Beginning of March - Sunday Thoughts

Some conversations I have with other Clemson fans are flat out frustrating. We have people out there who are content with playing like crap in each game since late October sans the ACCCG. These folks ignore the shortcomings and want to blame anything but the real problems while pissing sunshine all over the place. Yes, we can still discuss the long range dominance over the Cocks but, let’s face it, since Jamie Harper put the ball on the ground back in ’09, Clemson has not looked the same. Great, they won’t catch us if they can win the next 30 contests or whatever it is. That is great but getting beaten in football, basketball, and baseball to the other in state school is unacceptable and must be corrected. I am almost positive that the spin from this weekend’s series will focus on the ninth inning Sunday win—which was great for this team—and ignore the series loss to the team from Columbia.

Additionally, I cannot figure out how someone can take up for a lineman who doesn't seem to care or the reason he plays in spite of this perception. This is just the tip of the iceberg, though, and part of the reason STS is here in the first place. The reason we are in this loop of mediocrity is because people want to believe that we are right at the doorstep of greatness and ignore core problems. While issues with facilities are getting resolved, there are still many other items in Pickens County that need correcting if Clemson is to win big. We won’t accept less than the best and suggest that everyone step away from the orange Kool-Aid, look at situations objectively and realize that we do some things well and some things not so well. It is ok to realize there are faults so long as the shortcomings are identified and steps taken to alleviate these items.

Baseball is a little different than most sports as its pace of play allows the fan to listen with the radio in the background and easily follow along. That is just the nature of the game. Hence, I do not complain as much about streaming WCCP for baseball as I do for football. Still, getting to watch a game is a real treat and streaming today’s game via ESPN3 was good. I really hope that the schedule allows for more live streaming. I am not sure about the legal implications or difficulty in putting something together, but Clemson (and South Carolina for that matter) may want to look into streaming more home baseball games as the sport is extremely popular and has gained quite a bit of interest over the years.

Props to NBC for its golf coverage of the Honda Classic this weekend. As most of you probably know, the Golf Channel and NBC’s golf coverage have effectively merged. NBC's tourney strategy in Palm Beach featured extended coverage on the golf Channel and dedicated coverage of the "Bear Trap" during NBC’s normal coverage. While this is not equivalent to DirecTV’s multichannel coverage during major tournaments, it definitely is jam up and much appreciated. The only downside is a lack of Nationwide Tour coverage particularly since Matt Hendrix teed off today in the second to last group.

Speaking of golf, Rory McIlroy looks more and more impressive each week because of his consistency. It is very difficult to go out and put it together on that level week after week after week and McIlroy does this. Heading down the stretch towards Augusta, we have what appears to be a nice combination of things to come. McIlroy is the young superstar who is consistently playing lights out. Mickelson is off to a great start and has a win to this point. Woods is improving (62 today was very impressive) though doesn’t have the complete dominance he had a half decade ago. Former Clemson golfer Kyle Stanley has won once, has made a boatload of cash, and is currently leading the Fed-Ex Cup standings.

Clemson basketball dropped the regular season finale today in Tallahassee. We’ll see how the brackets shake out to determine the ACC Tournament matchup. While this certainly is not Clemson’s best squad, our Tigers have a legit shot against anyone not named UNC or Duke.

Who isn’t excited about Spring drills? In the event you are a football junkie like me, Clemson continues to put offseason workouts on the internet (http://www.clemsontigers.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/clem-m-footbl-spec-rel.html). Give them a look to feed your need for Tiger football in March. I am eager to see what this group puts out for actual practice as well as I am sure whatever emerges will be highly edited.