Panthers bluffing?

From: Benjamin
I sure hope all of this Cam Newton talk is one huge bluff. Remember in 2007 when the Raiders picked Jamarcus Russell on potential even though he was nowhere close to the top player on the board.  Why? Because they were worried that he may be a great player for someone else, and they would look like idiots for passing on him. Do not let history repeat itself here or by trading next years first round pick again. Trading any pick for more selections is a good idea for a team that needs everything, but if they keep all the picks, who would be some quality choices?
Round 1; Pick 1

A.J. Green-WR UGA. The offense was terrible last year and what better to help Jimmy Clausen than another option besides Steve Smith. Every other WR on the team struggled in 2010. Green is a sure thing, and you have to get a sure thing at pick #1. With expectations so low, the first round pick next year can used on Andrew Luck.

Round 3; Pick 1; 97 Overall

Jarvis Jenkins-DT clemmons. Put us down as having always been in the Jenkins fan club. He is a big time player who could start immediately. The Panthers were woeful at dline last year and Jenkins would be a steal at this slot.

Round 3; Pick 33; 97 Overall

Randall Cobb; WR Kentucky. Some projections have Cobb off the table by this pick, but should he drop, the Panthers should seize the moment. A much more talented receiver than last year's 3rd round selection of Armanti Edwards, Cobb would provide a nice complement to A.J. Green. Steve Smith has requested a trade and if he is dealt, it should be for veteran talent. Smith could be used to upgrade multiple different positions and the draft used to grab the WRs. Remember, Smith himself was a 3rd round selection out of Utah.

Round 4; Pick 1; 98 Overall

Casey Matthews; MLB Oregon. For a team this talent deficient, it is time to start going best available. Yes, Jon Beason is the defensive unit's best, but Casey Matthews is big time. Remember the National Championship game? Size may cause him to fall to the fourth, bringing a smile to Panther fans. They need winners, and Matthews is one. His brother and father aren't too bad themselves. Pernell McPhee, a DE from Mississippi State, makes good sense here as well.

Round 5; Pick 1; 132 Overall

Lee Ziemba; OT Auburn. With former 2008 first round pick, Jeff Otah, returning from a knee injury that forced him to miss the entire 2010 debacle, a little insurance is a good idea. Ziemba is a high end guy who is durable and aggressive. Sure, he isn't the most fleet of foot, but he is a quality pick here.

Round 6; Pick 1; 166 Overall

Jermale Hines; Safety Ohio State. The Panthers love to draft safeties. This guy seems about right.

Round 6; Pick 38; 203 Overall

Ricky Stanzi; QB Iowa. Stanzi comes out of a well coached Iowa system and has the talent to be a serviceable NFL backup. He may actually be good enough to get extensive playing time on this team.

Round 7; Pick 41; 244 Overall

Garrett Chisolm; OG South Carolina. Chisolm was the team's best olinemen for the entire 2010 campaign. He is a feel good story and a high character guy. He brings the mix of talent and character that makes teams better. A good pick in round 7.

Are the Panthers seriously going to draft Cam Newton?

From: Austin
With the NFL draft coming up on Thursday, I haven't encountered one single Panther fan excited about the #1 pick. Highly unusual, seeing the top pick in the draft of the country's #1 sports league most often generates at least a little buzz. Why the blunted optimism? Cam Newton. Fans of a franchise coming off such a pathetic season pin their hopes on the new acquisition of talent from the draft, but visions of Vince Young dance in our head.

Young, also a dominant college quarterback, has more in common with Newton than being a tall black guy. He was selected third in the draft by the Titans after leading the Texas Longhorns and their spread option offense to the National Championship.What did he do in the League? Stink. Newton did not have to audible or read defenses in his one season at Auburn. John Gruden told him that the verbage of a NFL offense will be like going to France and having to instantly speak french. He is starting so far behind the eight ball that it may take a few seasons to get even there. He may end up having a fine career or he may not, but the Panthers need help now and a project like Newton is not the answer. They could just go out and sign Young as a free agent and then draft someone else if they are dead set on that style of QB. If you miss on a #1 quarterback it cripples you for years. How about draft the best WR in the draft in A.J. Green to pair with Steve Smith and give Jimmy Clausen some more targets? Or they could take a chance. Anyone remember Ryan Leaf?

Gamecocks sit atop SEC

From: Cole
With 4 weeks to go, the Gamecocks, who look like the walking wounded, sit atop the SEC East thanks to holding the tiebreaker over both Florida and Vanderbilt. Vandy has series remaining against Tennessee, at Kentucky, Florida, and at Georgia. Florida hosts Mississippi, goes to Arkansas and Vanderbilt, and finishes at home versus Kentucky. The Friday and Sunday games can be seen on ESPNU. Can anyone beat these guys except the Gamecocks?

The Gamecock outfield, the uncontested strength of the team in the preseason, has spent more time in the trainer's room than the field recently. How does a team have to play its DH, a freshmen with 2 plate appearances all year, and a guy who was only a pitcher until a week ago in a conference series? Adam Matthews should be back earlier than expected with his hamstring injury. Seeing that live, we were sure he was done until at least the SEC Tourney. How did Jackie Bradley Jr. sustain ligament damage to his wrist on a glove side dive with no visible twisting? No clue. Marzilli's defense was missed the most last Sunday, but his bat is coming around. Still, DeSean Anderson got more hits on Sunday than Jackie Bradley had in the last week. Hopefully, this time off will allow him to clear his head and come back as the real Jackie Bradley.

clemmons was unable to sweep at home against Wake. Really? At least Jonathan Meyer looked good in his second start.

Baseball America released a mock draft today. Players of note:
2: Gerrit Cole-RHP UCLA
3: Jed Bradley-LHP Ga Tech
4: Danny Hultzen- LHP UVA
6: Sonny Gray-RHP Vandy
7: Taylor Guerrieri-RHP Spring Valley High School-USC commitment
8: Trevor Bauer-RHP UCLA
20: Jackie Bradley Jr-OF USC
21: Mikie Mahtook-OF LSU
22:  Levi Michael-SS UNC
23: Matt Purke-LHP TCU

Matt Purke, Mississippi State and Wake Forest

From: Austin
 As the college baseball season enters the second half of conference play, the Gamecocks are afforded the luxury of scanning the horizon to analyze possible match-ups. Throughout the season, the Yardcocks have struggled much more against lefties. No left hander entered the season with more acclaim than TCU's Matt Purke. Purke, a draft eligible sophomore and former first round pick of the Texas Rangers, was dominant last year with a 16-0 for the Horned Frogs, a 3.02 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 116 1/3 innings. The tall lefty has not been himself this season and Jonathan Mayo from MLBblogs.com is reporting that Purke has been shut down due to shoulder soreness and saw Dr. James Andrews this week. Tough blow for the Horned Frogs post-season hopes.

Ray Tanner's crew will face off against a pesky Mississippi State Bulldog squad after the long bus ride to Starkville. The Bulldogs will send sophomore right hander, Chris Stratton, to the mound tonight. Stratton, who brings a 4.66 era, was on our pre-season All-SEC squad mainly because we couldn't put the entire Florida and Vandy staffs on the team. Though they are 6-9 in conference, Mississippi State is always a tough place to play and winning 2 of 3 will make the long bus ride home a happy one. Currently, Coach Cohen is listing his Sunday starter as TBA. We expect him to throw any lefty he can find if Nick Routt is effective in any shape or form on Saturday.

Mark us down in the group who wonders-What in the world happened to Wake Forest in every sport? The football team was awful in 2010. Basketball has become laughable, but no team took a bigger dip than baseball. They only have one player hitting over .260. One! There are only 3 hitting over .252! This is from a team that was a National Seed a few years ago. clemmons should again sweep and win each game by at least 4-5 runs. Start Scott Weismann and get him a victory because you are gonna need him in June. Maybe Wake needs a new AD?

Jackie Bradley Jr.

From: Elliott
All-American Center Fielder, Jackie Bradley Jr, had a much better game against Vanderbilt after moving into the leadoff role on Sunday. Bradley has struggled all season as he is pitched like the second coming of Babe Ruth. These difficulties appear to be more so with lefties and were highlighted in the Saturday loss when Bradley came to bat with a chance to tie in the 7th and 9th, but was unable to do so. Of note, the wind was blowing out at least 20 mph to right and Jackie was trying to jack it. There is no doubt that Bradley is a big time player and future first round pick, but even the best get discouraged when struggling. One thing about baseball is that everyone struggles sometime-sounds like a REM song.

Here is ESPN's Keith Law scouting Bradley's swing:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5367520

What you can see in the video is that he does not have a huge stride, which allows great balance and the ability to adjust easily to off speed pitches. Jackie has an open stance that enables him to easily move his hands through the zone while encouraging high power generation from the hips. What we have noticed is that when he loads with the toe tap, his lead foot is rocking back onto his heal instead of staying on the balls of his foot. This causes him to become off balanced and to compensate he has to stick his backside out a bit. By doing this, he loses the stellar hip rotation that Law speaks of and thus a large portion of his power. Hopefully a minor correction  and a few big hits will allow Jackie to regain his confidence and lead our team again to a National Title.

Gamecock Baseball on TV

From: Benjamin
Reminder that the defending National Champions will play on ESPNU this Friday at 8 PM at Mississippi State and again on Saturday at 7 PM on SportsSouth. This is the first west opponent for the squad as the first five match-ups were against the eastern division. The Yardcocks hold the tiebreaker over all five after winning each series.

Ronald Patrick eye injury

From: Matthew
     South Carolina offensive lineman, Ronald Patrick, missed almost the entire spring practice recovering from an eye surgery. Well, this greatly intrigued us, as we had a challenging time coming up with a diagnosis that would require surgery in a man his age and would keep him on the shelf for so long. Patrick is expected to be a contributor next season, and the missed practice time threw a wrench in his development. HIPPA laws prevent us from phoning his medical team to discuss his case, but after listening to post spring interviews, we arrived at an answer that is most likely correct.
     When the problem was first announced, we racked our brains for a differential diagnosis of eye surgeries a college student might require. The main problem to work through was why would you do it right before spring ball and not before or after. Obviously, it was urgent, eliminating the initial assumption of congenital cataract. Therefore, the preliminary thought was some sort of eyelid trauma. Coach Spurrier later noted that the main issue was an infection behind the eye. On the serious meter we just jumped from a 2 to a 9. Orbital cellulitis is an emergency and sight threatening. Would Patrick be able to play again? Then, it came out that he was fighting this infection since his arrival on campus. What? The only was this could be the case that we can see, is if this is a subperiosteal abscess in the orbital cavity. In english, that is a walled off infection in the eye socket between the bone and the lining covering the bone. These usually come from sinus infections and the medical team most likely tried to treat it with antibiotics. However, these are very difficult to cure and often require surgery to drain them if they are expanding at a rate where permanent blindness could result. The procedure, which has its own risks, usually is curative and should cause no lasting damage to Patrick's eye or his playing career. Good news for the gamecocks!

clemson offense in trouble

From: Austin
Say what you wish clemmons fans about Steven Garcia's off the field troubles, but don't think for a minute that most of you would not trade every QB on your roster for him faster than you can say, "Boyd's pass intended for Hopkins, incomplete." The 2011 tiger offense will resemble a stock car with a fancy body style, lots of flashy sponsors, brand new tires, and the engine from a 1979 Dodge Dart. True, new Offensive Coordinator Chad Morris's attack will be fast paced and a dramatic improvement over Billy Napier's. True, DeAndre Hopkins has All-America potential. Dale Earnhardt, if he was alive, couldn't win with a jalopy engine and neither can Chad Morris, no matter what kind of style he brings.

Spring Games are overrated. What can you learn? Not much if you are truthful with yourself. However, tiger nation saw a glimpse of its next few seasons with the paltry passing numbers put up by its QBs. The heir apparent, Tahj Boyd goes 8-24 for 144 yds and a TD. He was 4-19 for 75, prior to the final drive. 33%! In a spring game, with most of the yards coming against the back-ups to the back-ups! Yes, he had some good passes, and yes, clemmons has some big name WRs arriving in the fall, but come on! Boyd will be forced to run for his life because no one with a brain will respect the passing attack, and he is gonna get killed by the opponent's linebackers. If he doesn't make it through the season, there are 2 kids who should be in high school this spring backing him up-the best of which went 6-16 last Saturday.

Tahj Boyd has good huddle presence, is a quality leader, a great athlete, and has the respect of his teammates. All good things, but South Carolina fans have seen that movie. It was called Corey Jenkins. No one was a better representative of the University, leader, or athlete than Jenkins, but what was the won loss record? Even if clempsen gets a big time QB in this class, they are 1-2 years away from him being ready. Brace for impact tiger fans!

Clemson Baseball

From: Elliott
clemmons takes 2 of 3 from Maryland this weekend. Not too bad, but they should've swept. Maryland has a few talented players, but absolutely no depth. In a weak Atlantic division, Coach Leggett's guys needed to gain some ground. With Kevin Brady's season looking dimmer each day, the 2011 tigers will not succeed where last season's sqaud did if Scott Weisman does not find his game. The once deadly ace has become highly ineffective recently. A midweek win over Western Carolina game a glimmer of hope, but Weisman was again ineffective when called on in relief yesterday. Other than Scott Firth's reliably above average outing, the weekend provided no clarity as to the rotation. Dominic Leone was unable to make it out of the fifth on Friday and Will Lamb was pulled after walking 3 consecutive batters in the early innings on Sunday.Weisman came on and was later relieved after he too lost the strike zone. Basically, it looks like Weisman's difficulties have led to him pressing. On Sunday, he looked to be aiming the ball, and that leads to a lack of movement and command. The starting rotation better improve soon or clemsen may be watching the NCAAs at home for the second time in 4 years.

On a more positive note, the ball must look the size of a watermelon to Brad Miller right now. Is there a hotter hitter in the country? After a red hot week, Miller went 10 for 13 against the Terps. Wow! He better keep it up because his club needs to sweep BC.

One sweep. Two Sweep

From: Cole

Both of the major universities from the Palmetto state saw the broom come out for their baseball squad this weekend. Only it was the defending National Champions who were the broom and the tigers who were the dust. South Carolina fought through a myriad of injuries to win three over division rival Kentucky. Do not forget that the Yardcocks lost 2 of 3 to the Wildcats on route to the CWS title last season. High marks for the weekend go to Colby Holmes and Forrest Koumas, who turned in excellent starts and to shortstop Peter Mooney, who is finally swinging the stick with some confidence. Evan Marzilli showed signs of life as well.

clemmon's main issue seems to be confidence. There is no question that they are a talented club and no doubt that injuries have hurt both the pitching and fielding, but their infield defense is atrocious. John Hinson committed his 11th error of the young season today and prior to his injury, Brad Miller was on pace to at least equal his awful error total of 2010. Poor defense not only allows that runner to reach base, but extends innings and taxes the pitching staff. Do not underestimate how much psychological impact this has on a young pitcher who feels like he has to make a perfect pitch every time.