Track Em Tigers

Everyday Champions Are Rarely in the Spotlight

2012-05-16T05:15:51Z

He grew up on the streets of Atlanta, Ga. and by his own account, he was a kid that, "grew up a child without focus or direction." Then one day at a high school assembly he heard a motivational speaker say that you should always try to do your best in everything and never give up.

It was a message that changed his life. For the first time Steve became focused in school and in doing his best in every area of his life. Because of that dedicated focus, Steve lettered in three sports, graduated with honors, and had 57 football scholarship offers from major universities across the country. He chose Auburn University.

And he went on to become one of the most decorated players to ever wear the Orange and Blue. He played tackle for legendary Auburn Coach Pat Dye.

One of his greatest moments at Auburn came in the 1982 Iron Bowl. Trailing Bama 22-16 late in the game, Auburn drove the length of the field and scored with two minutes left to go ahead 23-22 and take a historic victory - breaking a nine game winning streak by the Tide.

What most fans remember about the game was ABC's Keith Jackson yelling "Bo over the top" as Bo Jackson went over the top of the pile from the one yard line. What many didn't notice that day was that Bo's yardage on the drive and his goal line TD came behind the blocking of tackle Barron 'Steven' Wallace.

Like all linemen he never was in the spotlight on the field. Nevertheless, he was named All-American, Lineman of the Year, All- SEC, All Legends Team, and voted to Auburn University's Team of the Century.

After being drafted by the San Francisco 49er's ...

it didn't take long for Coach Bill Walsh to recognize that Steve was just not any old lineman. He was different. Many said he played with a nastiness that confounded NFL defensive greats like Lawrence Taylor and Chris Doleman.

He played 12 pro seasons, never basking in the spot light, yet setting a record for playing in more playoff games than any other tackle in the history of the NFL. A Pro Bowler and two time All-Pro, he played on 10 Division Championship and three Super Bowl Championship Teams.

He was a pioneer in getting franchises to recognize the value of the left tackle. It was largely due to his play that the phrase "blind side protector" was coined. He became the first lineman to command a $10 million dollar deal largely for his value in protecting quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young.

Wallace paid dearly for his tenaciousness though; he suffered five concussions during his career and had to be carted off the field during Super Bowl XXXIII with a broken ankle. But he never backed down, always doing his best, playing "nasty and tenacious" football.

Yet off the field Steve Wallace was a kind and gentle humanitarian, always giving back to the community. He was the only 49er to do United Way commercials in 1992, which earned him the "Community and Charity Player of the Year Award."

And now that his playing days are over Steve has founded and runs the non-profit Steve Wallace Foundation for Everyday Champions; an organization that is dedicated to community outreach, mentoring of high-risk youth and helping young people get a college education.

"Doing his best" has brought Steve Wallace many honors. Just this past Saturday, he was enshrined into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in ceremonies in Birmingham. A great honor to be sure; but not as important to Steve as his work with young people.

His message for them is that they, "Don't all have to compete for the spotlight to be successful." Like him, they "can achieve their goals with hard work and commitment, one day and one play at a time." In short, if they do their best and never quit, they can be "Everyday Champions."

Through his foundation, Steve travels the country as a motivational speaker to young people - giving them the message that changed his life.

And maybe through it he can change someone else's life. After all, one adult changed his life in high school. Maybe he can have the same impact on some young person today.

Who knows there may be another Steve Wallace out there - just waiting to be changed.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Steve Wallace speaking to Auburn Football team during 2010 Championship season.

AU Football: Every Day... Former OL Steve Wallace Motivates Team (Ep. 3) (via AuburnAthletics)

More Conference Migration, Musical Chairs?

2012-05-15T04:13:56Z

Oh no. Not again. Florida State might just be the next major FBS program to pitch a temper tantrum about their current conference financial arrangement and threaten to blow up college football once more. And these aren't just rumors this time. University president Eric Barron has written a memo about the pros and cons of the Seminoles abandoning the Atlantic Coast for The Big 12.

But I thought the Big 12 was no more? Close--and don't feel bad for thinking that. Reports of their premature demise have been widely exaggerated and even more widely believed. The conference that got whittled down to eight schools before picking up TCU, West Virginia, and a team to be named later, is still vertical and possibly looking to expand again. Gentlemen, fire your engines, bonfires, and couches.

FSU's teacher-college mamas didn't raise no dummies, however. Looks like the bottom line of the memo lays the odds of looking west virtually zilch as the greatest downside is possibly losing the rivalry with Miami. Oooh, snub to the Gators. Never mind about protecting SEC rivalries, I see.

Oh, and I guess he made mention about distance, academics, a buy-out, and if you read in between the lines, something about entering into a contract of indentured servitude with Texas for an unspecified interval of time.

My best guess is that this is just posturing at being unhappy about the new financial package of the conference and rumors of drawing a little red ink in the athletic department. It could also be an attempt to shore up the ACC universe to orbit a little more around Tallahassee. Besides, the path to a BCS title is probably a little easier through the ACC than through even a slimmed-down Big 12. Just think, even though the last team from your conference to play in a BCS title game will have been fourteen years ago, at least it was YOU.

Even with virtually no chance of FSU defecting now, there are some who think that the Big 12 ought to open up all four barrels of the carburetor and attempt to pick up every wayward or lost team in an attempt to regain divisional status and contend for BCS titles again.

With a fantasy slate of proposals to Notre Dame, BYU, FSU, Miami, Clemson, and Louisville, no one could ever accuse any Big 12 plan including that lineup as being modest, but there's one thing we all need to take into consideration before we go blowing up college football again:

G E O G R A P H Y

This isn't the NFL. College football has always been about regional rivalries that are within driving distance. You can't leave Tallahassee on a Friday afternoon and expect to make it into Austin by kickoff easily. Same with South Bend and Clemson. Never mind the pitfalls of attempting to meld rivalries together with teams that have nothing in common.

Gerrymandering together an artificial conference who's expanse is clear across half the nation for the purpose of soothing school egos and enriching athletic departments coffers is fundamentally wrong and is an abomination to the history and culture of our sport. And I'm tired of it. It's past time for the fans to make a stand. Otherwise it's going to continue. It becomes a big game of who will blink next.

The genie is out of the bottle as far as most big-time athletic departments operate these days--they are multi-million dollar corporations, and prudence demands they be run like big business. As a market capitalist, I can't deny nor defy market forces, but the fan in me still thinks this will all end badly for the sport.

Ironically, the greatest harbinger of things to come may have been uttered recently by the president of the University of Texas, the team that first blew up college football:

"We may get to a point — I want to underline the word 'may' — where many schools are really not in a position to compete at the level of the Floridas and the Notre Dames and the Texases and the USCs. Like any competitive business, being in it and not really being in the game, you can get hurt."

It's coming, folks. The big money programs may soon split from the have-nots and form their own alliance outside the NCAA. As many problems as we think we have now, something like that will be the death of college football as we know it.

Brock and Saenz Win Individual SEC Track Championships Auburn sophomores Keenan Brock and Stephen...

2012-05-14T17:49:19Z

Brock and Saenz Win Individual SEC Track Championships

Auburn sophomores Keenan Brock and Stephen Saenz both took home SEC individual titles on Sunday and Brock won the Commissioner's Trophy as the top individual point scorer on the final day of action in the 2012 SEC Outdoor Championships hosted by LSU. The Auburn men placed seventh and the women finished sixth at the meet.

Talking Boobs and Football

2012-05-14T14:49:00Z

Oh what the hell. It's May and let's face it, there's not a whole lot going on in the sports world. Let's start today by discussing breast feeding and the latest cover of Time Magazine. By now, you've probably seen the picture of the five-year-old boy nursing his hot mother on the front of the magazine.

It's wrong on some many fronts. Yet deep down you have to admire the marketing genius of such a cover. It certainly grabs your attention in the checkout line at the local Publix.

You have to feel sorry for the kid. I mean, he's getting down on his mom's boob for the entire world to see. What will his buddies say at Kindergarten? What will his buddies say when he's in high school and this little gem pops up on the internet? Poor kid.

Moving on...

The Southeast has always been regarded as college football country. It's widely assumed to be the case today. However, things have gotten so bad at the University of Tennessee that the Volunteer state may be changing.

For the first time ever, the Tennessee Titans have sold more season tickets than UT. Now it's easy to blame Derek Dooley for this happening; but truthfully, this has been years in the making.

I've always wondered what impact an NFL team in Alabama would have on the state. We'll never know. Nashville is three times the size of Birmingham. With just four million people in Alabama, the NFL opportunity passed long ago...

With the recent news that both LSU and Arkansas are expanding their football stadiums, I wonder if Auburn officials regret pouring $92 million into the new Auburn Arena? Tony Barbee's first two seasons have been largely a bust. With more off-season troubles, you have to wonder how long attendance will remain high for the new venue.

Regardless, Auburn needs to move fast to upgrade Jordan-Hare Stadium. It's now middle of the pack at best among SEC schools. Here's an idea. Add additional seating and sky boxes in the north end-zone. Then lower ticket prices and pack the place out. There's no victory in having the highest ticket prices in the conference...

Did you hear the good news? The USFL is back and it's looking to Birmingham once again. According to an AP story last week, the league is looking to make a return next spring and open with eight teams. As is the case with all second rate leagues, they have their eyes on Legion Field.

What is the obsession with spring football and Birmingham? Just in my lifetime, I've seen the World Football League, the USFL, The World Football League again and the XFL. How long does it take to figure out the business model doesn't work? ...

There's realignment talk again among the conferences, this time the focus is on Florida State and Clemson. Reports slipped out over the weekend that FSU would be willing to listen to what Big 12 officials have to offer. Clemson has almost been mentioned in published reports.

Evidently both schools are upset with the new television deal negotiated by the ACC last week. While FSU president Eric Barron tried to put the talk to rest, those close to board of trustees chairman Andy Haggard say he's committed to speaking with Big 12 officials.

It's hard to feel sorry for Florida State. Back in the early 1990's there was a window open for them to make application to the SEC. Bobby Bowden didn't want to play an SEC schedule, so they chose the easier ACC. Now they are faced with a schedule that includes Syracuse and Boston College among others.

The Big 12 is not much better. I can't see Doak-Campbell Stadium selling out regularly for Kansas and Iowa State.

Until next time...

Auburn Softball Will Make 5th Consecutive Trip To NCAA Regionals

2012-05-14T14:48:48Z

After the Auburn Softball Team ended their SEC Tournament play last week, Coach Tina Deese said, "We will be on pins and needles (waiting for the NCAA Regionals announcement)."

Well that announcement came last night and the Tigers were selected to play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They were placed in the South West Regional to be played on the campus of the University of Texas. Auburn will play the Houston Cougars Friday, May 18 at 1p.m. The two teams have never met before.

It will be the ninth time since 2002 for Coach Deese's Tigers to appear in NCAA Regional play and the fifth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. The five consecutive appearances is an Auburn record.

Coach Deese said,

"We are excited to have the opportunity to play in a very challenging Regional. Houston is a good team that made it to Super Regional last season, so they know what it takes this time of year. We have a lot to prepare for and we are looking forward to it."

The Austin Regional is a double elimination tournament and will feature Auburn, Northwestern, Houston, and the No. 6 national seed Texas.

Winners of this weekend's regionals advance to the Super Regionals May 24-27. The women's College World Series in Oklahoma City is May 31-June 6.

The Tigers have had a good year after jumping out to a 15-0 start and finishing with a 30 RPI and a 33-21 overall record. And it isn't over yet.

Go Tigers, Beat the Cougars!

"True Team Victory" Gives Auburn Series Win Over No.13 Arkansas (Win Clinches SEC Tournament Berth)

2012-05-13T04:15:21Z

The No.1 hitting team in the SEC bombed the Arkansas Razorbacks today with 18 hits and 12 runs to complete a series win for the Auburn Baseball Team.

It was the most hits for Auburn in a conference game this year with nine different Tigers getting in on the act. Ryan Tella, Jay Gonzalez, and Bobby Andrews, each had three hits, while Creede Simpson, Justin Bryant, Mitchell Self, and Patrick Savage each drove in two runs.

Assistant Coach Scott Foxhall credited the ejection of Head Coach John Pawlowski for sparking the offensive explosion,

"Coach Pawlowski gave us a spark there in the early innings (when he was ejected in the fourth) and stuck up for our guys and our guys responded. They battled and didn't back down and took it to another level so we could finish this thing off this weekend." Foxhall said, "It was a true team victory, one through nine contributed. We went long-ball, we used the short game and we stole bases."

The Tigers went into Fayetteville with their backs to the wall needing victories. They came away taking two out of three and coming within one run of sweeping the No.13 Razorbacks.

It was Auburn's fourth series win over an SEC West team this season and the third straight series win over the Hogs at famed Baum Stadium.

Auburn's win coupled with Ole Miss' 7-4 victory over Tennessee on Saturday gave Auburn it's third straight SEC Tournament berth. It's the first time since the 2003 season that the Tigers have clinched three consecutive tournament berths.

Hopefully Auburn can make a case for an NCAA Tournament bid in their home games against Florida A&M (Monday) and against Jacksonville State (Tuesday) before closing the season out with a three game series against Florida at Samford Stadium.

The No. 5 Gators will be a tough challenge. It will take another "True Team" effort ... and then some. But hey, I'm a believer.

War Eagle!

Snake Bit Tigers Take Another One Run Loss

2012-05-12T15:14:59Z

The Auburn Baseball Team suffered their ninth one run loss last night (5-4) in Fayetteville to No.13 Arkansas.

The loss spoiled another good performance by Auburn starter Daniel Koger. After giving up a two-run homer in the first inning, he retired 15 of the next 17 batters. He picked off at first base the two runners that did reach, one via a walk and one via a single.

I'm beginning to think though that this team may be snake bitten. Arkansas was only able to manage four hits on the night but was aided in their victory by four Tiger errors, two wild pitches, runners being thrown out on steal attempts, and a suicide squeeze.

Coach Pawlowski said, "There are a lot of things we would like to have back. We made some big mistakes."

I don't doubt that but this Auburn season has shaped up to be somewhat of an enigma. Because the math for this team just doesn't add up.

While Auburn still leads the conference in almost every major hitting category and has decent pitching, the Tigers are having to battle to make the 10 team field for the SEC Tournament in two weeks.

If the Tigers could have won just four of their nine one run losses, they would be in second place in the West and in fourth place overall behind Florida.

The only bright spot to come out of last night was that Tennessee and Alabama both lost.

Snake bit or not, the only thing the Tigers can do now is to fight on. They will again attempt to win the series with the Razorbacks at 2 p.m. today before returning to Auburn to play five games in the next seven days.

Go Tigers and War Eagle!

Friday Links!

2012-05-11T07:06:00Z

War Eagle, everybody! It's time now for our weekly college sports links. My apologies for the absence of KoolBell this time. He's having a heck of a week, and I'm the substitute teacher today. Y'all better play nice, or everybody's staying after class! Here's hoping I can add a few sagacious slants and pertinent points. I know everyone will be happy when Kool's back!

We'll get the bad news out of the way first. The mess for the Penn State athletic department just won't end. Now, there's "revised testimony" from whistle-blowing coach Mike McQueary who first brought the Sandusky allegations to the Penn State brass. When the story starts changing under oath, you wonder how many more ugly facts will shake out of that tree. Originally, the story was that McQueary saw and reported seeing Sandusky's crimes just before spring break of 2002. Now he's saying it happened in February of 2001, which may put the inaction of former athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz outside certain statutes of limitations. There are also rumors that McQueary is gearing up to sue the school under whistle-blowing laws. It's shaping up to be an ugly trial, one that can't do the Nittany Lions any good. McQueary's waffling won't help the victims in this sordid mess any, either.

This week, Wall Street Journal writer Buzz Bissinger called for the abolition of college football. Predictably, he was condemned by football writers and fans all over the country. I personally share Phillip Marshall's opinion that college football creates opportunities, and revenue for many schools. The best humor on the piece was delivered by fellow SBN site Team Speed Kills. Laughs like this make my day! If TSK isn't on your daily rounds, you're missing out. I've really grown to enjoy the SEC musings of Year 2 and Cock n Fire. Heck, I even enjoy Kleph's occasional historical contributions, and he's one of those RBR guys.

The SEC is still struggling to assess all of the ramifications of the recent league land-grab into Texas and Missouri. I think most fans are concerned that it's going to take more than a decade for each team to cycle through all possible cross-divisional opponents, and some are worried that schedules won't be equitable. A proposal was floated by South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, and seconded by LSU's Les Miles. Basically, the idea is that only division games should count towards a division title. Folks, let's kill that turkey dead before it builds up any momentum! Ask yourselves, Auburn fans, would you want the coaches sitting key players out for the Georgia game, because it's not a division game? No, you would NOT! Also, some of the other complainers had Ole Miss and Vandy on their schedule every year for many years, while Auburn had Tennessee, Florida and Georgia. Cry me a river!

Auburn's football team said goodbye to one of their own this week, when redshirt freshman guard Thomas O'Reilly opted to transfer to Georgia Tech. I watched O'Reilly play on A-Day, and I thought he did pretty well in his first action in front of the Auburn faithful. It says a lot about the talent level on Auburn's young line that O'Reilly was unlikely to see any playing time. War Eagle, Tom, and good luck back home in Atlanta!

The attempt by Darth Visor and the Mad Hatter to turn the SEC into something resembling major league baseball wasn't the only quote of note out of Les Miles this week. Miles went on record stating of new SEC members Texas A&M and Missouri, "They're really not going to enjoy their welcoming to this conference." Think that's going to end up on any bulletin boards? Of course, Miles is the guy who bowed up on his own daughter.

Finally, kudos to Auburn golf stars! The golf team has been selected as a number one seed at the Greensboro Regional, a play-in for the NCAA Championships. War Eagle! Sink those PUTTS!

Well, that's all for now, folks. If you haven't already, get the mothers in your life something special for Mother's Day. Appreciate ‘em, and show it! War Eagle, and have a great weekend!