Time to make a STATEment!

3 days!

"Wrap It In Maroon and White"...Thank You Jack

I woke up this morning and started my usual routine of sorting through early morning "tweets".  Immediately I found several posts referring to legendary broadcaster Jack Cristil announcing his immediate retirement at the end of Mississippi State's basketball game on Saturday.  Like most of Bulldog Nation, I was immediately stricken with a great sense of grief as I began to picture the future of Mississippi State sports without the voice of Cristil.  When legendary Georgia broadcaster Larry Munson announced his retirement, many of us in Bulldog Nation began to see the light at the end of the tunnel for our own beloved Cristil.  It was apparent from listening to him on the drive home or watching him on the weekly coach's show that his 85 years on this earth were beginning to show.  For many it was like watching a beloved family member age and knowing that your time with them was limited.  None of us wanted to face the reality of Bulldog life without Jack.

Everyone who has spent anytime as a member of Bulldog Nation has many fond memories of Jack.  I can remember going to football games with my dad and his friend Billy Jean Nation.  Billy Jean would bring a radio with him to the game so that he could listen to Cristil's play-by-play.  He would tell us some of the funny quotes that Jack would give.  Cristil was never shy in showing his love for the Dawgs and his opinion when a call didn't go State's way.  However, he was also regarded in the broadcasting world as one of the least-biased announcers in the SEC.  He was always good about giving praise and recognition to opponents when it was deserved.  (That was probably because he suffered through 58 years of Bulldog sports when most of it wasn't very good.)  All State fans have funny memories of hearing Cristil mispronouncing names of the opponents or interjecting his opinion on the bad calls or no-calls by referees.  Jack would give us the "Sonic Drive of the Game" that many times would include his disgust at MSU's inability to do anything worthwhile. 

I grew up in New Hope, Mississippi from 1968-1990.  During the 70's and 80's there were no super television contracts that broadcast every SEC football and basketball game.  Since TV was limited and MSU was usually not very good, I had the privilege of seeing Bulldog sports through the eyes and voice of Jack Cristil.  I remember and still treasure the 1980 call of MSU's win over #1 Alabama.  I love Cristil's call as Scott Westerfield's kicks went through the uprights against Kentucky and Ole Miss.  I remember Cristil's excitement as Wayne Madkin hit C.J. Sirmones in the 1999 Egg Bowl.  One of my favorite parts about going to MSU games was listening to the post-game show as they broadcast the highlight calls of the game.  Jack Cristil is MSU sports.

Through 42 years of being a passionate MSU fan, Jack Cristil has been the one constant.  Jim Ellis is a close second.  In my life as a MSU fan, we have had 7 different football coaches and 7 different basketball coaches.  Most of my 42 years have seen as many or more losses as wins.  One thing that kept me passionate and listening was hearing Jack Cristil say "Good afternoon from beautiful Scott Field at historic Davis Wade Stadium."  Like every other MSU fan I love to hear Jack's classic line at the end of a win - "Wrap It in Maroon and White!"  This beloved phrase has now become a tag-line for all State fans.  When the game is about over you can see fans turn to one another and say "Wrap It!"  I have to admit that as I drove in to work today and listened as the Rick and Bubba show played the clip of Jack announcing his retirement last night that a tear welled up in my eye.  The Saturday drive home will never be the same.

Bravo Jack Cristil.  Thanks for making me a more passionate MSU fan because of your love for the Dawgs.  Your 58 years of serving Bulldog football and 54 years of serving Bulldog basketball are an example to all of us of the power of longevity and excellence.  I echo many in the Bulldog Nation that will be praying for you as you face the immediate health challenges.  You will always have a special place in the heart of thousands of Bulldog fans.  I lift up my cowbell for you.

Some great sound clips of Jack's classic calls can be found here on Sixpackspeak.com' website.  Enjoy them.

MSU Dawgs - Egg Bowl Highlights

Another great video by Derek Cody highlighting the Bulldogs Egg Bowl victory.  It's been an awesome and memorable season so far.  Looking forward to the Gator Bowl (even though it matches up my two favorite teams in college football).  Go Dawgs!

Greatest Egg Bowl Ever!

In honor of tonight's game, here was one of the greatest moments in MSU Egg Bowl history.  My wife, brother, dad, and I were at the game.  It was an awesome moment! 

(The quality isn't great, but the energy translates nonetheless)

Playing this one for Nick!

Getting ready for what I hope will be a great game in Tuscaloosa Saturday.  It's been a tough week in Starkville with the loss of Nick Bell and the media distractions surrounding Cam Newton's recruitment.  However, this video gets me jacked up for Saturday's game.  There are two teams that MSU fans are absolutely rabid about beating - Ole Miss and Alabama. 

This video shows there is definitely a new attitude in Starkville.  Great job Derek Cody!

True Maroon...New Maroon!

Pardon the personal selfish indulgence, but I just saw this from someone's Twitter and it was too good to not post.

MSU Dawgs back in the Top 25

It's cool to be a Bulldog!

As a die-hard MSU sports fan since I was 6 years old, it's always nice when we break into the top 25 and begin to get some recognition.  When I looked at the schedule this year and how we finished last year, I predicted to many that we would go 6-6, maybe 7-4.  I thought we could steal either Auburn or Georgia (we almost did both).  I never thought we would beat Florida (always a nice win).  Even in my best imagination I didn't foresee 5-2 with our only losses being the #6 and #7 teams in the country.  I didn't expect a top 25 placement 7 games into the season with a legitimate shot of going 8-4 or better.  It's a nice time to be a Bulldog and I hope we see continued success and are able to extend Mullen's contract such as fitting to keep him a Bulldog for a while.  Many kudos to Coach Mullen, the other FB coaches, AD Scott Stricklin, and former AD Greg Byrne for establishing a winning and celebrative atmosphere after a decade of futility and mediocrity.

GO DAWGS!

I Am True Maroon!

Just found this video release from my 1st true love in sports.  Excuse the self-serving, nothing-to-do-with Jesus or the church moment.  This is just for my fellow Bulldog fans as we head into a fall where optimism is high and we have nowhere else to go but up.  Times have been tough at MSU the last few years.  However, I believe that MSU fans have proven over and again that we are the most loyal and devoted fans in the SEC.  It's not hard to be loyal and excited when your teams when national championships and your Athletic Department coffers are full, when your stadium holds 85,000 to 100,000 and sells out every game.  It's much harder when your consistently in the bottom in athletic budget and are trying to build a program to compete in the toughest conference in most sports - specifically Football, Baseball, and Track.

Where my Bulldogs at?

SWAT!

Congratulations Jarvis "Swat" Varnado! You have made the Bulldog Nation proud!

Need some of this Saturday...

Let's go State! Maroon! White! Fight, Fight, Fight!

Go Dawgs! Mullen Era Begins!

I didn't get to go to the game at Scott Field yesterday, but I was anxiously barking and rooting on my Bulldogs from my living room here in Alexander City. Unfortunately, I don't get ESPNU on my cable station and for some reason ESPN didn't put it on the pay-per-view on the Gameplan so I didn't get to watch the game. I followed the score on the Gamplan. Thank you also for Twitter and Brad Locke's updates from the game.



From what I could tell, MSU's offense took a little to get going but pulled away in the late first half and in the second half. Chris Relf appeared to be the star of the offense. He appeared to manage the game well and made some good decisions. Chad Bumphis showed the speed and promise that has had Bulldog fans drooling since he committed in February. I also heard that Robert Elliott had a great game with several great plays called back for penalties. Remember too that the offense scored 45 points without arguably our best player, Anthony Dixon. It was the first time the Dawgs scored 45 points since 2002. It was a welcome relief from an offensive drought that has lasted way too long.

The defense continued to be the strong point of the team. I'm glad to see Jamar Chaney back on the field and his leadership. Charles Mitchell is also a great player who will make lots of plays this year.

This week we travel to the Plains at Auburn who is also coming off their first game under new head coach Gene Chizik. I am looking forward to a great game with two teams trying to open up the offense against two great SEC defenses. And, thanks to a great church member here at Sixth Street, I am going to the game! Look for me with my Maroon and cowbell hanging out the window! Go Dawgs!

A Former Bulldog Comes Home...

Last week the MSU baseball family was able to welcome our new head coach, John Cohen. Cohen was an outstanding Diamond Dawg in the late 80's and early 90's. He was a clutch hitter and one of the best we've ever had. Cohen enjoyed success at a couple of head coaching positions, most notably the last few years at Kentucky. He brought Kentucky their first SEC baseball championship since the invention of the Model T. His teams have been known for good hitting and aggressive baserunning. From the beginning, I was hoping that MSU would look at three coaches I believed were best for MSU - John Cohen, Tommy Raffo, and former assistant and current UAB coach Brian Shoop. I am very pleased with the outcome.

On a sad note, the Diamond Dawgs have to say goodbye to the previous coaching staff. Most disappointing is to see the departure of Tommy Raffo and Wade Hedges. I was blessed to meet both of these guys at a Father-Son baseball camp this last January. Tommy Raffo was an All-American and a 15-year assistant coach at MSU. He was one of the classiest guys in the college game. I know that he will land a head coaching position soon. My brother has posted a great blog farewell to Coach Raffo here. Wade Hedges was an assistant and ran the camps. I called Coach Hedges today to see if the summer camps were still on (they're not) and told him I wished him and his family the best.

Sadly, former coach and legend Ron Polk made some regretful comments this past weekend. He will always be a legend and the standard that coaches at both MSU and in the SEC will be measured against for years to come. I hope he has a change of heart soon and withdraws his comments about Greg Byrne, but I doubt he will.

I for one believe that the future of MSU baseball looks bright.

State of the Nation in Starkville

One of the frustrating things about being a fan of any team is whenever you begin to have some success only to have that success deflated by negative momentum. That frustration is exasperated when you are the fan of a team that consistently is fighting to sustain any positive momentum like Mississippi State. I have bled Maroon and White since I was a kid. I still remember the exhilaration in 1980 when the bulldog football team beat the #1 ranked Crimson Tide in Jackson. I remember the 1985 Diamond Dawgs of Clark, Palmeiro, Brantley, and Thigpen. I was thrilled at the Final Four basketball team of 1996. However, every time we make positive momentum, we seem to endure issues that slow down the momentum and keep us from being an elite program.

The Good
- MSU Football just finished an 8 win season and a Liberty Bowl win despite being picked by every "expert" in the nation to finish last in the SEC West.
- Last year's Diamond Dawgs defeated a good Clemson team to earn a trip back to Omaha for the first time in almost 10 years. (Unfortunately, there were two and out.)
- The MSU basketball team just won the SEC West for the 4th time in the last 6 years and had a great run after starting very poorly in the non-conference schedule.
- The MSU softball team is ranked in the top 25 and is doing very well.
- The "Big 3" sports have three excellent coaches: Football - Coach Croom has built a program the right way; emphasizing discipline, character, and sportsmanship. It has been a long road, and a lot of struggle, but it has paid off. Rick Stansbury has led the Bulldogs to the longest streak of continued success in basketball that I can remember. Even when the Dawgs are picked to finish near the bottom because they lost a lot of personnel, they overachieve. Coach Ron Polk is a baseball legend whose 30 year career is one of the tops in all of college baseball history.


Now, The Bad
- The underachievement of the basketball team at the beginning of the season and the loss to Georgia in the SEC Tournament cost the basketball Bulldogs a higher seed and put them up against #1 seed Memphis probably too soon in the tournament. All of a sudden, losses to Miami of OH and South Alabama meant a lot more.
- Last week, 2 key football players, Michael Brown and Quinton Wesley, were dismissed from school and the football team for an on-campus incident. Brown is arguably our best offensive lineman. Just when it seems that character is paying off at MSU, 2 bad apples cast a shadow on all the other young men who have worked hard for this program.
- MSU all-world player Derek Pegues was arrested in March for a suspended driver's license and open container of alcohol.
- Stud linebacker Jamon Hughes was suspended earlier this spring for an undisclosed incident.
- A couple of weeks ago one of the top recruits on Mississippi for next year, Chris Garrett, removed his early commitment to MSU and is now going to LSU. Garrett is a life-long State fan but obviously felt like his best chance for success was in Louisiana and not in Mississippi. Ouch!
- Last week Scotty Hopson, a top basketball recruit, removed his early commitment to MSU and changed to Tennessee. No doubt the success of the Vols this year had a lot to do with that. Tennessee has a lot of positive momentum right now.
- Last week legendary coach Ron Polk announced his retirement from baseball. He has long been frustrated and fighting with the NCAA for many of their foolish procedures and the negative effect these decisions have had on college baseball. He now feels its time to get out of the game. Many have secretly hoped he would have retired earlier. Now there will be a divided fanbase on who should be the next coach. Polk and some others think its time for Tommy Raffo, a loyal assistant, to take the helm. Others want a top-notch coach like John Cohen from Kentucky, Bianco from Ole Miss, or a host of others. No matter who is hired, some will not like the choice.
- The sports staple in Starkville, MSU Baseball, is currently 13-15 and has only won 2 SEC games. They've been swept by Baylor and South Carolina, lost 2 games to North Florida, lost 2 to Georgia and Ole Miss, and have only won against teams they should beat like UAB and Austin Peay. It looks like a sad ending to a great career for Polk.
- Who's running the Athletic Department? Outgoing AD Larry Templeton has handed over the reigns to Greg Byrne. However, this transition has not been very smooth and now we have to wonder who is going to hire the baseball coach? Also, MSU president Doc Foglesong has announced his resignation after only a couple of years, ending a not very popular tenure. Now we have to get a new president and stabilize a volatile athletic department.
- MSU is consistently at the bottom of the SEC on the amount it can set aside for athletic budget because of it's size and the lack of financial support it can generate. This is made worse when MSU fans get aggravated by loses on the field and problems with coaches and players. Most SEC schools spend twice what State does and some spend over three times. These schools usually have larger facilities which translates to larger fan bases and more revenue.

Now, I am not a "doom and gloom" MSU fan like many of my bretheren. I am concerned about some of these negative things that have taken place recently. I only hope that we can turn some of this around. I don't know if football can survive a return this year to a 3 win season after last year's magic. I have complete faith in Coach Croom and his staff to work it out. However, I am also concerned that there is a lot of negative momentum in my beloved Starkville these days. I hope that positive news starts coming out soon.

Bulldogs advance past Crimson Tide

Congrats to the Bulldogs for advancing in their first game of the '08 SEC Tournament with a hard fought game against Alabama. The story was not the game, but the fact that some severe weather hit the GA Dome and downtown Atlanta during the overtime. The game was delayed 64 minutes.

State was up by three at the delay and then went on to win by two. Congrats to Jamont Gordon and the rest of the dawgs for staying in the game and playing hard. I didn't get to see much of the first half, but I understand that State had a pretty good lead and let Bama back in. Listening on the radio, it sounded like Bama was hitting three pointers about every trip for a stretch there. Congrats to MSU for coming back from a significant defecit in the second half.

On to play either Georgia or Kentucky tomorrow night. Kentucky is one of the hottest teams in the league right now.

Win again tomorrow Dawgs!

Farewell to a Great Bulldog

This week, it was announced that Michael Henig was leaving the MSU football team because of a hip injury that affected him most of the season. While the stats may not show it 20 years from now, the Michael Henig era was one of the most important ones the Bulldog team ever had. A small kid from Montgomery was a member of Coach Croom's first recruiting classes. He didn't have the stature or stats to be recruited by most SEC schools, but he did have the heart.

During Henig's freshman year, starting quarterback Omar Conner went down with an injury and in stepped this unassuming freshman. He wasn't surrounded by a huge talent pool. There wasn't a lot of anticipation among Bulldog fans to see him in the game. But he stood in there and made pressure throws and took the big hits. As a freshman, he led State to beat Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. As a sophomore, he pushed senior Omar Conner to the WR corps. Henig had the heart and determination of a winner.

In the first game of his sophomore season, he broke his collarbone against South Carolina. When he went off the field, the air deflated out of most MSU fans. He fought back and later in the season led the Bulldogs to a victory over Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium against one of the teams from his home state that overlooked him. I was at that game and saw again the heart of a champion on display.

Henig started this last year running for his life and throwing six interceptions to eventual national champion LSU. Two weeks later, he broke his hand against Auburn, giving way to freshman Wesley Carroll. He spent the rest of the year in recovery and in a backup role.

I was never angrier or more embarrassed as an MSU fan this year than at the Tennessee and Ole Miss games when I heard many boos when Michael Henig came in to try and jump start a stalled offense. Many MSU fans took a step back into some of the classless levels of some SEC programs that have booed their players in the past. Most of them showed their ignorance of the situation, not knowing that Henig was coming into the game with a slight hip fracture. I hope I never hear another instance of a Bulldog player being treated so bad.

Here's to you Michael Henig! Thanks for being a winner, no matter what the win-loss record may indicate. Thanks for always giving your best. Thanks for performing above the level of your physical ability. Thanks for playing with a broken hip, broken hand, or broken collarbone. Thanks for always being a model of the character needed to be a Bulldog.