Now Ron Polk did not get fired from Mississippi State, he just retired. But on his way out the door he made an ugly scene about who he thought his replacement ought to be. If you’ve already put this out of mind, sorry for bringing it back up.

Polk wanted his assistant coach, and MSU grad Tommy Raffo (now the head coach at Arkansas State), to get the job. He didn’t make any secrets about it, and he was really mad when Greg Bryne didn’t listen to him. He even made outlandish statements about disassociating himself with MSU. Polk thought he had earned the right to pick his successor, he thought he was Mississippi State baseball.

Rick Stansbury, like Polk, is MSU’s all-time winningest coach. If he’s asked to step down, will he make a huge scene or gracefully walk out the door?

I don’t know Rick personally, but from interviews and press conferences he seems to have his own opinion about things and no matter if 95% of people don’t see it the same way, he’s sticking to it. I think Stans believes he has earned the right to call his own shots, and for his future to be a decision made by himself.

I don’t know that, I’m just speculating. But when you have 100 more wins than any other coach in school history, it’s hard not to view yourself as ‘the greatest thing to ever happen to the program’. And when someone wants to take you down, you just don’t think there’s anyway they could be justified.

Who knows what will happen in the coming weeks. But if Stans has to go, I hope his does it with some dignity.

Eat at Ruben’s Catfish Palace: “What’s that?” you are wondering. Well, it’s a magical place where catfish and blocks of cheese come together to make your stomach full and happy. It’s that place off the banks of the mighty Tombigbee that is more than just a restaurant, it’s a palace…to catfish.

You can’t go to Ruben’s Catfish Palace and not use a wood bowl to eat your salad in.

And Ruben’s always has big blocks of cheese at the salad bar. Cheddar, pepperjack, Ameican…yum. It’s good for you to enjoy a block of cheese while you wait on fried catfish.

Next up, the catfish. Get 2, 3, half dozen, eat them as fast as you can! They’ll never run out, it’s a catfish palace. And there’s a catfish as big as a whale somewhere in the Tombigbee. If they have to, they’ll get the Polk Cat to catch him.

Is that really the catfish at Ruben’s? Heck, no. Do you think I would stop and take a picture while the succulent, mouth-watering Mississippi treat was right in front of me?

Dessert? What, it’s more catfish!

And then comes a special treat…the bill. All of that for $6.99 (or something like that). After you tip Mary Ann a couple bucks you might still have a quarter left for the gumball machine.

Just make sure to have a designated driver back to Starkville. The amount of salad, cheese, catfish, baked potatoes, and french fries you’ll eat can induce a coma.

Rick Stansbury, the man standing in molten lava, claims that you go into every road game as an underdog. Well, if that is true, MSU should be favored tonight. So, should we expect a Bulldogs victory vs. #1 Kentucky?

I’m not going to expect it, but I’ll be watching…hoping for a miracle.

State has plenty of reason to give this game everything they’ve got. It’s a chance to basically wipe out at least 2 of the 3 bad losses that have recently occurred. It’s a chance for Stansbury to re-claim some of his credibility with fans. It’s a chance to give all the fans motion-sickness from this roller-coaster of a team.

If Arnett Moultrie wants to prove he’s worthy of a first round NBA draft choice, tonight vs. UK big man Anthony Davis is his chance. If Dee Bost wants to show he is NBA material, this is his chance.

Maybe this team is so messed up in the head they were just looking to Kentucky all along, and they are going to come out firing tonight. I hope that is the case. I don’t want to lose this game and many others so Stans will be fired. I want State to win, and do it with effort and intensity, passion and desire.

There’s no doubt, MSU can win this game. They match-up well against Kentucky. And it’s at the Hump, State should at least take it to the final minute. We’ll see what happens. Go Dawgs.

Mississippi State’s opening weekend series vs. Washington State proved to be a success as the Diamond Dawgs took 2 of 3. Here’s a recap of the weekend..

Game 1: MSU 6, WSU 2

State had 13 hits to WSU’s 4. 3B Daryl Norris went 3 for 4.

Ben Bracewell got the start and pitched 4.1 innings, giving up both runs. Chris Stratton finished the game off with four innings himself.

Game 2: WSU 6, MSU 5; 13 innings

Nick Routt started, but only went two innings giving up three runs. Evan Mitchell came in striking out eight in 4.1 innings; allowing one run. Super-reliever Caleb Reed showed what he had by pitching six scoreless innings before allowing a run. He had nine K’s and threw 95 pitches.

DH Trey Porter had a 2-run home run late in the game to tie it at 4. State had a chance to win with the bases loaded and one out in the 10th but couldn’t score. After two Washington State runs in the Top of the 13th, MSU countered with one and left a man on 3rd when the final out was tallied. In all, State left 16 men on base.

Game 3: MSU 5, WSU 4

Kendall Graveman started and went 6.1 strong innings allowing two runs. CF C.T. Bradford moved down in the order to 5th (from leadoff) and went 3 for 4 in the game.

WSU scored two runs in the Top of the 8th to make it 4-2, but the Dawgs quickly responded. RBI doubles by RF Brent Brownlee and C Mitch Slauter tied the game. Slauter would eventually score on a throwing error by the Couger’s catcher.

@mandwnation

Hot topic of the day: Rick Stansbury’s fate as the head coach of the basketball team. The Dawgs have lost three straight games to teams they were supposed to beat. On the road or not, they were favored in each game.

Stansbury is not a bad coach. You don’t average 20+ wins per year over 14 years at a power conference school if you’re a bad coach. You don’t win your division five times in 13 years, or never come in last place if you’re a bad coach. You don’t win a conference championship or take your team to the NCAA Tournament half the time if you’re a bad coach. No, Stans is a good coach.

And here is what good gets you: 14 relatively pressure-free years at a school. But year after year more fans jump on the ‘we need a new coach bandwagon’ than stay on the current coach’s side. That is just a fact. And while Stans isn’t a bad coach, and he hasn’t ‘forgotten’ how to coach, you have to wonder if he’s had his chance.

One thing we don’t want to be is a prisoner of the moment. State has lost three straight games and we jump to conclusions about his fate. But there has been a pattern of underachieving talent.

In 2007, the team included Jamont Gordon, the Delk twins, Ben Hansbrough, Charles Rhodes, Dietric Slater, Barry Stewart, Jarvis Varnardo, Vernon Goodridge and of course Joseph Iupe. Did MSU get jobbed by the committee, sure. But there shouldn’t have been any question about it with that lineup.

In 2008, you take all of the above players minus the Delk twins and add Ravern Johnson, Brian Johnson, Phil Turner, Kodi Augustus and Elgin Bailey. The Bulldogs got off to a horrible start losing to Southern Illinois, Miami (OH), Miami (FL), and South Alabama. Even after a solid SEC run, the Dawgs only got an ’8′ seed and had to play Memphis in the second round.

2009′s team lost Rhodes, Gordon and Hansbrough but picked up Dee Bost, Romero Osby and Twany Beckham. While there were some growing pains and certainly State finished strong with a SEC Tournament Championship, there were plenty of ‘scratch your head losses’ like at home to Auburn, Ole Miss and LSU.

2010 may be the biggest disappointment. Stansbury finally held a team together only losing Freshman Twany Beckham to transfer, and Brian Johnson was the only one to graduate. The team played great at times but then terrible plenty of other times. State won the West despite an 8-8 record, and missed the NCAA Tournament.

Last year (2011) MSU didn’t get much of anything going amid distractions all year. Now this season started out surprisingly good. And I will argue that most people who were upset with Stans after the Arkansas and Ole Miss loss were out of bounds considering how far ahead of expectations this team was. But there’s no excuse to have a 6-6 record with a starting lineup that includes the talent of Arnett Moultrie, Dee Bost, Rodney Hood and Renardo Sidney.

Is Stan’s a victim of his own recruiting success? No, because he would’ve been fired many years ago if it wasn’t for all the good players. He may, however, be a victim of the type of players he has recruited in recent years. And that’s not to knock the players of this team, any and all blame goes to the coach – the head of the program.

I have been a firm advocate that Rick Stansbury is the right coach for Mississippi State. I believe he is a solid coach who has been able to secure the top talent in the state and elsewhere. He’s kept State highly competitive and in position for major accomplishments. I don’t think losing one game early in the NCAA Tournament should define your season, it happens to a lot of great teams and coaches. Some of those tournament teams were probably good enough to make longer runs had they drawn different opposition.

But why does MSU basketball continually underachieve over the last several years? When Stansbury said after the Auburn loss that “we’re the underdog in all these road games” and “the home game is the one you hate to lose” then there is clearly a problem.

State has been favored in all three of these losses (according to Vegas), and losing on the road to inferior opponents should be unacceptable. Florida – ok. Arkansas – well, ok. LSU & Auburn – not ok at all. It appears as though good has become the enemy of great.

I think his job status should be as follows: (1) If State doesn’t make the NCAA Tournament, he’s fired; (2) If State makes the NCAA Tournament then he gets another year but no contract extension or raise; (3) If State wins the SEC Tournament and gets to the Sweet 16 or greater then he can get an extension and raise (outside UK, UNC and Kansas, there isn’t a school out there who doesn’t give an extension after making the Sweet 16).

Those are just my thoughts on the matter. Feel free to tell me I’m off my rocker…but I don’t think I am.

The term “must-win” is probably an overused one. But if MSU wants to have a winning record in the SEC this year, tonight’s game in Auburn may be just that.

The Plains have been a difficult place to navigate over the years for the Dawgs. In Stansbury’s previous 13 trips to play the Tigers he has only come away with 5 victories. And Auburn’s isn’t exactly a basketball powerhouse. Upon approval of a new $100 million arena students and alumni alike were surprised to find out they even had a basketball program at the school.

In 2005, MSU brought a really good team into Beard-Eaves Coliseum and got walloped 90-76. I made the 4-hour drive from Starkville for that one…disappointment. After winning in ’07 and ’08 State lost in ’09 and ’10. I went again last year thinking their new facility, Auburn Arena, would have better luck for the Dawgs….no dice.

You’d think Stansbury would have a great record against Auburn no matter where the game was played. You’d think a ‘W’ could be sketched over this game every year, but that’s not the case. State is in the midst of a three game losing streak on the Plains. That has got to end today. C’mon Dawgs, we don’t need any more heartbreak in that town this year.

@mandwnation

Was there any doubt which game would be #1? Stansbury’s best team was 2004, and this game was the best and most important one: #5 MSU 82, Alabama 81.

The 2004 team was incredible. Timmy Bowers, Winsome Frazier, Shane Power, Brandon Vincent and Lawrence Roberts formed a hard working, mentally tough team that held the mantra of ‘Road Warriors’. Coming into the game State was 7-0 on the road in SEC play, and 13-2 overall. Kentucky, who had beaten MSU, was 12-3 and playing their final game the next day. To secure an outright SEC Championship, the Bulldogs needed win this game in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama was led by Earnest Shelton and Chuck Davis that year. They had already won in Starkville 77-73 two weeks before. The Tide came out firing and led by 18 points at halftime. It was a shocking turn of events as MSU had not let anyone pull away from them all season.

With 8:32 to play the Dawgs were still down by 16 (64-48), but State began a furious comeback kicked off by a pair of threes from Shane Power. With 3:06 left, Mississippi State had tied the game at 67. The rest of the game was scrapped out between two teams giving their all.

With :25 to play, State found themselves down again 75-70, but senior Timmy Bowers put a stamp on his legacy with a three and then he hit a jump shot at the top of the key after a Earnest Shelton missed a free throw. The game went into overtime.

In OT, Bowers had even more magic. Frazier had fouled out and he took an aggressive approach and hit a trey early in the period. Down 81-80 he drove the lane and got off a shot under the basket with :01 left. Roberts intercepted the hail-mary inbounds pass and MSU became SEC Champions.

State received a ’2′ seed in the NCAA Tournament, but ran into a Xavier team who made the basketball turn into fire when they touched it. Alabama had better luck as they reached the Elite 8.

#5: 2007, MSU vs. UK

#4: 2002, MSU vs. UK

#3: 2002, MSU vs. Alabama

#2: 2009, MSU vs. Tennessee

The 2012 Mississippi State baseball season starts tonight at 6:00! First up: Washington State from the PAC 12. There’s a ton of excitement for this year’s Diamond Dawgs after a 2011 Super Regionals where State pushed Florida to the brink in Gainesville.

Walk-off win in Game 2 of the Super Regionals

Here’s this year’s projected starters with 2011 stats:

C – Mitch Slauter, (Juco transfer)

1B – Wes Rea (Red-shirt Freshman)

2B – Matthew Britton (True Freshman)

SS – Adam Frazier (So.), .273, 0 HR, 14 RBI

3B – Daryl Norris (So.), .277, 0 HR, 20 RBI

LF – Brent Brownlee (Sr.), .279, 1 HR, 24 RBI

CF – C.T. Bradford (So.), .303, 0 HR, 34 RBI

RF – Brandon Woodruff (True Freshman)

DH – Taylor Stark (So.), .182, 1 HR, 5 RBI

Utility (C, OF, P, DH) – Hunter Renfroe (So.), .154, 0 HR, 2 RBI

SP – Chris Stratton (Jr.), 5-7, 5.21 ERA, 76 IP

SP – Nick Routt (Jr.), 3-3, 3.86 ERA, 56 IP

SP – Ben Bracewell (So.), [medical redshirt in 2011]; 2010 stats: 0-2, 5.50 ERA, 4 saves

SP – Evan Mitchell (So.), 6-2, 4.62 ERA, 48.2 IP

Closer – Caleb Reed (Sr.), 1-2, 1.55 ERA, 64 IP *Preseason 2nd team All-SEC

2012 team photo

The SEC will once again be tough this year. Florida is the consensus #1 team in America, and they are expected to dominate this year. South Carolina has won back-to-back National Championships and they are once again projected to be a Top 5 team. Arkansas, LSU, Vanderbilt and Georgia are all in the Top 25 of every poll.

Mississippi State is just outside the Top 25 in most expert’s eyes, as they are waiting to see how the young infield comes together. College Baseball Daily and Baseball America project MSU to land a #2 seed come Regional time. This team should be one to get excited about. Go Dawgs!

@mandwnation

#2 on the list wins the 2009 SEC Tournament Championship: MSU 64, Tennessee 61.

The 2009 season was supposed to be a real fine year, but in the offseason Ben Hansbrough and the Delk twins transferred out, and left some gaps in the team. State fumbled through the non-conference and fumbled through the SEC schedule and found themselves off the bubble and playing on Thursday in the SEC Tournament.

While this team wasn’t Stansbury’s best, it was his deepest. Late in the year and in the SEC Tourney he would substitute all five guys at once. Barry Stewert, Ravern Johnson and Jarvis Varnardo all averaged 12 point something points per game. Dee Bost was a freshman with 10.9 and 4.3 assists.

This SEC Tournament was held in an unusual place – Tampa, Florida. The Dawgs whipped Georgia, then South Carolina, and then SEC champ LSU to arrive in the Championship game. The Vols, led by Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism, had beaten Alabama and Auburn to get there.

Mississippi State put together a gutsy performance as they threw up 3 after 3 and Jarvis Varnardo continued his staunch defensive play down low. It was an exciting back and forth game.

With 1:31 to play Phil Turner hit a three from 25 feet away to give State a 70-68 lead. With :08 to play and up 62-61, Turner deflected a Tennessee in-bounds pass and was fouled. He hit both free throws forcing UT to toss up trey which missed.

For a recap of MSU’s great run in the tournament, watch this video.

After the tourney the NCAA selection committee thought MSU should get a ’13′ seed, and have to play the University of Washington in Portland, Oregon on a Thursday afternoon. Well, they lost. Tennessee didn’t fair any better as they lost to Oklahoma State in the first round.

#5: 2007, MSU vs. UK

#4: 2002, MSU vs. UK

#3: 2002, MSU vs. Alabama

On to #3, which was the 2002 SEC Tournament Championship Game: MSU 61, #8 Alabama 58.

The ’02 Bulldogs had some big wins during the year but none were bigger than this. Mario Austin led State on a tear to end the SEC regular season winning five straight games to finish 10-6. Unfortunately, it was a little too late as Alabama won the West and the SEC with a 12-4 record.

Alabama was led by SEC Player of the Year Erwin Dudley, Rod Gizzard and Mo Williams. They split the season series with MSU, as both teams won their home game by double digits. The Tide cruised to the Championship game, and the Dawgs had wins of 10 and 6 over Florida and LSU.

The game was tight throughout. The dominant big men for both teams came to play, Mario Austin had 15 points and Dudley had 18.

Down 52-51 with just under four minutes to play Timmy Bowers and then Derek Zimmerman hit 3′s and State never relinquished the lead. Alabama got to within one point at 59-58 and had the ball, but Mo Williams missed a trey and Michael Gholar secured the rebound. He was fouled and made both free throws. With five seconds left, Williams brought the ball up the court but Bowers knocked it out of his hands and MSU because SEC Tournament Champions!

The win was number 26 on the year for State, which tied the all-time school record set by the ’96 team. The record win #27 came against McNeese State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This was the second ever SEC Tournament Championship for MSU.

#5: 2007, MSU vs. UK

#4: 2002, MSU vs. UK