Oxford 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...
Ace Atkins' Latest Book The Redeemers
The Redeemers By Ace Atkins I just finished The Redeemers, a fine book by Mississippi writer Ace Atkins.... Born June 28, 1970, in Troy, Alabama, Ace Atkins played football at Auburn University, and even graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1993 read more...
The Search for Blind Lemon: Words, Music, Photos & Films from Jim Dickinson's Memoirs
Jim Dickinson's Search for Blind Lemon On September 17, Mary Lindsay Dickinson will present words, photographs, films and music from her late husband's memoirs and read more...
Bob Dylan's Admiration for Mississippi Writer Larry Brown
Dylan's Admiration for Larry Brown Turns out, Bob Dylan is a big Larry Brown fan. Today, while re-reading a short story of read more...
Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series
Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series "Oh, the streets are Rome are filled with rubble Ancient footprints are everywhere..."
The Photography of Adam Smith
The Photography of Adam Smith Today I'd like to shine a light on the photography of Adam Smith. Born in Macon, Georgia, Smith ranks as one of the country's finest music photographers. He attended college in Mississippi, lived in Atlanta for a while and now resides in his read more...
Olga's Whatever You Want featuring Cody Dickinson
Olga's Whatever You Want Out June 21, 2011 Singer/songwriter/guitarist Olga Wilhelmine Munding's latest album Whatever You Want will be released on June 21, 2011. Olga wrote Whatever You Want with
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...
Mississippi Celebrates Its Grammy Legacy on June 7
Mississippi Celebrates Its Grammy Legacy on June 7 On June 7, 2011, Govenor Haley Barbour and First Lady Marsha Barbour will host the fifth annual Mississippi celebration of its Grammy legacy. The list of performers this year include
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
Deadly Tornadoes Hit The South
Deadly Tornadoes Rip Through The South "Sirens were blowing, clouds spat rain And as things came through, it sounded like a train..."
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...
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...
R.L. Burnside & the Indestructible Beat of the Blues
R.L. Burnside & the Indestructible Beat of the Blues R.L. Burnside ranks as one of America’s seminal bluesman. Born during 1926 in Oxford, Mississippi, Burnside spent most of his life in the hills of North Mississippi. His slashing-style of powerful music evokes 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.
Celebrating The Year of Alabama Music with a Series of Articles by Jane DeNeefe
This year, 2011, we are celebrating the Year of Alabama Music. The December 2010 issue of the Oxford American features read more...
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...
North Mississippi Allstars Announce New Album & Dates with Robert Plant
North Mississippi Allstars' 2011 Plans The North Mississippi Allstars will release their new album--Keys To The Kingdom--on February 1, 2011. December 28 begins the Allstars' tour. On New Year's 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.
Luther Dickinson & The Sons of Mudboy Earn Grammy Nomination
Luther Dickinson & The Sons of Mudboy Earn Grammy Nomination Luther Dickinson and his band The Sons of Mudboy earned a Grammy nomination for their album 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...
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...
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...
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...
Southern College Football - Week 5 Themes
LEAD STORY Alabama and Florida will meet in Tuscaloosa Saturday in a battle of the last two National Champions. It’s been over two years since the Gators lost a regular season SEC game (Ole Miss, September ’08), and it’s been read more...
Filming "The Help": News and Blues in the Delta-- Greenwood, MS
About seven miles east of Greenwood, MS, the rolling hills suddenly go flat, a sure sign you are entering the Delta. We had driven to Greenwood via the leisurely
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.
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...
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...
Luther & Cody Dickinson In Memphis Tomorrow Opening for Robert Plant
DuoLuco to Open For Robert Plant Deep South Shows The North Mississippi Allstars' Luther and Cody Dickinson join as DUOLUCO and will open for Robert Plant & The Band of Joy for a stretch of dates beginning tomorrow night in Memphis.
Rare William Faulkner Collection Auctioned by Christie's in NYC
A collection of William Faulkner memorabilia primarily including first editions (some inscribed) of his novels, manuscripts, personal correspondence (a telegram to read more...
Past Interviews & Upcoming Artists of Note
Greetings Folks, I hope all is well, and everyone enjoyed Father’s Day… Change is afoot, and we’ve got a lot on the horizon, but for the past week much of the work has gone on behind the scenes. On the immediate agenda, the work of
The Black Crowes: Live From The Artists' Den
The Black Crowes: Live From The Artists’ Den The second season of the acclaimed music series—“Live From The Artists’ Den”—airs on nationwide public television in read more...
Celebrate Record Store Day 2010!
Record Store Day 2010 is read more...
Today's Interview with Shannon McNally
Today’s Interview with Shannon McNally Today I interviewed the talented Shannon McNally. The interview revolved mostly around her new CD, read more...
Tribute to Southern Literary Icon Barry Hannah
Award winning Southern author Barry Hannah died Monday, March 1, at his home in Oxford, MS. read more...
New Information on William Faulkner's Historical Sources Comes to LIght
According to an article in this week's New York Times (February 11, 2010), a Southern literature scholar from Emory read more...
A Timeless American Lineage: The Six Degrees of the Dickinson Family
The Six Degrees of The Dickinson Family Dispatch The late Jim Dickinson--along with his sons read more...
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...
Frigid February Is Hot Month for Arts in South
Temperatures may be hovering around freezing in the south in February, but the mercury is rising in Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama when it comes to the fine arts The first weekend in February marks the 7th Annual Oxford read more...
National Signing Day: Christmas Morning for Southern Football Fans
It’s finally here- a virtual holiday in our Swampland Footprint.
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.
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...
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...
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...
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.
Luther Dickinson: The Hardest Working Man In Rock And Roll
Luther Dickinson: The Hardest Working Man In Rock And Roll
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...
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.
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.
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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Oklahoma-Texas should be a Classic
This one has it all-Tradition, Star players, Conference and National Title implications, and good old-fashioned hate. The Red River Rivalry will kick off read more...
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.
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.
Topic for Final Week of the Pat Conroy Contest: Place in Southern Writing
In William Faulkner's masterpiece Absalom, Absalom!, Canadian Shreve McCannon who is Quentin Compson's roommate at read more...
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...
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...
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: 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...
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...
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
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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.
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
The Late Great Jim Dickinson's Swampland Contributions
Jim Dickinson's Favorite Films, Musicians and Barbecue Articles
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...
Mississippi Delta Blues: An American Cornerstone
Cornerstone Mississippi Blues Artists Here's a cool little
Cody Dickinson Talks About Hill Country Revue's Make A Move
Cody Reveals Make A Move Details In excerpt two of my recent interview with
Cody Dickinson: Q & A From the Tour Bus
Today's Interview with Cody Dickinson I just conducted an insightful interview with Cody Dickinson. He was riding on the tour bus on the way to Canada read more...
A Return From Outer-Space with Cody Dickinson
Greetings Good Folks, After some technical difficulty and personal turbulence, I’m able to get back online. Much to 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...
Bob Dylan's Together Through Life
Dylan's New Together Through Life On The Way "I'm listening to Billy Joe Shaver I'm reading James Joyce Some 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
Songs & Stories: An Allstar Memphis Benefit Show
Memphis Heavies Perform Benefit On Sunday April 19, 2009, an allstar benefit show will take place at Minglewood Hall in Memphis. This show is not read more...
Big Medicine Come Soon
"Beyond the horizon, in the Springtime or Fall Love waits forever for one and for all." --Bob Dylan Greetings read more...
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.
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...
For Ole Miss and Arkansas (and Nutt and Petrino), It Looks Like a Win/Win
We've all witnessed the media firestorm surrounding Auburn and Tennessee's respective head coaching hires of Gene Chizik and Lane Kiffin. Like they tend to do, the media took some minor fires of controversy and poured gasoline on them, leaving any remnants of logic and reason 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...
Film in the South: Sixth Annual Oxford Film Festival Begins February 5
This has been an exciting weekend, and so if you have recovered from Superbowl Sunday you might want to make plans to travel to
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...
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...
Will Chizik, Kiffin (or Mullen) Meet The Urban Meyer/Nick Saban SEC Standard?
This season has seen another massive shift in the SEC coaching ranks. Counting last season and this, almost half of the SEC has changed coaches. There's nothing like coaching SEC football. It remains a
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
KO'ing Kudzu in Carolina
After my October 17th feature on Alabama filmmaker Max Shores, I decided 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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Mississippi Blues Commission
The Mississippi Blues Trail 5/14/08 The Mississippi Blues Commission serves as an interesting entity that explores the 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
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...
The Southern Foodways Alliance Needs Your Recipes!
Swampland has the utmost respect for the Southern Foodways Alliance so we thought we would share this recent request for recipes that they have sent out to folks around the Footprint. Help them out if you read more...
The Dickinson's Mojo & The Black Crowes' Voodoo
Mystery & Manners Investigates The Mojo of The Dickinson Family & The Black Crowes' Voodoo 3/11/02 "Don't bring down the read more...
Jim Dickinson On The Line
Mystery & Manners Interview With Memphis Legend Jim Dickinson 2/9/08 "She shivers just like jelly in the bowl."
Ryan Bingham Gets Help From Ford
Marc Ford & Son Join Texas Songwriter Ryan Bingham In the South 2/9/08
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...
Petty & Eli: Underdogs Triumphant!
I sat back Sunday ready to enjoy a Super Bowl without a "horse in the race," so to speak. All of our SPF teams had been summarily dismissed in what was a down year for the Footprint on a pro football level. My thoughts were only on watching the Super Bowl as a 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...
Luther Dickinson: Night Before theTour...
Luther Dickinson Talks Present, Past & Future 1/16/08 Things have been quite busy as of late. I've just about completed my interview read more...
LIghts, Camera, Action! Film Festivals and Film Debuts in the South
Late winter and spring of 2008 will see the blossoming of a host of film festivals in the South. A number of the festivals showcase original films and present cash awards to the best new films. Others bring classic, hard to find, topical, or thematic films to the 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...
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.
Tribal Fever's Weekend Observations
1. That enormous exhale coming from the Oxford, Mississippi area would be the sigh of relief of Ole Miss Coach Ed Orgeron. His Rebels had to hold on for dear life to beat Northwestern State 38-31 on Saturday. The non-Division 1 Demons went into the game with a 2-3 record in the read more...
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...
William Eggleston: The Father of Color Photography
The Photography of William Eggleston 10/4/07 Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1939,
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...
Luther Dickinson Flies With The Black Crowes
Luther Dickinson Flies With The Black Crowes 9/17/07 The North Mississippi All-Stars guitarist