The ‘New’ ACC Brand
After weeks of speculation, and an early leak by ESPN’s Brett McMurphy, the ACC has unveiled their new branding today. The news release and announcement can be seen here-
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Archive for the category “Correspondents”
Louisville Headlines: May 26, 2014
In opening I would like to say thanks to all our vets on this Memorial Day.
With the academic year coming to a close the headlines are slowing down but there is still plenty to talk about. Here are a few of the top stories.
Academic; the NCAA recently released their annual Academic Progress Rate (APR). Once again the University of Louisville has excelled as 9 teams posted perfect scores. They are: mens basketball, football, mens tennis, mens and womens golf, womens lacrosse, softball, womens soccer and volleyball. They showed that student athletes can excel on the field & in the class room. Also mens basketball and womens golf are in the top 10% in their sport in the latest multi year APR which measures academic eligibility, retention and graduation. They both posted perfect APR’s for the four year period from 2009-13. Overall over 100 student athletes recieved their degrees this spring, including Teddy Bridgewater who left early for the NFL draft.
Read more…
Clemson North
“The Cleveland Browns have traded the fourth pick to the Buffalo Bills. With the fourth pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills select Sammy Watkins, wide receiver, Clemson.”
The Bills gave up their 2015 first and fourth round draft picks for that trade, talk about a bold move. General Manager Doug Whaley told Sammy they were going to draft him and clearly, he meant it. The Bills had the 9th pick, but waiting their turn was not an option if they were going to get their number one choice. This trade was more than just getting Sammy Watkins; it was a statement to the NFL and Bills fans everywhere. The Bills are going to make it to the playoffs this season. Or bust. Let’s hope it’s not the latter.
From a Clemson standpoint, I love this pick. I was fortunate enough to watch CJ Spiller run over defenses as a Clemson Tiger for one season before he was drafted 9th overall by the Bills in 2010. I watched Sammy Watkins glide his way through secondary defenses countless times on his way to the end zone in that Tiger uniform and I am thrilled to see Spiller and Watkins as teammates next season.
“Clemson North” is what they are calling it, as the Bills now have five former Clemson Tigers on their roster. Running back, CJ Spiller, offensive linemen, Chris Hairston and Antoine McClain, safety, Jonathan Meeks, and now wide receiver, Sammy Watkins.
Sammy Watkins is a player so outstanding that he makes others around him better. To get EJ Manuel healthy and prepped for the 2014 season, there is no doubt Sammy is going to shine. He is on his way to scoring touchdowns on Sundays and I can’t wait to watch. He has been compared to Detroit Lions wide receiver, Calvin Johnson, but next fall Sammy Watkins will begin his professional legacy and players to come will be compared to him.
To all Bills fans out there, rejoice. Clemson Nation gives you Sammy Watkins and we only hope you grow to love him as much as we did (and still do).
The fun is not over for the Clemson faithful. Still left to be drafted are QB Tajh Boyd, WR Martavis Bryant, CB Brashad Breeland, and OL Brandon Thomas.
You can catch night two of the 2014 NFL Draft tonight on ESPN.
Way Too Early 2014-2015 ACC Men’s Basketball Rankings
Following in the footsteps of the Worldwide Leader, the Confidential thought it would be fun to go ahead and try to project next year’s ACC Men’s Basketball standings. As is always the case, it’s nearly impossible to predict what will happen. Injuries occur, players don’t live up to expectations, teams over perform, but it’s a fun exercise regardless. After all, where else can you be so consistently wrong and still have people follow your every word? You know, besides meteorology.
Louisville Headlines
Even though the basketball season has ended for the Louisville Cardinals the news hasn’t. There has been coaching changes, players coming and going, schedules announced and a contract signed. All of this without mentioning the teams that are still in action. Here are some of the stories making the headlines.
Football: Teddy Bridgewater went gloveless to Pro Day and his performance sufford for it. Once believed to be the top overall pick in the upcoming draft has fallen to about the 20th pick. One scenario even has the Texans selecting Jadaveon Clowney first and Teddy first in the second round. If that scenario plays out what a steal it would be for Houston. Calvin Pryor will join Teddy in New York for the draft putting Louisville in elite company. They will be one of only five programs of who will have multiple players represented at the draft.
Will Gardner is the front runner to replace Bridgewater at QB next season. At the Cards spring game he threw for 546 yards and 4 TDs.
Read more…
The Realignment Fallout of the Proposed College Football Union
You may not know it, but one of the biggest days in college football history is quickly approaching. No, not the spring signing period, although that was pretty exciting. No, not the inaugural College Football Playoff either, that’s practically a whole year away. Imagine something greater. Something more far-reaching. That’s next Friday.
Looking for Correspondents!
Do you like an ACC school? Do you like writing about your ACC school? Not sure, but want to give it a try?
The Confidential is looking for school correspondents to write about their respective school. Send an email to afc44enterprises@yahoo.com.
It is just for fun… unpaid, obviously. But it is a great chance to have a voice with your school’s fan base. Also, if you are interested in creating a portfolio of your writing ability or even having your own blog some day, not a bad incubator. Participate in our weekly polls.
Priority schools to add right now:
- Duke
- Virginia Tech
- Notre Dame
- Georgia Tech
- Pittsburgh
If interested, let us know.
Syracuse Loses Jerami Grant
The news is out by now… the 2014-2015 Syracuse basketball team will be without Jerami Grant, who has decided to take his potential to the NBA. The Confidential will take a deeeeeep breath and not analyze just how much this confirms everything that is wrong with the NBA right now. Needless to say, if the NBA is going to draft Jerami Grant in the 15-20 range, he is wise to go now and cash in on the NBA foolishness. But what does it do for Syracuse?
FSU Ignites Into A New Era
Ignition Tradition. This is a phrase even the most casual of FSU fan’s have probably heard of, or at least saw on twitter a time or two. Today is the day FSU plans to “ignite” their new tradition, officially unveiling the schools new and modernized logo. As with too many things in today’s age of constant information, there was a leak and the new logo has already circulated through the masses. Below is the old logo next to the new logo FSU will be using moving forward for comparison.
All Things FSU & Beyond
Before I begin, I’d like to start off with a quick thank you to the Confidential for providing me this opportunity to write about FSU and the ACC as a whole. This is something I’ve been tempted to do for quite some time and finally jumped at the chance. While I looked over the Confidential, I could not help but notice that this blog was missing a particular garnet and gold tint that I’ve become so accustomed to in my years as an FSU and ACC fan. I am hoping I can provide that for my fellow FSU fans and ACC friends alike.
My name is David Shrimpton, I am almost 26 years old and a proud Alumni of Florida State University. I graduated with both my Bachelors and Masters degrees from FSU in Sports Management. Most people told me it was great that I was going to get an advanced degree right away, but truthfully I just wanted (okay, maybe needed) one more football season. After all I couldn’t graduate before beating the Gators at least once as a student, it just wouldn’t be right.
I spent the previous 2 years as a sales associate for a professional sports team, which was a great and unique experience. However, I recently switched up career paths to a traveling job that provides me the opportunity to spend more time with both my girlfriend and family. I know that sounds like it doesn’t make sense, a traveling job while seeing a girlfriend and family more? Well…that’s what happens when you have a girlfriend in Michigan and family in Florida.
Ironically enough my 3 favorite schools growing up were FSU, Syracuse (Born in NY) and North Carolina (I mean, who didn’t love watching Vince Carter?). I guess I was destined to be a “Go ACC” guy from the get go. However there was always something pulling me closer and stronger toward the garnet and gold. I’ve never looked back since, even though I wouldn’t blame anyone after having gone through the Chris Rix and Drew Weatherford eras. Once I got to FSU in the fall of 2006 my passion grew deeper and I developed a love for the school that even my girlfriend grows concerned at times. Yeah… we’ve had a few “disputes” over my fanaticism, yup, I’m that guy.
My goal here is to spark some conversation on all things surrounding FSU and the ACC. With that said I wanted to give just a brief overview of the “big 3” sports at FSU and where they currently stand, how I feel on them. This should help give the casual fan of FSU some basic knowledge or maybe provide some insight for a friendly rival here in the ACC.
Basketball:
I figure I’d start with the one sport that no longer has an active team, and the sport as a whole won’t be after tonight’s championship game. FSU had their bubble burst this year, narrowly missing the tournament as one of the dreaded “last four out”. The team was able to make a decent run to the NIT Final Four, including dropping a cool 100+ on Georgetown (Georgetown still sucks, right Cuse fans?). However the run ended as they were ousted in overtime by the eventual champion Minnesota Gophers. Honestly though, it’s the NIT and who really gives a hoot about that? I care about the NIT as much as I do the PapaJohns.com Bowl in football. Anyway, the team has a lot to replace losing arguably their two most important players in Ian Miller and Okaro White. I plan to discuss the team more in-depth down the road, but look out for Aaron Thomas next year if you don’t already know the name. If you don’t, I promise you’ll know it next season. I still suspect FSU to fall in that “second tier” of teams of the ACC come next year, anywhere from the 5th-9th place.
Baseball:
I could start both this and football with the same sentence: #1. FSU is currently ranked first in 2 of the 4 polls, and not ranked lower than 3rd in any poll. The team is coming off a sweep of Notre Dame, helping keep that #1 ranking in tact. I recommend googling for the rain delay videos as the two teams jousted, yes jousted, during it among other games to entertain themselves. It is definitely worth it and a good laugh to say the least.
The offense is led by DJ Stewart and John Nogowski but the arms on this team are really where it’s at. Brandon Leibrant, Mike Compton & Luke Weaver are an awesome trio for any weekend match up. Not to mention in relief there is Gage “the stache” Smith and my personal man crush as my girlfriend says, Jameis Winston. I fully expect the Noles to make it to Omaha this year yet again, but will they finally win one for #11 Coach Mike Martin?
Football:
#1. The Seminoles are currently the reigning national champions and will be ranked #1 heading into next season. I’ve waited since 1999 to say that which feels like an eternity, so I’m going to say it every day I get a chance to. Admittedly this will probably be the team I cover the most, since I follow it the most passionately. The FSU Spring Game is actually happening this Saturday, and if you’re not in the Tallahassee I recommend kicking on ESPN3 to catch it.
The Noles have lost a lot to the draft once again this year, including some key departures who decided to forego their senior season. It will be interesting to see how FSU is able to replace these key players heading into 2014 and something I plan on covering. I will say though that I’m not going to doubt the man who replaced 11 NFL draftees last year and still led FSU to a perfect record and a championship. Then again, when you have a guy like Jameis Winston playing QB for you, it sure can make you look like you’re one hell of a coach. With that said I do love Coach Fisher and hope he’s at FSU for a long, long tenure. I love his approach to the game as a business and a process.
Well there you have it, sorry for the length but I wanted to at least provide a little bit of coverage on myself and those teams. For those looking to delve a little more in-depth with their FSU knowledge I highly recommend checking out Tomahawknation.com as it is free and jammed packed with information. If any of you are interested in having me write on a particular topic, have questions about FSU or myself in general don’t hesitate to ask! Also feel free to follow me on twitter @Shrimpton4 and reach me there. The more people engage, the better this is for me, especially since I’m new to this.
As always, Go Noles!
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