Greetings from Birmingham
posted by David Cloninger, 10/22/2008 09:53:00 AM
Sorry, that's how Steve Spurrier usually opens his press conferences (I've got eight weeks of backlog to clear out in 30 minutes).
Paul Collins and I are here at the lovely Birmingham Marriott and getting ready for the first event of the day in about 30 minutes. SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and Supervisor of Officials Gerald Boudreaux and Bill Stokes will talk about the league and rule changes for this year.
Darrin Horn, Devan Downey, Dominique Archie, Dawn Staley, Demetress Adams and Brionna Dickerson are scheduled at 11:30, as soon as Auburn's reps get off the stage. They'll be followed by the Tennessee contingent, which I'm laying 5-to-1 on as will have the most media reps here.
I didn't get to hit the gym this morning but that's all right -- I was loaded down with 23 media guides when I got here. Try lugging that through the rabbit warren known as the Marriott and see how your deltoids feel.
Anyway, kudos to whoever designed USC's women's guide this year -- it's a picture of Staley holding a basketball with faded pictures of her as an Olympian on either side. The title is "The Gold Standard" and has shots of the three gold medals she helped win.
The men's cover has the team's two seniors, Zam Fredrick and Branden Conrad, plus junior point guard Devan Downey on the front. And I have to point it out -- on the inside front, there's pictures of USC's two NBA alumni (Denver's Renaldo Balkman and Cleveland's Tarence Kinsey, Miami's Tre Kelley was waived earlier this month). Below them are three players that Darrin Horn coached into the NBA -- Indiana's Travis Diener, Miami's Dwyane Wade and Orlando's Courtney Lee.
What, no picture of Brian Winters?
Other covers that stood out:
LSU men -- A collage of several all-stars from 100 years of Tiger basketball. I see Pistol Pete and Shaq front and center.
Alabama men -- Alonzo Gee and Ronald Steele on the cover, back to back, with the Alabama 'A' in the middle. What's cool is the cover is white and the players themselves are in black and white, with their uniforms (crimson trim) in color. Very classic.
Tennessee women -- Team picture surrounded by pictures of UT's eight national championship rings. Very intimidating, until one sees the "Lady Vols of the Rings" tag up top. That looks like it was drawn by a third-grader.
Kentucky women -- White cover with the 'UK' logo in clear plastic with a blue sheet on the inside front. No names or players, just 'UK Hoops 2008-09' and some coaching phrases ('Discipline,' 'Enthusiasm,' 'Heart') around it.
Talk to you soon.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
OK, men, we came out very healthy from the game last week ...
Sorry, that's how Steve Spurrier usually opens his press conferences (I've got eight weeks of backlog to clear out in 30 minutes).
Paul Collins and I are here at the lovely Birmingham Marriott and getting ready for the first event of the day in about 30 minutes. SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and Supervisor of Officials Gerald Boudreaux and Bill Stokes will talk about the league and rule changes for this year.
Darrin Horn, Devan Downey, Dominique Archie, Dawn Staley, Demetress Adams and Brionna Dickerson are scheduled at 11:30, as soon as Auburn's reps get off the stage. They'll be followed by the Tennessee contingent, which I'm laying 5-to-1 on as will have the most media reps here.
I didn't get to hit the gym this morning but that's all right -- I was loaded down with 23 media guides when I got here. Try lugging that through the rabbit warren known as the Marriott and see how your deltoids feel.
Anyway, kudos to whoever designed USC's women's guide this year -- it's a picture of Staley holding a basketball with faded pictures of her as an Olympian on either side. The title is "The Gold Standard" and has shots of the three gold medals she helped win.
The men's cover has the team's two seniors, Zam Fredrick and Branden Conrad, plus junior point guard Devan Downey on the front. And I have to point it out -- on the inside front, there's pictures of USC's two NBA alumni (Denver's Renaldo Balkman and Cleveland's Tarence Kinsey, Miami's Tre Kelley was waived earlier this month). Below them are three players that Darrin Horn coached into the NBA -- Indiana's Travis Diener, Miami's Dwyane Wade and Orlando's Courtney Lee.
What, no picture of Brian Winters?
Other covers that stood out:
LSU men -- A collage of several all-stars from 100 years of Tiger basketball. I see Pistol Pete and Shaq front and center.
Alabama men -- Alonzo Gee and Ronald Steele on the cover, back to back, with the Alabama 'A' in the middle. What's cool is the cover is white and the players themselves are in black and white, with their uniforms (crimson trim) in color. Very classic.
Tennessee women -- Team picture surrounded by pictures of UT's eight national championship rings. Very intimidating, until one sees the "Lady Vols of the Rings" tag up top. That looks like it was drawn by a third-grader.
Kentucky women -- White cover with the 'UK' logo in clear plastic with a blue sheet on the inside front. No names or players, just 'UK Hoops 2008-09' and some coaching phrases ('Discipline,' 'Enthusiasm,' 'Heart') around it.
Talk to you soon.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Previous Blog Entries
David Cloninger. David is a full-time staff writer for GamecockCentral, and covers Gamecock football, men's basketball, baseball and recruiting. He may be reached by email at david(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.