Thursday April 02, 2009

Stimulus Package

Stimulus Package
I find it humorous when companies use the federal stimulus package in their advertising. I guess it is cute to use it in advertising. I also get a kick out of people asking where their personal bailout is and when it is coming?

I read and hear doom and gloom about the economy on a daily basis. Even Clemson has been affected with the negativity. Can we go a day without reading about Barker and Bednar?

In football, 2009 has not gotten off to a great start. A New Year’s Day lost to Nebraska and a small recruiting class did not really spark a fire.

The basketball season was a thing of beauty in January of 2009 but February and March were big downers.

So far this season the baseball team has lost to South Carolina and Georgia and lost series at North Carolina and Florida State. They have had opportunities and have improved but this team has not grabbed many of those opportunities.

Jacoby Ford provided perhaps the biggest highlight of 2009 when he won the national championship in the 60m in indoor track.

Last night’s loss in baseball had as many disappointed fans as any game I can remember since the Omaha losses to South Carolina.

So how do we as fans get out of this funk?

I am not sure anything on the short term will lead us out of the negativity. I am not sure what we could see in the spring game that would get the buzz back. Personally I would take an ACC title in golf, outdoor track or volleyball. I think ACC titles would really help but realize many Tigers could not care less about anything other than football, basketball and baseball.

So here is a list I have come up with to help get the Clemson energy back in the short-term:
*Baseball Atlantic Division title with good performances against Georgia Tech and Miami.

*A title in the ACC baseball tournament.

*A trip to Omaha.

*The opening of the next phase of the West Zone is well received.

*Clemson summer camps yield several big time commitments.

*Tiger basketball recruiting has a great summer reception.

*Fall camp in football gives us good news on the development of players on the offensive line. J.K. Jay battles for a starting spot. Everyone stays healthy and depth is considered a strength.

*Either Willy Korn or Kyle Parker wins the quarterback battle impressively and gains the respect of their teammates.

*Spiller, Harper and Ellington emerged from fall camp injury free.

*Tiger linebackers and wide receivers have solid off-seasons and can no longer be considered a question mark.

*A place-kicker emerges.

*The Tigers open 2009 with an impressive win against Middle Tennessee.

All of these things will bring positive news to Tigertown but the only thing that really will help get the positive energy back is a win on a Thursday night in Atlanta against Georgia Tech.

All of the staff news is nice. Recruiting news offers hope. Spring practice is a nice way to keep us interested. Positive news out of fall camps gets the fan base anxious. But in the end the only thing that really matters is winning. And winning does not mean beating Middle Tennessee.

Our economic problems did not start in 2009. The seeds for our current issues were planted several years ago. The same can be said for Clemson athletics. The problems began years ago.

So a stimulus package may be a short-term answer but what are the real issues and how can they be solved?

One of the main issues among some of the sports here will not be fixed. That problem is escalating tuition. Sports like baseball and soccer cannot give full scholarships like tennis and volleyball. Baseball has to split 11.7 scholarships among about 30 players.

A 1/3 scholarship to a potential baseball player can be supplemented for in-state athletics through lottery based help. But the problem in baseball and especially soccer is that there is not enough in-state talent to win consistently.

It costs about $30,000 for out-of-state students to attend Clemson, so a student-athlete on a 1/3 scholarship still has to come up with about $20,000 per year. A prospect from North Carolina or Georgia could stay in state and go to school for almost nothing instead of coming to Clemson because those states also help in-state students.

A soccer player from North Carolina with a 1/3 scholarship could pay over $100,000 if he has to red-shirt a year. Meanwhile North Carolina and Wake Forest have plans where students that have parents that make under a certain amount of income can go to school for free. Let’s see, Clemson for $100,000 or UNC for next to nothing?

When you consider those factors it is easy to see how North Carolina and Georgia baseball are better than Clemson at this point.

The tuition hikes at Clemson were said to advance the schools’ goals but it certainly did athletics few favors. Especially the sports that don’t give full scholarships to all of their athletes.

Let me be very clear here. I do care about the academic reputation of the university and academics should be more important than athletics. However, both can be successful.

The budget for departments like the office of advancement shows the priority the school has placed on getting into the top 20 of a magazine that ranks schools. The lack of that kind of increase in the athletic department budgets has also shown the priority on athletics.

So these problems are deep rooted through support and other issues. These issues did not arrive in 2009 but have been in the making for most of this decade. Thus, ACC titles are missing.

Clemson can fix some of the athletic issues by supporting athletics. Until then maybe some of the short-term stimulus packages mentioned above can get us through until there is turnover.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Sandy Wright, Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, Edward Putman, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Anna Rawl, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naemi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Vahid Tizfahm,Vincent Lee, Martha Bryant Carr.