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BASKETBALL
Bruce Pearl spoke about Danjel Purifoy, a few injured players, and the future schedule of the Tigers during his weekly meeting with the media. There's some really good tidbits in there, I promise.
The ladies will be playing a game a game at 11am on the 16th - which is next Wednesday. There are going to be a number of promotions/deals/perks to entice folks to come to the game.
FOOTBALL
The Lou Groza Award will be announced, tonight. Hopefully #Legatron brings home the hardware. Of the three finalists, he seems to be the best numbers-wise based on WarRoom Eagle's metrics. He also points out that they may have closed the finalists window too soon (to Carlson's favor).
No one is happy about the Birmingham Bowl. Pat Dye is hoping Auburn fans and the team embrace it and have fun, though. I know I'm going to try to make it up there for the game, but that's mainly because I've never been to Legion Field and I think I ought to go for the history of Auburn with the place.
Speaking of which, it looks like Auburn sold out their first allotment of tickets to the game, and have now requested more. I'm sure there's going to be a large Auburn crowd there, given where the game is.
If you want to see how the two teams match up in terms of "Advanced Stats," Bill Connelly posted the comparisons, yesterday. He did those for every single bowl, which had to have been a ton of work.
ESPN has a bit of sunshine pumping for you, as they say Auburn can still reap benefits from Will Muschamp's time at Auburn. If you want to know just how, remember that it was Muschamp and T-Rob that led to or helped us in signing Carlton Davis, Byron Cowart, Jeremiah Dinson, Ryan Davis, and probably Tim Irvin and others, as well. That's a big haul.
One benefit Auburn will have now that Muschamp is gone falls into the category of how much we're paying assistants. Auburn had the second highest payroll in the nation (behind LSU) last season. It's doubtful the Tigers will be paying the next defensive coordinator $1.6 million. So, that total payroll will drop at least a little bit. I also wonder if that accounts for "former assistants still on the payroll." Auburn owes a bit less to Ellis Johnson now that he's on the staff at South Carolina.
AL.com has a "Gift Guide" for Auburn Tiger fans. Have an Auburn fan who has everything or thinks they do? Maybe there are some ideas, there.