Auburn Spring Practice Images

stolen from Rivals.com

This post is exactly what it says, a random assortment of spring practice pics. No witty comments, no profanity, no halfassed assumptions. Just some pics.

Ben Tate is runnin' this shit

so according to this, Ben Tate really likes the new offense and the coaches have already said he'll be the teams primary carrier. i mean i'm glad they've got confidence in the kid and all but isn't it a little early to just hand him the job? i'd kind of assumed that Mario Fannin (my facebook buddy) and Ontario McCalleb (especially after Antonio Coleman was asked about McCalebb's acceleration and he responded with, "He's fast as shit.") would more than likely beat Tate out this spring and the young man would end up 3rd on the depth chart, but from reading that it seems he has totally embraced the new offense and the coaches like what they see. they are expecting him to put up 1000 yards this season. looks like 09 might be all about some Ben Tate. call me Surprised.

A Stupid Thing I Heard On Local Sportstalk Radio

today while listening to the local radio show the topic of John Calipari possibly taking Kentucky's offer and becoming the highest paid coach in college basketball turned into a rant about how this contract was about to start the sort of out of control coaching arms race in SEC basketball that exists in football thanks to the whole Saban/Bama thing.

okay, seriously, that's the dumbest fucking thing i've heard on local radio in a while. i mean Billy Donovan might get a raise from Florida and Bruce Pearl might get some more cash from Tennessee, but that's about it. NO ONE in the SEC gives a shit about basketball team besides Kentucky (other than when their football team sucks and that's only if their basketball team is playing well). nobody in the SEC is gonna start throwing ridiculous money at basketball coaches to try and compete with Kentucky. IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. you don't care and i don't care...only Kentucky cares. the rest of us would gladly scrap the basketball programs entirely if we thought it would win us an SEC title in football. that's just reality.

Some Auburn video

i am lazy today, so i lifted this video from The Goldmine.

after watching this i have decided that Ben Tate is the only Auburn player who should be interviewed. in the video he challenges you to a race for saying he is slow and ranks Auburn's fastest players. i hope that kid makes it to the NFL.

Auburn's Eltoro Freeman, Ben Tate talk spring football

and for some non-sports video...it's the teaser trailer of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. let's see, beloved children's story from the 80s + Spike Jonze + The Arcade Fire = Nerds everywhere getting boners.

Bracket Now 100% Busted

Oh Louisville, why you gotta let me down so bad?

In life there are 3 guarantees; death, taxes, and failing to win my NCAA bracket pool. 2009 is no exception, delivering the usual brand of disappointment and proving that I know nothing about college basketball or gambling. Another planned trip to Athens' finest gentleman's club, Toppers, to spend all my tournament winnings is ruined. Fucking basketball...why you always gotta do me like that?

Will I ever learn my lesson? Probably not. Well now that I'm toast I can stop wasting my valuable time watching guys who will never be any good in the NBA bore the hell out me in one of the worst NCAA tournaments that I've seen in years. Spring Football, you now have my undivided attention.

Some Random Spring Football Thoughts

thoughts, predictions, unfounded theories, etc...

1. Kodi Burns is totally awesome in video game form on NCAA 2009, but so far he hasn't exactly lived up to his recruiting hype. Ive been openly rooting for the kid the past 2 years and nothing would make me happier than for him to learn the new offense quickly and finally turn into the star some of us think he could be....that being said i am starting to believe that Neil Caudle is going to beat out Kodi Burns this Spring and become Auburn's next starting QB. Caudle hasn't had any significant playing time since his junior year of Highschool after missing most of his senior season with an injury and then of course he was buried on the depth chart by the previous staff. Caudle was an Elite 11 Qb and a highly rated recruit. if anyone is gonna benefit from a change it's gonna be this kid. i don't know why, but i just have this feeling that Caudle is gonna win the job. this will result in Kodi Burns either switching positions or deciding to transfer.

2. At least one of Auburn's 33 useless wide receivers will take his awesome ability to drop passes and get switched over to the defensive side of the ball and help add some more depth to the dbs.

3. Lee Ziemba is totally gonna kick someone's ass...Again. it could be Antonio Coleman (although methinks he probably got more than he could handle last spring), it could be some unlucky freshman, or it could be me when I make fun of him for looking like Masterblaster from Beyond Thunderdome during the Tiger Walk on the A Day Game. Regardless an ass will be kicked, it's only a matter of time.

4. the kicking and punting jobs will be decided by caged death matches.

5. Chris Todd's useless right arm will be replaced by a machine gun arm and he will begin his career as a merciless bounty hunter.

6. having banned hats and chains and alienated 80% of the football team with pointless and outdated dress codes, the Auburn players will revolt and overthrow the new coaching staff. Mario Fannin, whose facebook updates show him to be a philosopher and leader of men, will become the new coach and transform Auburn into the SEC's crunkest unit. "Knuck if u buck" will replace that stupid "here comes the boom" song as Auburn's new intro music, the team will elect to wear their road whites also season long because they look the freshest, and Auburn will lead the SEC in penalties for excessive celebrations as the Tigers channel the spirit of the 1980s Miami Hurricanes.

Crunk & Disorderly Is Back In Athens

AH shit!!!! Athens, Georgia better look out....We Doin' It Again!!!

next Friday...April 3rd, yours truly and DJ Kenniebloggins, will be DJing @ the Caledonia Lounge during, inbetween, and after the bands (NMG/EXCALIBRAH/CASSAVETES). cuz it's CRUNK & DISORDERLY PART 2: Electric Boogaloo. another night of 70s & 80s punk rock mixed with a healthy dose of Southern Hip Hop and 90s Gangsta Rap. if you always felt like Lil' Scrappy and The Geto Boyz were more fun to listen to along with the Misfits and Black Flag then this is your sort of thing.

That time Courtney Love yelled at me

many moons ago my old band was on tour and playing a show in LA. the show was mostly a disaster, as we were opening for Lou Barlow and were forced to play way early in the night before the show really even was supposed to start and nobody really saw us other than this lawyer dude who tried to be our manager and all in all it was one of those waste of time shows that makes you wish you had the night off. anyways we were about to start a short leg of our tour with Har Mar Superstar & The Gossip...two groups we were excited and happy to be opening for. anyways after the Lou Barlow suckfest we headed for Hollywood to meet up with Har Mar who was having a CD release party at the Roxy. the party was fairly surreal for me as it included Fred Durst and that dude from Puddle Of Mudd who thinks he's Kurt Cobain, a passed out 17 year old Jack Osbourne, and Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. we stayed at the party for a while, got drunk, talked about our upcoming tour with Har Mar, laughed at Fred Durst getting kicked out of the party for being a dick, and then eventually decided to head out and make our way to San Diego which was where our tour was about to start.

anyways as we were leaving the party we discovered that our van was being blocked in by another van with a big EPIC records logo emblazoned along the side. someone jokingly made a comment that someone famous was probably inside...to which a moment later an obviously intoxicated Courtney Love came bursting out of the Van clutching an equally drunk Kelly Osbourne. i yelled, "Holy Shit!" and our guitar player, Ryan, pulled out his camera and took a quick snap shot of the famous drunkards. this caused the intoxicated Courtney to turn in our direction and begin shouting at us. frozen in terror we stood still as the henious woman beast spewed forth a couple of insults our way before suddenly asking us is we were a band. we acknowledged that we in fact were. she then mockingly asked if we were one of those "THE Bands" (aka The Strokes, The Hives, The Vines, The Every New Band In The Year 2002), to which we shamefully acknowledged that we in fact were. she then made comments about us having nice "heroin mullets" (no such mullets were in existence...hell i was the only one with long hair) and then asked where we were from. when we told her that we were from Athens, Georgia her tone completely changed and she became strangely nice and interested in us. she spent five minutes explaining to us that she loved Athens, was friends with Michael Stipe (a fact we were already aware of) and then began making reference to the fact that she was hanging out with Kelly Osbourne and calling her "Sweet Leaf genes". then she asked us for a demo tape (which we didn't have), told us not to let Michael Stipe produce our record, and then stumbled off into the night on her way to the party we had just left, leaving us with an amusing story to tell our friends and a picture to help us cherish the bizarre encounter.

here is said photo...notice the perfect Sunset Blvd sign in the background that helped fully sum up the surrealness(is that even a word?) of this event for me (we made copies of it at Wal Mart and chose the American Heroes border because we felt it was a fitting tribute to the woman who drove Kurt Cobain to kill himself). sorry for the shitty quality...i had to take a photo of the photo with my camera phone because my scanner is broken.

Billy Packer hates everything you like

Sometimes I forget that I hate Billy Packer...probably cuz I don't watch much college basketball anymore, but yesterday he showed up on ESPN to remind me that in fact I still hate him very very much. Outside the Line's did a special about the 30th anniversary of the Michigan State vs Indiana State national title game...aka the beginning of Magic vs. Bird and how it helped explode the popularity of basketball in this country. Now Packer being the thoughtful old curmudgeon that he is spent nearly the entire broadcast shitting all over this statement saying that it wasn't even a good basketball game (this is true) and that he didn't think that Magic and Bird's impact on the game helped make college or NBA basketball any more poplar than it would have been and that the whole thing was being overrated. Now usually I would agree with the fact that if ESPN was hyping something then naturally that thing would be overrated, but when you consider that the Indiana State/Mich State final is the highest rated college basketball game of all time and that Bird and Magic are 2 of the most popular basketball players ever who took over the NBA in the 1980s and who can be credited (with Jordan, of course) for turning basketball from a national game into a global game. I'm willing to side with the WWL on this one.

Listening to Packer talk about how he wasn't that impressed with Larry Bird as a college basketball player and never thought he would have been a good pro and that he thought Magic's biggest accomplishment ever was that he played center his rookie year when Kareem got hurt was completely mindnumbing. Sometimes I wonder if Billy Packer has ever loved anything in his life. He also took the opurtunity to take a couple of shots at mid major teams (noting that even though Indiana State was undefeated going into the championship game, that they hadn't played anyone) I often imagine the only satisfaction that Packer ever gets from life is the rare oppurtunity he gets to kick a puppy or choke a hobo to death. What a dick.

Pour a 40 Out for my Jags

Last night, my alma mater, Augusta State University fell 74-70 in the NCAA Division II Final Four. This was the University's. 2nd straight trip to the Final Four (they lost in the title game last year) and have gone 81-19 over the last 3 seasons. I can't even fathom Auburn having a team that good. Anyways the run ends for the Jaguars, still short of a National Title...maybe next year.

And My Bracket Slowly But Surely Is Falling Apart

Well Memphis has the honor of being my 1st Final Four team to fail me as they got out ran, out hustled, and out crunked by the high flying Mizzou Tigers (a team I'll be rooting hard to take out UConn). And so it goes for Memphis, I fall in love with them every year and every year they let me down a game or so too soon.

The far more enjoyable and acceptable red slash my bracket took was the complete and total annihilation of the Duke Blue Devils at the hands of Villanova. Right now you've got to say that the Wildcats are one of the most impressive looking teams in the tourney after destroying UCLA and Duke. I really am wishing id picked them as my Final Four darkhorse instead of Memphis. I think they're elite 8 matchup with Pitt should be one of this tournament's best. As for Duke.....hahahahahahahahahaha, thanks for the comedic asswhipping. Maybe coach K should get less floor slappers and floppers and more dudes who might actually play in the NBA someday. Hey, I think Paulus just missed another 3!

Tyrik Rollison: Future QB/Recruiter

apart from being the nation's #2 dual threat qb, having awesome hair, and being the future of the Auburn football program...it also seems that Tyrik Rollison is turning into a recruiter as well.

via his facebook page, Tyrik is calling out to all his Auburn friends to send messages to former Michigan wideout Toney Clemons telling the young man to come make Auburn his new home.

I'm trying to get my man Toney Clemons to come play for Auburn. He is no longer with Michigan and is looking for a new place to ball. We could use him at WR and I was asking for your help. Send him a message saying how much Auburn could use and how much you would like to see him on our squad. Anything from the heart will go a long way. Thanks for the help

Toney Clemons Facebook Page:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/profile.php?id=650135778&ref=ts


A video of his high school highlights:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4967361040888790603&ei=CK3LSa6aNYH4-wHAp6mwCA&q=toney+clemons&hl=en

Clemons responded with this,

I want to thank you all for the support. It means alot to me to know there are people that dont truly know me to have my back and welcome and wish me well. I am seriously looking into Auburn and I have plans of contacting the university to see what the interest level and situation would be for me there. I have no problem competing with the best ... Read Moretalent daily to win and keep a job and I have no aspirations of going into a situation where things would be easy for me because competition within a program is what truly makes a player better and I know Auburn has that on both sides of the ball. I just want the opportunity to be able to showcase my skills in a manner that will benefit me and the program that I am involved with. Thanks again

And my facebook names comes from the nickname of my last name Clemons and My moms maiden name and my middle name Vaughn. for anybody that was confused of how I got the name lol

again thank you all. it means alot.

so yeah...the Internet strikes again. and i wasn't even gonna talk about football or facebook today.

More words of Wisdom from Mario Fannin

He may be gettin' his spring practice on, but Mario Fannin still makes time to enlighten us.

(Via facebook) "Mario S. Fannin is like I put on for my city like I do my shoulda pads!...all day everyday...gwap is a major issue...get wit it..."

I'm not sure what any of it means, but I'm taking note.

in other related things Auburn players posted on their facebooks and then i turned around and did the creepiest thing ever and posted it on my blog like it was news or because i found it amusing, comes this update from the future savior of the Auburn football program or future savior of someone elses's football program after he plays a year of prep school and changes his mind on his commitment aka Mr Tyrik Rollinson, who wants you all to know that he "...is gunna qualify! Believe that! =)" well thank you young Master Rollinson, much like Fox Mulder...i want to believe. especially since you are already guaranteeing us all SEC titles in the future. and as some bitter Kansas State fan has already made it clear "anyone can qualify at Auburn." the Irons brothers agree.

i call bullshit on Jerry

Thanks to the Jay Cutler dramarama everyone is talking about places he might end up and I guess someone asked Jerry Jones if he'd consider trading Tony Romo for Cutler. Jones reply was that he wouldn't trade Tony Romo for ANYONE. Really?! I mean yeah I get that Jerry was just letting us all know that Tony has his faith and full support, but he'd either have to be totally insane or just fucking stupid to think that Romo is the best QB in the NFL and completely untradeable.


So here's my list of Qbs that you'd have to be an idiot not to trade Mr. I Can't Win In The Playoffs for.

1. Captain Dreamboat
2. Peyton
3. Big Ben
4. Drew Brees
5. McNabb
6. Philip Rivers
7. Matt Ryan (I can't believe how wrong I was about him)
8. Jay Cutler
9. Carson Palmer (when healthy i'd have him top 5)
10. Eli Manning
11. Kurt Warner (the only reason I have him this low is because of age, but even if he only gives me 2 years....that's 2 better years than Romo will ever have)

And there are a few guys that I think with more experience or with the talent that Dallas has are better Qb options than Tony like Aaron Rogers and Joe Flacco...but right now i'd take Romo over either of them.

And those are just Qbs that i'd rather have, I'm not even counting all the runningbacks, left tackles, linebackers, and defensive ends that are more valuable.

So Much For That Whole Basketball Thing

Well that was fun while it lasted. but Auburn goes down to Baylor tonight 74-72, thereby ending the Tigers season...and just a game short of New York. In the football offseason it's nice to have this kind of curious distraction, but at the end of the day all Auburn fans really care about is the damn football team.

And here's to Vot Barber the double double rebounding beast of the plains. Its doubtful that the NBA is in your future kid, but head east...no more East, aka Europe...they've got money to spend and hot chicks who don't speak your language. Good luck.

Auburn B-Ball Updates

pour out a 40 for the Lady Tigers basketball team that got fucking annihilated by Rutgers in the NCAA tourney....not that Rutgers didn't have a huge fucking advantage of getting to play the game on their home court. (seriously how does a 7 seed get to host an NCAA tourney game?) still when you get spanked 80-52, home court doesn't even matter anymore. oh well, the men's team takes on Baylor tonight and is just one win away from a trip to New York for the NIT Final Four...so that's cool.

but let's all be honest, Auburn fans don't care about any of this basketball nonsense anymore CUZ SPRING PRACTICE GETS STARTED TODAY!!!!!

Nice

via noted Auburn haters EDSBS. simply amazing.

Spring Is In the Air

ah Spring, a time for rebirth. a time for hot girls' clothes get smaller. and a time for your favorite college football team to start their quest for relevance in the world of college football.

Auburn's spring practice kicks off tomorrow, the 1st under new coach Gene Chizik. much like last year the Tigers are trying to install a new spread offense and get everyone on the same page under a new defensive coordinator as well.

top 5 questions Auburn is gonna need to answer this spring

1. Who Is the Quarterback?
(Burns? Todd? Caudle? Trotter? A Freshman? Some Dude Off The Street?)

2. Who is the Quarterback?
(i'm telling you guys. watch out for Neil Caudle. here's what our new offensive coordinator said about him: "(Caudle) is a rhythm quarterback and has a very good arm, I do know that about him," Malzahn said. "He seems like a super kid. He's that type of kid that has the characteristics you look for in a quarterback, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do."

3. Who are the playmakers at Wide Receiver going to be?

4. Do we have 5 starting offensive lineman?

5. Is There Any Depth At Linebacker?

Random Stuff

it was a long weekend. we watched a shit ton of basketball. we ate too much. we said goodbye to Battlestar Galactica (frakking awesome finale!)...and Indie Rock March Madness is down to it's Sweet 16. yeah, i'm still doing that. no, i don't know why.

also who cares that Curt Schilling retired? the guy didn't pitch all of last year and hasn't been any good since the 2004 season? yes, he won 2 world series and was dominate in both of them, but he's no hall of famer. watching Sportscenter spend 15 minutes talking about his retirement annoyed the hell out of me. they barely even gave Greg Maddux 20 seconds when he called it quits. if Curt wasn't a giant douchebag blowhard who played for the Red Sox noone would care. i know ESPN only cares about the North Eastern baseball teams...but do they have to make it so fucking obvious?

So How's Your Bracket?

actually the flames are a bit of an exaggeration, seeing as how all of my final 4 teams are still alive and of the people who picked Louisville to win it all in each of my pools, i'm in first place...so as long as the Cardinals win then i'm money. regardless all this chalk totally screwed up all my upset bids. for anyone who had Wake Forest in their Final Four...well what the heck were you thinking? so far this has been a descent NCAA tournament...other than the fact all the really good finishes seem to be happening at the exact same time and so you have to spend the final 3 minutes of games watching CBS cut in between 3 finishes. it's a little bit annoying.

top 3 teams that screwed me:

1. West Virginia (had them in the elite 8)
2. Wake Forest (had them in the elite 8)
3. Florida State (had them in the sweet 16)

Words Of Wisdom from Mario Fannin

Mario Fannin, potentially awesome Auburn runningback and philosopher.

Mario quote of the day (via facebook): "Mario S Fannin is like everyone wants to be first, but in fact u can't do it until u last."

Word.

Go Gators

this has been making the rounds...might as well show it some love. godbless the U.S. of motherfucking A.

Move the UGA/Florida Game to the ATL???

Hey, if THIS really happens, maybe UGA might start winning more than 1 game against the Gators every 6 or 7 years.

i've actually been saying for about 10 years that if Georgia ever wants to really make this series competitive again they need to get over the fucking Cocktail Party aspect of this game and they should make the Gators leave the state of Florida every once in a while. me thinks the fits will be pitched by all the rich assholes who hang out on St. Simon's Island and this series will stay in Jacksonville where the Dawgs will continue to lose and as an objective outsider i will shake my head in disbelief. as any Auburn fan will tell you from the Bear Bryant days...there ain't no such thing as a neutral site when you are playing on the other team's hometurf.

1 Day Down and My Bracket Is Looking Good

12 seed Western Kentucky pulled off the biggest upset of day 1 by knocking off 5 Seed Illinois and i had it...of course earlier in the day Memphis had to pull their heads out of their asses to avoid being knocked out by a totally unconscious 15 seed. why i went with Clemson over Michigan is beyond me. everything else was kinda what it was supposed to be. all in all i'm 13 for 16 in my picks and sitting in the top half of my tourney challenge. the big fail is obviously coming tomorrow.

Let The Madness Begin

first off, shout out to the Tigers for holding off UT-Martin and winning last night. getting bounced from the first round of the NIT at home ain't exactly a great way to make a case that you got snubbed by the NCAAs.


also another shout out to my Alma-mater as the Augusta State Jaguars crushed USC-Aiken on their way to the Elite 8 in the Division II NCAA Tournament. last year the Jags got beat in the National Title game. this year i'm hoping they bring home the trophy.

and finally...the NCAA DI tournament is about the start. FUCK AND YES!!!!


Make me some money, bitches.

Obama's Bracket

click to enlarge


so Barry thinks it's UNC all the way. the President seems just as clueless about this year's tournament as i do. he must be distracted or something.

Holy Shit I Must Be Bored

It's The March Madness of the Indie Rock kind over at my other Non-French Hip Hop blog (sorry for the bad link earlier). yeah, that's right. i made a bracket of 64 Indie Rock bands and pitted them against one another. yes, sometimes we have too much time on our hands.

hey look, it's Dinosaur Jr shredding.

Breaking Down My Bracket of Fail...aka Setting Money On Fire In The Name Of Fun

here are my picks round by round, region by region. do yourself a favor and use this as your model of who NOT to pick in your own bracket as i have NEVER WON an NCAA Tourney Pool EVER in about 17 years of filling these things out.

MIDWEST REGION

2nd round matchups

Louisville
vs
Ohio State

Arizona
vs
Wake Forest

West Virginia
vs
Kansas

Boston College
vs
Michigan State

Sweet 16 Matchups

Louisville
vs
Wake Forest

Kansas
vs
Michigan State

Elite 8 Matchup

Louisville
vs
Kansas

Region Champ

Louisville


WEST REGION

2nd Round Matchups

UConn
vs
BYU

Purdue
vs
Washington

Utah State
vs
Missouri

Maryland
vs
Memphis

Sweet 16 Matchups

UCONN
vs
Washington

Missouri
vs
Memphis

Elite 8

UCONN
vs
Memphis

Region Champ

Memphis


EAST REGION

2nd Rd Matchups

Pitt
vs
Tennessee

FSU
vs
Portland State

VCU
vs
Villanova

Texas
vs
Duke

Sweet 16

Pitt
vs
FSU

Nova
vs
Duke

Elite 8

Pitt
vs
Duke

Region Champ

Pitt


SOUTH REGION

2nd Round

North Carolina
vs
Butler

Western Kentucky
vs
Gonzaga

Arizona State
vs
Syracuse

Clemson
vs
Oklahoma

Sweet 16

UNC
vs
Gonzaga

Syracuse
vs
Oklahoma

Elite 8

North Carolina
vs
Syracuse

Region Champ

North Carolina



FINAL FOUR

Me and The Prez are thinking the same way on our Final Fours. Obama's a baller, so i'm feeling good about this.


Louisville defeats Memphis

North Carolina defeats Pitt

North Carolina vs Louisville for the title

The Louisville Cardinals are your 2009 National Champions. and Kentucky fans shoot themselves in the face.

JRSUICIDE is Rich As Shit...or at least can afford his rent and bills for another month.

Alabama isn't just about football and leprechauns, there's some rock there too.

among my list of albums that you should own but probably don't is from a little known and unheralded band from the great state of Alabama called Verbena. they were best remembered (or forgotten) as that band Dave Grohl produced and tried to make sound like Nirvana, which is about what he got.

i discovered Verbena sometime around 1998 when i was fully into the whole hardcore scene and had largely forgotten about my grunge rock roots. well luckily for me my kid brother read about this band in an issue of guitar world. Verbena was described as a southern rock Nirvana...and being that Nirvana was and always will be my favorite band of all time we both decided to check out whatever record of theirs we could find. the album we discovered was 1997’s Souls For Sale.

Souls For Sale was everything i wanted out of a rock record that i wasn’t getting from the emo/hardcore albums that were dominating my cd player in 1997-98. it was a raw riffs and rough vocals with a wonderful southern twang. the best way to describe the record was a perfect combination of Bleach era Nirvana trying their best to sound like Sticky Fingers era Rolling Stones. opener "hot blood" and track #5 "the desert" shred, while moody "junk for fashion" and the wild horses-like "the song that ended your career" showed that the band could write a good sad song as well. the guitar work on the album is phenomenal. and the lyrics are great. every song is catchy and memorable and makes you wanna drink a bottle of whiskey and forget that girl who broke your fucking heart back in 1996. it really is one of the hidden gems of the late 90s’ alternative/indie rock scene and if they’d put this album out in 2001 they’d have been huge stars with the Strokes, White Stripes, Hives, etc.... instead they got lost in the shuffle of late 90s Nu-Metal/rap rock/fake grunge Creed-like schlock. which is to say they never had a chance. if you love the sound of a cranked to 11 rock band playing bluesy heavy and catchy as hell rock this is the album you’ve been missing out on. i highly recommend.

here's a video for their best song Baby Got Shot from their equally awesome follow up record, Into The Pink...aka the one Dave Grohl recorded (go ahead and buy that one too).


a shameless reminder for any of my regular readers who've got time on their hands and a love of music...i just started another blog, Ghetto Blasters & Switchblades, and i'm looking for contributors...and more importantly, readers.

I Still Got Love For Matt Jones

so Matt Jones was let go by the Jacksonville Jaguars yesterday following his recent arrest for violating his parole. this is only newsworthy to this blog because few players ever scared the shit out of me more when they were going up against Auburn than Matt Jones did. he was Tim Tebow before there ever was a Tim Tebow, but without all the freakish talent around him and with better speed. if the Falcons wanna sell me a jersey they should sign up Jones and teach him how to be a tight end. plus he'd be an awesome weapon in the Wild Cat. whey Jacksonville didn't run that play with him on everydown last year is beyond me.

My Bracket Looks Full Of Fail

today i'm using Science to help make my NCAA Tourney picks...and by Science i mean i'm going to all the blogs and sites written by people who actually watch college basketball and seem to know what the hell is going on and then making my picks based on what they think. last year i fell in love with Memphis thanks to Derek Rose and rode them all the way to a 4th place finish in my gamblin' pool. this year i have no teams that i love and so i must do what all men who have no idea what the hell is going on during a certain situation that they blindly jumped into do, i'm gonna guess. might as well set my money on fire.

The Leprechaun Of Alabama

thank god for KSK reminding me of this piece of youtube gold. "who else seen the Leprechaun say Yeah??!!!!"

this shoulda been a Chappelle Show skit...sadly it was actual news. i love you Alabama.

Happy Drunk Irish Wearing Green Day

and now a quick reminder to everyone that once upon a time not only did U2 not suck, but they were a pretty exciting post-punk band from Ireland who hadn't yet conquered the world and started becoming a giant parody of themselves.

A Special Message For Hipsters

Nike is coming out with a boatshoe. that means they are officially over. you're welcome.

Who Is Winning Me Dollars This Year?

the economic meltdown has hit me particularly hard and so with some luck (and possibly a run by whatever random 11 seed i fall in love with) i'm hoping to get back on my feet with a solid showing by my bracket. the only problem, I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT COLLEGE BASKETBALL CIRCA 2009. i mean, do i really believe in UConn or Pitt when neither of them even made it to the conference semi-finals?! is UNC a safe bet when they got knocked off by a team like FSU in a non-football related contest? is this the year Duke actually makes it back to the Final Four because of an overall weak field but my Duke-haterness prevents me from moving them past the Sweet 16? and who is that wacky midmajor team that ends up blowing up my bracket in the 2nd round and how do i pick them out? SO MANY QUESTIONS, SO FEW ANSWERS. i must consult a wizard.


as far as my NIT brackets go...i'm rolling with my Auburn Tigers who got a #1 seed and will host UT-Martin in the 1st round. Florida, Creighton, & San Diego St landed the other #1 seeds...that pretty much let's you know that you can thank the likes of Mississippi State, Cleveland State, and USC for keeping the Tigers out of the dance this year. hey, at least Bob Knight showed us some love.

i think that pretty much put the final nail in the coffin

Looks like Mississippi State's win over the Vols killed whatever slim hope Auburn had left of being an at large team. It's not like you can count on Tennessee to win the SEC tourney anyways...but hey, if this keeps teams like Penn State and Arizona out, which will in turn make douchebags like Digger & jay angry, then it's fine by me.

look on the bright side

hey Auburn is probably going to the NIT...but at least we have those pictures of Katy Perry in Esquire magazine to keep us happy.

my love of this talentless hack is totally shameless.

of course if you really want sexy...then Andre Smith has you covered.

all good things must end

It was a good ride but finally the Tigers miracle run towards the NCAAs comes to an end. Auburn got knocked off by the Vols who will in turn face a Mississippi State team that beat LSU and is likely to steal that 3rd SEC bid. oh well...

thanks for the effort fellas, i'll drink a beer or two for you boys tonight.

good luck in the NIT. and War Damn Eagle.

pointless rant about pointless ESPN rankings

this is meaningless off season airtime filler but ESPN had their list of the top 10 new coaches in college football. it wasn't based on who they actually thought were the best coaches, but more which moves were the most important. i cant argue with #1 being Lane Kiffin...especially with all his offseason drama/sound bites, but i was a little annoyed that Gene Chizik was only #6 on the list. i mean Bill Snyder was #2?! Bill Snyder...are you serious? how is Kansas State bringing back their old coach more important than an SEC school that has been a top 25 program most of this decade replacing their successful head coach after a season of turmoil not a bigger deal than #6? he's at least more worthy than #5 Dabo Sweeny. whatever...i hate getting angry about ESPN's useless list making, but being the kind of idiot who makes his own useless lists, I'm always a little critical of other lists and their credibility. ESPN gets a D for this one. whatever.

War Fucking Eagle!

Bye bye Florida. Have fun in the NIT. With some luck (and hopefully 2 more wins) we won't be seeing you there.

When it comes to the SEC there really is nothing better than beating the Gators. It doesn't hurt that I kind of hate Nick Calathes. Can you believe he was rated the #3 point guard in the nation behind Derek Rose and OJ Mayo? how do you spell Overrated? When I watch him play all I can think is "he should have been a Duke floor slapper." Listening to the announcers talk about what a scrappy little team the Gators were annoyed the hell out of me. They are a team full of Rivals 4 and 5 star basketball recruits (Auburn in comparison has one 4 star recruit, Vot Barber...that's it) who are going to the NIT for the 2nd year in a row despite having the sort of talent that should be dominating a weak SEC...scrappy isn't the word that comes to mind, chief.

enough hatin'. THAT WAS A Totally gutsy performance by this amazing little Auburn team that refuses to lose. The football team could take some lessons from coach Lebo's boys.

Quantez Robertson gets free drinks for life!


War Eagle, baby. Keep it going.

Auburn Just Needs To Win

We need some of this vintage Wes Byrum style Gator Killing today from the B Ball Team if Auburn wants to be dancing next week.


so this is it. no more talking. no more hoping. just go out and beat those Gators and knock them off the bubble and advance. War Eagle.


on a totally random note i started ANOTHER blog this week called Ghetto Blasters & Switchblades (the name of my fake rap group that doesn't actually exist). YEAH I KNOW...JUST WHAT THE INTERNET NEEDS....ANOTHER FUCKING BLOG. it's a music only blog as i realized i've been spending way too much time on this blog talking about Rock and Or Roll. anyways i am looking for any other people who wanna write about whatever kind of music that they are into. shoot me an email if you are interested. justin.s.robinson(at)gmail(dot)com

Positive Vibes Friday: Teenage Kicks/Riot

according to the late John Peel this is the greatest song ever written. i agree. The Undertones doing "Teenage Kicks" on Top of the Pops.


and if that isn't the greatest song ever written then Sonic Youth can throw their name in the ring with "Teenage Riot" from my favorite concert movie of all time 1991: The YEaR Punk Broke.


and just for the fuck of it here's a Teenage Fanclub song too

Thank You...and now i can sleep

Holy fucking shit! 6 fucking overtimes! Are you kidding me?!

Every year there is one game during the conference tournaments that pumps me up and gets me ready for the NCAA tournament...tonight the Big East delivered me that game in fucking spades!

UConn and Syracuse just delivered us an instant classic in one of the craziest college basketball games I've seen in years. 6 overtimes! 8 players fouled out! And if UConn hadn't run out of players then this shit might still be going on. Of course if Paul Harris could fucking hit wide open shots under the basket or not get blocked by the rim trying to dunk the ball then this ridiculousness might've ended an overtime or two sooner. All in all you gotta think that West Virginia is just gonna wipe the floor with Syracuse in the next game. UConn probably will miss out on a #1 seed, Syracuse on the other hand has just roped a bunch of suckers into putting them far in their brackets next week.

And to think, if they'd just counted that amazing shot at the end of regulation then we could've all gone to bed at an acceptable hour.

Still......

AWESOME!

So thank you Big East for reminding me how fucking rad college basketball can be.

that game was almost as hot as Katrina Bowden in booty shorts....

almost???!?....okay, not even close. but still it was an instant classic and now i am so ready to throw my money away next week. I heart college basketball (for 1 month a year).