Toomer's Corner rally draws thousands

A steady stream of people gathered to mourn the apparent imminent demise of the poisoned oak trees at Toomer's Corner, where Auburn fans traditionally celebrate wins. The crowd of old and young alike, many clad in orange and blue, began arriving early Saturday morning for the rally dubbed "Toomer's Tree Hug" and carried on well into the afternoon. A fan of rival Alabama, Harvey Updyke Jr., 62 , has been charged with first-degree criminal mischief for allegedly using a tree-destroying herbicide to poison the two 130-year-old oaks after Auburn beat the Crimson Tide in November. He was released from the Lee County Detention Facility on bond Friday night. The heinous act even has devout Alabama fans saying this is taking it too far. One group of 'Bama fans has started raising money for replacements for the oaks. Alabama student Sean Phillips, wearing a crimson-and-white Mark Ingram jersey, says it is "a really sad day for Alabama as a whole." He made the two-hour drive from home in Birmingham "to support a tradition that will soon be lost here." "The guy that did this was crazy," Phillips said. "There might be animosity between the schools, but there's always that connection because we're all from Alabama. We're all in this together."

The Toomer's traditions, including the famously sweet lemonade at Toomer's Drugs across the street, are ingrained in the state's culture, like Alabama with Bear Bryant and Denny Chimes. It's where hundreds of fans celebrated the recent football national championship on Jan. 10.

Tide fans rally to raise money; Saban ‘truly saddened’ by poisoned oaks

In the immediate aftermath of one Alabama’s fan inexplicably asinine decision to allegedly poison the historic 130-year-old oak trees in Auburn’s Toomer’s Corner, it was thought by some that the heated Iron Bowl rivalry was spiraling out of control and into total anarchy. Instead, a group of Tide fans have banded together in an attempt to help their bitter in-state rivals. From the Tuscaloosa News:

Thursday night a group of University of Alabama alumni and students, started an initiative called Tide for Toomer’s with the goal of raising money to offset the cost of replacing the famous oaks at Toomer’s Corner. The trees were poisoned by 62-year-old Harvey Almorn Updyke, a disgruntled Alabama fan. …

Jennifer Hanson, one of the group’s founders and a UA undergraduate and law school alumna, said Tide for Toomer’s is comprised of a Facebook page and a Twitter page that launched Thursday around 8 p.m.

As of this posting, the Facebook page, which you can get to directly by clicking on the link HERE had nearly 17,000 fans and raised more than $6,000 in less than 24 hours. Hanson told the News that the rivalry’s gotten out of hand of late, and the social media initiative is a way for people from both sides to come together for the greater good.

“I feel like recently it’s gotten a little nasty with the pranks and various things being said on Twitter and Facebook and (Birmingham sports radio station) WJOX,” Hanson said. “Just from what I’ve seen on the Facebook page this is something that’s helping everyone come together for a greater cause and that’s the tradition and respect we have for each other.” Another founder of the movement said they didn’t want one fan’s actions to speak for the whole of Tide Nation.

“So I said well why don’t we all do it and start up a fund?” Taylor Nichols told the paper. “I kind of got tired of the crazies speaking for Alabama fans so I just wanted to do something to show that we aren’t all like that and we don’t think it’s okay to do what [Harvey] Updyke did.

“If there’s no response from us then it’s like we’re letting this guy speak for us and we couldn’t stand for that. Alabama fans don’t feel responsible but they still feel bad.”

Vols DE Martin undergoes successful surgery

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, the defensive end underwent successful surgery Wednesday to repair his right Achilles tendon. Martin missed the entire 2010 season with an Achilles tear in the other leg. The News Sentinel writes that Martin is expected to be available to participate as early as the opening game of the 2011 regular season. As noted by Lil’ Big Ben earlier this week, however, Derek Dooley is not holding his breath regarding the senior’s availability. "I'm approaching it as if they don’t exist in recruiting, because I haven’t seen them do anything," the head coach said. "That doesn’t mean they won’t or can’t, but I’ve never seen Ben Martin practice one down since he’s been here. To sit there and say we’ve got an all-conference end coming back is a little bit absurd to me." "If they come back, do we need them to come back and be good players? Absolutely we do. We’ll see."

Auburn fans to rally for historic oaks

Auburn fans have scheduled a rally for the poisoned oak trees at Toomer's Corner, where fans traditionally rally to celebrate big wins. The "Toomer's Tree Hug" was approaching 8,000 confirmed guests on Facebook by Friday morning. It's scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday at the site where celebrations include rolling the trees with toilet paper. Police charged 62-year-old Harvey Almorn Updyke Jr. with first-degree criminal mischief on Thursday for allegedly using a tree-killing herbicide to poison the oaks. The Facebook page for the rally says there won't be any actual tree-hugging but "the hugs should be reserved for other members of the Auburn Family who need a shoulder in this painful time."

Season ticket prices rising for Vols football

The cost of an entire season of games at Neyland Stadium is going up. With eight of them to attend this year though, in the short term the average price of a ticket to see Tennessee will actually be coming down in 2011. But rising costs to run the athletic department among many other financial considerations have forced the athletic department to look for additional revenue, and the Vols are poised to raise prices for football after two years without any adjustments. After adding an extra home game by buying out of a series with North Carolina last fall, the hike from $360 to $390 for a season-ticket package actually lowers the cost per outing in Derek Dooley’s second season. But the bonus date at Neyland Stadium wasn’t the motivating factor for UT to increase its prices as it plans for the future, and senior associate athletic director for external operations Chris Fuller made clear fans won’t be paying more just because there is an eighth home game in 2011.

"I don’t think we looked at it and said we’ve got an eight game, we’ve got additional operational costs associated with putting on an eighth game and in order to be where we need to be, we need to increase $30," Fuller said on Wednesday. "And we’re also not saying that’s the value of the eighth game. It’s more in the context of a $100 million budget and where we need we had escalation and fixed costs. How are we going to get to the right revenue base to fund our program?"

"I think in terms of what our thinking was, it’s not a surprise to anybody that our costs continue to escalate at a pretty significant rate in college athletics. Every time we sit down to discuss a situation like this, you’re really trying to balance a couple really interesting dynamics -- the accessibility of your product for your fans with what you need to generate from a revenue perspective to make sure we’re in a position to be as competitive as we can be on the field, off the field, all those kinds of things."

There’s also a balance needed in some respect to help make UT competitive on courts or fields as well, and with football generating the vast majority of revenue for the athletic department, the ticket increase could bring in an addition $2 million or more for the university. Single-game tickets will undergo a similar change this season as well, collectively going up $30 to mirror the increases for season-tickets.

Lawyer of Auburn tree poisoner wants out of case

The court appointed lawyer of Harvey Almorn Updyke, the man charged with poisoning the 130-year-old live oak trees at Toomer’s Corner, has asked to be removed from representing Updyke. Attorney Philip O. Tyler cited a conflict of interest in the case. By the way, it’s because Tyler is associated with Auburn University. In a motion to withdraw, Tyler explains that "numerous personal and family ties to Auburn University", as well as his job as a part-time professor at the university, create the conflict. Tyler is a resident of Auburn and the law firm for which he works also represents Auburn.

Trees at Auburn's Toomer's Corner poisoned

Auburn University says someone deliberately poisoned trees at Toomer's Corner, where fans have long celebrated big wins and hundreds gathered after the Tigers won the football national championship on Jan. 10. The university said in a statement Wednesday that a herbicide commonly used to kill trees was applied "in lethal amounts" to the soil around the two trees, and that they likely can't be saved. Auburn discovered the poisoning after taking soil samples on Jan. 28, a day after a man called a syndicated radio show based in Birmingham saying he had used the herbicide on the trees. "The weekend after the Iron Bowl, I went to Auburn, Ala., because I live 30 miles away, and I poisoned the Toomer's trees," the caller told The Paul Finebaum Radio Show, saying he was at the Iron Bowl. Calling himself "Al from Dadeville," he said he used Spike 80DF, also known as tebuthiuron, and the trees "definitely will die." The caller signed off with, "Roll Damn Tide."

Titans officially swipe Rocker from Auburn

Now the Auburn head coach will be forced to do something he hasn’t had to do during his two-plus years with the Tigers, replace a member of his coaching staff. The Titans announced Wednesday afternoon that they have hired Tracy Rocker to be new head coach Mike Munchak‘s defensive line coach.

"This is something that I dreamed about, reaching the top of the line in the football world," said Rocker in a statement. "Growing up you dream about playing in the NFL and once I made the transition to the coaching world, this was the ultimate goal. Now it is up to me to prove myself at this level. I realize I have big shoes to fill and have a lot of respect for Coach Washburn and what he got from his players. There is nothing that says you can’t follow up a great coach with another great coach and that is what I will work to achieve."

Rocker spent two seasons at his alma mater coaching the line, and was widely hailed as the most influential force in turning Nick Fairley into both a consensus All-American and potential overall No. 1 pick in the April NFL draft.

Vascular condition sends Gator LB Ball to hospital

A UF spokesman confirmed Tuesday night that freshman Neiron Ball "has been diagnosed with a congenital vascular condition and is currently being treated at Shands Hospital." No additional information, such as when he will be released or what impact the illness will have on his participation in spring practice, was available, although a tweet from teammate Matt Elam by way of Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post that doesn’t exactly make the situation sound optimal.

Earlier today, Florida safety Matt Elam sent out a Tweet asking for prayer for Ball and later described Ball’s ailment as, “He bust a blood vessel in his head. I’m here at the hospital with him now.”

Ball played in all 13 games as a freshman in 2010, and is expected to compete for a starting this year.

Head coach Steve Spurrier met with the media Monday to talk about the signing of Jadeveon Clowney

Obviously we got wonderful news this morning when Jadeveon Clowney ... (announced) he's coming with the Gamecocks. We've been recruiting him for a while. Ellis Johnson did a super job recruiting him the last three years. He was on the team with Stephon Gilmore that won the state championship years ago. We've known about him and got him around as often as we could. Brad Lawing was heavily involved and Lorenzo Ward was heavily involved. I want to thank our fans at the basketball game when they started chanting "We want Clowney." That seems to work. Last year when we had Marcus Lattimore they chanted, (and he signed with us). We're excited about him and our fans will love this young man. He's been "yes sir, no sir" with me. The way he loves to play the game with a passion, our fans will enjoy watching him play. This is a big day for us.

Tennessee senior injures other Achilles, future unknown

Tennessee senior defensive end Ben Martin already missed all of last season recovering from an Achilles injury he suffered in fall camp. Unfortunately for Martin, another Achilles injury to his other leg has sidelined him indefinitely once again. Martin suffered the injury while working out early yesterday morning. He is slated to have surgery this week and will try to return this fall. "Thanks for the support, people," Martin posted on Twitter. "I needed it but I know God has a plan for me and I’m not hanging my head. I’m ready for this long road." Even if Martin can get back in time to practice for fall camp, it might already be too late. Tennessee managed an entire season without him and signed four defensive linemen on National Signing Day to address depth issues. "I’m approaching it as if they don’t exist in recruiting, because I haven’t seen them do anything," said Vols coach Derek Dooley. "That doesn’t mean they won’t or can’t, but I’ve never seen Ben Martin practice one down since he’s been here. To sit there and say we’ve got an all-conference end coming back is a little bit absurd to me."

"If they come back, do we need them to come back and be good players? Absolutely we do. We’ll see."

Sixth ex-Gator added to Addazio’s Temple staff

Around this time last week, rumors first began to surface that Scot Loeffler was in line for a job on Steve Addazio‘s Temple coaching staff. Today, those rumors officially came true. In a press release, the school announced that Loeffler has been hired as the Owls’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. "We’re excited to have Scot Loeffler, his wife Amie, and their son Luke join the Temple football family," Addazio said. "Scot brings a wealth of quarterback experience, ranging from the University of Michigan to the Detroit Lions to the Florida Gators. He has coached outstanding athletes, including Tom Brady, Brian Griese, and Tim Tebow. Scot is one of the best fundamental teachers I’ve been around. He is an extremely knowledgeable football coach and will bring energy and excitement to the Temple football program."

Loeffler spent the past two seasons at Florida as QB coach. He becomes the sixth Addazio assistant with UF coaching roots, joining Chuck Heater (defensive coordinator/defensive backs), Sean Cronin (defensive line), Justin Frye (offensive line), Zach Smith (wide receivers/special teams) and Frank Piraino (head strength & conditioning).

In addition to Loeffler’s hiring, the school also announced that Ed Foley, Tyree Foreman, and Matt Rhule, who have been a part of the Temple football coaching staff for the last few seasons, have accepted new roles and will remain with the Owls in 2011. Foley will move into the role of director of football operations. Foreman will continue to coach the running backs, while Rhule will serve as the assistant offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.

Top recruit Clowney picks Gamecocks

Jadeveon Clowney’s new coordinator at South Carolina was most impressed by what he didn’t hear from his signee as the two spoke Monday. When Clowney called Ellis Johnson after picking South Carolina there was no self-important, look-at-me style comments like, "Did you watch?" or "I told you," the Gamecocks defensive leader said. "It was, 'Coach, I’m going to be ready,'" Johnson said.

Clowney ended an extra 12 days of signing suspense when he picked the Gamecocks’ hat off a table that also had caps from finalists Alabama and Clemson. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier had known for a while Clowney would take additional time before deciding. But it became even a bit more nerve-racking as the 6-foot-6, 250-pound senior waited for the go-ahead from ESPN, which carried his announcement live to a national audience. When given the signal, Clowney spoke: "I’m going to the University of …" he said, then reached for the Gamecocks’ cap to the cheers of friends, family, South Pointe High students and teammates. Clowney’s choice capped a wild signing period. On Feb. 2, the first day players could sign a letter of intent, and when most did, a Georgia recruit announced his decision with the help of a bulldog puppy and another prospect’s mother faxed in a letter to the school she wanted her son to attend instead of his selection.

But it was hard to match the scene at South Pointe’s auditorium.

NCAA president ‘frustrated’ by Cam Newton case

last night, when NCAA president Mark Emmert met with Associated Press sports editors on the campus of IUPUI to discuss topics related to NCAA rulings.

The topic which was brought up, that's right...Cam Newton.

"We try hard to get it right every time," Emmert said regarding the ongoing investigation of the eligibility of Auburn quarterback Cam Newton. "Getting it right is often in the eye of the beholder. The cases we saw this fall were highly controversial and highly debatable. I understand that, and some of them were even enormously frustrating to me."

"I said very loud and clear that I think it’s absolutely a fundamentally wrong for a father to try to sell the services of his son or daughter to the highest bidder, to a university. We ought never to allow that to happen, but yet, having not anticipated that, we didn’t have any rule or structure that said it was a violation of any of our rules. I found that grossly inappropriate that didn’t have a structure in which we could say, 'No, you can’t do that.'

NCAA Bylaw 12.3.3 indicates that "Any individual, agency or organization that represents a prospective student-athlete for compensation in placing the prospective student-athlete in a collegiate institution as a recipient of institutional financial aid shall be considered an agent or organization marketing the individual’s athletics ability or reputation."

"Right now, we're kind of stuck in the middle here, and we need to provide you all, the media, with a lot more information and be as forthright as we can about it. We’re working on it. It’s going to take us a while."

Clowney’s signing will bring end to a crazy saga

A mother forges her son’s signature on a letter of intent. A newly committed Georgia player hoists a live bulldog to celebrate his college choice. A top-rated quarterback tries to avoid an argument by telling his mother, by text message, that he’s not picking her preferred school. Those were the highlights, or lowlights, of Signing Day, Act One.

Act Two comes Monday in Rock Hill, S.C., when defensive end Jadeveon Clowney celebrates his 18th birthday and gives his parents what he calls a Valentine’s Day present when he reveals his college choice live on ESPN. Clowney is widely ranked as the nation’s No. 1 recruit, reportedly once got over 800 cell phone calls in a single day, and has even been followed by a film crew in recent weeks. Fans at Alabama, Clemson, South Carolina and other schools will nervously await his pick.

Kentucky coach Joker Phillips has an answer. He blames LeBron James. "LeBron changed it," Phillips said. "I mean, let’s get real. He changed it, too." "Hat tricks, dog tricks, whatever people are doing, that’s changed it more than anything," Phillips said.

Then there was the story of Floyd Raven, who never told his mother his final choice was Texas A&M. She thought he was picking Mississippi. So she faxed the letter to Ole Miss on the morning of Feb. 2, unknown to her son. His real letter went out hours later, this time to the Aggies.

Starting Vols DB arrested on domestic assault charges

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Brent Brewer was arrested over the weekend on domestic assault charges. No details of what led to the arrest are available at this time. As a result of the arrest, Brewer has been indefinitely suspended by head coach Derek Dooley. "Without knowing all the facts, any domestic incident warrants a suspension from all team-related activities until a thorough investigation is concluded," Dooley said in a statement. "We respect everyone’s right to the legal process, but also acknowledge a greater standard of conduct associated with the privilege of being a member of the Tennessee football team."

Last week, starting safety Janzen Jackson left the Tennessee football program, and school entirely, to deal with personal issues.

Dooley minimized risk with signing class

His second class as Tennessee head coach, first in which he had complete control, certainly needed to provide a talent laden roster with quality across the board, but it also had to do so while maintaining its maximum quantity. "We couldn't afford to have a lot of high-risk guys in this class," Dooley said. "Everybody has got some deficiency somewhere, but it's no different than investing your money. When you build a class, we're investing in people. It's important that we minimize the amount of risk."
SEC regulations allow teams to sign 28 players per year, but NCAA rules permit that only 25 receive scholarships for a given season. Because UT had just 24 players sign and qualify in 2010, it was able to back-count one of its early enrollees from the 2011 class to 2010, a move that will allow the Vols to have 26 new players on scholarship for the upcoming season.
It would be a minor SEC miracle for the Vols to have 26 of the 27 players they signed to National Letters of Intent in uniform for two-a-days.

"I was very conscious early on what their academic makeup was and their character," he said. "I was constantly monitoring that. I think it's fair to say on more players than I normally do. As we get a commitment and another commitment and another commitment, it affects where the next guy is. "You're trying to shape together a class that has a good makeup and has diversity. It's got some risk. It's just a process."

Academics might be an issue for Clowney

The New York Times, citing two people with knowledge of his classroom performance, is reporting that questions are being raised as to whether Clowney will be able to qualify academically and play immediately in 2011. While no one associated with Clowney’s Rock Hill (SC) South Pointe High School went on the record regarding specifics, the head coach at Hargraves Military Academy — which takes in academically-challenged football players and preps them for college, inexplicably did, telling the Times that he’s reviewed Clowney’s high school transcripts and his academic performance, the paper writes, is consistent with those of other prospects who had failed to meet the NCAA’s standard. "A lot of D's on there," Hargraves coach Troy Davis told the paper, adding that Clowney’s transcripts are similar to others who have enrolled at his school. "There was never any question in my mind he will qualify," Bobby Carroll told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. "I’ll bet a million dollars he qualifies because he works so hard in the classroom." One of Clowney’s teachers confirms hard work in the classroom in the here and now, but does admit that may not have been the case in prior years. This most certainly could cost Clowney being eligible to play immediately at the Div. 1-A level.