photo « Kenny Smith | A remarkable thing happens …

photo

Auburn / football / friends / photo / weekend — Comments Off
14
Dec 13

Auburn’s fall commencement

I don’t go to a lot of graduations, but this was a good one.

Stan White — who played quarterback at Auburn from 1989-1993, in the NFL for a few years after that and is now an insurance mogul and the color analyst for the Auburn football radio broadcasts — delivered the keynote speech. He talked to the graduates about what they would do when their “one second” came up.

So, basically, the Iron Bowl wrote his speech for him, altar call and all:

Adam walked as he has completed his master’s degree in public relations. Here he is shaking hands with President Jay Gogue:

Our friend Tim also walked, having completed his bachelor’s in computer engineering:

Chris Davis, he of the 109-yard Iron Bowl kick six, also graduated. He was, as you might imagine, something of a hit:

Dee Ford was the last person across the stage. If you look over his shoulder you can see Ric Smith, who announces the graduates. Smith often calls Ford’s name in his other role as the PA announcer in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

I think Gogue here was asking him to get a few sacks of Jameis Winston in his last game in the blue and orange:

Ford was the last to walk today. We later learned that was because he was late. He was no doubt off somewhere being cool, because that’s what he does. (I can say this because we’re Facebook friends. And the guy is cool.)

Several other people we know in one way or another graduated today. It was a fine ceremony.

Near the end, just before the alma mater and the cap tossing, I was trying to find Adam in the crowd. He wasn’t where I thought, which meant I couldn’t get the shot I wanted. But this one isn’t bad, either. They were telling him to wave so I would see him, and the longer it took the bigger his waves got. And he accidentally smacked the president who was walking by. Hence the look:

After graduation, and meeting up with Adam’s parents, we walked around campus taking pictures. The standard stuff, cap and gown in front of all the right buildings and logos and signs. I like this one the best:

We had dinner with Adam and Jessica and his parents. They’re sweet people. They remind me a lot of my family, which is an easy leap since they’re from about two towns over. They have the same familiar accents and pace of speech and everything. As you might imagine, they are just so proud.

Why wouldn’t they be? Earlier today their son caught a pass from a Heisman winner.

food / Friday / iPhone / photo — Comments Off
13
Dec 13

Just a quick question

Saw this at Chipotle, for dinner tonight:

I understand the vegetarian — as I am halfway one these days, it seems. The vegan group, goes without saying, too. But this last group? I can see it if you are somehow allergic or under a strict dietary program or, of course, if this fell under a religious belief. All perfectly valid considerations, all easy to explain.

But who writes bacon-averse? Who would ever want that label?

I mention this in jest, of course.

My burrito had both the pinto beans and the black beans. And it was delicious.

Auburn / friends / iPhone / journalism / links / photo / things to read / Wednesday — Comments Off
11
Dec 13

Reporting live, on tape, from my pocket

We went to Momma G’s tonight. The place is rich in history — even if they’ve recently leveled the floors. The walls are littered in posters and old Auburn newspaper clippings. I think they’ve finally done away with the old jukebox. But people still write on everything.

When graffiti is a calling card, your sandwich steamer better have mojo. This is never a problem at Momma G’s.

I like to think this one is a two-part piece. First the cheer and then an autograph by Ricardo Louis:

I wonder if this will be painted over or lost in context first:

I did the thing where I got up and offered to get refills for the table. As I did so I found five bucks on the ground. I wanted to give it back to whomever dropped it, but there was no one around. So, in the pocket it went and that was the most lucrative refill ever.

Adam was upset with this news. He just knew he should have gotten the drinks. Of course, I told him, if he’d topped off our cups he would have found a $100. That’s just the sort of luck he’s had lately. He doesn’t dispute it.

So we all sat there, the last people in the place. The guy trying to close made all the polite “Please get out of here so I can go home” noises. Not to be sentimental about it, but we’re down to counting the days before Adam leaves for his next adventure, so I find I’m trying to drag out conversations when we’re all together.

Things to read … Sign language interpreter at Mandela’s memorial a faker. Maybe you’ve heard about the guy playing knick knack paddy whack alongside world leaders. This is a bizarre story, and a disconcerting one when you consider what could have been. It should be interesting to see where this story goes from here.

More from the It Takes a Village file: Boy, 6, Charged with Sexual Harassment for Kissing Girl on Hand:

A 6-year-old Colorado boy was slapped with the label of sexual harasser and suspended, all because he kissed his classmate on the hand.

ABC News affiliate KRDO-TV spoke with the boy, who in the past kissed the same girl — his “girlfriend” — on the cheek.

[…]

The boy’s mother, Jennifer, is outraged, saying of the female student, “She was fine with it, they are ‘boyfriend and girlfriend.’ The other children saw it and went to the music teacher.

Being a child these days is hard, no doubt. We’re just making it harder.

(Update: A day later all of this nonsense has been happily resolved. Funny how widespread media attention and public scorn can do that.)

Mobile ads forecast to account for more than third of new ad revenue by 2016:

Mobile advertising is forecast to be the most important driver of the global advertising economy over the next three years, accounting for more than a third of the $90bn in new revenue expected by 2016.

Advertising delivered to smartphones and tablets will account for 36% of new global ad spend over the next three years, according to a new forecast by global media buying agency group ZenithOptimedia.

However, the growth in mobile advertising will be in addition to rather than at the expense of traditional media such as TV and newspapers, according to ZenithOptimedia.

If you aren’t planning for this, you’re behind.

Gannett to Add USA Today to Local Papers:

Gannett Company, one of the nation’s largest newspaper chains, will try to expand its advertising and circulation revenue by inserting parts of its flagship newspaper, USA Today, into its local newspapers.

Beginning in January, Gannett will add 12 to 14 pages of USA Today content each day to 35 newspapers in its largest markets.

Good luck to them. Hopefully it doesn’t come off as just trying to pad out the local publication with more wire copy at the expensive of in-house reporting.

If you haven’t seen Videolicious yet, and you make videos, you’ll want to check out this little tutorial on a basic, yet powerful, new tool you should add to your arsenal. It is push-button easy. I downloaded it recently, now I’ll just have to put it to use.

So now you have produced holiday videos to look forward to. This makes two video editing suites sitting in my pocket. Chalk this up to what I’ve been saying for years. Smartphones are just signals of future potential.

Auburn / football / photo / weekend — Comments Off
8
Dec 13

Toomer’s Corner after the championship game

The local police closed the intersection of College and Magnolia after the SEC championship game so people could celebrate. Later in the evening, when Ohio State stumbled against Michigan State, boosting Auburn into the BCS championship hunt, they closed the intersection again.

It was still closed when we finally got there, about an hour later as the revelry continued. Here are a few pictures:

People were having a grand time.

What do you know, David Housel was right last spring.

Who would have guessed he would be proven prophetic so quickly.

adventures / Auburn / football / photo / weekend — Comments Off
7
Dec 13

SEC championship game: Missouri versus Auburn

The setting, the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The scene, the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The stars, Auburn and Missouri. The extras, 60,000+ Auburn fans and several nice folks from Missouri. The ratio was overwhelming, but, of course, Auburn is just over an hour away. These things happen.

We made the trip with our friend Sally Ann. We had lunch with Kim and Murph and Jared and more. We saw some old friends before the game. We saw friends after the game. We had a nice time visiting with Missouri folks during the game. It was a fine day.

The best sign of the day:

Yep. No miracles needed. Just a lot of offense and some situational defense. But before you get to all that, here’s an almost-fair representation of the fan ratio:

Met this genius. I asked if he left the tags on his Missouri so he could take them back to the store after the game. His son said he did. Brilliant. Not “Let me sell these tickets and get some Christmas money or a mortgage payment” but, instead, “Let me see if I can make something funny out of this.”

Well, he saw a show, for sure. (Also that picture got picked up by CBS and plenty of other folks. It was seen by more than 216,000 Twitter accounts. Crazy.)

Cassanova McKinzy and Dee Ford say hello to James Franklin. That guy is tall and statuesque. He doesn’t take a drop, and he’s capable of picking apart a defense. Also, he can run. He did all of those things today, he also met more defenders than he liked:

Tre Mason, who is a man:

Tre Mason, who ran a lot:

Cassanova McKinzy pressures James Franklin again. McKinzy had something of a breakout game, leading the team in tackles:

See? Franklin just stands there, towering over everyone and flicking the ball to whomever he likes. He’s a serious threat:

Ricardo Louis, the hero of the miracle at Jordan-Hare, just running your standard jet sweep. He picked up 43 yards on three carries:

Tre Mason, who is a man, broke Bo Jackson’s school record for total yards in a single season:

Tre Mason, who is a man, also broke Cam Newton’s school record for most touchdowns in a season. He came within four yards (four!) of breaking the single-game rushing record, which has stood for 70 yards.

These guys up front are the ones that make it all happen. No one has talked about them much, but there’s at least one eventual first-rounders in there and at least three NFL caliber players. They have been pushing defenses around all season. From top to bottom: Greg Robinson, Alex Kozan, Reese Dismukes , Chad Slade, Avery Young and, behind them, fullback Jay Prosch.

Nick Marshall was 9 of 11 for 132 yards and a big touchdown pass to Sammie Coates:

Marshall also had 101 yards and a touchdown rushing:

Four different players scored on the ground for Auburn, including speedster Corey Grant:

The wirecam is carrying the ball to Ricardo Louis:

Tre Mason scored four touchdowns, cementing his incredible argument for Heisman consideration.

Anyone that’s watched this team play this year should know by now to never sell those young men short. There are 12 seniors on the team and in their four and five years they’ve been to a championship, lost teammates, lost family, gone 3-9, changed coaches and now are celebrating in confetti.

Auburn has done all they can do. The Tigers are 12-1 and SEC champions. They wrapped their season against a resurgent Georgia, top-ranked Alabama and a top 10 Missouri squad. All of those teams had great statistical defenses and Auburn got statistically better against each one. They are on the short list of best teams in school history and easily the most entertaining squad in recent memory. The final today was 59-42. There were only fleeting moments of defense but, if you didn’t watch, the game never felt that close.

Oh, and by virtue of Michigan State downing the laughable Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game. We watched that in a chain restaurant in Newnan, Ga., where we ran into more friends. Because of that game, Auburn is once again going to the BCS championship game.

We sit near people in Jordan-Hare Stadium that waited 53 years, from 1957 to 2010, to see another championship run. Now we’re going to watch Auburn chase a championship for a second time in just four years. My. Goodness. War Eagle.