Thames Upset with Palmer, Eagles

James Scottsboro, Times-Picayune Reporter

University of Southern Mississippi President Shelby Thames spent most of Saturday afternoon and Saturday night on the phone with various USM Athletics Department officials, probing for the causes and consequences of yesterday's 12-2 loss by USM to Maine, eliminating them from the Oxford Regional.  Thames, a man who many in Hattiesburg refer to as the most pro-athletics president in school history, appeared noticeably stung by the defeat.  "I just don't understand it.  I keep hearing how good our baseball program is, but we can't seem to get over the hump," Thames said.

A rash of injuries at several key positions, most notably pitcher, put the Eagles in a bind for much of the season.  After Friday's close loss to Oklahoma, USM entered to loser's bracket, exacerbating the pitching shortage.  "I spoke with Dr. Thames and explained our injury situation, how thin our pitching staff is," explained Richard Giannini, USM's Director of Athletics.  "I'm still not sure he understands.  He was very upset and asked me why we have fewer than 10 pitchers on the team, so we explained NCAA roster limitations to him this afternoon," Giannini stated.

USM Head Coach Corky Palmer spent late yesterday in transit between Oxford and Hattiesburg, and was unable to speak with Thames, who attempted several (unsuccessful) phone calls to Palmer's cell phone.  Giannini indicated that he informed Thames that he (Giannini) had spoken with Palmer by cell phone just before the post-game press conference, expressing how proud the Athletics Department was at the job Palmer had done this season. 

"I told him that to win more than 40 games with the injuries and graduation [from last year] he had to face, was nothing short of tremendous," Giannini said.  "He asked about Dr. Thames, whether he [Thames] was upset.  I told him we'd run interference," Giannini indicated. 

Our efforts to reach Palmer by phone or e-mail proved unsuccessful.  In our interview, however, Thames indicated that the Eagles' season might not yet be over.  "I am making some phone calls this afternoon, trying to talk with NCAA people about it [the NCAA regulations and USM's injury situation].  Don't count us out.  I've dealt with sticky oversight situations before [like SACS], and I think I can get this thing done.  We may just get to Omaha afterall," Thames concluded.