Outgoing Mail

In American warfare vernacular, outgoing mail is a term for friendly artillery intended for the enemy. Here at Tigerbait, it's a you tube to get you in the the right mood about the Tiger's whipping their next opponent and just getting out of the office for the weekend. I give you: Southern California by Wax



Sayonara suckers, I am headed to visit a buddy in sunny San Diego. Combine that with the 18 straight win Tigahs and you have the perfect confluence, a video about going to southern California with someone on fire.

Because, make no mistake, the Tigers are on fire. I have listened to both games of the SEC tourney so far for LSU. And Hawthorne is right, the Tigers keep doing it again and again, getting in the heads of their opponents and winning games, usually, and especially this week, from behind. How do they do it? I dunno. But it's a helluva a lot of fun to witness. Over at Geaux Tuscaloosa, they are debating who's the star for LSU.

My vote? I really dig how Clark is bombing the hell out of the opposing piching. However, overall, I really like what Jared Mitchell has been contributing in the field, at the plate and on the basepaths. He has really come on and I don't think LSU would be riding a win streak without his crucial contributions. Same could be said for a lot of Tigers. And that's what I love about this team, no super stars, just guys getting it done, and done in a big way. But Mitchell is fun to watch and a big factor. So he's my guy.

Here's my random link for the Friday. This is a decent article about the present state of Nebraska football. It's interesting to note how well Pelini is fitting in with their climate and football mindset after their late unpleasantness with Calahan and AD Peterson. What's humorous to note is the glossing over of what got them into this situation in the first place, the abrupt and pre-mature firing of Solich. The article does mention, and some Nebraska fans will as well, the previous coach and his fate. But they won't own up to the fact that the Nebraska culture got caught up in the climate of firing coaches too soon. All Solich ever did was win 58 games in 6 seasons. So I won't be weeping for Big Red any time soon. They brought their current misery on themselves.

Enjoy your Friday. The Tigers will as they have a day off while USC and Vandy decide who will face them. I will be moving closer to having the best dang fish tacos in the world on Ocean Beach. Sounds like a good weekend all around. Have fun and take care.

Outgoing Mail

In American warfare vernacular, outgoing mail is a term for friendly artillery intended for the enemy. Here at Tigerbait, it's a you tube to get you in the the right mood about the Tiger's whipping their next opponent and just getting out of the office for the weekend. I give you: Sober by Tool



No real reason for this one. Just thought it was time for some Tool. It was this or some Deftones and this just felt better. It is in no appreciable way applicable to LSU's baseball win streak or beating up on Auburn, except that AU can sympathize with the lyrics about being liars and worthless imbeciles. And LSU fans can embrace the "why can't we drink forever?" line. That lyric would probably spark some serious philosophical talk at 2 am in Baton Rouge on the walk home from Tigerland. If Tool ever works in Cane's chicken after the bar closes, then we'll really have a song for us.

As it is, it's Friday. Go enjoy your waterlogged portion of the south/southeastern United State/God's Country and see how far LSU can ride this streak. One or two more wins this weekend and the Tigers could be hosting a regional. Alex Box Stadium lives! Their case was helped more, at least RPI-wise, by beating UNO midweek than sweeping State last weekend. But every little bit counts. And hopefully, LSU can get out of the fog they played in last night (several runners stranded, twice runners at third with one out; two failed bunts leading to a runner getting picked off) and win. I think it's more of an aftermath from the midweek contest with the Privateers than a return to early season form.

If you didn't find that satisfying, go read Pittman's words at Geaux Tuscaloosa on scheduling. I will add to what he's saying next week. That's a threat and a promise suckahs.

Taking a trip to the seafood market

The situation surrounding the high profile basketball recruit is taking on the odor of the fish counter at Tony's. Highly touted big man J'Mison Morgan has been trying to get out of his commitment to LSU. His mother has made a lot of noise about how our new coach hasn't contacted Morgan for a couple of weeks now and is not feeling the love. So let me get this straight, Morgan commits to LSU, reaffirms his commitment after speaking with new coach Trent Johnson (mentioning the presence of Butch Pierre as influential as mentioned herein) and now all of the he doesn't want to be here. And Coach Johnson has just been ignoring his biggest signee. Riiiiiiiight. Oh, and by the way, it's a poorly kept secret that UCLA wants and needs him badly with the loss of their big man to the NBA. And it's another poorly kept secret that Morgan also loves UCLA. Something smells fishy.

This stinks. It's a shame that Johnson, and by extension equally new Athletic Director Alleva, has somewhat of a tough situation to deal with so soon. There's not a lot of positive that can come out of this. I hope that Johnson, Alleva and LSU stick to their guns and make the kid live up to his commitment. But it appears that won't be so. It's obvious that UCLA has been working on Morgan's mom and maybe even his aau coach to influence things since talking to Morgan directly is an egregious violation. It's a shame this will just slide by without notice from the NCAA. Hopefully Alleva and Johnson at least point this out to the power that be. Anyway, what goes around comes around. You hope.

As to keeping him or releasing him, on the one hand, why force a kid to play where he doesn't want to, against his will? You could say forcing him to do that would also bring negative recruiting. I don't think that's valid at all since there's going to be negative recruiting out there one way or another. So you release him right? Yeah, I guess.

LSU really needed a big man in the middle. One might criticize his stats as not all that impressive. But the mere presence of a decent scorer and rebound machine would've been a nice improvement for this squad. It certainly wouldn't have hurt.

My solution? You release him with the some kind of stipulation, if possible, that he can't sign with any SEC school, Texas school, Louisiana school and of course, UCLA. It appears it'll be a straight up release. If so, good on LSU for being the bigger people here. And if true, it would appear that Morgan's mother has done a poor job of raising her son in terms of honesty and accountability. Happy Mother's Day Ms. Morgan, heck of a job you're doing there.

Oh well, now to figure out what to do with the open scholarship so late in the game.

Outgoing Mail

In American warfare vernacular, outgoing mail is a term for friendly artillery intended for the enemy. Here at Tigerbait, it's a you tube to get you in the the right mood about the Tiger's whipping their next opponent and just getting out of the office for the weekend. I give you: Rusty Cage by Soundgarden



The baseball team is going to break their rusty cage and run after this weekend. It's the final 3 games in Alex Box Stadium, barring a miraculous regional hosting. Lots of great memories there for me. Security was lax so you could always get some beer in, especially in the covered grand stand of all places. Sitting out in R5 oor R6 and harassing the ever living hell out of an opposing right fielder and feeling like you really accomplished something when he screwed up. But the Box is outdated and showing it's age so we bid a fond farewell to the old Box and look forward to the new one.

The adversary this week is Miss. State, a fitting opponent considering their tradition and success. We'll see if the Tigers can't continue their surprising win streak (2 sweeps of USC and UK and some midweek games!) and hold on to first place in the West. A little while ago, we were worried about making the SEC tourney. All the Tigers have to do is take care of business against the 2 worst teams in the West (MSU and AU) and the Tigers should be poised for a return to the post season.


I am hearing great things about incoming qb Jordan Jefferson. This is nothing new frankly. Back before signing day I was hearing that this kid is going to be special. The national media latches on to the immediate and outdated idea of how is LSU going to manage the qb situation and struggle to win or find consistency with green signal callers post-Perrilloux since they have never heard of Lee or Hatch, much less Jefferson. While they do that, you just keep in mind we have a bright, bright future with this kid and that the rest of our team is loaded. Jefferson will break out of his rusty cage of obscurity, possibly as early as this season. So sleep well and enjoy the end of this baseball season, we'll be fine come fall, granted some growing pains or speed bumps.


Continuing the poor captivity breakout allusions, I am sick of my prison and cannot wait to break my stinky cast and run. I have another week and a half. Trust me, when you are laid up like this, you really, REALLY appreciate the blessings you have when you are whole and healthy. I miss walking. Walking. Much less running or anything like that. I never thought I'd miss walking. The good news is, the achilles feels good (barely any or no pain most of the time) and I believe everything's going to be alright, it'll just take time.


So enjoy your weekend, the weather, walking. But before that run along to Geaux Tuscaloosa and enjoy Mr. Pittman's cheesy take on some of the characters in our conference. Then head over to Hey Jenny Slater and see some of Doug's brilliant satire of Saban.

SUNDAY SOAPBOX: "Big Changes Afoot" Edition

Joshua's Foot

Cool cast, Joshua - but get better, bro! And watch the pills and the booze together - too much of a good thing can be, well, too much.

Athletic Director

Joe Alleva, our new AD, hails for Duke University, of the lacrosse hooker scandal fame. I'm told he's a big fund raiser. I hope he remembers how to build a basketball team. I'm sure none of the lacrosse lunacy was his doing, but I have to wonder how good he must be that LSU couldn't hire an AD without that kind of immediate spin on his resume...

Basketball

Great job to the Lady Tigers for making the Final Four. Honestly, I think they were THIS CLOSE to winning it all. Big Syl and the other seniors leave a huge rebuilding problem for Coach Chancellor.

New men's coach. Like Joshua, I applaud the Trent Johnson hire. I think he can take some of the momentum that was building after Brady's firing and turn it into a significant improvement in the overall program. I am optimistic. Big time.

Baseball

My goodness. I do believe the Tigers have turned the proverbial corner. Two SEC series sweeps in a row! Leading the SEC West! Tied for third (I think) in the conference! In a week, the Tigers went from clawing for an SEC Tourny bid to wondering which NCAA regional they will get a spot in, and maybe even will they get to host? Coach Mainieri seems to have it figgered out! I listened to all three games against Kentucky this weekend, and when Clark came up to bat with one on two outs in the top of the ninth, I was absolutely confident he was going yard. From the sound of it, he went yard-yard! Hawthorne didn't even pause to assess. He said it was gone before the "Kank" of the bat was done.

I think the rebuilding is pretty much over, folks. The Tigers are back. Just in time for Skip to retire! What a great present to him. And what a great present from him to the University and the fans!

Football

RP is gone. I've tried to stay supportive, and I have to admit I'm disappointed. But I'm not the least bit surprised. I have zero inside info, but I think anyone paying attention at all probably thought there wasn't much chance of Perrilloux making it through the summer. Well, as it turns out, he didn't make it TO the summer. Bummer.

Which leads me to the meat of this Sunday Soapbox.

Quarterback

Consider the following:

• Lee is a RSFr with zero downs. Good spring practice, good spring game.
• Hatch is a Jr and a Harvard transfer. Insignificant downs last year. OK spring practice, very good spring game.
• Jefferson is an incoming true Frosh.

So, for 2008, what's the prediction? Well, it's really all pretty self evident. Unless Hatch smokes Lee in practice this summer, Lee will get a shot at starting for the defending national champs as a freshman. Very cool for him. Slightly unnerving for me. But only slightly, because he really looked pretty good this spring.

If Hatch DOES smoke Lee in practice, he'll get the nod, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Lee get a lot of time and pass Hatch sometime before SEC play.

I have to say, though, that I was impressed with Hatch at the Spring Game and thought he outplayed Lee. If he can match that performance during summer practice, he may surprise a lot of us.

Jordan Jefferson may be able to make a spot for himself. He's certainly a big and talented kid. However, he more than likely needs some time to learn the offense, develop physically, and sharpen his skill set.

The most interesting QB question then is will Jefferson redshirt? Two factors here.

First, will Lee and Hatch stay healthy all year? If either comes up lame for even one game, there's a very good chance Jefferson loses his redshirt.

Second, if Lee is the starter, and considering Shepard and Garrett signing in 2009, would the staff want to stack the guys up by redshirting Jefferson? Garrett already looks like an automatic redshirt to me. But Shepard is an amazing athlete. I think the staff will be hard-pressed to put a redshirt on a guy who could contribute from day one. So, if Shepard is in the mix from day one, and the staff seems to have told him he'll be getting his shot at QB, why would Jefferson (or the coaches) want to redshirt?

It's an interesting dilemma. And there's more to ponder, but I don't want to get ahead of the 2008 season. Shepard isn't signed yet. And Lee hasn't played a down of college football.

But the bottom line is that LSU has a current stable of QBs that have the potential to lead the team to success. And the stable will get much deeper and more talented in 2009.

And LSU will surround the stable of QBs with a TON of experienced talent.

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty stoked we start next year with App State, and Troy, and North Texas. Imagine starting with Miss St and Va Tech, like last year. Yowza.

More on the QB competition as the summer drags on. And on. And on.

Time Passages

Doors close, others open.

For Perrilloux, the chance to lead a stacked team to another SEC (maybe even national) title is gone. But he's got a different chance now if he seizes it immediately - start over, new school, clean break, low expectations, rise from the ashes.

For LSU, the door closes on what was a painful drama filled with hope and disappointment. Now, there's a real chance for a RS Freshman to come in and make a statement on a team that is exactly set up to allow him to succeed. Or, perhaps an underdog Jr. transfer.

For Coach Les Miles, the chance to redeem a troubled, talented kid is gone. But now there's the opportunity to avoid what was an impending team disaster of a morale problem.

For LSU fans, we cans stop worrying about Perrilloux and start worrying about Lee and Hatch.

Time passages. Save me a ticket on the last train home...

Outgoing Mail

In American warfare vernacular, outgoing mail is a term for friendly artillery intended for the enemy. Here at Tigerbait, it's a you tube to get you in the the right mood about the Tiger's whipping their next opponent and just getting out of the office for the weekend. I give you: You've Got Another Thing Comin' by Judas Priest.



Ryan Perrilloux, you think you can keep dicking around?

Buzz Bissenger, you think you can start a critical dialogue of blogs with the prosaic and intelligent "I think you're full of shit."?

Kentucky, you really think you can withstand LSU and their winning streak in Lexington?

You've all got another thing coming kids. Along with lots of leather, studs, lasers, 110% percent badass early 80's metal videoes and pain, lots of pain.


Yes this is late:








But it shows how much cooler my school news paper is than yours. All your 4/20 jokes are belong to the The Daily Reveille.


And as for the furor over Journalism versus Bloggers, High rise penthouses vs Mom's basement, Hitler vs the Constitution that was ignited this week by Buzz Bissinger being a bit of a dick to a prominent blogger, it's been said already. What I can say is take it easy on Buzz, he's had a rough week:

"This is by far the nicest email I have received so far. The H.G. stands for Harry Gerard. And I really appreciate your liking the picture of my dog Maddy. Now I will stop while I am ahead. Thanks for writing without savagely attacking me personally for being stupid, ugly, a fuckhead, a dickface and fucking a horse...

Buzz Bissinger

On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 9:06 AM, wrote:

What's the H.G. stand for?

Nice picture of your lab."

You see, I really wanted to hate this dude, because he chose an obnoxious nickname instead of his name. I REALLY wanted the H.G. to stand for something silly. Instead, I got a peak at a man who has just been beaten down. So please, for the sake of his dog (picture is on his website), take it easy on the poor man.

And finally, as if you didn't know this, you ain't fresh like I'm is/can't touch this/I'm cooler than you:












Yep, that's a custom purple and gold cast for my achilles. Admit it, you're jealous.

RP out, integrity in

It took long enough, but WAFB, ESPN and the infallible internet message boards are reporting that returning starting qb Ryan Perrilloux has been kicked off the team for "not fulfilling his responsibilities as a student-athlete at LSU" according to Coach Miles. I welcome this news and add that I wonder what took so long.

I have nothing against RP personally. He's a stud of a player. But I have found out, with my own eyes in some cases (academics) or from first hand accounts (The Farce at the Vars-ity, you make it rhyme, I can't! Chimes doesn't work great either)the behaviour that convinced me he should've been shown the door.

Mr. Pittman over at Geaux Tuscaloosa has expressed so eloquently what many Tiger fans say. He's never been in serious trouble with the law. He's supposedly fulfilled his obligations as a student. We'll have a heck of a time winning with out him. The drop off at qb after him is obvious. The on the field stuff is true. The academic and law situations not so much.

The fact of the matter is LSU has bent over backwards, contorted itself, and did other unnatural acts to keep RP on campus and on the team. And keep in mind, this came at serious risk of degrading morale for the rest of the team who wondered why they had to abide by a different set of rules while RP had his own, more lenient set. It was and is past time for LSU to show Perrilloux the door.

One must consider, from the outside looking in, the maelstrom surrounding RP was putting LSU in a very poor light. It was getting to be a laughingstock among others. Other fans have rightfully questioned our pride and integrity. That's exactly what this is about for me. As an alumnus and season ticket holder, tolerance of Ryan's behaviour was contemptible and not what LSU is about for me. Lots of Tiger fans cried about how many losses this might bring. It's not about that. It's about having some character and dignity in how you go about your business.

Ahead, the Tigers head into a rough '08 with Lee and Hatch at qb. It was a wise move for Miles to give them all of the snaps in the spring. I wanted them starting vis a vis the departure of RP anyway. The schedule is a mother, I didn't expect a great deal from this season, except to compete strongly for the West and to go to Atlanta. As talented as LSU is, I still see this as a completely realistic goal. Then, the Tigers can head into a favorable 2009 season with a solid, salty team.

Lastly, it's sad that a kid like RP, who admittedly isn't coming from a great and prosperous background squander this opportunity. All he had to do was captain LSU to a solid '08, declare for the NFL and get rich. It's hard to understand how someone can be so hardheaded as to continually screw up like this. I wish him well. But he really blew it.

Old news, piping hot analysis

Of course, dear reader, you're probably aware that LSU hired Trent Johnson of Stanford to be the next basketball coach of LSU. A welcome change in my opinion, as  I wanted Brady gone long ago (a topic for a more protracted and boring offseason methinks).

Like everyone else, I thought LSU would try the promising but not completely proven method of hiring the up and comer. Anthony Grant and Travis Ford were the names on everyone's lips and keyboards. I really never considered that LSU would seek out a proven winner at a more top flight basketball program. I was pleasantly surprised.

First blush:  Johnson, while on the books having a less stellar tourney record than Brady, strikes me as an actual coach. The talent will always be here. It's Louisiana. So recruiting is almost a non factor. But the coaching, the x's and o's, especially during a game, is where we'll see the quality of this hire. 

That brings me to my salient point. To be completely honest, I love the fact that LSU has hired a black coach from a prestigious school like Stanford. Colorblindness, best man getting the job, I'd like to buy the world a coke bullshit aside, it matters to some kids when their new daddy is a black man. It's unspoken because it is yet still a sensitive topic. But if this guy is capable and black, it will only help. I'm not saying we would have DJ Augustin or Chris Duhon here instead of Texas and Duke if Johnson was the man. 

But the fact of having a competent coach who can focus more on the x's and o's and grades than the booze and the girls, and who just happens to be black, it ain't going to hurt. We'll win and win with quality, smart kids that Johnson can attract and coach up. No more Tack Minor bringing the ball up single handed against a merciless full court press because hell, it's just gotta effing work (that UAB embarassment by the way, is when I knew you, me or my Mom knew more than Brady). 

Looking towards the future, I like what I see and what it happening. Johnson insists on a harder schedule and has gotten current coaches to stick around. This can only be good for LSU.

Johnson has retained Butch Pierre to stay for the time being. And that's good for more than continuity. It's always a positive to have asst. coaches stick around. But it is already paying dividends as South Oak Cliff (Dallas) standout big man J'Mison Morgan (6'10",  275 lbs.) has reaffirmed his commitment to LSU. To quote the Baton Rouge Advocate (Friday, April 25, 2008), " Morgan said several times that his LSU future might hinge on whether Pierre was retained in some capacity". So there you are, the Rivals.com #25  and Scouthoops.com #29 player is sticking with the Tigers because of just this topic.

I like the idea that Johnson is already positioning LSU to play solid opponents. Brady did this in an acceptable fashion. LSU played UC0nn, A&M and others. It's nice to see Johnson setting the bar just as high or higher with home and home match ups with Washington St (2008 Sweet 16) and Xavier (2008 Elite 8) while continuing the neutral site A&m series. More (possible ACC powers) are in the works. LSU doesn't need to rachet down the competition while building a winning tradition.

One topic I think that got lost in all of this is Money. LSU hired away Johnson to start at salary higher than we was making at Stanford. This is significant because of a couple of factors. Playing in a competitive league such as the SEC forced the LSU AD to go out and hire someone who was winning at the level we expect, but from a less rewarding market. LSU has the spliff laying around to do this because of our revenue machine that is LSU football. Never let it be said that being able to spend more in other areas because of our success in football, is not a huge boon to the overall success of LSU athletics.

Outgoing Mail

In American warfare vernacular, outgoing mail is a term for friendly artillery intended for the enemy. Here at Tigerbait, it's a you tube to get you in the the right mood about the Tiger's whipping their next opponent and just getting out of the office for the weekend. I give you: I Wish by Skee Lo.



Why? I’m already taller. I have a girl and call her. A rabbit in a hat with a bat and a six four impala would even be cool. But the real reason is because I too wish I was a baller. I thought I was, until I completely ruptured my Achilles and now am enjoying the modern miracles of sports medicine surgery and rehab. So maybe I’ll just settle for the rabbit in a hat deal. Plus, it’s a happy song for you on a beautiful Friday. I promise a return to the harder-edged stuff next time.

The Tigers host USC this weekend in baseball. The Gamecocks are the second best team in the East. That’s good enough for better than anyone in the West. I stand by my earlier assertion that if the Tigers can eliminate the errors and get out of innings, they can win. This weekend? I think they do and take two.

Congrats to the gymnastics squad for advancing to their first Super Six! Bama, Florida and UGA are also there, further proving the idea of SEC speed. I don’t know how speed matters in gymnastics, but we all know it’s why.

You may have heard the Hat complaining about the NCAA changing a rule to no longer allow May visits to high schools. Previously, Miles or Saban or Meyer or whoever could visit schools to see coaches about a kid but not actually visit with the recruit, But if they happened to bump into each other it was alright. After all, the coaches say, I can’t just go deaf, dumb and blind if the kid and I cross paths. Certain coaches have become masters at this ‘bumping into’ recruits and were complicit with the high school coaches to ensure this accidental, but fortuitous meeting. That’s why this rule is also known as the Meyer/Saban rule and why you hear them crying the most about it. What Miles is complaining about is that some coaches have abused this visit and now everyone is being penalized.

Check in with me over at Uncle Ricos Time Machine. Gerry and I might hate each other somethin' fierce because of our respective Bama and LSU allegiances, are mutual fans of the Black & Gold. I'll be over there liveblogging the draft and maybe even the Hornets/Mavs game tonight. It all depends on the pharmacological properties of lortab and booze interactions. 

Imagine that

LSU defeated Tulane Tuesday night, 8-4. LSU had 14 hits and zero errors. I got to watch the last couple of innings at the ER I decided to hang out in for about 5 hours (more on that in a sec).

So imagine that, LSU commits no errors, about the same run production and wins a game. It's only one game but it serves to illustrate the point. When the Tigers don't boot the ball about the infield and make plays, the other team has a harder time scoring.

That's a far cry from this past weekend's series with Georgia. Errors abounded and so did subsequent runs for the Bulldogs. The Tigers committed 11 errors on the weekend, 4 Friday, 4 Saturday and 3 Sunday. There were several instances of UGA scoring runs with two outs after errors has been committed. This is just bad baseball.

If LSU cuts out those errors and gets those outs to get out of the inning, I guarantee the Tigers don't go 0-2-1 against the best team in the SEC. Yes pitching is an issue. Clutch hitting pretty much doesn't exist. But if the errors are cut back on, this squad can play with the best of them and win.

It's a young team. Hopefully they can improve in every phase (hitting, pitching & fielding). It's the latter that would show immediate results. The Tulane game proves it.