Thursday July 31, 2008

They Always Remember November / Ryan Update

Ryan Update 7-31
The news is great once again today. Ryan took a major step forward when he was able to take his first ride in a car since the accident. The only automobiles he has been in since the June 2nd accident was an ambulance ride from Clemson to Greenville that morning and another ambulance ride from Greenville to Charlotte on July 3rd.

Today he was fitted for a harness-type of car seatbelt. They then put Ryan in the car and he went for a ride with Kelly and the therapist to observe how he rides. Ryan loved the experience. He did not want to ride to end and as soon as he got back he wanted to go for another ride.

Ryan has had another great day of therapy. He has been very productive in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and recreational therapy. In fact, Ryan is doing something the doctors say they have never seen before. As he sits in his wheel chair, Ryan bends at the waist and goes down to touch his toes with both hands. He does it over and over often throughout the day. He probably does 30-45 reps each time. When we ask what he is doing he says working out. He is working his abs, stretching his back and working on muscle coordination and he is doing it all on his own. No one told Ryan to do this and the therapists say they have never seen any patient make up their own workout routine and execute it own their own. Ryan's doctor says that athletes seem to always do better in rehab because they are used to working out.

On final note, Ryan will be discharged on Thursday, August 14th. His 17th birthday is two days later on Saturday, August 16th. We are currently planning a birthday drop-in for Ryan's friends, our family and friends, blog readers, radio show listeners and really anyone that would like to come and see Ryan. We will ask that no one bring gifts but it would be a chance for our family and Ryan to thank so many for prayers and kindness. We are looking forward to celebrating Ryan coming home and his 17th birthday and would love to have you join Ryan that special day. The drop-in will be in Clemson and I will let you know in a blog early next week about more details. If you are going to be in the Clemson area on August 16th, we would love to see ya.

Thanks for your prayers. God Bless those who have been so kind.

They Always Remember November
Clemson has five games in August and September and only two in October. The key to Clemson's season will be the month of November. The old saying among college football coaches states, "They always remember November."

The Tigers face road blocks in tough games against Alabama and Wake Forest in August and September and they there is chance they could stumble at home against an NC State, Maryland or Georgia Tech. But everything this team wants to achieve could still happen even if they had a loss before November.. However, it would be tough to slip up in November and still be able to reach some goals.

November this season will see the Tigers play five games including three road contests. The back-to-back trips to Boston and Tallahassee is perhaps the most difficult stretch of the schedule. Clemson perhaps gets a break with a home game against Duke on November 15th. But then the Tigers hit the road with a trip to Charlottesville before the season finale against arch-rival South Carolina.

I am not sure Boston College will be anything close to what they were last season but I think they will be a little better than people think. Florida State will have to show me they are on the way back before I get scared of a trip to Tallahassee but the Noles have enough talent to get hot. Virginia is not scheduled to be very good this season but those predictions may not be right by the time the 11th game of the season rolls around. And the South Carolina game is always hard to predict.

Also remember that teams change throughout the season and teams can get a lot better or a lot worse as the year goes on. I am not sure we know what any of these teams will have in the month of November.

If the Tigers make it to the ACC title game on Tampa and a bowl game in December or January then the season adds two more contest and both will be outside of the friendly confines of Death Valley.. If the Tigers play 14 games this season then only three of the last nine will be at home. Five of the last seven could be away from the Valley.

If Clemson is to have the magic season that some suggest then it will have to do what some in the industry feel is the hardest thing to do and that is to win away from home in November. I am not sure what the weather in November will look like in Boston or Charlottesville in November. If they play in the ACC title game and a BCS game then they would be facing two very good football teams.

Clemson can slip up in the Georgia Dome in August and fans can forgive. They could lose a conference game in September or October and still have a chance to have a special season. And while LSU and Ohio State both lost their last regular season home games last season and still played for the national title but Clemson's schedule will not allow that to happen to this team. The Tigers strength of schedule will hurt their argument if they have the same number of losses as other BCS conference teams. Clemson could get the ACC's first at-large BCS bid if they did not win the ACC but it would be difficult with critics ripping the schedule.

So this season is very simple. Slip up in August, September or October and we may forgive and forget. But we will remember November.

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