Man in the Hat media

It is nearly one of my favorite times of the year: Opening Day in college baseball. The day in my opinion can only be topped by Opening Day in Major League Baseball.  Why? For one, MLB starts in much warmer weather, and you try getting a flat beer and a lukewarm hot dog at a college ballpark for $15. This year team's will look to unseat Vanderbilt from atop the college baseball landscape.  All that hope, all that promise, all at its highest with that first pitch. One thing that makes baseball opening day interesting from a non-sport perspective is the walk up music. Sure, hip-hop and EDM have seen a rise, but not much can send shivers up a batter's spine than a reliever coming in while rock music blares over the speakers.  In truth, rock bands can teach us a little bit about baseball. No, not just the factor chemistry plays a big role, or finding people who have a common vision or sound of how things need to be. Also, the roles and importance of p...

Jordan Burch signed with South Carolina, after an extended hysteria caused by the media. Photo Courtesy Rivals.com National Signing Day has come and gone. One of the biggest media-made events saw the usual major prospect signings, prospects switching at the last minute and the usual "class rankings" to decide who won and lost signing day. I can't hold my nose too high to it. During my time as a high school beat reporter I covered a slew of signing events, where athletes signed to places such as Alabama, Clemson, South Carolina and Wake Forest to little known Divison II programs. It was and remains a huge coverage day on the local level. On the national level, it has helped fuel the creation of the recruiting industry, for better or worse. For South Carolina, the focus fell quickly to Jordan Burch, a national-level recruit out of Hammond, a private, independent school in Columbia who signed with the Gamecocks on February 6. But the story behind that signing too...

To quote the late great ESPN anchor and personality Stuart Scott, the Super Bowl is on...in two weeks. Soon, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will remind the country that yes, football is played on more than just the east coast. Can the Chiefs win the organizations first Super Bowl since 1969, or will the 49ers see a return to the time of Joe Montana/Steve Young and capture the organization's sixth overall Lombardi trophy? Who knows, and who cares, we have the April NFL draft to talk about, and those 30 other loser organizations not playing for the shiny silver ball. It was announced this week the 2020 draft will be held in Las Vegas, surely to help bring attention to the league's newest team market with the Raiders set to begin playing there next season. LINK: NFL to hold 2020 draft in Las Vegas LINK: Raiders new stadium could be done by June And let's just forget the fact the draft is nothing more than a way for the league to fill TV time for ...

The Southeastern Conference is seeing a major upgrade in coaching this offseason, specifically in the Western division. On January 9 it was reported Mike Leach was leaving Washington State for Mississippi State, ending an eight-year run in Pullman with a 55-47 record. Factor in his work at Texas Tech and making that program relevant from 2000-2009, and leadership in Starkville made a great hire. Leach highlights a bevy of coaching moves, joining new Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin (another good hire) and Arkansas' Sam Pittman (a questionable hire). Pittman's hire does look a little better with the addition of Kendal Briles as offensive coordinator, and Auburn adding Chad Morris as its offensive coordinator. On paper the SEC West looks loaded with some strong offensive minds joining the two powerhouses of Alabama and LSU. It also came out that Washington State may not be looking too long, and rumors are Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain is the favorite there. Mc...

Nation, we have a Heisman winner. His name, Joe Burrow...or is it Burreaux? Burrow had a stellar season for the LSU football team. His 4,715 passing yards and nation-leading 48 passing touchdowns made him an easy favorite to win the Heisman trophy. In all honesty, the Heisman award is ridiculous. Not that it honors the nation's top player, no, those gentleman have earned the acclaim. It is merely a vessel to get ratings and eventually give the award to (usually) the quarterback of the best perceived team. In Burrow's defense, he likely is the best QB in the nation. At worst, he is top three and will likely be getting a sizable payday from the NFL in the upcoming draft. So, in honor of the pure jocularity of the award, here are the first, and likely last, annual Lake Report awards for top award-winners deserving of awards. The Brett Favre award Brett Favre is a Hall of Famer from his time with the Green Bay Packers. He was a true gunslinger who would fit in with toda...

It did not take South Carolina head football coach Will Muschamp long to find his new offensive coordinator. David Cloninger of the Charleston Post and Courier posted the break , officially, December 8. The hire is still pending Board of Trustee approval, which is expected to go through the coming Tuesday. After demoting wide receiver coach Bryan McClendon, and firing quarterbacks coach Dan Werner, Muschamp named former Colorado State head coach Mike Bobo to attempt to turn around an anemic offense, and coach quarterbacks. Bobo made his way to Carolina after negotiating his resignation from Colorado State, likely more for State's benefit to lessen the cost of Bobo's reported buyout of $5.5 million . That amount dropped to $3 million if Bobo was let go after December 31. LINK: Bobo headlines possibilities for new South Carolina offensive coordinator The moves also follows a pattern with Muschamp and looking at fellow Georgia alums. Muschamp and Bobo both played fo...

The 2019 season did not go well for South Carolina, and a large part of that can be attributed to an anemic offense. On December 1, head coach Will Muschamp announced staff changes with offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon being demoted back to being only the wide receiver coach, and quarterbacks coach Dan Werner being released. He also announced head strength and conditioning coach Jeff Dillman was out. The move is a good decision by Muschamp, with the offense never eclipsing the 30-point mark outside of a 72-10 win over FCS-level Charleston Southern. I'm not going to even pretend to know who to pick for strength and conditioning. Nor am I qualified (being a former sports journalist, being a healthy gym rat is not a trope that goes with the profession). In today's era of college football that puts a premium on points, and has adjusted the rules to favor scoring, averaging less than 28 points per game is dreadful. Carolina averaged 22.4 over the season, and scored a...