Bleacher Report - Articles by J. Andrew Lockwood

Lipscomb Bests Mercer in Atlantic Sun Battle

J. Andrew Lockwood — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:29:09 -0500

It appeared that Mercer was hungry to erase the disappointment of losing to Lipscomb in front of a nearly sold out crowd last season when the Bears took a 45-38 lead into halftime. However, the Bison proved why they’re the team to beat in the Atlantic Sun with a come-from-behind 98-89 win in front of 2,000-plus fans in the University Center.

After a 40 point game on the road against Georgia Tech, senior guard James Florence got off to another hot start with 21 points in the first half and 32 for the night. Despite being the leader scorer for the night, Florence would be the Bears’ only big scoring threat as Jordan Burgason (31 points), Adnan Hodzic (25 points, 9 rebounds), and Josh Slater (24 points) would help Lipscomb pull away from Mercer in the second half.

“The great thing for us is it’s not the last game of the season,” said head coach Bob Hoffman after the game on MercerBears.com. “We have to get ready to go again.”

While the game was a tale of two halves, it certainly included an ESPN-worthy highlight reel. Early in the contest, Mercer blitzed Lipscomb with a 9-0 run to regain the lead, capped by a James Florence dunk in the middle of the lane through three Bison defenders. It was a thunderous dunk that brought the entire University Center to their feet for applause.

Late in the game, Mercer battled to cut the Lipscomb lead to four points with a Brian Mills sky-high dunk, but eventually Mercer couldn’t stop Lipscomb’s free throw shooting down the stretch as the Bison grabbed their first conference win of the season.

Mercer’s Jeff Smith put up a career high 16 points and nine rebounds on the night as Daniel Emerson added in 13 points while battling Hodzic in the paint for most of the night. The loss drops Mercer (3-4, 0-1) in the conference standings while the game was a much needed win for Lipscomb (2-4, 1-0).

The Thanksgiving Turkey Hunt

J. Andrew Lockwood — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:43:53 -0500

Growing up in the south, I always felt a little out of place when the topic of hunting or fishing was breached. I had caught my fair share of sunfish on my Grandfather’s dock growing up, but I never shot a gun until my sophomore year in college. And even then, it was only for a skeet shooting contest with a few buddies.

So, when I had the opportunity to hunt turkeys the day before Thanksgiving with my girlfriend’s father, I knew it would be the experience of a lifetime.

I don’t pretend to really know too much about hunting. I had never been before—never had the opportunity. It was a new world to me. It reminded me in some ways of making my first tackle in a football game, riding my first mile on a road bike, and making my first big hit in little league. I was…beside myself.

It turned out to be a rather rainy Wednesday morning in central Florida. I was supposed to meet Mike at noon in order to head 20 miles south of St. Cloud to hunt for the different varmints on the property. And the weather, by all accounts, didn’t look too promising.

The deluge of rain was much needed in the usual dry fall and winters in that part of Florida. However, I was more caught up in my thoughts of what animals do in the rain. Do turkeys walk around in the rain and dig for grubs? What would I do if I were a turkey in the rain?

I asked a lot of questions on the way about the guns, the ammunition, the animals, where to shoot them and how to shoot them. After all, I was a hunting greenhorn. I even packed a peanut butter sandwich even though turkey and cheese was an option. I figured it to be a good hunting omen. I’d bring home the bacon then, right?

The forty-five minute drive with Mike was full of plenty of conversation. From life to work to what shotgun shells are made of, we didn’t stop talking until the scenery started to abruptly change. Fewer and fewer signs of civilization were around as the light grey skies met with green pastures and small groves of trees at the horizon.

As we entered the property, I knew I would exit with either a turkey, smaller varmint, or a slight bit of disappointment. Mike was driving and knew the spread well. He’d been hunting this property for years and seemingly knew all the nooks and crannies of the place. He killed his first turkey when he was 13. He knew how to hunt.

We stopped as we pulled in and he pulled out his two shotguns, a pair of 12 gauges. “Remember how to shoot it?” he asked. The last time I had shot a gun had been a good few months ago at the same place. He had tossed an old plastic bottle in the air a few times for me to shoot that first time since we couldn’t find any varmints on the property in the middle of the summer time.

“I remember most of it,” I answered.

“How about hitting that bean then,” as he pointed to two beans dangling down from a plant a few yards away.

Ka-pow! “I didn’t hit…did I?” I muttered. I had aimed a little south of the actual bean by lining up the top of the notch on the end of the barrel with the center of my target. A rookie mistake I suppose.

“Yeah…you missed it,” he laughed. Oh boy, I was thinking. How could I ever hit a turkey if I couldn’t even hit the stinkin’ bean plant?

I really wasn’t dressed for the occasion as I guess I should’ve been. Mike let me borrow his camouflage rain jacket to conceal my light blue shirt and we pulled up on the property looking for the small critters that run around on the large piece of land. For acres and acres heads of cattle sat on the ground or stood in small droves watching us move by with a puzzled look on their face. After all, from their point of view I guess we humans seemed a bit silly making this "hunting" thing harder than it had to be. If it was food we were looking for, they were seemingly big targets.

But hunting isn’t just about the food. Food is a part of it, but the art of hunting seems to tap into the primal instincts of every man. Maybe it’s the sneaking up on the prey part that we like, or outsmarting the critters. It could even be that we like to test our accuracy and the steadiness of our hands. For me, it was all of the above.

I’ve always loved the outdoors. I go hiking for the smell of the woods just as much as for the visual appeal. And, there was a certain smell to the place. A smell that penetrated and that was foreign to the civilized world.

I followed Mike into the slough of trees that surrounded a feeder. The property had multiple feeders on its hundreds of acres and the animals had grown accustomed to knowing the exact time of day when the food would be dispensed. Dinnertime for the critters was at 5pm every day…and it was only 1 o’clock.

We waded through the brush, aiming to make as little noise as possible when Mike turned around at the edge of the tree line and motioned to get lower to the ground. As I looked through the palm fronds, I could see two large sand hill cranes socializing next to the feeder.

“Do you see it?” he asked.

“Turkeys?” I responded.

Then he pointed straight off in the distance to the tall grass about twenty yards away.

“Hens,” he spoke softly, “about four of them.”

As I lowered my body to get a better look I had cracked a dried out palm frond on the ground making a louder noise than I had expected. I slowly lowered myself to see the hens turn about face and slowly jog off into the tall grass.

Crap! I just blew my opportunity. The sand hill cranes started squawking as we walked parallel to the tree line and exited back to the vehicle.

“Don’t worry, there will be plenty more opportunities later,” he replied as we stepped back in and drove away.

Driving across the property seemed to be the most logical thing to do, especially considering that the terrain was vast and rugged and the land so spread out. We continued to take small sand paths through the fields that connected the lines of trees and brush. In places, there was little underbrush while it appeared rather swampy in other locales.

The drizzle continued from the sky as we looked through binoculars from the left to the right. Then, straight ahead, we spotted a pack of ten or twelve hens walking in the middle of the sand path like a group of kids walking home from school. As we approached, the large birds took to the air and flew over the trees to our right.

“We’ll catch ‘em on the back side. Don’t worry, we’ll see them again later today,” replied Mike.

We continued to drive in the gentle drizzle until we saw a flock of doves congregating on some power lines above. It was target practice time.

Doves, as I quickly found out, are much harder to kill than your average animal. It not only flies left and right, but also up and down and in and out. Target practice was harder than I thought. Three shots and nothing to show for it. Mike even went behind the birds in one drove of trees in an attempt to flush them out for me to take a few good shots. They flew the opposite way and he nailed two as a clump of feathers slowly fell to the ground.

He’s a good shot and it showed. On my first trip to the property he had shot a dove driving along a path near the tree line. He was driving and the dove was flying the other way. And he still hit it square enough to drop it out of the sky.

I was able to see my first hog, though. It was a medium sized, stubby little critter with coarse, black hair. It ran off before Mike had a chance to bring his shotgun up, but he estimated it to weight about 130 lbs.

We kept traveling to different areas on the property but no to avail. No animals anywhere. As we entered a field about three hours into our ordeal we saw a pack of hens off in the distance. There were about 15 or 20. They were hard to count through the lens of the binoculars, but they were congregating and having a big party. Maybe it was a rainy day grub party.

Whatever the case, we edged closer and closer to get a peak. All hens. This was the opportunity.

“We’re going to corral them,” he said as we approached from the left. We did a semicircle until we got within about 40 yards of the hens. They were loud and having a big time.

“Your shot,” he added. “Pick one out and aim for its head.”

I looked down the barrel of the 12 gauge, slick and wet from the constant rain. I looked up as I took the safety off. There’s so many! Which one do I shoot?

I paused for a brief second before I shut my left eye and peered down the barrel again. I turned to the left as I found a group of hens mingling. All of a sudden, one hen extended its neck as if to say to its neighbor, “Hey! Stay out of my space! This is my ground to roost and dig for grubs!”

That’s the one! I waited until the hen brought its extended neck back up before I fired.

Ka-pow! Feathers flew up into the air, the flock of hens scattered off in all directions. Some flew and some bolted across the pasture like Olympic sprinters. I followed the trail of smoke and found not one but two hens ruffling their feathers and sprawled out on the backs on the ground.

TWO TURKEYS! I was beside myself. Mike finished off the paralyzed turkeys for good measure and then I let out some sort of yell. I don’t exactly remember how it went, but I can only imagine it was the type of yell that comes with killing one’s first turkey…or two in my case.

Upon further examination, I had nicked them both in the neck, right on target. Mike and I gutted the birds and cut off the legs and necks. It was a different experience, but I really didn’t mind the warm entrails of the hens I had just killed. I had just killed a Thanksgiving turkey after all. And two at that.

We drove home and shared our story with everyone else as we de-feathered the fowls and prepared them for the deep fryer the next day. It was an un-paralleled experience. As we enjoyed dinner, I then remembered my peanut butter sandwich in the car. It had been hours since breakfast, but in our pursuit for a turkey I had didn’t eat a thing. I wasn’t really that hungry, though, for lunch.

Looking back though, I didn’t have time nor a need for a sandwich. The hunt for a Thanksgiving turkey requires too much attention for one to get caught up in the details of what’s for lunch. Although I had never been hunting before, I felt like a forager of food that day before Thanksgiving.

And every time I will tell the story, I’ll make sure to say, “Not one turkey…TWO turkeys with the same shot!” A Thanksgiving to remember for sure.

Dear NCAA, Add a Mid-Major Football Championship!

J. Andrew Lockwood — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:08:11 -0500

Plenty of debate will swirl when it comes to crowning a national champion in college football. Some love the current BCS system, while others despise it in preference of a playoff instead.

The current bowl structure gives us college football almost every day from mid-December through mid-January that "sorts out" a BCS national champion, but I propose a slightly different structure that would crown two different college football champions.

Simply put, it involves creating a middle tier in college football. The current system splits college teams into the Division I Championship Subdivision (i.e. Georgia Southern, Delaware, Appalachian State) and Football Bowl Subdivision (i.e. Florida, Michigan, Southern Cal), it only makes sense to create the Mid-Major Subdivision.

This tier would help fill the gap between the two divisions and would include all non-BCS conferences in the current Bowl Championship Division. Under the current alignment the division would include teams from Conference USA, IA Independents (minus Notre Dame of course), the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West, Sun Belt, and Western Athletic conferences.

Taking a page out of the European soccer handbook, a system could even be implemented that would move teams/conferences up or down a tier based on performance measures.

Using these, if the Mountain West were dominant for several years, the teams would be rewarded with a move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision. Additionally, if they struggled to beat the patsies, they’d move down to the Division I Championship Subdivision or the third tier.

The system would be a win-win situation for teams, conferences, sponsors, television networks, the NCAA, and college football fans. It would mean that Boise State actually has a championship to play in if they go undefeated. It would mean that sports talk radio stations would be abuzz with yet another hot topic—who would win the Mid-Major Championship and why.

Another championship game would mean more revenue to college football with a larger bowl game (think Mid-Major National Championship vs. the Humanitarian Bowl) and a televised championship game during the holidays. Anyone want to watch TCU take on Utah in the MMC (Mid-Major Championship) after unwrapping presents and drinking eggnog with Grandma?

It only makes sense that there is something to fill the middle of a large void in college football. Almost 120 teams battle for one championship every year in the Football Bowl Subdivision, yet teams like Boise State, Utah, and TCU must rely on the floundering of other ‘better" schools such as Florida, Texas, and Alabama.

Boise State could go undefeated and still not reach the title game, while two one-loss schools would. While Boise’s schedule may be a little lighter, shouldn’t they be tested in a championship title game, too?

The Division I Championship Subdivision has been a great success over the past few decades, with a playoff format of 16 teams concluding with a national championship game. In fact, the national championship game (as well as semifinals in years past) has been more exciting than a few of the early season FBS bowl games.

With more on the line in a playoff game, it somewhat resembles those do-or-die ones in the NFL. Teams seem to play a little harder when there’s something on the line in a playoff game in comparison to the Emerald Peanut Bowl featuring two 6-6 teams.

It’s an easy fix, just like instant oatmeal. Simply add another championship, and the sport will be rejuvenated. It gives the little guys something to play for and fans another game to TiVo. And it gives me something else to argue about. A Mid-Major Championship just makes sense.

Florida State-Mercer: Seminoles Win 89-50, But More Upset Bids Ahead for Bears

J. Andrew Lockwood — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:04:46 -0500

When you annually sneak up on big-time teams and upset them, the surprise factor starts to wear away. Such was the case when the upset-prone Mercer Bears took on ACC power Florida State on Saturday, and the Seminoles cruised to an easy 89-50 victory.

The game wasn’t a testament to how strong a team Mercer actually is in the Atlantic Sun, but rather a statement of how tall and good this Florida State team really is.

The Bears (3-2), started the season with a 2-1 road trip in Rhode Island, narrowly losing to Providence before an early home tune-up against Fisk University.

The Seminoles, however, might just have been the best team to pass through Macon, Ga., in the last decade. Florida State (3-0) now holds a perfect record against Atlantic Sun opponents in 2009, defeating Stetson, Jacksonville, and Mercer within the past week.

Mercer’s homecoming started promisingly with a James Florence three-pointer to start the game, but FSU’s defense quickly clamped down on the perimeter shooting and went to work inside offensively.

The Bears held the lead twice early on, but the Seminoles quickly built a 40-18 lead at the half to leave the sold-out University Center crowd stunned. Statistics told the story well. Mercer was held to 13.5 percent (5-for-37) from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play while Florida State hit 58.3 percent (14-for-24).

The Seminoles would amass 13 blocks, including five from 7’1” center Solomon Alabi, to set a new University Center record.

After the game, Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman told MercerBears.com, “We didn’t execute well, and they had a lot to do with that. FSU is a very talented team. Coach Hamilton has done a good job in putting the pieces together.”

A lopsided first half gave way to an even more lopsided second, as the Seminoles would shoot an astounding 60 percent from the floor in the final stanza. For the afternoon, five players would finish in double figures for the visiting ACC team, led by Deividas Dulkys’ 14 points.

Jordan DeMercy, Xavier Gibson, and Solomon Alabi would all finish with 12 points, while teammate Derwin Kitchen would throw in 10 more.

Mercer guard James Florence would lead the Bears in scoring with only 14 points in 30 minutes. The Bears’ starting five would only manage to score 28 of the 50 points on the scoreboard.

For most in the sold-out crowd of 3,200-plus, the lopsided game was a bit of a disappointment, particularly after upsets of Auburn and Alabama a year ago and a narrow overtime loss to Georgia Tech in last year’s homecoming game.

But with lower expectations against major opponents they will face this season, Mercer still has a chance to upset several large schools with upcoming contests against Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, and Alabama.

Mercer-Fisk: Bears Blow Out Bulldogs 110-45

J. Andrew Lockwood — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:09:00 -0500

It was a blowout from the beginning. The Bears (3-1) took the tipoff to start the game and then proceeded to mount a 16-2 lead before the five-minute mark over the Nashville-based NAIA Fisk University.

Fisk (0-6) seemed to be hopelessly outmatched against Mercer’s starters and top scorers, as the Bears would shoot close to 60 percent from the field in the first half.

While the game was more of a tune-up for the Bears' matchup against the ACC’s Florida State Seminoles coming into town three days later, Mercer played everyone on the bench and saw quality minutes from their starters in the 110-45 win.

The game set three University Center records on Wednesday night: the most points scored by a team (toppling the 2005 mark of a 105-101 win over Troy), the biggest margin of victory (the previous largest margin was 32 points against Savannah State in 2005), and equaled the most rebounds in UC history with 58.

After the game, head coach Bob Hoffman said on MercerBears.com, “It was great to get to play a lot of people tonight. The level of play was good, and I played some guys out of position. They competed no matter where they were playing.”

For the Bears fans that saw a tight exhibition game against Division II GSCU, the blowout win was a sigh of relief. It was also an opportunity to see many of the new faces on the floor this season for the Bears. While E.J. Kusnyer and Daniel Emerson would finish with 14 points each, guards Ridas Pulkauninkas and James Florence dropped 13 points in limited action.

Clearing the benches throughout the game, the 2,000-plus fans in the UC saw hometown product David O’Shaughnessey score his first five points at Mercer, as well as fellow freshmen and transfers Chris Smith, Jake Gollon, Michael Jenkins, Brandon Moore and Tevin Swann see plenty of the hardwood in the second half. All 15 players for Mercer ended up scoring on the night.

For Fisk, Michael Brodnax would net 12 points while teammate Bradley Grayson would add in 10. With only two players finishing in double figures on the night, the Bulldogs would end up shooting only 29.7 percent from the floor.

Now, the Bears turn their sights to the CSS-TV matchup against Florida State, a team that has already beaten A-Sun opponents Jacksonville and Stetson by considerable margins in Tallahassee early this season.

Photo Courtesy of Alex Lockwood Photography

Hot Start for Mercer Hoops

J. Andrew Lockwood — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:51:00 -0500

The Mercer men didn’t disappoint in their first road trip of the season to Rhode Island for the three game World Vision Invitational. Playing Bucknell, Bryant, and Providence, the Bears would win two of the three contests with an explosive offense and with a determined defense.

The Bears (2-1) won the season opener 89-80 against the Bucknell Bison of the Patriot League, a team that went to the second round of the NCAA tournament only a few years ago after an upset win over Arkansas. Powered by senior guard James Florence’s 33 points and some late game heroics from junior Jeff Smith, the Bears won the barn-burner contest in which both teams shot close to 50% from the field. Ultimately, Mercer would outscore the Bison by seven in the second half off of a 63% effort from the floor, but Bucknell kept it close and pulled within four points before Mercer hit crucial free throws to close out the contest.

Although Florence posted the big numbers on the night (his 80th game in double-figures as a Bear), Mercer saw solid contributions from Jeff Smith (16 points, 3-4 3PT), Daniel Emerson (13 points, 13 rebounds), and Brian Mills (11 points, 7 rebounds) as well. Bucknell’s offense was led by a trio of guards that would shoot 11-16 from beyond the perimeter for the night. Darryl Shazier, Bryan Cohen, and Bryson Johnson made up a large part of the Bison offense, accounting for 52 of the team’s 80 points.

Following the first win of the year, head coach Bob Hoffman said, “We have a good nucleus and the pieces fit together tonight but we have to guard better on the defensive end.” Commenting on the NBA-like final score, Hoffman added, “Anytime these guys are scoring, it makes me look good. Danny [Emerson] is a double-double waiting to happen. He could have had 20 [points] and 10 [rebounds] easy tonight.”

After the opening night win, the Bears would demolish the Bryant Bulldogs 80-56 in their second contest, a game in which the final score was much closer than the actual matchup. With momentum on their side following the defeat of Bucknell, E.J. Kusnyer got hot from the perimeter, hitting six three-pointers on his way to a 22 point afternoon against the Bulldogs. At one point, Mercer would lead by as much as 31 in the first half (45-14).

The final tally saw Emerson notch 16 points followed by Florence’s 14 points in only 24 minutes. Using the mammoth leads throughout the game, Hoffman was able to use a good part of his bench, substituting in eight bench players to get quality floor minutes for the Bears.

While the Bears rocked the Dunkin’ Donuts Arena in Providence with big wins against Bucknell and Bryant, the game everyone really wanted to see pitted the hometown Providence Friars of the Big East Conference against the upset-happy Bears.

Midway through the first half, the game had the making of a blow out as the Friars broke away from Mercer to earn a 15 point lead at the intermission. However, Hoffman changed up the team’s game plan at the break, shifting the Bears into a zone defense that would allow only three points for more than 6 minutes late in the second half. The tight defense would allow Mercer to crawl their way back into the contest, cutting the lead to only a point with 1:10 remaining in the game. Despite several scoring opportunities in the final 70 seconds, nothing would fall in for the Bears as they would drop their first game of the season 79-77.

“I thought our guys played hard enough and gave themselves a chance to win,” said Hoffman. “I know I’ve got some warriors and they’re going to go at it each night,” added the second year head coach.

James Florence would finish the game with 23 points while swingman Jeff Smith would chip in 19 more. Emerson would pull down 16 rebounds and add in 12 more points in the final tally, but it was Providence’s Marshon Brook’s day as the Marietta, Georgia native would pace the Friars with 26 points off of a 10-18 effort from the field.

Returning home to face Fisk University and Florida State for homecoming, the Bears will continue to face big conference opponents for the next two months with important contests against Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, and Alabama coming on the road soon.

Photo courtesy of Friars.com

Mercer's Volley Dreams Fall One Win Short

J. Andrew Lockwood — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:49:00 -0500

They came one win short. After a dream season a year ago, everyone but head coach Noelle Rooke and her players was writing off this season as a rebuilding year, especially when Mercer 6-17 in late October. But funnier things have happened.

Rooke’s team hit a hot stretch, winning four straight matches including a 3-1 defeat of the second best team in the A-Sun, Florida Gulf Coast, to end the home slate in 2009. Heading down to Florida with momentum in their favor, Mercer coasted by North Florida 3-1 before coming up just short to Jacksonville 3-1 in a hard fought match.

The surging Bears disposed of the Lady Ospreys quickly in the Friday night matchup after a first set letdown (14-25, 25-14, 25-14, 26-24). Led by senior setter Chelsea Gebben’s 14 assists and 11 digs, the Bears posted outstanding offensive numbers in the middle two sets to sneak past the talented North Florida squad. Rachel Urbelis would lead Mercer statistically for the night, totaling 13 kills. Libby Hansch and Krista Hurley would chips in 9 and 8 kills respectively in a match that resembled more of a chess stalemate than a offensive barn-burner.

Despite the low hitting percentages for both sides, Kaley Read and teammate Paige Pridgeon provided all of the UNF offense, combining for 31 of the team’s 55 kills for the night. Errors would prove costly though for the Ospreys in the contest (32 kill errors, 8 service errors).

“A win is a win no matter how you get it,” said Rooke following the game. “I’m thankful to keep up the winning ways.”

Unfortunately, Saturday’s contest against Jacksonville would cause the Bears to fall one game short of the Atlantic Sun postseason tournament in 2009. Although the year ended with a ‘L’ in the game column, the season ended on quite a high note as the team put together five wins in the final six contests.

Mercer won the opening set 25-21, but fell short in the final three 23-25, 23-25, 19-25 to lose the match to the Dolphins. A trio of outside hitters from JU including Brittany Lehman (17 kills), Brooke Singleton (14 kills, 12 digs), and Nicki Kent (12 kills) would pace the Dolphins at the net as Mercer responded with four players of their own in double-figures. The Bears saw a truly team effort on the floor with everyone contributing including Chelsea Gebben’s 32 assists, 1 kill, and 8 digs in her final collegiate match.

It was a bittersweet ending to a hard season for the team. “I was very pleased with the girls’ effort tonight,” Rooke said via mercerBears.com. Later Rooke would add, “They came out fighting and never gave up throughout the match…never. I am very proud of the girls. They finished strong, playing their best volleyball of the year when we expected them to. The morale in the locker room was great and I think that is a testament to the group of women we have on this team.”

With the 2009 campaign wrapped up, the Bears return all starters and bench players but the lone senior on the team, Chelsea Gebben. Gebben wraps up her career as a setter at Mercer still holding an NCAA record for the most consecutive services in a set (22 against Savannah State).

Ath-le-brities All Over

J. Andrew Lockwood — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:29:00 -0500

Ath∙le∙brity – (1) one that plays collegiate or professional sports while capitalizing on the media’s coverage of the team and his/her performance for personal benefit (2) Chad Ochocinco (3) Terrell Owens

We might as well define the term that seems to pervade our sports world these days. From the Falcon’s tight end Tony Gonzalez posing nude with his wife in a PETA ad, to the Bengal’s Ochocinco promising a shipment of mustard to the rival Pittsburgh Steelers because they can’t "ketchup" to the Bengals in the standings, the gimmicks of professional athletes are officially a bit over the top.

It wasn’t that long ago when we thought a Terrell Owens touchdown celebration was a bit much. Now, it seems more and more athletes are using the media outlets, and opportunities around them, to capitalize on their fame. Why else would we care about mentioning a naked man in a PETA ad, much less a shipment of mustard?

While society continues to progress, and technology continues to bring us closer and closer to the athletes we love, sometimes we should take a line out of the movie Angels in the Outfiel d and state “Less is more, Ranch, less is more.”

It’s true that media methods are changing these days. Just recently ESPN.com's No. 1 college basketball recruit Harrison Barnes (Ames, IA) committed to North Carolina via Skype with head coach Roy Williams. I guess it only makes sense that the same tool we get all of our sporting information, YouTube videos, and access to our favorite teams is the same tool being chosen by the actual recruit himself.

Athletes are certainly recognizable in the general public these days, thus resulting in their celebrity status. You think Florida quarterback Tim Tebow can enjoy a nice pizza at the local parlor in Gainesville without getting hounded by autograph seekers? Forget about it.

My only question is, when is enough…enough? Shouldn’t athletes be a little more concerned about their game and team rather than coming up with the next buzz topic on sports radio and blogs? Ochocinco gets paid $3,550,000 to practice at most 3-4 hours per day, and play football on Sundays. In essence, he’s a product of our own making, because we can’t seem to get enough of sports these days.

Don’t misunderstand me; it’s not the athlete’s fault. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to be an Athlebrity? More attention equals more money over the long run, and more attention also fills stadiums and boosts television ratings. I just find it somewhat disappointing that many professional and college games are preceded by WWE-like talking by players and coaches in the media.

And all of the talking before games? Again, a product of our own making. It’s intriguing that a few words in the media from our favorite Athlebrities make us want to tune into the big game in the same way we wanted to witness a showdown slugfest at recess in grammar school. We reward talk.

Sometimes Athlebrities’ talk to each other ,and what they hear from their influences comes back to haunt them. Take for example Texas Tech head football coach Mike Leach’s latest interview after a recent loss to Texas A&M. In his post-game interview with the media Leach said that the players needed to stop listening to their "fat little girlfriends", and instead heed the advice his coaching staff (the interview itself is of a complex nature especially considering that Leach is an Athlebrity himself among college football head coaches for his hilarious interviews with the media).

While Leach may have a point about his team, the truth is that Athlebrities will only become even more commonplace in the sports media if the current trends continue. If you want to continue to hear their ridiculousness in the daily news, buy their jersey and support their cause. If you care enough about Gonzalez’s nude body, go picket for PETA (or do whatever else you can do to support their cause). As for me though, I think I’ll just watch my favorite athletes on the field and leave it at that.

BearZone Spotlight: Daniel Emerson

J. Andrew Lockwood — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:16:00 -0500

Dick Vitale loves to talk about the "BMOC" (Big Man on Campus) during the length of his commentary of a college basketball game.

Daniel Emerson is literally a "Big Man on Campus."

Listed at 6’8", Emerson is a muscular force in the post despite not playing like a true center. He can hit the three-pointers just as easily as he can hit the jumper from mid-range and his tenacity on the glass is unequaled.

As one of the best returning rebounders in the country, Emerson has become a crucial part of the Bears’ game on the court during the past year.

Transferring to Mercer after two years of limited playing time at Western Kentucky, Emerson has been an automatic contributor on offense and defense averaging more than a double-double each game.

The last in a line of a talented basketball family (brothers Scott and Will also played at Mercer and dominated opponents inside), the St. Mary’s, Georgia native hopes to put the Bears over the top this season and push them into the NCAA tournament for the first time in a long while.

The BearZone caught up with the busy big man to talk about his goals for the season and his adjustments to Mercer during the past two years.

BearZone: What are you hoping to accomplish in your final season here at Mercer?

Emerson: This may sound really cliché but just win a conference championship. I don't care at all about individual accomplishments anymore; I had an opportunity to achieve all that last year. I just want to win this year, badly. I can be the first in my family to go to the NCAA tourney!

BearZone: How did injuries slow you down last year and what was the hardest part of rehabbing through those injuries? (Emerson battled through shoulder injuries for a good part of last season.)

Emerson: The injuries were tough for a while and then you adapt to them. After I started getting shots before every game (for the pain) it got much easier as the pain subsided for most of the game.

The toughest part of rehabbing was just not playing basketball for six months and not being able to lift weights. Watching yourself shrink day by day sucks!

BearZone: Why the move to Mercer from Western Kentucky? What do you like more about Mercer?

Emerson: When I first came here it was mainly because I grew up watching both of my brothers play here. I had known Coach Slonaker since I was 11 and decided if I was going to play anywhere else then it was going to be for him at Mercer.

The main thing that I like about Mercer more than Western Kentucky is that Mercer has James Florence. I didn't have a James Florence at Western Kentucky; it was much less fun to watch basketball.

BearZone: Have you found your place in Hoffman's run-n-gun offense? What do you expect your role to be this season?

Emerson: I definitely think I have found my role here. Offensively, I am needed to rebound as much as possible and finish when I get the ball around the basket. I try to take charges and help everyone as much as possible defensively.

BearZone: What are your goals going into each game?

Emerson: I think my goals this season will just be to stay aggressive for the entire game and rebound as hard as possibly when I'm in the game.

I want to try to average eight-plus rebounds per game again and cut down on my turnovers big time from last season. A double-double sounds like a very ambitious goal this season, so we'll go with that.

BearZone: Why should the average student come out to the games this year? What about the team makes the games exciting?

Emerson: I think the average student should come check us out for a couple of reasons. First, we have a much more athletically gifted team this season and we are playing even faster than we did a year ago. Secondly, we have studs like EJ Kusnyer, Brian Mills, Jeff Smith, and Ted Price on the team this year.

What more do girls need to entice them to come out than that??

Mercer Softball Looking Sharp in the Fall

J. Andrew Lockwood — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:12:00 -0500

Wrapping up the fall season, head coach Mike Raynor can rest easy. Not that Raynor really ever stops thinking about softball and his team, but at least for the holidays, he’ll feel good about the upcoming season.

In his fourth year at the helm of the Bears, Raynor has taken one of the worst teams in Division I softball and has turned them into contenders. While much of the progress over the past few seasons was made on defense, the Bears seemed to focus a bit more at the plate this fall.

Playing a short seven game season stretching from mid-October to November, Mercer matched up with the likes of Georgia as well as several NAIA and JUCO teams.

With the graduation of ace pitcher Lacey Richardson, Raynor’s focus this short season was on replacing his No. 2 pitcher and on getting more big hits.

As could be expected, Mercer struggled against a powerful Georgia team, but looked sharper against their other opponents. Against Darton College, Mercer won the double header 2-0 and 8-2 off of fantastic pitching performances from Jenni Holtz and Kari Chambers.

Most recently, Mercer would record victories over Georgia Perimeter College (3-0) and Rinehardt College (5-0) as the Bears saw sophomores Sara Stukes and Stephanie Canara hit long balls against Perimeter and Rinehardt respectively.

“With our team’s variety of talent, we were able to complete the fall season a successful note,” offered senior outfielder Holly Oglesbee.

She added, “We plan to use the same mental and physical ability we ended the fall season with to build upon for the spring. My hope is that we can surpass last year’s 40 win total and win a conference championship. I believe wholeheartedly we are capable of winning the championship and competing in the NCAA tournament.”

For a team with a .975 fielding percentage, 18 returning players, and one of the best returning pitchers in the nation in Jenni Holtz, Raynor could see his team capture an A-Sun title and make it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in the program's history.

With a 1-2 pitching punch of Holtz and Kari Chambers set, he’ll need leadership from the team’s three seniors (Oglesbee, Stacey Condra, and Brandy Keeter) in order to make a run at the NCAA tournament.

Mercer opens their spring season Feb. 12th against Bowling Green and Southern Mississippi in the Florida State University Tournament in Tallahassee, Florida.

Mercer Bears Basketball the Hottest Ticket in Town!

J. Andrew Lockwood — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:39:00 -0500

With professional sports all but removed from Macon, the Mercer Bears are starting to fill the void for a city in need of a sports team. Middle Georgia’s hottest ticket has been consistently improving over the past few seasons and this could be the year that the Bears finally make the big dance.

The numbers don’t lie. Seventeen wins last season. Two upset victories over Auburn and Alabama and a close overtime loss to Georgia Tech. A 54 percent increase in attendance last year and nearly 1,000 season ticket packages already sold should indicate that you might be missing something big if you haven’t reserved your seat yet for the next game.

Forget about Florida State homecoming tickets. The general public tickets for that game were gone in less than an hour and with big conference home games against rivals Lipscomb and Belmont in early December, the University Center could be going bonkers come January.

“We’re shooting for the Atlantic Sun Championship and want to compete in the NCAA tournament, not just show up,” said senior guard James Florence. If the team isn’t reason enough to show up at the games, Florence is. The fourth-year starter is the NCAA’s best returning scorer, averaging more than 20 points per contest. Teamed up with big man Daniel Emerson and shifty guards E.J. Kusnyer and Brian Mills, the Bears may see their stock jump through the roof come tournament time.

Building on last year’s success, head coach Bob Hoffman lured a few big-time junior college transfers to Macon, including Jeff Smith, who dropped 22 points in his first game as a Bear in an exhibition win over Georgia College and State. With a high octane offense, the Bears will look to repeat the success against their opponents this year as they match up with the likes of Vanderbilt, Alabama, and Providence on the road this season.

And let’s not forget about the women. Their monumental 17-14 record last year after a dismal 4-26 mark the season before was one of the best turnarounds in the college game in 2008-09. LaToya Jackson and Courtney Ford, the lone two seniors of the squad, will look to guide their young team back to the Atlantic Sun Tournament, where they fell in the Semifinals to East Tennessee State last March.

How could it not be the start of something great when college basketball icon Dick Vitale visited Mercer in October to kick off the season? As Vitale would say, “It’s time for college basketball, baby!”

Mercer edges GCSU 69-66

J. Andrew Lockwood — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:50:00 -0500

Call it the wake-up from hibernation or whatever you want, but the men’s basketball team’s exhibition win over Georgia College and State wasn’t that impressive.

Nevertheless, the 69-66 win was better than last year’s result: a 75-72 loss to the Division II school. With the proceeds of the game going to the American Cancer Society, junior guard Jeff Smith looked fantastic in his first game as a Bear, posting 22 points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes. The rest of the team played well in spurts but still seemed to be in ‘preseason’ form.

“In the first half, we were stagnant and standing around,” said second year head coach Bob Hoffman after the game on MercerBears.com. “That led to a lot of turnovers. GCSU played their tails off, and Coach Sellers is a great coach. We have to keep working on the little things. We only have eight or nine days left to prepare for our regular season opener.”

To be fair, it was a tough situation for Mercer. Georgia College and State University, a 22-7 team out of the Peach Belt Conference, consistently gives the Bears fits in preseason action. Gunning for the larger Division I school, the ‘Battle of Middle Georgia’ often comes down to the wire.

Last night, it was Marietta product Graham Martin that was trying his best to upset Mercer with 15 points on the night. The Bobcats also saw big production from Jake Rios and Ryan Aquino with 11 and 10 points on the night, respectively.

Trailing by nine at the half 35-26, the Bears shot 40.7% from the field for a big second half to burn past the Bobcats. A late rally by GSCU pulled the game within three, but they wouldn’t get any closer as time ran out on the school from Milledgeville.

Analyzing Mercer’s effort, Jeff Smith may have stolen the headlines, but James Florence quietly put together a solid second half effort en route to 17 points on the night. Big man Daniel Emerson struggled a bit inside committing six turnovers but managed to fall just short of a double-double with 8 points and 11 rebounds.

Hoffman used the exhibition matchup to get a feel for the team’s depth, playing a total of nine bench players including transfers Brandon Moore, Michael Jenkins, and Ridas Pulkauninkas for lengthy amounts of time.

While Mercer aimed to develop continuity on the floor, GCSU put their best players on the floor but failed to win the battle on the glass. The Bears would outrebound the Bobcats 49-34 for the night.

With their only exhibition of the season complete, Mercer opens up regular season play against Fisk University before Hoffman’s squad travels to Rhode Island to play Bucknell, Bryant, and Providence in three consecutive days. Then Mercer plays in arguably their most important home game of the season against Florida State for homecoming.

The Third Half: Don't Look at the Coach

J. Andrew Lockwood — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:43:00 -0500

It seems about this time each year we start to see the same thing on ESPN’s SportsCenter every time we turn it on. A handful of head football coaches in the NFL and NCAA are on the "hot seat" and it’s only mid-season. Their teams are often winless or playing well below expectations.

Sometimes, the owners or players speak out against the coach in the media. Often, it’s the coaches that get the blame, and rightfully so. They get paid the big bucks to manage their teams, call the plays, and make sure everything runs smoothly come game day.

But sometimes, a bad team is anything but a coach’s fault. Take this year’s "hot seat" coaches, the Tennessee Titans’ Jeff Fisher and the Washington Redskins’ Jim Zorn. Both teams are off to pathetic starts and recently the Redskins’ ownership released Zorn from his play-calling duties. The next week, a Monday Night Football matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Redskins couldn’t move the ball downfield and ultimately lost 27-17. Play-calling, huh?

The ‘Skins have bigger problems than coaching ... they’ve got mediocre players at best. Taking a look in Nashville, Jeff Fisher’s Titans have been looking worse than most NCAA FCS teams.

Their 59-0 loss to the New England Patriots in the snow cemented their place as the cellar dwellers of the NFL in 2009. Surprisingly, their bad start comes after a magical 13-3 season in which veteran quarterback Kerry Collins led the team to the playoffs. In Tennessee, it’s the same roster but a different year. Does that make it the coach’s fault?

What really separates a good coach from a poor one? If I coached the New England Patriots, we’d probably still win 10-12 games. Would that make me a good coach? Honestly, why put so much stock in coaching methods when it’s the players that execute plays and win the games on the field? While college football is much different than the NFL, should we expect the same things from coaches across the board? College coaches can mentor and foster players as they mature during their college years. Conversely, NFL coaches seem to be more like designated baby-sitters with big salaries managing ego-maniacs.

Should we really hold coaches responsible for the play of their teams? While we’ve established a difference between NFL and college football coaches, it’s also notable that they both get paid much more than the average blue-collar salary in America. So in a way, you really can’t blame the media for uber-analysis of their winning percentages and dramatic storylines.

The one puzzling thing about head coaches is the fact they act as a half-puppet for those above them while carrying around the head boss mentality. Take Jeff Fisher’s case again. Fisher is one of the most respected coaches in the NFL, leading his team for 15 consecutive years, yet Titans’ owner Bud Adams declares to the media he wants backup quarterback Vince Young inserted into the lineup after Tennessee’s slow start.

What options does Fisher have? He calls the shots (or did), but has to feel the sting of getting his toes stepped on. "Head" coach? Not anymore. He’s more like the team administrative assistant who fills out the roster card.

Professional and college sports are big businesses, but maybe we shouldn’t pay as much attention to the leadership of a team as we do the actual stock. Should we expect great coaching miracles from lowly teams such as the Detroit Lions (0-16 in 2008)? Plainly put, no. Their roster isn’t worth $5. Should upper management expect miracles to happen when they pay a man $1 million? Yes. it's part of their job. And so for someone who is looking for the ultimate juxtaposition job, coaching football would be at the top of the list.

Men's Basketball Preview 2009-10

J. Andrew Lockwood — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:56:00 -0500

Building off of Mercer’s best finish in several years last season, expectations in Macon are sky-high for this year’s team. Led by a formidable core of seniors, this could be the year that the team from middle Georgia makes it to the NCAA tournament. “We’re shooting for the Atlantic Sun championship and want to compete in the NCAA tournament, not just show up,” said senior guard James Florence.

Ranked third in the conference by many of the different basketball media outlets, the Bears will need to get by perennial conference powers Jacksonville, Lipscomb, Belmont, and ETSU for the opportunity to represent the A-Sun come March. Finishing 17-15 last season, head coach Bob Hoffman impressed many in the college basketball world with wins over Auburn and Alabama, while nearly missing an upset over Georgia Tech during homecoming.

Adapting to Hoffman’s new up-tempo offense last season, Mercer piled plenty of points on the scoreboard, but seemed to give up just as many on the other end. With opponents averaging 76 points against the Bears, defense and ball control were the focal points of the offseason. “We just couldn’t handle the pressure,” said Hoffman on ESPN’s Insider team preview. “They started trapping us and the guards did a good job, but we didn’t take care of the ball as well as we needed to,” he added.

The Bears added several key players during the off-season that should boost their depth inside, and outside for the upcoming season. With conference shot-blocking threat Calvin Henry gone due to graduation, Hoffman and his coaching staff added nine new faces to the roster to give Mercer big-time threats up, and down the roster. Add in starters Florence, Daniel Emerson, E.J. Kusnyer, and Brian Mills, and you’ve got the makings of a tough basketball team.

“The big difference this year is that we’re a lot more athletic at the wing and at the post,” said forward Daniel Emerson. “Building off of last year, we’re a lot deeper, a lot better, and a lot more talented than we’ve been in the past. We’ve got more play-makers, more shooters, and I really feel good about our chemistry,” he added.

Of the returning starters, Florence (20.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.7 apg), and Emerson (13.8 ppg, 10.7 rpg) will see plenty of scoring opportunities, as will three-point threat E.J. Kusnyer (10.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg). Florence heads an offense that returns 82 percent of the scoring from a year ago, and comes into 2009 as the most prolific scorer in the NCAA. According to ESPN.com, his 20.8 points per game is a point higher than Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody’s 19.7 point per game career average.

Known for their thunderous dunks, BeJay Corley and Brian Mills will see time down low this year, and be expected to contribute every night. Other returners expected to contribute include wings Brendan Walker, Mark Hall, and Jake Gollon.

Perhaps the biggest unknown at Mercer is how effective, and how quick, the nine new faces will be able to contribute on the floor. Tevin Swann (15.0 ppg, 8.0 apg) comes to Mercer with high acclaim, while Jeff Smith (13.2 ppg, 5.8 apg, 3.0 spg), and Brandon Moore (10.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg) tore up the junior college ranks last season at Wallace State (Ala.) Community College. Michael Jenkins, and Ridas Pulkanuninkas also come from the junior college ranks from Texas where their height and physicality has given opponents plenty of matchup problems.

This year’s schedule isn’t nearly as imposing as it was a year ago due to the big non-conference wins last season. Facing Bucknell, Bryant, and Providence in the World Vision Invitational to kick off the season, Mercer will play their first two home games in mid-November against Fisk, and Florida State (Homecoming).

Big matchups before Christmas follow against Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and UNC-Charlotte, as well as two tough conference tests against Lipscomb, and Belmont. Mercer will finish out the rest of the year with conference tests highlighted by matchups at home against Campbell, ETSU, Stetson, and Jacksonville.

With the Florida State game already sold out, tickets for the Bears’ home games are at a premium. For season tickets and updates on the team, visit MercerBears.com for more info.

Mercer Women's Basketball Preview 2009-'10

J. Andrew Lockwood — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:53:00 -0500

In one of the biggest turnarounds in women’s college basketball, Mercer head coach Janell Jones took a 4-26 team in 2007-'08 to a 17-14 finish a season later.

The unbelievable change in pace saw a tough team post a 9-2 record at home last year while eventually falling to ETSU in the A-Sun semifinal game, 82-60.

Led by senior guards LaToya Jackson and Courtney Ford, the Bears will have their work cut out for them as the "surprise factor" is no longer present.

With a total of three upperclassmen (Jackson, Ford, and junior Kourtney Carter), Jones may have her work cut out for her as she’ll need the team to gel quickly before conference play starts in December.

Graduates Dominique Chism, Natasha Doh, Cristin Seymour, Megan Lewis, and Nicole Leonard will be sorely missed on the floor this year as they provided key leadership in crucial games last season. After graduating in May, Chism decided to continue her basketball career by signing with club Baloncesto Conquero in Spain.

Picked fifth in the A-Sun media poll, Mercer will look to Jackson (13.2 ppg) and Ford (11.7 ppg) to shoulder most of the load offensively with a large percentage of its scoring from a year ago gone.

Jackson, known for her innate ability to score off the dribble, was named to the preseason all-conference team after two solid seasons at Mercer.

Also returning to the court this season will be guards Neicey Lewis, Kara Powell, and Lorin Hammer as well as interior players Lacy Ramon and Kourtney Carter.

Lewis, Ramon, and Carter saw plenty of time last season on the floor for Mercer, gathering experience that will be crucial with nine new faces on the roster this season.

Jones’ most recent recruiting class features a trio of 6' freshmen in Sharmesia Smith (6', Jonesboro, Ga.), Amber Coleman (6'2", Travelers Rest, S.C.), and Alex Phillips (6'3", Duluth, Ga.).

Expect all three to see the court over the course of the season as the Bears will look to fill the void left by Chism and Doh from last season.

Macon product Kendra Grant from nearby Rutland High School will also help Mercer from the guard position joined by fellow freshman guards Eryka Menzies, Lindsey Lowrie, Keema Blakney, and Amber Chatmon.

Samoana Ingram will look to get on the floor as a 5'1"1 forward from Stafford, Va.

Following the trend of years past, Jones will put her team to the test against top tier Division I schools such as Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, College of Charleston, and Furman during non-conference action.

Unfortunately, few of the non-conference games will be in the friendly confines of the University Center with only one of their nine matchups in Macon.

The usual rugged Atlantic Sun schedule follows in January after the first two conference games in December against Lipscomb and Belmont at home. Big home games against Campbell, ETSU, Kennesaw State, North Florida, and Jacksonville are on tap for 2010.

For more information about the team, schedules, and statistics, visit MercerBears.com.

Hoffman Named A-Sun Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com

J. Andrew Lockwood — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:03:00 -0400

It took Bob Hoffman only a season to turn the program around, and for his efforts, comes national recognition.

The men’s basketball team had struggled the past few seasons, but Hoffman managed to guide the Bears to a 17-15 (11-9 A-Sun) record in his first season at the helm, en route to being named Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com.

It started with a perfect 3-0 start to the season, the first for the program since 1984. Then came the upset wins over Alabama and Auburn. Mercer almost knocked off their third big conference opponent in the same week when they narrowly lost to Georgia Tech at home during homecoming.

In fact, Mercer was featured in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll for two straight weeks after the victories, climbing to as high as 10th, the highest basketball ranking in school history.

Hoffman gave the program a much needed jumpstart, encouraging support from the Middle-Georgia surrounding communities and students. In turn, he was rewarded for his effort, coaching his team in front of record-setting crowds in the University Center for much of the year.

The day before big games, Hoffman could be spotted around campus in a golf cart handing out free pizzas to students and encouraging them to come to the next home game.

“I’m a firm believer that individual awards really reflect team accomplishments,” said the head coach. “We didn’t finish exactly how we wanted to at the end of the year, but we had a great start to the season,” Hoffman added.

Despite Mercer’s shortcomings near the end of the season, Hoffman was able to guide his squad to a 89-83 victory over A-Sun foe Belmont in late February, the team’s first in the last 10 games with the Bruins.

Who could forget the team’s nail-biter win against Jacksonville on Feb. 7? For the first time in several years, Mercer was actually winning the close games at the end of regulation.

“It’s an honor to be mentioned as the coach of the year, especially with the great coaches that are in this league,” said the Oklahoma City native. He later added, “This award really just reflects the accomplishments and hard work of this team on the floor this season.”

Mercer director of athletics, Bobby Pope, was especially pleased with his first year coach, commenting on the school’s athletics Web site, “Bob is most deserving of this recognition. In just one year on the job, he has brought our men’s basketball program to a level of competitiveness, and I think even better days are ahead. He has energized the basketball team as well as the campus and community.”

The proof is in the statistics. A 58 percent increase in attendance, six more wins than the year before, and top 100 rankings in the NCAA in scoring offense, free throw percentage, and three-point field goals per game show just a small picture of the turnaround at Mercer.

For those who know Hoffman, the accolade isn’t really anything new. Hoffman was named NAIA Coach of the Year in 1989, and after coaching at Texas-Pan America for several years and now at Mercer, Hoffman ranks in the top 20 for active coaches in winning percentage.

After last season, expectations will be just a bit higher come basketball season in Macon. Following the regular season, the university will host the 2010 and 2011 General Shale Brick Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships in the UC for the first time in Mercer’s history.

Owls Sweep Bears in Weekend Series

J. Andrew Lockwood — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:45:00 -0400

Deemed as the Atlantic Sun Series of the Week, the Kennesaw State Owls (21-14, 13-4) came into Macon to face Mercer as the hottest in the conference. The Owls haven’t exactly been a surprising team. Picked to finish first in the preseason A-Sun polls, Kennesaw has a more than able batting lineup and more importantly, strong and dominating pitchers.

Coming off two midweek wins over Florida A&M, Mercer looked to pull their record back up above the .500 mark against Kennesaw State, but were in turn swept in the three game series. The Bears (15-18, 7-11) battled in two of the three games, even sending one to extra innings, but ultimately their efforts came up short.

On Friday night, A-Sun Preseason Pitcher of the Year Kennesaw’s Kyle Heckathorn (4-1) almost threw a complete game in route to a narrow 7-3 win over Mercer. Striking out eight batters in 7.2 innings, Heckathorn would allow only four hits while giving up three runs on the night.

“[Heckathorn] was up to the challenge,” said Mercer head coach Craig Gibson after the series. “He is a frontline guy and will be a high draft choice, yet we still had a chance,” he added.

Heckathorn wasn’t perfect in the opening game, but the Owl’s offense gave him plenty of support on their way to the four run victory. On the other side, Mercer’s Lath Guyer (1-3) pitched only five innings while striking out nine. Guyer would give up ten hits and four crucial runs in the fourth inning.

Defensive miscues on bunt-singles allowed the Owls to grab an early lead before Mercer’s rally in the sixth inning. The Bear’s Thomas Carroll scored two runners with a single followed by another RBI-base hit by Steve Karwatt, but otherwise Mercer was held silent from the plate for a majority of the night.

KSU’s top three batters in the lineup, Jacob Robbins, Tyler Stubblefield, and Ric Bishop would account for nine of the team’s fifteen hits in game one.

If the handful of MLB scouts in the stands thought Heckathorn looked good Friday night, junior Chad Jenkins (5-1), another potential draft pick looked even better Saturday afternoon. Kennesaw State looked dominate on the field in the early game of the doubleheader, winning 9-0.

Allowing just four hits in the complete game and none in the final six innings, Jenkins finished the game throwing only 92 pitches. Offensively, catcher Jace Whitmer crushed two homeruns and four RBI in a 3-for-5 effort to propel the Owls to the win.

Tyler Stubblefield would also homer in the sixth inning while going 2-for-3 from the plate. Notably, Mercer’s Dan April (2-4) would suffer the loss after working the first 5.2 innings of the game.

The second game of the doubleheader and the third of the series was the most exciting game of the weekend. It was a game Mercer should have won, but the Owl’s late game heroics made the difference in the 11-6 extra innings victory.

The Bear’s starting pitcher, Justice French, put the team in a good position to win by throwing well into the eighth inning. French would give up five runs while striking out four but more importantly, his teammates gave him support from the plate.

Mercer scored early amassing six runs by the fifth inning on a two run homer by right fielder Thomas Carroll and by a Karwatt run following a wild pitch, but the Owls kept the game close. The score remained 6-4 until the eighth frame when Ric Bishop’s single scored a run. With little breathing room, Mercer reliever J.T. Odom gave up a game-tying solo home run to the Owl’s Drew Folkes in the top of the ninth inning.

Kennesaw State wasted little time in the 10th inning putting the game out of reach 11-6. It was a tough loss for the Bears in a game that was all but completed. Now, Mercer hopes to bounce back against A-Sun foes North Florida, Jacksonville, and Belmont in late April and early May before the Atlantic Sun Tournament starts May 20 in DeLand, Florida.

Mercer Women's Golf Takes Eighth in Atlantic-Sun

J. Andrew Lockwood — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:10:00 -0400

It wasn’t exactly how head coach Gary Guyer had envisioned the season ending, but nevertheless, he was happy with his team’s performance.

The Mercer women’s golf program slipped two spots in the conference tournament after the second day, but would hold their position during the final round to finish eighth in the final tournament of the year.

Finishing 13 strokes behind seventh place Belmont and 61 strokes behind A-Sun Champion Stetson, the Mercer women saw their 2009 spring campaign come to a close.

“It’s disappointing that we didn’t win, but the girls played really well,” said the Mercer head coach afterwards on MercerBears.com. "We played the best that we can play. Our three rounds this week were the three lowest scores we’ve shot all season. It’s just the conference keeps getting better and better. We are continuing to improve also, but just today it wasn’t good enough to win.”

While the low finish wasn’t what fans had hoped for, the Bears improved their overall team score by six strokes since the November’s Holiday Inn Express/Hatter Invitational on the same course.

Junior Monica Kelsey and freshman Alicia Poole each saw improvements in their individual scores, with Kelsey shooting three strokes better (+16) and Poole playing three consistent rounds to finish in a tie for 30th (+20).

Early in the tournament, Alex Quagliata grabbed the spotlight for the Bears after a top-10 effort in the first round, shooting a 74 (+2).

The beginning of her second round seemed to be a continuation of the first day until she ran into trouble on the seventh and eighth holes, triple-bogeying both to finish the round with an 83.

On the final day of the event, the junior bounced back to card an 80 after a much more consistent round on the front nine. Quagliata would finish the tournament in a tie for 32nd at +21.

After two average rounds in the first two days, Kelsey stepped up her game with a final round 75 (+3). Despite only two hiccups during the round—a bogey on the 2nd hole and a double bogey on the 8th—Kelsey shot par on the remaining 16 holes en route to her best round of the tournament.

Her final score of 232 was identical to her A-Sun Tournament during her freshman year. In 2007, Kelsey finished eighth in the final standings after sharing the lead of the tournament following the first round.

Rounding out Mercer’s lineup was freshman Leslie Choucard (+24) and sophomore Kayli Wicker (+34). Sitting out the previous tournament after reported back problems, Choucard had a troublesome first round (84) before bouncing back for a 79 and 77 in the final two days.

The France native would eventually finish in a tie for 38th at +24.

Wicker, in her second tournament of the spring, would finish 47th at +34.

Stetson claimed their first A-Sun team title in the school’s history as Danielle Jackson (-3) would finish the tournament with a 69 (-2) round to take the individual victory.

Campbell University finished a mere two strokes behind the Hatters, while heavily favored ETSU finished third in the final standings.

Looking at next season, Mercer will return every player from the 2009 roster, with Kelsey, Quagliata, and Carolyn Levy shaping up to lead the Bears next year in a vastly improving conference.

Photo courtesy of MercerBears.com

Lance Armstrong: Living Strong or Merely Holding On?

J. Andrew Lockwood — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:07:58 -0400

He sat on the side of a small goat path of a road, with his left shoulder slumping, grimacing in pain.

It was only the first day of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, a five-stage road race in northern Spain.

Near the end of the first stage, Lance Armstrong got caught in a funnel of riders jockeying for position, hit a rider in front of him and went flying over the handlebars.

As he sat there, he later told the Associated Press via a teleconference from Austin, Texas, “You're laying there, and you sort of ask yourself, 'What the hell am I doing here?'"

Indeed, after three years of the bike, coming back to the sport he once dominated was proving to be a tougher task than he originally thought.

At 37 years old, the body just doesn’t perform the same as it did in years prior. Or at least that’s the way it should be. Armstrong looked like his out-of-retirement comeback after a three year hiatus from the sport was on the right track.

After joining former manager Johan Bruyneel with the Astana cycling team, Armstrong had respectable 29th-place finish in his first race back, the Tour Down Under in Australia. He then followed that up with a seventh-place finish in the Tour of California.

But it was on that little, rugged goat path that Armstrong’s comeback attempt got that much harder. Using the Spanish-based race as a precursor to the two races highlighted on his comeback schedule, the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, a crash wasn’t supposed to be in the mix.

Just a few days removed from collarbone surgery in which 12 screws and a five-inch metal plate were placed over the uneven breaks in the bone, Armstrong will continue his comeback, first on the stationary bike and then by racing (hopefully in time for the Giro d’Italia). He’ll be in plenty of pain for quite sometime as cycling requires riders to place somewhat of a force on the collarbone area while riding, but Lance is used to the pain.

Let’s not forget, Lance won seven Tour de France titles after overcoming testicular cancer. He stayed active during retirement, running in marathons and riding his mountain bike quite a bit, but can Lance really pull off this comeback?

No one really expects him to win this year’s tour, in the same way we didn’t expect Michael Jordan’s Wizards to win the NBA Finals when he returned to the sport in 2001 and 2002. Why should we? It seems that when an athlete retires, they’re not exactly the same player when they return. Maybe they lose a bit of the competitive edge or maybe it’s the fact that those rounds on the golf course are now much more enticing than placing ravaging physical demands on the body.

Lance said when he came back to the sport in September 2008, “After talking with my children, my family and my closest friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden.” He will continue to raise awareness for cancer research as the world follows his comeback. His website (Livestrong.org) and his Twitter feed keep the Lance-fanatics up-to-date on his every move, but will Lance’s return ultimately be disappointing in the end?

No one really wants to see this guy lose. Except maybe the French. Not Lance at least. He’s the face of raising funding for cancer research and awareness and he’s probably the best athlete of his generation. Physically, he’s a specimen. His heart is 30 percent larger than the average person and his resting heart rate is 32 to 34 beats per minute. Most of us never get below 55 to 60 bpm.

If there’s anyone who can pull this comeback attempt off, it’s Lance. He’s beaten the odds before many times, whether it be cancer or an attack late in the Tour de France. Just as Armstrong looked back at his opponents before he smoked them up Sestriere climb during the Tour de France in 1999, one has to wonder if Armstrong still has it in him?

Will a splintered collarbone set him too far back or will he break the odds once again? More importantly, how will his image change? Will he continue to LiveStrong or will his comeback attempt tarnish our previous memories of him dominating the sport for seven straight years?

As Americans, most of root for Lance. The rest of the world watches in anticipation. But quietly, we wonder: Will he compete and win another Tour de France title come July?

FGCU Takes Two of Three From Mercer

J. Andrew Lockwood — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:40:00 -0400

In a midseason matchup of Atlantic Sun baseball clubs looking for crucial conference wins, the Eagles took two of the three game series that spanned the weekend.

The two wins bump FGCU (17-14, 10-5) up to a tie for third in the A-Sun standings while the series left Mercer (10-14, 5-7) slumping down to the eighth spot.

Defense came at a premium for both teams during the series both clubs lit up the scoreboard all weekend long. Mercer won a tightly contested game Friday night at Claude Smith Field 9-7 with a huge two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Bears the lead.

After missing the past four games with an ankle injury, second baseball Michael Langley’s bomb over the left-field wall brought the crowd to their feet as Mercer came from behind to secure the victory.

The Friday night pitching matchup between Mercer’s Lath Guyer and FGCU’s Pete Woodworth lasted into the sixth inning, as both pitchers put together respectable, but not dominate performances from the mound.

Offensively, both team’s bats were hot as the Eagles’ Josh Upchurch and Tim Roberson both went 3-4 from the plate with a home run and two RBI.

On Mercer’s side, Steven Karwatt’s 3-3 outing with 2 RBI and a run helped lead the way for the Bears.

Nick DiMauro (2-5, 2 runs), Tyler McCarty (3-5, RBI, run), and Casey Stuart (1-3, 2 RBI, run) also had timely hits during the course of the game for Mercer to capture its first ever victory over their Atlantic Sun rivals.

Saturday and Sunday afternoon were different stories. Florida Gulf Coast fought off a late game rally by Mercer Saturday to preserve a 7-6 win.

Lefty Chris Sale (4-3) pitched a gem, giving the Eagles a 6-2 lead going into the eighth inning, but a pair of homeruns from McCarty and DiMauro pulled the Bears even heading into the final frame.

Mikel Alvariz executed a perfect bunt in the top half of the ninth to score the winning run for FGCU. Head Coach Craig Gibson used a "pitcher by committee' approach, using up six arms during the course of the game as Mercer reliever J.T. Odom (1-2) would suffer the loss.

Sunday’s matchup was delayed for a few hours due to wet field conditions, but both teams finished up the series despite the gray and cloudy skies above Claude Smith Field.

In an offensive burst for both clubs, FGCU won 14-11 in a contest that saw a combined 41 hits on the day (FGCU 21, Mercer 20). Although both teams scored plenty of runs, it was a six run second inning that propelled the Fort Myers-based school to victory.

FGCU’s Tim Roberson showed once again why he’s one of the best in the conference, with a 4 for 5 day at the plate with four RBI and two runs. His teammates, Alvarez and Brad Roberts would contribute a combined seven hits and six RBI as well.

Mercer leadoff hitter continued his hot streak against the Eagles, hitting two homeruns and batting in four runs.

Needless to say, it was an ugly day for pitchers on both teams. Middle reliever Craig Crumbly (3-1) earned the win, pitching four innings and only surrendering two runs while Mercer starter Justice French (1-1) would lose the decision after giving up seven runs in only three innings.

After the game, Mercer head coach Craig Gibson told MercerBears.com, “In game three in college baseball, you really have to be on your game. Scores tend to get up there sometimes, but if you play clean, you have a chance.”

Gibson had to be pleased with the offensive response he saw from Michael Langley and Nick DiMauro despite the two losses and key injury to offensive weapon Jacob Tanis.

Mercer continues conference play against Stetson in DeLand, Fla. next weekend after hosting SoCon foe College of Charleston at home on Wednesday.

Mercer Women's Golf Ready for Atlantic Sun Finale

J. Andrew Lockwood — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:37:00 -0400

In their final tune-up of the season, the Mercer women finished eighth at the Larry Nelson Collegiate.

Held on the Chateau Elan course, the Bears struggled throughout the tournament, but junior Monica Kelsey raised a few eyebrows with a 10th-place finish (+22).

The Orlando, Fla., native was fifth after two rounds, but a final-round 82 (+10) dropped her a few spots in the standings as the field battled tough conditions on the final day.

Head Coach Gary Guyer changed the lineup a bit for the final spring tournament before the conference championship, adding Kayli Wicker and Kathryn Cook to the lineup for junior Carolyn Levy and the injured Leslie Choucard.

Guyer saw mixed results from his players during the two-day tournament as freshmen Alicia Poole would finish 30th (+33), Wicker 34th (+37), Alex Quagliata 36th (+39), and Cook 37th (+40).

Now, the Bears will have to rely on their experience as they face a tough field at the DeLand, Fla.,-based Championships.

“We’re really looking forward to this tournament,” commented Guyer. “This is our chance to show who we are to everyone else in the Atlantic Sun. Everything we do all year long leads up to this tournament.

"Our goal is to go to the NCAA Tournament by winning the automatic bid that comes with the A-Sun Championship,” Guyer added.

Mercer, currently ranked No. 194 in the nation by Golfstat.com, will face tough programs at the Easter-weekend tournament that include No. 45 ETSU, No. 61 Campbell, and No. 93 Stetson.

However, Guyer feels like his team and momentum going into the tournament and a slight "home" advantage.

Despite not knowing who his third, fourth, and fifth spots will be on the lineup card yet, the third-year head coach is certain that whoever he takes will play their best golf of the season at the conference championship.

“We’re facing a tough field, but I feel like we’ve really prepared to face these teams at this particular golf course,” said Guyer. He also added, “I’m really excited for Monica [Kelsey]. She’s been playing great golf and this is almost a home course for her.”

Indeed, the Bears will have an advantage over several teams after playing at the Hatter Invitational in November, held at the same course exact course the Bears will be playing at next weekend.

The season comes down to this tournament. For a team without any seniors, the Bears will need to get leadership and low scores from their upperclassmen in order to compete.

But as we all know, in golf, anything can happen on any given weekend.

Photo Courtesy of MercerBears.com

Mercer with Momentum Entering Men's Golf Atlantic Sun Tournament

J. Andrew Lockwood — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:39:00 -0400

Coming off the best regular season play in Mercer men’s golf history, the Bears look to perform well in one final tournament this season—the Atlantic Sun Tournament—in order to reach the NCAA Regional Tournament held in early May.

Andrew Tredway’s club is coming off a disappointing 11th place finish at the competitive 63^rd Annual Western Intercollegiate in Santa Cruz, Calif., but senior Bill Jones III is playing the best golf of his career, earning the A-Sun Golfer of the Month award in March.

Jones has three top 10 finishes this spring, almost winning the Linger Longer Invitational Tournament three weeks ago that featured the nation’s top two teams (No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Oklahoma State).

“Bill being named A-Sun Player of the Month is a tremendous honor to him and our golf program,” head coach Andrew Tredway said on Mercer Athletics' Web site. He added, “He went on an exceptional run in March highlighted by his second place finish at the Linger Longer. I’m really happy for him and am thankful to the A-Sun for taking notice.”

The Bears have taken many by surprise this season with top finishes in highly regarded tournaments featuring the best collegiate golf teams. Still, despite the outstanding play from the Bears, they’re still looking for an elusive tournament victory.

A third place finish at the Mardi Gras Invitational and a fourth place finish at the Linger Longer Invitational gives Mercer momentum entering the A-Sun Tournament to be held in Buies Creek, N.C., on April 20-22.

Currently, the Bears are 83^rd in the most recent Golfstat.com rankings. In order to win the conference title, they’ll have to battle several tough clubs including ETSU (28^th), North Florida (84^th), and Campbell (118^th).

While the Bears will certainly count on Jones, they’ll have to rely on their other experienced players, Ryan Blackburn and Matt Tribby. Blackburn and Tribby have had a consistent spring season, but will need to play their best golf for Mercer to win the A-Sun title.

Don’t forget about the freshman duo that surprised the golf scene during the fall. Devin Patel and Andres Pumariega have struggled a bit in the past few tournaments, especially at the Western Intercollegiate, but their futures are certainly very bright.

While it’s unlikely that more than one team will emerge from the Atlantic Sun to the NCAA Regionals held in Galloway, N.J., the Bears hope to play their best golf in Buies Creek en route to a first-ever NCAA postseason appearance.

Photo Courtesy of Robert Matre Photography

No. 19 Florida Gulf Coast and Mercer Split Softball Double-Header

J. Andrew Lockwood — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:05:00 -0400

In a much anticipated doubleheader matchup between the best offense in the nation and the stingiest defense, late game heroics propelled both squads to late game wins.

The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles entered the game ranked No. 19 in the nation in the most recent Ultimate College Softball Poll, boasting ten players on the roster with batting averages over .300.

Across from the Eagles, the Mercer Bears came into the doubleheader ranked as the best defensive team in the nation based on fielding percentage. A large part of the Bears’ success early in the season can be attributed to 1-2 punch of dominate pitchers Jenni Holtz and Lacey Richardson.

With a modest crowd on hand, Florida Gulf Coast (38-6, 8-2 A-Sun) looked impressive early, belting four homeruns in the late stages of the game to pick up a win in the first game. Holtz (16-6) held the Eagles scoreless through three innings, but a Courtney Platt solo homerun (8) broke up the shutout.

Runs then came by the bunches as FGCU picked up three more in the following innings with homeruns by Cheyenne Jenks (20) and Platt.

Mercer made things interesting, scoring four of their own runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but the Eagles pulled away with a Jessica Paez two run homer to seal the first win, 7-5. Despite a gutsy pitching effort, Jenni Holtz suffered the loss while the Eagles’ Catherine McDaniel improved to 17-0.

Many critics thought Mercer’s best chance to beat the top 25 squad would be in the first contest with Holtz in the circle, but Lacey Richardson (8-5) raised a few eyebrows in route to a complete game win in the nightcap.

Struggling in her past few appearances, Richardson appeared gathered and cool under pressure the whole game despite surrendering a three run fifth inning.

Again, the second game started slowly for both teams from the plate as the game remained scoreless going into the fifth. After FGCU moved three runs across the plate, the Bears responded with three of their own. Amanda Santa Maria’s homerun to left field got things started for Mercer, followed by timely hits from outfielders Holly Oglesbee and Jenny Goodman.

With a tied game heading into the seventh inning, Richardson held off a FGCU rally while Mercer loaded the bases later in the inning. Facing reliever Morgan Campen, Emi Sherrill waited patiently at the plate as four balls sailed by her, walking in the winning run for the Bears.

It was an anticlimactic way to win the second game, but Mercer will gladly take the win against the best team in the conference. When it mattered most, the best players for both teams showed up and proved why both of their squads are near the top of the Atlantic Sun.

Despite giving up three runs, Lacey Richardson pitched a gem of a game against the A-Sun’s ‘Murderer’s Row’ while FGCU’s hitters launched a few homeruns during the first contest.

Both teams continue conference play with Mercer playing eight games on the road before facing ETSU, USC-Upstate, and Samford at home later this month while FGCU wraps up the season, playing eight of their final ten games at home.

Former A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year Henry To Go Pro

J. Andrew Lockwood — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 13:06:00 -0400

Few basketball players from smaller schools entertain the idea of playing professional basketball after their four years of college eligibility. For many, it’s a means to pay for school. But for Mercer defensive star Calvin Henry, his goal has always been to play professional basketball.

Coming out of Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, FL, Henry earned all-city and all-state accolades after averaging 17 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in his final season for the Bears.

Henry then signed with Florida A&M and redshirted his first year before transferring to Miami-Dade College for a season. It was former Mercer coach Mark Slonaker that got Henry to transfer to the Macon school to play with the Bears for the rest of his college eligibility.

In hindsight, it was a move that helped catapult the Bears to upset wins over Southern Cal, Alabama, and Auburn over the course of Henry’s career.

Henry averaged 10.4 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game in his final season at Mercer, but it was his jaw dropping ability to block shots that earned him the Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year award in 2007-08.

Unfortunately, a knee injury in a road game against Belmont cut his senior year short. Tearing his MCL, Henry fought through rehab to make brief appearances in a handful of games near the season’s end, but he wasn’t the same player.

“Right now, I’m back to full speed and my knee is feeling pretty good,” said Henry. He added, “My goal has always been to become a professional basketball player and now I’m in the process of picking an agent to sign with.”

The process of selecting an agent can be difficult. “Coach Hoffman gave me the advice to pick someone that’s always truthful to me and that doesn’t give me the runaround. Pick someone that will put me in a good situation,” said Henry.

Henry’s sights are currently set overseas, preferably in England or South America. If Henry signs with a pro team overseas, he’ll follow in the footsteps of former Mercer stars Scott Emerson, Andrew Brown, and Hrvoje Pervan.

Each year, only a handful of college players get drafted into the NBA while others try to work their way up through the league’s minor league system, the NBDL. Coincidentally, Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman’s last coaching stint was for the NBDL’s Rio Grande Valley’s Vipers.

“I’ve followed Josh Childress [Olympiacos – Greece] and Brandon Jennings [Lottomatica – Italy] in their careers overseas. The money’s better over there and I’d love to travel for a few years,” said Henry. His goals after playing? He’s got a plan for that too adding, “I’d love to get into coaching...after I play as long as I can.”

Lane Kiffin: The SEC's Stimulus Package

J. Andrew Lockwood — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:24:15 -0400

Lane Kiffin has ruffled more than a few feathers in his first few months on the job as Tennessee’s new head football coach. Taking over after Phil Fulmer’s dismal 5-7 2008 campaign, Kiffin inherits a squad with no clear leader at quarterback and few explosive offensive players.

Who even plays for the Vols these days?

It wasn’t too long ago when UT players were household names. Peyton Manning, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, Al Wilson, and Jason Witten were held in high regard.

Now, a once-proud program that won a national title ten years ago has almost bottomed out.

Enter Kiffin, fresh from an NFL gig with the Oakland Raiders where things didn’t work out as planned. He finished with a 5-15 record during his one-and-a-quarter seasons with a talent-depleted Raiders squad.

His hiring by the University of Tennessee may have been the best hiring in all of college football during the offseason. If you subscribe to the philosophy that any press is good press, UT found a gold mine.

His latest incident, the alleged comments to Gamecocks signee Alshon Jeffrey about "pumping gas for the rest of his life if he goes to South Carolina" are almost comical. Who thinks up this stuff?

Florida lineman Maurkice Pouncey’s remarks about "Tennessee having something coming, Florida doing their talking on the field" and that Kiffin’s words were "bulletin board material" only added fuel to the fire.

Kiffin responded to the quote, telling ESPN, “I think it's a neat thing that Tennessee's logo is all over Florida's locker room.” So do we, Lane.

Kiffin’s tactics may have the Vol Nation a bit queasy and uneasy, but Kiffin's recent ramblings just made SEC football that much more interesting. No doubt about it, Florida is still by far the best team in the conference and Tim Tebow may be the greatest college player in the history of the game, but Tennessee’s games are now worth watching.

Who doesn’t want to see them match up against South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama?

He’s brash. You can count on the television cameras tracking his face for every second of every major game this year.

He’s somewhere in between Jon Gruden and Bill Parcells. He’s a young Steve Spurrier. There are plenty of comparisons, but Kiffin is intent on blazing his own path and doing things his way.

And that’s what makes this upcoming SEC football season worth watching. Will Kiffin's first recruiting class pan out?

Will highly touted running back Bryce Brown be the next UT household name or will quarterbacks Jonathan Crompton/B.J. Coleman/Nick Stephens tank this year's effort? The line between the Rocky Top and Rocky Flop in the SEC East is thin.

University officials don’t exactly know what to think yet and the media can’t decide between crucifying him or immortalizing him. All of this and Kiffin hasn’t even donned the Orange and White on Neyland Stadium’s sidelines yet. But sometimes, risky moves can be the best moves when it comes to exposure.

Just when you stopped caring about Tennessee football, Lane Kiffin makes it worth watching again. I have no allegiance to the Knoxville school, but this guy will make their games worth watching.

Characters such as Kiffin are few and far between. Fresh starts for these types are equally enticing.

He may watch his words for the next few months and may be on his best behavior, but just wait until his next allegations against Georgia and LSU come out.

Tennessee’s opener Sep. 5 against Western Kentucky can’t get here soon enough.

Mercer Scores Big with A-Sun Tournament

J. Andrew Lockwood — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 09:17:22 -0400

Imagine next spring in Macon, with temperatures oscillating from near freezing to surprisingly warm and cherry blossoms abound. Then imagine Mercer’s campus flooded with thousands of basketball fans, all watching in anticipation to see if their respective teams can capture the Atlantic Sun basketball title. For the next two years, this dream will finally become a reality.

Fourteen games in four days, spanning March 3-6, 2010, will certainly put Macon back on the map as far as sports are concerned. Seven women’s games and seven men’s games will help determine the 2010 Atlantic Sun champions. ESPN will televise the men’s championship game held here in the University Center, bringing the Worldwide Leader in Sports to Mercer’s campus for the first time in school history.

Thousands…yes thousands, of fans will flood the campus, staying in the nearby Hilton Garden Inn and surrounding area hotels, eating at local establishments. Parking will most likely be a nightmare and the university may want to consider opening another concession stand or two at the games, but at this point, who really cares?

Macon is once again a sports town…at least for a week next March. The revenue generated will boost the local economy and the tournament games will give local sportswriters more than they can handle. National media outlets will be ever-present on campus and it won’t be uncommon to see more than a few hooligans painted up for the games.

How did it happen all of a sudden? How did Mercer suddenly become the host of the A-Sun tournament when a year ago the Macon Music (Macon’s last professional sports team) skipped town? How did the university pull the tournament away from Nashville, the host city for the tournament the last four years?

In hindsight, the decision was really quite simple for Atlantic Sun commissioner Ted Gumbart. Macon is geographically in the center of the conference. In fact, the conference’s office buildings are located right off Vineville Avenue. Geography wasn’t enough though.

Area support was a crucial factor and area support was something Athletic Director Bobby Pope and new men’s basketball coach Bob Hoffman found this season. Home game attendance was at an all-time high this season, just shy of 1800 spectators per game.

In fact, this year alone had one sellout (Georgia Tech) and a handful of "close-to-capacity" contests (most notably against Lipscomb). Attribute it to Pope’s new hire or to the fact that Hoffman set up signs all over Macon advertising for the home games, or the fact the team won seventeen games this season, but the city finally came around to the realization that Mercer is the only game in town. A good one at that.

Headlines are already in the works for next season. James Florence could very well become the school’s all-time leading scorer by midseason next year and with a plethora of talent on the floor and only one graduating senior, Mercer could be primed for a title run next season.

Undoubtedly, there will be Mercer crazies in the stands for the Bear’s tournament games in the UC next spring. Win or lose, the city of Macon stills wins this contest. In a year of financial troubles and economic instability, in a year of layoffs and cloudy skies, it seems that Macon and Mercer University have pulled off a big upset win.

Mercer Football Anyone?

J. Andrew Lockwood — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:30:26 -0400

It’s been a while since Mercer University has played collegiate football.

A little over 68 years ago the Bears played their last game, a 40-13 loss to Chattanooga, to end the 1941 season with a 3-6 record under first-year coach Bobby Hooks.

It was a well attended event by Mercer's standards. The stands were packed as 3,988 fans unknowingly witnessed the last Mercer game in Macon, Ga.

Then came the war. The demands of World War II resulted in the immediate suspension of football at Mercer on January 7, 1941, but efforts were made in following years to restart the tradition. However, money was an issue. The 1941 football budget was approximately $50,000, a large sum by even today’s standards. It still remains an issue today.

There has been quiet talk over the years of Mercer restarting the football program. Rumors and whisperings of crashing helmets and shoulder pads during the fall seemed to be just that, rumors. However, the rejuvenation of football may be closer than expected with third-year University President William Underwood at the helm.

Underwood’s vision for Mercer University Athletics in the future involves more than just football.

“I think athletics can provide a valuable learning experience for the young men and women that participate, and I think that they can learn valuable lessons about competition, time management, teamwork, and perseverance in the context of a rigorous liberal arts education,” said Underwood.

He went on to add, “I think athletics done properly is about education. Our student athletes are real students and at other universities you can’t really say that. Athletics can be a very valuable outreach for Mercer University."

With that vision in mind, President Underwood appointed a task force to study the feasibility of bringing football back to Mercer in the coming years.

Still, the facts about when, where, and how much are muddled, but the president is well aware of the positives that come along with football.

“When you start to talk about recruiting outside the state of Georgia and the southeast (U.S.), you talk about raising the profile of the university," Underwood added. "Athletics can do just that, raise the profile of the university.”

He keenly brought up the example of a university that has recently transformed itself through athletics, noting, “Ten years ago, no one heard of Gonzaga University. Today, because of what their basketball program has accomplished, their university’s profile is now much more marketable.”

In recent years, Mercer Athletics has certainly raised the profile of certain sports.

Volleyball, women’s soccer, and both the men’s and women’s basketball teams have had outstanding seasons this academic year, finishing the season with winning records and competing for the conference championship in their respective sports.

In fact, two of Mercer’s most dominating sports of today, softball and men’s golf have extremely good chances of capturing an Atlantic Sun title this year. Upset wins over Southern California, Alabama, and Auburn have certainly reenergized the Mercer community.

“I’d like us to take advantage of our niché, as the only private school in Georgia that competes in Division I athletics,” added President Underwood.

Surrounded by much larger, public universities such as Georgia Southern, University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Georgia State, Mercer finds itself in an opportunity of sorts.

In fact, to a large extent, Mercer is the only game in town right now. The Macon Music’s departure in early 2008 left Macon and middle Georgia without a professional sports team.

To a large extent, the university capitalized on the opportunity during basketball season, setting several attendance records throughout the year.

Taking advantage of the niché will most likely require winning and a lot of it. But the man who sits courtside for many of the basketball games has had this in the works from his first day on campus.

Early in his administration, key coaches were hired to lead Mercer’s athletic teams at a school that is just as competitive in the classroom as it is on the field.

Bob Hoffman and Janell Jones have reshaped the face of both basketball programs over the past year, slowly changing both squads into winners.

Now, if you bring up the topic of basketball to President Underwood, he’ll most likely talk about the big wins against Jacksonville and Belmont in February.

He knows the team and results better than most sportswriters and for good reason, he comes to so many different games. Just last week, he was on the front row at Sikes Field to watch the softball team sweep Kennesaw State.

Ask him about football and he’ll first point to the paintings in his office. Depicted to his left is a colorful mural of a scrum of players in a 1892 contest between Mercer and Georgia Tech. The Bears won 12-6, but the game held significance because the Bears beat Tech in the first collegiate football game.

Coming from Baylor University, a Big 12 school that competes in one of the toughest conferences in the NCAA, President Underwood experienced first hand the rigors, advantages, and disadvantages that come with a high-profile athletic program.

If Mercer were to add football, they would most likely follow the models of fellow universities in the southeast that have added the sport in recent years.

Georgia State’s football program is in its second year of building under former Green Bay Packer star Bill Curry and will begin playing in 2010.

Campbell and Jacksonville recently launched their own programs, competing in the Division I Championship Subdivision’s Pioneer Conference.

If Mercer were to add football today in the current alignment of conferences, a move into the Pioneer Conference for the sports would be most likely.

It may be a few years until football arrives in Macon, but that doesn’t mean that Mercer isn’t a 'sports' school.

Look around, the Bears are winning on the scoreboard most of the time and if you look hard enough, you’ll find President Underwood somewhere nearby cheering on the university as well.

ETSU Steals Away Series From Mercer

J. Andrew Lockwood — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:23:00 -0400

Maybe it was the threatening rain or just the fact that Mercer was playing its first game in nearly three weeks, but the Bears looked sluggish late in Friday night's affair with ETSU.

The Bucs (12-11, 5-7) ended up taking two of the three game series at Claude Smith Field Friday night and Sunday afternoon, winning 6-3 and 12-8. Mercer's lone win came during the late game on Sunday afternoon as the offense cranked out 10 runs in the 10-5 victory.

Mercer (8-12, 4-5) has had trouble, early in the 2009 campaign, putting consistent hitting and pitching together during the same game. Senior Lath Guyer (0-2) pitched well into the sixth inning Friday night, retiring 11 batters in a row at one point, but the offense suffered.

Sophomore Joey Winker had a home run during the first inning, his third of the season and the Bears scored two more during the second stanza, but fell silent at the plate for the duration of the game.

"We didn't put our hits together tonight," said long-time Mercer head coach Craig Gibson. "Lath has been at least this good every outing this year. Offensively, we need to be better. We need to score more than three runs at home."

Although Mercer's bats were silent, credit ETSU pitcher Ben Andrews (1-1) for stifling the Bears during the first game, pitching 7.1 innings and striking out five batters.

After heavy rain cancelled the doubleheader Saturday, both teams resumed action Sunday as the Bucs picked up where they left off, scoring four runs in the first inning and five in the fourth inning.

ETSU's small ball approach helped them jump out to an early lead to start of the game, and then a Troy Mendez grand-slam over the right field wall all but sealed the game.

Mendez would go on to have a career afternoon, going 4-6 from the plate with seven RBI and two runs during the first contest.

Mercer answered back with a Steven Karwatt grand-slam in the sixth inning, but the effort was too little to crawl back within reach of the Bucs. Five different pitchers saw action on the mound for the Bears as Dan April (1-3) recorded the loss after surrendering four runs in the first inning. ETSU's Josh Gonzaga (1-2) would win his first contest of the year.

The second game Sunday was a different story though, as the Bears jumped to an early lead via another Karwatt home run during the fifth inning.

Quality pitching from Justice French (1-0) helped Mercer hold off the pesky Bucs with relief coming late in the game from J.T. Odom and closer Blake Mainor.

The upcoming schedule doesn't get any easier for Mercer as tough contests against Georgia Tech, Flordia Gulf Coast, and College of Charleston appear on the horizon. The Bears enjoy a five game home stand before returning on the road to face Stetson April 9-11.