Tuesday Odds and Ends

 

It's signing day eve. Can't you feel the chill in the air? Also, more than likely it will be a light posting week with work (thanks real job), the premier of Lost, and signing day Wednesday.

• Oscar Nominations came out Tuesday. And The Blind Side picked up a Best Picture Nom. How? Beats me. How you take an in-depth look at how Lawrence Taylor's freakish ability as a defender transformed an oft neglected position (left tackle) into one of the highest paid and most highly sought into a movie that has racial undertones and takes big liberties with the actual Oher story? Just odd.
• Tickets for Year 2 of the MAX Capital City Classic (Auburn vs Alabama in Montgomery's Gorgeous Riverwalk Stadium) are on sale. If you are in the area, it's definitely a must attend. The Riverwalk crew really push for a College Football atmosphere (complete with band and cheerleaders)
• A SF Chronicle Article about the intense focus Under Armour puts on marketing its product:

He pounds away on his cell phone, sending text messages and photos from the practice field back to headquarters in Baltimore. He has spotted a big problem with the Auburn team's practice shorts: The UA logo is at the top by the hip, obscured by the oversized shirts the players wear untucked.

"You can NOT see any logo - I would move it to the bottom in the future!" he types. Then: "Let's get out to see this stuff!

• Austin Hubbard was named to the NCBWA Stopper Watch List.
• Inside the Auburn Tigers has their Baseball preview up ($)
• Gabe Gross from from Tampa Ray to Oakland A. He signed a 1 year contract that's incentive (re: at-bat) based
• Mike Svzetitz profiles Jay Jacobs and mentions the hiring of Coach John Palowski being his first high profile search and hire.
• The Auburn baseball team selected their team captains for the 2010 Year: Austin Hubbard, Ryan Jenkins, Kevin Patterson, and Jon Luke Jacobs
• Over at CollegeBaseballInsider.com Returning Pitcher Corey Luckie speaks about the upcoming year.
• Auburn Baseball Fan Day and the "Strike Out Cancer 5k" will be Friday February 13th.
• Another Preseason Poll came out (NCBWA Top 30) and Auburn, as expected gets no love. The poll below, with 2010 Opponents Emboldened.

2010 NCBWA DIVISION I PRESEASON TOP 35 POLL (FEB. 1)
Rk. School Conference Record Pvs.
1. Texas Big 12 50-16-1 2
2. LSU Southeastern 56-17 1
3. Virginia Atlantic Coast 48-15-1 6
4. Cal State Fullerton Big West 47-16 7
5. Rice Conference USA 43-18 9
6. Florida State Atlantic Coast 45-18 10
7. UC Irvine Big West 45-15 13
8. Arizona State Pacific-10 51-14 3
9. Georgia Tech Atlantic Coast 38-19-1 19
10. Florida Southeastern 42-22 14
11. TCU Mountain West 40-18 11
12. Miami Atlantic Coast 38-22 20
13. North Carolina Atlantic Coast 48-18 4
14. Clemson Atlantic Coast 44-22 15
15. Arkansas Southeastern 41-24 5
16. East Carolina Conference USA 46-20 16
17. Coastal Carolina Big South 47-16 21
18. Oregon State Pacific-10 37-19 24
19. Louisville Big East 47-18 17
20. Ole Miss Southeastern 44-20 12
21. South Carolina Southeastern 40-23 23
22. Southern Miss Conference USA 40-26 8
23. Ohio State Big Ten 42-19 -
24. San Diego West Coast 29-25 -
25. Oklahoma Big 12 43-20 18
26. Georgia Southeastern 38-24 26
27. UCLA Pacific-10 27-29 -
28. Texas A&M Big 12 37-24 25
29. Vanderbilt Southeastern 37-27 29
30. Stanford Pacific-10 30-25 -
31. Wichita State Missouri Valley 30-27 -
32. Alabama Southeastern 37-21 30
33. Kansas Big 12 39-24 -
34. Kansas State Big 12 43-18 22
35. Minnesota Big Ten 40-19 -
Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Army (26-21), Auburn (31-25), Bethune-Cookman (32-28), Cal Poly (37-21), Charlotte (33-22), Connecticut (36-24), Dallas Baptist (38-17), Dayton (38-19), Elon (41-18), Florida Gulf Coast (36-18), Florida International (34-23), Fresno State (32-30), George Mason (42-14), James Madison (30-24), Kentucky (28-26), Long Beach State (25-29), Middle Tennessee (44-18), Mississippi State (25-29), Notre Dame (36-23), Oklahoma State (34-24), Oral Roberts (33-15), Pepperdine (31-23), Rhode Island (37-20-1), San Diego State (41-23), South Florida (34-25), Tennessee (26-29), UCF (22-35), UNC Wilmington (31-23), Washington State (32-25), Western Kentucky (42-20), Xavier (39-21).

Yes, every SEC team received votes, and 9 (out of 12 SEC teams are ranked in the Top 30)

Finally, in honor of Groundhog Day: