Man in the Hat media

Last time, we looked at the SEC overall. I predicted that Georgia and Auburn would meet in Atlanta for the SEC title game. Also, I predicted South Carolina would finish 3rd in the division. Continuing with the local teams (last time I looked at Clemson) I'd like to take a closer look at the South Carolina Gamecocks. Certainty What will be certain about this squad that started out hot last season, going 6-1 and catapaulted into the Top 10, but fell off after a demoralizing lost to Vanderbilt, and finished the season 6-6 and at home for the bowl season? One thing is that the style will be different on the defense and special teams. Spurrier lost (booted) Tyrone Nix to Ole Miss to help out Houston Nutt, and replaced him with former Mississippi State defensive coordinator, and former Citadel man, Ellis Johnson. Also, Spurrier stole Ray Richleski from Maryland to shore up a special teams that allowed multiple blocked punts and field goals at the end of the season. Spurrier hopes that fu...

Last time, we looked at the ACC, where I picked Virginia Tech to win the conference for the second year in a row. Now we look to the conference that the ACC has tried to emulate and become, the Southeastern Conference. Last year, LSU won the conference en route to a National Title win over Ohio State. Will the Bayou Bengals be able to reload and repeat? Or are they simply in a rebuilding year? And what of the rest of the West, and who will be the Beast of the East? The West First, let's look in the Western Division, that has seen some coaches pack their suitcases, and move to greener pastures. Arkansas ended the Houston Nutt era, after Nutt resigned (and his top players left as well) and began the Bobby Petrino era, after his traitorous stint with the Atlanta Falcons. Nutt though didn't go far, just a little Southeast to Ole Miss to take over for the failed Ed Orgeron. Even Auburn got into the mix hiring new offensive and defensive coordinators. Still, constants are abound wit...

Last time, I looked at the whole ACC, and predicted that the Virginia Tech Hokies would meet the Clemson Tigers, and the Hokies would win the conference for the second year in a row. But, since Clemson is a local team (along with Georgia and South Carolina..and no, I'm not looking at Georgia Tech or the North Carolina schools) I figured I'd do a more in depth look at the prognosticators favorite to win the conference, to see if I missed anything. I'll look at the strengths of the team. 1. Skill positions -The Tigers have very good skill position players. Just look at the backfield, and running back James Davis. The guy is a workhorse, and if his shoulder is 100%, he is a top 5 back in the country. Also, the wide receivers are good. Aaron Kelly, Tyler Grisham, and Jacoby Ford make a strong trifecta. Kelly the possession, Ford the speedster (a consistent 4.2 in the 40, and is blazing at the 100 meter in track), and Grisham the all around good guy. Tight end looks like it ...

It is one month away until the first pigskin is blasted off a tee and into the awaiting arms of a speedster in pads. Since the major conferences are having their pre-season luncheons and pre-season predictions and All Conference teams are being guessed, I figured I'd join the fray, and give you the inaugural Lake Report Preseason favorites and first team selections. I'll start this week with the ACC. The Atlantic Coast Conference is in its fifth year of merger from when it robbed the Big East of its best schools-Virginia Tech, Boston College, and Miami. Since the inception of the "super conference" things have been less than mighty. Ticket sales for the title game-which has been moved to Tampa in Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL Buccaneers-have been abysmal. The conference winner hasn't won the BCS tie in game since Florida State beat a Mike Vick led Virginia Tech team like a dog in the late '90s. But could this be the year the conference's fortune...

Remember the days of Adam West as Batman? With his flying text describing BASH's, BOOM's, and THWACK's. What about the Michael Keaton Batman? Dark, but humorous with Tim Burton behind the lens. Can we forget the Joel Shumacker Batman's (Batman Forever, Batman & Robin)? With the nipples on the bat suit and robin costume. Well, all of those have taken a backseat with the new, Christopher Nolan version, the sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight...and boy is it pitch black! The setting is this. Batman has been cleaning up the streets, while the police have been trying to find the menace, the Joker (the late Heath Ledger). In that time, DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) has taken over, and become the "White Knight" of Gotham, and is putting thugs and mob bosses in court and convicted. Also in that time, Bruce Wayne has been running Wayne Enterprises, but has a void in his life left by Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhal). Wayne finds out that Dent and Dawes are quit...

I've been following the unfoldings of what seems to be the eventual and inevitable split between future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. I must say, this is turning into one messy divorce. At first, we that Brett wants to talk the Packers GM Ted Thompson, but Thompson is on vacation, and asks Favre if they can talk about it afterwards. I guess we could assume this meant Favre wanted to come back. Now we hear how Favre isn't going to listen to the Packers, even after Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthey appear to want him back. This is more confusing and ugly than Christie Brinkley's recent divorce (her fourth). Now, according to the AP, a rally was held in Green Bay by a hundred or so fans that pleaded for Favre to return, "Favre 4 President," and "Favre 4ever." I hate to break it to the Packer faithful, but it doesn't look like Favre is going to be wearing the green and yellow come September. Favre has two option:...

It is nearly that time again. That time that comes around every four years that the world's best athletes face off in a competition of immense proportions for worldly bragging rights. I'm talking about the Olympics. This is the one time in four years where everyone bleeds the same color in regards to sport: Red, White, and Blue. For a short time in August, gone is the animosity between Yankees and Red Sox , Buckeyes and Wolverines, and any other sports rivals in this country we call America. And the Olympics couldn't come at a better time. The USA is in need of healing the scars of partisan-ism , and, maybe the unifying power of sport is the key. It probably won't happen, but one can dream. More importantly though, the showing of the USA Olympic team could send a message to the world, that America is still a power house in the world, and still demands respect and reverence . Reports suggest that America is falling behind in the economic scene-most notably by the ever ...

What makes a great 4th of July? Boston butts and ribs on the charcoal black smoker, star spangled banners flying, patriotic music blasting, and an ice cold beer from an American brewery? All those things just have an American essence to them, but the ultimate flavor for me is the frankfurter. When is it not in American culture? The 4th of July, you can eat hot dogs. Memorial Day: hot dogs. What do you eat at America's pastime while watching guys swing a stick and try to hit a ball in a precise spot? Hot dogs. Just to show how patriotic the hot dog is, we have even made an eating contest that takes place on America's birthday: The Nathan's Hot dog Eating Contest. This staple in the "competitive eaters" world brings out the cream, or in this case the sauerkraut, of the crop. Recently, the event has gone international, and been dominated in the process. The Japanese bottomless pit Takeru Kobayashi has come across the ocean in recent years, and dominated any and all ...

Ye Mon! How it going? Sorry, just had to get the last little bit of Jamaican flavor out of my system. Recently, I, along with the family, took a little vacation to the island of Jamaica. We had no prior knowledge, and no known expectations of what we would be in store for, outside of the sand and saltwater. Our first day on the island after a 2 hour flight was a long one. After landing in Montego Bay, we hopped on a bus to our resort in Negril that was about 2 and a half hours away. Although we knew the resort would be nice, the outlying areas were a different story. Cramped cities, trash on the sides of the road, livestock everywhere, and half built houses dotted the lush, vegetative country side, creating almost a dual universe that was trying to become a singular entity-One being a paradise of fruitful trees, green grass, and the white foam of the sea lapping the equally white sand; the other that of a country still trying to find its way into the industrialized world. After getting...