As tired as the Tigers were Tuesday after four straight days of two-a-days, at least they weren’t in the hospital. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for one of the 15 visiting Chinese coaches who had to have his appendix removed. Luckily for him, that procedure has come a long way in recent years (I’ve never had to have my appendix removed, but apparently it’s all done with lasers now, meaning it’s far less invasive) and he will be ready to fly home with the rest of the group on Thursday.

John Calipari is cramming a lot of information into a short period of time. Last year, Memphis had nearly five weeks (and an exhibition game) between Memphis Madness and the season opener. This year, it’s three weeks and no exhibition game. So it really is a time crunch. With basketball, the casual fan doesn’t necessarily think about a lot of situational stuff that needs to be practiced before a real game. Though obviously the offensive and defensive systems require the most time, things like out-of-bounds plays or quick-hitting plays for late-game situations need to be installed. On Tuesday, a lot of time in the afternoon was spent on the Tigers’ zone offense (and zone defense, to a certain extent).

More observations:

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Well the Grizzlies left the arena last night feeling pretty proud of their comeback win against the TWolves. Minnesota blew a 16 pt first half lead and a 14 pt second half lead to the Grizzlies as Juan Carlos Navarro (below) and Rudy Gay had huge second halves to lead the home team to victory!

However, Al Jefferson proved to be the most dominant big man in the game last night while Randy Foye, Juwan Howard and Sebastian Telfair failed to make appearances last night. Ricky Davis was hot in the first half but never got untracked in the second half as the Grizzlies turned around the game in the second half with defense limiting the TWolves to 14 third quarter points and 18 fourth quarter points. This after surrendering 61 points in the first half against a more likely lineup for the TWolves.

It is trite to say but it appeared the Grizzlies played Fratello ball on offense and Baroni ball on defense in the first half and then reversed it to be Baroni ball on offense and Fratello ball on defense in the second half. The Grizzlies have some work ahead of them to be truly respectable.
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I heard all the rumblings coming out of the Liberty Bowl Saturday night. I was even one of those rumbling. But the fact of the matter is that the Tigers football’s problems extend way beyond coaching. Changing the coach at this juncture wouldn’t be too bright. The fact of the matter is that our football program is getting little to no support from the administration. The truth is long-term success can only come from commitment to the program by all levels in the school’s administration. And believe it or not, it is not only about an on-campus stadium. But that would be a huge step in the right direction.
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THE BIG STORY

Alabama coach Nick Saban confirmed one of his assistant coaches had an unfriendly encounter with an irate Ole Miss fan after Saturday’s controversial 27-24 Tide win in Oxford. Ole Miss fans were angry that instant replay official Doyle Jackson overturned an Ole Miss completion that would have put the Rebels in position to tie or win the game with seconds remaining.

The incident with the Ole Miss fan came as the coaches exited the elevator after the game, minutes after the ruling overturned a Rebel first down at the Tide 4 with seven seconds left. Saban (right) did not identify the coach. But coaches in the press box each week are offensive coordinator Major Applewhite, defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and running backs coach Burton Burns.

“Based on what the coaches said to me, the people at Ole Miss did a fantastic job of handling and managing the situation,” Saban said. “It’s one of those games where fans get a little bit excited and upset about circumstances in the game, show their emotions a little bit, which I guess fans can do.”

One Tide player, linebacker Darren Mustin, said he was hit by a bottle.

“If they want to be classless, that’s their business,” Saban said. “Their fans shouldn’t be throwing stuff. Our fans shouldn’t be throwing stuff.”

Ole Miss athletic director Boone took issue with Saban’s comments after the game - which came in response to Ole Miss fans throwing debris on the field after the instant replay official reversed the call on the field. Boone didn’t like the comments and addressed the media without taking questions following Orgeron’s weekly press conference.

“To a certain extent, maybe Nick is like a parent,” Boone said. “It’s easy to see faults in children who live next door but maybe not in your own. We heard similar comments from him (following the 2003 game) when he was here with LSU.

“We had several arrests that were made (after the Alabama game). That’s exactly what will happen if it happens again. We’ll take care of that. But I’m not sure some other coach needs to be talking about our fans. I resented that a little bit.”

Boone said he spoke with Tide AD Mal Moore on Monday morning on another issue. But Moore, according to Boone, said Tide fans had been guilty of similar conduct.

Alabama disciplined two fraternities last month for throwing debris on the field following the overtime loss to Georgia and instituted a policy to punish students for such behavior in the future.

A look at the league: Read the rest of this entry »

The Tigers weren’t quite as sharp or energetic on Monday; clearly, they were a little tired from going two-a-days on Saturday and Sunday. Still, by normal standards, they were very good. At least, that was the feedback from Foxsports.com’s Jeff Goodman, who was in town to watch practice and came away impressed.

A few quick hitters:

– Monday might have been the best I’ve ever seen Antonio Anderson shoot the ball.

– At times, Doneal Mack (right) looks like the best player on the floor. Not only is he shooting the heck out of the ball, but every aspect of his game is improving. He’s giving Chris Douglas-Roberts all he can handle right now.

– In terms of getting the ball in the high post and scoring from 15 feet and in, Shawn Taggart has pro ability. Taggart’s biggest problem right now is learning to go full speed all the time. Coach John Calipari has been on him constantly about sprinting down court.

– Everybody who has been in the gym so far, from media to scouts to visiting coaches, has come away more impressed with Derrick Rose than they expected.

Tuesday is the final day of Fall Break at the U of M, and thus, the final two-a-day in this stretch. The Tigers will get back on a more regular schedule Wednesday.

Here’s an interesting excerpt from Tiger coach Tommy West’s Monday press luncheon discussing this weekend’s game at Rice and his quarterback situation.

(Senior Martin Hankins is the likely starter at Rice after recovering from a hip pointer. Junior Will Hudgens started the past two games in his absence.)

“Right now I would probably start Martin (Hankins) in this game (but) I’m going to get Matt (Malouf) ready to play,” West said.

Malouf (right) is the redshirt freshman from Oxford, Miss., who has been remarkably productive during his few touches this season. On 11 of his 22 touches, he has either scored on a touchdown run, passed for a TD or gotten the first down.

“I think he deserves a chance right now,” West said. “Martin has had some chances; we haven’t won. Will’s had some chances, we didn’t win. As a quarterback, that’s how you’re judged. You’re judged by how many games you win.”

Sounds to me like The Future could begin receiving significant playing time during the season’s second half. And why not? Malouf is an exciting player, probably the most entertaining on offense the Tigers have next to receivers Duke Calhoun, Earnest Williams and Maurice Jones.

West was upset with himself for not finding time to get Malouf in last weekend’s loss to Middle Tennessee. And with good reason.

Malouf has great feet, good vision and patience when he’s running. No one knows much about his arm, although his only pass attempt this season resulted in a 4-yard touchdown. Finding something — anything — to spark the offense could trigger the end of a difficult 18-game, two-year stretch in which the Tigers have gone 4-14.