Let's give some pub to the softball team winning on the road, first at Texas A&M, then at Missouri, to earn a spot in the Women's College World Series. OK, I admit we don't follow softball so much; I don't think I can name one player on the team. But, this is awesome, and the Tigresses deserve the credit. Yesterday I just happened to see them while channel surfing. I saw about 10 minutes of the game, and it was the only 10 minutes that mattered. We were down 1 run and MO had the bases loaded with one out. The CF caught a line drive and threw out the runner at home in a fantastic play. A few minutes later it was our CF at bat with the bases loaded and one out. She knocked in 3, and that was that.

Now that the 2010 football season is done let's have a little fun listing some of the good things to remember.  Here’s my list of ten memorable events.  Obviously, you can disagree* about the order or the content—that’s part of the fun.

 * All the points you find objectionable were actually suggested by Poseur. 

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The following email, apparently from LSU basketball coach Trent Johnson to LSU football coach Les Miles, was recently posted on WikiLeeks.

****

Dear Les, I don't understand why you had trouble beating auburn and Arkansas.  My guys did it, and everyone says we suck. If you share some of that new contract with me, I'll let you know how it's done.

Sincerely,
Trent

****

Neither Trent Johnson nor Les Miles would confirm the authenticity of the communication, but ESPN is reporting that it is authentic, and that Les Miles will be fired and replaced by Terry Bowden.

Here are some of the flattering things Coach Johnson had to say in reference to the Tigers' 14-point loss at Virginia on Sunday.  All quotes are from lsusports.net.

"That's pretty much how we've been all year long; we have been very inconsistent in our ability to sustain anything, whether it's been offensive execution or defensive execution."

You don't say!

When asked about playing without Storm Warren and Dennis Harris, he gave them this confidence booster: "We are without Storm and we are without Dennis [Harris], two kids who played a lot for us last year, but the two of them combined aren't as good a player as [UVA's leading scorer and rebounder] Mike Scott."

Great. Can you name other opposing players who are better than any two of our guys combined? What about three of our guys.  Can you name three of our guys who, combined, aren't as good as a player from another team? Well, at least he didn't call one of his players a goon like John Chaney did.

"Our point of attack defense hasn't been very good. We have two freshmen and a sophomore trying to guard but it had nothing to do with their shooting. It had to do with their ability to penetrate the point of attack and get us in a situation where we had to help."

Agreed. Our underclassmen haven't learned how to play defense yet. By the time they are upperclassmen, they might be awesome. Will Johnson be around to see it?

"I knew going into this game that unless we had a post presence and were able to go inside-out, our perimeter guys were going to struggle at times."

Where have I heard that before? Oh, right here. Yeah, this team has no low post game. I saw the second half, and to be fair, our guys made an attempt to have an inside game (leading scorer Garrett Green!), but we just don't have the bodies and aggression to compete (much less win) down there.

Patrick Peterson is racking up the hardware this week. SEC Coaches Defensive Player of the Year. SEC Coaches Special Teams Player of the Year. Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back). Chuck Bednarik Award (most outstanding defensive player).

Next year there will be a Patrick Peterson Award, but no one will qualify.

According to lsusports.net Peterson said “One of my goals at the beginning of the season was to win this award and be the best I could possibly be." http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=205052998

I guess they forgot to mention that he's a bad ass. He is.

LSU fans have gotten accustomed to wacky endings in which our coaching staff manages to rescue defeat from the jaws of victory.  The memories of the execution meltdowns against PSU and Ole Miss last season are still prominent in our minds.  In the closing seconds of the TN game, it seemed as though our players and coaches had set a new record for dysfunctional game management by only executing one running play for a short gain when positioned 2nd and goal from the 2, on second down, with about 30 seconds remaining.  After that second down run was stopped short of the end zone, chaos ensued. Neither the coaches nor the players knew what play to run, what personnel to use, whether to use third down to spike the ball and stop the clock. Instead the dysfunctional team, led by dysfunctional coaches, made a dysfunctional, inchoate play, sending the snap yards behind the line of scrimmage into doom.  It was to be Coach Miles' finest moment of ridiculous management ineptitude.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: In the interest of Fair and Balanced Coverage, we are proud to present uberschuck's game summary

If you are a disgruntled Tiger fan or a person unfortunate enough not to be an LSU fan, but you still need to be pessimistic, I'll do you a favor and write your talking points for you so you don't have to think.

The LSU Tigers continued their disappointing season with a 29-7 victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday night.  Once again, the offense struggled, as quarterback Jordan Jefferson was again held under 100 yards passing.  Despite the seemingly lopsided score, it was a lackluster performance by LSU, which relied on 5 MSU interceptions to stay in the game.

MSU opened the second half with an 81 yard touchdown drive that cut the LSU lead to 5 and put the host team on the ropes midway through the third quarter. The anemic Tiger offense repeatedly failed to move the ball, giving place kicker Josh Jasper the opportunity to be the hero.  It took a record-setting performance by Jasper--converting 5 field goal attempts--to overcome his teammates' ineptitude.  Still the Tiger woes continued long after the game was in hand, as for the second time in three games they fumbled the ball away while trying to run out the clock. 

It was the latest in a string of embarrassing performances that justify dropping the team in the polls.  With head coach Les Miles long on the hot seat in danger of losing his job, it is becoming clearer than not only the coach must be replaced, but also the athletic director and the entire executive board of the Louisiana State University system.  Until such obvious needed changes are made, fans are left wondering if the 2010 Tigers or the 2009 Tigers are the worst 3-0 team ever.

So, Scott's collar bone is broken, and he's lost for the rest of the regular season.  That's a tough blow for him, the team, and us fans. But, I come to praise Charles Scott, not to bury him.

In 2007 I remembered him mostly for the last play of our 3OT loss at Kentucky. He got tackled short of first down yardage on 4th & short. Crap!  That was the year of another national championship and Jacob Hester was the star of the backfield.  It looked like Kieland Willams was the next best thing we had in the backfield (well, maybe Perrilloux). Over the offseason, Scott must have eaten his Wheaties, because in 2008 he was easily our best back.  I really, really like players who overcome their problems in the offseason and turn out to be studs (see Joe Addai after 2003 and Brandon LaFell after 2006). Scott became a wrecking crew, posting up 100 yard games routinely, scoring TDs like mad. After a couple games Poseur tried starting a "Scott for Heisman" campaign. At the Peach Bowl, where it seemed like he scored every 5 minutes, the guys on the game thread were resigned to that being Scott's last game as a Tiger. He would have been justified in going pro, but he came back. I really, really like players who do that too (See Kevin Faulk, Marcus Spears, Ben Wilkerson, Ciron Black, Glen Dorsey, Dwayne Bowe, and LaFell again).

It's practically unfair that a player turns down an instant payday for another year in college, only to get injured, but talk to Sam Bradford about that one. Scott may have been having an off year in stats, but there is something more to like about him. He offered to play FB because we lacked manpower and experience at that position. There is no evidence at all that he's complained about splitting carries with a crowded backfield over the years.  For the next three weeks, he'll do his rehab, try to stay in shape, and be a very burly cheerleader. 

There is still a bowl game. I doubt he'll be recovered to the extent that he can be the feature back in our bowl game, and with three more games in between, Ridley, Shepard, and even Williams are going to demand more playing time. But, hopefully, Scott is healthy enough for significant action in the bowl game--he deserves it, and he deserves being mentioned with all those other great players I named above.

He's still going to be playing on Sundays. I'll be one of many Tiger fans cheering for him for hopefully a long career, even if he goes to a team I hate, like Atlanta.

Charles Scott, you're a great player, and I hope I get to see you score another TD as a Tiger.

As punishment for sticking his hand into an opponent's helmet in an attempt to gouge his eyes, Brandon Spikes was suspended by Urban Meyer for the first half of Florida's upcoming game against Vanderbilt.  This is ridiculous; Meyer's idea of discipline is a joke.

Compare this to Oregon's LeGarrette Blount, who was suspended for the season after sucker-punching a BSU player after their game. (Blount's case is being revisited by his team and the PAC-10, so he may have his suspension lifed before the end of the season).  As bad as Blount's behavious was, I think what Spikes did was worse because the potential damage could have been worse. Had Spikes succeded in his thuggish move, he could have left a man blind. Meyer/the SEC/the NCAA would be justified in suspending Spikes for the rest of the season. The local authorities would be justified in arresting him.  Anything less than a 4 game suspension is, in my opinion, a weak response.

I saw the news today about the tape scandal in last weekend's BAMA-USC game.  It ought to be a meaningless item, but considering it involves Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban, we can have a little fun with it (even if there is video of LSU marking a spot for a kick).  So, BAMA's kicker used tape to mark the spot where the ball would be placed before PATs and FG attempts.  The idea of Spurrier filing a complaint about this and Saban resorting to saying over the half the conference does it too just seems like two billionaires bickering over a dime they found in the parking lot.

I hate it when people throw crap on the field, so instead of peppering BAMA with rolls of tape when they take the field, smart-ass fans will have to do other things like use tape to spell out the letters on their signs they show at the game.

I interrupt the funeral for LSU's 2009 football season and Les Miles's  tenure as coach to pose this question: what if we win at UGA on Saturday?

UGA is a good team. They aren't nearly as good as recent UGA teams that won the SEC and went to BCS games. They are 3-1 and 2-0 in the SEC. They opened the season with a 24-10 loss at Oklahoma St. They hung in for the first half and were in a fog in the second half. In the following two weeks they won defense-optional shootouts against South Carolina and at Arkansas--the two classic "scrappy" SEC teams who always seem to be a bit less talented, but dangerous and difficult to beat. Last week they beat Arizona St. at home with a field goal on the last play.

UGA fans have less to be happy about than LSU fans. Their schedule has been harder, but they already have a loss and their defense has been lit up repeatedly. If we're wondering why we only beat Washington by 8 and needed a goal line stand to squeak by MSU, they're wondering how South Carolina and Arkansas managed 37 and 41 points on their defense. So, our team has issues; so does UGA.  They are beatable, and we're good enough to beat them if we play well. It will certainly take our best game of the year. Fourtunately, that's not a high standard to surpass.

But if we win, then the people who say we don't belong in the top 10 are going to have to stuff it.  Ditto the morons saying Miles is done.

Geaux Tigers!

I dig the new schedule changes announced today. Next season we open vs. UNC in the Georgia dome--this just in...we're good in the Georgia Dome. Remember, we signed a home & home with WV, and so next season we host them. That makes for a pretty nice OoC slate next year. The other OoC in 2010 are home games vs. McNeese & Southern Miss. Really, only one cupcake game. Last year we had a weak OoC schedule. This is much more credible.  UNC replaces Tulane, which is such a bogus rivalry anyway.

The 2011 schedule still has a couple holes to fill. So far, we've got the road trip to WV and an in-state rent-a-win vs. NW St.  Is it possible to get UW to come to Tiger Stadium next season since we went all the way to Seattle?

I have a few points to make that may counter the depression that has engulfed the ATVS page since we beat Washington.

No, it wasn't pretty. This game may have been played in the Twilight Zone. We won by 8 despite the fact that UW outgained us 478-321 yards. They ran 83 plays to our 48. They held the ball almost 14 more minutes than we did. Our longest possession was 4:31. We only had two possessions longer than 3:30. Why? We had 5 drives go 3 & out. One of those was killed by a fumble, another was killed by a sack on a second &1 play. The scoring drives were short because of one long pass play in each to pick up most of the yards. In a feast-or-famine offense, we either scored quickly or gave the ball back quickly. UW, on the other hand, had three third down conversion of greater than 10 yards (plus another that led to a 4th & 1 that was converted). The bottom line is, an accumulation of small things led to UW running ridiculously more plays than we did.

I don't like the defensive strategy of playing so soft. I think that directly led to UW's knack for third down conversions. Also, the coaches stepped in it by calling timeouts on UW's last drive of the first half. OK, calling a time out after a short gain on first down is excusable, but we stopped the clock again before a 3rd &1 with 40 seconds remaining. That was dumb, and it cost us 3 points.

Jefferson was actually, awesome at QB. Nine yards per attempt, no turnovers, one sack, and 3 TDs. Toliver had a drop, and so did Dickson (maybe two?), otherwise Jefferson's numbers would have looked even better. A few of his incomplete passes were good decisions to throw the ball away. Mistakes by Jefferson: zero. Only once did he seem unable to get the play started in time (maybe that pace led to our time possession problem).

Peterson was beyond awesome.

Yeah, there are a lot of things that need improvement. We simply can't have our defense to go 80 plays, and we've got to sustain drives longer. But, really, stop your whining about how bad this game was.

Putting Raycom to shame, lsusports.net has made video of the LSU-MSU game available online. http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=3668251&DB_OEM_ID=5200.

It's edited too, so you can watch it pretty quickly. In his post about the game Pittman mentioned Mitchell's 3 point play at the end of the game. It was a pretty amazing shot, off balance, on the baseline and against two defenders. It is  at about 1:08:30 in the video.

Last week Tasmin Mitchell was the SEC player of the week.  After 41 points (12-15 from the field, 2-2 3pt., and 15-18 from the line), 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in the win at MSU, he's already the player of the week for this week. He doesn't even have to play in the next game...not that I'm suggesting he sit out. I'm just saying that was a monster of a game from the hottest player in the country right now.