Mickey Plyler's Blog for April 11th


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Did he really say that?

University of South Carolina golf coach Puggy Blackmon once coached a powerful squad at Georgia Tech. His prize pupil there was David Duval.

Duval and Blackmon seemed to be joined at the hip as Blackmon continued to always show up for Duval on tour at many tournaments. Some college coaches and PGA Tour professionals poked fun at the duo and how inseparable they were.

Blackmon has not built upon that success so far at USC, but maybe we now know why. Maybe Blackmon is not the golf mind we thought he was.

You see Duval has been the number-one player in the world. He has won a major championship. He has recorded a 59 on tour. At one time Duval was golf's main man. However, in the last few years Duval has lost it. Over the last four seasons on the PGA Tour, Duval has played in 57 events and has made 11 cuts. He has had 18 rounds in the sixties and 16 rounds in the eighties. Duval has completely lost it.

Duval shot 84-75 for a 15-over par total that missed the cut by 11 shots.

His second round included a 10 at the par-five second hole.

A week before the Masters Duval's swing coach, Blackmon, had told the Rocky Mountain News, "He's hitting it as well as he's ever hit it. Technically and fundamentally, he's back."

No truth to the rumor that Blackmon has signed on to help bring Ian Baker-Finch back on tour.

Congrats to FIGJAM

They say the Masters doesn't start until the 10th tee on Sunday. Someone forgot to tell Phil Mickelson and the field that adage. It was the exact opposite on Sunday as it was a great tournament until the 10th tee on Sunday.

I am not the biggest Mickelson fan and neither are some players and caddies on the PGA Tour. Some on tour call him FIGJAM, which stands for "___________ (Expletive) I Am Good Just Ask Me."

Tragedy Strikes Twice at the Same Spot

Tuesday night when Clemson travels to Cullawhee, NC to face Western Carolina in baseball should be one of the most emotional nights in Jack Leggett's life.

WCU is retiring Keith LeClair's jersey on what will be a memorable affair.

LeClair played for Leggett at WCU, and went on to be the head coach there after Leggett left to head to Clemson. It will be the first number ever retired in Western Carolina University baseball history.

LeClair had his career cut short when he was diagnosed in 2002 with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). More commonly known as Lou Gehrig disease, this is the second great Catamount coach to suffer from this horrible disease. My father played football at WCU for the legendary coach Bob Waters. It was Waters that coached from the sidelines in a wheelchair for a season while the disease ate away at him.

Our thought and prayers go out to the LeClair family, WCU and its fans.

They also go out to the memory of a great one, Bob Waters.

Is Pete Rozelle coming to college baseball?

Parity has struck college baseball more now than ever before. Colleges are limited to 11.7 baseball scholarships and the talent level is spreading.

The mid-majors like Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston and Winthrop have thrived in this state. Western Carolina and Elon have come to our state and defeated our major powers this season also.

The ACC usually is very strong at the top, but the bottom of the league is getting better. Maryland, who took two of three from Georgia Tech last weekend, looked much more impressive this year despite losing three games to

Clemson. Virginia Tech also took a game from the Yellow Jackets this past weekend.

It is impressive for the conference to have eight teams that are ranked.

However, it may be more impressive that the bottom teams are able to take a few games from those top teams.

Michael Dean Perry

It was awesome to see Michael Dean Perry step up to the plate and hit a home

run Saturday at the spring game when he announced his $100,000 gift. It is this kind of effort that others could take note of and follow in Perry's footsteps. Perry is a class act and an influential member of the unofficial

fraternity of former Clemson football players. I sincerely believe that his

gift will lead to others from Perry's former teammates. Once again the former Pro Bowler is a leader on the field and now off of the field.

Rodney Williams gave a huge amount of money last year and, like Perry, Williams is very popular among former teammates.

One thing people might be surprised about is many of these former players have been very successful in business. Their work effort and the other things they learned in athletics have helped them be just as successful in the business world.

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