And The Valley Shook: FanShots

Appalachian State and LSU kick off at 4 p.m. Saturday. An LSU team doctor said fans should begin...

Richard Pittman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:51:15 -0000

Appalachian State and LSU kick off at 4 p.m. Saturday. An LSU team doctor said fans should begin drinking plenty of water and other hydrating beverages at least two days before the game.

Be Safe Out There. Even though a storm may be brewing for early next week, it still is going to be hot as blazes at the start of the game on Saturday. I will be sitting in my A/C and drinking cool, sweet lemonade most likely, but if you will be in the stadium, take some precautions.

"If he [Terrance Toliver] continues to work hard and learn the nuances of our offense and learns...

Richard Pittman — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:52:02 -0000

"If he [Terrance Toliver] continues to work hard and learn the nuances of our offense and learns how to read coverages on the run, the sky is unlimited for him," LSU receivers coach D.J. McCarthy said. "What people don’t understand is that he’s still so young and we’ve barely scratched his potential because he played in a run-oriented offense in high school."

Waiting for his turn. I don't get why so many LSU fans are so critical of him. Yes, he made some mistakes. Guess what? He was a true freshman. True freshman have a steep learning curve. This guy has the goods, and if the QB play is solid he could be a great weapon for us this year as a sophomore.

The CFB Weekly Radio Show

Richard Pittman — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:20:35 -0000

The CFB Weekly Radio Show

Once again, ATVS does a Podcast. This time it's about a 5-7 minute segment as part of a larger show which also includes T. Kyle King of Dawg Sports, who is a bit more manic than I would have thought.

Motivational posters brought to you by Hey, Jenny Slater

Richard Pittman — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:32:47 -0000

Motivational posters brought to you by Hey, Jenny Slater

LSU Sprinter Gets Silver in 100m

Richard Pittman — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:12:51 -0000

LSU Sprinter Gets Silver in 100m

LSU Sprinter Richard Thompson, running for Trinidad & Tobago, got the silver, finishing ahead of Florida State's Walter Dix by 0.02 seconds. Jamaica's Usiah Bolt skunked the field, beating Thompson by 0.2 seconds.

A bit of perspective: The gap between Bolt and Thompson was greater than the gap between Thompson and the last place finisher. All runners other than the last place finisher beat Trindon Holliday's personal best time of 10.02 seconds in the 100m.

Calling the SEC "the gold standard of college athletics," CBS announced Thursday that it had signed...

Richard Pittman — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:11:02 -0000

Calling the SEC "the gold standard of college athletics," CBS announced Thursday that it had signed an unprecedented 15-year extension to show the league’s football and men’s basketball game through the year 2023. Financial terms of the deal were not released.

Will Verne Lundquist call games for 15 more years?

Ole Miss defensive end Greg Hardy is expected to be sidelined for 6-to-8 weeks after undergoing...

Richard Pittman — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:12:06 -0000

Ole Miss defensive end Greg Hardy is expected to be sidelined for 6-to-8 weeks after undergoing surgery Monday afternoon to repair a stress fracture in his right foot.

Bad News for Ole Miss. Greg Hardy is one of the best defensive linemen in the conference. Maybe the best. He'll miss some key games, including possibly games against Vanderbilt, Florida, and South Carolina. And who knows how effective he will be when he returns.

"But in everything he’s demonstrated so far, I’m very pleased. He may be as talented a cornerback as...

Richard Pittman — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:11:19 -0000

"But in everything he’s demonstrated so far, I’m very pleased. He may be as talented a cornerback as I’ve ever coached as an incoming freshman."

Defensive Co-coordinator and Defensive Backs coach Doug Mallory speaking of Patrick Peterson.

The MVP of the day for me was Joe Barksdale. This kid has made strides and figures to be an...

Richard Pittman — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:19:50 -0000

The MVP of the day for me was Joe Barksdale. This kid has made strides and figures to be an absolute beast on the front line for the Tigers this season. As a whole, the LSU offensive line unit has exceeded its lofty expectations have done a terrific job thus far holding off what is also a dominant group, the LSU defensive line.

cgisclair's blog. Some time ago, I tried to convince cgisclair to come write here at ATVS. I had not known at that time that he had just started his own blog. It's definitely a worthwhile everyday read, and he has actual inside information to give, unlike us chumps. Inside information for free. In another plus, contrary to the example of the above quote, he is not going to give you sunshine and roses if he does not genuinely believe the world is full of sunshine and roses. He has been less than effusive in his praise of certain units and certain players. It's another, valuable perspective on the team.

Richard Pittman, from the LSU blog And The Valley Shook, took some time with me to answer a few...

Richard Pittman — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:52:03 -0000

Richard Pittman, from the LSU blog And The Valley Shook, took some time with me to answer a few questions about the showdown in the Bayou:

Thanks to Go!Fight!Win!Apps! for asking me to do a Q&A for them.

As for Jefferson, Miles said: "I liked the way … the freshman quarterback learns. He picks it up p...

Richard Pittman — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:44:22 -0000

As for Jefferson, Miles said: "I liked the way … the freshman quarterback learns. He picks it up pretty quickly. I was surprised with how well he handled everything."

As he has throughout the offseason, Miles dismissed the likelihood that Jefferson will redshirt.

"I don’t imagine we’ll redshirt the third-team quarterback on scholarship," Miles said.

Interesting, but does he really have to keep refusing to say certain players' names?

John Williams POSITION: Wide Receiver

Richard Pittman — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:19:01 -0000

John Williams
POSITION: Wide Receiver

Confirmation from the official LSU roster-keeper

John Williams is back on the offensive side of the ball at slot back and could surprise a few...

Richard Pittman — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:33:48 -0000

John Williams is back on the offensive side of the ball at slot back and could surprise a few people.

Dandy Don. It's news to me, and yes, I happen to be a fan of Dandy Don. He's a lot like me. He has a lot to say, and some of it probably isn't worth the bandwidth it takes up, but he tries hard and loves LSU. The difference between Dandy and myself is that he's been doing it a lot longer.

"I was so damn mad, I don't remember what I said," Miles recalled. "I'm told I said, 'have a great...

Richard Pittman — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:26:17 -0000

"I was so damn mad, I don't remember what I said," Miles recalled. "I'm told I said, 'have a great day,' but I was thinking, 'stick it in your ear.' "

LSU wraps up Tiger Tour with stop in Crescent City- NOLA.com. Miles also made his now-famous quip that LSU fans shouldn't make much of the victory over alabama because "it seems like a lot of teams in Louisiana beat that team," at that very venue. This has some Bama fans upset, but I still don't see the big deal. So he made a funny jab at a forum for die-hard LSU fans in the off-season. So what? It's about as significant as Tommy Tuberville flashing seven fingers for Auburn fans in Iraq. It's certainly less significant than Nick Saban's own crass attempts to take credit for Miles' successes, and less consequential than Saban's efforts to try to raid our staff for assistant coaches. But anyway, this quote above is a good illustration of one of the things I really like about Les Miles. He gets really emotionally invested in these things, and the media's toying with his team the way it did genuinely offended him. He did what he needed to do to protect his team and preserve their focus, and they responded to him for it. His ability to relate to his team and get them to believe in him as quid pro quo for his believing in them is probably Miles' greatest strength as a coach. Anyway, there should be more on this at another time.

This summer, Tolliver is adamant[sic] to be the best player — and student — he can [sic] by taking s...

Richard Pittman — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 20:25:42 -0000

This summer, Tolliver is adamant[sic] to be the best player — and student — he can [sic] by taking summer courses at LSU and working out with the team.

"I know Chris had a good summer," Rayville coach Bo Barton said. "He's been meeting all his runs. He's doing 7-on-7s and caught some touchdown passes. He's looking forward to getting into the rotation of the good receivers they've got down there. He's trying to learn from the guys that are already there."

Tolliver toils in transition to LSU. The News Star desperately needs an online editor/proofreader (like I'm one to talk, but my [cough] budget [sic] won't let me have one), but the article is interesting.

According to a source within the LSU football team, both the LSU coaching staff is currently...

Richard Pittman — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:12:06 -0000

According to a source within the LSU football team, both the LSU coaching staff is currently operating and preparing as though they will go into the season with Andrew Hatch as the team’s starting quarterback.

Breaking news: Hatch "more than likely" to start opener. TigerForums user and fellow blogger clair/cgisclair reports that Andrew Hatch goes into the season as the starter. I suppose you can add the obligatory "unless something changes" caveat to that.

Sunday Morning Quarterback has his obligatory assessment of LSU up

The Bengal — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:30:46 -0000

Sunday Morning Quarterback has his obligatory assessment of LSU up

SMQ does his usual outstanding work on his preseason assessment of LSU. Synopsis: It's all about the (unproven) QB, baby.

Tucker running back/cornerback Drayton Calhoun is having no second thoughts about his February...

Richard Pittman — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:37:48 -0000

Tucker running back/cornerback Drayton Calhoun is having no second thoughts about his February commitment to LSU.

"I’m graduating early from high school and will be enrolling at LSU in January," Calhoun confirmed earlier today.

Georgia athlete confirms his commitment to LSU. This kid is a very good athlete who projects to be either a running back, wide receiver or cornerback at the next level. Personally, I like him at cornerback and/or return man.

1. Les Miles (LSU): No coach in the country has handled distractions better than Les Miles. Days...

Richard Pittman — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:59:40 -0000

1. Les Miles (LSU): No coach in the country has handled distractions better than Les Miles. Days before his home debut in 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast leaving the region in chaos. The LSU campus was used as a relief center for Katrina victims, and the weight of an entire state was on the shoulders of the LSU football team. All Miles did was lead LSU to a 10-1 regular season record and the Western Division title before being upset by Georgia in the SEC title game.

TNJN - LSU's Miles leads stacked SEC coaching roster. A Tennessee journalist ranks Les Miles as the #1 coach in the SEC, and someone finally gives him credit for his work in 2005 when he faced one of the toughest situations a college football coach has ever faced. After replacing a popular coach, he had to get the team ready to play a season following devastating hurricanes, and responded with an 11-2 season.

McDonald Inducted into College Baseball Hall - LSUsports.net—The Official Web Site of LSU Tigers Athletics

Richard Pittman — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:26:31 -0000

McDonald Inducted into College Baseball Hall - LSUsports.net—The Official Web Site of LSU Tigers Athletics

Former LSU baseball great (and basketball depth player) Ben McDonald has been inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock, Texas, joining Skip Bertman in the Hall.