For followers of the SEC, and SEC football in particular, the summer’s most significant event has just wrapped: SEC Media Days in Hoover.

The event is more or less considered the ceremonial party that let’s football fans know that SEC football is right around the corner. The media casts votes for all-conference teams. The coaches stand at podiums and spread their various messages of hope. And radio hosts sit in a dark hallway, waiting for the arrival of someone — anyone — other than another radio host.

And as usual, there were one or two “controversial” story-lines to feed the media frenzy. (Two years ago, it was Phil Fulmer and the subpoena. Last year, it was Tim Tebow’s chastity. This year it was agentgate.)

And as usual, there were a couple of new faces on the agenda, one of whom was still an assistant up until just a couple of weeks ago.

New Vandy coach Robbie Caldwell (Andy Bitter)

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As far as Auburn goes, this summer has been about as good as it gets. Which is to say, there haven’t been too many headlines. (Compare that with, say, news out of Knoxville or Athens or … Miami.) And heading into the season, there’s plenty of reason for optimism. (In fact, Auburn received the 3rd highest number of 1st place votes from the media, behind only Alabama and Florida.)

At SEC Media Days, Auburn players Lee Ziemba, Aairon Savage, and Josh Bynes all acquitted themselves well. (Had there been an award for Best Dressed, Savage definitely would’ve been in the running.) And Coach Chizik continued to be the steadying presence that the program needs.

Aairon Savage (photo, AP)

Aairon Savage (video, CBS 42)

Josh Bynes (audio, WJOX FM)

Gene Chizik (article, Birmingham News)

SEC Media Days (video, al.com)

All-SEC Tigers (auburntigers.com)

But to put things in the big picture, now that SEC Media Days are behind us, we can really start looking forward to the new season. Fan Day is scheduled for Aug. 15, and the first game is Sep. 4.

Until then … feel free to revisit this classic WarEagleTales post from Media Days ’08, in which I try to ease myself into the various SEC proceedings. And true to my word, I haven’t been back since!

John goes to Hoover (WarEagleTales)

War Eagle!

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WarEagleTales made it out to a couple of the SEC Baseball Tournament games this past week in Hoover. Our beloved Tigers only managed one win, which predictably was not the game we managed to attend. But in any case, it was a fun time and we came away with a handful of snapshots to share with you, our loyal readers. Specifically, these are from the first-round game versus Alabama on Wednesday and the Friday Elimination Game versus Ole Miss.

But just because we didn’t win the tournament doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road. There’s NCAA Tournament action coming up this weekend, so be sure to get your tickets for that. In the meantime, enjoy the pics. War Eagle!

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For someone who doesn’t consider himself the most avid baseball fan, I certainly dodged an obstacle or two this past week trying to take in Auburn’s SEC Baseball games in Hoover. First there was Wednesday’s episode with the traffic (Read Here), and Friday, there was the small matter of a two-hour electrical storm, which nearly sent this WarEagleTales reporter right back from whence he came.

After arriving at Regions Park around 3 p.m., and finding a nice, convenient parking spot (which unlike Wednesday’s spot was actually within a binocular’s view of the stadium), the weather took an immediate turn for the worse. The skies went dark, the wind kicked up, and oh, what’s that? Lightning? Guess we’d better hurry inside then! And find our seats among the metal bleachers!

Then, as we were actually scurrying across the parking lot toward the ticket booth, a passing fan — heading, oddly, in the opposite direction — informed us that play had been suspended due to the weather and that it wouldn’t resume before 3:45.

Undaunted — or unthinking one — we bought our tickets anyway and decided to use the weather delay as an opportunity to partake of the park’s various culinary delights, like its healthy Grilled Chicken Sandwich! (Note to self: You’re at a baseball game. Not a health spa. Next time, go for the hot dog!)

Everyone else more or less did the same thing (though presumably without having made the error of selecting that wimpy lettuce sandwich), milling about inside the corridors until the skies eventually cleared and that ubiquitous Sports-Stadium-Voice-Guy informed us that the game would be starting at 4:55 p.m. Which, in fact, it did.

Of course, the game itself didn’t exactly turn out the way we Auburn fans would’ve liked, but as one optimistic fan pointed out, the early exit should at least have granted the team some extra time to recuperate before the NCAA Regionals. And speaking for myself, after two days of battling traffic and lightning, I was ready for a break as well.

In any case, the NCAA Baseball Championship is now on deck! First-round match-ups will be announced on Monday, May 31, at 11:30 a.m.

War Eagle!

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WarEagleTales was in attendance at Auburn’s first round game of the SEC Baseball Tournament Wednesday morning — well, okay, to be honest, that’s only technically correct. The truth is we arrived more or less just in time for that most-beloved of baseball traditions, the 7^th-inning stretch.

Which knowledgeable baseball fans know means we walked in just as the crowd started singing that grand ol’ song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” or as was more appropriate in our case, “Take Me Out to the Long Line of Cars Winding at a Snail’s Pace through Suburban Hoover.”

Of course, we weren’t alone. I know this because there were approximately five thousand cars behind us as we’d been directed to park in a remote, grassy field. (Which I for one, didn’t even know existed in the highly-developed environs of Hoover; yet there we were, side by side with all the other frazzled drivers, bedecked in our colored, collegiate attire.)

Thankfully though, the field was within an excellent day-hike’s distance of the ballpark, because I’d been hoping to squeeze in a little cross-city trekking before that tiresome “sporting event.”

In any case, we did in fact witness the last few innings of the game, disappointing as they were. The atmosphere was terrific, but the on-the-field activity less so. And as the game proceeded to unravel before our eyes, I found myself oddly longing for that vast expanse of cars, this time heading home. (Hey, at least there, we’d had air conditioning.)

Oh, and in case, you’re looking for a moral to this tale, well, you may can find it here, on ESPN3.com. Which is exactly where I’ll be watching the next game. Check out Auburn vs. South Carolina. First pitch at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.

War Eagle!

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