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Seneca, SC

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Friday July 17, 2009

Friday E-Mail Bag

Friday E-Mail Bag
Each Friday I publish your comments and answer your questions. To submit a comment or questions please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com.

Mick,
Thanks for your time in reading my email. I hope all is well with you and I continue to keep Ryan in my thoughts and prayers. I look forward to bumping into you soon around Mac's and Clemson.

I broke out a smile this morning when I read your blog. After seeing several Spring Practices this year, I told many people that Jamie Harper reminded me a bit of Kenny Flowers with his combination of size and speed and his direct running style. I think he has a tremendous upside in a Clemson uniform.

I look forward to the season and the many great discussions as we await September 5.

All In,

Neil

Neil,
Thanks for the e-mail. Flowers had a different running style but he was powerful and had explosive speed. I think he is a little faster with his top end speed but I think Harper has better feet and balance. They are similar though. Also both had ankle issues. I think it would be great if Harper had career numbers like Flowers.

Mickey,
Mickey, a few weeks back, I asked a question about the divide between the administration and the athletic department at Clemson. I appreciated your comments but still have some concerns that I want to ask you.

First, is the Top 20 goal a CU Board of Trustees driven goal?

Second, given the excerpt below from last Fridays blog, why does the Board of Trustees tolerate such blatant deception?
Jonathan

Jonathan,
I tap dance around some of these issues and don’t have all of the answers here. First, I am under the impression that the top 20 mission was a Barker deal but the board has bought into it and is married to the deal now. I have no answer for the second question, you would have to ask them.

Morning Mickey.

I read Paul Strelow’s column today on Tommy Bowden coming out and essentially saying he was fired instead of resigning. To me this isn’t really news. Call it a firing or coerced resignation or a silent but strong message Phillips sent Bowden that morning but it’s all still an involuntary termination. Anything, including an “official” statement by the university, that says it wasn’t a firing is insulting.

However, what did catch my eye was when the column also stated, “Bowden said when it became apparent he lacked the administration’s support, he agreed to begin negotiating terms of a buyout.” Eerily similar to what we’ve read about regarding Swinney and Purnell’s reported lack of support, as this is something you wrote in a blog earlier this year. All we have to do is go back to that AARC thing from a couple years ago for some evidence of what Bowden may have been battling for years. It seems this “support” issue is becoming a recurring theme that’s gaining more legs by the minute.

Marc

Marc,
I think Bowden meant support for his future. I think we are talking about two different things. There are support issues but I think Bowden was talking about his future.

Hi Mickey: Your blog on Tuesday that emphasized honoring our storied past and the people involved in it reminded me of an idea I’ve had for a few months now. The idea is one that I know will probably never happen and many people would scoff at, but it’s an idea I can’t get out of my head and I was just wondering what your thoughts on it would be. The stadium, though officially called Memorial Stadium, will forever and always be known as Death Valley. I mean nobody says “Memorial Stadium” since it’s such a generic name. Many folks who may be watching a game on tv would wonder where Memorial Stadium is. How is this related to honoring our past you may be wondering. I’ve always thought that Clemson has never given Coach Danny Ford his due. I mean, he didn’t build that stadium but by God he put it on the modern day college football map! When we recall Clemson football at it’s absolute zenith, we think of Coach Ford’s storied teams. I think we should drop “Memorial” and re-name the stadium “Danny Ford Stadium”. Coach Ford got railroaded in January 1990 and many of us have never quite gotten over it. Re-naming the stadium for him would go a long way in not only giving Coach Ford the honor he deserves, but would re-establish a strong link to our past. It would be like saying “we expect Danny Ford-like results in this stadium”. I know what the PC element around Clemson nowadays will say to this and I know it’s unlikely to ever happen, but I was wondering what your thoughts would be.

Thanks for the blog…my best to Ryan!
Marty

Marty,
I don’t see how you can rename anything that is named Memorial. Seems no one man could live up to that. Now I would be in favor of naming the street Danny Ford Avenue.

Mick,
Thanks for your time in reading my thoughts. I enjoy reading your blogs daily and I find myself often moved in some fashion by the points and thought-provoking discussion the blogs often provide.

I am writing today to discuss my thoughts and feelings after today’s blog, A Lifetime Commitment. I want to discuss this from two different angles that you brought up in the blog today.

First, I want to discuss the Lifetime Commitment and what that means. I couldn’t agree with you more in sharing the story of Larry Penley and how he feels about the Lifetime Commitment. That is such a vital part to building and sustaining a successful program….a championship program.

Since October 13, 2008 Dabo Swinney has gone to great strides to bridge the gaps of generations so evident in our football program where the past and present are concerned. He has done it by reaching out. People so responsible for our programs’ storied past have reached back. With open arms of appreciation, we’ve seen former coaches like Danny Ford, Whitey Jordan, Lawson Holland, and Larry Van Der Heyden around town. Brother Bill’s been in touch too. Guys like Michael Dean Perry, Perry Tuttle, Billy Davis, Charlie Whitehurst, and Anthony Waters have been around to name a few more. Danny Ford is back on board. Larry Van Der Heyden and Whitey Jordan are refereeing during practice scrimmages. NFL guys like Waters, Leroy Hill, and Phillip Merling have been on campus working out with the current players and countless former players have been back to work camp.

The Clemson football program is renewing its’ Lifetime Commitment to our past. This is an important piece of rebuilding to a level where we can be relevant again. The events of rebuilding this commitment are very important to me because a lot of damage had been done to our past and this commitment over the past 9-plus years.

There are many stories of players being shunned during this time and not made welcome around the program. Dexter Davis and Levon Kirkland were shunned in attempts to get involved in the football program. Here are two guys that are a part of the Clemson Centennial Team being told “thanks but no thanks”. I could go on.

I transition to my next thought by merely repeating something I’ve heard recently that applies here; “If you don’t embrace history, you’ll be history.”

I want to make this point and challenge the Clemson Athletic Department to make the Lifetime Commitment as well.

We must renew some Lifetime Commitments to our athletic history and we need to do it before it’s too late. In the past 10 years, we have lost some of our most decorated past. We’ve lost Bob Bradley, Jim Phillips, Banks McFadden, Coach Ibrahim, and Dr. R.C. Edwards. It’s nearly impossible to think of the Clemson Athletic Department and not mention one or more of the names I just mentioned. The next wave of pioneers is the Fred Hoover’s, George Bennett’s, Fred Cone’s, Bill Wilhelm’s, and Danny Ford.

Embrace these people! That means take and make every opportunity to allow them to be seen and appreciated by those of us who grew up admiring them and hearing the many great stories of stardom.
I have always taken great pride in approaching these people when I see them publicly and saying “thank you” for giving and committing to something much greater than the individual. Thank you for giving to Clemson.

I know we all want immediate success. The Lifetime Commitment may not beat Georgia Tech on September 10, but it is an important piece of the championship foundation being laid in our football program. The athletic department must follow.
All In,

Neil

Neil,
I really enjoyed your e-mail and thank you for sharing it with us. We have so many legends among us. Fred Cone needs more recognition and he is just one example. I agree. I would like to see the athletic department make more efforts to honor our history. Great e-mail.

Mickey,

Hope you are well. I have an idea for Lucas Glover Day on July 26th. I am stuck in Atlanta missing out on the fun.

Would it be an appropriate idea to ask Clemson fans to fly their tiger paw car flags in honor Lucas Glover day (Sunday, July 26) in the upstate? We've got over a week to get the word out.

Folks may already be doing something similar.

I will be flying mine in Atl all that day.

Gary

Gary,
Great idea. I will pass this along in our e-mail bag. I hope we can get the thing done. I love it. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Mickey,

I read your blog article today, "The Pieces of the Running Game." I could not help but think about the adage that good football teams are able to run the ball. I believe if the pieces fall into place with the running game we will also see drastic improvements in the passing game. It will sure be nice in 2009 for the Tigers to be able to put more points on the board or simply control the clock a little more with a reliable offense.

Kirk

Kirk,
I agree. I think the best offenses run the ball well and then use the play-action passing game to compliment it. I think you will see a renewed emphasis on the running game in 2009.

Mickey,
I am not sure if you are going to post a blog about your vent on mediocrity from Friday morning, but I wanted to weigh in. I heard you mention that schools like Alabama in football, UK and UNC in basketball, NY Yankees don’t accept this and do something about it. You said Clemson accepted this by continuing to give Bowden raises when he never won anything or showed any significant progress towards doing it, which I totally agree with. The one thing that I did not hear you discuss was that they also paid BIG TIME MONEY up front to address it with coaching hires (or personnel moves in the professional ranks). None of us know how Dabo’s going to do, or how long he will be given to win a championship. However, let’s look at Clemson’s recent pathetic effort of a coaching search as an indicator of that question. Who did TDP interview – a couple of mid major coaches and a few assistants? I don’t see where anything has changed.
Thanks,
Jason

Jason,
Thanks for the e-mail. TDP interviewed mostly assistant coaches. I think he feels like he can find a good one in the assistant coaching ranks. Another factor with Clemson now is money. This is a bad time at the university. Budget issues are hitting the entire university.

Mickey,
In your list of topics to discuss earlier this week , you had many points but did not mention the kicking game . How do you see this area when compared to recent years . Or am I the only one wondering if we improve ?

Clover65

Clover 65,
I have no clue about the special teams because they did not focus a lot of time on it in the spring. This is not unusual though. I don’t know of any team that spends time on the kicking game in the spring. Time is limited and this usually does not carry over to the fall. They will spend a ton of time on it in the fall. Danny Pearman will help here because he spent a bunch time with Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech. Plus, I have seen kickers look great in the spring and terrible in the fall. I am not sure it carries over to the fall.

Mickey,
I don't like the proposed parking garage location but what if it was more of an Add-on to the stadium than a separate building? And instead of being behind the new West End Zone, what if they put it behind the south stands between the stadium and the intramural fields...

What do you think?
Harrison

Harrison,
I talked to a city councilman this week and the way I understand the grant will include a Greyhound station and an Amtrack shuttle. I just don’t see the need. Parking garages at football games are a nightmare. The bottleneck after the game is a disaster. I will never park there. I just don’t like any part of this.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, William Perry, Delores Weaver, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, the Byrd family, the Dixon family, Chalmers Carr.

Posted by Mickey Plyler @ 11:56 AM EDT [ Comments [8] ]