new year.”

Most southerners trace the "good luck" traditions back to the U.S. Civil War. Union troops, especially in areas targeted by General William Tecumseh Sherman, would typically strip the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock and destroy whatever they couldn't carry away.

At that time, Northerners considered "field peas" and corn suitable only for animal fodder, and as a result didn't steal or destroy these humble foods. Many Southerners survived as a result of this mistake. A common expression at that time was “I’m just lucky to have some peas.”

So today, I ate some black-eyed peas for my family. And I ate some more for the neighbors. I even ate some for my beloved Auburn Tigers, who didn’t make it into this year’s bowl picture. Maybe a little luck will come their way as well.

And before you start fussing at me for eating peas and cornbread, I want to point out something. Black-eyed peas are a good source of calcium (211 mg in 1 cup) and Vitamin A (1305 IU).

So Happy New Year to you all. And as the words belted out in the song “Soulville” by the great Aretha Franklin so aptly put it: “I’m talking ‘bout the black-eyed peas, down in Soulville…..yeah!!!”

WJLaneSR

Nostalgia, and a Happy New Year

2008-12-29T15:22:00.003-05:00

Perhaps it is nostalgia. After all, it is the end of another year. And we did just celebrate Christmas.

Or maybe it is because my youngest is now as tall as me. Of course, it could be because I am two weeks away from turning the big Five-Oh, which is about to hit me like a surfer’s Hawaiian wave with the voice of Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) in the background saying “Book ‘im, Danno” while the Morton Stevens “Hawaii Five-O” theme song plays.

I guess most people get a little nostalgic around Christmas. Memories seem to flood the soul during the yuletide season. We see children playing with their new toys that Santa left, and remember our own childhood skates and drums and bikes. In a way we find ourselves wishing we could go back and be that child again, if only for a Christmas moment. Perhaps to see the old house we used to run around in, and hear the creaking sounds of the hallway floorboards one more time. Or to see that smile and hear that laugh of a loved one who has now gone on to their reward in heaven and will meet us there one day with arms open wide. Or experience the smells and tastes and noise of family reunions past.

Nostalgia.

Nostalgia is two Greek words put together. “Nostos” means returning home. “Algos” means pain. So nostalgia is the pain one feels because he or she wishes to return home, and fears (or knows) that can never happen again. We get the word “homesick” from “Nostos-Algos”.

As I have been pondering the year now almost over, and planning the year to come, a little nostalgia blended with a little daydreaming has moved me to create an “I want to” list. Now I want to be clear, this is NOT a Jack Nicholson/Morgan Freeman Bucket List. It is just a list of things I want to do during my remaining days on earth. Some of them I have already done, but want to do again. Others I haven’t. I didn’t include things I have done but don’t really mind if I never do again. You can borrow my list or make up your own. After all, mine will be saturated with my own nostalgic yet daydream persuasion.

Here is mine, with comments to the side. “I want to…”

1. Write and publish a book (Began in May, 150 pages into it today)
2. Visit Mesa Verda again (Did it summer 2007, and would go again today)
3. Sleep under the stars again (Used to do it in Boy Scouts, want to again)
4. Sing in a band (Never done it)
5. Do another multi-day hiking trip on the A.T. (Did it in Scouts and want to again)
6. Write a blog (Uh, doing it!)
7. Swim in the Great Salt Lake (Never done it)
8. Walk the streets of Jerusalem (Never done it)
9. Visit the Vatican (Never done it)
10. Tour the Everglades (If I have done it, don’t remember it)
11. Visit Auschwitz (Been to Dachau twice, but not Auschwitz)
12. Play in the mud like a child (Been a LOOONG time since I did that)
13. Visit the Sistine Chapel (Never done it)
14. See Old Faithful geyser (Saw it about 35 years ago, want to again)
15. Teach myself a new language (I am working on Japanese)
16. Ride in a gondola in Venice (Never done it)
17. Go skinny dipping in a lake (Been a LOOONG time on this one, too. And before you are too judgmental here, you don’t know who, if anyone, I am inviting to go with me! And yes, I know what I look like “nekkid at my age”!)
18. Sing Karaoke (Done that in multiple countries and on a cruise ship)
19. Build an igloo (Never done it)
20. Take a trip to Istanbul on the Orient Express (Never Done It)
21. See the Great Pyramids of Egypt (Never Done It)
22. Own a Harley-Davidson (Never Done It)
23. Learn to Ballroom Dance (Come on, Julie…let’s do it!)
24. Walk my daughters down the aisle (Not yet…but one day!)
25. Sit on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and toss pebbles into the water, just meditating and thinking (Never done it)

And with that, unless something earth shattering takes place that I feel an irresistible urge to write about, my blog for 2008 is complete. I don’t plan to write again until 2009. So Happy New Year to you all.

WJLaneSR

p.s. (thanks to cozy reader's blog for the idea)

Malzahn

2008-12-28T19:45:00.000-05:00

Auburn hired another author today. Or should I say, Auburn hired an “Arthur” today. That’s right, Arthur Gustav Malzahn III, better known as Gus Malzahn, was hired as the new offensive coordinator for Auburn University.

Gus Malzahn was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas on October 28, 1965. He graduated from Fort Smith Christian High School in 1984, and was a walk-on receiver for the Ken Hatfield led Arkansas Razorbacks. After two years, he transferred to Henderson State University where he was a two year letterman in football, and where he earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education.

Gus Malzahn has been successful at every coaching stop in his career. In fact, he is a high school coaching legend in the state of Arkansas. From 1996 – 2000, he was the head coach of Shiloh Christian where he transformed their football team into one of the most dynamic offensive prep squads in the nation. From there, he moved to Springdale High School from 2001 – 2005 where he led his team to two state championship games and 1 title. His 2005 squad had All Americans Mitch Mustain and Damian Williams who both went to Arkansas.

In 2005, Malzahn was named the offensive coordinator for Arkansas, where his offense led the Razorbacks to an SEC West Division Championship. In 2007, his friend Todd Graham became the head coach of Tulsa, and Malzahn joined him as Offensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach.

In 2007, Malzahn emerged as one of the premier offensive coordinators in the country, as Tulsa ranked #1 in the nation in total offense (ahead of Texas Tech and Hawaii). Under his leadership, Tulsa became the first team in NCAA history to have a 5000 yard passer, a 1000 yard rusher, and three 1000 yard receivers in one season on one team. This past year, his Tulsa team ranked #2 in the nation in total offense with an average of 565 yards per game.

Coach Malzahn is also an author. This may remind you of Tony Franklin, but unlike Franklin, Malzahn’s version of the spread is more balanced, with the quarterback under center instead of in the shotgun. He wrote a book entitled “Hurry Up No Huddle—An Offensive Philosophy”. He is the author and inventor of the “Wildcat Formation” which is really a version of the old single wing.

Will his version of the spread work at Auburn? I don’t know…but I sure hope so.

From the desk of my bully pulpit, I say, “Good hire, Coach Chiz. Let’s get some players to go with it.”

War Eagle

WJLaneSR

Chi

2008-12-27T20:49:00.000-05:00

It was a triangular world wind tour. Beginning Christmas morning in Spartanburg, South Carolina, six Lanes plus a dog rode 5 hours to Savannah, Georgia in order to eat Christmas Dinner with Julie’s brothers and sisters (as well as their families, etc.) After exchanging a few gifts, avoiding the figgy pudding, and pulling on crackers (part of my wife’s English tradition where a tubular present is pulled on both ends, making a popping sound, and a paper crown falls out which is supposed to then be put on the head. As with all good English people, it makes more sense after a pint or three of ale), we retired to our hotel.

On Boxing Day, we woke up, drove six hours from Savannah to West Point, Ga. to visit my parents, and again exchanged a few gifts. My mother had turkey, ham and all the trimmings. So, for the second day in a row, we overate and enjoyed the Christmas Cheer. Following a large breakfast and lunch today, we drove 5 hours back to Spartanburg.

The triangle trip was complete.

There are lots of stories about our quick trip that I could tell, like my phone call with Aunt Faye, riding 16 hours in three days in one car with 6 people and a dog, and the bite I received on my hand by another dog.

Due to the restraints of time and space, I only want to talk about how LONG the trip was. It is amazing what we will do in order to see friends and loved ones at Christmas. Packed in a vehicle like sardines really does describe what we were.

The long trip was kind of like following a long, long river that never seems to end.

I remember in college geography studying about the rivers such as this. One such river is the longest river in Thailand. It is called the Chi River. The river runs through the Phetchabun Mountains, runs east and then south where it meets the Mun River. Maybe the reason I remember this river is because it is riddled with leeches, yet is a major source of travel, commerce and food for the Thai people

I think I will call Auburn’s new head football coach “Coach Chi”. Most people will think it is just short for “Chizik”, but I have another reason.

Coach Chi will have a lot of people who will be try to be like a leech, attaching themselves to his every move and decision. And though leeches can be good in certain circumstances, they can also draw the life out of a person if left unattended. Coach Chi also has a long row to hoe, I think. Not only does he have to get the Auburn base on board, he has to turn the football program around. This will be a long process, I think.

But, long journeys are not necessarily bad things. Just like our Christmas journey; though long, it was a good thing. Like the Chi River for the Thais.

Good luck, Coach Chi. I hope your journey is a good thing for Auburn, as well.

Coming Home

2008-12-21T14:06:00.000-05:00

In 1978, Jon Voight and Jane Fonda starred in a film entitled “Coming Home”. It was a dramatic adaptation of a novel by George Davis. The movie told the story of an injured Vietnam War veteran’s difficulty re-entering civilian life after he returns home from the war. Both Jon Voight and Jane Fonda won academy awards for their roles in the movie, and if you look, you can probably find a DVD or Blue Ray at your local Blockbuster Store.

I have read many articles over the last couple of weeks regarding the state of the football program at Auburn. One of the themes that seems to be resonating of late is one of “coming home” under new coach Chizik. He has symbolically reached out his hand to former lettermen and to Coach Dye by saying “come home…you’re always welcome here.” And if there is any truth to the rumors swirling, there will be a few coaches who used to play football at Auburn invited to “Come Home” and coach the Tigers.

One name that is getting a lot of attention is Stacy Searles. Searles played football under legendary coach Pat Dye, blocking for such superstars as Bo Jackson. He was the offensive line coach for LSU for 4 seasons, and most recently the offensive line coach for Georgia. Searles is a throwback to passionate football fundamentals. His words are “whip em in the trenches.” It is a lesson he says his father taught him when he was growing up in Trion, Georgia. His father was a proud blue-collar worker, who delivered milk for 23 years, and drove a truck for 20 after that. But he always made time to come to Stacy’s practices and ballgames. And according to Stacy, Wayne Searles knew more about line-play than most coaches even today. After all, Wayne Searles was an all-state lineman himself back in 1952.

Searles says his father never fussed about a missed block or making a mistake, but if he ever saw his son loafing, there would be “hell to pay when I got home. He felt that if you played hard and put forth all the effort that’s within you, you can overcome any physical deficiencies you might have.”

Stacy followed in his father’s footsteps and made all-state in 1982 before signing a scholarship with Auburn.

It looks as if Searles may be coming home to coach at Auburn.

Thinking about this possibility, I remembered the Fonda/Voight movie in 1978. Or maybe it’s just the season. After all, it is a phrase we use quite a bit during this time of year. “Are the kids coming home for Christmas?” “When are you coming home?” And of course, there is that phrase which causes both anxiety and excitement….”Is anyone coming home with you?”

Frankly, I think it is why many people who don’t otherwise attend church, will find themselves at a Christmas Eve service, or church Christmas program. Going to these feels a little bit like “coming home” and it should. After all, that’s why Jesus came. To give us a way to “come home”…..back to God.

Merry Christmas,
WJLaneSR

Recruiting

2008-12-17T18:52:00.000-05:00

I guess I have read most of them. Or at least enough of them to know that there IS no consensus.

Working for a Japanese company, I have learned how important “consensus” is. It is a method of decision making where the entire group looks at every facet of a problem or circumstance asks “why” at least 5 times, analyzes every minute detail, until there is a general agreement to the solution or decision. That’s consensus.

When I read them, I find no general agreement…no consensus.

Of course, if you follow Auburn University football at all, you already know what I am opining over.

That’s right…..Gene Chizik as Auburn’s new head coach.

Now before you right-finger click to another web page let me assure you. I am NOT going to give an opinion about whether the hire was good or bad. There are enough so called “experts” who are doing that, and you can choose whichever one you want to line up with. After all, you DO know what opinions and a certain part of the anatomy have in common….let’s all say it together….”everybody has one”.

Before being too critical of opinions, however, just remember that opinions are ideas and thoughts which are either impossible to verify the truth of, or of which the truth is unimportant. Yep, that’s the definition of an opinion. It has very little to do with truth.

What I AM going to do, however, is give my thoughts on what Coach Chizik, who is now out actively recruiting, should be looking for. You might say it’s my OPINION of what makes up a top notch high school football recruit. And before you tell me I don’t know what in the heck I am talking about, remember….opinions have very little to do with truth.

So here it goes…the Lane Plan of High School Football Recruiting. Coach Chizik, take note:

#1 at the top of the list…..Grades. Make sure the athlete has a solid GPA in his core curriculum classes, and a solid ACT or SAT score. If not, and you take him, he may hurt your APR (Academic Progress Rate) when he gets to college.

#2. Character and Citizenship. Make sure the young man has irreproachable character and unquestionable citizenship. Being a decent person and good citizen is a central characteristic of leadership and willingness to be a team player.

#3. Speed. Look for that young man who has fast starts and quick acceleration. Yes the 40 yard dash is important, but what can he do in the 10 yard (especially for those big, power players on the line and skill players like tight end, fullback and linebacker).

#4. Good reaction. How quick does he move after seeing the ball move, for example. Does his vision trigger a quickness response in his body.

#5. Strength and Power. Not just in the weight room, but can the young man transfer all that strength attained on the bench press to the football field.

#6. Work Ethic. Does the young man have a “dread the day” attitude to practice, running and weight lifting? Or is he the first one in and the last one to leave. Also in the classroom.

#7. Is he competitive by nature? Is he high energy and have a strong desire to win at everything he participates in?

#8. Does he have a passion for the game? Does he truly LOVE the game of football?

To me, THESE are the characteristics of the young men Coach Chizik should be looking for as he is hitting the recruiting trail hard for Auburn. I hope he can find some like this. I’ll be satisfied with only about 23 or 24 of them.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I DID intentionally leave one attribute out, because in my OPINION, it is overrated and doesn’t tell the story about the recruit. That’s right. Physical talent.

For you see, there are a LOT of people who have the physical talent to play college football, but without those nine attributes I have listed about, I don’t think they would ever be successful.

That’s my opinion.

WJLaneSR

Tuppence

2008-12-11T09:04:00.000-05:00

I admit it. I use the phrase, about others and even about myself. Quite frankly, I’ve never thought about its origin.

“He’s got to put his two cents worth in”. “I’m going to put my two cents worth in”. You’ve heard the phrase “two cents worth”, but do you know the origin of the phrase, and what it really means?

The phrase is derived from the British idiom “my tuppence worth”, which is used to depreciate the opinion to follow, suggesting that the opinion is only going to be worth about a “tuppence”, or two pennies. It goes hand-in-hand with another British idiom from the 16th century: “a penny for your thoughts”.

Reflecting on it, I find it’s mostly true. For usually, when I hear someone say, “Well, here’s MY two cents worth”, the opinion they give is usually worth no more than a tuppence.

Keeping that in mind, I toss my tuppence worth into the Auburn coaching search discussion.

This past week, I felt as though I were only a “heartbeat away” from the real action of the coaching search. I was in New York all week, where the American College Football Association was having their annual banquet and Hall of Fame induction. These meetings and banquet were held Tuesday evening at the Waldorf Astoria. I was staying across the street from the Waldorf’s back entrance.

On Monday evening, while sitting in the concierge lounge at the Marriott, Mark May from ESPN College Football fame, came in. He sat at a table next to mine, and we struck up a conversation. It began with the Auburn-West Virginia game, and Tuberville’s decision to have the sideline heaters turned off after half-time. Of course, our discussion moved on to Auburn’s coaching search. To summarize, it was his strong belief that most everyone being interviewed in NY would not ultimately become the new head coach.

I have thought about his tuppence worth. Maybe he’s right. Maybe not. In any case, here’s mine.

Auburn has a long and rich history surrounding it’s football program. Being an amateur student of history, there is one overriding reason we should study and know our history. To learn from it.

In 1980, Auburn’s football program was on life-support. It shouldn’t have been, because talent was there. But there was no urgency. No belief. No vision. Using a Biblical analogy from Jeremiah, “without a vision, the people perish”. Auburn football was perishing.

Doug Barfield was the wrong man at the wrong time. Across the state, Bear Bryant was at the pinnacle of his career. With the firing of Barfield, Auburn cast a wide net in search for their new coach. Many wanted Auburn to hit the proverbial “home run”, because it needed someone who could stand toe-to-toe with “The Bear”.

Vince Dooley ALMOST became that person.

Rather, Auburn hired a young coach who’s winning percentage was barely 70%. Averaging seven wins out of ten games was less than what many Auburn people were looking for. And when Pat Dye was announced as the new head coach, there were lots of orange and blue fans across Alabama looking at each other saying “Pat Who?”

But Auburn hired a coach who reflected Auburn football. Guts. Run oriented. Power. Self-confidence. Not much flash but an awful lot of “in your face” football. A coach who believed you won and lost on the line of scrimmage, and who challenged the manhood of every player.

When asked how long it would take to beat the Legendary Bear and his troops, Dye didn’t hesitate. “60 Minutes”. As we’ve been reminded this week, it actually took 120.

So my tuppence worth is this. Learn from our history. Don’t worry about what ESPN says. Don’t worry about the Finebaum’s and the Belue’s. Don’t worry about hitting the proverbial “home run”.

Rather, hire someone who reflects Auburn football. Someone who will fit who we are, and will take us to where we ought to be. Someone who will answer the question, “how long will it take to beat the great Sabear?” with the answer…..”60 minutes.”

That’s my tuppence.

WJLaneSR

East Elmhurst

2008-12-10T19:55:00.000-05:00

At least now I know why they asked me that question. I mean, when they asked me, it seemed like a reasonable question. After all, the hotel is just across the freeway from LaGuardia Airport.

If you’ve never been to East Elmhurst, it might be a good thing. As I was looking at the neighborhood from behind the tinted windows of my limousine (o.k., it was a Lincoln Towncar from a Manhattan car service) I thought to myself, “This ain’t a very good neighborhood”. And yet, right here, is the New York-LaGuardia Crowne Plaza. Suffice it to say that I won’t be going on a cardio-walk outside to catch some fresh air.

I don’t usually stay by the airport. But thanks to Delta NOT “being ready when I am”, my evening flight from LaGuardia to Spartanburg was cancelled tonight. Whoopie! I get to stay another night in the city, but since I have already checked out of my hotel and can’t find another one less than $600 a night, I get to visit East Elmhurst.

To make matters worse, the computer system was down when I checked in about an hour ago. I can’t wait to see what has been billed to my room! Which brings me back to the question.

It seemed reasonable enough. When I checked in, I was hungry. My last meal was lunch, which was a chef salad from Au Bon Pain. Great salad, but lasted only about 4 hours. Thankfully, they serve food at the bar in the Crowne Plaza of East Elmhurst.

I ordered the nachos with beef, which was soggy with overcooked (I certainly HOPE) ground beef. And I admit, after the day I had, I ordered a Blue Moon to wash it down with. So back to the question.

I noticed when I entered the bar, which by the way was the ONLY place to get something to eat, that there was a lot of “mingling” going on. Most of these were people in the mid forty to sixty something range. I kept looking for storm clouds and father Noah, because the people seemed to be gathering two by two and leaving the bar together. I thought to myself that if it started raining in there, I might be in trouble.

The man behind the bar said to me, “you haven’t been in here before, have you?” I said, “Nope, and I wouldn’t be here now if my flight hadn’t been cancelled.” He then gave me a warning. He said, “Be careful. This is a hangout for lonely divorced people, or people who are just looking for some companionship for the night. Let me know if anyone bothers you.”

Well THAT’S just great. And all this time, I thought the question asked of me by the clerk behind the counter had to do with whether or not I had an evening flight. But NOOO. The question CLEARLY had a different meaning, which I didn’t pick up on. Because the clerk asked me, “Mr. Lane, will you be staying with us overnight, or just for a few hours?”

Writing from my room ALONE...and hoping to get home tomorrow....

WJLaneSR

Past week has been a Pain!

2008-12-07T20:23:00.000-05:00

The past 8 days have not only been a whirlwind filled with topics waiting for discourse and diatribe, they have also been days of pain. Literally.

Oh, I could write about the humiliating defeat in Tuscalooserville, but that isn’t the pain I am talking about. And sure, I could pontificate about the he-said/they-said/what-happened saga of Tommy Tuberville. But that also isn’t the pain about which I write. For you see, during the week following the crushing and embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Nicolodian Tide, just after Tommy Tuberville was no longer the head football coach at Auburn, I had to be taken to the hospital.

As most of you know, I am a huge Auburn fan. But it wasn’t the misery and melancholy of “Post-Iron Bowl-Syndrome” that sent me to sickbay.

Rather, if I am keeping count correctly, and I think I am, I gave birth to my 15th kidney stone. And the labor was excruciating.

There is nothing like sitting in the emergency room “corral” waiting to be called, while having waves of nauseating pain emanating from one’s kidney and engulfing the body, making it’s way out through the mouth in the form of wails and moans while dozens of equally miserable human beings look on. And for the record, this went on for about an hour before I was seen.

The pain medication was not only relief from the kidney stone pain, but also from the surrounding misery as well. After taking me back for a CAT scan, the doctor informed me that Christmas was coming early. That indeed it WAS the season of advent and expectation. That I had something to look forward to. I had the gift that keeps on giving. Doctor Good-News told me that the CAT scan showed I had two more kidney stones in my right kidney….as compared to the left one which was why I was in the hospital in the first place!!

Merry Christmas!! Gifts to look forward to!!

And as for Auburn’s coaching search? Let’s get a good one and get it over with. I can’t stand many more pains in the side.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSR

A Silent Scream

2008-12-01T11:19:00.001-05:00

Dr. Bernhard Nathanson described himself as a “Jewish-Atheist”. As a board certified gynecologist and obstetrician in New York State, he became one of the founding members of “Pro-Choice America”. He provided expert medical advice and information to the legal team who successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court the Roe v. Wade decision. For a time he was the Director of the Center for Reproductive and Sexual Health (CRASH), New York’s largest abortion clinic. In his own words, he recalls that he is personally responsible for as many as 75,000 abortions, one of which was to a woman that he personally got pregnant.

Then came clear Ultra Sound in the late 1970’s. When Dr. Nathanson began to see babies in the womb moving around, sucking their thumbs and toes, responding to sound, and having hiccups, he began to rethink his position on abortion. At the same time, he was dealing with internal demons haunting his personal life. He had gone through three messy divorces, his sister had committed suicide, and he had learned that his grandfather hadn’t died of natural causes, but had in fact committed suicide when Bernhard was just a little boy. Finally, with nowhere else to turn, he sought out the witness and counsel of Father John McCloskey. Dr. Nathanson turned to Jesus Christ, and became a Christian.

In 1984, he wrote, directed and filmed a documentary called “The Silent Scream”. The film is extremely graphic, and depicts the abortion process via ultrasound. It vividly shows an abortion taking place. In detail, the unborn child is shown making facial contortions and appears to be screaming out in pain and torment during the process. The video became such a powerful tool of “right-to-life”, that it was used in the re-election campaign of Ronald Reagan.

I hadn’t thought about this film in a long time. Until this past weekend.

I was sitting with total disgust in the pit of my stomach as I watched the Iron Bowl. I saw an impotent Auburn offense fail to move the ball against a stingy Red defense. I saw an Auburn defensive line overpowered by a Tide offensive line. And I saw coaching emotion and adrenaline at a high level on the home side of the field, and a seemingly lack of emotion on the other. I couldn’t yell. I couldn’t fuss. I couldn’t cuss…well, mostly because there were kids in the room, but still…..my body was in contortions, but I could make no sound. All I could do was make a silent scream.

Now please don’t misunderstand. In no way am I comparing losing a football game, albeit THE game, to an abortion. There is no comparison. But frankly, I had forgotten about the film “the Silent Scream” until Saturday. And then I remembered it as I was thinking to myself, “all I can do is scream silently”.

Maybe it was God reminding me not to take a football game so seriously because there were things much more important, like matters of life and death, going on around me. Maybe He was trying to make sure I kept all these things in perspective. I don’t know.

What I DO know is this. Auburn lost the Iron Bowl…first time in seven years. A lot of faithful Tigers like myself want to yell, spit, curse, and even scream. And that’s o.k.
But

There are other screams going on today as well. And those screams are silent. They need a voice. A voice like mine…..which on THIS issue, won’t be silent anymore.

Stop Abortion Now.

WJLaneSR

Greatest Film of All Time and the Iron Bowl

2008-11-28T22:08:00.002-05:00

“Some say he is dead….some say he never will be.”

This is the tag line from my favorite movie of all time.

I took my son and his friend to see a movie tonight. Not my favorite movie, though. They saw “Twilight”, which is supposed to be a pretty good flick, or so they say. I didn’t go with them but rather went to Barnes and Noble, looked at the “books for sale” in the History section, and drank an overpriced cup of Starbucks Coffee. While perusing such sultry and seductive books as “The Federalist Papers” and “Lee’s Gettysburg” (as I’ve written before, I’m just a history-teacher-geek wannabe), I received a phone picture from our friend Gina.

Gina and her family are in Lexington, Kentucky, visiting our friend Bobby, who is in the hospital due to emergency surgery. In fact, my wife Julie and our daughter Marissa are there as well. They are also spending some time with Bobby’s wife and two daughters. Bobby is a first year seminary student at Asbury Theological Seminary just outside Lexington.

When Bobby went there, I told him that a guy I used to be good friends with was in the Ph.D. program at Asbury, and he should look him up. For whatever reason, that never happened.

Well, today, as Julie and Gina were driving to Phoebe’s house, they saw this friend, Dan Dunn, and his wife Nancy, walking along a street. Julie made Gina stop the car, and she then did what she does best. She began to talk to Dan and Nancy.

The picture I received was of Dan, Nancy and Julie.

Julie said, “This must be God. What else could it be?”

And you know, I think she’s right. What else could it be? After all, some may say that Jesus is dead, but we say He never will be.

Which brings me to the tagline of my favorite movie.

It was on television tonight. Filmed in Utah, so that there would be a majestic backdrop of scenery, the movie is about one man’s struggles with mountains, surroundings, natives and himself. Lead actor Robert Redford only had 30 lines in the movie, yet 36 years after it’s release it is still one of the most watched films when on television. “Jeremiah Johnson” just does something to me when I watch it. Maybe it’s Will Geer asking Redford if he’d ever skinned a “Griz”. Maybe it’s like watching the struggle of humanity. Or maybe it just reminds me of this year’s version of the Auburn Tigers.

Tomorrow is the Iron Bowl. Watching Jeremiah Johnson fight and struggle with every “sitzen liben” (that’s “life situation” for those who never took a church history class under Dr. Bill Mallory) he is faced with is the persona of the 2008 Auburn Tiger Football Team. Speaking to the 1989 Auburn Tiger team after the Alabama game, Head Coach Pat Dye said, “Men, I’ve watched you wrestle with them angels all year.” And maybe that’s what this year’s team has been doing….wrestling with them angels.

Auburn has a huge mountain to climb. They are facing the #1 team in the nation. Some say Tommy Tuberville is gone after this game. Some say he is dead. And some say he never will be.

If Auburn can find a way to wrestle them angels….to conquer the mountain before them…. they might just be able to look back on this season and hear the words of Bear Claw Chris Lapp (Will Geer). Bear Claw asked Jeremiah Johnson at the end of the movie, “You’ve come far, Pilgrim. Were it worth the trouble?” To which Johnson replied, “Ah, what trouble”.

The final scene is an encounter with Paints His Shirt Red, Johnson's avowed enemy since mid-film and the presumptive force behind many attacks made on Johnson. Several hundred yards apart, Johnson reaches for his rifle for what he thinks will be a final duel. Paints His Shirt Red raises his arm, open-palmed, in a gesture of peace. Johnson returns the gesture….raising one hand with his five fingers outstretched….and the other with three fingers around his gun, and two fingers outstretched. This closes the film.

Seven fingers held high. Like Tuberville tomorrow?

"Some say he’s dead. Some say he never will be."

War Eagle

WJLaneSR

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T21:00:00.003-05:00

We’re not cooking tomorrow. We’re not cleaning house tomorrow. We’re not travelling to a relative’s house tomorrow. And we’re not carrying a bean/broccoli/spinach/asparagus/chicken/cheese/crackers on top casserole to anybody’s house. Not because we don’t believe in Thanksgiving, or want to be grumpy or hermitish. Rather, we are in Asheville, NC, at the Renaissance Hotel. My wife, three daughters, son, mother and father are all with me. We arrived this afternoon and are staying until Friday. We’re going to eat the Thanksgiving buffet at the hotel. At $22 per person, I think I will actually save money over buying two grocery carts of Lord-Knows-What at Publix to prepare the sacred gobbler and trimmings. Never done this kind of thing before, and may not do it again. But this year, we just wanted to rest and let someone else do all the work. Oh, and count our blessings.

We have a lot to be thankful for. First of all, it is my mother’s birthday tomorrow. She has had a very rough year physically, having been in the hospital several times with a major kidney stone issue. Thankfully, the stone has been rolled away (o.k., blasted and lasered away, but it sounds more miraculous to use a Gospel analogy). So while we are eating Thomas Jefferson’s nomination for the national bird, singing “Eat, we thankful people eat….fill our stomachs with harvest cornbread”, we will also sing “Happy Birthday, Mawmaw.”

I am also thankful for our children. Hannah, our oldest, is in the Ph.D. program at the Medical University of South Carolina….studying to be a Pharmacologist. Last week she presented a poster (which I am told is a major big deal) at a Cancer Conference in Washington D.C. Marissa, our second, is a junior at the College of Charleston in Elementary Education. She took her Praxis test a couple of weeks ago and passed with flying colors. This is a test she has to pass in South Carolina in order to teach, and by passing it now, she qualifies for additional financial aid! Yahoo!!! Ansley, our third, will graduate from High School in January. This is one semester early. She was in the High School Drama Department’s production of “Dearly Departed” last week. She was soooo funny, playing a pregnant mother expecting her eighth child. She was really good! Will, our fourth and final, is twelve years old and in the sixth grade. He is very smart (and knows it, which is a bad combination!), and is a giant among boys. I am almost six feet tall, and he is almost as tall as me. He is in Boy Scouts, active in church, and plays the drums in the middle school band. His first Christmas parade as a member of the band is in one week.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t say how thankful I am of my wife. Julie has been my partner in this romantic comedy we call marriage for 28 years now. She celebrated her 50th birthday in October (I married a MUCH older woman…I don’t turn 50 until January!) She is the children’s coordinator at our church, and works at it non-stop. In fact, she is sitting on the hotel bed right now working on some “stuff”. Kid-Link, which she oversees, is a ministry to Kindergarten through fifth graders. On any given Sunday evening, she has between 40 and 60 kids. And in the midst of this, she still helps with homework, does most of the housework (hey…..I do SOME), cooks, counsels our older children, and looks after me.

I could mention so many other things I am thankful for, but I will end with this. I am also thankful that this football season is about over. I have no idea what will happen in the Iron Bowl on Saturday, but this I know. I will be a Tiger before kickoff, a Tiger during the game, and a Tiger after the final whistle blows. And when that whistle blows, I will be thankful that I can say, “Only 9 months until football season!”

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

WJLaneSR

Super Moose

2008-11-21T16:51:00.002-05:00

I can still remember the first Iron Bowl I ever went to. The year was 1971. The undefeated Auburn Tigers and the Undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide would meet each other on the green rug of Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, with the watchful eye of Vulcan staring down at them. It was supposed to be a nationally televised showdown (before the days of ESPN1, 2, U, Classic, U2, etc...where EVERY school is on TV every week) between Auburn's great passing attack, led by quarterback Pat Sullivan, who would go on to win the Heisman Trophy, verses the rushing wishbone attack of Alabama, led by first team all-american running back Johnny Musso.

The running game ruled the day. Alabama ran all over Auburn, humiliating them on national TV. Keith Jackson called Johnny Musso the “Super Moose”, and on that day he looked every bit super.

We've heard a lot about Moose, Mooses, Moosi, Moosers.....whatever the plural of “Moose” is....lately. Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin made the headlines because she hunted Moose. In fact, during one interview, she told how you kill a big bull moose. She said that you have to look at him right in his chest....right between the shoulders. She went on to say, “and don't blink. Look right into his chest, because that part doesn't really move. And if you squeeze the trigger, and hit him there, you'll bring him down every time.

One of my favorite cartoon characters when I was growing up was a Moose. His name was Bullwinkle. You might remember his flying squirrel sidekick Rocky. Bullwinkle was a goofy sort of Moose. Rocky always kept him out of trouble. I miss those early Saturday mornings with a big bowl of Frosted Flakes watching the Roadrunner and Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd and Rocky and Bullwinkle the moose.

They say that Alabama's current running back Glenn Coffee reminds the Tide faithful of the Super Moose. The way he breaks through holes and scratches for every yard brings back memories of 1971, according to followers of the Capstone. In fact, some call him “the NEW Super Moose”.

As this year's Iron Bowl approaches, my suggestion to Auburn Defensive Coordinator Paul Rhoads is this: follow Sarah Palin's advice. Tell the linebackers to look straight at his chest. His neck and arms and legs and head and hips may twist and move...but the numbers on his jersey right in the middle of his chest will not. Tell the linebackers to focus on them. Don't blink. And if they will hit him there, right in the chest...right between the shoulders....they will bring him down every time. It's how you bring down a big bull moose.

War Eagle
WJLaneSR

It Matters

2008-11-20T10:48:00.004-05:00

To my Bulldog friends, congratulations. You get to bark for another year and I have to listen to it. And so it goes in football rivalries. I can't wait until Christmas when my UGA sister-in-law rubs dog-salt into my wounds. And now, moving on.....

A few months ago, a friend of mine recommended, and sent to me for my reading pleasure, a couple of books. One of the books was about LSU football and Tiger Stadium. The other was a book by Tom Osborne. You might remember him from the days when he was the head football coach of the Big Red Machine…the Nebraska Cornhuskers. More recently he has been working with another Big Machine that seems to be mired in Red Tape….called the U.S. House of Representatives.

In any event, the book Coach Osborne wrote and was recommended to me was:

Faith In the Game: Lessons on Football, Work and Life

The first chapter of the book is really the theme of the book. The chapter is entitled, “Character”. He writes that a person’s character is best defined by their private behavior. That is, what a person does or doesn’t do when they think no one else is looking. Osborne quotes former UCLA head basketball coach John Wooden: “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are; your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

The other chapters deal with Faith, Honesty, Loyalty, Goals, Paying a Price, Unity and Teamwork. Quite frankly, when I read the book, I became inspired. Coach Osborne’s words almost had me ready to run through a tunnel with teamates clad in red.

These are the lessons that a game such as football are supposed to teach. Lessons of life. Lessons of character. Lessons of faith, and goal setting and honesty and teamwork. The lessons that any good or great coach should aspire to impart to the team they have stewardship of.

And then I read today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Three Gwinnett County football players on the Meadowcreek High School team, including the starting quarterback and two starting receivers, kids 17 and 18 years of age, were arrested and charged with two separate armed robberies. I could hardly believe it! Were these kids learning any lessons at all other than how to throw and catch an oblong ball?

I shouldn’t have been surprised. Just look around the SEC. Since Florida won the national championship in January, 2007, there have been 9 football players arrested for various crimes. Since Nick Saban arrived at Alabama, there have been 10 football players arrested. Six University of Georgia football players have been arrested since January.

And the NFL? As of last week, there have been 35 NFL football players arrested since December 2007 for crimes ranging from possession of concealed firearms while resisting arrest to burglary and assault.

I have a 12 year old son. He wants to emulate his favorite players. They are his role model. He pretends he is wearing their number when he and the other neighborhood boys are in our front yard playing their version of Red Fox Farms Super Bowl.

Does the character of their role models mean anything to them? You bet it does. Because they are saying, “I want to be like……I want to be……” I wonder who the boys in Gwinnett County were trying to be like.

Oh, and lest I forget…..arrests at Auburn under Tommy Tuberville? There hasn’t been one since February 2006, which was for underage drinking. And the punishment Tuberville gave that player was a 4 game suspension. As I write this I am knocking on wood because I know there could be arrests today.

Character matters. As Coach Osborne put it, it’s the first and most important lesson of football, work and life.

WJLaneSR

Water

2008-11-12T13:01:00.002-05:00

The past two years, the southeastern United States has been under a severe drought. In fact, water has been in such low supply that the governors of the states of Alabama, Georgia and Florida have met on more than one occasion to discuss the flow of the Chattahoochee River and the river it dumps into, the Apalachicola. The Chattahoochee is a river I am very familiar with, as I grew up only short walk from its muddy banks.

The last two years, the muddy banks of the Chattahoochee have been more like baked red brick, however.

The strain on water has put many areas in the Southeast on water usage restriction. Such activities as watering one’s lawn has been, in some neighborhoods and cities, regulated or even outlawed. Even some golf courses have been required to cut back on the water they use in their irrigation system.

Frankly, I like irrigation systems on the golf course. Or rather, my Maxfli Blue Dots seem to love them, for they have an uncanny way of finding themselves sitting on top of a sprinkler head. On my last links expedition (for me it is never just a “round of golf”, but rather it is an expedition because I visit those areas of golf courses that the really good golfers never get to see), I teed off on a par 3, 150 yards uphill. Slight breeze in my face, just an easy 6-iron. And of course, my typical fade to the right put my ball between the green and a large kidney-shaped bunker. As I approached my ball sitting just beyond the skirt of the green, and leaning against the fixed spray head of an underground sprinkler, I knew I could take a drop. You guessed it. It started shooting a spray of water as soon as I leaned down to move my ball. I was soaked. Totally.

It reminded me of November, 1986.

Georgia was a three touchdown underdog to the #10 Auburn Tigers. Auburn was two wins away from clinching the Southeastern Conference Title. Georgia, playing with a backup quarterback, beat Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium 20-16. The Georgia fans, so thrilled with their upset victory over Auburn, stormed the field. Some say it was a timer. Some say it was a solenoid switch. Some say an Assistant Athletic Director switched on the switch. But whatever happened to turn it on, the irrigation system on the north-west corner of the stadium, where the red-clad bulldogs were celebrating both in the stands and on the filed, was turned on. Like a fire hose.

For all of posterity, that game now had a name. The Hose Bowl. I think of it every time I hit a golf ball and it lands on or around a sprinkler head.

And I realized something else that day, back in 1986. Nothing stinks like a wet dog.

War Eagle!

Jeff Lane

Joe Cribbs

2008-11-11T15:08:00.001-05:00

It was 30 years ago this week. The 8th ranked Georgia Bulldogs, under the guidance of legendary coach Vince Dooley, came into the Auburn game not only highly ranked, but picked to win easily. Auburn, a pre-season top ten pick, had struggled in virtually every southeastern conference game it had played. Underperformance seemed to be the hallmark of this Tiger team. Trying to get his team excited, Coach Doug Barfield put the Tigers on the field wearing orange jerseys that day.

A young running back from Sulligent, Alabama literally stole the day from the Bulldogs. Young Joe Cribbs rushed for 250 yards that day, and Auburn tied the highly ranked Bulldogs 22-22. Cribbs would finish the season as a first team all-SEC running back with 1205 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns.

Joe Cribbs went on to play running back for the Buffalo Bills, earning the title of Rookie of the Year as well as being named to the Pro Bowl. But his God-given athletic abilities aren’t where Cribbs gives credit first.

“I grew up in the Baptist church in Sulligent. I was a church member as long as I can remember.” Cribbs goes on to say that he credits his mother, grandmother and several aunts and church members for laying his foundation that would be critical in how he responded to the fame of football, and the responsibilities of being a husband and father. He puts it this way, “I have maintained my relationship with God that was established when I was a youth. My faith has enabled me to do some great things athletically. I have always felt God gave me some special talents. I was always small, but it seemed the more I gave Him all the glory on the football field, the more successful I was on it.”

Joe Cribbs has never lost sight of the responsibility that came with fame. “I am so conscious of being a role model. I would not allow myself to be in a situation that would reflect negatively on God, on my family, on my teammates or on me.”

Cribbs left football in 1989. He began to focus on helping his wife Vanessa raise their three children. In 2005, he established the Joe Cribbs Youth Foundation. As the Founder and Executive Director of this outreach ministry designed to assist at-risk youth in poverty stricken rural Alabama, he sees his new role as the latest opportunity Christ has presented to him to Glorify God.

Two of his closest friends also have foundations and ministries. This past May they had a joint golf tournament in Columbus, Georgia to raise money for their respective ministries. Those two friends are David Pollack, former University of Georgia standout (The David Pollack Ministries), and Jeremiah Castille, former University of Alabama and NFL standout (The Jeremiah Castille Ministries).

The Auburn faithful will remember with fondness the outstanding day Joe Cribbs had against Georgia on November 18, 1978. But really….it is what he has done AFTER football that we should remember.

War Eagle
WJLaneSR

Just Rambling

2008-11-07T07:38:00.002-05:00

It was the fall of 1974. And although I was not the superstitious sort, I still found myself adopting the superstitions of my teammates. In fact, when I hear the song today, it immediately takes me back to our team.

We were 12-1. Playing for right to forever be called “state champions”. Because of our record, and the fact that we were the #1 seed in the state playoffs, we had won the right to play the championship game at home. Home for us was historic Jennings Field in Lanett, Alabama.

The school we would play came from Selma. They too were 12-1. The Meadowview Trojans featured a running back that was being highly recruited. We had no one being highly recruited. But we had a coach who drilled us as much off the field in the “skull room” about the Trojans, as he did on the practice field. We felt like we knew them as well as we knew ourselves. And we listened the song before the game. Surely that was enough.

I don’t really know why we adopted this song as our theme. Nor do I know why we felt like we had to hear it before leaving the locker room….as though it were some kind of hex we would put on the opposition if we listened or ourselves if we didn’t. But for us, the song really summed up our team. We had some very good athletes, but we had no outstanding athletes. We were just a bunch of rambling men.

“Ramblin’ Man” was released by the Allman Brothers Band on their “Brothers and Sisters” album in late 1973. It was based on a 1951 Hank Williams song by the same name. The song never reached number #1. It rose all the way to #2, but “Half-Breed” by Sonny and Cher kept it from being number 1. Today, “Ramblin’ Man” is still played on oldies stations. “Half-Breed” rarely is.

We should have known that choosing a song which would reach its pinnacle at #2 might be giving foreshadow. But we didn’t. Meadowview beat us in that game, and we, like the song, finished the season #2.

Why do I take you down that memory path? Because today I am a post-election Ramblin’ Man. Or at least my blog is.

Several people have emailed me wanting to know if I am going to blog about the election, etc. I will Ramble over a few points, but basically leave it alone. If you voted for Obama, you are very happy. If you voted for McCain, you are not. Yet, we are all still Americans (o.k., with the exception of one of my brother-in-laws and a couple of my sister-in-laws who are still citizens of the U.K.). So here’s my rambling:

First of all, congratulations Mr. Obama. You are our next president. As such I will respect the office you hold, and understand that your winning was historic.

Secondly, though it is really no one’s business….I have been asked and so I will tell you: I voted for John McCain. So you’ll have to pardon me if I don’t fully understand the new word I have come up with. And by the way, I plan to patent the word, as I can find nowhere online or otherwise this word.

Third: the word is “Oprahbamics”. I am not quite sure how to define my new word, but it is what I saw on T.V. coming from Chicago on Tuesday night. Though we were told they were celebrating an election victory, I think it was more than that. It was Oprahbamics. And yes, the word is a synthesis of Oprah and Obama. Mix the two together and you have Oprahbamics.

Fourth and finally from my ramblings. We have a new president-elect. And though he isn’t who I voted for, he is my president-elect as well. So in the spirit of reaching across the aisle, those of you who, like me, didn’t vote for the president-elect, have an obligation. We have an obligation to show the new president the same level and the same kind of respect and loyalty, that those who voted for Mr. Obama have shown our current president these last couple of years.

Just Ramblin’
WJLaneSR

On Voting

2008-11-03T09:55:00.005-05:00

Just to be clear, the fact that the misinformed and biased pollsters voted Alabama #1 this week had nothing to do with the following blog article I wrote. Frankly, I could care less right now who the pollsters have as number one, and fully expect LSU to change things for the Tide next week.

BUT, this blog isn't about football.

My wife and I had the great privilege of visiting Philadelphia during the first week of October. We saw the liberty bell, independence hall, etc. And while all of these historical buildings, relics and monuments were very interesting (I am a history teacher wannabe I think), the most meaningful thing to me was remembering our country's forefathers and what it took to make this country what it is.

The United States of America was founded by men who were willing to risk it all. Men who had a deep and abiding faith in God. Men who didn’t so much care what the cost was to them personally, as long as it left an enduring promise and future for their children and their country. They pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to acquire independence from tyranny.

Many of these men lost their fortunes and their lives fighting for freedom. I believe they would be saddened today to know how much of the godly heritage they so valiantly fought for has been squandered away. Individual rights and freedoms legislated away by congress. Protection for the unborn ruled away by out-of-control judges. Special interest groups becoming more important to Presidents and Governors than average citizens. And the reason?

Apathy. Misinformation. Lack of education. No interest. Far too long we have been either apathetic, misinformed, uneducated to the facts, didn’t care about the issues or just to lazy and uninterested in political and public policy issues. Therefore, a significant number of people either just didn’t vote, or jumped on a bandwagon to vote without thinking through who they REALLY believed would be the right candidate.

In 1881, President James Garfield, who happened to also be a minister, warned that “if we went to sleep”, our government would become corrupt and tyrannical. He went on to say, “Now, more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature”.

In a representative republic like ours, the power citizens hold is in their vote.
Tomorrow we vote.

The Bible says we can’t serve two masters. We either serve an ungodly worldly master, or we serve The Master. Consequently, before voting, before pulling that curtain closed behind you, before deciding who will get your vote on the ballot…..you must FIRST decide WHOM you serve. And then, what that Master (or master) wants you to do when you get in the booth.

It is the only way to preserve what is left of our precious heritage that our forefathers left us. It is the only way to participate in the destiny of our nation. As voting citizens, we are the caretakers of America for ourselves and for posterity. We have an obligation to our country. And as former President Garfield said later in the speech quoted above, “we have an obligation to God.” Our Founding Fathers would expect nothing less.

WJLaneSR

The Difference

2008-10-31T15:27:00.004-04:00

This past May was a very exciting time for my wife and me as parents. For the second year in a row, we had the high privilege and honor (along with both sets of grandparents) to see one of our daughters go through a college graduation. In May, 2007 we saw our elder daughter graduate from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science degree, and this past May, we saw our second daughter graduate from Spartanburg Methodist College with her Associate of Arts degree.

Needless to say, pictures were taken, hugs were given and memories were shared at both ceremonies. Our elder daughter has moved on to the Medical University of South Carolina where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Pharmacology, and our second daughter has moved on to the College of Charleston where she is pursuing a Bachelors degree in Education. (And so our other two children don't feel left out, our third daughter received a letter of admission with a scholorship to Young Harris College this past week, and our son made all A's).

Back to the story.

One of the things that made this past May very interesting and unusual was the processional and recessional. Actually, it was the difference that was glaringly apparent during the processional and recessional.

(By the way, my father-in-law lost his monopod for his camera during the ceremony, so if anyone knows where it is, please let me know and I will pass it on).

What was glaringly apparent was the difference. 20 inches of difference.

Our daughter, you see, is approximately 5’2” in height. And of course, her last name is Lane.

They had everyone lined up in alphabetical order, and the name “Knox” came just before “Lane”. Brendon Knox was seated next to my daughter. He is 6’10” tall. 20 inches taller than her. It was so strange to see them standing beside each other, because he simply towered over her.

Needless to say, Brendon played basketball for Spartanburg Methodist. A very good basketball player, in fact. So good, in fact, that he signed a scholarship with Auburn University right out of Spartanburg Methodist College. He has begun pre-season practice and workouts getting ready for the 2008-09 season at Auburn.

In an interview with Auburn Coach Jeff Lebo earlier today, Lebo told AuburnSports.com that Knox has the potential to be very good, and "does some stuff that makes your eyes pop out every once in a while”. I can understand that. He certainly made mine pop out when I saw him standing next to my daughter at graduation this past May.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSR

Festum Omnium Sanctorum

2008-10-29T17:44:00.002-04:00

Saturday is Festum Omnium Sanctorum….All Saints Day. In fact, every November 1st is. Most churches celebrate this day on the first Sunday of November.

The origin of All Saints Day goes back to 609 A.D. when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the memory of the Virgin Mary and to all people who had been martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ.

In medieval times, the translation from the Latin “Festum Omnium Sanctorum” into old English became “All Hallowmas”. Hallow means sanctify or consecrate, which is why when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we prayer “Hallowed be Thy Name.” Mas means mass, which is a holy service of remembrance where the Lord’s Supper is celebrated. So “All Hallowmas” was a day when all the saints were remembered, and the celebration of memory to “do this in remembrance of me” took place. All Saints Day.

Of course, you can now understand where the term “All Hallows Eve”, the day before “All Hallowmas” comes from. All Hallows Eve became shortened to “Halloween”, which is October 31. And Friday evening I expect my front yard to be enundated with little ghosts and goblins and spidermen and Harry Potters and Miley Cyrus's.

This year on All Saints Day, the Auburn Tigers and the Ole Miss Rebels square off in Oxford, Mississippi. And being a faithful fan I will be watching and cheering my Auburn Tigers. I hope, and fully expect, to see them play for 4 full quarters. I want to see an effort in the second half I haven't yet seen.

Others of you may be watching and cheering the Bulldogs or Gators as they square off….or the Volunteers or Gamecocks….or Cornhuskers or Sooners, or whoever your favorite team may be.

But we all need to remember that these games are not the most important thing taking place on Saturday, November 1. The most important thing taking place is a day the church, for almost 1400 years, has set aside to remember those who have gone on to their heavenly reward because of their faith.

Each of you reading this knows someone. Maybe a friend. Maybe parents. Grandparents. Relatives. Ministers. Neighbors. Maybe even children. People you know and love who are no longer with us on this earth, but who now call "heaven" home. Take a moment on Saturday to remember them. And thank God for them. For what they meant and continue to mean to you.

On Sunday, the church I attend will be celebrating communion. If the Lord is willing, I will be there…..taking the bread and wine….in remembrance. All Saints Sunday.

WJLaneSR.

A Day to Remember Number 38

2008-10-28T17:06:00.001-04:00

Nineteen years ago today, the reality of what can happen to a person who plays football at a high level was realized. Fullback Brad Gaines of Vanderbilt had just received a short pass, turning upfield to gain additional precious yardage. The collision that ensued was bone crushing….literally.

Number 38 plunged head-first to tackle Gaines, and those around them said you could hear the crash and crunch. Roy Lee didn’t move. He couldn’t. He was paralyzed.

Roy Lee Mullins….his friends called him “Chucky”, lay on the field in Oxford, Mississippi with four shattered vertebrae in his cervical spine. The Ole Miss defensive player was paralyzed instantly and would never walk again. The date was October 28, 1989.

Chucky Mullins was airlifted to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, where he underwent a bone graft to fuse his vertebrae, and tracheotomy so a ventilator could breathe for him.

Mullins became the recipient of a huge outpouring of community support from fans all over the United States. He was visited by President George H.W. Bush, the city of Oxford, Mississippi donated land for a special house to be built for him, and a trust fund that exceeded $1 million was set up for him.

Mullins and Gaines, who didn’t know each other before their collision, became good friends. Gaines talked with him often.

Chucky Mullins died of a pulmonary embolism on May 6, 1991 from complications due to his paralysis. He was buried outside Russellville, Alabama, his home town.

Quietly and with no one else around, Brad Gaines visits and maintains Chucky Mullins’ gravesite three times a year…May 6, the anniversary of his death, October 28, the anniversary of the injury, and December 25, Christmas Day. It is his intimate and personal tribute to Chucky Mullins.

Ole Miss retired Mullins number 38. The only other number to be retired at Ole Miss is Archie Manning’s number 18. Zach Gilbert of Auburn University wears number 38 in memory of his cousin, Lee Roy “Chucky” Mullins.

Today, Brad Gaines will visit and tend to Chucky Mullins’ grave. With all the excitement of game week between Auburn and Ole Miss, let’s take a few moments today to remember Chucky Mullins….a young man who not only gave his all on the football field, but who left an indelible mark on those around him after his injury.

War Eagle,

WJLaneSR

Vegetable Soup

2008-10-27T12:38:00.002-04:00

First of all, I must apologize to each and every one of my faithful readers who sit on the edge of their seat waiting for that weekly dose of intellectually stimulating creativity called my blog. To both of you, I apologize for not getting this done sooner.

As for the rest of you, well, let’s just say I have been a little busy, (Here’s where I enumerate on the last few days activities) like the fact I had a delayed flight on Friday evening and didn’t get home until after midnight, had to drive four hours on Saturday which was also “Apple Annie Day” at our church, taught a Sunday School class and helped with “Trunk ‘R Treat” at the church last night, and flew to New York this morning. Now it’s lunchtime, and finally I get to write.

I’ve read just about everything written over the last few days regarding the demise of the Auburn football team. Add to that watching how Georgia dismantled the LSU secondary, and Alabama kept Tennessee from being able to move the ball at all, and knowing that they comprise 50% of what is left on Auburn’s schedule, and I’ve had to take a dose of pepto-bismol and scratch my head to come up with something positive to write.

The week that was drew my memory back to 1971. That was the year when John Denver had a breakout album entitled “Poems, Prayers and Promises.” In that album, a song that he wrote with Bill Danoff and Taffey Navert bolted up the charts to #2. The song was entitled “Take Me Home Country Roads.”

As opposed to the words “Almost Heaven, West Virginia”, seeing firsthand how the Mountaineers Gold Rushed their way over and through the Auburn Tigers during the second half of Thursday night’s ballgame, was anything but heaven. I do recall, however, crying “take me home country roads”, because we just wanted to get the hillbilly out of there.

But rather than regurgitate what most of you saw on television, I want to share with you some vegetable soup….a hodge podge of tidbits from the week that was, to the week that will be.

My dad, my son and I flew to Pittsburg and drove to Morgantown on Wednesday afternoon. Thinking we probably ought to ride over to the stadium to check out the parking, roads, etc., we checked into our hotel and headed to town.

Now Morgantown is no metropolis. It's a stretch to call it a small town. So one would think that it would be easy to find the football stadium. Noooooo. Finding the football stadium was anything but easy, and more like confusing. It is not really on campus, you can’t see it from two blocks away, there is no parking, a major hospital sits just beyond one endzone, and the hospital shares parking with the stadium. It is built in a valley between two little hills, and that is why you can’t see it. All of the surrounding parking is by permit only, so for us visitors, finding a place to park was almost impossible. We found a guy who was selling parking places for $20 behind his store, and we took it.

There is one other thing there is none of….places to eat. At least not in walking distance of the stadium. Or at least as far as we could see. We happened on a small pizza parlor hidden in the corner of the building where we parked, and ate pizza, which as some of you know, is my least favorite food. Maybe in my much younger days I chased too much beer with pizza (as opposed to vice versa). Today, all I have to do is smell it and I start getting heartburn. Anyway, they didn’t sell beer at this pizza parlor, and you couldn’t get a refill on your coke. They did have a bathroom, though.

We went to Tiger Walk, which the security for WVU had never seen anything like. Their Robo-Cop and a few pimple faced kids in yellow jackets tried to control the crowd, but it was of little use. Tiger walk was close and loud and old men jumped in front of my son to get close to Aubie, blocking my son's view, which he had staked out 2 hours earlier. I should have known then that we weren’t all on the same team-page that night.

Our tickets were in section 97, and Auburn had a large following. The space between seats is larger than at Auburn, there is more knee room, and most of the Mountaineer fans around us were very cordial, but there was one quite drunk young hillbilly who was totally belligerent and kept cussing in a very foul way. Even the WVU fans around him told him to shut up and sit down, which he didn't do.

As for the game, well, I don’t need to go into that.

As I said earlier, our flight home was delayed for three hours, which was a fitting end to our road trip.

I also mentioned earlier that I have read an awful lot of stuff, or maybe a lot of awful stuff….since I got home. I was talking to a gentleman last night at Trunk R Treat who used to coach football, and in fact coached in college for a while, who said, “it’s kind of weird that your future as a coach is all wrapped up in what some 18, 19 and 20 year old kids do.” I guess it is.

One thing I read that was quite interesting came from The Auburner. It showed games won since 2000. Auburn is the third most successful team in the SEC, just behind LSU and Georgia. And if nothing else, that is something to celebrate.

A few other comments…there is nothing better than taking a road trip with your dad and son, regardless of the outcome of the game. I don’t think I ever want to go back to Morgantown. This is a new week, and the Reverend Houston Nutt sits on the horizon. To which I say, Just Beat Ole Mrs.

War Eagle!
WJLaneSR

Gold Rush

2008-10-21T20:09:00.000-04:00

They were called 49ers. Not because they played football in San Francisco, but because the year was 1849, and a fever was crossing America called the “Gold Rush of ‘49”. Covered wagons and ships descended upon California in search of easy gold.

But the easy gold was nowhere to be found. Oh, there was a little gold in the riverbeds, but the amount most found was barely enough to buy supplies and food to keep on looking. A typical miner spent 10 hours a day knee-deep in ice cold water, digging, sifting, and washing. It was backbreaking labor which yielded less and less.

But this was the gold rush.

Camaraderie was all but gone by 1850, as 49ers who expected to find their fortune in a few days found themselves digging and digging for month after month, year after year, with nothing to show for it.

But this was the gold rush.

Out of despair, many 49ers turned to poker and other forms of gambling in hopes of snagging a quick fortune that had evaded them during the gold rush. When this didn’t work, many turned to crime. Many just gave up their dream and went home back east.

For most everyone, the gold rush was nothing but despair, dejection and disappointment. And so the gold rush came to an end.

Thursday is supposed to be a gold rush. That is what the West Virginia Mountaineers are calling for. They want the game with Auburn to be a “gold rush” game…with all their faithful wearing yellow. They have a fevered pitch about them. Kind of like the mining 49ers.

If Auburn plays defense as they are capable….if they run the ball with conviction….if they don’t make mistakes….history might just repeat itself. Their gold rush might just end in despair, dejection and disappointment for the home mountaineers.

Let’s send them “back east” where they belong.

War Eagle!!

WJLaneSR

Best of Times, Worst of Times

2008-10-16T13:29:00.002-04:00

Charles Dickens wrote a book entitled "A Tale of Two Cities". He opens the book with what has become a classic quote: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times…”

History calls it “Black Monday”, and these past two weeks we have been reminded of it. You might remember, and maybe were affected, by Monday, October 19, 1987. Black Monday. 21 years ago this week.

It all began in Hong Kong, where the market crashed and sent a Market Tsunami west through the international time zone, through all of Europe, and finally hitting the shores of Manhattan’s Wall Street so that no continent was left untouched. It was the largest one day stock market decline in history.

What you may not remember about Black Monday are these events taking place the weekend before.

On the evening of October 18, two United States warships shelled an Iranian oil platform in the Persian Gulf in response to Iran’s Silkworm missile attack on the U.S. flagged ship MV Sea Isle City, an oil tanker leaving Kuwait. Interesting how oil seemed to be at the center of the issue 21 years ago.

Two days before Black Monday, Jim Fyffe, who was the sportscaster and radio talk-show host for the Auburn Tigers, had perhaps his most famous on-air call. In fact, he wrote in his autobiography that it was the call he was most known for. This call is on every collection of memorable radio calls released by the Auburn Network.

On the day of Jim Fyffe’s death, it is the call that Paul Finebaum played to open his show. It was his memorial to Jim Fyffe.

Auburn was a heavy favorite that day. It was to be the last yearly meeting between two very old rivals. But with 4:01 left in the game, Auburn trailed Georgia Tech at legendary Grant Field by a score of 10-7. Auburn needed to move the ball 91 yards to score. Behind the passing of quarterback Jeff Burger, and 16 plays later, Auburn was at the Yellow Jackets’ 4 yard line. Only 29 seconds were left on the game clock. Here is a quote of the call:

“...they have two tight ends in the game, one setback is Harris, here is motion by Donaldson back to the near side and now reverses his field, goes to the wide side of the field. Burger sets up to throw...OH MY! TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! TILLMAN, TILLMAN, TILLMAN...TILLMAN...AT THE BASELINE OF THE END ZONE! A BULLET BY BURGER! AUBURN GOES AHEAD! UNBELIEVABLE! UNBELIEVABLE! TILLMAN FROM BURGER! TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! 13-10 TIGERS LEAD!”

Of the call, Fyffe said, "Frankly, in listening to the replay of the call through the years, I've never thought it was my best. I probably did go too crazy, but I think the listener could tell what was going on without any problem. No matter what I think about it, Auburn fans still come up to me and tell me it was the best call they've ever heard. And that's what matters." A call he made 21 years ago this week.

Isn’t it strange to remember that this famous call by Jim Fyffe was two days before Black Monday in October 1987? It was indeed the best of times, and it was the worst of times.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSR

A world upside down

2008-10-13T15:27:00.000-04:00

My wife celebrated a birthday on Sunday. It wouldn’t be polite for me to mention she was now a half-century old, so I won’t. But I will share with you her (and my) birthday adventure. You see, we spent all last week on a cruise ship sailing along the New England coastline. We ventured into the ports of Halifax Nova Scotia, Bar Harbor Maine, St. Johns Newfoundland, Boston Massachusetts, and Philadelphia Pa. To say we had a great time would be an understatement.

But while we were gone, the world turned upside down. The global market dropped like boulder falling off a cliff, Auburn lost two football games, and Tommy Tuberville fired Tony Franklin. All of this taking place while I was eating midnight buffets, singing Karaoke, going to shows, and generally being oblivious to the world around me.

To be frank (not to be confused with “frank-LIN”, lest someone fire me!), I am kind of glad I wasn’t around last week. I didn’t have to put up with hearing how Vanderbilt beat us in front of the ESPN Game Day Crew, or how “something” happened on Tuesday that caused a meltdown which caused Franklin’s firing on Wednesday. I am certainly happy I didn’t travel to the Plains to see Petrino’s return and suffer through….yet again…an Arkansas team run all over Auburn. And finally, I’m glad I didn’t spend the entire week worrying about my retirement and 401(k) and investments as they vanished like dust. (After all, what’s so great about retirement, anyway???)

And now we come to an off week. A week where the Neil Caudle/Barrett Trotter experiment will take place. And why not? After all, we are now playing for rights to the Shreveport Bowl. Why not begin to see who is man enough to get the 2009 team ready? Why not challenge every player on the team with their manhood?

For a season that began with so much promise, we are now looking a disaster right in the face. And who would have thought, after we beat such a great Clemson team in the Chic-Fil-A Bowl. A team that some prognosticators thought would be the Cinderella National Champs in 2008. A team that fired Tommy Bowdon today.

I guess our world isn’t the only one that is upside down.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSR

El Rival Mas Debil!

2008-09-28T15:11:00.001-04:00

In Dutch it is called “De Zwakste Schakel”. In German it is “Der Schwachste fliegt!“ When Italians watch it, their name is “Anello Debole“, but the Spanish call it “El Rival Mas Debil!” As for we Americans, the show is synonymous with Anne Robinson’s voice when she says, “You are…….the weakest link!”

The “Link” franchise is the second most popular game-show franchise in television history, only to “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” No less than 34 countries have had versions of “the Weakest Link”. In all versions, the host wears black clothing with the intent of intimidating the players.

I couldn’t help but think of “The Weakest Link” as I watched Florida get upset by Ole Miss, Tennessee get stopped time after time until finally losing to Auburn, and as a finale, Georgia, wearing their version of all-black in order to intimidate the visitors getting their own lights turned out by the Crimson Tide. As I watched one SEC East team after another get beat by an SEC West team, I couldn’t help but think…..who in the East is the Weakest Link?

The answer used to be easy. It was Vanderbilt, of course. But under Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt is not to be taken lightly. In fact, Vanderbilt is 4-0, ranked #19 in the country, and is leading the SEC East. Maybe, just maybe, Vanderbilt is NOT the weakest link in the SEC East. In fact, it would be hard to argue this morning that Tennessee is NOT the Weakest Link in the East. Of course, South Carolina would have to be right there with them. But after yesterday, maybe the entire SEC EAST is the Weakest Link.

And the West? Well, the AP media love affair with the Tide has already begun, moving them over LSU (#3) with a ranking of #2. The USA Today poll has LSU #2 and the Tide #4. Auburn is #13 in the AP and #14 in the USA Today poll.
This sets up a very interesting scenario for the SEC. Alabama still has to play LSU and Auburn. Georgia still has to play LSU, Florida and Auburn. LSU still has to play Florida, Georgia and Alabama. And Auburn still has to play Georgia and Alabama. Now, throw in the fact that Auburn, Georgia and Florida have to play Vanderbilt, and things at the top are far from settled. Oh, and did I mention that Auburn, Alabama and LSU must play an Ole Miss team that went into Gainesville and took care of business? Or Alabama, Florida and Georgia must play an undefeated Kentucky team?

The game continues….and right now we don’t really know….who…..is the weakest link.

War Eagle!
WJLaneSR

Orange Striped Socks

2008-09-22T10:23:00.002-04:00

In 2004, my employer purchased a manufacturing operation located thirty miles east of Knoxville. Being a part of the due diligence and implementation team, I spent a great deal of time in that area. On a weekly basis, I stayed in the Cedar Bluff area of Knoxville. During this tour of duty along the Tennessee River, I found a retail establishment I frequented. It was a big men’s shop that not only tailors their own clothing, but also carries a lot of name brand clothing as well.

Oftentimes, when I was perusing the items-for-sale table, I would encounter a tall and/or large young man who was in need of new threads because of a road trip he was taking with his team. Of course, that team would be the Volunteers, and the threads would be slacks, a jacket, a new tie or some other attire. We would speak briefly about their team, what he was majoring in, or some other general topic. One person I never actually saw there, but who also was a regular to the shop, was Head Football Coach Phillip Fulmer.

The haberdasher who typically assisted me was also Coach Fulmer’s. Because he knew I was an Auburn fan, the clothing vendeur would ask me about the team, the fans, Tuberville, etc. He would also tell me stories about Phil Fulmer, including some of his idiosyncrasies. One such was the type of orange striped socks he prefers, because of his feet. I’m not sure if that is because of the way the alumni step on his toes because of underperformance, or because the shoes of General Neyland are just too big to “Phil”.

What I do know is that this week, Fulmer will be dressed to the nines in full orange regalia, and will be bringing his league of Vol-In-Tears (their emotional state following the dismantling that occurred at the hands of Florida) to the Plains. He will have on his lucky socks, and will hope that his team has more juice than pulp. Together, they will be facing an Auburn team that took a battering of their own, however much less humiliating.

Auburn has a chance to bounce back this week, after the bitter loss to LSU. One thing they will have to be able to do is run the football. This is the only way Auburn can expect to win big games. They also need some playmakers. People who will step up and make the big throw….make the big catch….make the big interception….make the big hit. Hopefully, that is what Auburn will do this week. If they don’t, it could be a long afternoon. But if they do, they will leave Tennessee staring down at their orange striped socks.

War Eagle!
WJLaneSR

Gameday on the Plains

2008-09-16T17:07:00.002-04:00

Motivation is an interesting thing. Some people are internally self-motivated. Others are best motivated by external circumstances. Earlier this week, I wanted to make sure that my son was motivated to help his mother, do his homework, brush his teeth(!!), etc. while I was in New York for a week. Therefore, I told him that if he did all of these, without fussing, I would take him to Auburn early on Saturday because ESPN Gameday will be televised live from the front of Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. I think he is already working on the signs he will bring, such as “Tuberville owns LSU (Les, Saban and Urban)”. It should be a lot of fun, not to mention a LONG day.

This marks the 5th time that the Gameday crew will have been at Auburn, the last one being in 2006 when the Florida Gators came to town. That same evening, Tre Smith had the ESPN game changing performance by flipping into the endzone after Auburn blocked a punt of the #2 ranked Florida Gators. Of course, Auburn went on to win that night.

It would have been the sixth visit to Auburn by the Gameday bunch. They were scheduled to be at Auburn for the LSU game in 2004, but hurricane Ivan forced them to move to Michigan State.

The curmudgeon prognosticator-coach that most seem to enjoy watching and yet despise deeply is Lee Corso. One of the things he does at the very end of the broadcast, is pick who he thinks will be the winner at the venue where they are located. Typically he puts on the headress of the school mascot he is picking to win. It will be interesting to see which set of Tigers Lee picks.

Lee Corso is the only original gameday cast member remaining. For those of you old enough, you might jog your memory and recall that the original crew consisted of Bob Carpenter as host, with Lee Corso and Beano Cook as analysts. That goes all the way back to 1987, when the show got its start. Chris Fowler joined the show in 1992, and has hosted every Gameday event until 2004, when he began to tag-team the duty with Rece Davis (a bammer!!!) In 1996, Kirk Herbstreit joined the team, and they have been together ever since.

One of the bits of trivia that you may not know has to do with LSU and Gameday. Back on November 9, 1996, ESPN Gameday was at Baton Rouge for the LSU-Alabama game. As he always does to end the show, Lee Corso picked who he thought would win. He picked Alabama. The LSU fans were so raucous, angry, and many witnesses say drunk, that they began throwing anything they could at Fowler, Herbstreit and Corso. One person threw a golf ball that barely missed Lee Corso’s head. And, believe it or not, the LSU Athletic Department still has that golf ball in their trophy case, as though it should be some type of award! Needless to say, Gameday changed their security measures and have used a protective screen around their crew ever since. By the way, Alabama shut out LSU that day, 26-0.

So get up early, draw or paint your sign, and come join the crowd as Auburn welcomes Gameday to the Plains this Saturday.

War Eagle!
WJLaneSR

The Big Chill

2008-09-15T11:27:00.003-04:00

Maybe it was the 3-2 score from this past Saturday. Maybe it was the 55 degree temperature I woke up to in Manhattan this morning. Perhaps it is just the scratchy throat that is bothering me. Whatever the reason, I woke up with a shiver and chill along my spine. Although New York certainly is not in the full bloom of autumn, maybe the first blush of fall has hit the city.

The summer seems to have flown by. Yesterday was July 4th, and today we are in the 4th week of football season. The kids are back in school and Halloween Candy is on sale in every store. Don’t blink, because Thanksgiving will be here before you know it.

After all, it is already September 15.

The older I get, the faster time seems to fly. Did you know that is was twenty-two years ago today when the first broadcast of “L.A. Law” took place? Twenty-two years! It seems like only yesterday when we were introduced to the Los Angeles law firm of McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak. My favorite episode was aired Thanksgiving week, 1990. As with each episode, there was a title, and this particular one was “Vowel Play”. Douglas appeared on “Wheel of Fortune” , and when he became the champion he tried to ask Vanna out on a date. Don’t ask me why it was my favorite episode…perhaps it is just because it was Thanksgiving week and I was trying to relax with a little T.V.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, this year I will get to spend the entire weekend with my family. The last three I had to either leave during the weekend for Japan, or get back on Thanksgiving Day from China. And I can assure you, they don’t know what cornbread dressing is in Osaka or Shanghai.

This also means that I will be home for the Iron Bowl this year. I was afraid I was going to miss it. Of course, if Auburn's offense doesn't improve, I might be afraid I WON'T miss it! As it was last year, this year's Iron Bowl will be Thanksgiving weekend.

So, with a touch of fall in the air this morning, I am beginning to think about Thanksgiving. Plymouth Rock. The Pilgrims. The Mayflower.

Or maybe I am thinking about all this because 388 years ago, the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, England with 102 pilgrims. People just like you and me. They were on their way to a new world for themselves and their descendents to follow. A world free from tyranny where religion could be practiced freely. It was September 15, 1620. 388 years ago today. Kind of makes a chill go up and down your spine, doesn’t it.

WJLaneSR

il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo

2008-09-14T15:50:00.003-04:00

I’m not a superstitious man. When walking on sidewalks, I don’t worry whether I have stepped on a crack or between them. Typically I don’t walk under ladders, but it isn’t because of superstitious mysticism; rather it is for pure safety reasons. Black cats don’t bother me any more than white or calico cats. And Friday the 13th might make a lot of money as a horror movie, but they never bother me either.

However, I have to admit I looked at my watch last night…..twice. The Seiko watch that my wife gave me a couple of years ago not only keeps up with the time and the date, but it also has the day of the week. And though I knew yesterday was the 13th, I actually looked twice to see if it was really Saturday, because it felt more like a Friday the 13th. The first time I looked was at halftime of the Auburn-Mississippi State game, when the score was 3-0. The second time I looked was just as the game ended, with a score of 3-2. And both times, just as I had remembered, it was SATURDAY the 13th, not Friday 13th.

However, the entire ballgame had the feel of the paranormal and surreal. It was a weird game. It was an oddity. And, there was a full moon.

Now soothsayers will tell you that more babies are born during a full moon than at any other time of the year. That may be true. And perhaps it is because of the gravitational pull of the moon…at least that’s what I have always heard. But that gravity sure didn’t pull Auburn (nor Mississippi State for that matter) toward the endzone. 3-2 is much more a baseball score than a football score. At least it would be, if Auburn and Mississippi State’s baseball teams hadn’t scored more runs in each of the three games they played in 2008 than the football teams did. And that’s the Stark-ville truth!

Sergio Leone directed a movie back in 1966 which starred an up-and-coming actor named Clint Eastwood. The title of the movie was “Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo”. An English version of the movie came out in 1967 entitled “the Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. Borrowing from the movie title, I want to share my thoughts on the good, the bad and the ugly last night.

First the good. Auburn’s defense held Miss. State to 36 yards rushing on 30 attempts. The “D” held Miss. State 0 for 14 on 3rd down attempts, and 0 for 3 on 4th down. They forced Miss. State to punt 10 times. The 116 yards that Mississippi State DID get was the fewest yards an Auburn defense has given up against ANYBODY since the undefeated season of 2004. And finally, Auburn won.

The bad. Auburn had 9 penalties on the offensive line, with the worst one being a safety for holding back in their own endzone. Auburn was only 3 for 16 on 3rd down efficiency. That is a measly 19%. Auburn fumbled the ball 3 times and turned it over on each one of those. Auburn got in the red zone only two times during the entire game, and could not put it in the endzone either time. And finally, Auburn was 1 for 3 on field goals, one miss being from chip shot range. I could say here that Auburn’s offense was bad....but I won’t.

The ugly. Because the offense was ugly. It was worse than bad. Snap count confusion, fumbling, holding, play calling, focus, attention, heart, drive. Frankly, or maybe “Franklin!”, it was ugly. I could write more here, but you can read about it on anyone’s blog that covers Auburn football. But there were other ugly things as well. Brad Lester’s fall on his head, spraining his neck, was ugly. He could have been seriously hurt. The fact that Ryan Pugh yelled to the Auburn faithful after the game that he scored more points than the entire Mississippi State team did (he was the one who was called for holding, hence the safety) was ugly and uncharacteristic for him. It was nothing to be proud of, and I am sure he will pay dearly for it this week in practice. And finally, LSU comes to town Saturday night. And if the offense doesn’t find itself and quick, it also will be ugly.

War Eagle
WJLaneSR

Remembering Seven Years Ago

2008-09-11T11:17:00.000-04:00

I have a corner office on the 27th floor of our building. The view is fantastic. In fact, when I first began working in Manhattan, I often caught myself looking out the window every few minutes to take in the view. The walls are made of tinted glass, and being in the corner, I can see the East River as I look down 52nd Street. I can see the Waldorf, the Doubletree, the Marriott and the W Hotel as I look along Lexington Avenue. The horn blasts from Taxis and the sirens from Emergency Personnel used to bother me some, but now I rarely even notice. In fact, I rarely look out the window any more except to see whether it is raining.

Like most people in the city, I now just hustle along the sidewalk until I get to my building, crowd into an elevator like cattle in holding corral, and jump off on my floor. Nothing unusual. Nothing out of the ordinary. Same routine. Another day.

As I sit here in my office, I can see airplanes in the distance as they are descending to land at LaGuardia. I don’t usually notice them probably because they do it all day long, and I’m not as observant as I was when I first started working in the city. Just another day at the office.

Or so they thought seven years ago today. Most of the people who worked in the World Trade Center were no different than me. Or you. Just going to work. Fighting the fight. Another day.

I can’t help but think about the two planes that missiled those buildings seven years ago today. Maybe that’s why I notice each plane landing over a LaGuardia. It could have been one of those planes. It could have been my building. It could have been me. Or you.

Both presidential candidates are laying wreaths at Ground Zero today, and I applaud them for that.

But make no mistake. It could happen again. It might happen again. And even if it doesn’t happen again, I am different than before. Because as I look out my corner office and see another silvery white jetliner descending from the clouds, a little voice deep within me says “What If?”

Let us never forget those who were brutally massacred in a fiery inferno on 9/11/2001. And let’s never entrust our safety and security to ANYONE who wants to back off the fight against terrorism. Because we NEVER AGAIN want the “What If” to become “It Did”.

WJLaneSR

Slanting Monster

2008-09-10T14:24:00.003-04:00

While athletic director and head football coach at Auburn, Pat Dye’s office was the size of most condos rented to families of four on Dauphin Island during a summertime vacation. If one had the privilege of visiting his office they would have seen a large walnut bookshelf lined with great works of literature. These books ranged from “The Shooter’s Bible” (a Sears-Roebuck sized magazine about shotguns and rifles), to a biography of Bear Bryant. One book in particular, however, was front and center. Its pages were frayed, many of them dog-eared, and there were notes scattered on and in it.

This great work of literature was written by Dale Foster. The 224 page hardback volume was published by Parker Publishing Company in 1970. The title of the book: “The Slanting Monster Defense in Football.” Pat Dye was a disciple.

Dye believed strongly in the slanting monster defense, and entrusted the strategy to arguably his most devoted assistant coach. The coach who had followed him from East Carolina, to Wyoming, and then to Auburn. Wayne Hall was also a devout follower of the slanting monster, and in 1988 had the tools to use it to perfection. By the end of the year, his defense would be ranked #1 in the country in total defense, scoring defense and run defense. Anchoring the defensive line was the great Tracy Rocker.

An example of how strong the defense was took place on October 22, 1988. Coach Dye had warned his team all week that though his Auburn Tigers were a heavy favorite, the Mississippi State Bulldogs were “a dangerous team”. This was especially so given the fact that during the week preceding the game with State, Tracy Rocker had headed the list of a dozen players nominated for the prestigious Lombardi Lineman of the Year Award. Media from all over the country had swarmed to Auburn that week to get more information about young Mr. Rocker. Wayne Hall, when interviewed, said, “There are really no number ones on our defensive, and that includes Tracy. We’ve got good players who help each other out and we have good kids who look out for each other. They all play sound, fundamental football.”

Auburn went on to shut out Mississippi State that Saturday by a score of 33-0. The nation’s number one defense picked off 5 passes that day, and only allowed 68 yards rushing. James Joseph, who was moved from halfback to fullback for the game, led the offense with 126 yards rushing and one touchdown.

Auburn visits Mississippi State on Saturday, and as coach Dye said twenty years ago, they are “a dangerous team”. We saw that last year, as Auburn virtually gave them the ballgame. But, if Coach Rhoads has the highly rated Auburn defense ready, and the offense can hold onto the ball without turning it over, Auburn should win. If that happens, the following game week should be one of high drama.

War Eagle!
WJLaneSr

David

2008-09-08T11:56:00.001-04:00

My intention for today’s blog was to recapitulate the Southern Mississippi game of this past Saturday. However, there are two reasons that I will not be doing that…at least at this time.

I was sitting in my favorite chair (you know, the one with the invisible sign on it that says “Dad’s Favorite Chair…Beware….trespassers will be shot!! Perhaps you have one as well) watching the Raycom Halftime Report, when I heard my youngest daughter galloping down the stairs. Clop clop….clop clop…..clop clop…..Then, I heard a crash and a blood-curdling scream. Scrambling out of my chair, I run out of the family room and down the hall to find my daughter screaming, “I think I broke my foot….I fell and heard it crack!!!) I scooped her up, got her into my Ford Expedition, and took off for the emergency room. So much for the second half of the Auburn game.

Fortunately for her, the foot was NOT broken, but only sprained, albeit pretty severely. But this is reason #1 that I will not give a recap and opine on the game.

Getting the weekend off to a really great start with our youngest daughter laid up in bed with a sprained ankle, the weekend ended even worse.

My wife is the Children’s Ministry Director for our church. She does an outstanding job with this, and has a Sunday evening program during the school year for kindergarten through 5th graders. Last night, there were 50 of the little ones participating. I ran the sound and video board for their program. After it was over, I went to the store while my wife went home. When I arrived home, she said “I have to tell you something.”

She told me that one of my best friends in life, David Stiles, had died of a massive heart attack. I was shocked, stunned, couldn’t have been hit by a brick any harder than this news hit me.

David and I lived across the hall from each other at Young Harris College. His future wife and my future wife both went to North Georgia College. Together, he and I trekked over the mountains MANY times to visit the girls. He was in our wedding. I was with him when two men from his church came up to us to tell him that his father had died of a massive heart attack. I drove him home that night because he didn’t think he could drive.

David was always concerned about his own health, so he became a marathon runner, ate lots of raw veggies, never at red meat, and took medicine to control his cholesterol, which always seemed to want to be high.

David was an educator from the day I met him. He wanted to teach school and be a principal one day. And he did. He taught school in Gwinnet County in Georgia, became a principal there, and was hired away to move to Birmingham, where he became the principal of Mountainbrook High School. David moved on up into the Superintendent’s office, and most recently was named the Superintendent of the brand new school system close to Mobile….Saraland.

David and I had a meeting on March 6 of this past year. He had called me to ask if we could meet somewhere because he needed to talk to me. I had a reason to go to Birmingham, so we met that day. He talked to me about Saraland. He said he didn’t know if it was going to happen or not, and didn’t know whether to take it if it were offered. He wanted my opinion. I encouraged him to go for it.

We had communicated quite a bit since March. And I can’t believe he is gone.

But he isn’t gone. He was a very strong Christian man, and didn’t mind people knowing he was a person of faith. His legacy is scattered all across the states of Georgia and Alabama in the students he taught, mentored and guided. And though I will miss him dearly…..in fact, I’m in kind of a funk about this whole thing…..he will not be forgotten.

Today, though….it just feels like I lost my brother. And in a lot of ways, I did. He was only 49 years old......1 year older than his father when he died.

WJLaneSr

In Memory

2008-09-04T15:35:00.001-04:00

I like to use the phrase “I’m having a senior moment” when I just can’t remember something…whether it be someone’s name, an address, a phone number, or where I left my car in the airport parking lot. Using that phrase seems to deflect the sheer embarrassment I have when, on occasion, I just can’t seem to remember things. My wife says it isn’t a senior moment at all, but rather the lack of paying attention or listening….especially to her. After all, she says, “how can you remember the score, how many rushing yards and how many passing yards Auburn had in a meaningless game back in 1984?” Well, to begin with, there are no meaningless games that Auburn plays.

But back to my memory issues. Maybe it’s because the world we live in today is so cluttered with trivial minutia bombarding us every time we turn on the television, click on internet explorer, or circle our finger over the i-pod trying to decide which of the 2000 songs we are going crank up.

Back many moons ago, I took a class from a visiting professor from Germany. The class was entitled “The Theology and Philosophy of Hope.” Suffice it to say, it was a VERY deep class with lots of reading and writing. But there was one statement that he made that has stuck with me over the years. He said, “Memory and Hope are basically the same thing. One is looking backwards, and the other is looking forward.” Another way of saying it is, “if you don’t know where you’ve been, how can you ever know where you are going?” Pretty heavy stuff for football related blog, don’t you think?

Anyway, today I want us to use our memory. To remember.

I have seen nothing written on this in any blog or news source. I am afraid we have forgotten. I am sure that his family has not. Nor his teammates. And the rest of us should not either. After all, he was only 20 years old when he left us.

You see, only a few days ago was the 25th anniversary of the death of Auburn’s starting tailback, Greg Pratt. He collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack after running wind sprints on the practice field. It was picture day for Auburn, and Pat Dye announced it to the journalists and photographers when they showed up to take the team’s picture. Pat Dye’s words were, “It is a tragedy for Auburn University, our football team, and the people who loved him and were close to him. We will truly miss him, and we will always remember him.”

So Coach Dye, keeping true to your word…..today, we remember Greg Pratt.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr

The Jet

2008-09-03T13:56:00.000-04:00

It was a cool, crisp day that November 11th at Jordan-Hare Stadium. A breeze was blowing toward the south endzone; just enough to make the flags above the stands gesticulate. The Pat Dye led Auburn Tigers scored on their first four possessions, but each of those were field goals by Jim Von Wyl. Auburn, ranked number 15 in the country, took at 12- 7 lead going into the fourth quarter, and seemed to have the game in hand. Scouts from six bowls were on hand that day to determine which New Years Day Bowl the Tigers would play in. But the heralded Tigers inability to get the ball into the endzone proved costly. With only 46 seconds left, Anthony Harris caught a 10 yard touchdown pass as Southern Mississippi shocked Auburn, 13-12. The quarterback who orchestrated that tremendous comeback was “Brett-the-Jet” Favre. It was the Tigers first home defeat since the 1987 season, and Pat Dye to this day says it is arguably the biggest upset loss at home while Auburn was under his guidance.

The legendary John Cox, voice of the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles from 1977 to 2007, said this of Brett Favre: “People often ask me, "Did you know that Brett Favre would be as good as he turned out to be?" And tell them that anyone that says that they did is lying, but what I did see while watching him play at Southern Miss was a player that had the drive, the passion, the heart and the ability to be the best and who would never ever give up.”

The Favre-led Golden Eagles not only beat Auburn in 1990, they also beat Alabama. After the capstone’s defeat at the hands of the Hattiesburg Golden Boy, Gene Stallings said "You can call it an upset, or a miracle, or whatever term you want to use. All I know is Brett Favre was larger than life."

This past Saturday I gave my son and my cousin’s son a “Brett-the-Jet” t-shirt showing him as a “new” New York Jet. But I remember well the day that he drove his Golden Eagles down the field….eighteen years ago….like a jet that couldn’t be stopped. Little did any of us know that while we were feeling our hearts get crushed, we were watching a star in the making.

Let’s get ready for Southern Mississippi as they come visiting again this Saturday.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr