$825,000

From: Austin

An 86' motoryacht can be purchased right now for $729,000. Now, I wouldn't expect a 20 something year old man to go out and snatch one of these up, but it does put some everyday value to the 825,000 Kyle Parker gave up to play football this year. He is basically paying that to play QB. 825,000 is more than many people make in a lifetime! Anybody with a brain, would've taken the money and ran. This is guaranteed money! I realize CJ Spiller just signed for 25 million, but only first rounders get a large portion of guaranteed money in the NFL. Sidney Rice is making $550,000 this season, his fourth year in the league. And he was selected 44th. How many 6' tall QBs have been selected that high? What was Rice's signing bonus? One million dollars, a lot of money for most of us, but paltry in comparison to 2.25 million. Enjoy your non-guaranteed league minimum if you choose to play in the NFL.

Who is advising this guy, Bozo the clown? These guys need help. Most of my clemson friends are happy he is going to be the QB this season, but heartbroken for a kid who probably just made the poorest decision of his life.

I will freely admit that it all may turn out for the best for Parker, and I hope it does. However, it is insane to forfeit that kind of money. It may make a little more sense if Spiller, Ford, and Palmer were returning. Good luck inflating those NFL numbers with Xavier Dye and his 14 career catches. Parker wanted 3 million. He was offered 2.25 and signed for 1.4 and the opportunity to play football. So he gave up $825,000, because he wasn't offered $775,000 more. It all makes perfect sense.

Return Game

From: Cole
Anyone else realize that it has been an awfully long time since we returned a kick for a touchdown? 2003 versus Florida if my memory serves me correct. Clempson was able to turn C.J. Spiller's 8 return TDs last season and a few by Jacoby Ford into several wins in games they should not have won. What has kept us from one, just one return TD in six seasons?

Blocking is the key. Good kick returns, like hitting, are infectious. If the return team thinks they can break one, then they get energized and perform better. Our team allows the coverage team to get to deep and close to our return guy way too often.

The return men have been so so. Captain Munnerlyn almost took a punt back and Stephon Gilmore did last season, minus a phantom penalty. Look for Gilmore to break the streak this year. Anyone else think the officials are more likely to hold the flag when a stud returner is bringing the kick back? Not on purpose, but they just expect him to get loose. Chris Culliver is the all time leading return yardage man at USC. What does that tell us?
   -our defense has allowed a lot of points
   -he has had the job for 3 seasons

Culliver, in spite of his blazing speed, has looked very mediocre on most of his returns, sans one or two last season. He is fast but not elusive. Why is this important,? Review any return by Spiller last season and the difference becomes clear. Bryce Sherman was a welcomed change and was close to busting one or two. He brings increased elusiveness without sacrificing speed. D.J. Swearinger is also in the mix, but I don't believe he has breakaway speed. The best bet appears to be Sherman. Return some kicks and we may win a game we shouldn't. How about Auburn?

Shotgun Willy

From: Benjamin
Wasn't one of the many reasons that Coach Tommy Bowden was relieved of his duties from mighty clempson university the pent up frustration among the tiger faithful from Bowden's refusal to play the savior Willy Korn? I seem to believe that it was. Now, Korn handled himself with nothing buy dignity and class throughout the entire situation and transferred to the Marshall Thundering Herd for this season. Interesting to note, that Korn finished 4th in the 4 way QB battle and was moved to safety last Friday. We wonder whether Kyle Parker would have made such a boneheaded move with his baseball contract if Korn was still in tigerland.

Coaching Staffs

From: Leon
I got to thinking the other day about how so many people are anticipating a dramatic improvement in offensive line play because we got a new coach. How much impact does an assistant coach have on the play of his unit? Coach Elliot and the oline are a topic for another day because this led me to another thought. Remember how excited Gamecock Nation was when Coach Spurrier was hired? Think back to that first year. We had just come out of the 95% run offense of Coach Holtz's later teams and were expecting to need neck braces for all the high flying passes. But, look at the entire coaching staff that season. How bad a staff was that and for how many seasons has that negatively impacted our program?

Head Coach-Spurrier-top notch
QB Coach/Recruiting-Reeves-not too good
RB Coach-Madre Hill-ugh
Oline Coach-Hunt-Have you seen our oline?
WR Coach-Spurrier Jr-getting better each season
TE Coach-Chatham-average on a good day
Dline Coach-Oliver-ok
LB Coach/Defensive Coordinator-Thompson-awful
DB Coach-Cooper-good coach with a lot of baggage
DB Coach-Wommack-ouch

The impact of this staff's poor coaching, talent evaluation, recruiting efforts, and player development is still being felt today. Yes, we won some games, but have not improved to the next level. Our dramatically improved staff from top to bottom should put forth a higher quality team this season. Does that translate into more wins? I don't know.

The Clary Show

From: Matthew
Ok, I hope y'all are having as much fun as I am listening at work to Ryan on ESPN Spartanburg this am. It sure is fun to hear him ranting and slamming on clempson fans. He does give a very accurate analysis of the tiger football team. You can catch him on http://www.espnspartanburg.com/. Hit the listen live button on the left of the page. Leon says he is about to call in on the studio line 1-864-573-1400.

Looking through the media guide

From: Benjamin
Well practice is closed and it is pouring outside, so I thought I'd spend some quality time with my granddad perusing through the media guide. This is some thrilling reading for sure. Based on the pictures, here are the media guide awards/thoughts....

1) Most likely to kill you if you met him in a alley....Travian Robertson
2) 1st round draft pick in a Baddest Man Alive Contest..... Jarriel King
3) If Jarvis Giles gained 8 lbs this offseason, half of it is hair.
4) Speaking of the dread look, is that the new team doo? One doesn't look too tough with hair halfway down their back. D.L Moore and Lamar Scruggs have enough locks to take a half second off their forty time. However, Stephon Gilmore is the man no matter what.
5) If the quality of the coaching staff is related in any way to how good their wives look, this is the best staff ever. Coach Spurrier Jr. winning a close race with Coach Johnson.
6) Bru Pender/Calvin Owens "Is he still on the team?" award"-Ryan Broadhead
7) Best Teeth goes to Demario Jeffery
8) How many deep snappers does one team need?
9) Without cheating, how many guys share the same number? OK there are 105 players and 99 numbers. Why do we have so many repeats?

An All-Time Great

From: Cole
Best wishes and prayers go out to one of the all-time great gamecocks, Kenny McKinley, who was placed on injured reserve today with a knee injury. This puts him out for the season. Hopefully, he'll be back with the Broncos next season.