Friday, January 2 . . . The Tulsa football arrived in Mobile on Friday afternoon at around 12:45 pm. Tulsa proceeded to the Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel, where the team had burgers for lunch and then had team offensive and defensive meetings. From there, the Hurricane proceeded to McGill-Toolen High School for a two hour practice from 3-5 pm . . . Tulsa will be without injured senior offensive guard Justin Morsey for the second straight game with a foot injury. Senior receiver Brennan Marion, who injured his right knee on the final play of the C-USA Championship Game against East Carolina, is now rehabbing his injured knee after surgery . . . I had a chance to visit with Brennan today. He is really committed to working hard and getting an opportunity to play in the NFL. He understands the time and effort it takes, and is committed to accomplishing his goal. Brennan has grown so much as a person since I first met him prior to the 2007 season. He has been faced with a setback, but he has the right frame of mind and the commitment to overcome this setback and succeed . . . following practice, the Hurricane returned to the hotel and then went to Ladd-Peebles Stadium for a Welcome Party with the Ball State team . . . Todd Graham and Ball State Head Coach Stan Parrish met the media for a press conference at 6:30 pm . . . Parrish shared the story of his visit to the Tulsa campus last summer to meet with Tulsa's offensive coaches . . . after seeing Tulsa defeat Ball State's conference rival Bowling Green by 56 points in last year's GMAC Bowl, Parrish believed, as BSU's offensive coordinator, that he could learn some things from the Hurricane for his offense . . . already, we can see the "Malzahn Watch" from the Alabama media . . . we're trying to limit the media distractions for the Hurricane and Coach Gus Malzahn regarding his new position at Auburn. (author...Don Tomkalski)
Saturday, January 3 (10:30 am) . . . It was an early morning for the Tulsa football team on Saturday. Wakeup at 6:15 am, and then a walk over at 6:45 am to the Convention Center for the FCA Breakfast... speaker was Tommy Bowden . . . not a creature was stirring not even a mouse (pretty fitting for the Holidays), well that's what the hotel was like after the team returned from the early morning breakfast -- couldn't find one player, not even in the game room set-up for players and families . . . it was back to catch some shut-eye for most of the team, while coaches had meetings . . . the early morning fog has given way to partly cloudy skies, and it's a bit humid . . . practice takes place today at Ladd-Peebles Stadium from 2:40-5 pm, while tonight the team will have their own special talent and karaoke show. (Author... Don Tomkalski)
Saturday, Janaury 3 (11:30 pm) . . . So much for weather prognostication. I forecast the rain to come on Monday, but it came today instead and the lightnening apparently shortened the Ball State practice. (Maybe I can become a TV weatherman). The rain didn't hamper Tulsa's practice too much. Coach Graham shortened the practice beforehand, going from the normal 22 periods to just 18 periods of 5 minutes each following pre-practice and stretch. The Hurricane was off the field by 4:15 pm. It was a light night for the football team, meal and then a talent show and karoake. The Tulsa seniors will rise early for a visit to a local hospital, then the entire team will head off to the USS Alabama for a luncheon with a bowling competition against Ball State later in the evening. Tulsa's band and spirit squads will arrive late Sunday afternoon. If you're making the trek to Mobile, don't forget the Mardi Gras Parade on Monday night beginning at 6:30 pm. The Tulsa radio network with host Bruce Howard will also broadcast a Live Bowl Radio Special Show from the plaza of the Renaissance Riverview Hotel on Monday night from 7-8 pm, so TU fans are encouraged to stop by. (Author... Don Tomkalski)
Sunday, January 4 (3:35 pm) . . . Just sitting here at practice on a warm (70-+ degree) and partly cloudy day at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Practice intensity picked up quite a bit today... a visitor to practice today was former Hurricane offensive lineman from the 1970s' and former Illinois State head coach Denver Johnson... This morning the seniors visited patients, including children, at the University of South Alabama Children's and Women's Hospital. It was a great experience for the seniors, who were equipped with various TU gear and posters, and it appeared that the patients thoroughly enjoyed the players' visit. It was obvious that the nurses and physicians did, who were posing for pictures with the players.... Coach Graham, Tarrion Adams and Rod Thomas were asked to visit a juvenile detention center to speak to a group of young men, even as young as 15 years old, who have committed crimes as serious as murder. The GMAC representative that accompanied Coach Graham and the two players to the detention center raved repeatedly about how impressive Coach, Tarrion and Rod were in their talks with the young men... Well, practice is about to wrap up and I need to take care of media interview requests. We'll make another post later today that might enlighten some folks about Bowl gifts. (Author... Don Tomkalski)
Sunday, January 4 (11:55 pm) . . .Don't feel too bad for the Tulsa football players when it comes to bowl gifts. I've seen and heard, oh the GMAC Bowl gifts are bad, and the TU players don't get much -- quite the contrary. The school has an NCAA limit $350 they can spend per player on bowl gifts, the Bowl can spend up to $500 and because Tulsa played in the C-USA Championship Game, the University can spend $325 for that appearance . . . here's the final haul for the TU players -- from the GMAC Bowl - a GMAC logo football, GMAC watch, ring, luggage tag, hat and t-shirt; from the school - navy travel suit, gray travel suit, mock long sleeve dry fit t-shirt, short sleeve dry fit t-shirt, workout shorts, hoody, shoes and travel bag, and for the C-USA portion of those gifts - a PSP, PSP game, C-USA Championship watch and t-shirt . . . TU equipment manager Russ Hoffman thinks that's a pretty good haul, and I must agree. Among those items, how many can be with these players for a lifetime -- the watches, rings and logo footballs can be remembrances of their playing days, while a PSP could be outdated in two months with the type of technology there is today. So don't feel sorry for our players, I think they're doing just fine. (Author... Don Tomkalski)
