Augustus words will serve as a rallying cry

For more information about Intersil orto find out how to become a member of our winning team, visit theCompany's web site and career page at 2009, Market Wire, All rights reserved.-0-. I get subbed, every time I look over my shoulder Im coming out the game.Augustus received a two-game suspension for his postgame outburst, further depleting the Bulldogs frontcourt that was already without junior Elgin Bailey, and highly touted freshmen John Riek and Renardo Sidney.Still, Mississippi State will have plenty of opportunities to break into the rankings, starting with a date with UCLA on Dec. 12 in Anaheim, Calif., before their conference opener at Ole Miss on Jan 9.Here are three reasons the Bulldogs will rebound: 1 The lack of depth (for now). Riek is in the midst of serving a nine-game suspension for his ambiguous offseason amateurism, while fellow freshman Shaughnessy Smith is out with a hip injury. Several key returnees including Dee Bost, Riley Benock, and Bailey are also nursing injuries.Still, the Bulldogs biggest concern has been Sidneys eligibility.The enigmatic freshmen is being forced to sit out while the NCAA launches an investigation into his familys financial records.In the game against Rider, Stansbury was forced to play a three-, sometimes four-guard lineup with Jarvis Varnado in the middle. With Augustus and Romero Osby only playing a combined 26 minutes, Stansbury implemented junior Phil Turner into the frontcourt rotation.While Turner is an above-average rebounder for his position, he struggles in the paint against bigger threes and fours. Inserting Sidney and Riek into the lineup allows Stansbury to switch Turner back to his natural two-guard position.The Bulldogs wont have to rely so much on the rebounding of the All-American Varnado who, at 11 rebounds per game, has been cleaning the boards with Monk -like obstinacy. The partisan rims will switch parties.Rider was just hot.The Broncs shot over 50 percent from the floor, while hitting 10 threes in the game.

More importantly they only committed six turnovers.Meanwhile, the Bulldogs struggled on the offensive end, shooting just 35 percent in the second half. At halftime Rider clung to a two point lead, but outscored the Bulldogs 44-32 in the final period.Mississippi State flirted with a comeback midway through the second half, as Varnados jumper with 12:38 remaining cut the lead to four, 59-55, before an 11-4 Broncs run out the game out of reach.Sharpshooter Ravern Johnson was 4-of-11 from the field, including just 2-of-8 from beyond the arc, and finished with 10 points. Last season, he shot nearly 40 percent from the three.Senior guard Barry Stewart also struggled to find his stroke, going just 2-of-10.Johnson managed to salvage his shooting touch the following game, dropping a cool 17 on Southeastern Louisiana. Augustus words will serve as a rallying cry.Maybe Augustus comments after the Rider loss were exactly what the Bulldogs needed to hear. Well, at some of them. The kid was mostly upset with his lack of playing time. After all, he only played 15 minutes, finishing with nine points and four rebounds.Augustus later publicly apologized and sure the kid could have handled the situation better, but what player doesnt feel they can contribute when their team is down. Were not supposed to lose our first game.Judging by their play the last two games, his words got through to the rest of the Bulldogs.. The boxing world wasn't exactly turned upside-down when Andre Ward upset Mikkel Kessler this past Saturday, but a big portion of it certainly sat up and took notice.Kessler was considered by many as the tournament favorite, and while Ward was highly regarded, fans just didn't know if he was ready for the level of competition he'd face in the Super Six World Boxing Classic.Now they do.Ward boxed exactly the fight he needed to against a stronger and more experienced opponent, frustrating Kessler with his hand-speed and movement.

He tied up often and did a lot of jumping in and out, which didn't make for an aesthetically pleasing fight all the time Kessler and his team went a step further by suggesting the fight was dirty but his tactics led to a surprisingly easy night.With the first stage of the tournament's round robin portion complete, Ward's victory announces him as a real contender to win the whole thing. The beauty of the Super Six format is that anyone could still win it, but we learned enough from the first round of fights to have a better guess at who's going to be around at the end.That makes this a perfect time to evaluate each boxer's chances of taking the silver cup. I won't pretend to be an expert on setting odds, but here's one writer's attempt to size up the field going forward: Arthur Abraham: 2 to 1King Arthur was my personal pre-tournament favorite, and he did nothing to change that opinion with his spectacular knockout of Jermain Taylor. The extra point he earned for the KO was important, because even if the wheels come off in his next two round robin bouts, it may very well be enough to get him into the semifinals anyway.I don't expect that to happen, though.

I'd be surprised if he doesn't make the final, and stunned if he isn't at least in the semis. Andre Ward: 4 to 1Ward has the physical tools and charisma to be a star, and now he is in great position to take the next steps down that path. Regardless of what you thought of the uglier parts of his fight with Kessler, he proved a lot and has to be taken seriously.Ward's path to the elimination round should only get easier from here. He should be a huge favorite against Jermain Taylor (or a substitute) in his next match, and even though Dirrell's speed will be a test, it's one that S.O.G. should be able to pass.My one qualm about Andre's chances to win the whole thing is that he often left openings for counters on Saturday. Such openings would play right into Abraham's hands, but Ward has plenty of time to work on closing that hole in his game before he'd run into King Arthur.