(Note From Bill: This is Jeff’s first post as a writer for ScalpEm.com. I welcome him and his contributions to the site! Here’s his first offering!)

By Nolelando (Jeff Buckley)

According to Willie Lee, Xavier Lee’s father and perennial mouthpiece, Xavier Lee will not return to FSU for 2008. Jimbo Fisher had been recently discussing a move from quarterback to tight end with Lee. Lee was obviously not in agreement with Jimbo’s grand vision and, instead of racking up unexcused absences this Spring at FSU, will be taking his chances at the NFL Combine after which he will most likely wind up somewhere as be converted to a tight end anyway.

This effectively ends the Xavier Lee vs. Drew Weatherford saga that has been boiling over for the better part of two seasons. Thank. You. Jesus. You are as merciful as you are wise to have finally put a bullet into the head of this cripple fight.

Xavier Lee has no one to blame for his on and off the field problems but Xavier Lee. No one else made him miss those classes, no one put any less time into teaching him how to read defenses than would have been spent on any other quarterback, and no one translated the offensive playbook into Aramaic so he couldn’t learn it (In fact, they simplified it for his benefit). All of that is on Lee. The sooner that the people out there screaming about how “unfairly” he was treated during his tenure at FSU figure this out, the sooner we can move on from this debacle and focus on rebuilding the offense.

Most upsetting about this situation is that it confirms we have all but wasted four years in trying to develop Lee as a quarterback. For whatever reason or reasons, he didn’t pan out and all we have to show for it are insinuations of racism and a lack of parity in every decision made regarding Xavier Lee. Bowden and Fisher have, in many ways, royally screwed the pooch in their handling of this, but they aren’t bigots. Sometimes, things just don’t work out (If your quarterback can’t call the correct plays after three years, it didn’t work out).

So, now the starting job is Drew Weatherford’s to lose. Christian Ponder, who showed flashes of promise during the Virginia Tech game will have his shot at it as will D’Vontrey Richardson, assuming he can get his grades back up this semester. EJ Manuel will also have his say on the matter in due time. I wish Xavier nothing but the best of luck in whatever he winds up doing with himself, but with everything that has gone wrong with this football program over the past few years, this may wind up being our first break in a long time and something that actually works out in our favor.

By Bill Kristoph

It’s a been a busy week in real life, so I’m a bit behind on any previews for ScalpEm.com this weekend. Here are the highlights for the next couple of days.

Seminole Softball - Seminole Softball starts their season today with the Seminoles Classic at JoAnne Graf Field. The Girls of Summer have the best infield in the ACC and, quite possibly, the NCAA this season thanks to Veronica Wootson and Yuruby Alicart. Wootson will take aim at Jessica Boulware’s (van der Linden) many records this season. The big question for the Noles is how to replace graduated Natasha Jacob’s (pictured above) speed and slap hitting ability at the leadoff spot. The pitching staff, a year older and wiser, should be good if the Noles can provide some offense. Tiffany McDonald anchors the staff and should keep opposing batters at bay. Even better news for the Noles is that McDonald won’t have to carry the load as much in 2007, with Melissa May, Kayla Collins and AJC player of the year, Terese Gober in her freshman season at FSU. The Seminole Classic starts at 4pm today, when the Noles take on Samford. It continues at 6:30 when FSU takes on FAMU. Seminole Softball finishes up on Saturday afternoon at 1:30pm against Radford.

Seminole Baseball - If you listen to Mike Martin interviews with any regularity, then you’ll know that EVERY opponent for FSU is a “Good ball team that can sneak up on you.” In reality, FSU leads the series 14-1 all time against UNC-Asheville. Last year they outscored the Bulldogs 27-3. If the Seminole bats perform again this weekend, like they did last weekend against the Tennessee Volunteers, then FSU fans should be in for a treat. Game times are 5pm, 1pm and 1pm. If you went to last weekend’s opening series and still have your tickets stub, you can get in for free this weekend! That’s a pretty good deal.

And don’t forget that the Women’s Basketball team takes on Georgia Tech tonight, while the Men’s plays Boston College on Sunday! Both are home games for the Noles at the Tallahassee-Leon County / Donald Tucker Civic Center.

By Bill Kristoph

Hey Seminole fans, were you expecting to see the World Renowned Florida State University Marching Chiefs at the Emerald Bowl on December 27, 2006 in San Francisco, when FSU takes on the UCLA Bruins?

Tough.

The Marching Chiefs will not be making the trip to a bowl game this season, and Florida State University has decided to hire a local band to replace substitute for them. It makes me wonder, if the Seminole Boosters can buy out an Offensive Coordinator’s contract to get him to “resign,” why can’t they pay for the Chiefs to go to San Francisco to support the players in a bowl game?

By Bill Kristoph

The Seminole Boosters’ newsletter came out last week and it contained a very interesting article. Governor Jeb Bush signed off on repealing any and all penalties for selling tickets at more than face value. The Seminole Boosters let season ticket holders know that FSU season tickets just became more valuable. The bigger issue for ‘Nole fans; Their options just increased immensely.

How so? No longer will a honest fan have to lurk around the stadium with the scalpers, nor will they have to worry about an eBay transation. Both methods are now legal. In fact, selling to a ticket brokerage is legal too. So is this a good thing, or bad thing for Seminole fans? If you are a season ticket holder, then it provides you the opportunity to profit from your tickets. If you’re not season ticket holders, premium games just got VERY expensive.

So what should Seminole fans do? My suggestion: If you’re a ‘Nole, don’t go through those brokerages or eBay for the big games. Sell to your fellow ‘Nole at a reasonable price. It’s better to have Doak filled with the good guys, rather than the bad guys that paid a premium. (No matter how good it might feel to relieve a rival from some of their cash.) I wonder if ticket prices will continue to rise, though, if FSU and the Boosters feel like the resellers are making too much money? Will it eventually push a lot of us out? Football tickets have increased in price heavily over the past years, and with Dave Hart wanting 7 home games each year, can a family of four afford to go to all of them?

Got any comments? Leave one… don’t forget that you don’t have to register, but if you’d like to have a screen name to keep track of your thoughts, then sign up!

According to the Tallahassee Democrat:

“There will be 45 acres of playable space, five times what’s available now. Think five softball fields, plus enough green space for up to 12 flag-football fields in the first phase of the project. Next will be four large fields for lacrosse, rugby, soccer and ultimate Frisbee. Out farther, five to 10 years, would be tennis, basketball, street-hockey and beach-volleyball courts and a track.”

The complex will be located Seminole Golf Course on Lake Bradford Road, and will cost $10 million.

That’s great, but will the high demand for the use of the facilities remain when the complex is not within walking distance of the campus?

Just in case you haven’t noticed that link up there on the Daily Chop… 1 of FSU’s National Championship crystal footballs was recovered. For further information check out The Daily Chop, or the Tallahassee Democrat’s Article.

Here’s a great Q&A with former Seminole Running Back Nick Maddox over at Seminoles.com

The Women’s Volleyball Team beat USF last night 3 games to 1. I had originally planned to be there to get photos, but couldn’t make it. I will get to a couple of them soon!

The Women’s Soccer Team is ready to play UF tomorrow night in Gainesville. If you happen to be headed that way, stop in for the 7pm game and support the team, which is off to a school record 6-0-0 start!

Chief Osceola sported a new outfit for last week’s game. The Seminole Tribe provided it as a gift to the University, and I think it’s outstanding. In fact, if you look at some paintings of Chief Osceola, it’s a downright replica!

And in other news, the NCAA is still a bunch of morons. They will enforce the 1 year sit out rule for student-athletes that transfer from a Katrina damaged school.

The NCAA has proven, beyond a doubt that they have no clue. They are a knee-jerk-reaction bunch, that created all of the current Native American Problems.

Check out this Palm Beach Post article here. A measure against Native American nicknames FAILED 18-2 when brought to a vote at the OKLAHOMA Seminole Tribal Council.

Hey NCAA… guess who’s knocking, and bringing their big, bad Seminole friends with them?

By Bill Kristoph

This article is not about the NCAA’s sad attempt to rid colleges of “offensive” Native American symbols and mascots. My personal stance has always been that they would need to rid sports of ALL offensive nicknames, which would eliminate all nicknames and the teams would all wear white. Or perhaps nothing, since white jerseys might offend a couple of people. But then people would be offended by nude players, so all sports would have to be called off. (Yes, this is ridiculous, but it is annoying that this topic still comes up.)

What this article is about, is my stupidity as a freshman at Florida State University and why FSU should do better in preventing that sort of stupidity.

You see, growing up I was evil by most ‘Nole fan standards. I was a Yankee (still am, can not fix it, so get over it people) and a Miami Hurricane fan (that stopped in 1996 when I decided to go to FSU). I took a tour with a beautiful FSU student after my junior year of high school, and realized that Tallahassee was where I wanted to be. Fast-forward to the fall of 1997 when I arrived on campus and had no clue about FSU, its history or its traditions, other than the warchant.

What is my point? Seminoles:101 should be part of the orientation process for the many students that did not grow up as Seminoles.

For instance, as good Seminoles we should all know our fight song. It has value for everyone, including non sports fans. It is part of the school, part of a person’s life and comes in handy when someone makes a bet that you can not sing your school’s fight song. (I am still in trouble if someone asks for my high school fight song.)

FSU students should be educated about the history of the school. During my orientation there were only brief mentions about the Florida State College for Women, the history of Ruby Diamond Auditorium or the university’s successes in the real world of business, academics, research, etc. But the biggest educational misstep that FSU makes is that they do not spend enough time reviewing the history of the Seminole Tribe with students.

I had to do a lot of digging back in 1997. The World Wide Web was not as vast as it is today with readily available info. Google did not exist for quick and easy research, so I had no clue who Chief Osceola and Renegade were, what the spear symbolized and that the Warrior at FSU basketball games is not Chief Osceola! By the way, that mascot at basketball games is not Renegade either, it is Cimarron!

How many FSU students or Alumni know that? In fact, how many more have no idea of the wonderful history of the Seminole tribe, and that the Seminoles never signed a treaty with the U.S. Government? How great is it that they U.S. Government just gave up and declared the war over, because they were too frustrated to deal with the Seminoles anymore? Do they know that Chief Osceola was a mastermind in the art of war, out maneuvering five different U.S. Generals? The official website, Seminoles.com, does not explain where the traditions came from, only what they are and how they take place. FSU owes it to the students, fans and Seminole Tribe of Florida to create Seminoles:101 for orientation and view on the FSU.edu and Seminoles.com website!

After I wrote this article, President T.K. Wetherell announced the proposed on campus museum, The Center for Seminole Heritage and Culture; and proposed the development of the first tribal charter school. He also proposed construction of an authentic chickee (a Seminole-style shelter) at the FSU Reservation. Kudos to Florida State for moving ahead on these projects!

I encourage everyone to visit http://www.seminoletribe.com/ for further info!