Kentucky Dispatch Archives
...Anticipation for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight...
...Anticipation for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight... I just re-watched Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. It's been three years since Tarantino released a movie. I needed a break from revising stories, and decided to delve into his last read more...
View the BBC's Southern Rock Documentary on Swampland
Swampland has added the BBC's new Southern Rock Documentary to it front page. Go here to view it - Swampland Front Page
Reflections, Progressions & Horizons
"Will all your money buy you forgiveness? Will it keep you from sickness? Will it keep you from cold? Will all your money Keep you from madness?
A Modern Legacy of America's Finest Archivists
A Modern Legacy of America's Finest Archivists A treasure trove of old, obscure American music exists out there. Bits and pieces of lost American culture preserved between the grooves waits for any listener's ear. This
FX's Justified Leads Elmore Leonard To Release New And Old Books About Raylan Givens
Swampland reviewed Elmore Leonard's fine short story collection When the Women Come Out To Dance last year. The collection has been reissued this week with the new title of
Rich Robinson & Amy LaVere Hit The Road Together In March
Rich Robinson & Amy LaVere Hit The Road Together In March In March, Amy LaVere will tour with
Happy Holidays From Swampland 2011
Happy Holidays From Swampland "Never be impatient with the ones who love you, It might be yourself that you're hurting."
A Birthday Tribute To Sam Shepard
A Birthday Tribute To Sam Shepard Today is the 68th birthday of Sam Shepard. A Swampland Honorary Southern Artist, Shepard has written over 40 read more...
This May Be My Last Time Singing: Raw African-American Gospel On 45RPM 1957-1982
This May Be My Last Time Singing Tompkins Square's latest release is an amazing 3-CD set titled This May Be My Last Time Singing: Raw African-American Gospel On 45RPM 1957-1982. Tompkins Square released this official statement regarding this rare read more...
The Rum Diary On Silver Screens October 28
The Rum Diary In Theaters Oct 28 Bruce Robinson directed a film based on Hunter S. Thompson's novel--The Rum Diary--starring Johnny Depp read more...
Upcoming Interview: Preston Lauterbach's Chitlin' Circuit: And The Road To Rock 'N' Roll
The Chitlin' Circut: And The Road To Rock 'N' Roll Memphis writer Preston Lauterbach's first book--The Chitlin Circut: And The Road To Rock 'N' Roll--arrived in the mail on Monday. An upcoming interview with Lauterbach is on the way, but I wanted to write a quick read more...
A Southern Literary Note on Hemingway's Birthday
A Southern Literary Note on Hemingway's Birthday Today is the birthday of Ernest Hemingway. A southern literary note seems in order to salute one of America's greatest writers...
The Black Crowes Fly Across The Pond
Final Crowe Anniversary Shows This Month The Black Crowes play the final gigs of their 20th Anniversary Tour this month. So far, the band has performed in Italy and Spain. Tonight The Crowes play at the Manchester Academy in England. The next two read more...
Happiness Is A Warm Gun: Trigger Hippy Tour Dates
Trigger Hippy Southern Tour Dates Trigger Hippy just released five new tour dates. Trigger Hippy consists of The Black Crowes' drummer
Swampland's Gospel, Funk & Soul Collection
Swampland's Gospel, Funk & Soul Collection It's arguable that one of America's finest contributions to history is music. Deep forms of music culminated from various influences that mold a specific style. In this dispatch, read more...
Girl Power: A Compilation of Swampland's Most Talented Female Artists
Swampland Salutes Southern Women: Volume 1 Today we'd like to salute all the great southern female artists we've covered here at Swampland. We've compiled a list of cornerstone interviews/articles/reviews pertaining to these talented read more...
Summer Merle Haggard Southern Tour Dates
Upcoming Merle Haggard 2011 Southern Tour Dates Country music legend Merle Haggard prepares for his upcoming summer tour. At 74, Haggard still records, tours and writes timeless music. His work casts a long and wide shadow on American music. Over the years, read more...
O Brother, Where Art Thou? Celebrates 10th Anniversary
O Brother, Where Art Thou? Celebrates 10th Anniversary GRAMMY® ALBUM OF THE YEAR FOR 2001 O Brother, Where Art Thou? CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY WITH EXPANDED TWO-CD DELUXE EDITION NEW BONUS DISC INCLUDES read more...
A Memorial Day Tribute: An Early Salute
A Salute To All The Veterans An early salute for the upcoming weekend... In honor of Memorial Day, and all the read more...
Never A Pal Like Mother
Happy Mother's Day 2011 Happy Mother's Day to Everyone! Since it's Mother's Day weekend, I thought I write a dispatch around the great Atlanta label
Film Reviews of the Past
Swampland Film Reviews of the Past Today's dispatch includes a list of various films reviewed on Swampland. This follows up recent lists of book and
Book Reviews of the Past
Book Reviews of the Past on Mystery and Manners Today I thought I'd include a list of a few books reviewed on Swampland from the past. Perhaps a title will ignite some inspiration for a reader to seek out a specific book or story. While a read more...
Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitizer Prize Winning Journalist, To Speak at University of North Alabama
Isabel Wilkerson, the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in the history of journalism, will be speaking at the University of North Alabama (in Florence, Alabama) at 12:30 PM, Thursday, April 14. read more...
Black Crowe Steve Gorman Sits In With Bobby Keys Band
Bobby Keys Band In Nashville Texas native Bobby Keys played saxophone for The Rolling Stones,
Widespread Panic Begins 25th Anniversary Tour Tonight in Louisville, Kentucky
Opening Night of Widespread Panic 25th Anniversary Tour: Louisville, KY Tonight Widespread Panic begin their 25th Anniversary tour in Louisville, Kentucky. In February Panic played in Athens and Atlanta, Georgia, to commemorate their first gig in read more...
Friendship, Love & Betrayal in Modern Times
Friendship, Love & Betrayal In Modern Times “You got a lot of nerve to say you are my friend When I was down you just stood there grinning…”
Southern College Football – End of an Era
For generations around our Swampland Footprint, the play-by-play announcer of your favorite university was like a part of the family. Yes, there was a time before ESPN and billion-dollar network deals when not every game was on television. Classic voices like Tennessee’s John read more...
Hunter S. Thompson: July 18, 1937-Feb 20, 2005
Hunter S. Thompson: July 18, 1937-Feb 20, 2005 ‘And I will give him the morning star.’ “That’s from read more...
Southern College Football – Can the Big 12 Survive?
The world of college athletics was almost turned upside down last summer when possible conference realignment(s) seemed to be rumored on a daily basis. Would the Big 12 still exist in 2011? Texas and Oklahoma to the Pac-10? Texas or Missouri to the Big Ten? Texas A&M to the SEC? read more...
Like Clockwork, SEC Tops Recruiting
There seems to be a rhythm to each winter over the last few years; an SEC team wins the BCS Championship in January and then the league cleans up in recruiting on the first Wednesday in February. Those two annual events are very intertwined, and we have written for years about how read more...
Southern College Football – SEC Wins Again
LEAD STORY The numbers are staggering: five national titles in row, a 7-0 record in the 13 BCS Championship Games, and five different schools who have won a national crown during those 13 years.
20 Interviews From The Archive
20 Interviews From Swampland/Mystery and Manners Archive Amid other pressing projects, today I thought I’d construct a dispatch regarding 20 interviews from the Swampland/Mystery And Manners archive. Each artist read more...
Southern College Football – Bowl Season
LEAD STORY The BCS Championship Game is almost here, and the fans around our Swampland Footprint are very eager to see if Auburn can earn the SEC’s fifth straight national title. It’s quite the
Merry Christmas From Swampland
Merry Christmas From Swampland Ho, Ho, Ho…I’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas from Swampland. Thanks for all the support. A Happy New Year to you all! Don’t let the Devil get you down. I’ve included a couple of read more...
Southern College Football – Coaching Carousel
LEAD STORY With bowl season beginning and holidays upon us, the big news in our Footprint is the gigantic transformation of the coaching hierarchy in the state of Florida. Do you realize that one-season ‘veteran’ Jimbo Fisher of Florida State is now the dean of read more...
Southern College Football – Championship Week
LEAD STORY The amazing story of Auburn and Cam Newton will continue Saturday when they meet South Carolina in the SEC Championship Game.
Buffalo Radio Show Tonight: Doug Jones (Blind Willy), Rick Cash (Silver Travis), and Author A. Lawrence Haskins
Tonight at 7 pm/est, the Buffalo Radio Show welcomes A. Lawrence Haskins, a novelist whose book "The Whisper of Serpents" is an astounding crime drama. Lawrence is also the mastermind behind his own multi-media empire which includes online talk shows and much read more...
Southern College Football - Week 13 Themes
It’s rivalry week in our Swampland Footprint. Some teams are looking towards league titles (Auburn, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State, NC State, etc.) while some usual stalwarts are just trying to become bowl eligible (Texas, Georgia, Tennessee). The last weekend of the season is the read more...
GRITZ Compilation Volume 5 FREE Dowload Ready!
We are proud to present the new Gritz Stone Ground & Southern Compilation Volume Five. A FREE dowload for the readers of GRITZ! This time we have read more...
Southern College Football - Week 12 Themes
LEAD STORY It finally happened. For the first time since joining the SEC in 1992, the South Carolina Gamecocks will represent the East Division in read more...
Southern College Football - Week 11 Themes
LEAD STORY The Cam Newton saga continues to be the story of the week in college football. It seems very likely that his father was involved in seeking money for his son’s commitment. Does read more...
GRITZ Salutes All Veterans Today, With Thanks
The Latest Episode of Steve Gorman’s Sports
The Latest Episode of Black Crowes' Drummer Sports Show This afternoon I listened to Black Crowes’ drummer Steve Gorman’s weekly sports podcast. They discussed the read more...
Southern College Football - Week 10 Themes
LEAD STORY What an old-fashioned Southern soap opera we have on our hands. I’m sure by now you’ve read (or at least heard about) the ESPN story regarding the recruitment of Auburn read more...
Music Maker's 'Homebrew Hootenanny' (And A Lookback)
Music Maker’s Saturday Homebrew Hootenanny Music Maker Relief Foundation, a non-profit organization, dedicated to assisting neglected southern musicians with daily expenses, instrument acquisition, recording, and read more...
Southern College Football - Week 9 Themes
LEAD STORY So much of the national attention (ESPN) at this point in the college football season goes to just the handful of teams in the BCS chase. Auburn-- as well read more...
Dylan, Petty & Drive By Truckers Participate In ‘Back To Black Friday’
Dylan, Petty & Drive By Truckers Participate In ‘Back To Black Friday’ In support of independent record stores, November 26 stands as ‘Back To Black Friday’. Artists such as Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, The Drive By Truckers, Iron & Wine, U2, read more...
Southern College Football - Week 8 Themes
LEAD STORY It’s a huge weekend in the Big 12, with conference and national title implications. Top-ranked Oklahoma travels to undefeated Missouri, while read more...
Southern College Football - Week 7 Themes
LEAD STORY With South Carolina’s huge 35-21 victory over Alabama, the SEC’s current streak of four straight National Championships looks to be in read more...
Nobel Peace Prize Campaign For Willie Nelson
Nobel Peace Prize Campaign for Willie Nelson A Nobel Peace Prize Campaign has been launched for Willie Nelson and his FARM AID efforts. For the last 25 years Nelson has assisted the American farmer through FARM AID as well as raised awareness of healthy foods.
It's Never Too Late To Read a Banned Book
I recommend that you start with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or perhaps All The King's Men, or even To Kill A Mockingbird which just celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. The great poet T.S. Eliot once said that his parents forbade him to read more...
President Obama Describes Meeting Bob Dylan
President Obama Describes Meeting Bob Dylan On September 17, 2010, President Obama conducted an interview with Jann Wenner for Rolling Stone magazine. It’s an extensive read more...
Southern College Football - Week 4 Themes
LEAD STORY Week 4 will be ‘Definition Saturday’ in our Swampland Footprint, especially in the SEC West. We should begin to see the true identity of many of our teams and what they have the potential to achieve in 2010.
Inside Alabama Politics: Fish Frys, Barbecues, and Chittlin' Suppers
According to my friend Dr. Susan Parker, Alabama politics is not just about politics; it is about food and lots of it. No political rally is complete without a read more...
Southern College Football - Week 3 Themes
LEAD STORY After last season, we wrote how the ACC would look for improvement in 2010. Last year’s campaign was summed as read more...
42 Years Later: Buffalo Springfield Reunites At Bridge School Benefit
Buffalo Springfield Reunites At Young’s Bridge School Benefit Buffalo Springfield will reunite for the first time in 42 years at
2010 SEC Season Outlook
The nation’s toughest conference looks primed for another stellar season on the gridiron. Alabama and Florida, the last two National Champions, will aim for a third straight appearance in the SEC title game.
The Squidbillies' Georgia Connection
Wicked Laughs On The Squidbillies Squidbillies is an animated television series on Cartoon Network. It’s about The Cuylers--a family of squids living a quiet little north Georgia town. This counts as the fifth season of Squidbillies. Born in read more...
Hunter S. Thompson's Wife Keeps The Faith On Owl Farm Blog
The Fifth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina Anita Thompson, the wife of late writer Hunter S. Thompson, still lives at their home--Owl Farm--in Woody Creek, Colorado. Anita keeps the spirit of her husband’s writing alive on her
The Black Crowes: 20 Years of Tall Tales
The Black Crowes: 20 Years of Tall Tales On August 3—the street date for Croweology—The Black Crowes will release a web series called read more...
SEC Media Days Attract Huge Attention
The SEC tops the nation when it comes to college football so it should be no surprise that the "Media Days" in July draw so much interest. Media members from all over the country marvel at the three day spectacle that has gridiron fans counting the days until the season read more...
The Black Crowes' Croweology Set For Release On August 3
Black Crowes Double Live CD Croweology Out Aug 3 The Black Crowes will release Croweology on August 3. Croweology represents all acoustic versions of songs culled from their last 20 years. Earlier this year, The Crowes entered into Los Angeles' Sunset read more...
SEC Continues Its Run of Excellence
The SEC ended another stellar year with another national championship. South Carolina won the school’s first ever national title when they swept UCLA at the College World read more...
Reading "The Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans" by David Lummis
Perhaps because I was an English professor for most of my life, friends are always asking me what good book I have read recently. Well, I am happy to report that I have
Music For A Cause: Benefit Concerts from Nashville to Gulf Shores
One week after country music stars rallied to raise over $2 million for Nashville, TN, flood relief,Jimmy Buffet will give a benefit concert live from
Conference Realignment: Gene Stallings Has A Texas-Sized SEC Vision For A&M
Consider us here at Swampland Sports a bit ahead of our time. In September of 2007, we published an article about realigning southern college conferences so that read more...
Candy Coburn is a Country Rockin' Treasure
Candy Coburn is one rocking country read more...
Talented Texans and Bengals Look for Consistency
Two teams in our Swampland Footprint that will look to repeat a winning season in 2010 are the Cincinnati Bengals and the Houston Texans. Both franchises have seemed to be a little snake-bitten over the last few years. Cincinnati looked like an exciting passing team on the rise in read more...
NFL Draft Impressions: Rams Get Their Man; Jags Disappoint Their Fans
Did your team improve? Is your fan base excited about the direction of your squad? We will take an in-depth look at the NFL Draft over the next couple of weeks, but wanted to give our read more...
Steve Gorman Sports Covers The Kentucky Derby
Black Crowes Drummer Steve Gorman Travels Home For The Derby Kentucky-native and Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman hosts a radio “The Backbeat of Sports” show in Nashville. It’s a fine sports-music show. Steve was a serious athlete in high school and read more...
The Black Crowes Announce New Studio Album, "Say Goodnight To The Bad Guys" Tour & Hiatus
The Black Crowes Announce New Album, Tour & 2011 Hiatus The Black Crowes announced yesterday they will release a studio album of all acoustic material to commemorate their 20th Anniversary
Celebrate Record Store Day 2010!
Record Store Day 2010 is read more...
NCAA Title Stays on Tobacco Road
We took a lot of pride in our Swampland Footprint this January when the SEC claimed a fourth straight BCS Title, and now the ACC has brought us that same feeling with another NCAA basketball championship. Duke held off a gutsy Butler squad for a thrilling 61-59 victory that
Big East Teams In Our Region Have Great Potential
As we wrap up our coverage of Signing Day and recruiting, there are three Footprint teams in the Big East that deserve a mention.
Jimmy Hall Added to GRITZFEST LIneup
We are happy to announce the addition of Jimmy Hall to the lineup for GRITZFEST II, to be held at Crossroads Music Hall in Huntsville, Alabama on Friday evening, February 26th beginning at 7:30 PM. The concert will benefit GRITZ Charities, with portions of proceeds going to read more...
Johnny Depp Shooting New Keith Richards Documentary
Johnny Depp Directing Keith Richards Documentary Kentucky-born actor Johnny Depp has always been a
GRITZ Presents All New Volume II Free Compilation Download
The second "Gritz Stone Ground & Southern" compilation is now available! The FREE album download features another
SEC Continues to Rule the Recruiting World
National Signing Day has passed, and once again the teams of the SEC were dominant in the rankings. The conference that has won the last four National Championships (with three different schools) continually pulls in the top classes, and that's what it takes to compete in America's read more...
National Signing Day: Christmas Morning for Southern Football Fans
It’s finally here- a virtual holiday in our Swampland Footprint.
Buffalo's Top Ten List For The Week of January 29, 2010
Howdy guys. Well it's Friday and we are under a winter storm warning so I have assembled a playlist that i feel will warm up anyone's cold day. Check 'em out. 1. Lady
The Long Awaited Lance Ledbetter Interview
The Long-Awaited Lance Ledbetter Interview The story of Dust To Digital is a divine one. In the late 1990s, Lance Ledbetter set out to discover read more...
Saints vs Colts Present a Dream SPF Super Bowl
Much more to come on this as the Super Bowl approaches, but yesterday's wins by Peyton Manning and the Colts and Drew Brees and the Saints presented our football-hungry region with the best reason yet to watch the Super Bowl.
Prelude To Interview with Dust To Digital's Lance Ledbetter
Prelude To Interview with Dust To Digital President Lance Ledbetter This evening I finished transcribing my interview with the President of read more...
Sunday Southern Rock Videos
Here are a few videos for your Sunday spotlighting some of the artists featured on our free Stone Ground & Southern Compilation. Check 'em out and if you haven't yet downloaded your free album,
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia Still Searching for New Defensive Coordinator
Bud Foster, John Chavis, and Kirby Smart. That looks like a list of top defensive coordinators in our Swampland footprint, but it also the candidates who have turned down the chance to work for Mark Richt this offseason.
Download The New GRITZ Digital Compilation FREE
It's quite a special day in the Swampland. Today we begin our monthly series of digital music compilations. and every month we will be offering you the GRITZ reader a FREE download of new music from many of the artists you read about here in GRITZ. The first read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Bama Win Keeps SEC on Top
The SEC captured a fourth straight National Title Thursday night with Alabama’s 37-21 win over Texas in the BCS Championship Game.
SEC Daily Fever: Alabama Playing for National Title and Conference Pride
Alabama has played their way back to the national forefront over the last two years, and they will try to cap that run with a victory over Texas in tonight's BCS Championship Game. If the
SEC Daily Fever: Meyer Faces Tough Choices Between Florida and Family
Some important decisions are now at hand for Urban Meyer and the Florida athletic department. After the Gators destroyed an overmatched Cincinnati team (dealing with read more...
Looking Back at 2009
On the last day of 2009, I thought it only made sense to recount the ten most imortant events of the year from the GRITZ perspective. 1. The Allman Brothers Band read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Meyer Saga Leaves Doubt Around UF Program
What a roller coaster of a week it’s been for Florida Gator fans. The wishy-washy Urban Meyer drama has left a cloud of uncertainty over the program read more...
Merry Christmas
Mystery And Manners Christmas Dispatch Ho Ho Ho Folks, Merry Christmas! I'd like read more...
2009 Top 20 New Music Releases
Top 20 Mystery And Manners 2009 Music Releases I hate to split hairs, and even begin to rank music but read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Saban Not Worried about Facing Former Assistants in Title Game
The media has raised the question recently whether or not Texas assistants Will Muschamp and Major Applewhite, who served under Nick Saban at LSU and Alabama respectively, give the Longhorns any advantage with their familiarity of the Tide coach as they prepare for the BCS Title read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Gator Fans not feeling the Sugar Bowl after SEC Title Loss
It currently looks like Florida fans are not very fired up for the Sugar Bowl against Cincinnati. As we approach Christmas, the Gators are read more...
A Little Help From My Friends: A Big Thank You
I would like to say a public “thank you” to those who helped us out during the past few months. Some donated items for an auction to help with medical bills and equipment, while others made cash and in kind donations to help both GRITZ and the ol’ Buffalo himself. read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Brooks receives accolade for another solid season at Kentucky
The website collegefootballnews.com had a very interesting choice for their conference Coach of the Year- Rich Brooks of Kentucky.
SEC Daily Fever: Vols Sign Simms Youngest Son
Many teams in the conference added a junior college prospect or two yesterday, and one of the more interesting names to sign was quarterback Matt Simms at Tennessee. Besides the fact that he is the son of Phil Simms, this signing is interesting because his older brother (Chris read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Meyer's December Shows the Roller Coaster of Being an SEC Boss
From the outside looking in, things appear pretty sunny for Urban Meyer at the University of Florida. He is 56-10 in five seasons in Gainesville, has won two League and two National Titles, had an undefeated regular season this year, and has another Top 10 recruiting class on the read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Spurrier Extended at South Carolina
it may not seem like a big deal that South Carolina added an extra year to Steve Spurrier's contract this week, but it shows the USC administration is sticking with the program. After some late season fizzles the last few years, it would be easy to jump right back into the coaching read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Ingram Wins Bama's First Heisman
There aren’t many “firsts” left with the University of Alabama’s football history, especially now that Mark Ingram became the Tide’s only Heisman Trophy read more...
The Best Releases of 2009
Well, it’s time once again to run down the GRITZ Best Albums of 2009. It wasn’t easy. There was a lot of good music this year, but we narrowed it down to our twenty best. Let us know what you think.
SEC Daily Fever: Kiffin denies any wrongdoing
In one year on the job at Tennessee, Lane Kiffin has become a lightning rod for the national and regional media. His brash attitude and recruiting prowess has rubbed some writers and some other coaches the wrong way.
The GRITZ Top Ten for Friday, December 11, 2009
1. “Monday Morning Meltdown” Gov’t Mule From their new (and red hot) release. Just one of Warren Haynes’ amazing new compositions. Got Mule? 2. “Tougher read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Alabama Proves That It Takes Money To Make Money
Last January, Swampland answered the national media criticism of escalating coach’s salaries by saying “SEC Coaching Dollars Make Sense”. read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Kiffin Must Replace Some Top Recruiters
A constant theme on Tribal Fever has been the importance of recruiting, and how all of the top teams in the conference recruit at the highest level.
SEC Daily Fever: All-League Squad Looks Like NFL Draft Primer
The SEC is considered the big dog conference in college football right now, especially with Alabama aiming to win the league’s fourth straight National Title. With
SEC Daily Fever: Alabama Domintates Florida in SEC Title Rematch
Alabama rode a physical offense and a swarming defense to the SEC crown as they defeated the defending league and national champion Florida Gators 32-13.
The Black Crowes End Before The Frost Tour In San Francisco
Black Crowes Tour End This Weekend This weekend The Black Crowes end their
SEC Daily Fever: Championship Game Becomes the "Southern" Super Bowl
It’s finally here. #1 vs. #2. Florida vs. Alabama- 24 wins and no losses. Winner goes to the BCS Title Game, while the loser heads reluctantly to the Sugar Bowl.
SEC Daily Fever: Richt Fires Martinez, Other Defensive Assistants
About ten days ago, we wrote how Georgia fans wanted some changes in Mark Richt's staff after a frustrating season.
SEC Daily Fever: Florida Dealing with Distraction before Big Game
Florida was dealt a self-imposed blow this week in their quest to repeat as SEC and national Champions. All-American defensive end Carlos Dunlap
SEC Daily Fever: Could Florida and Alabama Play Twice?
It’s time to address the question on the minds of many college football fans- if Texas loses in the Big 12 Championship Game and the SEC Game is a close one, could we see a Florida-Alabama rematch in the BCS Title Game?
SEC Daily Fever: Thrilling Weekend Shows League's Strength
The SEC saved its best for the last week of regular season play. There were a number of exciting games where the conference showed its power and depth.
SEC Daily Fever: Bama Barely Escapes in Thrilling Iron Bowl
Much like Texas on Thursday night, Alabama got a scare from their in-state rival but also remained unbeaten with a 26-21 last-minute win.
The GRITZ Top Ten for Friday, November 27, 2009
Every Friday GRITZ brings you our “Top Ten,” a playlist of songs past and present that we have been listening too here in the office - songs you just can’t live without. Check ‘em out and please leave a comment. 1. Amos Moses
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia and Mark Richt Could be Staring at 6-6
Many around our Footprint (and the country) believe Les Miles is having the toughest week amongst SEC coaches, but you could argue that it's even worse for Georgia's Mark Richt right read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Wild Sequence Ends with LSU Gaffe, Ole Miss Win
The ending of the LSU-Ole Miss game had fans all over the country glued to their TVs, and scratching their heads as well. The Tigers missed both chances to tie the game on a two-point conversion with 1:17 left, but then recovered an onside kick to keep their hopes read more...
The GRITZ Top Ten for Friday, November 20, 2009
Every Friday GRITZ brings you our “Top Ten,” a playlist of songs past and present that you just can’t live without. Check ‘em out and please leave a comment. 1. “Ramblin”
SEC Daily Fever: Ole Miss Looks To Continue Late Season Surge Against LSU
The top two teams in the conference have been pretty clear for a while, and the rematch in Atlanta is already set for Florida and Alabama. But who's next? LSU has seeimngly been that third squad all year with their only two losses coming against the Gators and Tide. One team read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Chizik's First Year Shows Promise
Auburn suffered a tough loss to Georgia last weekend to fall to 7-4, but even the heavy crtics of Gene Chizik’s hiring would have to admit it's been a good first season. The Tigers will take this Sataurday off as they prepare for the Iron Bowl. And speaking of Alabama,
SEC Daily Fever: Florida's Defense Leading the Way in 2009
While Tim Tebow gets all of the national attention, SEC fans know why the Gators have maanaged to stay undefeated once again this year-- their stellar defense. The Florida read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Brooks Making History At Kentucky
With their win over Vanderbilt last Saturday, Kentucky became bowl eligible for the fourth straight season. The Wildcats went to three straight bowl games in the read more...
Tuesday Reviews: Lingo, Kentucky Headhunters
Hi Gang. Well, it's Tuesday and that means new CD reviews. Today I have a "two-fer Tuesday" for you. Two great CDs you don't want to miss. One is from a long established Southern Rockin' country band, and the other from one of the hottest new young bands I have seen read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Ole Miss' McCluster Has Record Day Against Distracted Vols
Wonder if Ole Miss would increase the speed limit on campus from 18 (Archie Manning's retired number) to 22 after Saturday? #22 Dexter McCluster had a monster read more...
The GRITZ Top Ten for Friday, November 13, 2009
Every Friday GRITZ brings you our “Top Ten,” a playlist of songs past and present that you just can’t live without. Check ‘em out and please leave a comment. 1. Save The Planet Dixie Tabernacle From the
SEC Daily Fever: Kiffin Must Be Decisive In Dealing With Player Arrest Incident
For Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, this week was supposed to be about continuing the Vols current momentum (on the field as well as recruiting) and winning the "Coach O" game in Oxford. Instead, he's dealing with his first 'crisis management' experience as three UT freshmen read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia And Mark Richt Desperate For An Auburn Win
Georgia fans are feeling a little nervous these days. The Bulldogs have already been blown out by two rivals, Tennessee and Florida, and they will face two more in Auburn and Georgia Tech over the next three games.
SEC Daily Fever: Spurrier Says He's Staying At South Carolina For The Long Term
As South Carolina and head coach Steve Spurrier prepare to host #1 Florida on Saturday, this game is a reminder to Gamecock fans of what their coach built at his alma mater and what has not happened in Columbia.
SEC Daily Fever: Officiating Issues Creates Negative Vibes For Top League
It’s the story that won’t go away- another week, another game where bad officiating dominates the league conversation. The SEC read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Alabama Beats LSU, Wins West
Alabama won a physical 24-15 battle against LSU on Saturday, and they now have cemented the highly-anticipated SEC Championship Game rematch with Florida. The Tide read more...
Swampland Search Engine and Links
Dear Y'all, I have had many people asking me about our site search engine, and I want to assure you all that it is being worked on. We are aware of the issues with the searches and the bad links and our webmaster is working to resolve the issues as soon as possible. We are read more...
SEC Daily Fever: LSU-Alabama Is The National Game Of The Week
The eyes of the college football world will be on Tuscaloosa Saturday afternoon when #9 LSU meets #3 Alabama. This game has conference and national read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Meyer looks bad after Spikes debacle
Many fans around the league are asking the question this week: what kind of program is Urban Meyer running in Gainesville? While many have questioned Meyer’s recruiting read more...
Gritz Fan Page On Facebook to Offer Special Surprises
The Gritz Fan Page at Facebook is up and running. I hope you will all take the time to
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia's Richt looks to right ship in Athens
While much of the attention following the Florida-Georgia game has been on Brandon Spikes eye-gouging of Washaun Ealey, the reality for the Bulldogs is that they have the feel of a program that has slipped a notch from past seasons.
SEC Daily Fever: Seemingly Insufficient Punishment For Spikes Sparks Controversy
Is a half-game suspension at home against Vanderbilt really a punishment? That’s what many are wondering after Urban Meyer read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Freshmen SEC Coaches Seeing Success
One of the consistent themes in the conference this season has been the effect of the three new coaches. That continued on Saturday with Tennessee, Auburn, and Mississippi read more...
SEC Daily Fever: "Cocktail Party" Remains A Great Southern tradition
It's more than just a football game. Whether it's golf tournaments, concerts, or just a long weekend with friends, the Georgia-Florida game has become a can't miss event for both fan bases and for read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Ole Miss Looks To Finish Strong
As Ole Miss prepares to travel to Auburn this Saturday, Houston Nutt's team will look to build the same second half of the season momentum that they did in 2008.
SEC Daily Fever: Tebow Shuns The Media
An interesting scenario happened after the Florida win at Mississippi State; Tim Tebow did not meet with the media.
SEC Daily Fever: Officials Under Heavy Scrutiny
Here we go again-another week, another rash of bad and missed calls that have SEC coaches angry. A week after Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino was reprimanded by the league office, two more read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Bama Hangs On Against Tennessee
We have used the term "survive and advance" several times during league play, and that's just what Alabama (barely) did with their 12-10 victory over read more...
SEC Daily Fever: LSU needs Auburn win to stay on league's top shelf
Most in the local and national media are already looking towards December for the highly- anticipated Florida-Alabama matchup in Atlanta, but one team who has the talent to throw a wrench in that scenario is LSU.
SEC Daily Fever: Nutt Back In Spotlight As Ole Miss Prepares For Arkansas
When the 2009 season kicked off, Ole Miss looked to be a contender in the West while the Arkansas was supposed to play the role of spoiler - but roles could be reveresed after this Saturday's game.
Johnny Depp and Tom Waits In New Terry Gilliam Film
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus Kentucky native Johnny Depp stars in a new Terry Gilliam film with
SEC Daily Fever: Kiffin And Saban Build Their Programs Using Past NFL Perspective
As Tennessee and Alabama prepare for their annual October clash, the Vols seem to be a couple of recruiting classes behind the Tide in building a roster to compete for a league title.
SEC Daily Fever: League Refs Under Scrutiny After Missed Calls
It seems to happen every week- fans gripe about the refs. While part of that is just fans being fans, this season has seen an especially high number of questionable calls around the SEC.
SEC Daily Fever: Florida Squeaks By Arkansas, Drops to #2 in AP
We wrote on Friday that Florida could be in for a classic trap game against Arkansas, and that’s what it turned out to be.
SEC Daily Fever: Should Florida be on Upset Alert?
Is this the one? Even though the Florida Gators have won two of the last three National Titles, they lost a surprising game in the middle of both of those seasons. Urban read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Can LSU Still Challenge For the West Crown?
We wrote earlier this week that it’s beginning to look more and more like a Florida-Alabama rematch in the SEC Title Game.
SEC Daily Fever: Snead and Ole Miss Are Struggling
Along with Georgia, one of the most frustrated fan bases in the league at the halfway point has to be that of Ole Miss. Their record will not look that bad after read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia Coaching Staff Under Fire
There is some extra heat radiating from Athens these days, as Mark Richt tries to regroup his Bulldogs after being blown out by Tennessee. AJC columnist Mark Bradley called Georgia’s 45-19 loss in Knoxville “
SEC Daily Fever: Florida and Alabama On Path For Title Rematch
Tim Tebow did start and play against LSU Saturday night, but it was the Gator defense that dominated the game and propelled Florida to a 13-3 road victory in Death Valley.
The Black Crowes Fly Through The South
Crowes Fly South Atlanta’s own dirty birds—
SEC Daily Fever: Will LSU's Running Game Beat Florida?
Prime time national television audience, Baton Rouge, #1 vs. #4; this one should be fun. That’s the scenario as Florida travels to LSU amid questions read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Arkansas Has Much To Prove Against Auburn
Arkansas came into the season with the goal of at least being a factor in the SEC West, if not more. Already at 0-2 in league play, the Hogs begin a stretch this Saturday read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Saban and Nutt Share Mutual Admiration
While the Florida-LSU matchup is getting much of the conference attention this week, another key league game will take place when Ole Miss hosts Alabama. The read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Auburn Faces Offensive Shootout At Arkansas
While most of the attention in the league has gone to the three teams in the Top 4 of the polls, maybe the best story of the early season has been the resurgence of Auburn.
SEC Daily Fever: LSU's Tight Win Sets Up SEC Mega-Clash
It may not have been the most well played game, but what a finish we all got to see in Athens Saturday. LSU led Georgia 6-0 after three quarters, read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia Looks To Define 2009 Season Against LSU
Saturday’s huge clash between Georgia and LSU will go a long way in defining the Bulldogs’ season. Mark Richt’s bunch is 3-1, a pretty solid record read more...
SEC Daily Fever: LSU Can Prove Their Top 5 Ranking Between the Hedges
LSU will begin a brutal three-game stretch this Saturday that will test their lofty #4 national ranking.
SEC Daily Fever: Auburn Faces Litmus Test in Tennessee
It has been quite the successful beginning at Auburn for new coach Gene Chizik. His Tigers have started 4-0 while putting up 45.3 points and 526 yards a game, read more...
Buffalo's Top Ten List For The Week of September 29th, 2009
1. Kris Kristofferson Closer to the Bone (CD) I wear this one like a warm winter coat. To me, it is what music is all about - great songs, no frills, read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Hogs Desperate for Win in Big D vs Texas A&M
Can you have a must-win game at the beginning of October against a non-conference opponent? That’s the feeling around an Arkansas squad that sits at read more...
The Black Crowes, Widespread Panic and Bloodkin Week on Mystery and Manners
Mystery And Manners Highlights Three Rock and Roll Forces This week on Mystery And Manners read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Is Bama the league's top dog?
Florida still has the #1 spot in the national polls, but many believe Alabama is staking a claim as the best team in the read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Gamecocks Embrace the Spotlight While the Rebels Wither
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. South Carolina played a physical game led by their relentless defense and took down #4 Ole Miss 16-10, Thursday night in Columbia in a classic SEC headknocker.
Poets Jeanie Thompson and Kathleen Driskell at Athens State University
Poets Jeanie Thompson and Kathleen Driskell will be reading from and talking about their latest collections of poetry at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009, at
SEC Daily Fever: Rebels-Gamecocks Ready To Prove It in Primetime
It should be a great Thursday night national television matchup between Ole Miss and South Carolina, two teams that have a lot to prove.
SEC Daily Fever: It's Offense vs Defense When Arkansas faces Alabama
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. One of the more interesting storylines this Saturday will be seeing
SEC Daily Fever: Verbal Jabs Between Meyer and Kiffin Escalate
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. New Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin may have gotten the first word in between him and Urban Meyer when he boldly (or stupidly depending on your point of view) announced read more...
SEC Daily Fever: New Coaches Show Early Promise
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. The story of the early SEC season continues to be the impact of the new coaches. We already knew the strength of the top teams in the league (Florida, read more...
Buffalo's Top Ten List For The Week of September 19th, 2009
1. Swampdawamp Rock This Country (CD) The singer has one of the most unusual voices since Jim Dandy, and the band just plain rocks, read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Meyer Looks To Make Statement Against Kiffin
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. The national media has had this game circled since Lane Kiffin's hiring press conference earlier this year. Kiffin and Tennessee will travel to the Swamp this read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Hogs-Dawgs Could Be The SEC Game of The Weekend
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. One of the more interesting matchups of the weekend has to be Georgia traveling to Arkansas. (Give Mark Richt credit - his tough schedule has kept his team on read more...
Pat Conroy Contest Topic #2: The Significance of Family in Southern Writing
"You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain't going to have any blood stick to you" says the barn-burning father Ab Snopes to his ten year old son Sarty shortly before Ab burns yet another barn and Sarty turns his back on his father and runs away into the dark read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Chizik Tries To "Manage" Auburn Fans' Expectations
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Auburn fans have had more than a little frustration with their offense over the last few seasons.
SEC Daily Fever: Kiffin Continues Tennessee's Recruiting Gains
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Saturday was a tough day for Lane Kiffin and the Vols.
SEC Daily Fever: UGA and South Carolina Deliver Early Season Drama
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. What a game between Georgia and South Carolina. With their recent history, we all expected a low scoring, defensive affair.
SEC Weekend Fever: Mullen vs. Chizik
SEC Weekend Fever Previews Top Stories for the Upcoming Weekend Auburn hosts Mississippi State in 2009's first meeting between SEC rookie coaches. Quite a lot has changed in a year for both squads.
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia & South Carolina Ready Defenses For A Tight Game
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Mark Richt and Steve Spurrier are both offensive-minded coaches, but it looks like they have to rely on their defenses to win early in 2009.
SEC Daily Fever: Gut Check time for Georgia
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. After dropping the opener at Oklahoma State, it is a huge week for Georgia as they try to avoid an 0-2 start when they battle South Carolina Saturday.
SEC Daily Fever: Solid Debuts For New Coaches Makes Conference Even Deeper
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. With the exception of the Georgia loss, it was a pretty solid start for the SEC. The biggest story had to be the debut of the three new coaches.
SEC Daily Fever: Spurrier Lets Defense Rule Over Wolfpack
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. It wasn’t pretty, but South Carolina relied on their defense for a hard fought read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Tide Duo cleared to play in Opener
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Although the NCAA did find a violation in the Alabama case involving receiver Julio Jones and running back Mark Ingram,
SEC Daily Fever: Auburn Opener Provides Dilemma for Vince Dooley
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. An interesting scenario presents itself for SEC legend Vince Dooley in the Auburn-Louisiana Tech opener.
SEC Daily Fever: Embattled Dawgs D Gets Opening Challenge
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. While much of the talk in Athens has been about replacing Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, the key to the 2009 Georgia season may lie in the improvement of the read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Bama Locks Up Saban For Another 3 Years
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. A contract extension for Nick Saban, whose megadeal already runs through 2014?
SEC Daily Fever: Ole Miss Fans Hoping For a Monumental Season
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Coming off a Cotton Bowl win and with quarterback Jevan Snead returning, the expectations at Ole Miss are as high as ever. The fan base has responded by
SEC Daily Fever: Vols' Brown cleared by the NCAA
$(document).ready(function() { $('p > a[href*=swampland]').after(''); $('p > read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Latest On Julio Jones and Alabama
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. It's the story that just won't go away in Alabama.
No Holds Barred: Blackjack Mulligan
Of all the wrestlers I have seen step into the squared circle, none was more exciting than the “man in black,” the Texas giant known as Blackjack Mulligan.
SEC Daily Fever: How will Kiffin's offense fare in Year 1?
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. As expected, Tennessee has named senior quarterback Jonathan Crompton the read more...
SEC Daily Fever: The Gamecock Spotlight Shines on Garcia in South Carolina
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know It’s nothing new for Steve Spurrier to seem upset with the play of his quarterbacks.
SEC Daily Fever: SEC Media Policy Upsets the Press
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know A huge debate is about to happen regarding the direction of the league’s media coverage.
SEC Daily Fever: Eligibility of Prized Vol Recruit Under NCAA Scrutiny
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know The highly-publicized recruitment of Tennessee’s Bryce Brown has taken an interesting turn a few weeks before the top running back is set to make read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Tough Break for Improving Vandy
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know Vanderbilt’s defense suffered a major blow with
SEC Daily Fever: Tough Injury for the Razorbacks
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. The Arkansas defense has suffered a major loss with the news that
SEC Daily Fever: Auburn Names QB Starter
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Chris Todd was recently named the starting quarterback at Auburn, and he
Toby Keith's Controversial New Video, See It Here
Toby Keith has never been one to hold back on his feelings. Now he has a new song and video that are already stirring up controversy. Imagine that. I'll leave the commenting up to you, our readers. Let us know what you think! Meanwhile... Keep it Real. Keep it read more...
Thoughts On The Death of Mike Seeger
The music world lost another good one last week with the death of folk pioneer Mike Seeger. Derek Halsey turns in a thoughtful memorial to one of the best. Check it out read more...
More Legends Added to Photo Scrapbook
Howdy y'all. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. It's time once again to add another page to our ongoing Legends of Southern Rock Photo Scrapbook. No theme this time, read more...
In Defense of Steve Spurrier: How The Ole Ball Coach's Honest Humility Might Help Carolina
Is the SEC seeing a new side of Steve Spurrier in the wake of what seemed to be an uncharacteristic performance at this year's SEC Media Days? His current situation hinges around a piece Swampland Sports wrote last February
Levon Helm's Electric Dirt Remains True To American Musical Soil
Levon Helm's Electric Dirt You can't say enough about
Summer Tour Notes Volume 5: Music Maker Relief Foundation
Mystery And Manners' Summer Tour Notes Number 5: Music Maker My friend
Can the Big 12 or the ACC catch the SEC?
With every football season, the conversation around the nation leads to the inevitable question- who is the best conference? Many fans answer the same every year (their favorite) while others look a little more objectively. I found it interesting a couple of weeks ago when separate read more...
Candy Coburn, The Mule and Cool Magazines
It was a banner day here as far as the US Mail goes. I came home from seeing the new Harry Potter movie (okay, you can all just stop laughing now read more...
Orrin Hatch's Folly: Senator, College Football Is About Conferences, Not Teams
After concluding Senate hearings about the BCS, Senator Orrin Hatch wrote an op-ed piece that appeared on ESPN.com. Here's a selection of that article: During the June 7 read more...
Candy Coburn Speaks With Swampland
I must apologoze to Candy Coburn and her team for taking so long to get her interview posted. Honestly, my health issues started the weekend I went to Nashville for her showcase, and have just now begun to heal. Thank God. I am so excited about the interview and read more...
The Shocking Loss of Steve McNair
So there I was in Nashville- relaxing by the water with friends on the 4th of July like most of us like to do. Then I heard something that made the festive holiday mood fade quickly; “Steve McNair had been shot”. Could this really be, or maybe it was just bad read more...
Guns for God?
"I don't see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist." - Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church in read more...
NBA Draft: Swampland's Pro Hoops Teams
Pro sports has a problem in the Swampland Footprint. Considered the top level of competition and interest throughout the rest of the country, the pro game doesn't resonate with read more...
Southern Baseball Leads the Way Again
On the eve of the College World Series and Major League Draft, we thought we should take a look at some of the top baseball prospects in our Swampland read more...
Allman Brothers, Bonnie Bramlett and More Posted On New Legends Scrapbook Page
Hey gang! More new Southern Rock photos have been posted in the Legends Scrapbook. Allmans, Tucker, Bonnie Bramlett and much more. Check it out here! Keep read more...
Jimmy Hall, Artimus Pyle, And Other Southern Rockers Band Together For Dixie Tabernacle
There has been an abundance of “all star” Southern Rock groups over the past few years. Some of them stay the course, while others fall by the wayside, often due to scheduling conflicts. Well, there’s one band that I sincerely hope keeps it together to record an read more...
Win a Dean Guitar Signed by Legends of Southern Rock
Hi Guys. It's time for the much talked about, long awaited Legends of Southern Rock Contest, brought to you by Swampland and the Facebook Groups
Random Notes, Hoopee Jam, Boxmasters and Such
Greetings, Sports Fans. I was hoping to have our new Boxmasters interview ready for you today, but it turned out to be quite an opus. Still transcribing. But man oh man, is it a good one. I had the opportunity read more...
Parcells Formula Works Again in Miami
Retirement and South Florida mix very well for many of us, but not for Bill Parcells. He left the comforts of retired life to return to football and resuscitate the fading Dolphins, who had been such a successful franchise for many years. Coming off a 1-15 debacle in 2007, the read more...
The Colts and Peyton Manning Look to Sustain Their Run of Excellence
Over the last seven seasons, the Colts have been as recognizable as any team in the NFL-same GM, same coach, and same MVP quarterback. They have made the Playoffs in all seven of those years and currently have a league-record six straight 12+ win seasons. Under Bill Polian, read more...
Texans Need to Break Through the Wall of Mediocrity
The pressure will be coming from the top for the Houston Texans to have their first winning season and first postseason appearance in their eighth year in the NFL. Dom Capers, who read more...
2009 Season Represents a Change in Philosophy for the Cowboys
We must start out by saying that our thoughts and prayers here at Swampland are with the Dallas Cowboys family after the horrific collapse of their read more...
Bengals Have Glimpse of Hope with Stellar Draft
Marvin Lewis is entering his seventh season as the Bengals head coach, and 2009 could very well be his make-or-break season to get the culture of losing changed in Cincinnati.
Panthers Making Every Effort to Win Now
It all seemed to be falling into place for John Fox’s club last season. Coming off a losing 2007 campaign where Jake Delhomme only played three games, Carolina rediscovered their physical running game identity in 2008 and won the NFC South. At 12-4 and the #2 seed in the NFC, read more...
Back Home From Nashville and My Head is Still Rockin'
Back from Nashville, after the absolute longest, hardest ride of my life. Yep, it’s true. The six-hour drive took over eight hours, thanks to yet another traffic jam in Knoxville, a truck wreck, and road construction near Asheville. What can you do? At least I read more...
The Kentucky Derby & The Rum Diary
Depp Films Rum Diary “When you’re sitting back In your rose pink Cadillac Making bets on Kentucky Derby read more...
Falcons Future Looks Bright with Dimitroff in Charge
To borrow a line from Robert Randolph, the Atlanta Falcons are now a team that is definitely “going in the right direction". Just two years ago, this organization was in turmoil. Their franchise quarterback, Michael Vick, was arrested on federal charges and consequently read more...
How I Ended Up In Kentucky On My Way Down To Nashville
Well, I got up early today, and even though my back was still ailing me and it was raining outside, I chose to seize the day. I made a few calls, checked e-mail, packed up the Honda, and turned the ignition key. The sound coming from under my hood was not a good one. Long story read more...
Swampland's NFL Draft Impressions
How did your team do? That’s the question that NFL fans are trying to answer following this weekend’s annual NFL Draft. We will take an in-depth look at each team in our read more...
National Poetry Month and Kentuckian Wendell Berry
April is National Poetry Month, and I have been musing over one of my favorite poems that I keep posted on the door of my refrigerator. It is "The Peace of Wild Things" read more...
NFL Teams Draft Their Identity This Weekend
Well it's finally here-Xmas in April for football fans. The ultimate convergence of pro and college football happens today with the annual NFL Draft. This is a day of hope for every fan base, and it's also the day(s) that NFL executives decide on the identity of their respective read more...
Should NFL Teams Lean Towards Drafting Local College Favorites?
A theme that seems to arise every season in our Swampland footprint is the choice of NFL teams to draft a local college favorite. Most professional organizations will deny that this decision ever enters their thinking, and that they always select the next best player on their Draft read more...
Black Crowes Drummer Steve Gorman Hosts Nashville Radio Sports Show
Black Crowes Drummer Steve Gorman Hosts Nashville Sports Show Last night, NASCAR enthusiast
Back To Where it All Began: The Southern Rock Era
I have pretty much decided that the whole "Southern Rock" thing began in 1969. Sure, there were many rock and rollers and rockabillys that lead up to this new genre at the time. Not to mention all the country, blues and gospel players that served as influences on read more...
Matthew Stafford: #1 Pick or Bust? SEC Fans Have Doubts
Few players have a cloud of doubt on them as thick as Matthew Stafford's. Where did these clouds come from? Some have chalked it up to the standard over-analysis during the overly long NFL Draft period that lasts from the end of the college football season to the third read more...
A New (Media) Day Dawning for the SEC
We ran across this video recently, and we thought we'd put it up for everyone to view. It ran at the end of Raycom Sports final SEC game during this past SEC basketball tournament in Tampa. We all know about the SEC's new ESPN deal
Atlanta's Dust To Digital Celebrates Grammy & New Box Set Last Night
Dust to Digital’s Atlanta Grammy Celebration & Release Party A few short notes as a prelude to an upcoming larger read more...
Calipari Looks to Return Kentucky to SEC (and National) Prominence
The big decision has finally been made. After nine years of building up Memphis to a perennial power, John Calipari has decided to leave the Bluff City for the money, big conference pedigree, and read more...
Billy Gillispie's Fate Could Send Big Ripples Throughout the SEC and the Footprint
Mark Wiedmer at the Chattanooga Time Free Press has it right. If Billy Gillispie gets fired, it will create a coaching shakeup around the Swampland read more...
Join Our Southern Rock Group On Facebook
I am very happy to announce our new "Legends of Southern Rock" group on Facebook. If you are a Facebook member, just follow the Legends link above and join us. We have one discussion already read more...
Memories of Hunter S. Thompson Four Years After His Death
Last Friday, February 20th was the fourth year anniversary of the death of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. The Official Flying Dog Brewery posted some great memories of read more...
Mickey Rourke and The Nature Boy: Pro Wrestling and The Oscars
I am more excited than usual about this year’s Oscars, for several reasons, but the primary reason is the one movie that just blew me out of the water lately. That movie was
SEC vs ACC: Clemson and South Carolina Try to Make the Palmetto State Relevant
In continuing our look at the states with both ACC and SEC teams, we move to the Palmetto State, where a ton of changes occurred in the offseason.
Going Gonzo On a Friday Night with Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
It is no secret that, like my Swampland brother in arms James Calemine, I am a long time reader and die hard fan of the late
SEC vs ACC: Georgia and Georgia Tech Battle for Peach State Supremacy
With recruiting classes signed and spring practices approaching, it’s a good time to look at states in the Swampland Footprint that share SEC and ACC teams. We’re going to start in the Peach State, where a long time
The Clock is Ticking for Spurrier at South Carolina
As we continue to take a post-Signing Day look at the coaches and programs in our Swampland Footprint, it’s an interesting time to examine the state of the South Carolina program under Steve Spurrier. An SEC legend as a player and coach at Florida, Spurrier has not yet read more...
In Defense of Lane Kiffin: The SEC "Family Feud" with Urban Meyer
There is no other conference more proud of itself than the SEC. SEC fans from rival teams hate each other with a passion bordering on the pathological, but when success arrives, it is embraced not just for the winning team but for the conference at large.
SEC Dominance - From the Field to Recruiting (And It Isn't Stopping Soon)
The reaction to Signing Day is always interesting as every coach in America is thrilled with their class while fans have mixed reactions to their school’s ranking and new players. Everyone that followed Wednesday's coverage saw plenty of ESPN's favorite big-market teams read more...
Xmas in February for Southern College Football Fans (SEC, Big 12, ACC, Big East)
It’s finally here! National Signing Day is upon us, and this is the time where quality programs establish themselves for the upcoming years. The welcoming of a new recruiting class energizes fans and provides coaches with the opportunity to show that their school will be-or read more...
Mack Brown and the Longhorns Must Judiciously Draw Talent from their Texas Base
Water is wet, the sky is blue, and the University of Texas is working on another top-notch recruiting class. The Longhorns Mine Their State's Natural Talent Base Most BCS schools try to comb their region (if not the read more...
To Stewart Mandel, We Say, "SEC Coaching Dollars Make Sense"
Chalk SI.com's Stewart Mandel as the latest member of the national media that just doesn’t understand the culture of the SEC football landscape. Mandel's latest involves
Lane Kiffin is Already Making an Impact on the SEC (and Paul Finebaum)
A few weeks ago, I wrote how I thought Tennessee and Lane Kiffin were going to be a great fit for each other. There was quite a bit of criticism for a major power in the SEC choosing a read more...
From The GRITZ Vaults: Happy Birthday to Richard Young, Kentucky Headhunters
Our buddy Richard Young, guitarist for The Kentucky Headhunters will have a birthday this Tuesday, January 27th, Richard is 54 years young. (Pun intended.) We read more...
Dungy and the Colts Both Needed a New Direction
A good thing happened in Indy on Monday – Tony Dungy retired from the NFL to spend more time with his family in Tampa Bay. It’s nice to see the veteran head coach pursue his dream read more...
Ole Miss and LSU Cruise; Alabama and South Carolina Snooze
Overall it’s been a pretty good bowl season for the SEC, going 5-2 with Florida left to play in the National Title Game. The highlights include Mississippi and Houston Nutt getting a
Lane Kiffin fits the Vols and the SEC
Tribal Fever did a great job of presenting the challenge that is coaching in the 21st century SEC. I wanted to focus on the Tennessee job where Phil read more...
Swampland's Legends of Southern Rock
Hey gang, check out our Swampland Legends of Southern Rock Series. We are always adding new bands and updating the existing pages, which chronicle the histories of these awesome bands and link to various articles and interviews within GRITZ. Phone the neighbors, wake the read more...
Alvin Ailey, Otis Redding--and Fifty Golden Years!
I recently returned from taking a very small bite out of a very big apple. I traveled to New York City this past weekend with my daughter and a longtime friend to experience Christmas in the city and to attend read more...
The Best Releases of 2008
We are happy to present what we feel are the very best album releases of the past year. Please let us know what you think. Buffalo
SEC and Big 12 Championship Game Reax
The college football regular season ended by giving us the matchup that made the most sense--the SEC Champion vs. the Big 12 Champion. The BCS title game should be a high-scoring, exciting affair and one that all of the fans in our Swampland footprint will appreciate. Florida will read more...
Saturday's Slate: Conference Championships
Here we are, after a week off due to technical difficulties, to find ourselves on the verge of crowning some conference champions and setting up the BCS Title teams. It has been a long and exciting year. Luckily for us, today's games have the potential to live up to the read more...
Mystery And Manners' Top 25 Releases of 2008
Mystery And Manners’ Top 25 2008 Releases 12/5/08 Here’s a list (in no specific rank or order) of Mystery And Manners’ top 25 releases of 2008. The category includes new releases, DVDs, books, re-issues and relevant CDs that read more...
Swampland Footprint National Title: Big 12 vs. SEC
So it’s Oklahoma that gets the chance to represent the Big 12 South in Kansas City, and they will probably get a shot at the National title with a victory. Of read more...
Snowman's Six-Pack of Reax from Saturday
1. It has finally happened. For the first time since 1982, the Vanderbilt Commodores will be eligible to go to a bowl. Vandy rode D.J. Moore read more...
Time to Cowboy Up
Yeeee hah! Legacy Recordings celebrates the 50th anniversary of the National Finals Rodeo with an absolutely killer boxed set of cowboy songs, old and new. This one really brought back memories of my old Roy Rogers guitar, playing in the back yard with my little black read more...
Billy Bob and The Boxmasters On The Road Again with Willie Nelson
I just got word from Billy Bob Thornton's folks that The Boxmasters will hit the road with
Saturday's Slate: SEC vs. Big 12 South Looking Good!
After a season of many a wild ride, a little clarity emerged from last week's games. The SEC has their championship game set. The Big 12 is now down to three (maybe four) potential BCS participants. The rest of our TF conferences have a ways to go, but none of read more...
Snowman's Six-Pack of Reax from Saturday
1. After all of the Nick Saban drama last week in Baton Rouge, we finally got a close game from a SEC marquee matchup. Alabama and LSU staged a very hard-fought battle, but as we’ve written about so much this season in the SEC, the quarterback play was the difference. Alabama read more...
The Gonzo Tapes
The Life And Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson 11/10/08 For the last three days I've been listening to this amazing 5 CD boxset called The read more...
Saturday's Slate: The November Home Stretch Begins!
College football remains the Footprint's most compelling and spectacular sport. The 2008 season has delivered us yet again a roller coaster ride of sporting goodness. The stakes have been high all season. So far, at least two key programs (Tennessee and read more...
End of an Era in Knoxville and the SEC
The Dean of SEC football coaches, Phillip Fulmer, announced on Monday that he would agree with the University of Tennessee’s decision for him no to return for the 2009 season. It was one of the
Snowman's Six-Pack of Reax from Saturday
1. Wow – what an instant classic in the Lonestar State. Texas Tech pulled off an amazing upset of #1 Texas with one second to go and sent their raucous fans read more...
Saturday's Slate: Top Games in Each Conference Will Decide Champions
Georgia and Florida in Jacksonville The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party has more at stake than ever – read more...
Buffalo's Soap Box: The Economy, The Election and Stealing Music
I'm stepping back up onto my reinforced industrial strength Soap Box. You have been warned. Something has to be done. No matter who becomes the president in a few days, there is a huge task ahead. The economy has never been so bad, at least in my life time. It seems read more...
Snowman's Six-Pack of Reax from Saturday
1) The biggest difference between teams in the SEC this season is simply quarterback play. Alabama, Georgia, and Florida came into the season with experienced/quality signal callers, and they have been the class of the league. Lack of experience or just poor play at quarterback has read more...
Saturday's Slate: A Bit of Relative Calm Before the Storm
Although you can't take a week off in college football, this week seems like a palate cleanser before some of the biggest homestretch games are played. November will feature great game after great game and next week's
A Nice Weekend of Hate in the SEC
One of the most hate-filled rivalries in college football will see another chapter written on Saturday when the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide invade Knoxville to take on the Volunteers. The “Third read more...
Rays to Host World Series
The Tampa Bay Rays improbable run to the World Series commences tonight, and their success should be a huge boon for Southern baseball. With the Braves’ NL East dominance over and the Texas teams struggling, Tampa Bay’s club of youngsters provides a blueprint for other read more...
Saturday's Slate: BCS Busters vs. Disciplined Talent
Last week was a lesson in symmetry. Many teams met on the field that looked like mirror images. Something had to give, and it did. 3 of the top 5 teams lost giving the nation a new number one, Texas, who beat Oklahoma in what was probably a top 10 of all time Red read more...
Pro Wrestling in The Seventies: Ox Baker
I am really excited about our brand new, ongoing series No Holds Barred. The series will look at the stars and memories of the hey day of pro wrestling in the south, especially here in the Mid Atlantic area. I will be profiling many of the stars of the sport during the read more...
Saturday's Slate: Symmetry Saturday
We've already been treated to upsets throughout the Tribal Fever landscape, but let's not forget that upsets require a precondition of disparity between teams, etiher real or imagined. This Saturday's games are of a different sort. It seems across the board that all read more...
Pro Wrestling in the South Back in the Day
I was on the phone with a friend last week, just catching up on this and that, when my buddy posed a question. “Did you ever get into pro rasslin’?” Now, for the record, I spell it
Saturday's Slate: Picking Up The Pieces
Last week had USC losing on Thursday which appeared to set up big things for Georgia and Florida. Then, both stumbled last week, but both have a chance to redeem their season. This shapes up to be another great season filled with surprises as another team with destiny read more...
Saturday's Slate: Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead!
Of course, this means that the two perennial pretenders that stand in our way, Ohio State and USC, have both lost and neither appear to have the right kinds of games left to springboard back into the national title hunt. That should mean that the national championship game read more...
Special Edition of Magazine Features Great Southern Rock Articles
Heads up, Southern Rock fans. There’s a magazine out on the stands right now that you are going to want. It’s called Guitar Legends, and the issue is called “The Complete History
Saturday's Slate: Barometer Games (Intra- and Inter-Conference)
This weekend marks the beginning of some classic early season rivalry games inside the SEC. TF has a rundown of all the key games. BEST INTRA-CONFERENCE GAMES
The Only Serious Philosophical Question
The recent death (September 12) of novelist David Foster Wallace (I
Despite the Drumbeat of ACC Criticisms, the Big East Remains the Bigger Problem
The ACC has been this season's early whipping boy thanks to Clemson's beatdown in Atlanta handed to them by Alabama. However, we don't see that game as any long term indicator. That game result resulted primarily because Alabama has a coach that understands how to read more...
The SEC Upgrades To College Football 2.0
The nation at large now sees what the Footprint has long known - SEC Football is dominant and truly in its own league. Despite the hue and cry against it, the BCS has allowed sports fans to see top teams, by and large, go against each other on the field. Since read more...
A Place To Come To
In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “The End of Placeness,” columnist
Gamecocks Destruction of Wolfpack Serves Notice to Clemson and the ACC
Last night was the glorious kick off to the 2008 college football season. Teams from almost every conference had games allowing us some very early previews of what might be coming in the weeks ahead. Everyone now knows about the
A Humorous Comparison of College Football Between the South and the North
As our beloved college football season nears, we at Tribal Fever thought everyone should read this comparison between college football in the South versus our Northern counterparts. (This has been making the rounds via email so many of you might have already seen it - read more...
Barbeque is Not a Verb: A Musical Tribute To Southern BBQ
There's nothing us Southerners like more than barbeque. Football comes close, as does Southern Rock, NASCAR, professional wrestling and cold beer, but when all is said and done, the pork will always rise to the top. Well, some guys from read more...
Ten More Defining Moments in Southern Rock History
Did any of you see Gregg Allman in the movie Rush? He played a drug dealing king pin, and a pretty spooky character. That movie disturbed me more that ten Stephen King flicks, because it was so real. That's why Gregg's role in the movie made our list of
Still More of The Defining Moments in Southern Rock History
Hi guys. My apologies for the two days of down time. We experienced a problem with our DSL internet service that virtually crippled the GRITZ offices for almost two days. We are happy to come back kicking with the
An Ongoing Journey To the Heart of Southern Culture
A Sunday Service On Southern Culture 7/20/08 “The artist penetrates the concrete world in order to find at read more...
Is 8 Wins The SEC's New Over/Under For Coaching Success?
An interesting debate was sparked last week when the University of Tennessee announced it had extended Coach Phillip Fulmer’s contract: What is an read more...
Southern Rock's Most Defining Moments
You've all heard of "going the extra mile" for your art, right? Well, fellow babies, The Buffalo has been doing that for a few days now, assembling a list of The 100 Defining Moments in Southern read more...
GRITZ Radio Hour Premieres Online
Hey guys. As an experiment of sorts, we are presenting a pilot episode of The GRITZ Radio Hour, a two hour program of music hosted by yours truly, and airing over the Mighty Field of Vision internet radio station, now read more...
New Hunter S. Thompson Documentary Bursts In Air On July 4
Gonzo: The Life And Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson Released July 4 6/30/08 "...And this qualifier is the essence of what, for no particular read more...
Female Soul Opens the Summer
A Cast of Female Artists Bloom In Summer 6/23/08 "One day I woke up to find Right in the bed next to mine Some woman broke me read more...
New Documentary Project Will Present the Definitive History of Country Music
I just got the word that Shout! Factory Records and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum are planning to produce a multi-part original series of specials on the history of country music for television and DVD. The partners will seek worldwide broadcast read more...
Southern Literature Series to Premiere on Swampland
“The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past” ( Requiem for a Nun) In William read more...
Watch and Listen: Ten Great DVD's for Southern Rockers
Man oh man do I love movies. I guess movies are my second favorite entertainment besides music. Well, truth be told, books rank right up at the top of that list as well. But when you combine music and movies, look out, you have my attention. For my new list, I wanted to read more...
It's All About The Song: The Greatest Songwriters of The Southern Rock Era
I am probably going to get some other opinions on this one. We're happy to present our list of The Ten Best Songwriters of The Southern Rock Era. Check out the list and let us know what you read more...
With Leadership In Flux, the BCS Proves Its Worth to the Big East
Tribal Fever will never stop its defense of the greatest sport in our Footprint - college football. How a sport that has record ratings and revenue would ever be under scrutiny is beyond us, but we believe the heart of that line of criticism lies in its "limited" read more...
Wash Boards and Chicken Coups: The Ten Best Instrumentalists of Southern Rock
Let me begin by wishing everybody a GREAT weekend. Only one week until the big annual Winters Brothers Band Summer Jam. See you there! Our latest Top Ten list runs down the
Duke Over Notre Dame: College Sports Are Still The King Down South
Since the SEC just wrapped up its meetings down in Destin, Tribal Fever thought it would be a good time to check in. College sports are the glory of The Footprint, and the rest of the nation is taking notice. The significance of yesterday's news that Notre Dame's AD read more...
A Trip to The Keys: Southern Rock's Greatest Keyboard Players
And the lists just keep on coming... This time we run down the Greatest Keyboard Players of the Southern Rock Era. They're all here, the Hammond B-3, the piano - from Chuck Leavell to Taz read more...
Four Strings and An Attitude: Southern Rock's Best Bass Players
How about another Southern Rock List? This time we run down the Ten Greatest Bass Guitar Players of The Southern Rock read more...
Kentucky Finally Gets Its NASCAR Fix
If you build it, they will come.... That seems to be the delayed result at the Kentucky Speedway. This track is perfectly situated between Louisville, Lexington, and Cincinnati and was built and developed by Jerry Carroll. Mark Story of the Lexington read more...
The Top 25 Songs of The Southern Rock Era
And the lists just keep on a comin.' Our latest addition to our Southern Rock Lists is our accounting of the 25 Greatest read more...
Conference USA Must Step Up to Avoid Potential College Football Upheaval
Last year, Tribal Fever presented a modest proposal about conference realignment for teams in the Swampland Footprint. The proposal came from our understanding of the love and passion of college football in read more...
South Dominates College Baseball
by Patrick Snow There is one more week of college baseball before the conference tournaments, and the teams in our Swampland footprint are looking very strong. I had the pleasure this past weekend to attend a great 3-game series between Vanderbilt and Georgia. The Bulldogs read more...
New GRITZ List: Top Vocalists of the Southern Rock Era
"Way down in Alabama/Shoutin' Bamalama..." What a rocking song. What a great singer. I never get tired of listening to Jimmy Hall. Never. Which is why he landed in the top spot in our list of
Southern Gospel Icon Dottie Rambo Dies in Crash
Southern Gospel singer-songwriter Joyce "Dottie" Rambo died early this morning (May 11, 2008) when the bus she was in ran off a road in southwest Missouri and struck an embankment.
New Features, Capricorn Records, Southern Rock Lists
We are happy to add a couple of new ongoing features here at GRITZ. The first is our Tribute to Capricorn Records Page, which features links to all of the articles and interviews related to the Southern read more...
SEC Football Update, Memphis Style!
Ron Higgins was on fire over the weekend. He's one of the best writers about SEC football newspaper writers outside of Tony Barnhart. (For those of you just finding out about Ron, please
The Legends of Southern Rock, a Guide
Greetings from Carolina. We are happy to present our new index page for our Legends of Southern Rock series. From here, you can always surf over to your favorite Southern Rock band's Swampland read more...
...The Kentucky Derby In Athens, Georgia...
Athens, Georgia…May 3, 2008…The Kentucky Derby… “When you’re sitting back In your rose pink read more...
Why Swampland Sports Loves the BCS
Despite winning back to back national titles in football, the SEC susre seems to hate the BCS. Lately, this hatred has been reaching a new level. It all started when University of Georgia President Michael F. Adams announced a proposal for
Vintage GRITZ Articles Unearthed; Hatchet, Skynyrd, Tucker, Ricky Skaggs and More
It's time once again to add a few more Vintage Gritz articles to the archives, and I hope you'll check 'em out for a "blast from the past." Added today is one of our first interviews from 1999 with
Snowflakes: What Are SEC Football Critics Going To Do Now?
With spring football in full gear, it’s never too early to look ahead to the upcoming season. We at Swampland have focused many times on the ongoing theme of the SEC “arms race” in America’s toughest conference schedule to navigate. With Florida and LSU read more...
Outward Bound
“The eye and mind would be functioning as a camera. The writing would be selective and necessarily interpretive—but once the image was written the words would be final.” --Hunter read more...
Football Film "Leatherheads" Brings Hollywood to Carolina
There’s been quite a lot of anticipation here in Greenville, SC over the past few months. I mean, everywhere you go you run into someone who was either an extra in Leatherheads, or helped with something or another on the set. And then there are
Snowflakes: Southern Sweet 16
Here a quick primer for our teams in this weekend’s NCAA Tournament. East – This is definitely the Heavyweight bracket for our Swampland region. With #1 overall seed North Carolina playing near home in Charlotte, the Tar Heels have to be read more...
Season Summary: Cincinnati Bengals
Quick Summary: The Bengals were SPF's most disappointing team from this past season. They have all the tools on paper to be a perennial contender starting with a great QB in Carson Palmer, who has all kinds of skill position help. Unfortunately, read more...
Snowflakes: Why SEC Hoops is No Longer Just Kentucky
With Mississippi and Florida both dropping first round games in the conference tournament, the SEC contingent for the Big Dance seems to be set at five (TN, UK, VU, Ark., MSU). While there’s an outside chance the Rebels could get an at-large berth, the rest of the weekend will read more...
Snowflakes: Small Conference Hoops Does the Footprint Proud
It’s the most exciting time of the year for many of the smaller schools around our region. Their conferences tournaments have become an extension of the NCAA Tourney as winning the automatic bid fulfills their dream of having a shot at the big boys. Many pundits feel it would read more...
Snowflakes: Small Conference Hoops
* It will be quite a battle this weekend in the Big South for the coveted automatic berth to the Big Dance. North Carolina-Asheville and Winthrop both finished at 10-4 in the Big
Snowflakes: SEC Hoops
* I’ve written all season about the banner year for basketball in the state of Tennessee. The two best teams in the league appear to be from the Volunteer State in Tennessee and Vanderbilt (although detractors would qualify the Commodores inclusion as long as they are playing read more...
Snowflakes: Small Conference Hoops
* We still have a great two-horse race in the Sun Belt Conference as both South Alabama and Western Kentucky try to prove they are Big Dance worthy. Many bracket
Snowflakes: C-USA/Big East Hoops
* Well, it finally happened. The 47-game home winning streak and the perfect record on the season ended for Memphis last Saturday when Tennessee defeated them, 66-62, in the raucous FedEx Forum. Surprisingly, the Tigers were outhustled and outrebounded by the smaller Vols who made read more...
Let The Sunshine In
I was listening to NPR on Saturday morning when I heard the bluesy sound of an acoustic guitar and a voice that reminded me of a cross between Tom Waits and Elvis Costello (more in mood than in actual vocal comparison.). The voice was that of
Snowflakes: SEC Hoops
* After attending the Vanderbilt-Kentucky game Tuesday night in Nashville, all I can say is ‘Wow’. The Commodores are always tough at home (15-0 this season), and they handed the Wildcats the worst loss in their SEC history, 93-52. Vandy scorched the nets at over 55% for read more...
Snowflakes: Big East Hoops
Louisville got a monster win last Saturday night when they knocked off first place Georgetown. The Cardinals are playing much better ball of late, having won 5 of 6, and looking solid for a good run in the postseason. However, I’ve got to give at least an assist to Rick read more...
Snowflakes: SEC Hoops
* The Kentucky Wildcats finally look to be playing the kind of winning ball that Big Blue fans expect. It took a while to adjust to new coach Billy Gillispie (and his gameday practices), but now the ‘Cats are sitting only one game behind SEC East leader Tennessee. In a recent read more...
Snowflakes: Smaller Conference Hoops
One mid-major club that higher seeded teams will not want to see in the Big Dance is Davidson from the Southern Conference. The Wildcats are perfect 13-0 in league play
Snowflakes: Big East/C-USA Hoops
* With the league’s RPI being 11th in the nation, it’s a distinct possibility that Conference USA could be a one-bid league this season. Even though John Calipari has tried to talk up C-USA, the conference is just not performing up to the “right below the BCS read more...
Adventures In The (Pig) Skin Trade On Super Bowl Sunday
Roving Notes On Super Bowl Sunday 2/3/08 "There is some kind of back-door connection in my head between Super Bowls and The Allman read more...
Snowflakes: SEC Hoops
by Patrick Snow * Someone forgot to tell 2-time National Champion Florida that they were supposed to struggle this season. After winning their second NCAA title in a row, the Gators lost the top six players off their depth chart and lost their coach for a day or two. read more...
Snowflakes: Small Conference Hoops
by Patrick Snow The regular season seems to get a little overlooked in many of the smaller or “1-bid” leagues in our Swampland footprint, but there are some great races happening as these teams position themselves for the postseason run. We’ll try each week read more...
Snowflakes: C-USA/Big East Hoops
by Patrick Snow * Could this week finally bring the contest where #1 Memphis actually loses a conference game? The last time that happened was at UAB on March 2nd, 2006. On Wednesday night, the undefeated Tigers travel to Houston to battle the 15-3 Cougars. After read more...
My Favorite Southern Rock Song?
I was talking to one of my pals down Florida way the other day when the conversation shifted to great Southern Rock songs.We started reliving the first time we heard this song or that song, and how much particular songs meant to us.
GRITZ Best Albums of The Year
Lots of great music rocked my world in 2007. Here are my choices for the 15 best of the best. Feel free to log on and comment. Let me know if you agree or disagree. read more...
TF Rivalry Week Preview
Rivalry games define college football. More than bowl games or even conference championships, a win against your rival means bragging rights for a year. That is why this weekend's game can often be the hardest to call. A team with a losing record can suddenly make read more...
TF Saturday Preview: The Year of Transition Nears An End
The wild year continues. In many ways this was just a sign of the transition college football around the Footprint has experienced. In some ways, it shouldn't be as surprising as it has been. Nick Saban's arrival lit a fire under everyone. The ante was read more...
Loretta Lynn Returns To The Ryman
Loretta Lynn Returns To The Ryman 11/12/07 On Thursday, November 15, Loretta Lynn returns to perform at the fabled Ryman Auditorium. The read more...
Cowboy Take Me Away: The Scott Boyer Interview
GRITZ is happy to present an exclusive interview with one of the South's finest musicians and human beings, Scott Boyer. From his early bands in Florida with members of The Allman Brothers Band, to his highly successful Capricorn Records band with Tommy Talton, Cowboy, Scott gives read more...
TF Saturday Preview: Everything's Still To Be Decided
Patrick Snow has it right. This year's season of college football has shown that it is one of the most compelling sports to follow as a fan, especially in the Footprint.
October 27 & 28 Bridge School Benefit
21st Bridge School Benefit Hosts Various Musicians 10/27/07 In light of a
TF Saturday Preview: Pole, er.. Bowl Position
If you aren't a Florida or Georgia fan, this weekend might be a good one to spend with the kids. This is a pretty thin weekend for good games in the Footprint. That's why Athlon's college football preview spends most of its time previewing games outside our read more...
TF's Saturday Preview: Act Like You've Been There Before!
It's the old saying when a player celebrates a little too much - act like you've been there before. This rules seems to also hold true to some of our Footprint's winning neophytes. When programs are new to winning, they don't know how to handle themselves. That's read more...
TF's Saturday Preview: The History Behind SEC Dominance
Tribal Fever would like to start this weekend's festivities by directing everyone to a fantastic series on ESPN.com about the SEC. Which leads us to this week's focus - the historical read more...
Tribal Fever's Weekend Slate (10/6/2007)
Let's start with this week's College Football Preview from Athlon. Swampland's own Patrick Snow hosts each week. (Read Patrick's new column on the state of baseball in read more...
Otis Redding Film Premier October 8
Dreams To Remember Premier October 8 10/1/07 The new Otis Redding documentary, Dreams To Remember: The Legacy of Otis read more...
Upset Saturday, or not?
Patrick Snow mentioned in his last column that he was looking ahead to next week's games. Based on yesterday's game result, so were too many top 25 teams in the Footprint. TF Upsets read more...
People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs 1913-1938
Tompkins Square Releases Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs This Week 9/29/07 This week Tompkins Square released this
Swampland welcomes Tribal Fever!
It was only a matter of time before Swampland Sports starting covering the colleges in earnest. Today marks the start of Tribal Fever, Swampland.com's dispatch dedicated to college sports in the South. We have new features up including Patrick Snow's latest read more...
Swampland Sports Thursday Links
Just a few quick hits here on Thursday.... Snowman's Latest Column Patrick Snow's new column is up. As a Vol himself, it pains him that he's calling out Phil Fulmer read more...
The Shadow And the Truth
9/19/07 ...THE SHADOW AND THE TRUTH... It's important to realize how blurred the fine line between reality and illusion co-exist. At read more...
Emmylou Harris Retrospective "Songbird" Hits Streets Today
Songbird: Rare Tracks & Forgotten Gems Out Today 9/18/07 A new Emmylou Harris, 4 CD-1 DVD, retrospective was released today. read more...
Welcome Back!
Greetings to all you football fans around the Swampland footprint! Southern Pro Football is back to cover another NFL season. Patrick Snow and I will be making sure that SPF covers the NFL from a Southern perspective. For all of you that didn't tune into
CD and DVD releases for week of August 14, 2007
Darren Kozelsky Let Your Mind Fly (Smith Entertainment) Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 7/15/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. The college sports “arms race" never seems to slow down. Whether it’s upgrading a current facility or building a new practice complex to ‘wow’ recruits, schools in read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 7/1/07
1. The NBA Draft was this week’s big sports story. The Draft is all about hope for the future. Despite recent expansion in the Swampland footprint, the NBA has struggled to find an audience down South. The problem starts with the NBA’s inability to connect with the read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of July 3, 2007
Reissues Asleep At The Wheel Western Standard Time/Big Wheel (Evangeline) Buddy read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of June 26, 2007
CDs New Releases Charlie Daniels Live From Iraq (Koch) James Burton read more...
Fire On The Mountain
6/25/07 read more...
Montgomery Gentry Gives Swampland an Exclusive Interview
They are the baddest boys in country music, and I am including Big and Rich, Hank III, and even Kid "Sometimes I Want to Be Country" Rock in that list. Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry are bad to the bone, All-American, Southern (rock) fried and country and western read more...
Appalachian Culture: Shaped-note Singing
3/20/07 In this Asheville, North Carolina, news article, old vocal traditions are highlighted and how they integrate with Appalachian culture. These vocal traditions are old as storytelling, or beating on a drum. James Calemine
J.D. Crowe & The New South Announce Spring Tour
Bluegrass Hall of Honor inductee J.D. Crowe and his band The New South are hitting the road this spring in support of their newest album, Lefty’s Old Guitar. One of the true pioneers of read more...
Toby Keith's Surprise Duet with Crystal Gayle
Toby Keith made a special request during Music City Jam in Nashville last night. He asked CrystalGayle up for a read more...
Montgomery Gentry To Host Bike Rally
Montgomery Gentry will host the Academy of Country Music Celebrity Motorcycle Ride to be held May 13 in Las Vegas. After the ride, a concert will feature past and present ACM nominees. "I love that this is me and Troy's fourth year to host this event," said read more...
Loretta Lynn Announces Early 2007 Tour Dates
1/1/07 After shattering her shoulder last year, the 71 year-old Loretta Lynn is ready to hit the road. Scheduled stops on Lynn's early 2007 (through March) tour include Huntsville, Owensboro, Burgettstown, Hamlin, Kansas City, Wichita, Winter Haven, and Council Bluffs. More read more...