Commodore Banter (7/29)

Former Vanderbilt pitcher David Price was dazzling over eight innings Monday night, allowing just hits and striking out seven in Double-A Montgomery's 9-2 victory. While both hits were home runs, Price (5-0) retired 24 of 26 batters.

After witnessing another dominating performance, Brad Shephard of The Huntsville Times asked the question: Should Price expect the call-up soon?

"I just take it one game at a time down here and expect a call every morning saying I'm going to Tampa," Price said. "Until I get that call-up, I'm working hard, anxious. I want it more than anything.

"Every day, it crosses my mind. Every time I see professional baseball on TV, I say I can play with those guys and compete against those guys."

Meanwhile, make sure to check out this hilarious column called Why We Love David Price by The Love of Sports. Among the many highlights:

Next time you’re in a discussion with your friends about who’s going to emerge from the American League, toss this one out there:

“I really like Tampa’s chances. I mean, they’ve been in the thick of it all season long, and David Price will be a huge difference maker down the stretch.”

Your friends will think you’re a little left of center. Don’t worry about it, though. Sit back, watch Tampa Bay call him up and you’ll be proven to be a genius. You can thank me later.

Meanwhile, there's a great story about Price's former teammate, Casey Weathers, who went from an being an outfielder to an Olympic pitcher seemingly overnight.

SI.com included Memorial Gym on its list of the the nation's best sports venues. Make sure to check out former Commodore Bill Trocchi's great description of Memorial.

In football news, looks like there is going to be some competition at kicker, where incoming freshman Ryan Fowler will challenge incumbent Bryant Hahnfeldt for the starting job.

"I see I have a senior in front of me. Bryant's the kicker, and he's a great kicker," Fowler said. "I'm just coming in to add a little fire, a little competition, and maybe that'll spice it up a little on special teams. I just want to provide the competition that's needed for Vanderbilt to rise to that next level."

As an undrafted free agent, former Commodore Curtis Gatewood is playing with a chip on his shoulder during camp with the Redskins.

Vanderbilt's season opener at Miami of Ohio (6:30 p.m. CT) is going to be the first ESPNU event to be broadcast in HD.

McClements rebounds after VU left him devastated

When Vanderbilt opted to disband its men's soccer program in January 2006, students were outraged, but only for a day or two, maybe a week. Then they went back to their lives, not paying much attention to the aftermath.

Well, I checked up with coach Tim McClements in mid-October of that year, and wrote this column for The Hustler:

Devastating.

That’s how Tim McClements described the university’s poorly timed decision to disband the men’s soccer program in January.

“There’s no other way to put it,” said McClements, who earned Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors after leading Vanderbilt to a third-place league finish. “You invest so much time and effort into a place. My family loved Nashville and the school. And then it’s gone.”

Whether or not Vanderbilt was justified in cutting the men’s soccer team is not even the issue. It’s about how the university went about doing so. McClements deserved better. So did his wife and two children.

“The fact that it’s done and how it’s done are two completely different things,” McClements said.

By the time Vanderbilt officials announced the decision, all head coaching vacancies had been filled. McClements was stuck without a job or a home, and while he ultimately became an assistant coach at Southern Methodist University, the transition from Nashville to Dallas has not been a smooth one.

“Every day it gets a little bit easier, but without a doubt, it was the hardest thing I have ever had to experience as a coach,” McClements said.

Life still isn’t normal for McClements. It’s the small things, like enrolling his two children in school, ordering a new driver’s license and unpacking (which he still hasn’t finished), that have made the move so difficult. As he said, “our whole life was disrupted.”

“It was hard because it was just so unexpected,” McClements said. “We had things going in the right direction and all of a sudden it’s gone.”

But, as McClements stressed countless times during our conversation yesterday morning, he’s moved on. He simply cannot afford to dwell on something that he can’t change.

“I’m going to put that behind me,” he said. “If I do, I’ll find success. If I keep looking back, that’s just not how I operate.”

The focus now is on something much more important than a whistle or a soccer ball. As much as he’d like to be a head coach next fall (and is more than qualified to be one), his loved ones come first.

“The main thing is to get my family back together,” McClements said. “I’m going to do what I’ve always done – work hard, do things the right way and let the future take care of itself. If I stay here, it's a great place. If there's a better fit or opportunity for my family, I'll look at it then."

While the past 10 months have been far from enjoyable for McClements, SMU is 13-0-1 and the No. 1 team in the country, and many of his former players are finding success at other schools.

"I'm just trying to move on with my life and it's been difficult," he said. "But being number one helps, doesn't it?"

It most certainly does. But it still doesn't take away from what Vanderbilt did to him. McClements should be coaching his players, not checking up on them through another school's website.

And while he does his best to move on, and most students forget the soccer team was ever here, I'm still upset.

I'm glad that McClements stayed true to his word because last week he was introduced as the head coach at SMU.

"The thing I remember most about him is that he is a player's coach," said Joe Germanese, who played at Vanderbilt under McClements before transferring Duke after the program was eliminated. "He has the ability to really challenge players to improve and get better on the field, but at the same time off the field he really cares about his players and how they're doing regarding school and family. He helped me get better on an individual level and really challenged me to take care of all the little aspects of the game that get overlooked.

"Additionally, he is without a doubt one of the best recruiters in the country," added Germanese, who now plays for the New England Revolution of the MLS. "He has the ability to recruit nationally, and at Vanderbilt, he was able to find `diamond in the rough' players who he was able to model into our system and culture. Players at Vanderbilt came in as freshmen at one level and by the time they were juniors and seniors, they were at a whole different, much higher level because of Coach's ability to develop players."

Jerrell Powe finally declared academically eligible

For three years, all Jerrell Powe wanted to do was play football for the University of Mississippi. This fall, he'll finally get that wish.

The Jerrell Powe sage came to an end Monday as the Southeastern Conference deemed the 21-year-old defensive lineman fully eligible to practice and play football this season for the Rebels.

"I am deeply grateful to Ole Miss and to the SEC for the opportunity to be admitted here and to prove that I can succeed academically and on the football field," Powe said in a statement. "I have always had faith and a plan, and both are beginning to show results."

For those of you not familiar with this unbelievable story, here's a brief timeline provided by the Memphis Commercial Appeal:

Feb. 2, 2005: Powe, a five-star recruit and one of the nation's most feared defensive lineman, signed with Ole Miss

Aug. 4, 2005: Powe was declared academically ineligible

Feb. 1, 2006: Powe again signed with Ole Miss after spending a year at the Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia

Aug. 26, 2006: Powe was declared academically ineligible by the NCAA, which contended that Powe had received too much assistance completing his coursework

Aug. 8, 2007: Powe, who was diagnosed with learning disabilities, including dyslexia, re-took courses at his high school and Penn Foster Career School during the year, and then signed with Ole Miss for a third time

Aug. 28, 2007: Powe was declared academically ineligible, but was allowed to receive financial aid and attend classes in Oxford

July 28, 2008: After Powe completed 24 credit hours over two semesters with a 2.31 GPA, he was declared eligible by the NCAA and will play for Ole Miss this season

I strongly encourage you to read the full article because the short version simply does not do Jerrell Powe's story justice. Coincidentally, I was reading Bruce Feldman's book Meat Market this afternoon, which provides an inside account of Ole Miss recruiting under former coach Ed Orgeron, and Powe's recruitment in particular.

Orgeron, who convinced Powe to play for him despite offers from SEC powerhouses LSU and Auburn, never could have imagined then that it would take three long years for his prized recruit to play a down for the Rebels.

And while Orgeron may not be here to coach him (he was fired after the 2007 season), you can bet that he broke into a smile upon hearing the news.

"He just kept working hard, kept believing, and finally his dream's coming true," said Marcus Boyles, Powe's high school coach. "I couldn't be happier for him. The thing I'm proudest of is that this young man never quit. He got knocked down a few times. People kept saying that it would never happen, never happen, never happen. And finally, it happened."

Gordon, Neltner reunited in Turkey

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Former Vanderbilt basketball players Alex Gordon and Ross Neltner will be playing together for a professional team in Bursa, Turkey, reported Brett Hait of The Nashville City Paper.

Neltner signed a contract earlier in the summer and Gordon followed suit last week after mulling options from teams in France and Germany.

“I always told myself that if I had the opportunity to go play with somebody I knew, I was going to take that,” Gordon said. “That came about and it’s going to be a good experience for me, being out of the U.S. and being out of my element and playing with somebody I know.

“We already have a chemistry that most people don’t have. It should be great.”

Bursa finished 12-18 last season, but you can bet that Neltner and Gordon are ready to right the ship.

“Maybe I’m a little naïve going into international basketball, thinking we can make a huge difference, but we’ve always been on winning teams,” Neltner said. “Hopefully we’ll bring that winning mindset and winning mentality over there.”

Neltner and Gordon plan to head overseas following a wedding in Indianapolis on August 9. The friend getting married? None other than former Vanderbilt teammate Dan Cage.

Around the SEC (7/28)

A few Southeastern Conference links to pass along on this Monday evening...

Shortly after three-star tailback Zac Stacy committed to Vanderbilt, another running back, the 5-foot-10, 191-pound Warren Norman, did the same.

“(Vanderbilt has) great coaches,” Norman told the AJC. “They just want to win. They feel like they need a couple of great players to win, and they said I’m one of them.”

ESPN.com's Chris Low answers an interesting question: Who are the SEC's best fantasy players? Low lists his top-10 (some Tebow guy is No. 1) along with 10 sleepers. No Commodores are mentioned.

Low also ranks the 25 best SEC players after The Gainesville Sun did the same. While Vanderbilt CB D.J. Moore is No. 17 on The Sun's list, he is nowhere to be found on Low's.

The Sun also ranks the receiving corps of each SEC school and the Commodores are 10th, ahead of Kentucky and Mississippi State.

The Birmingham News has some fun predicting what the SEC will look like in 25 years. Among the changes:

After openly gay athletes come forward in professional leagues, the trend trickles down to colleges, even in the South. Vanderbilt, before leaving the SEC and being replaced by Louisville, produces the SEC's first openly gay athlete in a major sport.

Tennessee tailback Arian Foster is relishing his leadership role, writes Drew Edwards of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

2008 looks like it will be the year of the center in the SEC.

With the allure of the spread offense, college football is now full of more Tim Tebows than Matt Staffords, which might have an impact on the NFL.

Lastly, Eric Crawford of the Louisville Courier-Journal takes a look at the number of student-athletes smoking marijuana and makes this suggestion: standardize testing and procedures.

Should college athletes be paid?

The question has been debated for years: Should college athletes be paid? And for the longest time, my answer was an unequivocal "yes."

However, yesterday's article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution got me thinking a little deeper.

The AJC also includes a guest column by Dr. Boyce Watkins, who makes a compelling case to pay student-athletes:

I have witnessed students being taken out of class for an entire week to play in a nationally-televised football or basketball game, with academics (and the fact that the student's grade has been jeopardized) becoming an afterthought. Players are treated like professional athletes, not students, and a weak performance on the field will cause them to lose their scholarship. Any institution operating as a government-sanctioned cartel, riddled with hypocrisy, disproportionate and exploitative compensation schemes, and glaring disregard for educational values should be scrutinized more carefully.

On the whole, Watkins' assertion is sadly far too accurate: the NCAA is no longer the "amateur institution" it claims to be. Watkins goes on to argue that "the problem is that the NCAA is allowed to operate as a cartel."

In other words, all schools work together to make price-fixing agreements that prevent players from having any other options. This practice is illegal in nearly every other industry, because the source of labor then has no bargaining power.

NCAA President Myles Brand has the pleasure of presenting the case for the other side, and guess what? His argument is equally, if not more, compelling than Watkins':

Here is big news. Student-athletes have always been the only amateurs in amateur collegiate sports. From nearly the beginning of college sports 150 years ago, there have been paid coaches, and then paid administrators, and then all the rest. They are professionals. Intercollegiate athletics is their job.

Playing sports is not the "job" of students. They are not professionals at playing sports. They are amateurs.

If both sides are right, what's the solution? For starters, I don't buy the educational argument from Brand and others until all universities make a real commitment to helping their student-athletes graduate.

Furthermore, I think that Drs. Watkins and Richard E. Lapchick, president and CEO of the National Consortium for Academics and Sport and founder of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society, are on to something.

Their suggestion is to "tilt financial assistance toward under-privileged student-athletes," especially when the time commitment to their teams makes it impossible for them to earn part-time jobs.

"I've always felt that student-athletes should get some additional income, particularly those who come from families with less than traditional support," Lapchick said. "It's a huge, big business. Somehow, we have to find a way to give student-athletes more of a fair share."

Watkins said, "It makes no sense that a guy could be worth $10 million or $15 million a year to a school, and his mother is being evicted from her apartment."

No, it doesn't. Not at all. And while it's pretty clear that Brand will never pay student-athletes under his watch, Watkins and Lapchick may have found a pretty good compromise.

Commodore Banter (7/28)

Here are a few links to enjoy as we celebrate the fact that the Commodores kick off their season at Miami (OH) exactly one month from today.

First, in baseball news, junior Mike Minor pitched 9.2 scoreless innings in Team USA's 1-0 victory over Japan in Sunday's gold medal game of the FISU World Championships. The Americans finished their summer undefeated (4-0) and set a national team record for lowest staff ERA (0.88) thanks in large part to Minor, their ace.

Minor faced the minimum through nine innings and gave up just four hits and struck out nine without issuing a walk in the finale. For the summer, Minor was 3-0 with a microscopic 0.75 ERA in a team-high 36 innings. He gave up just 21 hits and 13 walks to go along with 37 strikeouts.

In football news, Maurice Patton of The Tennessean talks to a number of Vanderbilt fans, including VandySports.com's Jesse Johnson and The Sports VU's own Andrew Hard, to answer these questions: Can Vanderbilt win? And does anyone care?

"We don't go into the season planning on being unsuccessful," said coach Bobby Johnson. "We plan on being successful. We do everything we can possibly do to make that happen. We've changed over the years. If there's something we're missing, we'll hunt for it and we'll keep hunting. We won't rest until we do get it done."

Vanderbilt vice chancellor David Williams is certain of that.

"To me, Bobby Johnson is as good a coach as I believe we're ever going to have here," he said. "We keep seeing improvement in the program. We're going to get this job done. I'm convinced of that."

Make sure to check out Ron Higgins' profile of John Stokes, Vanderbilt's starting outside linebacker, in the Commercial Appeal.

"I'm tickled to death," said Stokes. "There's no way I thought I would play as a true freshman and start as a sophomore."

You might want to take a look at the Knoxville News-Sentinel's Vanderbilt football preview.

In an age where college athletes are finding themselves in police reports far too often, Vanderbilt's George Smith is a refreshing reminder that there are some who get it, writes Christopher Walsh of Tidesports.com.

"We have a gift. We're playing on a collegiate scholarship," he said. "I just pray that guys don't try and abuse that gift, abuse their situation."

Finally, in recruiting news, the Commodores received a commitment from 3-star running back Zac Stacy of Bibb County [Ala.] High, reports Brett Hait via VandySports.com.

Stacy's stats are impressive. He averaged 10 yards per carry, scored 27 touchdowns and piled up more than 2,000 yards of all-purpose yardage in 2007. He is the nation’s No. 40 tailback by Rivals.com and first three-star running back to commit to the Commodores since Rivals.com started those rankings in 2002.

Bears already falling in love with Bennett

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who watched him play over the past three years, but Earl Bennett is making huge strides early in training camp with the Chicago Bears, writes Larry Mayer of chicagobears.com.

The third-round pick has impressed Chicago with his speed, quickness and hands. Some highlights include a leaping catch with a defender all over him, a sliding catch on fourth down to keep a drive alive during a two-minute drill and a big 26-yard grab on a skinny post in another two-minute drill.

“He seems to make a couple big plays each day,” said Bears coach Lovie Smith. “But we expected that out of him. He’s a good football player. He made a lot of catches at Vanderbilt, and hopefully it’ll continue.”

The coaching staff could not say enough good things about Bennett, who seemed to spend the entire summer studying the playbook.

“He’s a great route runner,” said Greg Gabriel, the Bears’ director of college scouting. “He’s got excellent hands and he’s very good after the catch. On top of that, his character is impeccable.”

“He’s having a real good camp,” said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “He’s made great strides in the little time he’s been here. He’s very intelligent, which helps. We’re moving him around more than I anticipated we could at this time, and mentally he’s handling it really well.”

“His play speed is a lot better than it was when he first got here, and I think a lot of it is he’s more comfortable,” Turner added. “He’s getting a feel for the system. When he first came in, he was thinking so much he couldn’t really run.”

Both Bennett and the coaching agree that he has improved tremendously from the team's mini-camp and OTAs in the off-season.

“I stayed in the playbook, stayed looking at my sheet and notes that I took, and just come out here and try to relate it to the field," Bennett said. "Just staying focused and working hard—mental preparation—that’s the key thing out here. When you add those it gives you the edge when you’re on the field.”

Bennett has also worked hard to come off the line of scrimmage with more explosiveness. Still, despite his success, Bennett isn't taking anything for granted.

“There are older guys here who have already proven themselves,” he said. “I just have to come out and prove myself all over again, like when I went to high school and when I went to college. Now I’m in the pros and I just have to continue to get better and improve on the little things.”

We don't doubt that he will.

Photo [chicagobears.com via AP]

Video of the day: Foster posterizes "Fezzy-Winks"

Vanderbilt's all-time leading scorer Shan Foster recently competed in two summer leagues with the Dallas Mavericks, who selected him with the 51st pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

In five games in Las Vegas, Foster averaged 8.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He shot 49 percent from the field, which was tops among the Mavs' perimeter players, and also displayed a well-rounded game that had to please Dallas coaches and execs.

However, Foster's shooting stroke abandoned him in the Rocky Mountain Revue in Salt Lake City. In six games, the 2008 SEC Player of the Year averaged 6.5 points (good for fifth-best on the team) on just 33 percent shooting, including 2-for-11 from 3-point range.

Still, Foster was 11-for-12 from the foul line and averaged 3.2 rebounds, grabbing eight boards in the finale against Utah, 1.3 assists and 1 steal, and added one absolutely monster dunk over Utah’s Kyrylo “Fezzy-Winks” Fesenko, sparking a Jazz timeout. Feel free to replay several times.



While I am certainly not speaking from experience, posterizing an awkward white dude named "Fezzy-Winks" has to be one of the best feelings in the world. Conversely, there's probably not much worse than backpedaling awkwardly on a fast break in an attempt to protect the basket only to watch helplessly as a 6'6" NBA hopeful/talented musician with major hops skies over you on his way to the rim.

And if "The Truth" (see, is it that hard to come up with a normal nickname?) was 50-50 to earn a roster spot before that dunk, how do you cut him now?

New rules put college baseball coaches in a bind

Think all Vanderbilt student-athletes are coming to school for free? Think again.

Our friends at The College Baseball Blog alerted me to an interesting story in today's Dallas Morning News that sheds light on the scarcity of Division I scholarships:

The NCAA considers revenue sports football and basketball "head-count" sports, meaning all the scholarships awarded in those sports are full – typically room, board, tuition, fees, books and meals. On the women's side, basketball, gymnastics, tennis and volleyball fall into that category.

The rest of the sports offered by universities are considered "equivalency" sports and can divide scholarships. The minimum amount of aid that can be awarded is 25 percent, meaning a student-athlete might receive books and meals but nothing else.

"Even for the parents of top players, they are still going to have to participate financially and participate in a fairly significant way," said Texas baseball coach Augie Garrido, who has won five national titles and more games than any other baseball coach in Division I history.

Having to divvy up the financial aid puts coaches in a precarious position.

For baseball coaches like Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin, it just got even harder.

Beginning this fall, the NCAA will adopt stricter scholarship and transfer rules in order to eliminate "tryout scholarships" and drive up player retention, according to Brian Davis of the Dallas Morning News.

Roster size limits will be put in place (no more than 35) and teams must now give 30 players at least 25 percent of a full scholarship. Beginning in 2009-10, that number will drop to 27. Keep in mind that baseball programs have just 11.7 scholarships available to begin with. Also, players will now be required to sit out one year if they transfer to another NCAA school.

The rule changes were enacted "to help improve grades in in a sport long criticized as having some of the worst GPAs in college sports," Davis writes.

Still, many coaches are opposed, most notably former Mississippi State coach Ron Polk, who wrote a passionate 18-page letter describing how this rule, along with others, was ruining the game. Here are a few Polk's major points:

1. College baseball gives out the smallest number of scholarships based on the average roster size of each sport, both men and women. It has just 11.7 scholarships to spread among a team with 35+ players.

2. College baseball is now the only sport that will have a roster cap placed on teams' coaches and players.

3. College baseball is now the only "equivalency" sport that is required to provide a minimum scholarship (25%) and determine the number of players who can receive scholarships (30).

Texas A&M coach Rob Childress can list several players he's coached who came to school on less than 25-percent scholarships. Take A&M sophomore right-hander Travis Starling, for example.

Starling redshirted in 2006 and appeared in 15 games in 2007. Last season, Starling was 8-2 with a 3.70 ERA for the Big 12 champion Aggies.

"The stories you've heard about the Travis Starlings of the world, that's going to be a thing of the past and that's sad," Childress said.

4. College baseball is now the only "equivalency" sport that will have a no-transfer rule. All other "equivalency" sports allow student-athletes to transfer one time without being forced to sit out a year.

Here's one example that should help illustrate why these changes are problematic:

Say, for instance, that Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin has 24 underclassmen in his program. Of those 24, he thinks four will be drafted in June's MLB Draft, which would leave him with 20 returning players.

Therefore, he offers seven recruits a partial scholarship. Then, the four players he thought he would lose in the draft decide to return to school for their senior seasons. And since all the recruits decide to enroll, Corbin is left with 31 players, although just 27 are allowed to be on scholarship.

Now, what does Corbin do? Four of those players will either have to become one of the eight alloted walk-ons (since the roster cap is 35) or transfer to another school, where they'll have to sit out a year before being eligible to play.

As Polk put it, "The coach who does not care about student welfare will always have to go over his number in the recruiting process, for the only way he can ever hit the magic number 27 on the button is by protecting himself and his baseball program by signing more players in hopes that he somehow can work himself down to 27 players on scholarship. The caring coach interested in student-athlete welfare could be facing situations every year where he has well below the 27 scholarship players, for he refused to gamble with a student's welfare. Who is going to win more baseball games? The answer is very easy: the uncaring coach."

I'm going to get Corbin's thoughts on the rule changes when I return to campus in a couple of weeks, but I think I know where he stands, and that's right next to Ron Polk.