The cold front and accompanying rain that swept into town Wednesday also sent the football team indoors to practice at the Murphy Athletic Complex:

** Amazing to see how a significant Conference USA road victory (29-26 last weekend at Southern Miss) shifts practice moods into a higher gear. Of course, the postseason possibilities help. A bowl game, which looked like an unattainable goal at midseason, now is a victory away games remaining Saturday against UAB and next Saturday against SMU.

** Thumbing through the media, it appears that no team, outside of Southeastern Conference opponents Ole Miss, Tennessee and Mississippi State and C-USA member Southern Miss, has won seven straight against the Tigers. UAB began its seven-game streak in 2000. Southern Miss enjoyed similar success against the Tigers from 1994 to 2000.

** Martin Hankins is wrapping up the best two-year career for a Tiger quarterback in school history. Hankins closest competitor was Steve Matthews, who passed for 31 touchdowns and 3,980 yards in 1992 and ‘93. Hankins has thrown 36 touchdowns and is approaching 5,000 passing yards. He is the second-most prolific passer in the program’s history behind Danny Wimprine, who, in four years, passed for more than 10,000 yards and 81 touchdowns.

** There’s probably no school in Conference USA in which the Tigers cross recruiting paths with more than UAB. Two of UAB’s young stars — quarterback/receiver Joseph Webb and receiver/return specialist Frantrell Forrest — were recruited by the U of M.

OK, this is not my favorite city. Never has been. It always feels dark and cold and impersonal to me. But there are some experiences you just can’t have anywhere else. Like today, when Geoff Calkins and I got off the plane at JFK airport and caught a cab to Manhattan. About five minutes into our journey, our cab drive, Nasir, hit a big pothole, and if I weren’t wearing a seat belt my head probably would have hit the roof. Without any explanation, Nasir peeled off and stopped at what appeared to be a tire store somewhere in Queens. Then, he gets out of the car, picks up a big rubber mallet off the ground and starts pounding away on the front of his car. For about 10 minutes, Geoff and I are sitting in the backseat just laughing at the entire situation, especially because the guy just pulls over without saying a word to us. Then, finally, the driver gets back in the car and says, “Nothing wrong with the tire!” which seemed odd since he had been hammering the car repeatedly. Anyway.

The Tigers practiced today at the New Jersey Nets facility, though I didn’t get here in time to attend. Check the blog again tomorrow before the game to get an update from MSG. I’m off to the Korean restaurant right next to my hotel that looks marvelous, especially since all I’ve had to eat today is a Powerbar when I got on the plane.

THE BIG STORY

Talk is growing hot again at Michigan about football coach Lloyd Carr possibly resigning at the end of the season, but LSU coach Les Miles is not talking.

“Nothing’s changed,” Miles told Glenn Guilbeau of The Shreveport Times after practice Tuesday regarding a possible opening at his alma mater. “And nothing’s going to change.”

Miles, a starting offensive guard under Bo Schembechler at Michigan in 1974-75 and an assistant under him from 1980-81 and from 1987-89, referred to his statements in September when discussion of Carr’s pending exit as Michigan’s coach intensified after opening losses to Appalachian State and Oregon.

“I can tell you that it appears to me that it would be unfair for me to talk about another school when I have a great team and a group of players that I’m very responsible to and a place that I love and enjoy representing,” Miles said on Sept. 10. “So I’m not going to talk about other schools. It’s kind of a waste of what can be a very productive time for my team.”

Miles also was an assistant coach at Michigan under Gary Moeller from 1990-1994 and met his wife Kathy at Michigan when he was an assistant and she was an assistant women’s basketball coach there.

LSU chancellor Sean O’Keefe, meanwhile, said he is not concerned at all about Miles leaving LSU for Michigan.

“From what he’s expressed to me recently, Les is very happy at LSU and not interested in Michigan,” O’Keefe said Tuesday. “He’s extremely pleased with his contract and with the support from the university he has received.”

Miles’ contract was restructured in the summer of 2006, increasing his salary from $1.3 million a year to the current $1.8 million a year. But O’Keefe said LSU will not hesitate to make more adjustments should the need arise.

“We’ll do what we need to do so that he can remain as happy as he is,” O’Keefe said. “I’m certainly amenable to discussing anything with Les Miles. But I can tell you he absolutely wants to be right where he is now.”

Miles could be in for a lot more salary without a contract restructuring. His current contract states that he will become one of the three highest paid college coaches in the country if he wins the national championship. That means his salary would have to be increased to more than $3 million a year to place him among the likes of Alabama coach Nick Saban, who makes $4 million a year, and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who makes more than $3 million a year.

LSU (9-1) is No. 1 in the nation in the Bowl Championship Series poll now and is likely three wins away from playing in the BCS national championship game on Jan. 7 in New Orleans, which is 87 miles southeast of LSU.

“That is a possibility,” O’Keefe said. “That is in the contract.”

O’Keefe said he realizes many coaches often return to their home school.

“There’s always going to be a tug for anyone to their alma mater,” he said. “That said, what Les Miles has expressed to me on numerous occasions is that feeling has been significantly neutralized by the fact that he’s very happy here. As a consequence, he’s not looking.”

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

My apologies for being a few days behind but a couple of my fingers were out of action.

What can I say about last weekend in Hattiesburg? I can proudly say I was there when the Tigers did something they’ve never done before (a recurrent theme for TW’s teams) and that is win two consecutive games in The Rock. For that matter only 4 other schools in the history of Southern Miss football have ever done it.

Tommy always talks about “character” kids. Saturday night and this season for that matter have been examples of why having character kids matter. They could have easily packed it in after Sumrall returned that interception for a TD. But no……… Martin lead his team down the field and scored a TD on a 4th and 10. Then the defense got a 3 and out. You know the rest. That’s what character kids do, they come back when all seems lost. The same can be said about this season. Most of this city was ready to write this season off a month ago. Now the boys from Southern Avenue are a single win from bowl eligibility.
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