I’ve been told that junior forward Robert Dozier is probably not playing tonight. He’s been dinged up with an arm bruise, and a left ankle problem and, as we reported in today’s paper, will be a game-time decision. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Dozier in uniform, but in talking with Memphis personnel before tonight’s game, it looks like he’s out.

If he doesn’t play, that will certainly give guys like Pierre Niles and Jeff Robinson — whose playing time has been limited thus far — an opportunity to prove that they deserve to be part of the rotation, though Shawn Taggart will eat up most of Dozier’s minutes.

On another topic, I don’t know if Dr. Dean Lee — the athletic director at Arkansas State — is in attendance tonight. But if I were him, I’d keep a close eye on Memphis assistant Derek Kellogg. I’m not trying to jump the gun here, but it wouldn’t shock me if this were Dickey Nutt’s last year in Jonesboro. And if there is indeed an opening at ASU, I know the first phone call I’d make is to Derek Kellogg, who is probably ready for a head coaching job.

Don’t expect to see rookie point guard Mike Conley playing in FedExForum or anywhere for several weeks.
Conley is out indefinitely due to a posterior labral tear in his right shoulder, the team announced Tuesday evening. He’ll miss a minimum of two-to-three weeks.
The fourth overall draft pick suffered the injury last Saturday during a fall just before halftime. The 20-year-old is averaging 5.6 points and leads all rookies with 4.2 assists in 14.4 minutes in five games played.
This is a blow to Conley’s development even though he’s only appeared in road games. For instance, Conley could have played major minutes in a blowout victory Monday against Seattle but the injury prevented that opportunity.

That’s the bad news regarding lost opportunity on the court. The good news is that this injury isn’t too serious. Posterior labral reattachment provides consistently good results, allowing the athlete to return to competition without worry of complications. It’s mostly a football injury.

I’ve had a busy day doing something I didn’t think I’d be getting to do, making bowl plans. My personal inclination is we’re going back to New Orleans for the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. So I’m making plans accordingly. The difficulty with those plans is the Tigers play Georgetown the next morning at 11:00 a.m. sharp. It is a really nice problen to have.

After my dicussions with Dude I had question I’ll ask you (Cal’s word) miserables. Did you throw the season out after 2-4? From listening to some talk radio, reading message boards and overhearing conversations it sure sounds like it. No matter what happen in the first six games the Tigers at worst will have completely flipped the season. So I took the time to do a little homework. Here are many teams who started the season at 2-4.
Pittsburgh is 4-6
Eastern Michigan is 4-8
Mississippi is 3-8
Toledo is 5-6
Arizona is 5-6
San Diego State is 4-6
North Carolina is 3-8
Washington State is 4-7
Western Michigan is 4-7
Stanford is 3-7
UAB is 2-9
Louisana Tech is 5-6
UNLV is 2-9
Washington is 4-7
Nevada is 5-5
So you see the Tigers are the ONLY school that was 2-4 that has a winning record. The point is that is very, very difficult to turn a season around after it starts bad. Credit must be given to this squad that turned it around mid-season.
Read the rest of this entry »

THE BIG STORY

The Birmingham News writes that Tommy Tuberville, whose name has been linked to a possible coaching change at Texas A&M, said Monday he has no plans to leave Auburn for another school.

“We’re going to be at Auburn as long as they want us here,” he said Monday in his most definitive statement so far after weeks of news reports that Texas A&M might make a play for him.

Tuberville’s comments, a splash during an Iron Bowl week that will culminate with Saturday night’s game against Alabama, came before next week’s meeting between the head coach and Athletics Director Jay Jacobs. The two will also meet with university President Jay Gouge in a standard season-ending review accorded all Auburn coaches.

That meeting will touch on Tuberville’s vision for improvements in the athletic facilities as well as new contracts for his assistant coaches. Also on the table will be a contract extension for Tuberville.

Jacobs will make a recommendation on the proposals to Gouge in the days following their joint meeting. Tuberville said he has kept Jacobs and others apprised of his situation.

“As I’ve told them, I love Auburn and I love the Auburn people,” Tuberville said. “They’ve done a lot for me, and I hope we’ve done a lot for them. We’re going to be at Auburn as long as they want us here. We’re fired up about that.”

Tuberville is in the third year of a seven-year contract that pays him $2.6 million this season. He’s scheduled to make $2.8 million next year.

Media reports in Texas say A&M coach Dennis Franchione could be replaced after posting a 31-28 record in five seasons, and they have consistently listed Tuberville, a former A&M defensive coach, as a candidate to replace him, citing sources connected to A&M. Franchione’s final regular season game is against rival Texas on Friday.

Tuberville is gearing up for his archrival game against Alabama this weekend when he will try to become the first coach in Auburn history to beat the Crimson Tide six straight times.

He’s 6-2 against the Tide and his overall record at Auburn is 78-33. He has won nine of his past 12 games against Top 10 opponents, but has lost his past two against LSU and Georgia. No. 25 Auburn is 7-4 this season. Tuberville said his success against Alabama has not been discussed with his players in the past two weeks.

“I think that’s great talk for the fans, but it’s overblown,” he said. “I haven’t heard one word (from the players) about us winning so many games or what this would mean to add on to it. There’s no talk about it. They could really care less about what happened last year. This is a totally different team.”

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

According to Conference USA officials, it appears as if the University of Memphis’s options for the postseason are these:

** The Dec. 21 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, with a 7 p.m. kickoff at the Louisiana Superdome and just enough time for late-night drivers (or early risers) to hustle back to Memphis to watch the Tiger basketball team play Georgetown Saturday the 22nd.

** The Dec. 22 Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, with a noon kickoff at Legion Field, a direct conflict with the Tigers and Hoyas. Tiger officials have been lobbying extensively to avoid this conflict, even if it would be a relatively short drive for fans.

** The Dec. 23 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu (who cares when this one starts, it’s paradise). Actually, it’s always a difficult game for fans, who must give up valuable pre-Christmas shopping time and then hustle back to be home for Christmas. Schools, despite receiving a financial assist from the league to help cover transportation, still play this game as a loss-leader of sorts. Decent exposure for the program, but at a cost to the bottom line.

It would seem that with Memphis’s traveling track record, especially the 10,000 or so who made the trek to New Orleans in 2003, the New Orleans Bowl would have the Tigers at the top of its list.