FYI: On Vacation II

At the close of business today — maybe even a little before — I will be on vacation until July 20.

Football is just days away when I return. SEC Media Days are July 23-25. That is not a coincidence.

Things have been so slow at the office today that I did some cleaning and cleared my bookshelf of old media guides. Found some State stuff from the late 1990s.

I also spent some time looking over the spring football prospectus (the current 2008 one) for the University of Memphis. The Tigers return seven starters on offense but will be new at quarterback and running back.

A matchup to watch when Memphis visits Ole Miss for the Aug. 30 opener will be the Tigers’ offensive line vs. the Rebels’ defensive line. Memphis will be very experienced up front with four seniors and a junior. Tommy West says, “This should be as good an offensive line as we’ve had here.”

The Ole Miss defensive line will be the best one that Ed Orgeron put together, but it will be coached by Houston Nutt and Tracy Rocker.

One of the things I found on the bookshelf was “The Wisdom of Southern Football,” a 1995 printing.

I leave you guys with a little John Vaught: “Outside the Louisiana Purchase, most Cajuns consider Billy Cannon’s run the greatest event in state history.”

– PA

BASEBALL: One SEC player off to fast start

Of all the SEC early draftees Kentucky’s Collin Cowgill might be off to the fastest start.

– PA

FOOTBALL: Dogs take lead in scoreboard race?

A few weeks ago the Ole Miss news release said it would have the largest HD board in the SEC.

Now comes this from MSU media relations.

STARKVILLE — Work has begun at Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field on one of college football’s largest high definition video boards, MSU Director of Athletics Greg Byrne announced Wednesday.

The $6.1 million true HD board, will span the roof of the Leo Seal M-Club Centre in the south end zone at Scott Field, and will be operational by October, 2008. When completed, the new board will measure 152 feet wide by 135 feet, 6 inches tall, with a main HD screen 111 feet wide by 47 feet high. It will be the largest true high definition board in the Southeastern Conference. The board will also contain two vertical HD displays and one horizontal scoreboard display.

– PA

FOOTBALL: Miller opts for Hogs

Ole Miss signee Hunter Miller, a quarterback and defensive back from Sherwood, Ark., will walk-on at the University of Arkansas, his mother told the Springdale newspaper. The report says Houston Nutt said he had not room for Miller on next season’s roster. In situations like this the recruit is generally offered a chance to be a part of the program in some manner, such as a “gray shirt” when the athlete enrolls later and his NCAA eligibility clock starts ticking later.

– PA

FOOTBALL: Winners and losers

Interesting read here. Rebels get a mention among the “winners” at the bottom of the column.

– PA

FYI: AutoZone summer tradition alive

In honoring a long-standing summer tradition I made it to AutoZone Park last night.

Former LSU standout Nick Stavinhoa had two hits in a Redbirds loss, but that’s such a secondary consideration.

It’s nice to go and see the SEC names or others that I recognize. Maybe Lance Lynn will be up there soon.

But the trip is about the venue. When I got to Tupelo in 1993 there was little that impressed me about Memphis for a city of that size. Since AutoZone Park opened it has transformed the downtown area. It’s truly a major league feel at minor league prices.

I was in a group of seven dads and sons, and we got there early enough to visit Rendezvou. The weather was pleasant, and a good time was had by all.

If you can get past the fact that the players you’re watching won’t be on SportsCenter when you get home — and I can — it’s a A-plus experience.

Some of those guys will be on SportsCenter soon enough.

– PA

FOOTBALL: SEC’s best running backs

They’ve seen lots of good running backs in Northwest Arkansas. From the land of the Hogs comes one guy’s take on the best running backs in the SEC. These are established backs who should be visible on everyone’s radar. When the dust settles I think Cordera Eason, Enrique Davis and possibly others will help Ole Miss have a strong running game, but not much love for the Rebels right now.

– PA

FOOTBALL: Does Phil have the right stuff?

I don’t spend a whole lot of time studying all the preseason magazines, and I don’t go back and grade them in December to see which ones were the most accurate with their predictions.

I get a kick out of Phil Steele’s book, because it is so self-promoting. It claims to be the most accurate preseason magazine over the last nine years, and I’ll just have to take Phil’s word on that. He’s got a scorecard on page 307 in which he breaks down the accuracy of 10 preseason magazines over the last nine years.

His book is No. 1, and Athlon is No. 2.

Ole Miss will be an interesting test case for Phil’s accuracy this season. He has the Rebels picked fourth in the Western Division, ahead of Mississippi State (fifth) and Arkansas (sixth). Athlon picks Ole Miss sixth in the West.

I personally think the Rebels will be picked last among the six in the West at SEC Media Days later this month. It’s the easy place to put a team that is 3-21 in the SEC over the last three years, and much of preseason prognostication is based on how a team did the previous season.

There is enough new blood coming into key positions to expect major improvement on offense for Ole Miss. That excitement must be restrained a little, because any newcomer, regardless of his ability, goes through a period of acclimation to new surroundings.

I see Ole Miss finishing in the fourth or fifth spot. Phil likes the Rebels at No. 4 and ranks them No. 9 on his national list of the 23 most improved teams in 2008.

“The Rebels will easily win more SEC games this year than in the last three years combined,” Phil writes.

That means at least four SEC wins for Ole Miss if Phil is on the money.

– PA

FOOTBALL: Your mid-Summer Powe update

I see folks with sources who say Jerrell Powe’s certification by the SEC is a done deal.

Whatever the case, I spoke with SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom this morning, and the league is continuing in its “no comment” stance.

The SEC will issue no official word nor will it give a timetable for announcing the decision.

Commissioner Mike Slive, like many Americans, is not in the office this week.

– PA

FYI: Back at work

I’m back in pocket for a week then gone for two, and then vacation is over. When summer starts we generally have six or seven weeks to get in three weeks of vacation. We rarely take vacation during the school year.

I had a good three days last week as a chaperone with a kids church trip to camp at Mississippi College. Kyle and I left a day early to get back for a Thursday game in the Dizzy Dean state tournament at Pontotoc where we went 1-2.

I had hoped to get an earlier start on the day, but the Comcast man and the patio roof people showed up at the same time.

It’s a slow week this week with it being the Fourth.

I visited for a while with Norman Joseph, the MC coach, who was pushing his quarterback, Adam Shaffer (rhymes with Schaeffer). Shaffer, who was clearly the best quarterback by that name in the state last season, has an interesting story. I hope to catch up with all the necessary folks and have that interesting story in the print edition this week.

Joseph, some may recall, was pretty good player, a wide receiver, I think at Mississippi State in the mid-1970s. He was the wide receivers coach and FCA huddle leader at Northeast Louisiana when I was a freshman.

– PA