Auburn beats Alabama, again. No, really

The Auburn basketball team won its fourth consecutive Iron Ball on Saturday over Alabama, 58-57.

It’s the Tigers second SEC win of the season.

Here’s the beginning of my column that will appear in tomorrow’s Opelika-Auburn News.

Enjoy ... Lucas Hargrove did. See ...

Man, Auburn knows how to make it interesting.

The Tigers’ fourth consecutive win over Alabama certainly was.

In a season where Auburn has yet to play a complete 40-minute game offensively and defensively, it sure can show up for 12 seconds – the last 12 seconds.

The last 12 seconds of the last Iron Ball in the last season of Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Another Auburn win. That’s four in a row over Alabama, six out of the last seven and 11 out of the last 14.

The Crimson Tide hasn’t won on the Plains since 2006. That’s four years ago.

Jeff Lebo’s excited, you can tell.

When asked if he’d given any thought to the streak or how to explain it, Auburn’s head coach shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

“I don’t know,” he said after a few seconds of silence. “We’re happy to win this one.”

And they should be. He should be.

It’s just the Tigers’ second SEC win of the season.

Hey, didn’t AU start last season 2-5 in the conference? I’m just saying.

Just eight more to match last year’s total.

Just four more games left in Beard-Eaves, with the last one against Alabama in the books. Auburn closes out the 41-year-old building with a 22-20 record over its biggest rival.

“To win the last Iron Bowl in Beard-Eaves …” contemplated senior Lucas Hargrove, who made the game-winning free-throw with 3.1 seconds left. “When I first came to college a while back, I wasn’t really big into (the rivalry). As you live here, it grows on you a little bit.”

Just like Auburn’s win streak over Alabama, which now, at four games, matches the longest streak over the Tide since the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

(PHOTO CREDIT: CLIFF WILLIAMS | OPELIKA-AUBURN NEWS)

Evander and Danielson, it doesn’t get any more random

Yeah, I know, I need a life. But, I’ve already got a great job.

Here’s my random thoughts column that ran in today’s Opelika-Auburn News. I make no apologies.

From time to time, my mind wanders.

I know it never happens to you, especially while you’re at work.

But since I have an outlet for my random thoughts, I figured I’d take advantage of it.

With such a big week coming up for us with National Signing Day on Wednesday and then the high school area basketball tournaments tipping off Thursday and Friday, I wanted to take a moment to relax and gather my thoughts.

And by “gather my thoughts,” I mean surf the Web. Naturally.

Anyway, it’s amazing what 30 minutes of zoning out can do for your work productivity.

See, it gave me this column of random thoughts just out of the blue.

Man, I love my job.

Enough is enough
As I was reading the Associated Press wire Thursday afternoon, I came across this headline “Holyfield-Botha fight in Uganda called off.”

My first thought was, “Good, the doctors finally came to their senses and hid Evander Holyfield’s gloves before he kills himself.”

But, sadly, that’s not why the fight was cancelled.

Nope.

The 47-year-old’s fight against Francois Botha won’t happen in Uganda because, according to Holyfield’s manager, Ken Sanders, the fight’s promoters didn’t come up with the pre-fight money they promised.

Money. The only thing that matters in boxing. Certainly not common sense.

So now the fight, which was scheduled to go down Feb. 20, might move to Miami on March 6. Possibly. Maybe. If Holyfield doesn’t wake up one morning and forget his name.

But even if that does happen, the former heavyweight champ still would climb into the ring, because, well, he’s not a smart man.

He’s 47!

I’m 31, and I don’t want to get hit in the face, ever. Three years away from 50, and you would think the guy would want to retire and save what brain cells he has left. All three of them. 

‘Sweep The Leg’
Do you ever wonder what happened to Daniel Larusso?
You know, Ralph Macchio’s character in “The Karate Kid.”

Yeah, you remember, Daniel-san.

I sometimes wonder what he’s doing.

Is he practicing the crane kick on some old piece of driftwood on a beach somewhere? Does he still have that headband Mr. Miyagi gave him? Do you think he ever patched things up with Ali Mills?

And I wonder what he thought of Hilary Swank’s performance in “The Next Karate Kid” — I bet he, like the rest of us, couldn’t make it through the whole thing.

I bring this up because I just saw a clip for “The Karate Kid” remake that’s supposed to come out this year.

Yeah, they’re bringing it back. But Jackie Chan is taking over for Pat Morita and Daniel-san’s name is now Dre, (Dre’son?) who is being played by Jaden Smith — the son of Will Smith.

And it takes place in Beijing, not Beverly Hills. Big difference.

It looks like they’ve taken some liberties with the 2010 version, making it a bit different from the 1984 original, which is fine with me. But they better not touch the soundtrack.

Joe Esposito’s “You’re the Best” is the greatest movie song of all time. Period. No one should ever — EVER! — mess with it. Ever.

And I’m hoping with everything I have that Johnny Lawrence will make a cameo.

Please let that happen.

OK, back to work now.

Big Game goes to Big Blue

What a basketball game.

Even Jeff Lebo thinks so. See ...

Auburn’s 72-67 loss to Kentucky is exactly why I love college basketball. It had drama, an excellent crowd and some very, very talented players.

Kentucky stays perfect on the season, while Auburn falls to 9-9 and 0-3 in the SEC. But, the Tigers have some hope. They played the best second half they’ve ever played all season. If they can put a full game together like that, they just might be able to win some conference games.
Go figure!

Anyway, here’s how my column for tomorrow’s Opelika-Auburn News starts.

Enjoy.

So this is what a basketball school looks like.
Of course, Kentucky played a big part in that. So did its fans.
And no, they didn’t flock to the Plains to see Gene Chizik accept the Outback Bowl trophy, again.
No, all 11,669 fans who crammed into Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum were here to see the No. 2 Wildcats, freshman phenom John Wall and the hottest coach in college hoops, John Calipari. And maybe even Ashley Judd. Definitely Ashley Judd.
And nobody came away disappointed.
Well, except for maybe Calipari. He might want the movie star to stay home next time, because to him, every team plays Kentucky so much tougher when Judd’s in attendance.
“I don’t know if they’re playing for Ashley,” Calipari joked. “She comes and it’s like a dogfight.”
Well, that could have something to do with it. I hear DeWayne Reed loves “Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.”
It was probably that. Oh, and the fact that the Tigers showed up ready to play with a solid gameplan and the hunger to knock off the undefeated “NBA team,” as Lebo cracked.
“Wow,” Calipari said after the game. “I’ve always respected Jeff Lebo and the job he does, but what he did today to keep his team right there to win the game was incredible.”
Auburn showed up, fought and even had a chance to send the game into overtime. (Gasp!)
Yes, these Auburn Tigers – the 9-9 team that lost to Missouri State, Troy and Sam Houston State. Yes, them.
It was a long shot, just like Reed’s hoist from beyond NBA range. But it was a shot.
It didn’t matter that the Wildcats are the best team in the conference and the second-best team in the nation.
“We fear no one,” Auburn sophomore guard Frankie Sullivan said.
Except, maybe an empty gym.
“Our crowd was great. I wish we could have that …,” Lebo said as he trailed off. “I think that the crowd always gives you energy. The kids feel good about it, because they know they get that when they go every other place in our league.”
Something they don’t get at home.
But, man, when the game’s good and a sold-out crowd is into it, is there anything better than college basketball?
OK, sorry, college football. Always. Of course.
But, next to a fall Saturday? I don’t think so.
This Saturday in January, with a little more than 11 minutes to play during a timeout with Auburn trailing by 3, is exactly what Auburn paid $92.5 million for.
Then, when Sullivan’s 3-pointer tied it up at 60 with 8:19 to play after the Tigers trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half, you would have thought the roof to the 41-year-old coliseum was going to come crashing down.
If Auburn takes the lead on its next possession, they wouldn’t have to worry about tearing down Beard-Eaves, the noise from the crowd would have taken care of the demolition.
And that’s exactly the type of atmosphere Auburn officials want at the new arena, which opens next season.

(Photo credit: Cliff Williams | Opelika-Auburn News)

OK, so what do I know?

Yeah, so the whole “Tommy Tuberville would be a perfect fit at South Florida“ thing wasn’t as on point as I thought it would be.

Apparently, Tuberville thought he’d be a better fit at Texas Tech. He was hired by the Red Raiders on Saturday and made it official Sunday.

Not that he was a sure thing to get the USF job, but I still think he’d be a better fit in Tampa, Fla., rather than Lubbock, Texas. But, again, what do I know? After reading my column on Saturday, apparently, not much.

Anyway, you can watch some highlights of Tuberville’s introductory press conference here.

Oh, and, did you know he’s also going to interview Troy OC Neal Brown. Yeah, that’s according to our sister paper the Dothan Eagle. Don’t believe me? Check it out.

Refresh my memory, what happened the last time Tuberville hired a spread offensive coordinator from Troy?

Tuberville and USF could be a perfect fit

For my money, Tommy Tuberville should be on the very short list for South Florida as they look for a new head coach.

Find out why in the column I wrote for today’s Opelika-Auburn News.

My, so much can change in two weeks.

Go back 14 days and every BCS job in the country was filled. Every program had its man, or so it thought.

Then, seemingly from out of nowhere, Mike Leach was suspended and then fired at Texas Tech on the final Wednesday of 2009. Then, just Friday, South Florida head coach Jim Leavitt was let go.

Both coaches were alleged to have mistreated a player, and, for the most part the news — at least to those outside of Lubbock, Texas, and Tampa, Fla. — came as a shock.

It’s unfortunate and sad. The careers for both of these guys, who were “the next best thing” not too long ago, will never be the same.

The schools they were ousted from, however, have a great opportunity to take the next step with the right coach.

So, who do they turn to?

Well, you already know where I’m going with this.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce Tommy Tuberville. You might remember him from his work at Auburn — 10 years on the Plains, 85 wins, a perfect 13-0 season in 2004. You know.

Tuberville interviewed at Texas Tech earlier this week. On Thursday, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported that Tuberville was still very much in the running for job. He and Red Raiders interim coach Ruffin McNeill are believed to be the only two candidates who have interviewed for the job thus far, the newspaper reported.

Not bad odds.

Then Friday, word out of Tampa was that Tuberville was considered a candidate for the now-open USF gig.

And I can’t say I’m surprised. He was the first person I thought of — and I know I wasn’t the only one — when word of Leavitt’s firing started leaking out. Tampa’s warm and the golf is plentiful. Oh, and the program’s not bad either.

Tuberville would be a good get for either school, however, he’d be a much better fit at South Florida. And it’s not just because of the sun and fun.

Tuberville is a defensive guy. Texas Tech is not a defensive team. Sure, he’d help the Red Raider defense, but Tuberville’s track record with offenses — and offensive coordinators — isn’t the best.

But people can change, and I’m sure Tuberville learned some valuable lessons from the Tony Franklin Experiment. He’d better if he wants to be a successful coach again.

Philosophy, however, isn’t the reason why he’d be better for USF than Texas Tech.

South Florida is one of the best jobs in the country as far as potential — on and off the field.

A program could just recruit athletes from the state of Florida and have a pretty darn good team year in and year out. And with Florida State making the switch to a new regime, and Florida being in doubt with Urban Meyer’s future on the sidelines, now is the time to strike if you’re South Florida — time to get some of the state’s (and nation’s) best recruits, all of whom live in your own backyard.

The right coach with the right staff could make this happen. If Tuberville got the job, and did learn from his final year at Auburn, putting a top-notch recruiting staff together would be paramount. And I’m quite sure he knows it.

What about off the field?

It’s in this area that Tuberville’s name should shoot to the top of the list.

South Florida is a huge school with a lot of alumni who are sick of being the fourth fiddle in the state to Florida, Florida State and Miami. They need a figurehead they can rally around, and, more importantly, give their money and support to.

Have you ever seen Tuberville work a room? He’s one of the best.

He’s also media friendly. A breath of fresh air for a program that now has a dark cloud hanging over it.

Don’t forget, Tuberville’s done it before at Ole Miss and at Auburn.

Also, Tuberville knows how to win. If he did it in the toughest conference in college football for more than a decade, he can certainly do it in the Big East.

Make no mistake, Tuberville doesn’t come cheap. He was making more than $3 million a season at Auburn. I don’t see him willing to take anything significantly lower than that.

But for South Florida, it could be money well spent.