The War Eagle Reader

Celebrated professional gentleman (and Auburn alum) publishes handbook for proper living

W. Todd Hollinghead — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:47:26 +0000

SP ('95): War Eagle, I do say...

We often refer to ourselves as Auburn Men and Women and, thanks to the guiding words of the venerable George Petrie, feel like we can do so with confidence. We know that if we adhere to the principles of the Auburn Creed, we’ll be able to (accurately) represent our alma mater, and our brother and sisters. In the same regard, we can spot an impostor from a mile away. We know The Creed and we know how to live it.

But what about those who don’t?

Should we view The Creed as an exclusive code for an exclusive club?

One Auburn Man thinks not—or at least not those parts pertaining to the personal polish required for “a sound mind” and a “sound body”—and is working tirelessly to spread the gospel of gentlemanliness, and the understanding that gentleman isn’t a term to be tossed around lightly.

K. Cooper Ray, the 1995 Auburn graduate (read his Alumni Spotlight here), Brooks Brothers bow tie designer, and celebrated “Alabama dilettante” behind SocialPrimer.com, realizes that the modern man hasn’t time to weed through stacks of etiquette books for relevant data applicable to meeting his social requirements. To address this issue, he authored “Bill of Rites for the American Man,” an essential guide of the basic principles that a gentleman must adhere to published in 2011. This comprehensive Social Primer highlights, in just over 100 pages, the skills a man should possess if he strives to obtain the title of gentleman.

It’s an easy read and quick reference for men (and women) that would like a reminder on how men should present themselves in those situations that put our manners to the test.

Follow W. Todd Hollinghead on Twitter.

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Auburn dogs hunting Burmese pythons in the Everglades

Staff — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:59:15 +0000

Auburn-trained dogs are hunting terrorists. In the Everglades. It has nothing to do with this picture of Aubie holding an albino Burmese python, but sometimes Google Image just straight up blesses you.

Next up on the Auburn Super Dogs’ hit list? Pythons.

Not content to simply sniff out the bomb odor of terrorists—including, perhaps, the stinkiest of them all—Auburn-trained detection dogs are now hot on the trail of the Burmese python, which is terrorizing the native wildlife of the Everglades.

According to a press release issued yesterday by Auburn University, Auburn’s EcoDogs all-stars Jake and Ivy helped researchers “capture 19 pythons, most being 6 to 8 feet in length, including a pregnant one with 19 viable eggs.”

Folks in Florida (as well as alligators) are desperate to control the invasive snakes. According to the National Park Service, 1,825 Burmese pythons have been caught in and around Everglades National Park since 2000.

EcoDogs is a collaborative project between the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Animal Health and Performance Program, where Auburn’s python pinching pooches are trained and maintained.

Photo via.

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Tigers and Tide: The Immortal Rivalry takes to the hardcourt again

Justin Lee — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:17:21 +0000

The last time around.

The story of this season’s hardwood version of the Iron Bowl undoubtedly begins where it left off a year ago, in an erupting Coleman Coliseum with time expiring, the last time Auburn and Alabama faced off.

Then, it was the young, upstart, and short-handed 2010-2011 Tigers trying to pull off the upset in one of the two most important games of the year, and giving the SEC West division champions and SEC tournament No. 2 seed all they could handle in their own house. Auburn was playing under first-year coach in Tony Barbee, without veteran leader Frankie Sullivan, who was injured for the season, and with a starting lineup featuring a junior, a freshman, and three sophomores — one of those a walk-on.

Still, Auburn gave Bama all it could ask for and more for nearly 40 minutes — until a last-second tip in by JaMychal Green with 0:00.3 remaining in the game lifted the Tide to a 51-49 victory. The young Auburn team was already undermanned as it was before it saw big men Rob Chubb, Adrian Forbes, and Kenny Gabriel all foul out of the game down the stretch, until there was no one left to box out or contest Green, who sent Coleman Coliseum into a frenzy, and the Tigers on a long bus ride back home to the Plains with a stinging rivalry loss that they’ve had hanging over them ever since — until today.

But, truthfully, the story of today’s game and this year’s series between the Tigers and the Tide goes back much further than that.

It was four years ago that circles in the high school hoops community in Alabama were captivated by a two-man race for the 2008 title of Mr. Basketball, given to the most outstanding high school basketball player in the state, as voted on by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. The odds-on favorite was an eventual McDonald’s All-American, privileged to play at a private school in the middle of swirling media attention in the high school hoops hotbed of Montgomery — both the capitol of the state of Alabama and the capitol of high school basketball in Alabama. His name was JaMychal Green, and he led St. Jude to class 1A state championships his sophomore and senior seasons, and was recognized by the ASWA as the Class 1A Player of the Year for three consecutive years, in 2006, 2007, and after his senior year in 2008.

The dominating big man playing squarely in the center of attention in Montgomery would have won Mr. Basketball honors easily if it wasn’t for his surprising challenger — a small sharpshooting guard from a tiny 2A public school in Uniontown. He was Frankie Sullivan, and he had three ASWA Player of the Year titles to his own credit, in Class 2A. He led R.C. Hatch to three consecutive 2A state championships, winning his last title with a superhuman performance in the final game of his high school career, leading his team back from an 18-point third quarter deficit by scoring 22 points in the fourth quarter alone to finish with 51 points and a comeback victory in the state championship game his senior year.

That closing performance alone seemingly made it one of the most intriguing races in recent memory of the award, but in the end sports writers in the state elected the headline-grabbing big man from the private school in Montgomery, in what was then the closest Mr. Basketball vote in Alabama since 1992.

Green edged Sullivan for the award, but it was clear then who the best two high school players in state were, and their fates would be intertwined forever. JaMychal Green went on to sign with Alabama. Frankie Sullivan went to Auburn.

Now, four years later, Green is a senior for the Crimson Tide and Sullivan is a redshirt junior. Each has become a veteran leader for his team, and just as the basketball community knew they would way back at the end of their high school careers, each will lead their team onto the court in the biggest basketball game of the year in the state, between Auburn and Alabama.

JaMychal Green has been a Tiger-killer for the Crimson Tide, averaging 11.5 points per game in 6 tries against Auburn in his career, and after scoring over 15 points in 3 of those games and has firmly established himself Auburn basketball’s Darth Vader. Things will be different this season, however, when his counterpart Frankie Sullivan takes the court for the Tigers. Auburn supportershope Sullivan can provide that same offensive firepower after having to sit and watch Green crush his team with that last-second score in Tuscaloosa last year, out with an ACL tear during his medical redshirt season.

But Sullivan and Green won’t be the only players on the court tonight. Two new heavyweights have been added to the fold, both getting to tonight in different ways and holding vastly different places in Alabama basketball lore.

In the last two years, the next big thing to come out of high school hoops in Alabama has been Trevor Lacey, only the second two-time winner in the history of the Mr. Basketball award, winning it in 2010 and 2011. Lacey spurned out-of-state programs like Kentucky to play for the Crimson Tide, and as a true freshman now at Alabama, and depending on where his basketball career takes him, knows he could only have a few chances to make an impact on the Auburn-Alabama rivalry.

And while Alabama went young in bringing in a big-time recruit like Lacey, Auburn went the other way in finding an upperclassman tansfer in Varez Ward. The high-profile transfer point guard could have contended for the title of Mr. Basketball himself during his time at Jefferson Davis — a program that’s one of the four 6A giants that make Montgomery such a hoops hotbed. Varez was overshadowed by (and formed one of the best back-courts you could find with) his teammate Courtney Fortson, who would win the ASWA honor in 2007. Fortson went on to play at Arkansas; Ward to Texas. As fate would have it, Fortson has moved on and made his professional debut with the Clippers earlier this season, while Ward was set back by a devastating knee injury with the Longhorns and has had to return home to the state of Alabama — Auburn, specifically.

But at the end of the day this kind of rivalry game it doesn’t matter where any member of either team comes from or how their legacies are compared in high school basketball circles throughout the state. Instead, on a big stage such as the one tonight, anyone can make an impact and make basketball history in the state of Alabama.

When it comes to the Auburn-Alabama rivalry, everyone in tune with basketball in the state will be watching, every newspaper throughout the state will run a story tomorrow with the hero’s name woven throughout it, and every hardcore hoops fan will remember the performance and bring it up in basketball circles throughout the state for years to come.

For Auburn, tonight is the most important game of the season, and for Alabama, it’s the second-most — and the opposite will be true on February 29 when the series shifts to Tuscaloosa. There’s a pair of games each season, and no matter who you are, you better not lose at home.

Auburn’s chance at Alabama at home is tonight.

Tonight, the Auburn-Alabama rivalry hits the hardcourt, where legacies from the past and the unseen potential of the future collide. The Tide and Tigers clash, stories are interwoven. For some, entire careers have been built up to the night where they lead their respective team onto the court against their most bitter rival. And regardless of whether the game is decided by a last second tip in or a missed free throw down the stretch, each player’s performance will be remembered — and it will have an effect on how each player is remembered.

Tonight, the rivalry hits Auburn Arena.

Photo via.

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Auburn installs digital displays for Magnolia Ave. crosswalks

Staff — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:27:14 +0000

We're still waiting on the "Cassanova Crossing" in front of Chick-fil-A.

The City of Auburn has finally flipped the switch on its new crosswalk signs.

The two overhanging digital displays are the latest phase of Magnolia Ave. safety renovations started late last summer in response to increase in the number of traffic accidents involving pedestrians. One sign is located in front of the Lowder Business Building, the other at the crosswalk in front of Sky Bar.

The message? “Watch For Pedestrians.”

Photo by Alex Miller.

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Auburn wants you to vote on Kenny Gabriel’s Top Five Dunks

Staff — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:25:06 +0000

Auburn wants you to cast your vote for Kenny Gabriel’s best dunk (so far) of the season: “The Flush” vs. LSU, “Bringin’ the Noise” vs. Georgia, “The Signature” vs. LSU, “Makin’ it Rain” vs. UTEP, or “The Show Stopper” vs. Kentucky.

Vote or Die at AuburnTigers.com.

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“They raise’em smart at Auburn’: Auburn fan wins Tuesday’s episode of “The Price is Right” [UPDATED]

Staff — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:11:30 +0000

Brenda, a nice, fashionable lady with a great scream from the wonderful town of Eclectic, Ala. won the Showcase Showdown on today’s episode of “The Price is Right.”

She’ll be sharing her new sailboat and e-readers and that Jamaican vacation with her husband Floyd, who was also waiting to Come On Down. But it’s a good thing it was Brenda—”They raise’em smart at Auburn, said host Drew Cary. And we discovered as the credits rolled over his crimson shirt that Floyd is Bama fan.

Brenda isn’t the first Auburn fan to win it all on the 40-year old game show.

In 2002, Will Gaither, then a junior at Auburn, returned to Auburn from Hollywood with nearly $40,000 worth of winnings.

UPDATE: And apparently Brenda isn’t even the first Auburn fan in an Auburn shirt to win. Chase Gallimore, a news anchor for WAAY TV in Huntsville, won the Showcase Showdown while an Auburn student in 2005. And according to The Auburner’s Mark Paden, he was wearing an Auburn shirt. He talks about his appearance in his WAAY bio.

h/t @WarEagleCory.

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It’s Pronounced Jordan is sheer pleasure for Auburn Men

Jeremy Henderson — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:33:36 +0000

Last week on It’s Pronounced Jordan, we invigorated two classic “Vintage”-section stories—this one and this one—with the warm, freestylin’ repartee that envelops the Auburn Network studios every time Rich Perkins, Ron Anders, and I allow ourselves to get real. And don’t think the warmth fake or merely professional—Ron gave me a free Coke from Anders Bookstore when I graduated from Auburn. Now you know.

(We also talked about Trim: Shear Pleasure For Men.)

For more marvelous Marconi misadventures in Auburn history, tune in to The Drive—ESPN 1065 FM in Auburn / Opelika or online at www.espnau.com—Thurs. at 5 p.m. (And for previous episodes, click here.)

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Hoops Report: Up is Down (and no one is complaining)

Justin Lee — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:10:13 +0000

This is the Varez Ward we've all been waiting for.

The high-scoring of Auburn’s 91-88 loss to Mississippi State Saturday afternoon in Starkville was certainly a surprise, especially for Auburn supporters who are used to their Tigers dealing with their fair share of struggles on the offensive end, but also seeing them play a shutdown brand of basketball on defense.

Coming into the game, Auburn ranked dead last in the SEC in points-per-game, and had had a dreadful time scoring in games away from Auburn Arena, averaging 54.8 points in road games on the year. But Auburn had also done a decent enough job, as it has all year, in keeping scores low and finding ways to limit what the opposing team was capable of on offense.

Everything seemed backwards on Saturday, when Auburn’s usual grind-it-out pace and pressure defense gave way to up-tempo play and quick ball movement, leading to a high scoring affair in Starkville. It was a surprising sight for Auburn fans to say the least, to see their Tigers allow the Bulldogs to shoot 60.4% from the field (and 63.2% from behind the 3-point line), but it was just as surprising to see Auburn getting to the rim on offense, finishing plays in breakaway transition, finding different ways to score the ball, and finishing the game with a season-high 88 points.

It was a surprise, but a pleasant surprise, and it was the type of game that Auburn supporters would like to see more of from the Tigers offensively, especially on the road. What Auburn proved on Saturday is that even when they’re unable to control the tempo of a game to a slower pace (or when the game plan is to run with their opponent, which it quite possibly could have been against Mississippi State), they still have the capability of scoring in bunches and keeping up with their opposition, even on the road in a hostile environment.

It was an impressive game in a lot of ways, and it was especially interesting that Auburn was able to score the way it did on the road, where it has struggled so mightily all season. (Do I really need to remind you of the 35-point game total at Vanderbilt?)

But at the end of the day it was a loss, a loss not without its frustrations. Auburn’s play on defense was discouraging, even if it’s possible the Tigers just ran into bizarre atmospheric conditions in Starkville that allowed seemingly all of the Bulldogs’ outside shots to fall. The Tigers had issues with the 2-3 zone that they ran for most of the game, and that zone wasn’t much help on the inside when Auburn needed it, and it didn’t give them the advantage off of the boards that you usually get when putting more bodies around the rim (although that simply could be because so many of Mississippi State’s shots went in.)

With the defense caving almost automatically to the inside presence of Renardo Sidney and Arnett Moultrie, there was almost no perimeter defense for Auburn to speak of, and the Bulldogs made them pay for it.

But despite those and more of its usual issues and customary scoring droughts in the second half, Auburn was able to fight and claw their way back to within striking distance every time Mississippi State made a second-half run to pull away, and the Tigers were able to bring the game down to the last few minutes, which is just about as much as any Auburn supporter could ask for playing against a team that’s playing as well as Mississippi State is, on the road in The Hump. And if nothing else, Auburn fans at least have to be encouraged that the Tigers played by far the best basketball they’ve played on the road all season. It was one of the best games it has played, bar none, on the offensive side.

One of the driving forces behind Auburn’s recent scoring success is point guard Varez Ward’s coming into his own in his last three games. After a week off from practice to heal a quad injury suffered in the Arkansas game (and, incidentally, rest a bum knee and a groin injury that have been nagging him all season) the well-rested Ward returned to score 12 points against Tennessee, 17 points against Georgia, and a career-high 24 points against Mississippi State.

He brings several weapons to the position but withrested legs, Ward has had an extra hop in his cuts, and an extra step in his drive, and he’s providing an added dimension to the offensive attack that the Tigers were missing.. In these last three games, Auburn fans have finally started to see flashes of potential of the Varez Ward they’ve been waiting for — a true point guard that provides a scoring threat all his own, and can bail the offense out of possessions with his dribble-drive by either finishing at the rim or drawing a foul and getting to the rim after the offense has bogged down or broken off of a play.

Healthy Varez Ward is definitely something fans want to see more of in the future; so is the effort seen in how opportunistic the Tigers played with the basketball in their possession on Saturday. Auburn has finally been able to duplicate some of the things they’ve been able to accomplish at home in Auburn Arena on the road. But their next challenge will be to put together a full game, on both the offensive and defensive ends, and find ways to piece together a more complete game, no matter where they play.

If Auburn can do that, they’ll start ending more and more of these games with victories. And that’s definitely something they’re going to want to do in their next game.

It’s the biggest game of the year tonight in Auburn Arena.

Tonight, the Crimson Tide is coming to town.

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Photo via.

Katy Perry had her picture taken with Cam Newton—and she liked it

Staff — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:26:41 +0000

Katy Perry had her picture taken with Cam Newton at the Associated Press NFL Awards this past Saturday—and she liked it.

From US Magazine:

Giving the rookie of the year trophy to Cam Newton, Perry, flirted with the 22-year-old recipient in front of a packed house.

“You’ll be the first straight man I’ve had a photo with in a long time, so live up to it,” Perry told the Carolina Panthers player.

Replied Newton, according to the Associated Press: “I am.”

Perry’s weren’t the only pop star elbows the NFL Rookie of the Year rubbed over the weekend.

At ESPN’s “NEXT” party on Friday night, Cam aka Cammy Cam aka The Dinosaur aka The Swag Man aka The Next Athlete of 2012 was tapped to introduce Drake, whose music apparently fuels Cam’s pregame iPod playlists and post game pickup lines each and every Sunday.

He looked smooth. He talked smooth. But that he didn’t AKA himself as The Blessed Individual cuts, it cuts deep. Come on, Swag Man.

h/t @awmillertime.

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Bo homers one for the Gipper

Jeremy Henderson — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:04:15 +0000

Mr. Gorbachev, watch Bo Jackson run up this wall.

Of all the and-then-there-was-the-times comprising the lore of Bo the Professional, his lead-off home run in the 1989 MLB All-Star Game is if not the most impressive, than arguably the most (distinctly) memorable (neck and neck with the ruination of Bosworth). It came at the apex of his monopoly on professional sports and helped seal his reputation as the sports icon of his too-short generation. Nike’s “Bo Knows” campaign? It actually started that night, not much later into the broadcast (the “Bo Knows What?” sign seen waving in the stands after the hit was either a clairvoyant fan or a Nike plant).

He was that year’s top vote-getter and was chosen to lead off for the American League.

Who was calling the game (or had at least joined Vin Scully in the broadcast booth)?

RONALD REAGAN, who would have turned 101 today.

He watches Bo destroy the second pitch. It’s a home run. And then the Great Communicator says: “I just don’t know if there’s ever been another one like him.” A couple of hours later, he goes down to the locker room to shake the MVP’s hand. And that’s how awesome 1989 was.

Photo via @si_vault.

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