The big story at Quail so far was obviously Tiger's meltdown. The lack of Mr. Woods for the weekend allows us all to pay attention to the other players in the field, including a pair of Clemson alum's who made the cut. D.J. Trahan and Lucas Glover will be around on Saturday. Through two rounds, Glover was -2 and Trahan 1 over. Glover fired a 2 over 74 and Trahanwas even Saturday to leave both players well off the lead. The leader, Billy Mayfair is at 9 under par for the tourney. Former Tigers who missed the cut include Kevin Johnson, Charles Warren, and Johnathan Byrd. Champions Tour member and golf legend Fred Couples also missed the cut.
In recruiting news, the Tigers appear to have missed on QB Christian LeMay, Scout.com's #2 rated player at his position. The North Carolina native chose the Dawgs over Clemson, Auburn, Notre Dame, and Texas A&M. The miss of LeMayis a big blow to Clemson's '11 class as the Tigers failed to sign a QB in this past year's class and will have to sign at least one this year. Georgia really needed this one with the potential departure of Logan Gray.
Clemson currently has a commitment from Scout's #44 ranked QB, Tony McNeal from Chester. Tomahawk Nation had a unique article on how LeMay's decision really helps the 'Noles. Bud also accurately points out that CU will more than likely miss an elite QB in the '11 class with LeMay's decision to go to Athens. Other notable uncommitted QB's that are considering Clemson include: Kiehl Frazier, Nick Marshall, C.J. Uzomah, and Marquise Williams. Out of these four, I would guess at this point our best shot would be with Uzomah who is currently rated the 14th best position player.
On the subject of Clemson QB's, the Post and Currier ran an interesting article that shows similarities between Kyle Parker and big time QB's Colt McCoy and Jimmy Clausen. The article makes some bold assumptions but also utilizes professional opinions on KP's talent level. With the departures from last season combined with WR news out of Tigertown, I am extremely skeptical of such hype but found the article an interesting read, so take it for what it's worth.
This news is a little old, but amusing. Apparently Auburn has a Tiger Prowl bus that has been cruising the state of Alabama with members of the Auburn staff. After today's NCAA ruling that bans multiple coaches from visiting a recruit, this bus will not be needed for recruiting purposes. The other item of interest is the limo's that were suggested by Auburn University's school officials. Although I really don't like Auburn, you have to respect the creativeness shown by this staff. The really impressive part is that their administration is behind the football program when compared to Clemson. What do you think the powers that be would recommend for Swinneyand crew to roll around in? I will bet they would not be pleased with a Limo-Ridin', Jet Flying, Kiss Stealin', Wheelin' Dealin', Son of a Gun. Then again, this is an uphill fight as we all know.
Clemson dropped the opener of a four game series to Florida Gulf Coast Sat night, 4-2. FGC ace Chris Sale pitched 8 excellent innings, giving up two earned runs and four hits while striking out 10 on the evening. Sale will be playing at the next level, so it is not like he is a scrub. Clemson, on the other hand, has been in a tailsping for the past month and a half. The Tigers' bats absolutely have to get warm or this team will be sitting at home in June. This team mustered a whopping 6 hits on the night to produce the pair of runs. Casey Harman had a nice outing in the no-decision, giving up two earned runs on eight hits in seven innings of work.
In swimming and diving news (yes, a first and probably last), Clemson has decided to discontinue the swimming and diving program after the '12 season. Apparently, the drink inside Fike is not an Olympic sized pool, causing the facility to be inadequate for use with the program. Clemson doesn't want to invest lots of cash into a non-revenue facility (especially in the current economic climate) and has decided to shut the program down. I had read blurbs about this in the past and knew that this program would probably get the ax.
In light of the decision to dismantle swimming and men's diving, avery likely possibility of adding women's golf appears to be on the table. With Clemson's new practice facility (really plush), facilities currently used by the men's team could open up for the ladies. Adding a women's golf team would not require any further facilities (or facility upgrades), so this option appears to be financially feasible.
I do have a few questions. First, and most importantly, how will this effect our Title IX numbers. As I do not know much about swimming scholarship allocation, I really have no clue about this one but would hope that the powers that be would have kept women's swimming if there were any other implications. I am guessing that this is the driver for canceling both swimming and diving for the men and swimming only for the women. Obviously, if the scholly allocation ratios are out of whack, it will be the men's non-revenue sports (and their scholarships) that are affected here (along with the swimming and diving team). Also, by canning more men than women, will this open up more scholarship opportunities for other non-revenue sports? I think that CU has maxed out scholarships awarded (through IPTAY), but would be interested in hearing about this. If we add women's golf, the ratio will get moved further towards the women's sports side (assuming they will get some of the scholarships created by the elimination of a women's swim team).
The second question revolves around the facility itself. Why in the hell would you build a non-Olympic sized pool in the first place? Did the standards change? Did they expand the pool size? One would think that whomever decided to drop a pool in would at least do so to allow competition. The Fike pool appeared to be pretty big when I saw it, but again, I am no swimming expert.
According to the athletic website, the McHugh Natatorium underwent a series of renovations between '01 and '03, so take that for what it is worth. The McHugh Natorium hosted the ACC Championship in '85, so maybe the size of the pool has changed? I don't know and don't know that I really care. However, they could probably knock out the wall separating the swimming from the diving section to expand the pool without brand new facilities (although I--once again--have no idea if there is a regulated pool depth for swimming events as this end would need to be deep enough to dive into).
