Usually on Fridays CroomDiaries, robnoladog and I spend hours sifting through all the fanmail, gifts and undergarments that fans of this site send to us*. So it was only natural that when fans starting sending in questions, we wanted to give out answers.

Last week we made a call out for questions from our readership, and you guys responded well with questions from the full spectrum of things we might have imagined. We've compiled them, and chose a few to answer here. We try to get to all of them, so if you don't see yours included here, send it to us again and we'll get it in next week's edition!

Catherine asks: Most of you guys write under pen names. Do many people know who the real guys are behind your alter egos?

That's a good question Catherine. It varies from writer to writer and their situation at this site. For example, justinrsutton is obviously Justin Sutton: a talented sports writer who writes with us for fun and to also promote his writing skills. Everyone knows who he is obviously because he uses his real name. In situations like myself (thecristilmethod), CroomDiaries, RobbieRandolph and others, we use pen names because this is more of a hobby for us, and because well we don't want to receive any death threats. I can't speak for the other guys, but I would say a fair amount of people know who I really am. Maybe less know who the other guys are. No one outside of us here at the site knows who Just1BroArguing is. There are rumors that he's a drunken homeless man who played for State in the 70's that we allow computer access to every so often to write posts. We will neither confirm nor deny those allegations at this time.

Continue reading this post »

In preparation for tonight's all-bulldog matchup between State and the a bulldogs of Georgia, we asked our brothers in blogging at Dawg Sports, the SBNation Georgia Bulldogs Site, to stop by to answer a few questions. In preparation for tonight's tipoff (9pm CT), I would encourage you to check out their site for the best information you'll find on the web on Georgia.

Q1: In the first all bulldog matchup in February, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Georgia with 20 points including the game winner. Should we expect more stellar play tonight from the Freshman or was that a "Game of the year" type game?

Dawg Sports: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the real deal; he's maybe the realest deal to play his home games in the Classic City since Dominique Wilkins. The freshman sensation spent most of the year as Georgia's leading scorer, and he finished the regular season as the team's leader in defensive rebounds, minutes played, steals, and three-pointers. Without regard to class standing, Caldwell-Pope ranks eleventh among SEC players in scoring, and he is among the top five players in the league in steals and in three-point baskets made per contest. He had a great game against State, but it was by no means his sole superb outing of the campaign.

Continue reading this post »

With the NFL draft fastly approaching, we wanted to bring you as much outside insight and analysis of the MSU players that will most likely hear their names called on one of the draft days. By this time most State fans know that the first Bulldog that will be taken in this year's draft will most likely be former DL Fletcher Cox. As we told you last week, Fletcher had a good combine workout, but what does that mean to his draft status? That question, and several others, we directed earlier this week to the SBNation NFL Draft experts, Mocking the Draft.

The guys at Mocking the Draft were kind enough to answer our questions and give you some better insight on Fletcher's chances come draft day.

Q1: Would you say that Fletcher Cox's combine workouts helped him greatly in his draft status or was that mostly information that was already known about him?

They certainly didn't hurt him, but most NFL teams probably already had a good knowledge of his general athletic ability. While it took media doofuses (like me) aback that he was on the 4x100 relay team at 240 pounds in high school, NFL teams know this stuff already. If nothing else, Cox' workout numbers probably only affirmed his draft placement for NFL teams.

Continue reading this post »

Coming off 3-straight losses, you'd generally want to see an easy opponent staring at you as the next foe on the schedule. Who would you problably NOT want to see? Ah, Kentucky I'd say. Welp, who do we have to play tonight? Kentucky! Yay! (cries inside).

Tonight State takes on the Kentucky Wildcats at home in ESPN's SEC Super Tuesday matchup. The Wildcats come in unblemished in SEC play and with only one loss for the entire season. Tonight we'll find out just how well State handles the adversity they're going through right now, but what do we know about their opponent tonight? Well, our friends from A Sea of Blue, SBNation's blog for all things Kentucky Wildcats, have been so kind as to stop by and answer a few questions on the Wildcats to help us get to know them. They also share with us how they see tonight's game transpiring.

Q1: So many of us outside of Lexington are amazed at how Coach Calipari can gel so many high-profile and young talents to play so well together and make a #1 team. How do you think Calipari gets all those talents to play so well as a team?

Frankly, we are just as amazed as you are, but the answer is not something many outside of Lexington want to hear. But the fact of the matter is that Calipari, despite his reputation, is a very honest person. Before he will take a player, the player has to convince him that he understands how Kentucky's system works, and that there is only one way to success on his teams -- to work hard and accept a role that will almost certainly not be a starring one.

If you look at the players he has recruited, most of them have been high-quality people as well as good basketball players. That's why you don't see him normally get involved with kids that have a reputation as head cases (with one notable exception who will remain unnamed, but who did very well while he was here). Calipari is choosy about his players, and frank with them about what it means to play here, both for their future as a Wildcat and after, and he keeps his word to them. That is well-known, and helps players who are willing to fit into his system self-identify.

Continue reading this post »

In the last State-Ole Miss hardwood meeting, Ole Miss played lights out on both ends of the floor and Reginald Buckner's 19 points led them to a 75-68 victory in Oxford. State hopes to reverse those fortunes tonight when the latest edition of the Egg Ball rivalry tips off tonight in Starkville. The game tips at 6 p.m. Central time and will be televised on The Deuce (ESPN2 for you non-slang people).

But outside of the first meeting in Oxford, what do we know about Ole Miss this season? I know I don't know much, other than the fact that the Rebels are 3 tough losses away from having a record matching ours. The good news is our counterparts over at Red Cup Rebellion, the Ole Miss SBNation blog, have stopped by to answer some of our questions on the Rebel Roundballers in preparation for tonight's game.

Q1: With Ole Miss at 14-8 and 1st out in Joe Lunardi's latest Bracketology, would you say Ole Miss fans are surprised with the success so far this season?

I'd say that Ole Miss fans are largely disappointed and surprised with Lunardi's analysis thus far. Southern Miss turned out to be a much better team than expected, but many of our other losses have left fans scratching their heads. LSU and Auburn losses are nearly inexcusable, even if they were on the road, and the Alabama and Florida meltdowns left fans with sour tastes in their mouths.

Continue reading this post »