Writing from the frozen Tundra of New Jersy after the First snow, Shelly Williams penned this verse of Haiku;
Snow covered sidewalk
Step, slip, slide, balancing act
Watch for yellow snow
Geaux Saints
Friday, January 19, 2007
Ross & Price a Perfect Match at Ole Miss
By Jeff Lippman
If Hollywood sports movie endings tell us anything, it's to expect the unexpected. To always dream big. With enough heart and desire, the underdog David can defeat mighty Goliath. And finally, everything happens for a reason.
Going just short of calling it fate, the relationship formed by player and coach four years ago, when neither knew anything of the other, is certainly considered by both involved to be the single specific moment when Ole Miss women's basketball program began its turnaround.
Now members of the Top 25 for only the second time since 1996, coach Carol Ross, star player Armintie Price and the Rebels have officially arrived, once again, on college basketball's scene.
And they owe it all to each other.
"Wow, she's been everything," Ross said of Price. "She's meant more to this program than any single student-athlete that I've ever coached, at any time, and I've coached All-Americans and Olympians, but the significance of Armintie to Ole Miss women's basketball is not just what you see on the court or on the stat sheet, it's her mentality and her passion for success and her work ethic, her enthusiasm, it's so many things wrapped up into one.
"Her attitude and energy really rubs off on her teammates and her coaches as well. She just has a light about her that draws people to her. She has fun working hard and that really just rubs off on people and she has helped create a very competitive and successful environment in the locker room as well as on the court."
That is incredible praise coming from coach to player, a relationship in which usually the player owes her career to her teacher. But the love fest is mutual and Price does consider Ross to be the sole reason she is the All-American candidate she is today.
"She has made me who I am," Price, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, said. "Just being aware about the game, just my will to win, I've learned a lot from her, I feel like I'm going into see her almost every day. Just listening to how she coaches, what she sees on the court, it has made me grow as a player. When she's on the bench and she's huffing and stuff, I was confused on what she was saying, but now I'm starting to learn and watch the shot clock and see the positions of the game and time and score, all because of watching her and listening to her and trying to understand what she's saying about the game.
"Just me watching her every day and her teaching me that this is for the love of the game, this is something you've got to give your all for, and you are not just playing for yourself but for 13 other girls out there, so just giving a great effort and representing your school and your family and everybody else out there."
To know the relationship between player and coach, one must first understand how they happened upon each other four years ago, almost by chance, without knowing who the other was and what they'd ultimately mean to the struggling program.
Ross had just spent a year, "pursuing other things," after stepping down from her position as head coach of the Florida Gators women's team at the end of the 2002 season. The winningest coach in Florida history had burnt herself out after 12 seasons and 247 victories with the Gators.
When Ole Miss, her alma mater where she was a four-year starter from 1978-81, and where she still holds the school record for most career steals, telephoned to say they wanted to hire her to become the next head coach, she felt an obligation to accept.
"When [Ole Miss] called, you know, I still didn't want to get back in," Ross admits, "and I certainly didn't want to get back into the SEC where I just left, but, at some point I felt a real sense of duty and I felt like this would be my opportunity to come back to Mississippi and help not only the program that gave me my start, the university that gave me my education, but also a state that needed people to come home and help. So it was more an allegiance to those things than it was my need to get back into coaching."
The year prior to Ross' return was not a good year for Ole Miss basketball. The current No. 24-ranked team in the country finished 12-16 in 2002-03, including going 1-13 in SEC play.
In Ross' first season--Price's freshman year of 2003-04--she made leaps and bounds with the roster she inherited, having not even recruited the freshman she was now coaching. Ross turned an abysmal group into an NCAA tournament team almost immediately, earning SEC co-Coach of the Year honors.
And who won SEC Freshman of the Year honors? Armintie Price, who just happened to fall into Ross' lap.
"I was just lucky enough to arrive at the same time as Armintie," Ross said.
Price stumbled upon Oxford as well, not even considering playing college basketball until her senior year of high school in Myrtle, Miss.
"I only started playing ball when I was in eighth grade, so I didn't touch a ball when I was little, I didn't know anything about basketball," Price said. "I started playing and then I wasn't too interested in anything else. Once I got to high school, I still didn't watch college basketball, I was just playing because my friends wanted me to play. And then once my senior year came, my coach talked to me about college choices and if I wanted to go and if I wanted to play. My family wasn't as big on sports then as they are now.
"I didn't have that many choices in the first place. I told my mom about Ole Miss, it was close to home and I ended up meeting my teammate now, Ashley Awkward, at an Adidas camp my senior year, and I met Jada Mincy and they all talked about they were going to Ole Miss and I said, `Ya know I think they recruited me too,' so we all said if you sign, I'll sign, so that's basically what happened and we all ended up signing."
Four years and many honors later, player and coach who were unknowingly thrust upon each other, can't imagine a day at Ole Miss without the other.
Price is currently the leading scorer for the 15-4, 4-0 SEC Lady Rebels at 19.2 ppg. She is also the leading passer at 4.6 assists per game, leading ball thief with 3.7 steals a game and leading rebounder with 8.4 boards per contest. Shoot, she's even third on the team in blocked shots. One could surmise, she pretty much does everything and means everything for the Rebels.
And Ross knows it.
"I would hate to even think about where we'd be without her," Ross said. "We wouldn't be sitting here talking about the success of Ole Miss women's basketball, we wouldn't be talking about a 4-0 start in SEC play and we wouldn't be talking about NCAA tournaments.
"I think the impact that she has had on this program is by far and away the most important thing that has happened to this program in the last four years. All the successes we have enjoyed, she has had her finger in the pot the entire time. She has that impact. I would dare say she impacts whatever she does in the same way, we're just fortunate that she is wearing an Ole Miss uniform and she plays basketball at Ole Miss."
Price is more than just a great basketball player. She is a well-rounded, modest student-athlete who is well aware of her ability and knows what she needs to do to achieve her goals. And those goals are quite lofty.
"My ultimate goal for myself is to be an unstoppable player," Price said, and she meant it, you could tell. "I don't want to have any holes in my game, basically. Not just have one thing I can do, but bring many things to the table. One of my main goals for this year was to become a Kodak All-American."
Of course, all players at the collegiate level would love to be an All-American, but what makes Armintie different, besides the fact that she is one of the best talents in the sports, is her drive and desire to work at for it.
"I didn't think about things like that [being an All-American] until I saw a couple of posters around with different players and I told myself that I want to work hard enough to be that, to be where they are, and still to this day I feel I've got a lot of work to do, I know I do, and I just want to leave a good mark here at Ole Miss," Price said.
"I think my main weakness is just myself, my confidence," she admitted. "My confidence in shooting the jumper and shooting the three more consistently and just taking over when I need to. If I get that confidence, I think I'll be a scary player. I'm working on it now and it's coming to me now that it's my last year and I do have to take over when it's time for me to take over and be a great leader. So I'm working on it now so it won't be a weakness anymore."
As the newest Top 25 team's season continues, coach and player carry on to what promises to be the most successful season the Lady Rebels have had in quite some time. Reaching goal after goal, always striving for more. That is how Ross taught Price and how Price leads her teammates.
Where does Ole Miss go from here?
"Up!" Ross exclaimed. "We eked into the Top 25, I don't think we have a resounding vote of confidence from across the country, that's for sure. Our goal was never to be in the Top 25, we want to win championships. We feel like we've just gotten started, we take it one game at a time; it's worked so far, so we'll continue with that format. We'll see where we end up at the end of the season."
And there is another character trait that Ross has instilled in Price. The ability to hope and dream big. Ole Miss doesn't have the talent of North Carolina, Duke, Maryland, Tennessee or Connecticut, but what they do have is the heart and character to never give up.
"I don't know what the limit for us is," Ross said. "We think big and we dream big and we always have, and I think that's why we've always exceeded other people's expectations, because our own have never been limited."
Price said the perfect ending to her collegiate career would be winning the NCAA championship. Those who think that is not a realistic goal can take it up with Armintie's point of view that, "If I didn't think it was a possibility, I shouldn't even be playing."
So what happens to Ole Miss when Price leaves at the end of the year?
"Ole Miss has a history of being successful and proud, and certainly we hope that that would continue," Ross said. "We think that Armintie's presence over the past four years has allowed us to recruit other great players that hopefully will take the lead and take her example and continue to move forward with it."
In Armintie's skewed, but modest opinion, the Lady Rebels will be just fine.
"Without me?" Price wondered aloud. "Well, I think the team would be quite alright because this team has a lot of heart. And I do add a lot of heart and a lot of other things to this team but I think with their love for the game and with a coach like coach Ross, she wouldn't have them anywhere but on top."
Whether Ole Miss continues down the road to NCAA glory or not, whether they are a winning team for years to come or just having the best season during the senior year of one of the program's greatest players, only time will tell.
But one thing is certain, while the basketball team will most definitely miss her physical presence, coach Ross will miss having one of the greatest players and best people she has ever coached on the sidelines with her each game.
Four years ago they were a match made in heaven, now they are a Top 25 team, and tomorrow? Well, like coach Ross and her star pupil, dream big, expect the unexpected, and finally, everything will happen for a reason.
If Hollywood sports movie endings tell us anything, it's to expect the unexpected. To always dream big. With enough heart and desire, the underdog David can defeat mighty Goliath. And finally, everything happens for a reason.
Going just short of calling it fate, the relationship formed by player and coach four years ago, when neither knew anything of the other, is certainly considered by both involved to be the single specific moment when Ole Miss women's basketball program began its turnaround.
Now members of the Top 25 for only the second time since 1996, coach Carol Ross, star player Armintie Price and the Rebels have officially arrived, once again, on college basketball's scene.
And they owe it all to each other.
"Wow, she's been everything," Ross said of Price. "She's meant more to this program than any single student-athlete that I've ever coached, at any time, and I've coached All-Americans and Olympians, but the significance of Armintie to Ole Miss women's basketball is not just what you see on the court or on the stat sheet, it's her mentality and her passion for success and her work ethic, her enthusiasm, it's so many things wrapped up into one.
"Her attitude and energy really rubs off on her teammates and her coaches as well. She just has a light about her that draws people to her. She has fun working hard and that really just rubs off on people and she has helped create a very competitive and successful environment in the locker room as well as on the court."
That is incredible praise coming from coach to player, a relationship in which usually the player owes her career to her teacher. But the love fest is mutual and Price does consider Ross to be the sole reason she is the All-American candidate she is today.
"She has made me who I am," Price, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, said. "Just being aware about the game, just my will to win, I've learned a lot from her, I feel like I'm going into see her almost every day. Just listening to how she coaches, what she sees on the court, it has made me grow as a player. When she's on the bench and she's huffing and stuff, I was confused on what she was saying, but now I'm starting to learn and watch the shot clock and see the positions of the game and time and score, all because of watching her and listening to her and trying to understand what she's saying about the game.
"Just me watching her every day and her teaching me that this is for the love of the game, this is something you've got to give your all for, and you are not just playing for yourself but for 13 other girls out there, so just giving a great effort and representing your school and your family and everybody else out there."
To know the relationship between player and coach, one must first understand how they happened upon each other four years ago, almost by chance, without knowing who the other was and what they'd ultimately mean to the struggling program.
Ross had just spent a year, "pursuing other things," after stepping down from her position as head coach of the Florida Gators women's team at the end of the 2002 season. The winningest coach in Florida history had burnt herself out after 12 seasons and 247 victories with the Gators.
When Ole Miss, her alma mater where she was a four-year starter from 1978-81, and where she still holds the school record for most career steals, telephoned to say they wanted to hire her to become the next head coach, she felt an obligation to accept.
"When [Ole Miss] called, you know, I still didn't want to get back in," Ross admits, "and I certainly didn't want to get back into the SEC where I just left, but, at some point I felt a real sense of duty and I felt like this would be my opportunity to come back to Mississippi and help not only the program that gave me my start, the university that gave me my education, but also a state that needed people to come home and help. So it was more an allegiance to those things than it was my need to get back into coaching."
The year prior to Ross' return was not a good year for Ole Miss basketball. The current No. 24-ranked team in the country finished 12-16 in 2002-03, including going 1-13 in SEC play.
In Ross' first season--Price's freshman year of 2003-04--she made leaps and bounds with the roster she inherited, having not even recruited the freshman she was now coaching. Ross turned an abysmal group into an NCAA tournament team almost immediately, earning SEC co-Coach of the Year honors.
And who won SEC Freshman of the Year honors? Armintie Price, who just happened to fall into Ross' lap.
"I was just lucky enough to arrive at the same time as Armintie," Ross said.
Price stumbled upon Oxford as well, not even considering playing college basketball until her senior year of high school in Myrtle, Miss.
"I only started playing ball when I was in eighth grade, so I didn't touch a ball when I was little, I didn't know anything about basketball," Price said. "I started playing and then I wasn't too interested in anything else. Once I got to high school, I still didn't watch college basketball, I was just playing because my friends wanted me to play. And then once my senior year came, my coach talked to me about college choices and if I wanted to go and if I wanted to play. My family wasn't as big on sports then as they are now.
"I didn't have that many choices in the first place. I told my mom about Ole Miss, it was close to home and I ended up meeting my teammate now, Ashley Awkward, at an Adidas camp my senior year, and I met Jada Mincy and they all talked about they were going to Ole Miss and I said, `Ya know I think they recruited me too,' so we all said if you sign, I'll sign, so that's basically what happened and we all ended up signing."
Four years and many honors later, player and coach who were unknowingly thrust upon each other, can't imagine a day at Ole Miss without the other.
Price is currently the leading scorer for the 15-4, 4-0 SEC Lady Rebels at 19.2 ppg. She is also the leading passer at 4.6 assists per game, leading ball thief with 3.7 steals a game and leading rebounder with 8.4 boards per contest. Shoot, she's even third on the team in blocked shots. One could surmise, she pretty much does everything and means everything for the Rebels.
And Ross knows it.
"I would hate to even think about where we'd be without her," Ross said. "We wouldn't be sitting here talking about the success of Ole Miss women's basketball, we wouldn't be talking about a 4-0 start in SEC play and we wouldn't be talking about NCAA tournaments.
"I think the impact that she has had on this program is by far and away the most important thing that has happened to this program in the last four years. All the successes we have enjoyed, she has had her finger in the pot the entire time. She has that impact. I would dare say she impacts whatever she does in the same way, we're just fortunate that she is wearing an Ole Miss uniform and she plays basketball at Ole Miss."
Price is more than just a great basketball player. She is a well-rounded, modest student-athlete who is well aware of her ability and knows what she needs to do to achieve her goals. And those goals are quite lofty.
"My ultimate goal for myself is to be an unstoppable player," Price said, and she meant it, you could tell. "I don't want to have any holes in my game, basically. Not just have one thing I can do, but bring many things to the table. One of my main goals for this year was to become a Kodak All-American."
Of course, all players at the collegiate level would love to be an All-American, but what makes Armintie different, besides the fact that she is one of the best talents in the sports, is her drive and desire to work at for it.
"I didn't think about things like that [being an All-American] until I saw a couple of posters around with different players and I told myself that I want to work hard enough to be that, to be where they are, and still to this day I feel I've got a lot of work to do, I know I do, and I just want to leave a good mark here at Ole Miss," Price said.
"I think my main weakness is just myself, my confidence," she admitted. "My confidence in shooting the jumper and shooting the three more consistently and just taking over when I need to. If I get that confidence, I think I'll be a scary player. I'm working on it now and it's coming to me now that it's my last year and I do have to take over when it's time for me to take over and be a great leader. So I'm working on it now so it won't be a weakness anymore."
As the newest Top 25 team's season continues, coach and player carry on to what promises to be the most successful season the Lady Rebels have had in quite some time. Reaching goal after goal, always striving for more. That is how Ross taught Price and how Price leads her teammates.
Where does Ole Miss go from here?
"Up!" Ross exclaimed. "We eked into the Top 25, I don't think we have a resounding vote of confidence from across the country, that's for sure. Our goal was never to be in the Top 25, we want to win championships. We feel like we've just gotten started, we take it one game at a time; it's worked so far, so we'll continue with that format. We'll see where we end up at the end of the season."
And there is another character trait that Ross has instilled in Price. The ability to hope and dream big. Ole Miss doesn't have the talent of North Carolina, Duke, Maryland, Tennessee or Connecticut, but what they do have is the heart and character to never give up.
"I don't know what the limit for us is," Ross said. "We think big and we dream big and we always have, and I think that's why we've always exceeded other people's expectations, because our own have never been limited."
Price said the perfect ending to her collegiate career would be winning the NCAA championship. Those who think that is not a realistic goal can take it up with Armintie's point of view that, "If I didn't think it was a possibility, I shouldn't even be playing."
So what happens to Ole Miss when Price leaves at the end of the year?
"Ole Miss has a history of being successful and proud, and certainly we hope that that would continue," Ross said. "We think that Armintie's presence over the past four years has allowed us to recruit other great players that hopefully will take the lead and take her example and continue to move forward with it."
In Armintie's skewed, but modest opinion, the Lady Rebels will be just fine.
"Without me?" Price wondered aloud. "Well, I think the team would be quite alright because this team has a lot of heart. And I do add a lot of heart and a lot of other things to this team but I think with their love for the game and with a coach like coach Ross, she wouldn't have them anywhere but on top."
Whether Ole Miss continues down the road to NCAA glory or not, whether they are a winning team for years to come or just having the best season during the senior year of one of the program's greatest players, only time will tell.
But one thing is certain, while the basketball team will most definitely miss her physical presence, coach Ross will miss having one of the greatest players and best people she has ever coached on the sidelines with her each game.
Four years ago they were a match made in heaven, now they are a Top 25 team, and tomorrow? Well, like coach Ross and her star pupil, dream big, expect the unexpected, and finally, everything will happen for a reason.
Lady Tigers Pick Apart Wildcats
BATON ROUGE -- LSU’s eighth-ranked women's basketball team forced 17 first-half turnovers and led by as many as 31 points before putting away Kentucky, 76-58, on Thursday evening at the Maravich Center.
LSU center Sylvia Fowles led three Lady Tigers (17-2, 3-1 SEC) in double figures scoring with 16 points and 12 rebounds, as LSU won its 40th-straight home game.
In the process, Fowles moved into fourth place in the school's career rebounds list with 942 (passed Ramona Dozier, 934, 1980-84).
LSU starting guards Quianna Chaney and RaShonta LeBlanc had 14 and 13 points, respectively. Freshman guard Allison Hightower, starting forward Ashley Thomas and reserve guard Khalilah Mitchell each added seven points.
Kentucky, which only committed three turnovers in the second 20 minutes, shot only 37 percent from the field (22 of 59).
"I thought from the very beginning we established execution on both ends of the floor,” LSU head coach Pokey Chatman said. “The most obvious was defensively. You saw a concerted effort by the entire team and the bench. We really tried to carry out the scouting report defense.
"They went to the zone. I thought we stood around a bit for about three and a half minutes against the zone, but then the defense picked it up. The bottom line is you saw a concerted effort by the entire team, and the result was a nice win."
The Wildcats were led by 6-6 junior center Sarah Elliott who scored 19 points and had eight rebounds. Guard Samantha Mahoney was the only other Kentucky player in double figures with 17 on 7-of-14 shooting.
LSU opened a 23-4 lead in the first 12 minutes and led by 18 at the break, as the Lady Tigers scored 19 points off 17 Kentucky turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
In the process, LSU had eight steals and four blocked shots while holding the Wildcats to 9-of-26 shooting (34.6 percent).
“Kentucky struggled a bit earlier. We would like to think that we coupled that with good offensive execution,” Chatman added. “Our goal was to see if we run offense well enough to make them change defenses.”
Behind 10 points from LeBlanc, LSU led 37-19 at halftime.
Kentucky clawed within 14 early in the second half, however, a 27-6 Lady Tigers run put the game out of reach, 66-36, with 7:40 to play.
The Lady Tigers led by as many as 31 before Kentucky used a 16-4 run to end the game.
The Lady Tigers return to action on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT, as they travel to face Alabama.
GAME NOTES- Quianna Chaney scored in double figures for the 10th straight game with her 14 tonight.- Sylvia Fowles scored in double figures for the 12th straight game with 16 tonight.- Fowles recorded her 12th double double of the season and the 47th of her career with 16 points and 12 rebounds tonight. This marks the sixth straight game with a double double for Fowles. - Fowles moved into fourth-place on LSU’s career rebounds with, passing Ramona Dozier. Fowles finished the game with 642 career boards.- LSU extended the home court win streak to a nation’s best 40 straight games. The Lady Tigers have also won 18 straight SEC games at home.
LSU HEAD COACH POKEY CHATMAN
Opening Statement
"I thought from the very beginning we established execution on both ends of the floor. The most obvious was defensively. You saw a concerted effort by the entire team and the bench. We really tried to carry out the scouting report defense. Kentucky struggled a bit earlier. We would like to think that we coupled that with good offensive execution. Our goal was to see if we run offense enough to make them change defenses. They went to the zone. I thought we stood around a bit for about three and a half minutes against the zone, but then the defense picked it up. The bottom line is you saw a concerted effort by the entire team, and the result was a nice win."
On the team's improvement ... "You are only as good as your last game. We improved from Ole Miss and Mississippi State. I don't know if I will ever be fully satisfied, but I saw a lot of improvement. I thought the energy was there. The execution was there by several players. There are a lot of areas we need to improve upon. There were too many hollow possessions offensively. Some were related to Kentucky, but more were related to LSU. We can eliminate some of those, but it was an improvement from Mississippi State."
Trot Nixon to Cleveland
The original dirt dog is now an Indian.
ESPN's Peter Gammons reported today that former Red Sox right fielder Trot Nixon has agreed to a one-year contract with the Cleveland Indians for $3 million. The Red Sox had elected not to offer salary arbitration to Nixon, a Type B free agent, who was paid $6.5 million last season. Nixon hit .278 in his 10 seasons with the Red Sox and hit 133 home runs while driving in 523 runs.
Nixon is expected to platoon in Cleveland's right field with Casey Blake. Today's Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Trot could increase his base salary of $3 million to $5 million this season if he earns all his performance bonuses.
One of Nixon's biggest hits in a Red Sox uniform was an 11th inning walkoff home run on Oct. 4, 2003 as the Sox beat the Oakland A's 3-1 to avoid elimination in their best-of-five AL playoff series.
"All the home runs you hit in your career in the regular season don't mean much unless you start hitting some in the postseason," said Nixon after the game winner. "This is what you play for."
Nixon, a Fenway fan favorite, was with the Red Sox organization for his entire professional career before becoming a free agent at the end of the 2006 season. He spent the last eight years as Boston's starting right fielder, though he had been plagued with a series of injuries over the last few seasons.
"I am confident I am going to get a job,'' Nixon was quoted as saying in yesterday's Wilmington Star. "I can't have what is going on with free agency consume me.''
"I am confident I will be with a team next year,'' Nixon said. "Where, I don't know. My mom asks, 'How are negotiations going? Are there any negotiations?' I'm like, 'Nothing.'
"It is real easy for me to worry because obviously this is the first time I've gone through the free-agent market. I've done plenty of wondering why this or that in the offseason. I don't think I have done anything in my career that has given me a bad name or anything.''
More on Nixon:
"He's a loyal, deep, strong human being that I have a tremendous respect for," Gabe Kapler rold the Globe's Gordon Edes in October. "It was hard to watch without getting emotional, him walking off the field [on Oct. 1], for no other reason than he deserves to be recognized, not because he is or is not coming back to Boston but because he means a whole lot to a lot of people."
"I heard so many great things, I can't thank those fans enough," Nixon said after his last game playing for the Red Sox last October. "Tipping the hat, blowing kisses here or there, that's not me. But maybe they pick up the paper tomorrow and read the fact it truly means a lot to me what they've done for me the eight years I've been here.
"I did care about this organization and did care about this town. This town has been unbelievable for my family and I, absolutely unbelievable."
ESPN's Peter Gammons reported today that former Red Sox right fielder Trot Nixon has agreed to a one-year contract with the Cleveland Indians for $3 million. The Red Sox had elected not to offer salary arbitration to Nixon, a Type B free agent, who was paid $6.5 million last season. Nixon hit .278 in his 10 seasons with the Red Sox and hit 133 home runs while driving in 523 runs.
Nixon is expected to platoon in Cleveland's right field with Casey Blake. Today's Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Trot could increase his base salary of $3 million to $5 million this season if he earns all his performance bonuses.
One of Nixon's biggest hits in a Red Sox uniform was an 11th inning walkoff home run on Oct. 4, 2003 as the Sox beat the Oakland A's 3-1 to avoid elimination in their best-of-five AL playoff series.
"All the home runs you hit in your career in the regular season don't mean much unless you start hitting some in the postseason," said Nixon after the game winner. "This is what you play for."
Nixon, a Fenway fan favorite, was with the Red Sox organization for his entire professional career before becoming a free agent at the end of the 2006 season. He spent the last eight years as Boston's starting right fielder, though he had been plagued with a series of injuries over the last few seasons.
"I am confident I am going to get a job,'' Nixon was quoted as saying in yesterday's Wilmington Star. "I can't have what is going on with free agency consume me.''
"I am confident I will be with a team next year,'' Nixon said. "Where, I don't know. My mom asks, 'How are negotiations going? Are there any negotiations?' I'm like, 'Nothing.'
"It is real easy for me to worry because obviously this is the first time I've gone through the free-agent market. I've done plenty of wondering why this or that in the offseason. I don't think I have done anything in my career that has given me a bad name or anything.''
More on Nixon:
"He's a loyal, deep, strong human being that I have a tremendous respect for," Gabe Kapler rold the Globe's Gordon Edes in October. "It was hard to watch without getting emotional, him walking off the field [on Oct. 1], for no other reason than he deserves to be recognized, not because he is or is not coming back to Boston but because he means a whole lot to a lot of people."
"I heard so many great things, I can't thank those fans enough," Nixon said after his last game playing for the Red Sox last October. "Tipping the hat, blowing kisses here or there, that's not me. But maybe they pick up the paper tomorrow and read the fact it truly means a lot to me what they've done for me the eight years I've been here.
"I did care about this organization and did care about this town. This town has been unbelievable for my family and I, absolutely unbelievable."
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Future Rebel Golf Great Makes Appearance in Hattiesburg
What is likely to be a future member of the Ole Miss gilf team made a preview appearance in Hattiesburg Yesturday afternoon. Accompanied by his future family, what is to become the latest member of the Bolster clan appeared on an ultrasound screen. Jenny says he will be named Price Christian Bolster although Travis & Duke favor Yaz Popi Bolster. Since Scott's middle name is Theodore as in Ted Williams, I guess we have the Red Sox covered as good as we will be able to. How about Billy Cannon Bolster. Has a certain ring to it. Anyway, you should be able to see the extra appendage which qualifies him for malehood.
Dukester
Close but no Cigar
BATON ROUGE — Ole Miss, which hasn't won a Southeastern Conference road game in more than a year, had an excellent opportunity against LSU here Wednesday night.
Ole Miss trailed by a single point with five minutes to play before the 16th- ranked Tigers made all the clutch plays late to claim a 62-55 victory.
The Rebels, 12-6 overall and 1-3 in the SEC, have now lost nine straight SEC road games. LSU moved to 13-4 and 2-1.
Asked what will it take for Ole Miss to win on the road, Rebels senior guard Todd Abernethy responded, "We've just got to step up at crunch time. Over the last four minutes, LSU made the plays you have to make and we didn't. It's that simple."
And that painful for Ole Miss.
Ole Miss cut LSU's lead to 43-42 midway through the second half on Clarence Sanders' 3-pointer. The Rebels then had two chances to take the lead. Sanders missed a well-guarded 3-pointer and then a running 16-footer on the baseline.
Neither shot was what Rebels coach Andy Kennedy wanted, but Kennedy was quick to point out, "Clarence hit two big shots, good shots, to get us in that position. I just need him to learn the difference between the shots we want him to take and the bad ones."
A basket - and a lead - would have been huge at that point, Abernethy said.
"It would have gotten them back on their heels and given us a big boost," Abernethy said. "But you can't just look at those two shots. We missed enough makable shots to have had a big lead at that point."
Ole Miss trailed the entire game after Darnell Lazare and Glen Davis made eye-level shots in the paint to give LSU a 4-0 lead. After trailing by as many 11 in the first half, the Rebels made a second-half run.
Dwayne Curtis scored a rebound basket with 15 minutes, 27 seconds remaining to cut the LSU lead to 37-34. After that same play, Davis, the Tigers' best player, left the game rubbing a sore left shoulder.
Unfortunately for the Rebels, Davis returned 80 seconds later and helped LSU when it needed it most near the end.
"We played with a lot of effort," Kennedy said. "I can't fault that, but in the end, this deep in the season, you have to make the plays. We know what LSU is going to do. They know what we're going to do, so you've just got to make plays.
"They made them. We were down by one when Terry Martin makes an SEC-level basket off the dribble; then Tasmin Mitchell jumps up and sticks a big shot. Big Baby (Davis) makes a pro play (a backboard-rattling slam dunk) because he's a pro. During those same trips, we didn't even get a shot at the basket. Hence, the game gets away from you.
"We've done that in our three SEC losses."
Mitchell led all scorers with 19 points, followed by Martin with 15. Sanders led Ole Miss with 12. Curtis added 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Kenny Williams provided 10 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
The road gets no easier for the Rebels, who play at No. 1-ranked Florida Saturday.
"We've got nothing to lose and everything to gain," Abernethy said. "We just have to look at it as a great opportunity."
LSU coach John Brady, a McComb native and former Belhaven player, wasn't happy with his team's play. His assessment was much the same as Kennedy's.
"I didn't think we played with much emotion," Brady said. "But the bottom line is there at the end that we had to make in order to win the game, and that's why you play."
Ole Miss trailed by a single point with five minutes to play before the 16th- ranked Tigers made all the clutch plays late to claim a 62-55 victory.
The Rebels, 12-6 overall and 1-3 in the SEC, have now lost nine straight SEC road games. LSU moved to 13-4 and 2-1.
Asked what will it take for Ole Miss to win on the road, Rebels senior guard Todd Abernethy responded, "We've just got to step up at crunch time. Over the last four minutes, LSU made the plays you have to make and we didn't. It's that simple."
And that painful for Ole Miss.
Ole Miss cut LSU's lead to 43-42 midway through the second half on Clarence Sanders' 3-pointer. The Rebels then had two chances to take the lead. Sanders missed a well-guarded 3-pointer and then a running 16-footer on the baseline.
Neither shot was what Rebels coach Andy Kennedy wanted, but Kennedy was quick to point out, "Clarence hit two big shots, good shots, to get us in that position. I just need him to learn the difference between the shots we want him to take and the bad ones."
A basket - and a lead - would have been huge at that point, Abernethy said.
"It would have gotten them back on their heels and given us a big boost," Abernethy said. "But you can't just look at those two shots. We missed enough makable shots to have had a big lead at that point."
Ole Miss trailed the entire game after Darnell Lazare and Glen Davis made eye-level shots in the paint to give LSU a 4-0 lead. After trailing by as many 11 in the first half, the Rebels made a second-half run.
Dwayne Curtis scored a rebound basket with 15 minutes, 27 seconds remaining to cut the LSU lead to 37-34. After that same play, Davis, the Tigers' best player, left the game rubbing a sore left shoulder.
Unfortunately for the Rebels, Davis returned 80 seconds later and helped LSU when it needed it most near the end.
"We played with a lot of effort," Kennedy said. "I can't fault that, but in the end, this deep in the season, you have to make the plays. We know what LSU is going to do. They know what we're going to do, so you've just got to make plays.
"They made them. We were down by one when Terry Martin makes an SEC-level basket off the dribble; then Tasmin Mitchell jumps up and sticks a big shot. Big Baby (Davis) makes a pro play (a backboard-rattling slam dunk) because he's a pro. During those same trips, we didn't even get a shot at the basket. Hence, the game gets away from you.
"We've done that in our three SEC losses."
Mitchell led all scorers with 19 points, followed by Martin with 15. Sanders led Ole Miss with 12. Curtis added 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Kenny Williams provided 10 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
The road gets no easier for the Rebels, who play at No. 1-ranked Florida Saturday.
"We've got nothing to lose and everything to gain," Abernethy said. "We just have to look at it as a great opportunity."
LSU coach John Brady, a McComb native and former Belhaven player, wasn't happy with his team's play. His assessment was much the same as Kennedy's.
"I didn't think we played with much emotion," Brady said. "But the bottom line is there at the end that we had to make in order to win the game, and that's why you play."
Rabalais: Tigers a Work in Progress
What to make of the LSU men’s basketball team after Wednesday’s 62-55 victory over Ole Miss?
This a team in search of an offensive identity.
This a team that plays defense.
This a team that is a shadow of last year’s Final Four participants and Southeastern Conference champions.
This is a team that leads the SEC West — virtually by default, it’s true — but still leads it going into Saturday’s game at Arkansas.
This is a team that should hang “under construction” signs on the Maravich Center doors and offer hard hats to the first 5,000 fans who come through.
This is a team that could be quite dangerous if it ever finds its rhythm.
It is still early to pass judgment on this LSU team, especially after it plays Ole Miss. Every game with the Rebels is about as comfortable to watch as a tooth extraction. Last year, LSU gutted out a 79-73 win in Oxford and ended the regular season with a narrow 55-52 victory at home over the Rebels, part of the Tigers’ remarkable ongoing 19-game SEC home game winning streak.
“We didn’t have a seven-point win last year (over Ole Miss) with a team that I think is a little better than this one,” LSU coach John Brady said.
It’s almost always ugly and sloppy with Ole Miss. Wednesday night’s game was merely a continuation of LSU’s 23-20 overtime football victory over the Rebels across the street from the PMAC back in November.
Things turned out just fine for that LSU squad, which went on the road to beat Arkansas and Notre Dame to finish No. 3 in the country. And the same could be true for this LSU team, if it continues to play defense as it has lately.
The Tigers have won, rather quietly, seven of their last eight games. Only once, in the 71-61 loss at Alabama, has LSU allowed more than 63 points. Five times in the winning streak — albeit against teams like Wright State and Samford — the Tigers have held the opposition to 55 points or less.
“Our saving grace right now is our defense,” Brady said. “Fifty-five points, I’ll take that every time out.”
The critical issue for LSU is to score more points than the opposition. The Tigers didn’t crack the 55-point barrier until the game’s final three minutes.
“It shows where we are that we’re not playing well but we’re still winning,” said Garrett Temple, who scored on three free throws and was 0-for-3 from the field.
“We need to play better, execute better, score at a more efficient rate.”
The critical question is: Can the Tigers do that? Saturday’s game at Arkansas, where LSU began its march to the SEC title last season with a confidence-building 63-58 win, will be quite the test.
“We have to be on point with everything we do,” said Glen Davis, who was hounded into just 4 of 9 shooting by Ole Miss’ double teams. “We have to execute in a hostile environment.”
Sometimes that’s an environment the Tigers create for themselves.
This a team in search of an offensive identity.
This a team that plays defense.
This a team that is a shadow of last year’s Final Four participants and Southeastern Conference champions.
This is a team that leads the SEC West — virtually by default, it’s true — but still leads it going into Saturday’s game at Arkansas.
This is a team that should hang “under construction” signs on the Maravich Center doors and offer hard hats to the first 5,000 fans who come through.
This is a team that could be quite dangerous if it ever finds its rhythm.
It is still early to pass judgment on this LSU team, especially after it plays Ole Miss. Every game with the Rebels is about as comfortable to watch as a tooth extraction. Last year, LSU gutted out a 79-73 win in Oxford and ended the regular season with a narrow 55-52 victory at home over the Rebels, part of the Tigers’ remarkable ongoing 19-game SEC home game winning streak.
“We didn’t have a seven-point win last year (over Ole Miss) with a team that I think is a little better than this one,” LSU coach John Brady said.
It’s almost always ugly and sloppy with Ole Miss. Wednesday night’s game was merely a continuation of LSU’s 23-20 overtime football victory over the Rebels across the street from the PMAC back in November.
Things turned out just fine for that LSU squad, which went on the road to beat Arkansas and Notre Dame to finish No. 3 in the country. And the same could be true for this LSU team, if it continues to play defense as it has lately.
The Tigers have won, rather quietly, seven of their last eight games. Only once, in the 71-61 loss at Alabama, has LSU allowed more than 63 points. Five times in the winning streak — albeit against teams like Wright State and Samford — the Tigers have held the opposition to 55 points or less.
“Our saving grace right now is our defense,” Brady said. “Fifty-five points, I’ll take that every time out.”
The critical issue for LSU is to score more points than the opposition. The Tigers didn’t crack the 55-point barrier until the game’s final three minutes.
“It shows where we are that we’re not playing well but we’re still winning,” said Garrett Temple, who scored on three free throws and was 0-for-3 from the field.
“We need to play better, execute better, score at a more efficient rate.”
The critical question is: Can the Tigers do that? Saturday’s game at Arkansas, where LSU began its march to the SEC title last season with a confidence-building 63-58 win, will be quite the test.
“We have to be on point with everything we do,” said Glen Davis, who was hounded into just 4 of 9 shooting by Ole Miss’ double teams. “We have to execute in a hostile environment.”
Sometimes that’s an environment the Tigers create for themselves.
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