SixPackSpeak Beat Writer Blogs

Interesting MSU reads this morning

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:22 GMT

Here are links (hopefully I've improved from my earlier performance) with some interesting Miss. State news ... It's time to think about baseball as Dan Murrell writes in The Reflector. C...

No, Renardo Sidney did not play at Florida

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:22 GMT

NEMS Daily Journal Sports Editor John Pitts explains why Renardo Sidney appeared in a box score in Sunday's Daily Journal. John writes (sorry about earlier link problems): Give an ...

Looking at hoops, just with dollar signs

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:20 GMT

Thursday night's Mississippi State-Ole Miss game here in Starkville is a meeting between programs looking to get an advantage in the Southeastern Conference Western Division race. It's a meeting between programs trying to make the NCAA Tournament. It's a meeting between programs with fans who just don't like each other.

It's also a meeting of basketball programs with two of the three lowest men's basketball revenues in the league.

Looking at 2008-09 budget data from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education Equity in Athletics database (whew!), we see Mississippi State 10th in the league and Ole Miss last. This isn't much of a surprise, of course, as resource disparity is a common theme with the Mississippi schools and the rest of the league.

The list:

Note: Don't view this as a complete way to measure how a program profits from its basketball program. There are many expenses that aren't allocated just to one sport, i.e., department-wide administrative expenses, so such a comparison probably wouldn't be fair. Also, it's not clear how private foundation dollars like salary supplements are accounted for in this report.

Just something to chew on for a Tuesday morning.

Mullen takes to the skies; The Blog watches

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:57 GMT

Recruiting has concluded and spring practice is weeks away. So what is Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen doing do occupy himself in early February?

If you guessed riding in a T-6 trainer out of Columbus Air Force Base, you're exactly correct. (And, really, didn't all of you guess that?) Our friends at WCBI in Columbus did a segment on it in their newcast Monday night. Check it out.

What's next in the Sidney situation?

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:49 GMT

Wondering when the NCAA might dole out penalties in the Renardo Sidney saga? Yup, me too, after writing Friday night that Mississippi State wouldn't appeal any of the findings.

So this morning, I e-mailed the NCAA to get a clarification on what happens next. Here is the response, in its entirety, from spokesperson Stacey Osburn:

The NCAA Academic and Membership Affairs staff will now review Mr. Sidney's file to determine what, if any, withholding condition is appropriate for the facts of the case. There are three possible outcomes from this decision. The student-athlete may be eligible without any conditions. A student-athlete may be declared eligible with conditions, such as sitting out a specific number of contests or donating the amount of any impermissible benefits received to a charity. Or the student athlete could lose all remaining eligibility.

The staff considers a number of factors when deciding each case. These include the nature and seriousness of the violation; any impermissible benefits received by the student-athlete; the student-athlete’s level of responsibility; any mitigating factors presented by the school; applicable NCAA guidelines; and any relevant case precedent. The staff seeks to conduct a complete review as quickly as possible but as thoroughly as possible.

A school may appeal this decision to a committee comprised of representatives from NCAA schools and conferences. This body can reduce or remove the conditions, but it cannot increase the conditions imposed by the staff.

But is there a timeframe? “While there is not a definite date, the staff seeks to conduct a complete review as quickly as possible but as thoroughly as possible,” she wrote.

Players, Stansbury meet with reporters

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:56 GMT

ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi tossed Mississippi State out of his bracketology prediction this morning, which says a lot about where this team is at 16-7, 4-4 in the Southeastern Conference after four straight road losses.

But C Jarvis Varnado and PG Dee Bost, the two players who met with reporters today at Humphrey Coliseum, say the mood isn't bad. “We feel we're a tournament team, but you know, other people may not think that,” Varnado said. “So we still need some big wins down the road.”

So what else did we learn as State prepares for Ole Miss Thursday at Humphrey Coliseum?

Said Bost: “We've still got confidence. We know in our hearts that we can still win and win every game.”
Good stuff from coach Rick Stansbury on how the Thursday-Saturday turnarounds compress game planning/scouting. It'll form the basis of a Saturday story, so look out.
Some of y'all wondered why freshman F/C Wendell Lewis wasn't getting playing time in the paint, what with State needing depth there. I coupled Lewis in with F/C John Riek and asked about them. “It's tough to put some guys in who just don't have an understanding of what goes on,” Stansbury said.
State won at Oxford on Jan. 9. Does it matter? “First game has nothing to do with this one, no matter who won or lost,” Stansbury said.
Stansbury said F Elgin Bailey has completely recovered from an ankle injury, but his conditioning isn't up to par. He said there was no temptation to put him in because he said it wouldn't be fair to Bailey to forsake a potential medical hardship waiver.

SEC coaches speak; The Blog listens

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:22 GMT

Southeastern Conference basketball coaches met with reporters via a telephonic conference today. A few notes:

Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury was asked about his team's lack of an ability to have some poise in late-game situations on the road. Stansbury's answer turned into an explanation of a lack of depth, particularly at the point guard and center spots. “That's been the challenge for us,” he said.
Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said he wasn't sure if forward Reginald Buckner would be able to play, or play well, at Mississippi State Thursday. Buckner has been out with an ankle sprain.
Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl on Scotty Hopson, who spent a year committed to State before signing with the Vols: “He's a better player all around,” Pearl said. “He's stronger, he's more physical, he's a better defender. He's more aggressive getting to the rim. He's just playing with more confidence.”
LSU coach Trent Johnson on his team's 0-9 SEC start and the knowledge that this is, indeed, a rebuilding job on the Bayou: “As much as I hate to use that word, I knew this was coming for us.”

Starting a new week

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:09 GMT

It's a new week and a happy Monday if you're a New Orleans Saints fan. Congrats to the Saints for the Super Bowl victory. If you live in the Iuka-Corinth area you are probably dealing with plenty ...

Assessing this MSU basketball team

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:26 GMT

Cleaning out the notebook after the weekend trip to Gainesville, Fla., where I watched Florida beat Mississippi State 69-62:

The bad news for Mississippi State is that, with an RPI of 70, it doesn't have much of an NCAA Tournament resume right now. The good news is that the rest of the schedule presents it with opportunities to build one. Of State's remaining eight games, four are against RPI top 100 teams, three are against top 50 teams and two are against top 25 teams. (RPI data courtesy RealTimeRPI.com.) State is 4-3 against the top 100, 2-3 against the top 50 and 0-1 against the top 25. It'll be interesting to see where the bracketologists place State in their usual weekly updates that come out today.
There are a myriad of issues that face this basketball team at the halfway point of league play, like post depth, point guard play and cold shooting. Or, this one, as noted by guard Barry Stewart to me in the hallway at the O'Connell Center Saturday: “Gotta get more movement in our offense,” he said.
If you missed Friday's news about State accepting the NCAA's findings in the Renardo Sidney amateurism inquiry, go back and read it. It's an important step.
A correction: Dee Bost had nine assists and two turnovers in Saturday's game. An episode of cerebral flatulence made me flip those two numbers in the Sunday story. My regrets.
Stewart echoed his coach's comments, too: “We're playing hard, we're right there, we've got to make those plays to get over the hump.”
Speaking of the hump, Ole Miss comes to The Hump Thursday night. It's a huge game on a handful of levels: The Bulldogs could use another top-50 RPI win, for starters, but a loss could start to dig a hole when it comes to the Western Division race.
State got John Riek some minutes in the post Saturday. (Well, OK, three, and they all came in the first half.) An entertaining aside, brought to you by the close proximity of the seating for visiting media and the visiting bench at the O'Connell Center: When MSU coach Rick Stansbury pointed at Riek and told him to check in, Riek looked back at him as if he were from Mars. Stansbury had to point at him two or three more times before Riek finally realized he was actually getting to play for the first time in a week.
Is there a better flying experience than one out of Golden Triangle Regional Airport? Better stated: Is there a bigger contrast in airports than going to or from GTR to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport? Didn't think so. Gotta love landing at GTR, walking down the steps, grabbing a bag and walking through the terminal to the door in the space of less than five minutes. Wish I could fly out of there for all my trips.
When in Gainesville, bring some cash and try Satchel's Pizza, where the Miami Herald's Joseph Goodman, his lovely wife and I dined Saturday night.

State players and coaches will meet with reporters at 2 p.m. today.

Super Bowl Sunday - Lady Bulldogs fall in tough OT game

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 09:16 GMT

Happy Super Bowl Sunday. Hope you enjoy the game. My heart says Saints, but my head says Colts. Either way I think it will be a good game with plenty of points. We'll see. The Lady Bulldogs los...