It’s been interesting the past two days to see former Tigers Chris Powers — yes, the tight end who caught the game-winning touchdown pass to beat Tennessee in 1996 — and former offensive lineman Jeff King attend U of M practices at Christian Brothers High.

Their observations?

Powers was impressed with the play of the quarterbacks, especially the arm strength of backup Will Hudgens. Powers, an airline pilot, said he didn’t know the Tigers were working out at CBHS, but noticed as he drove past the stadium on Walnut Grove that the group practicing was much bigger than high school players.

King, who played from 1991 to ‘93, marveled at the overall size of the team, joked he’d have been one of the smallest on the offensive line. King played on the ‘93 team that featured an impressive array of talent, including quarterback Steve Matthews and receivers Mac Cody and Isaac Bruce.

As for Tiger coach Tommy West, he seemed particularly pleased that his receivers, probably the strongest bunch in Conference USA, and quarterbacks Arkelon Hall and Will Hudgens were in synch Wednesday.

THE BIG STORY

Clemson defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, according to The State newspaper in Columbia, spent more time than he cared to Tuesday smothering a firestorm he contended was sparked by “cutting a joke” about a couple of University of Alabama recruits. Clemson plays the Tide on Saturday.

After Monday night’s practice, Koenning responded to a question about Crimson Tide star freshman Julio Jones by saying he had seen Jones and fellow blue-chip receiver B.J. Scott get in Cadillac Escalades on separate occasions — a shot at Alabama’s recruiting methods.

Koenning sought out reporters later Monday night, suggesting he had been “kidding around,” but the damage had been done.

The comment rippled through the state of Alabama and led Scott’s prep coach, Vigor High’s Kerry Stevenson, to tell the Mobile Press-Register that Koenning “better not come back on campus.”

Koenning said Tuesday he has no idea what vehicles those players drive.

“I’ve had occasions in my past where I knew another coach was doing something wrong, and I communicated with that coach,” Koenning said. “So I would never throw somebody under the bus like that.

“I thought I was so off the wall that I thought it was tongue-in-cheek and even went back to make sure that those around knew I was joking.”

The involved parties did not share that interpretation.

Stevenson, in an interview with The State later Tuesday, said he received an early-morning call from Scott, who could not believe the accusation.

Koenning’s visit to Vigor happened about the time of the school prom, Stevenson said, and Scott had rented a sport-utility vehicle — a GMC Envoy, he thought — to drive to the event. Scott’s car, a 1980s Cutlass, was stolen recently, Stevenson said.

Stevenson said Koenning returned his phone call late Tuesday morning — after Stevenson spoke to the Press-Register — and Stevenson accepted Koenning’s explanation.

Asked if Koenning was again welcome on campus, Stevenson replied: “I can’t count the number of times the good Lord has forgiven me. … I took it for what it is. That’s just Vic being sarcastic like Vic always is.”

Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said he has never had a problem with Alabama or Auburn in 10 years recruiting against those schools.

“Here’s a school (Clemson) that’s had zero bad blood and has recruited that state actively,” Bowden said. “That’s why I was kind of surprised it snowballed and got the momentum it did. We didn’t even recruit him — Julio Jones. So that shows you how insignificant the statement is.”

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The Tiger football team was chased from the Murphy Athletic Complex on the Park Avenue Campus Tuesday because heavy rains Monday rendered the four practice fields unplayable.

Unplayable is becoming unacceptable for a program trying to take the next step and compete for Conference USA championships, potential BCS bowl berths and, ultimately, inclusion in a BCS conference.

Memphis, which is in the process of raising $3 million for a new football weight room, might want to increase that fund-raising effort and include about a million more for an outdoor artificial practice field. It’s overdue.

Tuesday’s trip to CBHS marked the third time the Tigers have had to use the high school’s field to practice. The Liberty Bowl, the alternative when the Murphy Athletic fields are wet, was `closed’ Tuesday because of extensive cleaning of the facility’s artificial surface. The Liberty Bowl won’t be available to the Tigers this week as the cleaning process continues through Thursday.

CBHS was gracious enough to allow the Tigers to work out ahead of the Purple Wave’s practice. A similar arrangement may be followed Wednesday if the Murphy fields remain too wet.

The change of venue isn’t unique. The Tigers encountered similar problems with their fields during the spring, when 14 of the 15 allotted practices were relocated to the Liberty Bowl.

An indoor practice field is in the long-range fund-raising plans for the football program, but an uncovered artificial surface needs to be in the short-range plans.

I’ll just reprise the lede of my story for tomorrow’s paper, since I think it gives pretty good context to the importance today of C.J. Henry’s surprise commitment to Memphis:’

Here’s how good of a recruiting day it was for the University of Memphis basketball program.

C.J. Henry, who will continue to play baseball during the summer, will be officially listed as a walk-on because the Yankees are contractually bound to pay for his college tuition.

Folks, I have no idea what C.J. Henry is going to do for this team, this year. He hasn’t played competitively in three years. But I know he was once good enough to play for Kansas. I know he’s a point guard, a position where the Tigers would like a little more depth (possibly allowing Tyreke Evans, Antonio Anderson, etc., to play off the ball).

And most of all, I know that when the brother of the top player in the country calls you and says he wants to come - and you don’t even have to give him a scholarship - you don’t turn it down.

I think Henry will also add a layer of maturity. He’s a 22-year old adult. He’s been on his own. He’s been a professional athlete. And though I don’t know C.J. well — today was the first time I’ve spoken with him — the Henry family is as good as it gets. I’ve gotten to know the Henrys a little bit because I’ve written about them so many times over the past couple years, and Carl Henry and Xavier Henry are class people all the way.

In other developments today, Memphis officially released the coaching staff additions this afternoon after I wrote about them this morning. The one staff addition that will draw some attention is Lamont Peterson. I wrote a lot about Peterson earlier this summer as part of my feature story on Tyreke Evans. Peterson has been Evans’ personal trainer for a few years (he’s trained a bunch of big-time players in Philly) and is a bone fide member of “Team Tyreke.” I wrote my story today the way I wrote it because I knew that once word of Peterson’s hiring came out, a few people would start throwing arrows at Memphis and claiming that it was a “package deal.”

I don’t think that logic necessarily applies in this case. For one thing, the Tigers were long considered the favorite for Evans, and he committed a week before there was an opening on Memphis’ coaching staff. Second, if it were important for Evans to be close to Peterson, he could have simply chosen to stay home and go to Villanova, which was his second choice. Third, the job Peterson is taking with Memphis amounts to basically a low-paying internship without benefits.

What teams or individuals do you think we need to watch out for this fall?
Does your high school have the best team in town?

We would like to hear from you.

In today’s paper and online we previewed some of our top local girls soccer teams. Tomorrow we plan to preview the top cross country teams and Thursday we hope to preview the top local volleyball teams.

In soccer, we mentioned Collierville, Houston and Germantown as the top AAA clubs. All three schools have a history of fielding quality soccer programs and all three have won state titles — Collierville in 2005, Houston in 1996, 1998 and 2004 and Germantown in 1994, 1999 and 2001.

Which team in Region 7-AAA will emerge as the team to beat? Look for Brighton, Bolton and Arlington to be in the fight.

In Division 2-AA, St. Agnes, the five-time defending region champion, was mentioned as the favorite. It should be a good race with St. Agnes, ECS, Briarcrest and Hutchison battling for the three playoff spots. Can St. Agnes win another title to go with its 2006 state trophy?

In Division 2-A, St. George’s and Harding should once again meet in the state title game. St. George’s won the 2007 championship, 4-1, over Harding.

As I wrote earlier, let us know what you think.

THE BIG STORY

What does the SEC’s 15-year, $2.25 billion deal with ESPN (starting next football season) include?

A whole bunch such as:

As part of the agreement:
o ESPN and ESPN2 will continue to offer premier SEC games, including Saturday night and two primetime Thursday football games, triple the basketball offerings with three nights (two new) of men’s basketball and present SEC Championships in women’s basketball, baseball, softball and gymnastics.

o ESPN Regional Television will become the new over-the-air syndication home for SEC football and basketball games. In addition, ESPN and the SEC will work together to offer multi-sport packages (including football, men’s and women’s basketball, Olympic sports and conference championships) of SEC content for regional cable syndication.

o ESPNU will now offer exclusive SEC telecasts, including football and basketball and selected conference championships. In addition, the network will present a weekly, hour-long program on SEC sports throughout the academic year as well as sport-by-sport previews, reviews and specials.

o The semifinals and championship of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament will be televised nationally for the first time on ESPN on ABC.

o All SEC championship games except football will be aired on either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN on ABC, ESPNU or ESPN Classic.

o The agreement will also showcase the academic successes of SEC student-athletes by including twice-annual programs dedicated to academic accomplishments of SEC student-athletes; an annual Campus Connection (students take part in the production) telecast at each SEC institution; a weekly segment on an SEC show featuring academics; and an online SEC Academic Network utilizing ESPN360.com technology.

o Extensive coverage of women’s basketball and Olympic sports will be offered nationally through ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU and regionally through ESPN Regional Television, including both regular-season and conference championships.

o Comprehensive multimedia rights are also an integral part of the agreement as live SEC action, including football and basketball, will be offered via simulcasts on ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV and extensive content rights have been granted to ESPN.com.

o ESPN International, ESPN GamePlan, ESPN FULL COURT, ESPN Classic and ESPN Deportes will also feature the SEC.

o Each SEC institution retains the right to continue a local multi-media rights package.

Elsewhere in the SEC:
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What’s going to happen next now that the Grizzlies’ attempt to sign restricted free agent Josh Smith is a little more than two weeks in the rear-view mirror?

Just like they did with regard to Smith, the Griz are methodically crafting their next move. Conventional wisdom suggests that the Griz will consummate a trade before the start of training camp as general manager Chris Wallace has repeatedly said he isn’t interested in pinching away at the team’s money under the salary cap.

Memphis wants to throw all of its money at an impact guy or do nothing in free agency. So with the exception of signing Iranian center Hamed Ehadadi for NBA peanuts there are a few whispers around the league involving the Griz and possible deals:

$$ While the Griz were courting Smith they also had trade discussions regarding New York Knicks power forward Zach Randolph. Those discussions — mostly internal – are still ongoing as Randolph has been made available.

The Griz are willing to part with Darko Milicic (last year’s big free agent signing) in a package that wouldn’t require a core player (OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, etc). What the brain trust seems to be debating is whether Randolph fits the Grizzlies’ style on and off the court.

Randolph is a bonafide low-post scorer who can shoot along the perimeter and rebound. But he doesn’t offer much on defense, something the Griz desperately want to upgrade and Randolph’s character issues may present a problem.

That said, the Griz need talent. Randolph would beef up a thin power forward corps of Hakim Warrick and rookie Darrell Arthur. They’ve got a group of “nice guys” so adding one knucklehead in Randolph shouldn’t be a big deal. Although second-year head coach Marc Iavaroni struggled at times effectively communicating with players, he is credited with helping Phoenix big man Amare Stoudemire take his game to the next level.

$$ Portland has been calling. The Trail Blazers want a point guard and are willing to part with Travis Outlaw (Starkville native) to get a floor general from the Griz. It’s probably more likely that the Blazers would want Conley — and not Kyle Lowry — in this scenario because Conley is the purest point guard in the bunch and Portland could pull off a reunion with former teammate Greg Oden.

If that’s the case, the Griz would need more than Outlaw in return. But I don’t believe trading Conley is a wise move. Trading Conley would put the Griz back at square one, again searching for a dynamic point guard to compensate for the loss of the GOOD Jason Williams.

And why would Griz give up on a smart, physically gifted point guard so quickly? So that Mayo can handle the ball? Take away Conley’s quirky injuries and remember he’s just 20 years old, and the Griz would be wise to keep him. My guess is that they will given Conley was a deal breaker in attempts to get the right to draft Michael Beasley.

$$ Speaking of Lowry, I haven’t heard that he is on the move to Miami or anywhere else. The Griz seem more inclined to keep Lowry because of his defensive ability and toughness at a time the team wants to improve in those areas.

$$ The Griz aren’t too concerned about the Achilles injury Milicic suffered last month.
All Milicic apparently needs is rest so he reportedly won’t rejoin the Serbian national team for a qualifying tourney for next year’s Euro championship.

Stay tuned…