And so it is
So, I had an interesting end of the week. How ‘bout you?
Covered a good game at Arkansas, got stuck in an airport because of weather, then covered the sudden retirement of a coach. Yup, typical 48 hours of work. So you can only imagine the range of emotions for the people inside the South Carolina men’s basketball program who — apparently other than a select few — didn’t know this was coming.
Oh, there were increasing signs that Dave Odom would step down at the end of this season. The pressure was becoming intense, and athletics director Eric Hyman essentially declined to give Odom a clear-cut vote-of-confidence after the loss to UNC-Asheville. That made it probable something would happen if things didn’t turn around. And those close to the program always thought that, if push came to shove, Odom would take the dignified way out and not make Hyman or the administration fire him. Odom was too personally popular for that to happen.
But few thought the news would come down now. The rumblings were there, enough that I spent a good deal of my time Thursday morning calling people from my Fayetteville, Ark., hotel room, to see if anything was up. But I drove to the Northwest Arkansas Airport hoping to settle into a good book for the rest of a long travel day. (I was finally reading “Don Quixote,” which Weslye Saunders’ dad had implored me to do in September.)
Then my flight to Charlotte was delayed an hour, which also meant I’d miss my connection to Columbia. So I arrived in Charlotte about 5:30 eastern time, rented a car and was finally on the road home.
Then my phone started ringing.
A couple hours later, there I was cornering Odom after his radio show. When the normally-affable and accommodating coach walked away without answering the big question (and again when he left the restaurant) then it was obvious it was happening. For the next five hours, I don’t think I went 30 seconds without being on the phone.
But now it’s over, and … say it with me … the search is on. Odom said to us media types Friday, “you guys are gonna hatch some names up, and none of them are going to mean anything, so go at it.” Well, I don’t know about none of them, but he’s mostly right. I’ve gone too inside-baseball already in this post, but I’ll just say as this search commences, trust that this paper won’t just be throwing names out there for the heck of it. We’re going to be careful, as we always are in our reporting.
The job opening has created waves in other locales. I was on the radio this afternoon in Wichita, where Gregg Marshall has already been asked about the opening. The timing of the announcement is going to create headaches for a lot of potential candidates, and it could last awhile: Minnesota opened up fairly early last year too, but Tubby Smith didn’t get hired until late March.
Meanwhile, lest we forget this Gamecock team still has almost two months of games, maybe more. South Carolina showed by winning at Arkansas that it can still do some damage in the SEC, so it’ll be fascinating to see how things unfold with this huge changing of dynamics.
Odom said he specifically chose Friday as the announcement date so it would give the team a weekend to settle after the news. The fact the next opponent is Florida makes it more interesting: The Gators have emerged as the fourth-best team in the SEC, so how well the Gamecocks perform against them at home is a good barometer.
The next few months are going to be very interesting. I’m just curious whether what happens on the court will be any part of why.
State newspaper sports writer Seth Emerson blogs on University of South Carolina basketball and baseball.
It’s pronounced, “Thermometer.”
If that were the word Seth was trying to use then yes. But he chose “barometer” as in a device that measures pressure. Thanks for keeping up!
And Barometer is a measure of change, and is well used by Seth.
I really think you’re wrong. The word is thermometer (therr-MAH-muh-ter). Not trying to talk down to you guys, but I didn’t think a professional writer should make such a mistake in this otherwise well-done article.
Jason, don’t mess with me.
Wow- and I was going to apologize for being somewhat sharp. Oh well. Mr. Flintcold, look up barometer and see if that definition matches up to what Seth was trying to say. Or just go on dogging a quality sports writer for no good reason (or really no reason at all.) Thanks for raising the bar Seth!
Ok, I will mess with you. Get a dictionary !!
From dictionary.com:
ther-mom-e-ter—an instrument for measuring temperature, often a sealed glass tube that contains a column of liquid, as mercury, that expands and contracts, or rises and falls, with temperature changes, the temperature being read where the top of the column coincides with a calibrated scale marked on the tube or its frame.
No results found for barometer.
Did you mean Thermometer(in dictionary) or Thermometer(meteorology) (in encyclopedia)?
Guys, this is sad. I guess that’s the sad state of the United States educational system.
Jason, no offense, but you are anything but sharp.
OK I am done. Change your medication and then post.
Art, you didn’t look hard enough on dictionary.com. Check out definition No. 2.
ba·rom·e·ter /bəˈrɒmɪtər/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[buh-rom-i-ter] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. Meteorology. any instrument that measures atmospheric pressure. Compare aneroid barometer, mercury barometer.
2. anything that indicates changes.
Seth, He said he couldn’t find the word barometer. That being so, what chance did he have of finding the second definition !!
I guess my biggest problem here is that if you’re going to use one word that means the exact same as the other, why not use the one everybody would recognize?
Look, I’m not a meteorologist. I didn’t realize I needed a PhD to read a sports blog. If you guys want to use insane synonyms, fine. Just not sure why you’d choose to talk over most people’s heads.
And Parguy, why don’t you stay out of this? This coming from a guy whose e-mail address includes the word “bogey.” Which is it? Par or bogey? I think I know.
Flintcold
Get a life….and an education. Barometer is NOT synonymous with thermometer. Had he followed your advice, the word would have been completely out of context.
Forget the PhD, try for your GED.
LOL
Another quality article Mr. Emerson.
Thank you.
Go Cocks, Beat Florida!
Seth, as always, I commend you for your writing. It’s always easy to read and keeps (my) interest. I don’t know how you put up with some of your readers though. I seem to remember one of my very early writing classes teaching that you should always consider your audience prior to writing your articles. That must be a trick in and of itself in this market.
Wow I didn’t mean to start all of this. Arthur, watch your local news and you’ll hear them use barometer and many other interesting words. Thanks for the help Seth, par guy, et al.
barometer, speedometer, odometer (NO, this has nothing to do with Dave Odom), chronometer, petermeter, there are all kinds of measuring devices.
Arthur, may I recommend an aphorism that was a favorite of Lou Holtz’s: “Better to be quiet and be thought a fool, than to open one’s mouth and erase all doubt.”
And another: “If you are sinking, don’t keep digging.”
Seth, interesting article, thanks.
Freehawk, I’ll thank you to excuse yourself from this conversation. You have a smart mouth and a small brain.
Again, my point is that Seth talked over our heads with this article. He used an obscure word that only someone with a degree in meteorology would use in conversation. Pardon me, but I evidently do not have the vocabulary to keep with Mr. Emerson.
Seth, would you mind writing your next article in Latin? I’m eager to continue learning in your class.
Seth,
Sorry to interrupt the argument over your use of the word barometer which was exactly the proper word. I applaud your excellent diction. What’s the status of Raley Ross? Will he see more playing time tonight?