SixPackSpeak Beat Writer Blogs

Bad news for Eric Butler

Sat, 10 May 2008 02:00 GMT

You'll remember that Eric Butler was one of a handful of former Mississippi State players who were signed as undrafted free agents shortly after last month's NFL Draft. But Butler's stint with the New York Giants has been a short one.

Mike Garafolo's Giants blog at The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger reports that Butler failed his physical, thus terminating his contract.

Tough break for Butler.

A quick Google search of some of the other players' names didn't reveal anything else to me this morning, but if any of you folks with more time on your hands find something, I'll be glad to update.

One more thing: Baseball lost 15-6 at LSU last night, but you knew that already. MSU's news release says the loss eliminated the Bulldogs from SEC Tournament contention. I'll trust it on this.

That's it for MSU

Sat, 10 May 2008 00:12 GMT

Now, they're officially done.

With LSU's 15-6 drubbing of Mississippi State on Friday night, the Bulldogs are eliminated from the SEC Tournament for the third time in five years.

State's season will end a week from today when Arkansas visits Dudy Noble Field, marking Ron Polk's final games as MSU's skipper.

The Tigers and Bulldogs resume their series with Game 2 at 3 p.m. today.

What's next for Michael Brown?

Fri, 09 May 2008 01:14 GMT

By now, I hope you've read this morning's centerpiece story in The Clarion-Ledger's sports section about Michael Brown's football future.

I spoke with Brown for about 20 minutes Wednesday for this story, which focuses less on his crime and more on what happens when one bad mistake derails one man's lifelong dream. In Brown's case, it's to play in the NFL. You can hear the pain in his voice when he talks about his long road toward his NFL dream: "This is a nightmare," he said.

One more quote that didn't make the paper:

"The NFL's been a dream for my whole life, ever since I was young," Brown said. "I've got family who's been in the NFL. It's just always been a dream for me. I just pray that God give me the opportunity to play. I know I am capable of playing and competing on the next level and I'm a good person. ... People who do take a chance on me aren't making a mistake."

The story outlines Brown's road, and it's pretty complicated. A NCAA rule, enacted in 2006, would seem to prevent him from transferring to a Championship Subdivision team. (But former Oklahoma State quarterback Bobby Reid was in the same boat and got a waiver, though I think his waiver surrounded the fact that he had already graduated. I think.) That rule wouldn't apply to a Division 2 or Division 3 school, but Brown would need to be academically eligible to transfer and compete, and his dismissal from MSU pokes a hole in that. But a waiver might be easier to obtain on that count. Brown could certainly transfer to a willing NAIA school.

Then there's the NFL's supplemental draft in July. As if Brown needed more headaches, he's got to decide what he's going to do quickly, as time is running out on both fronts — enrolling at a new school or declaring for the supplemental draft.

Stay tuned.

Tiger bait or Dog treats . . .

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:43 GMT

How do you see the Mississippi State-LSU series unfolding this weekend?

A. State sweeps
B. LSU sweeps
C. Bulldogs win two
D. Tigers win two

MSU coach Ron Polk will stick with his rotation of Chad Crosswhite, Ricky Bowen and Justin Pigott.

As for the series, LSU will bid farewell to Alex Box Stadium on Sunday with the series finale. The Tigers will move into the new Box for the start of the 2009 season. And in case you didn't read the above story, Polk will be a part of the farewell ceremony tonight for old Box. To see how, you've gotta read the story.

In preparation for the advance and a Sunday piece on Ron Polk, I spoke with Skip Bertman and Ben McDonald. I really enjoyed talking to both and I didn't realize just how close Ben was to signing with MSU.

As for me, it's back to normal. I've been called out of the bullpen to assist in prep coverage this week with tennis and golf, while also working on Gum Tree 10K stories. Crazy week, I tell ya, but I apologize for neglecting this blog the last few days.

First-generation coaches

Thu, 08 May 2008 09:04 GMT

I just spoke with former LSU coach Skip Bertman, now the school's outgoing athletic director, for a few minutes on Mississippi State coach Ron Polk. Bertman, by the way, is one of my favorite interviews of all-time. He's boisterous, he's a great quote, and is extremely, extremely nice.

My conversation with Bertman was two-fold. I wanted to talk to him about this weekend at Alex Box Stadium, and then I wanted to speak with him about Polk for a big story that'll run in next Thursday's newspaper.

Bertman, as is typical, had an interesting viewpoint on Polk's contributions to college baseball (which isn't the angle to the Thursday story, but interesting nonetheless). Take this quote: "I've known Ron for, let's see, 40-plus years," he said. "Ron's a first generation coach, meaning that he's going to leave everything better for the next coach that comes in at Mississippi State and all the other baseball coaches of the second generation. They will make more money than Ron made, won't take care of the kids as well, won't coach baseball any better because he's as good as it gets. But the truth is, that's what first generation people did for the next generation. Nobody did it better than Ron Polk."

First-generation coach? At first glance, it's hard to imagine how that term could be applied to a coach that's been involved with a sport that's 100 years old. I mean, what would you call Dudy Noble and Paul Gregory then? But it quickly becomes apparent: These guys were in on the ground floor of college baseball's emergence as a big-time sport, no matter when it happened. Thus, the first-generation tag for guys like Polk, Bertman, Texas' Augie Garrido, Wichita State's Gene Stephenson and Florida State's Mike Martin.

Pretty good company in the realm of college baseball. And as countless others will say in the coming days that lead to Polk's final games, these are the guys who enabled college baseball to be as big as it is today.

Counting down the days

Thu, 08 May 2008 04:55 GMT

Mississippi State coach Ron Polk will get a unique honor this weekend. In Friday night's game against LSU at Alex Box Stadium, Polk will tear off another number from the stadium's countdown display. It is, in case you haven't heard, the final regular season series at The Box, the 70-year-old ballpark on the LSU campus that's named after a Mississippian, Alex Box. He died in World War II.

There's a reason I called it the final regular season series, too. Now that LSU has won nine straight and leads the West at 12-11-1, there's a good chance Baton Rouge will host a NCAA Regional later this month. But that won't put a damper on this weekend, which will include a variety of events to commemorate the old park.

Curious about the new park? Here's its Web site. Looks nice.

And for the record, State will go with its regular rotation of Crosswhite/Bowen/Pigott this weekend.

Making sense of the APR

Wed, 07 May 2008 01:21 GMT

The NCAA released its Academic Progress Rate numbers to the public Tuesday afternoon, and they were kind to Mississippi State on the surface. None of the MSU programs dipped below the dreaded 900 mark. Two dipped below 925, and that's a pretty good number. One of them, football, was shy of that mark by a mere point and won an appeal based on the extenuating circumstances that contributed to that number.

But that's on the surface. You want it beyond that, hence the exploration of the men's basketball APR situation in this morning's Clarion-Ledger.

MSU has a 901 in men's basketball, a hair above the 900 threshold that could subject the team to historical penalties like loss of practice time or recruiting opportunities. And even though the team was well under 925, it didn't get penalized a scholarship because none of the four transfers from last year left ineligible with eligibility remaining. (Among those who deal with these numbers every day, like David Boles or Bracky Brett at MSU, that's an 0-for-2.)

The data that led to the 901 ended with the 2006-07 academic year, which can be a little bit confusing as they're released in May of the following year. (Here's how the APR numbers work: The schools get them in the fall, then analyze them and propose appeals or plans to right the ship. The NCAA mitigates these factors, assesses penalties, and doesn't get around to releasing them to the public in May of the following year.)

So the current 901 does not include the transfer of Ben Hansbrough and the departures of Charles Rhodes and Jamont Gordon. The latter two are the variables. Rhodes has said he was close to a degree and was going to earn it, so his might be a non-issue at the end of the day. And even if he does become ineligible, it doesn't matter in terms of 0-for-2, because he has no eligibility remaining.

It's Gordon that provides State the APR worries. If he were to leave 0-for-2, it would subject State to the loss of a scholarship when these numbers are released next May, assuming State's APR stays below 925. (And it's hard to imagine it taking a big jump from 901.) Gordon told me yesterday that he was waiting for grades to be turned in before he knows if he'll be eligible in the fall.

Losing a scholarship, of course, wouldn't put State in exclusive company. Everybody's doin' it. But given the choice, I'm thinking Rick Stansbury would rather have 13 scholarships than 12.

Quinton Wesley's lawyer speaks

Tue, 06 May 2008 14:25 GMT

Jay Perry, the Starkville-based lawyer who represented Quinton Wesley, was finally able to catch his breath and talk a little about the shooting incident and all that his client is going through.

But let me say one thing . . . I think every 15-17 year-old kid should have to go set through a hearing like I witnessed today. It's eye-opening and it would probably make kids think twice about their actions.

I can tell you that Mike Brown was very fearful of the sentencing, to the point I thought he was going to pass out. I've never seen a man his size so scared.

Anyway, here is what Jay had to say:
“Quinton had a complete lapse in judgment. I want to underscore that at no time was there any attempt to harm anyone. Instead, in the heat of the moment Quinton made a split second decision that not only affected him but his family, teammates, coaches, classmates, friends, administrators, and fans. He is truly sorry and offers his heartfelt apology to all those people his actions affected. He is incredibly grateful to have another opportunity. He is thankful to be with his family and looks forward to continuing his education somewhere.”

Brown, Wesley won't serve jail time for gunfire incident

Tue, 06 May 2008 09:26 GMT

I spent a couple of hours at the Oktibbeha County Circuit Courts Building earlier this afternoon as former Bulldogs Michael Brown and Quinton Wesley learned their fate from judge Lee Howard.

Here's our online story. The skinny? No jail. Brown will do two years probation; Wesley will do three. Both have fines and court costs.

Brown left the courtroom with his attorney, Roy Perkins, who said Brown didn't want to comment. Wesley's attorney, Jay Perry, said the same thing for his client.

Back to writing this for tomorrow's paper and oh-so-exciting APR numbers...

No jail for Brown, Wesley

Tue, 06 May 2008 08:11 GMT

Just left the courthouse, where Judge Lee Howard suspended the sentences of Mike Brown and Quentin Wesley. Both will be on probation, but neither will serve jail time for the felony charge of firing a weapon on an educational property.

Brown received a two-year sentence, while Wesley was given three years because of a past assault charge. They have little room room for error for the next couple of years, which is how it should be. They were also fined $1,200 and $2,000 respectively, and told they had to report to their respective probation officer once a month.

Both chose not to comment afterward.

More will come later.