Clemson's AD Must Read This Blog [Rumors And Rants]
Clemson Fan Crying Over Bowden [The Sports Point]

From The Sporting Blog and That One Guy That Likes College Football:

This situation may be worse than prior years for numerous, equally damaging reasons. Clemson was picked to win the ACC, their roster boasted easily cited glossy talent like James Davis, C.J. Spiller, Cullen Harper [who was just benched... -ED.] and Aaron Kelly, and there was even preseason talk of BCS bowls for the Tigers. Then, once the team ran face-first into the wood chipper of Alabama in week one on national television, Clemson began a slow, inexorable collapse, most disturbingly on the offensive side of the ball.

Clemson lost to Wake Forest Thursday night, 12-7. And this is after losing the week before to Maryland, who, to be fair, is fucking horrible. At least when Michigan has talent, they typically use it, and unlike the team wearing orange, their future is bright.

Update: Clemson just stopped another Maryland drive in the red zone. What the fuck? 10-6 Clemson.

2nd Update: James Davis just busted a 38-yard TD. 17-6 Clemson. I think a pig just shit on my roof.

Summary of Ohio State & Minnesota's opening drives: OSU: 5 rushes, 75 yards and a TD. Minnesota: The Gophers leading receiver was off the field on 3rd down because he lost a shoe.—No Soap In The John

Andre Ware and Dave Pasch = Gay buddies forever. —Dr Scooter19

Since Mike Paulus is starting for UNC today, someone on the U's defense has to teabag him for a sack. This must happen. —Signal 2 Noise

Getting excited for Michigan State/Indiana in any sport is akin to crashing through a brick wall and finding out you didn't die, and now you'll be punished for the rest of your life.  But I'm watching this one anyway.  Why?  Because I'm a poor Midwestern soul, that's why.—King Donut66

Another Saturday, another Pam Ward nationally televised game. Why does ESPN want viewers to kill themselves?—Dr Scooter19

Oh, and this Michigan State/Indiana game gets Pam Ward too.  As Weird Al Yankovic said in UHF . . . "TERRI!  I'M IN HELL!  I'M IN HELL TERRI!" or something or other . . .—King Donut66

In typical South Florida fashion, there are 27 people in the stands at the Um-UNC game.  ACC Football, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz—Mr Red Devil 4Ever

Can the losing coach of Pitt-Syracuse get fired live on TV after the game? —Signal 2 Noise

CLEMSON TIGERS

1. "Clempson," as some locals refer to it, resides in the city of Clemson in the northwestern region of South Carolina known as "The Upstate." It was opened in 1893 as a military academy exclusively for Caucasian males, serving as one of the rare instances of racial discrimination in the South. The school later abandoned its military curriculum and started its rich tradition of admitting hot, bangable women that would make your penis explode in 1955. Notable Clemson alumni include tabloid television anchor Nancy O'Dell and noted statesman/multiculturalist Strom Thurmond, for which the university's Strom Thurmond Institute is named ... I think.

2. The HNIC.Head coach Oliver Purnell came to Clemson from Dayton in 2003, where he had led the Flyers to two NCAA berths in four years. He has served seven times as an assistant to the US Men's National Team. He also won an NCAA Division II title with Old Dominion as a player in 1975. Oh, and he blogs, albeit infrequently. Clemson also has an assistant coach named Shaka Smart. It's worth passing along.

3. Weak Down The Stretch.The Tigers won their first 18 games of the 2006-07 season, but shit the bed in conference play and had to settle for a 1-seed in the NIT (they lost in the championship game of that tournament). Although Clemson boasts a better mark in the ACC this season, they've suffered losses against Florida State, Charlotte, Ole Miss, and Miami, none of whom are currently ranked. The Tigers also took North Carolina to OT twice, but lost both times.

And Some Actual Player Info...A slogan commonly seen on car decals promoting the aforementioned fuckability of the female student body reads, "Clemson Girls, Best In The World." Ballers Junior K.C. Rivers, senior Cliff Hammonds, and spohomore Trevor Booker have been the best in the world for the Tigers, having started every games this season through March 1. Hammonds leads the team in points, assists, steals, and minutes. —Monday Morning Punter

VILLANOVA WILDCATS

1. I Got A Name. As if it wasn't rare enough to find one young African-American with the name Corey, Coach Wright went out and found two: freshman guards Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher, both McDonald's All-Americans in high school. Each has shown tremendous promise in their limited time on the court (Stokes is an 89percent free-throw shooter, and Fisher is third on the team in points and steals per game). Not since the days of Mssrs. Feldman and Haim has such untapped, dual-Corey-based potential lay waiting to be sprung upon an unsuspecting America.

2. Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels). Whereas most college athletic programs are content to limit their scandals to recruiting violations and date rape, Villanova's athletes strive to achieve a more genteel form of notoriety. And so, enter the phone cards. On two separate occasions, in 1996 and 2002, Villanova students were busted for unauthorized use of calling cards (a violation of an NCAA rule prohibiting extra benefits to student athletes), the latter incident resulting in a suspension of twelve players on the active roster which carried over into the 2003-04 season.

3. New York's Not My Home. Jay Wright's first coaching gig was at Hofstra University, which offered him a rich recruiting environment among the private schools and public playgrounds of New York City and Northern New Jersey. He continued to scout for players in that area even after landing the head coaching position at Villanova. In 2004 Wright recruited Kyle Lowry, a scrappy guard from Cardinal Dougherty High School in Philly. While a significant portion of the current underclassmen still hail from Brooklyn, the Bronx and North Jersey, local players such as Reggie Redding and Shane Clark show that Wright is now willing to seek talent further south along the Northeast Corridor. — Chamomiles Davis

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2. The HNIC.Head coach Oliver Purnell came to Clemson from Dayton in 2003, where he had led the Flyers to two NCAA berths in four years. He has served seven times as an assistant to the US Men's National Team. He also won an NCAA Division II title with Old Dominion as a player in 1975. Oh, and he blogs, albeit infrequently. Clemson also has an assistant coach named Shaka Smart. It's worth passing along.

3. Weak Down The Stretch.The Tigers won their first 18 games of the 2006-07 season, but shit the bed in conference play and had to settle for a 1-seed in the NIT (they lost in the championship game of that tournament). Although Clemson boasts a better mark in the ACC this season, they've suffered losses against Florida State, Charlotte, Ole Miss, and Miami, none of whom are currently ranked. The Tigers also took North Carolina to OT twice, but lost both times.

And Some Actual Player Info...A slogan commonly seen on car decals promoting the aforementioned fuckability of the female student body reads, "Clemson Girls, Best In The World." Ballers Junior K.C. Rivers, senior Cliff Hammonds, and spohomore Trevor Booker have been the best in the world for the Tigers, having started every games this season through March 1. Hammonds leads the team in points, assists, steals, and minutes. —Monday Morning Punter

Well, not so much "kicked him off" as "took his scholarship." Why? What did McElrathbey do to deserve this? He must have robbed a bank or something. Nope: Bowden just recruited too many running backs.

"He said something about how they weren't going to renew his scholarship," said [Clemson tailback James] Davis, who has known McElrathbey since their high school days in Atlanta. "It really surprised me. But there's a lot of stuff you can't say. It's something I guess everybody has to learn to live with."

"We're pretty good at running back right now," coach Tommy Bowden said.

The worst part is that Clemson, which basked in all the great publicity from McElrathbey last year, tried to keep this quiet or, worse, imply that it was McElrathbey's decision. (It was Davis who blew the whistle.) Quite charming.

The Truth Comes Out: Clemson Ran Ray Ray [The Wizard Of Odds]

"The league acknowledges that a timing error was made in not starting the game clock at the correct time," said Clougherty, adding the situation was resolved internally but did not elaborate.

Not that there's anything they really could do about it, but still, even a tiny little, "Hey, we're sorry," would've been nice. Without an actual apology, people might start to get the idea that the ACC people don't really mind that Duke got a high profile win instead of Clemson, and we know that's not true.

The Tigers deserve some small token of sorrow ... maybe a some coupon books to McDonalds. Maybe a Coach K instructional video. Maybe a promise that Dick Vitale will never be allowed to call another Clemson game again. Something to make them feel better about themselves.

ACC: 'Timing Error' In Clemson-Duke Finish [WXII12.com]

One of the joys of this here Internets is the rapidity with which campaigns can be organized, complaints filed and irrefutable evidence presented to a starving public. Therefore, if you watched any of that thrilling but frustrating Clemson-Duke game last night, you know that Duke won on a shot with .1 seconds remaining. This video convincingly shows how they shouldn't have had nearly that much time left.

We ordinarily wouldn't focus so much on one game like this the morning after, but it was just 13 hours ago, it seems obvious and, hey, it's Duke.

• Metts said Johnson's wife and several friends told police that Johnson then said: "You can't shoot me, I'm invisible."

• The men had gone deer hunting together the morning of the shooting, police said, and they were dressed in camouflage as they watched the game with friends.

• "It's always been football and NASCAR," said Quick's sister, Ann Marie Quick.

• Quick didn't attend USC but always supported the team, said Quick's mother, who declined to give her name.

• "My nephew was with him every day," she said. "He always talked about how Rick showed him how to skin 'coons and deer."

• Adam Branhan, 16, said he met Johnson at the beginning of the summer, when Johnson let him swim in his pond.

Curiously, "They loved to listen to NPR," "Jimmy was into recycling" and "Police identified Quick's minivan by the Dennis Kucinich stickers" were not among the comments.

$20 USC-Clemson Bet Led To Killing, Police Say [Charlotte Observer]
Yet Another Death You Can Blame On Steve Spurrier [Deadspin]

The two had bet $20 on the annual game, with [Jimmy] taking South Carolina, which won 31-28, and [Ricky] taking Clemson, Lexington County Sheriff James Metts said. They drank beer all afternoon and watched the game Saturday at Johnson's home, and began arguing about the bet after the game.

Metts said [Jimmy]went to his car, got the rifle he normally uses for hunting and fired one shot, hitting Johnson in the chest.

By the way, we're not up on hunting, but a shotgun cartridge can't cost that much less than 20 bucks, can it?

We were watching the end of this game as well and, seeing Spurrier dance around after sneaking out a win, we're kind of pleased we didn't have a gun at the time ourselves. Please let this guy coach Miami: PLEASE.

Man Killed Over $20 Clemson Bet [AOL Sports]

(UPDATE: Actually, there are all kinds of rumors he might head to Alabama to take over for Mr. Shula.)

In a world of uncertainty, the dancing fat man is a distinct pleasure worth cherishing. Do not underestimate the dancing fat Clemson fan: He's, in fact, quite nimble. You might think it cheap and/or easy, but we value the fundamental certainty of gyrating flab, and we think you probably should too.

Fat Men Are Unusually Light On Their Feet [Every Day Should Be Saturday]