Miami Dispatch Archives
...Anticipation for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight...
...Anticipation for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight... I just re-watched Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. It's been three years since Tarantino released a movie. I needed a break from revising stories, and decided to delve into his last read more...
View the BBC's Southern Rock Documentary on Swampland
Swampland has added the BBC's new Southern Rock Documentary to it front page. Go here to view it - Swampland Front Page
Jamaican Blues & Southern Breezes: Blue Water, Black Soul & Rock N Roll
Jamaican Blues & Southern Breezes: Blue Water, Black Soul & Rock N Roll "I say when it drops, oh you gonna feel it Know that you were doing wrong. I say a pressure drop, oh pressure Oh yeah, pressure drop a drop read more...
Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series
Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series "Oh, the streets are Rome are filled with rubble Ancient footprints are everywhere..."
A Memorial Day Tribute: An Early Salute
A Salute To All The Veterans An early salute for the upcoming weekend... In honor of Memorial Day, and all the read more...
Never A Pal Like Mother
Happy Mother's Day 2011 Happy Mother's Day to Everyone! Since it's Mother's Day weekend, I thought I write a dispatch around the great Atlanta label
MLB Opening Day 2011
MLB Opening Day 2011 “I was fairly typical of my generation of Southerners, I suppose. I got hooked on the game when I heard Mel Allen’s tense description of Enos (‘Country”) Slaughter of the Cardinals winning the ’46 read more...
Like Clockwork, SEC Tops Recruiting
There seems to be a rhythm to each winter over the last few years; an SEC team wins the BCS Championship in January and then the league cleans up in recruiting on the first Wednesday in February. Those two annual events are very intertwined, and we have written for years about how read more...
Southern College Football – SEC Wins Again
LEAD STORY The numbers are staggering: five national titles in row, a 7-0 record in the 13 BCS Championship Games, and five different schools who have won a national crown during those 13 years.
Southern College Football – Bowl Season
LEAD STORY The BCS Championship Game is almost here, and the fans around our Swampland Footprint are very eager to see if Auburn can earn the SEC’s fifth straight national title. It’s quite the
Merry Christmas From Swampland
Merry Christmas From Swampland Ho, Ho, Ho…I’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas from Swampland. Thanks for all the support. A Happy New Year to you all! Don’t let the Devil get you down. I’ve included a couple of read more...
Southern College Football – Coaching Carousel
LEAD STORY With bowl season beginning and holidays upon us, the big news in our Footprint is the gigantic transformation of the coaching hierarchy in the state of Florida. Do you realize that one-season ‘veteran’ Jimbo Fisher of Florida State is now the dean of read more...
Southern College Football – Championship Week
LEAD STORY The amazing story of Auburn and Cam Newton will continue Saturday when they meet South Carolina in the SEC Championship Game.
Southern College Football - Week 12 Themes
LEAD STORY It finally happened. For the first time since joining the SEC in 1992, the South Carolina Gamecocks will represent the East Division in read more...
Southern College Football - Week 11 Themes
LEAD STORY The Cam Newton saga continues to be the story of the week in college football. It seems very likely that his father was involved in seeking money for his son’s commitment. Does read more...
Southern College Football - Week 9 Themes
LEAD STORY So much of the national attention (ESPN) at this point in the college football season goes to just the handful of teams in the BCS chase. Auburn-- as well read more...
Dylan, Petty & Drive By Truckers Participate In ‘Back To Black Friday’
Dylan, Petty & Drive By Truckers Participate In ‘Back To Black Friday’ In support of independent record stores, November 26 stands as ‘Back To Black Friday’. Artists such as Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, The Drive By Truckers, Iron & Wine, U2, read more...
Southern College Football - Week 8 Themes
LEAD STORY It’s a huge weekend in the Big 12, with conference and national title implications. Top-ranked Oklahoma travels to undefeated Missouri, while read more...
Southern College Football - Week 7 Themes
LEAD STORY With South Carolina’s huge 35-21 victory over Alabama, the SEC’s current streak of four straight National Championships looks to be in read more...
Southern College Football - Week 6 Themes
LEAD STORY Florida State and Miami meet Saturday night in South Beach for their usual heated clash. This rivalry has lost a little luster read more...
Southern College Football - Week 5 Themes
LEAD STORY Alabama and Florida will meet in Tuscaloosa Saturday in a battle of the last two National Champions. It’s been over two years since the Gators lost a regular season SEC game (Ole Miss, September ’08), and it’s been read more...
Neil Young's Southern Shows & Le Noise...Bob Dylan Southern Tour Dates Released...Island Notes
Neil Young in Clearwater Florida Tonight Before the release of his new record Le Noise on September 28, Neil Young will play a string of southern shows beginning tonight in Clearwater, Florida. On the full moon tomorrow Neil plays Hollywood, Florida, and then read more...
Bloodkin Opens First Shows of Widespread Panic's Fall Tour This Weekend
Bloodkin Kicks Off Panic Tour As fall descends, the interesting season of live shows begin…Bloodkin’s Daniel Hutchens,
Southern College Football - Week 2 Themes
2010 ACC Football Preview
A new era begins in Tallahassee as Jimbo Fisher takes over for Florida State legend Bobby Bowden. The Seminoles should have a powerful offense led by senior read more...
Producer Daniel Lanois In Intensive Care
Daniel Lanois In Motorcycle Accident Producer Daniel Lanois seriously injured himself Saturday in a motorcycle accident. Lanois has been forced to cancel his Black Dub read more...
Big-Name Franchises Make Huge News During Offseason
Three teams in our Swampland Footprint definitely have national fan bases and looked to make a splash during free agency and the draft. The Dallas Cowboys made their news on the first night of the draft, while the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins dominated the headlines with read more...
NFL Draft Impressions: Rams Get Their Man; Jags Disappoint Their Fans
Did your team improve? Is your fan base excited about the direction of your squad? We will take an in-depth look at the NFL Draft over the next couple of weeks, but wanted to give our read more...
Celebrate Record Store Day 2010!
Record Store Day 2010 is read more...
How Duane Allman and Sam The Sham Gave Clapton His "Key To The Highway"
Athens, GA attorney John Lyndon, brother of the late ABB road manager Twiggs Lyndon, passed on a remembrance right before the Allmans started their run of NYC shows last night. He was generous enough to allow us to share it with everyone: I saw Eric read more...
ACC Teams See Mixed Recruiting Success
We wrote a month ago about last year’s mediocre season for ACC football and how the conference would look for improvement in 2010.
Sunday Sounds: Super Bowl Sunday
Super Bowl Sunday A cool breeze swirls on the coast of South Georgia…birds chirping…wind chimes echo in the distance. It’s read more...
A Timeless American Lineage: The Six Degrees of the Dickinson Family
The Six Degrees of The Dickinson Family Dispatch The late Jim Dickinson--along with his sons read more...
National Signing Day: Christmas Morning for Southern Football Fans
It’s finally here- a virtual holiday in our Swampland Footprint.
Coaching Uncertainties Create Instability in the Normally Calm Sunshine State
With National Signing Day approaching quickly, tons of attention will be on the state of Florida with so many top players being courted by schools all over the nation. However, the real race to most Floridians happens between the home state programs. The Florida Gators have read more...
Favre Still Rules Though Saints March and Vikings Retreat
I would not want to be Brett Favre this morning---over forty, utterly frustrated, and physically and emotionally devastated. However, this Mississippi born grand old man of football is my hero, and he's not done read more...
Saints vs Colts Present a Dream SPF Super Bowl
Much more to come on this as the Super Bowl approaches, but yesterday's wins by Peyton Manning and the Colts and Drew Brees and the Saints presented our football-hungry region with the best reason yet to watch the Super Bowl.
ACC Daily Fever: League Looks for Improvement in 2010
2009 was a rather forgettable season for ACC football. It started with the Virginia Tech's ten-point loss in the Georgia Dome to Alabama and ended with Georgia Tech's ten-point loss to Iowa in the Orange Bowl.
ACC Daily Fever: Johnson Not Sitting Still at Georgia Tech
Despite winning the ACC, Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson is not sitting still in trying to build the Yellow Jackets into a consistent winner. The Tech offense has been read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Georgia Tech Flops in Second Straight Postseason
"Dance with the one that brung you” was a favorite expression of legendary University of Texas football coach Darrell Royal. When applying that phrase to read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Bowden Wins Career Finale in the Gator Bowl
It was just supposed to go this way. Florida State overcame a halftime deficit with a convincing second-half performance to win Bobby Bowden’s last game in front of a read more...
ACC Daily Fever: League Starts Postseason Slowly
We knew the ACC would be out to gain some respect during Bowl season, and so far the results have been pretty mediocre. North Carolina dropped a tough game in Charlotte, and Boston College fell to USC as expected in the Emerald Bowl.
ACC Daily Fever: UNC's Houston Looks to Star at Home in Bowl Game
North Carolina fans (and the players) may have wanted to go a little further from Chapel Hill than Charlotte for the postseason. But after an 0-3 start in league play, read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Miami offense faces challenge without Fox
Miami received some bad news during their preparation for the Champs Sports Bowl against Wisconsin. Left tackle Jason Fox, who has started 47 games (third most in read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Bowden Bowl Plan is a Proven Winner
As Florida State prepares for the Gator Bowl against West Virginia, there is a ton change happening in Tallahassee. Bobby Bowden will be coaching his last game, and then Jimbo Fisher and his (somewhat) new staff will take over and hit the recruiting trail.
ACC Daily Fever: Korn Still Practicing with Clemson Despite Transfer Plans
Dabo Swinney has a unique situation on his hands as he prepares his Clemson club for the Music City Bowl against Kentucky. Willy Korn, a former star at Byrnes read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Recruting Must Improve to Compete with the Top Conferences
The AP All-American teams (first, second, and third) were released this week, and the ACC had six players make the one of the squads. League champ Georgia Tech had two read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Foster a Fixture at Virginia Tech
It has become an annual December news item at Virginia Tech—other top programs are interested in defensive coordinator Bud Foster. With him on Frank Beamer's staff since 1987 and the coordinator since 1995, most Hokies fans probably were not too worried about losing the read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Conference Mediocrity to Blame For Spiller's Heisman Snub
The Heisman vote is in - the ACC's quality of play isn't up to par. Not all from ACC country agree. With Clemson star C.J. Spiller not being invited to the Award ceremony, South Carolina columnist Bart Wright questioned the whole Heisman process. He also wonders why true read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Fisher Building his own staff at FSU
Jimbo Fisher will take over for Bobby Bowden following the Gator Bowl, but the new coach has already been making a statement in Tallahassee. Earlier this week, he read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Unique Regional Rivalry Finally Takes Place in Atlanta
The matchup of Virginia Tech and Tennessee in the Chick-fil-A Bowl has become a very popular ticket in that part of our Swampland Footprint. The last time these two read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Georgia Tech Playing For League Pride
In last year’s Orange Bowl, Virginia Tech beat Cincinnati 20-7 which gave the ACC its first BCS Bowl win since Florida State won it all in 1999. Georgia Tech will read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Gator Bowl To Host Bowden Finale
We wrote last week that the Gator Bowl wanted to match up Florida State (in Bobby Bowden's last game) and West Virginia (his former read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Georgia Tech Beats Clemson in a Thriller
It may not have been the most watched game on Saturday, but the ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville was the most exciting. Georgia Tech answered a Clemson read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Title Game Needs Buzz, Audience
The buzz around Atlanta (and the nation) is at a fever pitch for the SEC Title game. Big 12 Country (along with very interested fans at TCU and Cincinnati) can't wait to see if Texas can finish off Nebraska or if the Huskers can pull the upset.
ACC Daily Fever: Gator Bowl Decision Looms for League and Bobby Bowden
There is a current debate brewing over the pecking order of ACC bowl-eligible teams and where they may head for the postseason. The most interesting scenario read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Clemson's Spiller is the Focus for Georgia Tech
We have written quite a bit the season on the spread running attack of Georgia Tech. It should help Clemson defenders that the ACC Title clash will be the second time this season in which they will see Paul Johnson's unique offense.
ACC Daily Fever: Bobby Bowden Retires
It has finally happened. A day that has been debated seemingly all decade arrived this week with the news that Florida State's read more...
Jim Dickinson Featured In Memphis Storytellers Project
Jim Dickinson In New Memphis Legend Storytelling Project The late Jim Dickinson appears in a Memphis-produced DVD titled “The Music read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Tough Weekend for League's Reputation
Last weekend saw a doomsday scenario play out for the league in its three battles against the SEC. #1 Florida was expected to beat Florida read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Big Weekend for the League- In and Out of Conference Play
It's going to be a heated-rivalry Saturday for the ACC- with big games in conference and some in-state clashes out of league. We wrote earlier in the week about how
ACC Daily Fever: Clashes with SEC Rivals Could Boost League's Rep
The ACC has a chance to improve its national perception this weekend with three games against the SEC. And at first glance, the matchups look very favorable for the conference to go 2-1 in those rivalry contests.
ACC Daily Fever: UNC Defense Dominating In November
After North Carolina's crushing 30-27 loss to Florida State in late October, frustration was high in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels had blown a 24-6 secong half lead and had read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Clemson's Offense Sparks Winning Streak
Clemson is on the verge of their first Atlantic Division crown as they prepare to host Virginia on Saturday. After starting 2-3, Dabo Swinney’s bunch has won five in a row with the offense leading the way.
Spotlight On Duane Allman On His Birthday Friday
Tomorrow is the 63rd birthday of Duane Allman. I can think of no better tribute than the following piece, written by GRITZ reader and Facebook friend Brian Ringo. He really summed up my own feelings on Skydog as well. Thanks Brian. Keep it Real. Keep it read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Florida Governor (and Ann Bowden) Voice Support for Bobby Bowden
As the debate continues on the future of Florida State's Bobby Bowden, the long-time coach received support recently from a well-known FSU graduate- read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Clemson's Spiller Making Late Heisman Push
As Clemson pushes towards their first Atlantic Division crown, star playmaker C.J. Spiller is making a strong case for Heisman consideration. In a season where there appears to be no clear cut favorite for the always-controversial award, Spiller has a a decent shot
ACC Daily Fever: FSU Gets Much Needed Victory
Things looked bleak last week for a Florida State squad that needed a win at Wake Forest to keep their bowl hopes alive. The Demon Deacons had beaten the 'Noles three read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Butch Davis Stays Unbeaten Against His Former School
When North Carolina blew a 24-6 second-half against Florida State and dropped to 0-3 in the conference, there were some questions around Chapel Hill about which direction the program was going.
ACC Daily Fever: Bowden Needs Wake Victory To Secure Bowl Bid, Quell Fan Unrest
At 4-5, Florida State is staring at the distinct possibility of not making a Bowl game if they cannot beat Wake Forest in Winston-Salem on Saturday. The Demon read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Clemson Cannot Overlook NC State
Clemson has won four in a row, and the offense has averaged over 40 points a game during their streak. The Tigers can wrap up their first ACC Title Game berth with read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Georgia Tech's Low BCS Status Is A Casualty Of A Weak ACC
With Georgia Tech in the Top Ten and only having one loss, ACC fans would like to think that the Yellow Jackets have an outside shot at the BCS Title Game with a few breaks.
ACC Daily Fever: Florida State Loses Ponder For The Year
Florida State suffered a devastating blow this week with the news that quarterback Christian Ponder is out for the rest read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Georgia Tech Survives Wake Forest Scare
What a decision. Trailing 27-24 in overtime against Wake Forest, Paul Johnson had his Yellow Jackets go for it on 4th and inches from the five-yard line.
ACC Daily Fever: Clemson Will Control ACC Atlantic With A Win Against FSU
Clemson could virtually wrap up the ACC's Atlantic Divsion with a home win against Florida State on Saturday night. That seemed improbable when the Tigers dropped to 2-3 on the season after their crushing defeat at Maryland.
SEC Daily Fever: Meyer looks bad after Spikes debacle
Many fans around the league are asking the question this week: what kind of program is Urban Meyer running in Gainesville? While many have questioned Meyer’s recruiting read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Virginia Tech tries to avoid third straight loss
In a season where the ACC has looked very vulnerable against non-BCS foes, Virginia Tech will have a tough contest tonight when they visit East Carolina (
ACC Daily Fever: Andrews leaves an amazing legacy at FSU
As expected, longtime Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews announced yesterday that he will retire at the end of this season. And what a read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Duke Improving Under Cutcliffe
Coming into the season, Virginia Tech looked like the clear favorite in the Coastal Division, with Georgia Tech and Miami also having a shot. The Yellow Jackets have read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Georgia Tech Surges Towards Elite Status
As much of the league struggles for respectability, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets continue to look impressive. On a night where Paul Johnson’s club did read more...
ACC Daily Fever: North Carolina Revives Season With Improbable Win
Nobody wins in Blacksburg, right? Especially not teams that enter late October without a conference victory. However, North Carolina changed both of those last night with a shocking 20-17 win at read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Jacory Harris Struggles, Matures
After starting the season with over 650 yards passing and five touchdowns in the two wins against Florida State and Georgia Tech, Miami quarterback Jacory Harris read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Two North Carolina Teams Hurting The Conference
In a fairly disappointing season for the ACC, two programs falling way below expectation have been North Carolina and NC State.
ACC Daily Fever: Paul Johnson Has Changed the ACC Landscape
Georgia Tech's running attack has the Yellow Jackets in the driver's seat in the Coastal Division and has the league's defensive coordinators very frustrated. As has read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Clemson Shakes Up The ACC With Its OT Win At Miami
Dabo Swinney got the biggest win of his young career on Saturday as Clemson defeated Miami in a 40-37 overtime thriller.
ACC Daily Fever: FSU Gets A Much Needed Victory, But Bowden Still Under Scrutiny
It looked like the Florida State season was about to spiral out of control last night, as the Seminoles trailed 24-6 at North Carolina early in the third quarter. But read more...
ACC Daily Fever: FSU and UNC Are Both Desperate For A Win Tonight
It's pretty amazing that here in late October, the North Carolina-Florida State clash will feature two teams searching for their first league win. But that is read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Shannon Keeps Miami Focused
With Georgia Tech’s big win over Virginia Tech last Saturday, the biggest beneficiary may have been the Miami Hurricanes. The Coastal Division is now a read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Team In Turmoil #1 - Washington Redskins
We knew it was going to be a tough year for several SPF teams. We are going to spend some time this week on a few individual teams to give a sense of their respective level of desperation. Our first team is the Washington Redskins. Their fall might be the read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Will Clemson Ever Become A Dominant ACC Force?
Clemson made a statement last Saturday with their resounding 38-3 win over Wake Forest. It showed that they have the talent to be a heavy player in the ACC and could be a serious contender for the Atlantic Division title.
ACC Daily Fever: Georgia Tech Enters National Picture With Win Over Virginia Tech
The Coastal Division just got very interesting after Georgia Tech’s 28-23 win over #4 Virginia Tech on Saturday.
ACC Daily Fever: Tech battle will decide Coastal Division
The Coastal Division could get very interesting on Saturday if Georgia Tech can beat favored Virginia Tech at home in Atlanta. That result would net a three-way tie read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Bengals Blackout?
The Bengals have had a dream season so far. They've beaten their arch rival (Steelers). They've beaten their in state rival. They are a last minute tipped pass away from being undefeated, but they are still at 4-1 and lead the AFC North.
ACC Daily Fever: Clemson-Wake Forest Winner Could Become Atlantic Favorite
The Atlantic Division is wide open at the midway point, and an important game in deciding that half of the conference will take place Saturday when Wake Forest read more...
ACC Daily Fever: NC State's Tom O'Brien Needs To Beat Former Team
It’s been a year full of frustration in the ACC, and one team that has showed a surprising lack of progress is NC State.
SPF Daily Rating: Saints Fever Sweeping the Gulf Coast
As we predicted, it has been a pretty dire year for SPF teams. Even one of our playoff locks, the Tennessee Titans, is surprisingly winless and going nowhere fast. The best news amongst our SPF teams comes from the Saints who made an off season commitment to read more...
ACC Daily Fever: The Coastal Division Shaped By Battle of Tech Schools
It seems to be a weekly theme around the ACC; league coaches trying to prepare for Georgia Tech’s vaunted running attack.
ACC Daily Fever: Embattled Bowden Sees FSU Fall To 0-3 In League Play
We wrote before the weekend about the concern for Florida State having to prepare for Georgia Tech’s running offense amid the Bobby Bowden read more...
ACC Daily Fever: FSU Prepares for Georgia Tech Amid Bowden Debate
It’s been quite a week in Tallahassee. With everyone voicing an opinion on the future of Bobby Bowden, there have been more than enough read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Blank Talks About A New Stadium In Atlanta For Falcons
Amidst a serious economic downturn, Falcons owner Arthur Blank has again begun engaging in public discussion about a new stadium to replace the Georgia Dome. The fact read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Gator Bowl Dumps The ACC For The SEC
It’s been a tough year for the national image of the ACC and their quest to be perceived with the big boys of college football. Ever since the opening week (N.C. State lost to South Carolina, Virginia to William & Mary, Duke to Richmond, Maryland to Cal, and Wake Forest read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Del Rio Keeps Playing Silly Games #3
We guess Jack Del Rio's two game win streak has further emboldened him. After already playing silly media games with players on two different occasions (here and read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Bowden Saga Engulfs The Sunshine State
The drama of the Bobby Bowden saga at Florida State continues to be the story of week. The
SPF Daily Rating: Are the Cowboys and Texans Going In Opposite Directions?
As always, there is panic in Cowboy Nation. Panic like this always ensues when their beloved team isn't undefeated or at least in the top half read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Miami Looks Like a BCS-Level Team
While Florida State is battling inconsistency and coaching upheaval, their Sunshine State rival Miami is experiencing resurgence.
SPF Daily Rating: Saints Look Consistent, Perhaps Elite At 4-0
It's early, but the 2009 New Orleans Saints look like a very, very good team. No one has ever questioned this team's read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Against His Wishes, This Will Be Bobby Bowden's Final Season at FSU
It might not be "official" yet, but 2009 will be Bobby Bowden's last season a Florida State's head coach.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Bradford-less Oklahoma loses at Miami
It started well enough. The Oklahoma defense got two early interceptions, but Landry Jones and the offense could only turn them into seven points. Miami eventually got read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Miami-OU History Reminds Hurricanes Of Past Glory
Most of the attention for Saturday night’s Miami-Oklahoma matchup has been on the quarterbacks. Sam Bradford will not play for the Sooners, and Jacory Harris will try to bounce back from last week’s tough outing against Virginia Tech.
SPF Daily Rating: Del Rio Cancels Garrard's Radio Show
We hate piling on, but Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio has been asking for it. Just recently, we wrote about Del Rio's penchant for playing silly games - most read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Georgia Tech Carries the ACC Flag into Starkville
Georgia Tech has a chance to do the conference proud Saturday when they travel to Starkville to meet an improving Mississippi State squad. One aspect working in read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Jaguars to Orlando?
Orlando Sentinel sports columnist, Mike Bianchi, made some big sports news today when he reported that the Jacksonville Jaguars might be looking to move
ACC Daily Fever: Florida State Should Focus on Saving Its Conference Season
The question this week in the ACC is - which Florida State team will show up at Boston College? Two games ago, the Noles dismantled a quality BYU squad on the read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Dolphins Trade for Thigpen
The Miami Dolphins wasted no time replacing injured QB Chad Pennington by trading for former Chiefs and Coastal Carolina QB Tyler Thigpen in the wake of Pennington's decision to have read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Bradford Creates A Tough Dilemma for Stoops
The decision of the season is rapidly approaching for Bob Stoops: does Sam Bradford play against Miami read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Can Hokies Still Emerge As BCS Contender?
With Virginia Tech’s big win over Miami, the Hokies and their fans are still thinking about a shot at the national title. With a neutral field loss against read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Chad Pennington to Miss Season
Although they don't want to officially announce it yet because of a possible misdiagnosis, the immediate signs are that Dolphins QB Chad Pennington will miss the 2009 season with a shoulder read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Another rough weekend
The negative theme continued Saturday for the ACC as Florida State lost to South Florida, while
SPF Daily Rating: Texas Stadium RIP
Last night, the Irving (TX) City Council approved the funds to demolish Texas Stadium. Lost in all the hype of the new Cowboys Stadium, it's hard to believe that a place with so read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Miami at Virginia Tech Is This Weekend's Biggest Game
The anticipation in Blacksburg is reaching a fever pitch. It is not lost on us here that it has been quite a while since an in conference ACC matchup is the game of the week.
SPF Daily Rating: What if Redskins Lose To Lowly Lions? Bye, Bye Zorn
It's the unthinkable times two. The first unthinkable is that an NFL team can finish 0-16. That already happened with last year's Detroit Lions. Now that the Lions are 0-2 to start the 2009 season, the question starts - "who will they finally read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Clemson Can Make ACC Proud on Saturday
Lost in the shadow of the ACC's biggest weekend game that pits Virginia Tech against visiting Miami, Clemson finds itself preparing for a tough home game against TCU.
SPF Daily Rating: Del Rio Playing Silly Games in Jacksonville
In what should be a small story, Jags coach Jack Del Rio has brought back WR Nate Hughes to the practice squad after cutting him on read more...
ACC Daily Fever: The ACC's Best Team in 2009 Could Be Determined on Saturday
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. One of the most important games in the conference season will take place Saturday in Blacksburg when Miami travels to meet Virginia Tech.
SPF Daily Rating: Lack of Playmakers Leave Florida Teams Winless
"I'm not interested in Pro Bowl players, I'm interested in world champions." "[I'm interested in 'non-talent issues' [namely] the hustle, the effort, the technique, the fundamentals, all of those things." The above quotes read more...
ACC Daily Fever: UNC Program Improves Under the Radar
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. While Miami has been the best story of the early ACC year, the only other undefeated team in the league (and ranked all season) is Butch Davis’ read more...
SPF Daily Rating: The Saints Roll Again Behind Smart Decisions
The New Orleans Saints keep their high powered offense rolling once again as they went into Philadelphia and smoked the Eagles 48-22. What read more...
ACC Daily Fever: FSU and Virginia Tech Get Huge Wins for the Conference
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. While the lower teams in the conference have had some terrible losses early, two of the league stalwarts, Florida State and Virginia Tech, had big time wins on read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Houston Texans Don't Like Being Called "Soft"
To say the Houston Texans have been disappointing since entering the NFL as a expansion team in 2002 would be an understatement. In a way, however, everything about the Texans seems understated, including their presence on the field according to those who have been calling read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Canes Looking Like A National Power Again
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. What a difference a year makes and what a difference the Miami coaching changes made in their convincing 33-17 victory over Georgia Tech.
SPF Daily Rating: Jacksonville Mayor Makes Personal Plea For Fans To Buy Jags Tix
The Jaguars lost an astonishing 17,000 season ticket holders between this season and last. Expectations are that most of their games will be blacked out locally. So who have the Jags turned to?
ACC Daily Fever: Is Miami's Defense Ready For Prime Time?
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. A year ago, Miami simply not ready for Georgia Tech’s running attack. The Jackets totaled 472 yards on the ground on the way to a 41-23 victory. read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Delhomme Under Fire In Carolina
Things are getting ugly in Charlotte and Carolina for Panthers QB Jake Delhomme. Delhomme is getting major flack from fans. read more...
ACC Daily Fever: FSU's Players Call Closed Door Meeting
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. It doesn’t affect their ACC title hopes, but the BYU contest in Provo Saturday could become Florida State’s most important game of the season.
SPF Daily Rating: The Falcons Display Winning Formula in Week One
The Atlanta Falcons have opened 2009 just like they did 2008 - by winning decisively. The main difference is that they beat the ultimately 0-16 read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Miami Works Long Hours To Stop Tech's Running Game
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. We wrote last week about how tough it would be for Clemson
ACC Daily Fever: Almost Competitive Conference?
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. The Week 1 storyline for the ACC was tough defeats and narrow escapes against supposedly ‘inferior’ opponents.
ACC Weekend Fever: Clemson Rally Against Tech Shows Heart, Falls Short
ACC Weekend Fever Previews Top Stories for the Upcoming Weekend Although it was still a 30-27 road loss, Clemson has to be encouraged
ACC Daily Fever: Short Week Has Swinney Understandably Nervous About Tonight's Game
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Paul Johnson’s spread running attack had quite the effect on the league a year ago.
ACC Daily Fever: Miami's Jacory Harris Provides Hope For ACC
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. What a game. For a week that saw the league struggle mightily, the Florida State-Miami thriller was a nice sign of the ACC’s potential.
ACC Daily Fever: Miami-FSU Barely Salvages An Opening Week Full of Bad Losses
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. You know it was a bad week when columnists are already calling you the “
ACC Daily Fever: N.C. State's Loss Gets 2009 ACC Football Off To Poor Start
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. This one will sting awhile. North Carolina State was in a great position to move the program forward, but instead flopped on national television with
ACC Daily Fever: All Eyes on Raleigh Tonight
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. What an opportunity tonight's game presents for North read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Miami's Brutal Opening Month May Affect Shannon's Future
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. In a recent interview,
ACC Daily Fever: Hokies Must Improve on Offense
$(document).ready(function() { $('p > a[href*=swampland]').after(''); $('p > read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Cutcliffe Inspires Hope at Duke
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. When you talk postseason in Durham, most Duke fans automatically think March Madness.
ACC Daily Fever: 2009 Is a Make or Break Year for Al Groh at UVA
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Can Virginia get back to the days of George Welsh when the Cavaliers were a consistently solid team in the ‘90s? One man who will try and help that read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Will Gamecock Trash Talk Motivate an Improving NC State?
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. The 2009 campaign will be huge for N.C. State’s Tom O’Brien, who has gone 11-14 in his first two years in Raleigh after eight straight winning seasons at read more...
ACC Daily Fever: FSU's Offense Continues to Raise Concerns
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. It seems that Bobby Bowden is not too happy with his read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Two More QBs to leave the "U"
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. An interesting story broke today in Coral Gables as two more quarterbacks read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Will The Injury Bug Derail Virginia Tech's Season?
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. It’s been a tough preseason camp for Virginia Tech, especially at the running back position.
ACC Daily Fever: Biletnikoff List Shows Unfortunate Lack of ACC Playmakers
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know Although it’s good news for Jacoby Ford, it’s not so good news for the conference.
ACC Daily Fever: Another Florida Coaching Legend Passes Over Tebow
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know This will get them talking in the Sunshine State.
ACC Daily Fever: Ticket Sales Say That UNC Is More Than Just Basketball
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know What a difference a top coach can make. Butch Davis has awakened the North Carolina football fan base as
ACC Daily Fever: New Starter for Clemson
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Clemson will have a new signal caller for their opener as Dabo Swinney has named
ACC Daily Fever: GA Tech Loses Backup QB
ACC Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Georgia Tech suffered a blow to their depth over the weekend when
Orrin Hatch's Folly: Senator, College Football Is About Conferences, Not Teams
After concluding Senate hearings about the BCS, Senator Orrin Hatch wrote an op-ed piece that appeared on ESPN.com. Here's a selection of that article: During the June 7 read more...
Random Thoughts For The Holiday Weekend
I just received a call from my son Ben who is vacationing down at Kiwi Island. Seems he and his wife Austin were out for breakfast when he noticed a super tall gentleman in line close to them ordering up some vittles. Ben turned to Austin and said, “Man, that guy looks like read more...
NBA Draft: Swampland's Pro Hoops Teams
Pro sports has a problem in the Swampland Footprint. Considered the top level of competition and interest throughout the rest of the country, the pro game doesn't resonate with read more...
FSU Booster Suggests ACC Divisional Realignment
The Orlando Sentinel recently reported that the president of the Seminole Boosters, Inc has written a plea to his school to ask that the
In Defense of Jay Cutler: Why Most SPF Teams Still Don't Get It
I wish it hadn't come to this [trading Cutler]. I'm disappointed. . . . It's a sad day for one of the elite franchises in football and all the Broncos fans, and I'm sad - John Elway The saga of Jay Cutler has mesmerized the NFL landscape just like Brett Favre did read more...
Billy Gillispie's Fate Could Send Big Ripples Throughout the SEC and the Footprint
Mark Wiedmer at the Chattanooga Time Free Press has it right. If Billy Gillispie gets fired, it will create a coaching shakeup around the Swampland read more...
The Big East in SEC Country: How USF Can Join the Sunshine State Elite
After looking at the SEC-ACC competition within the Sunshine State, we next wanted to examine the challenge that Big East member South Florida has read more...
SEC vs ACC: Can FSU and Miami Join Florida to Make a "Big 3" Again?
As we wrap up our look at states with SEC and ACC schools, the Swampland focus turns to the seemingly abundant football fields of the Sunshine State. The State of Florida produces the best recruits east of the Mississippi River and is home to a couple of very salty gridiron read more...
SEC vs ACC: Clemson and South Carolina Try to Make the Palmetto State Relevant
In continuing our look at the states with both ACC and SEC teams, we move to the Palmetto State, where a ton of changes occurred in the offseason.
SEC vs ACC: Georgia and Georgia Tech Battle for Peach State Supremacy
With recruiting classes signed and spring practices approaching, it’s a good time to look at states in the Swampland Footprint that share SEC and ACC teams. We’re going to start in the Peach State, where a long time
In Defense of Lane Kiffin: The SEC "Family Feud" with Urban Meyer
There is no other conference more proud of itself than the SEC. SEC fans from rival teams hate each other with a passion bordering on the pathological, but when success arrives, it is embraced not just for the winning team but for the conference at large.
SEC Dominance - From the Field to Recruiting (And It Isn't Stopping Soon)
The reaction to Signing Day is always interesting as every coach in America is thrilled with their class while fans have mixed reactions to their school’s ranking and new players. Everyone that followed Wednesday's coverage saw plenty of ESPN's favorite big-market teams read more...
Xmas in February for Southern College Football Fans (SEC, Big 12, ACC, Big East)
It’s finally here! National Signing Day is upon us, and this is the time where quality programs establish themselves for the upcoming years. The welcoming of a new recruiting class energizes fans and provides coaches with the opportunity to show that their school will be-or read more...
Mack Brown and the Longhorns Must Judiciously Draw Talent from their Texas Base
Water is wet, the sky is blue, and the University of Texas is working on another top-notch recruiting class. The Longhorns Mine Their State's Natural Talent Base Most BCS schools try to comb their region (if not the read more...
UNC's Butch Davis Challenges the ACC to Rival the SEC
With the rapid approach of National Signing Day, we’ve focused recently on the critical lifeblood known as recruiting. One of the new players that has emerged in read more...
SB Sunday Reflections on the SPF Season: Teams Fell Short; Dungy & Gruden Gone
As the Footprint wakes to a Sunday featuring the 43rd Super Bowl hosted by one of our great Swampland cities, it gives us a chance to reflect on the past SPF season. Although five of our 13 SPF teams made the playoffs, none made any noise since they all were "one and read more...
To Stewart Mandel, We Say, "SEC Coaching Dollars Make Sense"
Chalk SI.com's Stewart Mandel as the latest member of the national media that just doesn’t understand the culture of the SEC football landscape. Mandel's latest involves
Lane Kiffin is Already Making an Impact on the SEC (and Paul Finebaum)
A few weeks ago, I wrote how I thought Tennessee and Lane Kiffin were going to be a great fit for each other. There was quite a bit of criticism for a major power in the SEC choosing a read more...
Dungy and the Colts Both Needed a New Direction
A good thing happened in Indy on Monday – Tony Dungy retired from the NFL to spend more time with his family in Tampa Bay. It’s nice to see the veteran head coach pursue his dream read more...
In Defense of Bob Stoops, the BCS (again), and the Big 12 (and a Look at the 2009 Season)
Proof, in college football, always comes over at least a two year period. This means that Heisman winners and BCS Championship opponents almost always have to have a strong previous season leading into their big year.
Ole Miss and LSU Cruise; Alabama and South Carolina Snooze
Overall it’s been a pretty good bowl season for the SEC, going 5-2 with Florida left to play in the National Title Game. The highlights include Mississippi and Houston Nutt getting a
SEC and Big 12 Championship Game Reax
The college football regular season ended by giving us the matchup that made the most sense--the SEC Champion vs. the Big 12 Champion. The BCS title game should be a high-scoring, exciting affair and one that all of the fans in our Swampland footprint will appreciate. Florida will read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Fourteen): NFC South Showdowns!
We had to take a couple of weeks off due to technical issues with the site. Check out our Faulkner-inspired T.I. Poll to see how the teams rank. On to this week's read more...
Saturday's Slate: Conference Championships
Here we are, after a week off due to technical difficulties, to find ourselves on the verge of crowning some conference champions and setting up the BCS Title teams. It has been a long and exciting year. Luckily for us, today's games have the potential to live up to the read more...
Swampland Footprint National Title: Big 12 vs. SEC
So it’s Oklahoma that gets the chance to represent the Big 12 South in Kansas City, and they will probably get a shot at the National title with a victory. Of read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Eleven): Key Swampland Showdowns in Jax, DC, and Indy!
After four SPF teams have byes last week (Dallas, Washington, Tampa Bay, and Cincinnati), we are heading into the home stretch. Intra-division matchups will determine playoffs berths. This week our two SPF NFC East teams and the entire AFC South face off. As read more...
Saturday's Slate: SEC vs. Big 12 South Looking Good!
After a season of many a wild ride, a little clarity emerged from last week's games. The SEC has their championship game set. The Big 12 is now down to three (maybe four) potential BCS participants. The rest of our TF conferences have a ways to go, but none of read more...
Snowman's Six-Pack of Reax from Saturday
1. After all of the Nick Saban drama last week in Baton Rouge, we finally got a close game from a SEC marquee matchup. Alabama and LSU staged a very hard-fought battle, but as we’ve written about so much this season in the SEC, the quarterback play was the difference. Alabama read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Ten): Byes Galore
Four SPF teams have byes this week (Dallas, Washington, Tampa Bay, and Cincinnati). There are only a few good-looking games on the schedule. The rest, outside of a select few, look like virtual byes - either be easy wins or sad losses. As Always, SPF teams in read more...
Saturday's Slate: The November Home Stretch Begins!
College football remains the Footprint's most compelling and spectacular sport. The 2008 season has delivered us yet again a roller coaster ride of sporting goodness. The stakes have been high all season. So far, at least two key programs (Tennessee and read more...
Snowman's Six-Pack of Reax from Saturday
1. Wow – what an instant classic in the Lonestar State. Texas Tech pulled off an amazing upset of #1 Texas with one second to go and sent their raucous fans read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Nine): SPF Inter-league Barometer Time
Carolina and New Orleans have bye weeks. There's one Swampland Showdown. The rest of today's Slate features matchups between SPF teams and the rest of the NFL. There is a chance that SPF teams can go undefeated this week sending a huge message to the rest of the read more...
Saturday's Slate: Top Games in Each Conference Will Decide Champions
Georgia and Florida in Jacksonville The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party has more at stake than ever – read more...
Tuesday Tastings (Week 8): Midway Point
Thanks to Patrick "Snowman" Snow's item early Monday morning, he helped us cover a lot of ground for our tastings. Without any further waiting... FINGER-LICKIN' read more...
Snowman's Six-Pack of Reax from Sunday
1) The Titans and Colts will go at it on Monday Night Football in the Music City. Tennessee comes into the game undefeated and looks to deliver the ultimate knockout blow to the usual AFC South Champ. The
Snowman's Six-Pack of Reax from Saturday
1) The biggest difference between teams in the SEC this season is simply quarterback play. Alabama, Georgia, and Florida came into the season with experienced/quality signal callers, and they have been the class of the league. Lack of experience or just poor play at quarterback has read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Eight): Big Games in Big D, Music City
Finally, we have a few big games to savor. As Always, SPF teams in CAPS with (Week 7's T.I. Poll Ranking) TAMPA BAY (4) @ DALLAS (1) - This pivotal Swampland read more...
Saturday's Slate: A Bit of Relative Calm Before the Storm
Although you can't take a week off in college football, this week seems like a palate cleanser before some of the biggest homestretch games are played. November will feature great game after great game and next week's
Rays to Host World Series
The Tampa Bay Rays improbable run to the World Series commences tonight, and their success should be a huge boon for Southern baseball. With the Braves’ NL East dominance over and the Texas teams struggling, Tampa Bay’s club of youngsters provides a blueprint for other read more...
Tuesday Tastings (Week 7): Rams Recognized, while Dallas Declines
It was a tough week of football in SPF land. Two of our teams were off (Jacksonville and Atlanta) and several others played like they were taking the week off. FINGER LICKIN' GOOD St. Louis Rams - It is time to read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Seven): Find Some Magic
With only four games worthy of interest and two teams off (Atlanta and Jacksonville), we are looking for a little magic in our Sunday Slate. The NFL usually provides a few unexpected surprises. Maybe this is that week. It certainly won't be hard with entertaiment read more...
Saturday's Slate: BCS Busters vs. Disciplined Talent
Last week was a lesson in symmetry. Many teams met on the field that looked like mirror images. Something had to give, and it did. 3 of the top 5 teams lost giving the nation a new number one, Texas, who beat Oklahoma in what was probably a top 10 of all time Red read more...
Tuesday Tastings (Week 6): Burt Reynolds Loves The Falcons!
It was a very weird week in SPF land. Many teams lost games they weren't expected to lose. A few others had surprising wins. (The Titans were off so they don't get included this week.) FINGER LICKIN' read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Six): The "Must Wins" Begin
The NFL is a game of inches. Each week matters. The stories of each of our SPF teams are told as the season unfolds. There have been enough games to know that this week has more than a few teams in desperation mode. Simply put, more than a few of our teams read more...
Saturday's Slate: Symmetry Saturday
We've already been treated to upsets throughout the Tribal Fever landscape, but let's not forget that upsets require a precondition of disparity between teams, etiher real or imagined. This Saturday's games are of a different sort. It seems across the board that all read more...
Tuesday Tastings (Week 5): Nothing Is Easy
St Louis was off last week, so we are spared another missive on how terrible they are. The good news is that their temporary absence sways our SPF teams well into the positive over all. The best of our teams are living by a simple rule - nothing comes easy in SPF read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Five): Separation Sunday
This week doesn't have the same drama as a Cowboys/Redskins weekend, but SPF teams pushing towards the playoffs, a solid 8 of 15, can further prove their mettle this week by taking care of business. As Always, SPF teams in CAPS with (Week 4's
Saturday's Slate: Picking Up The Pieces
Last week had USC losing on Thursday which appeared to set up big things for Georgia and Florida. Then, both stumbled last week, but both have a chance to redeem their season. This shapes up to be another great season filled with surprises as another team with destiny read more...
Tuesday Tastings (Week 4): Hail To the Redskins!
Since Miami and Indy had byes this past week, we're leaving them off our weekly Tastings dispatch. That still leaves us with 11 samplings of varied quality. Let's start off with the best of the bunch... FINGER LICKIN' read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Four): Cowboys vs Indians, er Redskins
Week Four features the only classic pro football rivalry in the Footprint. That's reason enough to tune in. Two of our teams have byes (Indy and Miami) and several others have critical games. We will quickly break it down for you. As Always, SPF read more...
Saturday's Slate: Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead!
Of course, this means that the two perennial pretenders that stand in our way, Ohio State and USC, have both lost and neither appear to have the right kinds of games left to springboard back into the national title hunt. That should mean that the national championship game read more...
Tuesday Tastings (Week 3): We're Dolphin-safe now, but the Goat, er Ram, is Smoked
After getting a full-sized Sunday helping of SPF games, some things have improved while others took a turn for the worse. "Finger Lickin' Good" Yum, yum. These teams served it up on Sunday leaving their fans hungry read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Three): The NFC South Goes North While the AFC South Faces Off
Week 3 doesn't feature as many interesting games as last week, but the AFC South faces off and the NFC South heads up north. As Always, SPF teams in CAPS with (Week 2's T.I. Poll Ranking) Here's a read more...
Saturday's Slate: Barometer Games (Intra- and Inter-Conference)
This weekend marks the beginning of some classic early season rivalry games inside the SEC. TF has a rundown of all the key games. BEST INTRA-CONFERENCE GAMES
Our Week Two SPF Tastings: Give Us Some Panther, but Steer Clear of Ram and Bengal
After getting a full-sized Sunday helping of SPF games, not everything we sampled was up to par. Let's do a quick break down in hopes that maybe some of the team cooks can get their wares "Finger Lickin' Good" Although read more...
The SPF Week 2 Slate: Pretender/Contender Separation Begins
It's only Week 2, but many of today's games determine how seasons will unfold for our SPF teams. One game may mean nothing, but two games often represents a trend. Let's start with our inter-SPF matchups. SPF teams in CAPS with (
Gamecocks Destruction of Wolfpack Serves Notice to Clemson and the ACC
Last night was the glorious kick off to the 2008 college football season. Teams from almost every conference had games allowing us some very early previews of what might be coming in the weeks ahead. Everyone now knows about the
A Humorous Comparison of College Football Between the South and the North
As our beloved college football season nears, we at Tribal Fever thought everyone should read this comparison between college football in the South versus our Northern counterparts. (This has been making the rounds via email so many of you might have already seen it - read more...
Rays of Baseball Hope
We’ve reached the midpoint of the baseball season, and there seems to be a high level of optimism for the teams in our Swampland footprint. The story of the year in MLB has to be the surging Tampa Bay Rays. The franchise that has been more of a laughingstock than a contender read more...
NBA Draft Post-Mortem
It was an interesting NBA Draft night with Miami and Memphis from our region making big headlines. Before I take a look at some of the specifics, the question has to be asked: Does the NBA have to make the Draft so complicated for the fans? It’s amazing how many picks are made read more...
With Leadership In Flux, the BCS Proves Its Worth to the Big East
Tribal Fever will never stop its defense of the greatest sport in our Footprint - college football. How a sport that has record ratings and revenue would ever be under scrutiny is beyond us, but we believe the heart of that line of criticism lies in its "limited" read more...
South Dominates College Baseball
by Patrick Snow There is one more week of college baseball before the conference tournaments, and the teams in our Swampland footprint are looking very strong. I had the pleasure this past weekend to attend a great 3-game series between Vanderbilt and Georgia. The Bulldogs read more...
Why Swampland Sports Loves the BCS
Despite winning back to back national titles in football, the SEC susre seems to hate the BCS. Lately, this hatred has been reaching a new level. It all started when University of Georgia President Michael F. Adams announced a proposal for
Post - NFL Draft Newspaper Wrap Up
We found this article from a week or so back that is about NFL Network being the tail the wags the dog for that league. Swampland Sports has long written now about the ways read more...
SPF's NFL Draft First Round Log (Live All Day!!)
read more...
Snowflakes: Jake Long Goes #1 (and Other 2008 NFL Draft Thoughts)
The NFL Draft is this Saturday, and some of our Southern teams appear to hold the key to the most important non-gameday of the year. The Miami Dolphins have the #1 pick, and the Miami Herald reports that OT read more...
Dickinson's Eats & Dylan's Prize
Bob Dylan Wins Pulitzer Prize & Jim Dickinson's Best On The Road Eating 4/7/08 Evening Folks, I hope all is well on this read more...
Mudcrutch: Tom Petty's Florida Roots
The surprise announcement of Mudcrutch's reunion is welcome news to the Swampland Footprint. Mudcrutch is an essential chapter in Tom Petty's career. Mudcrutch evolved out of an early Gainesville, FL band of Petty's called the Epics. The Epics also featured a read more...
The Dickinson's Mojo & The Black Crowes' Voodoo
Mystery & Manners Investigates The Mojo of The Dickinson Family & The Black Crowes' Voodoo 3/11/02 "Don't bring down the read more...
Season Summary: Miami Dolphins
Quick Summary: The Dolphins are one of the NFL's proudest franchises, but the 2007 season became its collective undoing. Within this one season, the Dolphins were only a Patriots Super Bowl win from losing all their records of distinction. Brett read more...
Snowflakes: ACC Hoops
* Miami seems to have played themselves back in to the NCAA Tournament picture. Just two weeks ago, the Hurricanes were 2-6 in ACC play and seemed to be drifting off to another subpar season. However, Frank Haith’s club has righted the ship by winning four in a row including read more...
Jim Dickinson On The Line
Mystery & Manners Interview With Memphis Legend Jim Dickinson 2/9/08 "She shivers just like jelly in the bowl."
Snowflakes: ACC Hoops
* The best rivalry in college hoops takes place Wednesday night when #2 ranked Duke invades Chapel Hill to battle #3 North Carolina. This game is always a barnburner on Tobacco Road, and the winner will have sole possession of first place in the conference. The biggest story read more...
Snowflakes: ACC Hoops
by Patrick Snow * As Duke put the finishing touches on their 93-84 victory at Maryland Sunday night, it became increasingly clear that the ACC will be a two-horse race this season. Duke and North Carolina are definitely the class of the league and are probably the only two read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week 19, Part 4): Down By The River
12. Cincinnati Bengals and 13. St. Louis Rams - Our final Poll spots are held by two teams that have a connection via the river culture from which they arose. Like railroad tracks in towns across the south, rivers often appear to be a cultural divide, but they read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week 19, Part 3): Teams at the Crossroads (aka the NFC South)
We've now gone through the first 7 teams in the T.I. Poll. So far, the entire AFC South has been covered as well as the traditional big market teams in Dallas, DC, and Miami. This leaves us with a group that the NFL has neatly placed in a division they call the NFC read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week 19, Part 2): Teams "On the Verge"
This is SPF's group of teams that are "On The Verge" of reaching elite status. They all have challenges, but they are clearly heading in the right direction. 4. Washington Redskins - A lot can happen in a week. The Redskins' read more...
SPF's Divisional Playoffs Pre-Pregame Show (or T.I. Poll Week 19)
There are three SPF teams left in the Super Bowl hunt, but the news doesn't stop with them. Of the 4 current coaching vacancies, SPF has three of them (Miami, Atlanta, and Washington). Signs point to a year of great transition. The SPF footprint has some of the read more...
SPF's Take: Yes, Cam Cameron deserved to be fired!
The year of suffering for Dolfans is finally over. Both Randy Mueller and Cam Cameron are out courtesy of Bill Parcells. (Watch Chris Mortenson on ESPN below)
SPF T.I. Poll (Wild Card Weekend Edition)
We're mixing it up again going into the playoffs. In an up and down year, six of the 13 SPF teams made the playoffs. Two, Washington and Tennessee, made it in the final weekend. SPF is rooting for an all-Footprint Super Bowl, and this isn't out of the realm of read more...
Criteria Studios: 50 Years Later
Legendary Miami Studio 50 Years Later 12/30/07 Jazz fanatic Mack Emerman started the Miami, Florida, Criteria Studio 50 years ago. The read more...
SPF's Week Seventeen Pre-Pregame Show
Playoffs and draft slots. It's all on the line in a strange season-ending weekend in the Footprint. EARLY GAMES Jacksonville (11-4, 5-2 away) Houston (7-8, 5-2 home)
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Seventeen)
It's the last week of the NFL season. There isn't much left to be decided. Two SPF teams (Washington and Tennessee) can get in the postseason fun if they win. We expect them to do so if only because they are playing two other SPF teams (Dallas and Indy) who are read more...
SPF's Take: Parcells to Miami
SPF has been listing franchises all season that needed one of the Bills, Parcells or Cowher. Miami was top on that list. Owner Wayne Huizenga didn't disappoint beating Atlanta's Arthur Blank to the punch. The only interesting wrinkle is that Parcells will read more...
SPF's Week Sixteen Pre-Pregame Show
SATURDAY NIGHT Dallas (12-2, 6-0 away) Carolina (6-8, 2-5 home) NFL Films Video Preview This is a much better read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Sixteen)
SPF laid down the gauntlet before last weekend's games. Many teams answered the bell. With two games left in the regular season, teams out of the playoff picture may have as much to play for as those that are in. Don't sleep SPF fans, there is still much to be read more...
SPF's Week Fifteen Pre-Pregame Show
It has been a largely disappointing season for SPF, but these final weeks can redeem or further decimate a team's momentum for 2008. There are three shoe-in playoff teams in the Footprint - Dallas, Indy, and Tampa. Two others (Jacksonville and Tennessee) have to keep read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Fifteen)
SPF will say it - this has been a very tough year for pro football in the Swampland Footprint. Of our 13 teams, more than half of them have been in serious disarray. At best only 5 or 6 teams will have a clear direction heading into 2008. Most will be going back to read more...
SPF's Week Fourteen Pre-Pregame Show
SPF has been beating a few drums this year, but one is about letting players play. Coaches coach systems. GMs find players to fit into these systems (or in the case of special players, systems are designed for their talents). Except for read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Fourteen)
SPF has looked at the coach/QB relationship. Now, it's time to look at the owner/coach relationship. When this relationship is good, everything clicks for the fans. The fans want to see the coach as an extension of the owner, an extension that helps build a bridge read more...
SPF's Week Thirteen Pre-Pregame Show
While Tribal Fever nation witnessed their conference championships this weekend, SPF has found a few of their own. There are four key head to head matchups in the SPF footprint this week - two of which will probably decide the winner of the AFC and NFC South. Our other read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Thirteen)
Coaching changes. They happen every year even though it seems as though jobs are more than safe. Changes are usually made because the coach no longer has the confidence of the fans. Once that occurs, the owner is left with little choice. As long term, one read more...
SPF's Week Twelve Pre-Pregame Show
Leadership. Is it there? The leader(s) of each SPF team define that team to their fans. Already, Thanksgiving solidified a sense of leadership between coach and QB with both the Colts and their Manning/Dungy duo and the Cowboys with their Wade/Romo combination read more...
TF Rivalry Week Preview
Rivalry games define college football. More than bowl games or even conference championships, a win against your rival means bragging rights for a year. That is why this weekend's game can often be the hardest to call. A team with a losing record can suddenly make read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Twelve)
SPF often talks a team's style when it comes to identity. Style, though, is kind of a catch all. Dig a little deeper and it comes down to coaching and, of course, a team's QB. This week seems like a good one to put the QB position under the read more...
SPF's Week Eleven Pre-Pregame Show
This week, more than any other this NFL season, the fan will find out who their teams are. Are teams going to the playoffs? Will they be Super Bowl contenders? Are they on the rise even if playoffs aren't likely? We shall see.
TF Saturday Preview: The Year of Transition Nears An End
The wild year continues. In many ways this was just a sign of the transition college football around the Footprint has experienced. In some ways, it shouldn't be as surprising as it has been. Nick Saban's arrival lit a fire under everyone. The ante was read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Eleven)
Week Ten was a very weird football weekend. Many of the SPF teams lost games. Few had important wins. It just seems like this was a week to stumble. Desperation might be the biggest factor in any NFL game. The teams that are desperate have an edge read more...
SPF's Week Ten Pre-Pregame Show
SPF will stick by this point - no team set the NFL back more than the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. This "champion" brought the worst part of hip-hop's "thug" culture to NFL through the real life violence of Ray Lewis, whose murder acquittal and read more...
TF Saturday Preview: Everything's Still To Be Decided
Patrick Snow has it right. This year's season of college football has shown that it is one of the most compelling sports to follow as a fan, especially in the Footprint.
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Ten)
Everyone knows that football is the dominant sport in the Footprint, but it has always been college dominating the pro variety. The goal of SPF's "Team Identity Poll" is to gauge the connection of each team to their fans. This week, two different studies were read more...
SPF's Week Nine Pre-Pregame Show
It's it the "Clash of the Titans!" The Colts-Pats game deserves the hype that it is getting. Both teams have built long term consistently excellent football teams in the "salary cap era " - something that is supposedly impossible. This read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Eight)
Things continue to settle out in the SPF Footprint. This week's big question is whether the South's best is the NFL's best. The Colts were just that last season, but their old New England nemesis seems to have stolen their thunder again. Here's last week's read more...
SPF's Week Eight Pre-Pregame Show
Much like yesterday's college slate, this week's SPF schedule features teams looking towards the season's end and where they want to be at that point. Teams know that the season is half over at this point and they need to be making their final pushes. The best teams read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Seven)
SPF's season previews are looking pretty good so far. The teams we singled out like the Jags, the Texans, and the Dolphins have shown themselves to be in hot water with their fan base. The Jags and the Texans suffered "must win" losses that neither could read more...
SPF's Week Seven Pre-Pregame Show
Getting on the same page. Coaches and players that have the same sense of urgency signify teams that are winning. The NFL is a business, and like all business deals - interests must align. This is the reason that ownership, the front office, and the coaching read more...
TF's Saturday Preview: Act Like You've Been There Before!
It's the old saying when a player celebrates a little too much - act like you've been there before. This rules seems to also hold true to some of our Footprint's winning neophytes. When programs are new to winning, they don't know how to handle themselves. That's read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Six)
Here we are again for SPF's weekly Team Identity Poll. Things have shaken up a bit. We are much closer to how we saw things at the beginning of the season. Let's start with a look at last week's Poll: 1. Dallas Cowboys 2. Indianapolis read more...
SPF's Week Six Pre-Pregame Show
It's week 6 for the SPF teams. Four teams are basically done, but the rest have critical games that will go a long way to determining how the rest of the season will play out for them. Here's this week's slate (video links courtesy of read more...
TF's Saturday Preview: The History Behind SEC Dominance
Tribal Fever would like to start this weekend's festivities by directing everyone to a fantastic series on ESPN.com about the SEC. Which leads us to this week's focus - the historical read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Five)
The rich seem to be getting richer (and the poor, poorer) in the SPF Footprint. There is happiness at the top, confusion in the middle, and desperation at the bottom. Let's start with last week's T.I. Poll 1. Dallas Cowboys 2. Indianapolis read more...
SPF's Week Five Pre-Pregame Show
It's week five in the NFL season. Overall, the SPF Footprint is shaping up to be a year of the haves and have-nots. The Footprint contains two of the NFL's winless teams (Dolphins and Rams) and several other struggling squads. However, we also have two of the best read more...
Tribal Fever's Weekend Slate (10/6/2007)
Let's start with this week's College Football Preview from Athlon. Swampland's own Patrick Snow hosts each week. (Read Patrick's new column on the state of baseball in read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Four)
Just like in the college ranks, it was a bit of a crazy week in the SPF Footprint. Right now, there are more bad teams than good, but the good teams are pretty darn good so we guess that evens things out a little. Here's last week's "Team Identity" read more...
Upset Saturday, or not?
Patrick Snow mentioned in his last column that he was looking ahead to next week's games. Based on yesterday's game result, so were too many top 25 teams in the Footprint. TF Upsets read more...
SPF's Week Four Pre-Pregame Show
Welcome SPF fans! Here's today's slate. (SPF teams in BOLD) Early Games Dolphins v. Raiders preview Rams @ read more...
Swampland welcomes Tribal Fever!
It was only a matter of time before Swampland Sports starting covering the colleges in earnest. Today marks the start of Tribal Fever, Swampland.com's dispatch dedicated to college sports in the South. We have new features up including Patrick Snow's latest read more...
SPF T. I. Poll (Week Three)
Back to our weekly gauge of how each SPF team is resonating with its fans. First, let's take a look back at last week's Team Identity Poll: 1. Dallas Cowboys 2. Washington Redskins 3. Indianapolis Colts 4. Tampa Bay Bucs
SPF 's Week Three Pre-Pregame Show
Here we are again. Let Week Three begin! SPF Teams in BOLD Early Games Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans (
SPF Friday Fishwrap-up: the Cowboy/Redskin paradigm
We've just posted a new analysis of the Wayne issue in Florida, Weaver in Jacksonville and Huizenga in Miami. Team Identity is our focus as always. That's why we start our Friday dispatch with read more...
SPF T. I. Poll (Week Two)
Time for our Week Two "Team Identity" Poll. Things keep getting interesting, and that's how we like it. Let's start off with a recap of last week's T.I. Poll: 1. Dallas 2. Indianapolis (tie) 2. read more...
SPF's Week Two Monday: Playmakers making plays
THE "BEATING THE DEAD HORSE" THEME Our theme for this week is similar to last week's - the importance of playmakers. In the Footprint, we all love great coaches. We all love great schemes. However, it usually comes read more...
SPF 's Week Two Pre-Pregame Show
Each week, it will be SPF's pleasure to bring you the best pregame show on the Net. We provide our audience with clips from NFL.COM mixed in with our commentary and insight. Let's run down today's slate of games: Early games (SPF Teams in read more...
SPF Friday Fishwrap-up: LeBatard vs. Galloway
Another great southern tradition is writing. We have a whole section called Discourse that is dedicated to this pursuit. Newpapers (aka fishwraps) around the Footprint have great sportswriters that deserve to be read, and sometimes needled.
SPF's T. I. Poll (Week One)
Team Identity. This is our constant gauge for the success or failure of NFL teams in the South. College football reigns because people see themselves as part of the team. In the Swampland footprint, allegiances don't change at the college level. Coaches read more...
SPF's Week One Monday: Channeling SEC over Big Ten
12 of our 13 SPF teams have played. Only the Bengals remain with a tough Monday Night battle against the Ravens. It's only week one, but let's review what we know. The Swampland footprint loves football. It is part of the culture. However, read more...
SPF Week One Game Log
Thursday's game didn't do nearly what yesterday's college slate did to pump us up here at SPF. Our own James Calemine is a little distraught about his Bulldogs going down to the dreaded read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 8/26/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. What an interesting day for the Atlanta Falcons as they play their first home contest under new coach Bobby Petrino while Michael Vick
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 8/19/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. Although college athletics has become (mega) big business, there are a few reminders every now and then that it’s still a game for ‘kids’ and that the best coaches tend to be read more...
Welcome Back!
Greetings to all you football fans around the Swampland footprint! Southern Pro Football is back to cover another NFL season. Patrick Snow and I will be making sure that SPF covers the NFL from a Southern perspective. For all of you that didn't tune into
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 8/12/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. Well the inevitable happened last week when Barry Bonds finally hit Home Run 756. It turns out the Orlando Sentinel’s Mike Bianchi, just like Hank Aaron and many others in our region,
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 7/30/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. One of the biggest connection points for fans of the NFL is having trust in their starting quarterback. This is a key area where the three Florida teams have struggled during the last few read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 7/22/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. What a messy story. The news of Michael Vick’s federal indictment seems to have split fans in the city of Atlanta, and probably has given Falcons owner Arthur Blank a splitting headache. The read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 7/15/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. The college sports “arms race" never seems to slow down. Whether it’s upgrading a current facility or building a new practice complex to ‘wow’ recruits, schools in read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of July 17, 2007
New Releases Raul Malo After Hours (New Door) Wille Mack
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 7/1/07
1. The NBA Draft was this week’s big sports story. The Draft is all about hope for the future. Despite recent expansion in the Swampland footprint, the NBA has struggled to find an audience down South. The problem starts with the NBA’s inability to connect with the read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of June 26, 2007
CDs New Releases Charlie Daniels Live From Iraq (Koch) James Burton read more...
Emmylou Harris Plays New Years Eve In Nashville
12/22/06 On December 22-23, Emmylou Harris performs Christmas shows in Seattle, Washington. Emmylou appears at The Ryman Auditorium for Garrison Keillor's December 31 New Years Eve show. Some of the artists included in this Nashville gig include Sam Bush, Rhonda read more...
Steve Earle Signs with New West Records
12/11/06 Steve Earle signed a deal with New West Records. Earle's upcoming CD is due in early 2007. New West is also sponsoring "The Steve Earle Show" on Air America. Earle's new album marks his first since his 2004 Grammy winning CD, The Revolution read more...