Super Bowl Update

I did talk to coach Bobby Pierce this morning. Troy hosts Auburn Tuesday and Alabama A&M on Wednesday with a thin pitching staff, and one that hasn't always been effective with the down-the-line pitchers. They'll all get some opportunities this week.

***Outfielder Hayden Hillyer broke his foot in pregame drills last week at Auburn. He's out for the year. It's been that type of year for the Trojans. College teams can have a 35-man roster, and take 27 to conference games. Troy could only take 25 last week because of injuries, ineligibility, etc.

***Former Saturday pitcher Jimmy Hodgskin hasn't pitched since March 31 because of elbow soreness. I'm not sure when, or if, Hodgskin will pitch again this year.

***Tyson Workman, Troy's closer and an all-conference performer last year, hasn't pitched since April 7. Pierce didn't disclose a reason for that. I'm not sure when, or if, Workman will pitch again this year.

I got to go to CrossFit Embrace today, a workout place in Dothan, to talk to Landon and Keisha Brazell for a story tomorrow. Landon pitched at Troy from 2004-05. He is from Dothan. They are going to the CrossFit regionals in West Palm Beach this weekend, with the top performers going to the CrossFit Games in Carson, Calif., in July. Last August, Brazell slipped off some rings during a workout and landed on his head, fracturing his skull in multiple places. There was internal bleeding, but it stopped. Brazell wasn't supposed to come back and do CrossFit training, but he did and he's back to normal now. It was a near-death experience that I'll be writing about for tomorrow's paper.

The New Orleans Bowl announced a game time of 11 a.m. on Dec. 22. The GoDaddy.com Bowl will be Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. CST. I am certainly pulling for New Orleans if Troy makes a bowl this year. 8 p.m. starts are no fun.