Auburn Softball Report March 31

Auburn Head FB Coach Gus Malzahn

This Is Auburn Basketball: Coaching Philosophy

Bruce Pearl throws out first pitch

Men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl throws out the first pitch in the series vs. Missouri Thursday night. Video is courtesy of Bryan Mathews and Auburn Undercover.

Auburn FB defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson

A Letter From Our Coach

Yeah, I know it's a computer generated response, and not really an actual letter from Coach Malzahn to yours truly. Still, it's what each of you can expect when you visit the SEC Network homepage, and ask your local carrier to become a member of the SEC Network broadcast team. Below is a copy of the letter. 



Dear Klell,

As a passionate and loyal fan of Auburn and the Southeastern Conference, I want to thank you for your commitment to the SEC Network. There's no doubt we're doing something really special here. Through the SEC Network you'll have access to 1,000 exclusive live events and 24/7 coverage of all SEC sports.

In addition to your support, I'm also hoping you'll be willing to help us spread the word. The more people who sign up at GetSECNetwork.com, the greater the chance we'll have of getting all TV provider's to broadcast our games. So please, tell your friends and co-workers to go to GetSECNetwork.com and call their provider today demanding the SEC Network before the 2014 season kicks-off.

The SEC Network is a must for all Auburn and SEC fans.

Thank you and War Eagle!



Gus Malzahn
Head Football Coach, Auburn University

Saturday's In the Spring

Winter? What winter?

This Saturday, the first real scrimmage of the 2014 spring session will take place. Your Auburn Tigers will look to separate the wheat from the chaff as it were, as these are the real tests of who starts to create a distance between themselves and their competition.

Not that any starters will be named, it is way too early for that. This Saturday represents the first taste of actual football the team will enjoy since the last defensive stand of the BCS Championship game.

The key positions that are truly up for grabs are embroiled in some really interesting battles. The first of which is at left tackle, where Greg Robinson once toiled his trade. Robinson will represent Auburn well in the NFL, and hopefully, he remains healthy enough to have a prosperous career. 

Robinson spent most of last season as a part of the unit that led the country in yardage per game running the football. Auburn averaged 328.29 yards in each contest, at a remarkable 6.3 yards per carry. The individual who wins the starting job at left tackle this year, will have to be as adept at pass blocking as he is at run blocking. 

Auburn's offense should be a masterful mix of pass and run, with the explosive ability to score from anywhere on the field. We covered the Wide Receivers earlier in our "Looking Forward" series. Click on the link to see that post. 

While it's true that we will not be privy to what happens inside Jordan-Hare this Saturday, we can rest our hope in this; This team is hungry, and they are focused. Comforting thoughts so far away from the kickoff of the 2014 season. The Tigers are hosting Arkansas on August 30th.

WAR EAGLE!

Washington Redskins Letter

The following is a letter from Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder to the fans of the team. He has been embroiled in a battle about his franchise team name and logo. A name and logo that was chosen by Native Americans in the first place. 


March 24, 2014
To Everyone in our Washington Redskins Nation:

Several months ago I wrote you about my personal reflections on our team name and on our shared Washington Redskins heritage. I wrote then – and believe even more firmly now – that our team name captures the best of who we are and who we can be, by staying true to our history and honoring the deep and enduring values our name represents.
In that letter, I committed myself to listening and learning from all voices with a perspective about our Washington Redskins name.  I’ve been encouraged by the thousands of fans across the country who support keeping the Redskins tradition alive.  Most – by overwhelming majorities – find our name to be rooted in pride for our shared heritage and values.
“There are Native Americans everywhere that 100% support the name,” Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Chairwoman Mary L. Resvaloso told me when I came to visit her tribe.  “I believe God has turned this around for something good.”  She told me that it was far more important for us to focus on the challenges of education in Native American communities.  I listened closely, and pledged to her that I would find ways to improve the daily lives of people in her tribe.
What would my resolve to honoring our legacy mean if I myself—as the owner of and a passionate believer in the Washington Redskins—didn’t stay true to my word?  I wanted and needed to hear firsthand what Native Americans truly thought of our name, our logo, and whether we were, in fact, upholding the principle of respect in regard to the Native American community.
So over the past four months, my staff and I travelled to 26 Tribal reservations across twenty states to listen and learn first-hand about the views, attitudes, and experiences of the Tribes.  We were invited into their homes, their Tribal Councils and their communities to learn more about the extraordinary daily challenges in their lives.
“I appreciated your sincerity to learn about our culture and the real-life issues we face on a daily basis,” Pueblo of Zuni Governor Arlen Quetawki told us after we toured his reservation.  “I look forward to working together with you to improve the lives of Native Americans in any way possible."
The more I heard, the more I’ve learned, and the more I saw, the more resolved I became about helping to address the challenges that plague the Native American community.  In speaking face-to-face with Native American leaders and community members, it’s plain to see they need action, not words.
Yes, some tribes are doing well.  And in our candid conversations, we learned that we share so much with Indian country.  We find their appreciation of history, legacy, caring for their elders and providing a better future for their youth inspirational and admirable.
But the fact is, too many Native American communities face much harsher, much more alarming realities.  They have genuine issues they truly are worried about, and our team’s name is not one of them.  Here are just a few staggering, heartbreaking facts about the challenges facing Native Americans today:
-- The official poverty rate on reservations is 29 percent, as determined by the U.S. Census.
36 percent of families with children are below the poverty line on reservations, compared with
9 percent of families nationally.  Jobs are scarce, and so is genuine opportunity.
-- Rampant diabetes, alcohol and drug abuse, violence, and heightened suicide rates afflict Native American youth, adults, and veterans.  Life expectancies in high poverty Native American communities are the lowest anywhere in the Western Hemisphere—except for Haiti.
-- Tribal reservations can lack even the most basic infrastructure that most Americans take for granted.  For example, according to the independent, highly respected Millennium Project, 13 percent of Native American households have no access to safe water and/or wastewater disposal, compared with just 0.6 percent in non-native households.  Similarly, 14 percent of homes on Native American reservations have no electricity, compared to just 1 percent among non-native households.  It is hard to build for a better tomorrow without the basic needs of today.
 

Auburn Equestrian SEC Championship Preview

Gus Malzahn interview