TDF - We've been on this shift too long.

Gamecock Baseball

SI.com: Florida leads familiar faces looking to deny South Carolina three-peat.

Fox Carolina 21: Gamecocks baseball opener sold out.

Gamecock Central: Tanner wraps preseason practice and Photos - Scrimmage No. 9. Also check out - Healthy again, Matthews eyes big year and USC picked second in East.

Life of a Gamecock: Outfield, Starting Pitchers Announced for Opening Weekend.

GoGamecocks: Gamecocks’ lineup taking shape and Video: Tanner comments on final scrimmages.

Spur of the Moment Blog: Ray Tanner on how he feels about his team heading into Friday's opener .

Lady Gamecock Basketball

Gamecock Anthem: WBB: Tournament watch.

SEC Digital Network: Extra Schooling Fueling South Carolina’s Grant.

GoGamecocks: Staley's Gamecocks cling to Top 25 spot .

Gamecock Football

Gamecock Central: New assistants face challenges in first year and Football helps spark academic success.

Fox Carolina 21: Ex-Gamecock QB named coach at Union Co. High.

ESPN SEC Blog: SEC postseason coaching staff rankings.

Leftover Hotdog: Shawn Elliott Bleeds Garnet, Snubs Florida.

Bleacher Report: The Gamecocks' Chances of Beating Each Scheduled Team.

Sportstalkgolive: Recruiting Report 2.13.12 and SportsTalk Rewind 2.13.11: Corey Miller talks visit with Hyman, Horn (AUDIO).

Anderson Independent-Mail: South Carolina is paying its top coaches by merit.

Olympic Sports

GoGamecocks: New tennis digs excite Gamecocks.

Gamecock Basketball

Gamecocksonine: Gamecock Spotlight: Bruce Ellington.

ESPN: Conference Power Rankings: SEC.

GO COCKS!

Results up tomorrow.

1. Kentucky Wildcats

Can't imagine anyone disagrees with this one. Has to be considered odds-on favorite to win the national title.

2. Florida Gators

Not a great week for the Gators, but I still feel this is the second-best team in the league. Other than when it's playing Tennessee, that is.

3. Vanderbilt Commodores

Close but no cigar against the 'Cats.

4. Mississippi St. Bulldogs

Ugly loss at home to UGA over the weekend.

5. Arkansas Razorbacks

Really needs to figure out how to play competitive basketball away from home.

6. Alabama Crimson Tide

Really needs to beat the Gators this week to bolster its uncertain NCAA chances.

7. Tennessee Volunteers

Nice win over Florida. Will be interesting to see if it can make the NIT with its lackluster OOC record.

8. Mississippi Rebels

Probably another NIT season for Kennedy's squad, but you have to admire the way they bounced back from the mid-season funk.

9. LSU Tigers

Seem to be coming back to form to some degree after struggling through the early part of conference play. Possible NIT team.

10. Auburn Tigers

Maybe a CBI team if it can win a few games down the stretch. Team has shown progress this year.

11. Georgia Bulldogs

No post-season in the works for these guys, but at least they're getting better.

12. South Carolina Gamecocks

Sorry, folks. Nothing positive to say about our guys right now, other than that they're fighting.

TDF - Lighten up while you still can, don't even try to understand.

Gamecock Football

Bleacher Report: 7 Things Holding the Gamecocks Back from a BCS Bid.

Leftover Hotdog: The curious case of Keshon Flores.

O'Burg Times-Democrat: Trooper had best seat in Gamecocks' stadium.

Get the Picture Blog: Senator Blutarsky reminisces about David Pollack's strip-pick against Corey Jenkins back in '02 - “Can you believe that play?” I remember it vividly - like Corey, no one in the stands could figure out just how it possibly could have happened, since the play seemed to defy the laws of physics - and Corey had a very strong arm. Well, we show Brandon-over-the-top and Melvin-down-the-sidelines so much, I figured you needed some yang to go with your yin. And, yes Virginia, you can still hate Georgia -- even on a two-game winning streak.

Lady Gamecocks Basketball

Gamecock Central: O Captain! -- Sutton delivers in win over Florida. Also check out the WBB -- SEC Tournament watch and USC-UF photos.

The Daily Gamecock: Women's basketball rebounds from Arkansas loss with win over UF.

Gamecocksonline: South Carolina Narrowly Escapes Florida 62-58 - with highlights and post-game presser video.

Gamecock Men's Basketball

The Rubber Chickens: Ask TRC: The Case of the Addled AD.

Cocky Country: Gamecock Men’s Hoops: Still A Broken Record.

Olympic Sports

The Daily Gamecock: Softball opens season with Palmetto Classic Tournament win.

Gamecocksonline: Women's Golf - Lee's 71 Leads Gamecocks in First Round of UCF Challenge; Men's Tennis - Gamecocks Fall 5-2 at NC State (from Saturday).

Ahoy, Gamecock baseball fans! With the college baseball season nigh upon us, it's past time that your friendly authors here at GABA starting cranking out baseball coverage once again. For my part, it feels like an eternity since I last waxed poetic on our nation's past time. There's just something about baseball that makes it the perfect pairing for the Spring season. It might just be the nostalgia we feel because Spring and baseball have always bloomed together. Or maybe it has something to do with the year's first batting practice never being too far behind the year's first lawn clippings. But I prefer to think it's because baseball and Spring were made for one another. Something about the lull-and-scurry motion of the game captures the season better than any other sport could.

In the coming weeks you'll no-doubt hear many more allusions made to fresh starts and baseball teams. And of course it must also be said - so I'll go ahead and get it out of the way - that everyone is undefeated right now. That won't be true, though, this time next week.

With that in mind I bring you Garnet and Black Attack's first weekly SEC baseball ranking of the 2012 season. Before we get into it after the jump, let's all just take a moment and to properly recognize what Ray Tanner and company accomplished last year. I don't need to re-hash it in this space. I'm sure you remember.

...

Once you've given that thought adequate consideration, look after the jump to see the pecking order in college baseball's toughest conference.

Continue reading this post »

A few weeks ago, the word was that Eric Hyman's budget is tied and that we wouldn't be in the position to pay Darrin Horn's buyout and bring in a new coach with good qualifications. At that point, I would have told you that I thought Horn would get one more year regardless of how bad the season end up. Now, it seems I may have underestimated just how bad the season could get. The 'Cocks now sit at 9-15 overall and 1-9 in the conference. The season has quickly become the worst in recent memory for Carolina, and that's saying something considering our lack of success on the hardwood. There are some good opportunities for wins down the stretch, but it's also very possible that we may only win one or two more games--or worse. To make matters worse, attendance has hit an all-time low. The Kentucky game in Columbia was a disaster, but really, the disaster wasn't so much what happened on the court, although that was certainly bad. What was worst was that the Big Blue Nation turned the Colonial Life Arena into Mini-Rupp. When you can't get the fans to come see a game against the best team in the nation, you've got major problems. And that's likely what's most on Hyman's mind right now: the bottom line. Sure, Horn's buyout and the money tied up in facilities upgrades are financially daunting. Are they as daunting, though, as the prospect of another year with the CLA at minimum capacity? My guess is probably not.

Still, though, there are reasons why it would be in Hyman's best interest to keep Horn. The thing is that Horn is going to have to do his part and figure out a way to get his team to win some games down the stretch and thus to inject some life into this moribund program. The Gamecocks have six regular-season games left: a home-away with UGA, a home with LSU, an away with Vandy, and homes with Tennessee and Mississippi St. Then, of course, they have the SEC Tournament. As said, considering how we've played lately, none of these games are gimmes. Even UGA is playing well lately. However, at the same time, I do think the possibility is there for the Gamecocks to string together a few wins.Truth be told, the first half of our season was much tougher than what we have coming up: two games apiece against UF and UK, road games against some other tough teams, no UGA, etc. The next few games provide some of our most ample opportunities for wins. At Vandy is probably a no-go, but other than that, I don't see any games that we'll be completely overmatched in, at least not until we play (if we do) a really tough team in the SECT. If Carolina wins some of these games, that should help Horn's prospects. And needless to say, a deep run in the SECT would help quite a bit, although I somewhat doubt our ability to get out of the second round or so, considering the unlikelihood of us beating a good team on a neutral court.

The question, though, is whether a winning streak would revitalize a fan base that might already have completely lost faith in Horn. Without some indication that ticket sales will improve next year, Hyman may not have much of a choice with Horn. Therefore, it seems a propos to put the question to you, dear reader: What do you need to see to get back into Carolina men's basketball? Why?

TDF - Like some junkie Cosmonaut.

Gamecock Baseball

Gene Sapakoff: Locating the start of the USC dynasty.

Post & Courier: Glory days for Gamecocks and Two-Minute Drill with South Carolina's Adam Matthews.

Gamecock Central: Scrimmage observations, Vol. 8 and Photos: Scrimmage No. 8.

Gamecock Football

Instant Radio Rivals: For Spurrier And The Gamecocks, 2012 Could Be An Historic Season.

Gamecock Central: Hyman defends new compliance head. Well, Ohio State did get off pretty light. Maybe Chris Rogers can work his magic a second time.

Gamecock Basketball

Gamecock Central: Arkansas beats USC and SEC Tournament Watch. Also - Horn explains call-in absence. Apparently, he missed back-to-back appearances on his "Carolina Calls" show on Columbia's 107.5 FM. Turns out to have been a legitimate scheduling snafu, but the atmospherics are poor when the team is skidding so badly in SEC play.

The Big Spur: Razorbacks drop Gamecocks.

GoUpstate: Young scores 27 as Arkansas tops South Carolina, 76-65. The AP story.

Gamecocksonline: Coach Horn post-game presser.

Lady Gamecock Basketball

GoGamecocks: Humbled team refocuses and WOMEN: GAMECOCKS VS GATORS.

Olympic Sports

Gamecocksonline: Equestrian - Gamecocks Sweep MVP's in 16-3 Rout at UT-Martin; Track - Radiance Basden Wins Triple Jump At Tyson Invitational.

Loose Feed

Sportstalkgolive: Here’s a picture of a billboard in West Virginia taunting Clemson. Priceless.