Notebook: Tigers Move Practice to Ballroom |
ORLANDO - After four solid days of nothing but sunshine and blue skies,
Clemson's Tangerine Bowl preparation finally was interrupted by Mother Nature. Friday's scheduled 8:15 a.m. workout at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex was canceled due to heavy morning rains in the Orlando area. Head coach Tommy Bowden compensated by putting the team through a walk-through in the ballroom at the team hotel, the Marriott World Center. In case you're wondering if the ball room was big enough, the answer is yes. The World Center hotel is so sprawling that operators run a shuttle bus from the parking garage to the main entrance. "The ballroom was probably half the size of Clemson," Bowden joked. "It's pretty substantial." The Tigers are scheduled outdoors again today at 10:45 a.m., their final full workout before Monday's Mazda Tangerine Bowl. HAMILTON GOOD TO GO Though he continues to limp around with a high ankle sprain, sophomore wide receiver Derrick Hamilton is expected to play a major role in Monday's game with Texas Tech. "You watch him between plays and he looks awful, but when the play is going he's able to run and cut," said offensive coordinator Brad Scott. "It's basically like playing with a stress fracture. A high ankle sprain isn't going to get any better until the season is over and he rests it. Right now it's a matter of how well he can play in pain. "But don't worry about Derrick Hamilton. He'll be there, and we expect him to have a big game." CONSISTENCY Why has Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach been so successful in three years with the Red Raiders? Bowden thinks he knows. "It's the scheme," he said. "It's the same thing he did at Oklahoma, Kentucky and Valdosta State. It's been successful everywhere he's been." Leach was Bob Stoops' offensive coordinator at Oklahoma for one season before taking the Texas Tech job. He served in the same capacity to Hal Mumme at both UK and VSU. SHORT STUFF - After consecutive nights at Universal's Island of Adventure and the ESPNZone, Clemson's players were treated to a day at Disney's Magic Kingdom on Friday. It is their last major recreational outing of the trip. - The first Tangerine Bowl, played in 1947, was nearly called off at game time. In a story related in the Orlando Sentinel earlier this week, game organizers had thought of everything necessary to put on the game - except a football. When it came time for kickoff, there was no football in the stadium. Fortunately someone was able to dash to a local sporting goods store and purchase a ball, and the day was saved. Dan Scott covers Clemson University for the Florence Morning News. He also hosts SportsTalk from 10 a.m.-Noon, Monday-Friday, on WCCP-Fm, 104.9. Click here for Dan Scott's SportsTalk discussion board.
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