Big news today for the site: the War Eagle Extra is moving.

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn was on the cusp of a big inning all weekend, but because of rotten luck, bad baserunning or poor situational hitting repeatedly failed to strike it big.

The No. 23 Tigers finally broke through in their last chance, scoring four runs in the eighth inning Sunday to rally for a 10-8 win against No. 7 Arizona State and avoid a three-game sweep at Plainsman Park.

“It seemed like every potential big inning we had they just shut us down and we didn’t get the breaks,” Auburn shortstop Casey McElroy said. “It really felt nice to finally have that one inning where we got a couple breaks and the balls fell in.”

AUBURN, Ala. — The hits keep coming and coming for Arizona State, with no end in sight.

After a 16-hit effort in Friday’s opener, No. 7 Arizona State pounded out 17 hits Saturday in a 9-5 win against No. 23 Auburn at Plainsman Park.

Matt Newman hit two home runs and had four RBIs and Joey DeMichele was 5-for-5 with three doubles and four runs for the Sun Devils (11-2), who have won five straight against the Tigers (10-5) dating back to last year.

“It always seemed like we were pitching with somebody on base,” Auburn coach John Pawlowski said. “So it puts a lot of pressure on your team, puts pressure on the defense, and they’re a quality team and they’re going to find ways to score runs. And they did today.”

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Arizona State took command of a back-and-forth game in the late innings. Deven Marrero hit a sacrifice fly off reliever Andrew Morris (1-1) to break a 5-5 tie in the seventh. Newman followed with an RBI double to make it 7-5.

The Sun Devils tacked on two more in the ninth. Newman, who had one extra-base hit all year, hit his third of the day when he launched a Dillon Ortman offering into the right field bullpen. Xorge Carrillo added an RBI single to push the lead to four.

ASU’s six through nine hitters went 12-for-19 on the afternoon with two homers, six doubles and eight RBIs.

Auburn had a glut of wasted chances. After scoring four runs in the first three innings, it scored only one more time the rest of the game.

Zach Alvord ran through a stop sign at third in the second inning, getting thrown out by a considerable distance at the plate. An inning later, Cullen Wacker whiffed on a squeeze bunt, leaving Wes Gilmer hung out to dry between third and home.

The Tigers twice loaded the bases with one out or less but only managed to score one run in those two innings. They left nine runners on base overall.

“We’ve got to keep talking to them about approach and try to find a way offensively to try to get guys on base and manufacture some runs,” Pawlowski said.

With the conference opener looming next weekend, Pawlowski said he’ll have to re-evaluate the pitching rotation.

Starter Slade Smith lasted only 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. The right-hander has gotten through the fifth inning only once in four starts this year and has an 8.00 ERA.

“We said that we’ve got to get our guys ready to go,” Pawlowski said. “We may have to make some adjustments.”

The teams conclude the series Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. Derek Varnadore (3-0, 1.17 ERA) takes the mound for Auburn against Arizona State’s Kramer Champlin (2-0, 2.50).

“Our mindset is it’s a one-game championship tomorrow,” Pawlowski said. “We’ve got to come ready to play. And to our program, to our kids in there, even though it’s non-conference, they are competitive and they want to win.”

AUBURN, Ala. — Just like last year, Auburn couldn't hold a lead against Arizona State.

The No. 7 Sun Devils rallied from three deficits Friday night for an 8-7 win against the No. 23 Tigers at Plainsman Park to start a three-game series.

Arizona State (10-2) scored twice in the ninth for the win, tying the game on an Xorge Carrillo single and going ahead on a single by Zack MacPhee that took a fortuitous bounce into right field.

"It's real disappointing," Auburn coach John Pawlowski said. "We knew they weren't going away. That's a solid ballclub over there and they play to a high level. We had our chances. It just didn't work out."

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Auburn (10-4) was swept by Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz., last season, despite leading in every game.

The Tigers looked like they would break that streak, taking a 7-6 lead in the eighth after an errant throw on Justin Fradejas' infield single allowed pinch runner Bobby Andrews to score.

But Arizona State (10-2) rallied. Reliever Ethan Wallen walked Austin Barnes to start the ninth. After a bunt moved him to second, Carrillo's RBI single up the middle scored him to tie the game at 7.

Andy Workman batted next and hit a sharp grounder up the middle that got past the pitcher's mound and struck umpire Jay Pierce on the foot. The ball ricocheted to second baseman Justin Hargett, who was ready to fire to first when Pierce ruled the play dead, putting runners and first and second.

Pawlowski argued the call saying the play should have been live, although the umpires were backed up by the rulebook, which says a fair ball that hits an umpire before it passes an infielder other than the pitcher is dead and runners advance one base.

"Sometimes those things happen," Pawlowski said. "It's unfortunate the ball hitting the umpire. That's part of baseball."

After an ASU runner was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a grounder to short, MacPhee hit a grounder into hole between first and second that took a bad hop over Hargett's head and into right field, allowing Workman to score with the winning run.

Wallen (0-1) took the loss, giving up two runs in 2 2/3 innings of relief. Auburn starter Cory Luckie struck out eight, one shy of a career-high, giving up three runs on nine hits in 4 2/3

Arizona State reliever Mitchell Lambson (3-1) earned the win after giving up one run in 2 1/3 innings.

Dan Gamache went 3-for-4 for the Tigers, driving in Auburn's first four runs with a double and triple. Kevin Patterson added a two-run homer in the sixth, his second of the year.

Johnny Ruettiger was 2-for-5 for ASU with three RBIs and Barnes was 3-for-4.

The Tigers and Sun Devils play again today at 4 p.m. ET. Auburn will start Slade Smith (1-0, 7.98 ERA) against Kyle Ottoson (2-0, 3.46).

AUBURN, Ala. — Four Auburn football players — Mike McNeil, Antonio Goodwin, Shaun Kitchens and Dakota Mosley — have been kicked off the team after being arrested early Friday morning on charges of robbery, burglary and theft of property.

The four are currently being held at Lee County Detention Center, each on a $511,000 bond, according to the Auburn Police Department.

(UPDATE: According to the Opelika-Auburn News, Mosley had posted bond.)

They were charged with five counts of robbery in the first degree and one count of burglary in the first degree, Class A felonies under Alabama state law, and one count of theft of property in the third degree, a Class A misdemeanor.

My colleague, Seth Emerson, had game story duties today at the SEC tournament. You can read his account here. I wrote a column on the conclusion of Auburn's season instead. Here it is:

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ATLANTA — There was no comeback, no second-half magic, no late-game rally for the Auburn Tigers on Thursday.

Tony Barbee's first season on the Plains came to a predictable conclusion in a 69-51 SEC tournament loss to Georgia, a much bigger, much better team from top to bottom.

But he didn't dwell on it.

"Can't look back," Barbee said, echoing a season-long sentiment. "We've got to look ahead."

Looking back at the wreckage won't help. The Tigers (11-20) finished with their fewest wins since the 1993-94 season, placing fifth in the SEC West, the fifth time in the last seven years they've been one of the bottom two teams in the division.

But here's where things differ from the Jeff Lebo era. There's hope.

It's a word rarely spoken in Auburn basketball circles. Lebo's teams never made the NCAA tournament, coming close only once while treading water until the life raft of a new arena could push the program to the next level.

Barbee's different. In 20 years as a player or coach, he's missed the postseason only twice. He's been schooled by a noted winner, John Calipari. And in his only previous head coaching gig, he took UTEP from 10th to first place in the Conference USA in four short years.

Why would that pattern change now?

Sure, the numbers are bad this season — historically bad, in fact, if you're talking RPI — but look at what Barbee inherited. The team had no seniors. Its best player missed the season with a knee injury. Its top two recruits failed to qualify academically. Going 0-for-the-SEC was in play.

Still, the Tigers never folded. They scrapped their way to four SEC wins (I'm guessing the over paid off on that one), had a competitive surge late in the season during which no deficit was too large and gave their fan base reason to believe better days are ahead.

"They stayed together as teammates and didn't point, didn't blame," Barbee said. "They knew they had a lot of growing to do because of the inexperience. And I talked about the growing pains from Day 1. And you see how we progressed as a team and got gradually better over the course of the season. And that's what we want to try to do every year."

It won't be an instant fix. Auburn needs size and scoring. The Tigers got mauled on the boards Thursday, allowing 18 offensive rebounds. Their signature offensive play this season was the seven-minute scoring drought.

There's also the matter of making the scholarship numbers work, which will probably require some maneuvering Auburn fans like to think only takes place under Nick Saban's watch.

But it's not as though SEC reclamation projects take a long time. Mark Fox took Georgia from 5-11 in the SEC to the cusp of the NCAA tournament in Year 2. Anthony Grant had a similar turnaround at Alabama, turning a 5-11 SEC team into Western Division champs.

Why can't Auburn, which plays in one of the weakest divisions in Division I basketball and will add injured guard Frankie Sullivan, transfers Varez Ward and Noel Johnson and at least three freshman signees to its current group, make a similar jump?

Barbee refuses to sugarcoat the process — "He doesn’t shoot you no crap," forward Kenny Gabriel said. "He doesn’t tell you what you want to hear." — nor will he slow down to let the stragglers play catchup. Losing isn't in his DNA.

"They've got to commit to improving," Barbee said. "If not, they will get left behind."

ATLANTA — There was no second-half comeback to be had Thursday in the Georgia Dome, where Auburn's season ended with a 69-51 loss to Georgia.

Trey Thompkins had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs (21-10), who kept their NCAA tournament hopes alive, advancing to play Alabama tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET.

The Tigers (11-20) finished with their fewest wins since the 1993-94 season.

Georgia opened things up with an 18-4 run in the first half, taking a 34-23 lead into the break. The Bulldogs dominated the glass, grabbing 18 offensive rebounds.

Auburn, which made a habit of overcoming big deficits late in the season, found Thursday's 21-point hole too large to overcome.

Chris Denson, from Columbus, was one of the few bright spots for the Tigers, finishing with a career-high with 21 points off the bench. He went 9-for-10 from the field.

But he had little offensive help. Auburn shot 39 percent but was 2-for-14 from 3-point range.

Earnest Ross, who scored a career-high 30 earlier this year at Georgia, went 1-for-10 from the floor and scored only 4 points. Kenny Gabriel was the team's second-leading scorer with 7.

ATLANTA — Auburn will need some second-half magic to keep its season going.

The Tigers trail Georgia 34-23 at halftime in the SEC tournament opener at the Georgia Dome.

The Bulldogs (20-10), who are playing to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive, used an 18-4 run near the end of the first half. Georgia led by as many as 15.

Center Trey Thompkins has a game-high 14 points to go with 7 rebounds. UGA has a 24-14 rebounding advantage, with 13 offensive rebounds.

Reserve guard Chris Denson, from Columbus, leads Auburn (11-19) with 9 points.

The Tigers shot 39 percent in the first half (11-for-28) but were 0-for-7 from 3-point range.

The game's winner will play Alabama tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET.

I'll be driving to Atlanta this morning for the SEC tournament, which will take place at the Georgia Dome. Auburn, the 5th seed out of the West, plays Georgia, the 4th seed out of the East, at 1 p.m. ET. Here's how today's story starts:

AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn isn’t a quick-starting team, so it figures that it began playing its best basketball as the season wound down.

The Tigers (11-19, 4-12 SEC), who finished the regular season with their first back-to-back wins in league play, hope to carry that late-season momentum into the SEC tournament, which starts today at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

“There’s no question this team has gotten progressively better over the course of the season,” first-year Auburn coach Tony Barbee said. “And right now, we’re playing at our peak.”

Auburn's baseball game tonight against Memphis was canceled because of weather. The teams will not make the game up.

1. Carolina -- QB Blaine Gabbert, Missouri

2. Denver -- DT Nick Fairley, Auburn

3. Buffalo -- DT Marcell Dareus, Alabama

4. Cincinnati -- QB Cam Newton, Auburn

It was the Cam Newton show at Auburn's pro day today, with around 125 NFL personnel from every team in attendance to watch the quarterback throw.

He didn't disappoint. Newton threw around 65 passes in an extended session near the end of the workouts. He completed all but 10 of them, a far cry from his 11-for-21 performance at the combine nine days ago.

"He's a very, very proud athlete, and he's a very competitive guy," said George Whitfield Jr., Newton's personal quarterback coach. "If Michael Jordan one night scores 20 points, you best believe the next team that he faces is going to have deal with 45 going in. I think that's the kind of mindset Cam had today."

Despite slightly windy conditions, a far cry from the sterile dome environment in Indianapolis, Newton was sharp, showing zip on his passes and being on target. He went down a roster of passes (perimeter throws, comebacks, out routes, etc), throwing to a group of Auburn receivers he was comfortable with.

"He really came out and attacked this deal," Whitfield said. "I think the coaches and scouts, especially when we went back and asked them if they wanted to hear anything else or see anything else, (Cardinals) coach (Ken) Whisenhunt asked him to throw maybe two balls, (Titans offensive coordinator Chris) Palmer asked to see two more balls, and that was it. I asked them many times and they were good.

"They thought we put together a good game plan. Cam came out and executed the game plan, and that was a bigger deal."

Although head coaches from five teams with five of the first six picks were on hand, none were in a talking mood afterward. However, Buddy Nix, the general manager of the Buffalo Bills, who own the third pick, spoke about Newton.

"I tell you this, workouts are a small piece of the puzzle," he said. "We go by how they play. If the throwing is good, you can tell something about their release, you can tell something about his arm.

"But the only way you can tell how a guy can play quarterback is when he’s being rushed and you’ve got coverage and you’ve got to throw it in a tight spot and you’ve got pressure on you. That’s kind of what we go by. The biggest percentage, anyway. Eighty percent, probably."

Did he learn anything about Newton he didn't already know?

"No," Nix said. "He did good, and I expected him to."

Newton also continued to answer questions from teams about his character.

“They want to know everything," he said. "They want to know who I really am. During this whole process, I’ve done a lot of explaining about who I really am. I’m extremely comfortable with that, because I know this is a multi-million dollar investment, and they have to know who they’re picking.

"Each organization has to do a thorough investigation on who this person really is: what his background is and is he a competitor? It’s just fun and I look forward to talking to team after team about who I really am.”

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Some other quick notes and quotes from Auburn's pro day:

• Whitfield was full on analogies. Naturally, he was extremely positive about Newton. "He came out like Secretariat," he said. "He was pawing at the ground, knew it was a big day, wanted it, waiting for the gates to open. The kid went off."

• Newton's No. 1 goal was to show consistency. "Every quarterback has tendencies, every athlete has tendencies," Newton said. "And that’s my tendency, to get impatient. And when I get impatient, the throws are erratic. That’s one thing I wanted to focus on: to be comfortable today."

• One more Whitfield quote: "We really didn't hit a finish line today. This is just the next game. All he's going to do is continue to get better."

• Representatives from all 32 NFL teams were on hand, including the head coach from teams with five of the first six picks in April's NFL draft. Carolina's Ron Rivera, Denver's John Fox (with executive vice president of football operations John Elway in tow), Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis, Whisenhunt and Cleveland's Pat Shurmur were all in attendance.

• Newton wouldn't speculate where he'll be taken in April's draft. “That’s not something I’m thinking of right now," he said. "My focus is on me being the best player I can be. Tomorrow is another day for me to work on my craft and become another football player. I’m not going to worry about something I do not have control over, but I do have control over myself. To make this transition a fluid one to the NFL.”

• Nick Fairley’s pro day was brief, the kind you’re entitled to have after doing almost everything at the NFL Scouting Combine. But the former Auburn defensive tackle, who is expected to go near the top of Aprils’ NFL Draft, still went through a variety of position drills. “I can just show that I’ve still been working,” said Fairley, who was pleased with his day. “Even though the combine is over with … I’m still training. I wanted to show those guys that I’m still working to get better.”

• Fairley measured in at 6-foot-4, 297 pounds (six more than in Indianapolis), then stuck with his combine numbers for the individual drills. He took the field for the first time with his fellow defensive linemen for positional drills late in the day, showing agility and footwork while weaving through cones and pads as scouts watched. “If anybody can tell if a guy can play football running through dummies, he’s better than I am,” Nix said. “But you do see athletic ability. He has great ability, feet, speed and bursts and all of those things. He’s a good player. He makes plays on Saturday, and he’ll make them again on Sundays.”

• A number of teams with high picks took an interest in Fairley’s drills. Fox and Elway, whose Broncos pick second, stood among a cluster of scouts watching on. Fairley also spoke with Rivera, whose Panthers own the No. 1 pick. “They’ve been talking to me, but all the teams have been talking to me,” Fairley said. “It would be wonderful if I was able to go there. It doesn’t matter what team I go to — I just want to play football.”

• Fairley wanted to wear a red shirt to match his Nike shorts, but the only one he could was Darvin Adams' from the combine. So he wore it, even though it was tight. "After this, I'll just peel it off," Fairley joked.

• Asking Auburn’s players which Tiger had the best pro day performance, one name kept coming up: defensive tackle Zach Clayton. Clayton had an excellent all-around day. After weighing in at 6-foot-2, 299 pounds, he ran a 4.68-second 40-yard dash. “That even shocked me,” Clayton said.

• He had a 33.5-inch vertical and a 10-foot broad jump, second best on the team to linebacker Craig Stevens’ 10 feet, 2 inches. Clayton, who has been working out at Auburn, finished the workouts by repping 225 pounds 27 times on the bench press, tops on the team. “I think I helped myself out a lot,” Clayton said. “My goal coming into today was just to get my name out there and open a few eyes. I think I accomplished that today.”

• Cornerback Demond Washington turned in the fastest 40 time, finishing his second run in 4.30 seconds. He was followed by receiver Terrell Zachery (4.40), safety Zac Etheridge (4.51) and receiver Kodi Burns (4.55).

• Adams and defensive end/tight end Gabe McKenzie tied for the best vertical jump at 35 inches.

• Ryan Pugh finished second on the bench press with 25 reps of 225 pounds, followed by McKenzie (24) and Mike Blanc (23). Here are the full stats.
  

• Lots of folks in attendance, although the players say they weren't bothered by it. "It is not big deal," Burns said. "We are from the SEC, where you play in front of 80,000 week-in and week-out. These scouts are just people. It is all about performing under pressure."

• But, the players' livelihood isn't usually on the line during a game. "A lot if on the line out here," linebacker Josh Bynes said. "One messed up time or drill can make you not get drafted."

• Pugh on that subject: "It's almost like it's four years in one day. I don't think it's that intense as far as combining all four years in one day, but it's just a way to fill in the blanks as far as what kind of player you are. They get to interact with you and see how you interact with your teammates, and they want to see you compete. I think I did that today. I think we all did that today."

• Bynes, on his expectations on draft day: "It doesn't really matter what they say. All that matters is what happens when the draft comes around, April 28, 29 and 30. You may hear your name called or you might not. The only thing you can do is wait to hear your name called. You may go in the first round or the sixth round, because I have seen that before over the years. So we are going to have to just wait and see what happens."

• Running back Mario Fannin didn't do a whole lot of drills Tuesday after an impressive combine at which he ran a 4.38 40-yard dash. He still wanted to get the scouts' attention with some positional work, though. "Hopefully I've grabbed it," he said. "Here at Auburn this past season, I kind of did the third down thing. I feel like I did a great job as far as helping my teammates out in that aspect of the game. I just wanted to also show them that I can do other things, too. I think they saw it today.

• Left tackle Lee Ziemba followed up his combine performance by doing some positional drills. He said the feedback from coaches and scouts isn't always instant. "More of a mystery than you think," he said. "It's a waiting game."

• Ziemba felt like he's been shuttling between cities constantly since winning the BCS title. "Since Arizona it has been a whirlwind," he said. "It's been living in and out of suitcases and going from on place to another. You've got to do what you've got to do." He can't wait for the draft to get here. "I'm ready to get settled down somewhere and start playing some football. That's what I'm ready for."

• It was a long day and, quite honestly, my video was a little lacking, so I'm not going to bother posting it. But if you're interested in seeing some video (with better inside access than me), have a look at this one done by Auburn. Footage of Clayton's bench press is about 7 minutes in, Fairley's position drills are 11 minutes in and Newton's throwing is around the 12-minute mark.
  

Here's the times and measurements for all of Auburn's players at pro day:

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Height and Weight

Darvin Adams 6’ 1.875” 194
Mike Berry 6’ 3.125” 318
Mike Blanc 6’ 2.5” 286
Jorrell Bostrom 6’ 2” 339
Kodi Burns 6’ 0.125” 206
Josh Bynes 6’ 1.625” 240
Wes Byrum 6’ 1.125” 217
Antoine Carter 6’ 3.375” 259
Zach Clayton 6’ 2” 299
Zach Etheridge 5’ 11.25” 201
Nick Fairley --- 297
Mario Fannin --- 229
Michael Goggans 6’ 1.625” 263
Byron Isom 6’ 1.75” 304
Gabe McKenzie 6’ 2.5” 261
Cam Newton --- 244
Ryan Pugh 6’ 1.375” 307
Craig Stevens 6’ 1.875” 230
Chris Todd 6’ 2” 229
Demond Washington 5’ 8.625” 180
Terrell Zachery 5’ 11.25” 205
Lee Ziemba --- 318

40-Yard Dash (Unofficial)

Mike Berry 5.35, 5.57
Mike Blanc 4.94, 4.74
Jorrell Bostrom 5.62, 5.60
Kodi Burns 4.58, 4.55
Josh Bynes 4.70, 4.82
Antoine Carter 4.63, 4.70
Zach Clayton 4.68, 4.71
Zach Etheridge 4.51, 4.51
Michael Goggans 4.60, 4.67
Byron Isom 5.40, 5.51
Gabe McKenzie 4.74, 4.76
Ryan Pugh 5.43, 5.32
Chris Todd 4.88, 4.88
Demond Washington 4.30, 4.43
Terrell Zachery 4.40, 4.42
Lee Ziemba 5.36, 5.38

Bench Press (Repetitions with 225 lbs.)

Mike Berry 21
Mike Blanc 23
Jorrell Bostrom 21
Josh Bynes 21
Zach Clayton 27
Zach Etheridge 14
Michael Goggans 14
Byron Isom 21
Gabe McKenzie 24
Ryan Pugh 25
Craig Stevens 20
Demond Washington 14
Terrell Zachery 11

Standing Long Jump

Darvin Adams 9’ 9”
Mike Berry 8’ 3”
Mike Blanc 9’ 4”
Jorrell Bostrom 8’ 2”
Kodi Burns 9’ 4”
Josh Bynes 9’ 8”
Antoine Carter 9’ 4”
Zach Clayton 10’ 0”
Zach Etheridge 9’ 9”
Mario Fannin 9’ 8.5”
Michael Goggans 9’ 7”
Byron Isom 7’ 11”
Gabe McKenzie 9’ 6”
Ryan Pugh 7’ 10”
Craig Stevens 10’ 2”
Chris Todd 8’ 11.5”
Demond Washington 9’ 9.5”
Terrell Zachery 9’ 7”
Lee Ziemba 8’ 4”

Vertical Jump

Darvin Adams 35”
Mike Berry 26”
Mike Blanc 28.5”
Jorrell Bostrom 26.5
Kodi Burns 32”
Josh Bynes 33”
Antoine Carter 26.5”
Zach Clayton 33.5”
Zach Etheridge 34”
Michael Goggans 32”
Byron Isom 25.5”
Gabe McKenzie 35”
Ryan Pugh 25.5”
Craig Stevens 33.5”
Chris Todd 28.5”
Demond Washington 32.5”
Terrell Zachery 32”
Lee Ziemba 28”

Auburn's pro day is in full swing, although there's not too much to report early on.

Quarterback Cam Newton and defensive tackle Nick Fairley haven't done any of the drills yet, obviously content with their times in Indianapolis. Position drills are this afternoon, which I'm sure both will be participating in.


Here are a few early notes:

• Lots of big NFL names out here today. I've seen the following coaches: Carolina's Ron Rivera, Den Denver's John Fox, Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis, Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt and Cleveland's Pat Shurmur. Those teams pick 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th, respectively.
• Also, Denver executive vice president of football operations John Elway is here. For photographic evidence, look above.
• Fastest 40 time goes to Demond Washington, who ran it in 4.30 seconds. I believe Terrell Zachery was second at 4.40.
• Best vertical jump is a tie between Darvin Adams and Gabe McKenzie at 35 inches. Not surprised by the former, kind of surprised by the latter.
• I'm not a scout and don't pretend to be, but it seems like defensive tackle Zach Clayton is having a pretty good day. Ran a 4.68, was second in the broad jump at 10 feet even and had a good vertical jump (the number I don't have right now).
  
• Craig Stevens had the best broad jump at 10 feet, 2 inches.
  
• Don't have any other official times and measurements yet, but when I do, I'll get them up on the blog.
• Also, the bench press is being done in the visitors locker room and only can be attended by NFL personnel and "select media." Guess who that includes? Not the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, I know that much.
  

Back with more in a bit.

It's quiet in Jordan-Hare Stadium, site of Auburn's pro day. There will be close to 250 people here watching, counting pro scouts and coaches and media.

If you want to watch, it will be streamed live on ESPN3 right here. The NFL Network will also be doing live cut-ins to the festivities.

We'll be back with updates throughout the day, so check back. Also, follow the blog on Twitter for instant updates.

It's Auburn's pro day, which you can read plenty more about later today on the blog and even watch on ESPN3 if you so desire.

• March 9, 4-6 p.m. CT: Demond Washington, Byron Isom, Kinnucan's, Montgomery
• March 10, 4:30-6:30 p.m. CT: Demond Washington, Tallassee High School Football Stadium (Proceeds from the book sales will benefit Tallassee High School)
• March 11, 5:30- 7:30 p.m. CT: Zac Etheridge, Auburn Spirit Store, Riverchase Galleria, Hoover
• March 12, Noon-2 p.m. CT: Zac Etheridge, Charles Henderson High School, Troy (Proceeds from the book sales will benefit Charles Henderson High School)
• March 12, 10 a.m.-noon CT: Darvin Adams, The Galleria, Hoover
• March 12, noon-1 p.m. CT: Byron Isom, The Galleria, Hoover
• March 12, 1-3 p.m.: Kodi Burns, The Galleria, Hoover
• March 12, 4-6 p.m.: Michael Goggans, The Galleria, Hoover
• March 19, 10 a.m.-noon CT: Michael Goggans, Benjamin Russell High School, Alexander City (Proceeds to benefit Benjamin Russell High School)
• March 19: 4-6 p.m. ET: Michael Goggans and Byron Isom, Kinnucan's, Columbus

A lot of folks. Here's a list of 21 22 players from the Auburn sports information department. It's subject to change:

WR Darvin Adams
OG Mike Berry
DT Mike Blanc
OL Jorrell Bostrom
QB/WR Kodi Burns
LB Josh Bynes
PK Wes Byrum
DE Antoine Carter
DT Zach Clayton
S Zac Etheridge
DT Nick Fairley
RB Mario Fannin
DE Michael Goggans

OG Byron Isom

QB Cam Newton

C Ryan Pugh

LB Craig Stevens

CB Demond Washington

WR Terrell Zachery

OT Lee Ziemba

For the second straight week, Kentucky's John Calipari stumped for Auburn's Tony Barbee, his former protege, to be SEC Coach of the Year.

Auburn forward Kenny Gabriel shared SEC Player of the Week honors, the conference announced Monday.

Auburn pro day is closed to the public tomorrow, but that doesn't mean you can't watch it.

Auburn will play Georgia in its SEC tournament opener Thursday at 1 p.m. in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Auburn and LSU square off tonight to see who won't finish last in the SEC West. Here's how today's story starts:

AUBURN, Ala. -- It has been nearly three months since Auburn played LSU in their conference opener, a miserable performance in which it scored only 6 first-half points in an eventual loss.

It seems like ages ago for the Tigers (10-19, 3-12 SEC), who have shown a competitive streak in the second half of the SEC season.

“I think we’re much better,” Auburn forward Kenny Gabriel said. “We’re all coming along together and playing as one. I think everybody is on the same page.”

Both teams will try to avoid the stigma of finishing in last place when they meet in tonight’s regular-season finale at the Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La., at 7.

The winner earns the West’s No. 5 seed in next week’s SEC tournament in Atlanta, matching up against the East’s No. 4 in the first game Thursday. The loser is the sixth seed, going up against the East’s No. 3 in the late game.

Auburn pitcher/utility player Justin Bryant will have surgery on his throwing arm and miss the remainder of the season, the school announced Friday.

Derek Varnadore won't pitch until Sunday for the Tigers in the C of C Classic at College of Charleston this weekend. But I wrote about the right-hander's fast start for today's newspaper. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn pitcher Derek Varnadore’s delivery is, in a word, unusual, although his coaches have a hard time describing it.

Tigers coach John Pawlowski said the right-hander throws it a little bit across his body, making it deceptive for hitters to pick it up. Adam Thomas, his coach at Chattahoochee Valley Community College for two years, said it looks like he throws it out of his arm pit.

“It’s kind of -- I don’t want to say herky jerky -- but it’s weird,” Thomas said.

Varnadore, who earned SEC Pitcher of the Week honors after striking out 13 in a shutout of Radford last Sunday, isn’t going to overthink it.

“If it’s working,” he said, “I’m not going to change it.”

The Auburn women's basketball team was upset in the first round of the SEC tournament Thursday night in Nashville, Tenn., falling to Mississippi State 49-47.

Auburn reported a $150,896 deficit from last year's trip to the Outback Bowl, although that did not include the revenue earned from the conference's second BCS bowl participant. The school spent $1,363,096 on the trip to Tampa, Fla.

Former Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley is one of four finalists to be the cover boy for EA Sports' NCAA Football '12 video game. You can vote online on Facebook.

AUBURN, Ala. — For once, a close game went Auburn's way.

After losing back-to-back games on baskets in the final seconds, the Tigers finally prevailed in a nail-biter, rallying from a 20-point deficit to take a late lead — and hold it — in a 76-73 win against Ole Miss at the Auburn Arena on Wednesday.

Kenny Gabriel scored 24 points and Earnest Ross 15 for the Tigers (10-19, 3-12 SEC), who completed the second-biggest comeback in school history. They came back from 22 down to beat Louisville in 1995.

"This team has gotten better," Auburn coach Tony Barbee said. "It's not the same team from the beginning of the year. It's not even the same team from the beginning of the conference season. It's a totally different team."

Wade Benson, who guided Auburn to its first NCAA tournament, resigned as the Tigers' volleyball coach Wednesday, the school announced.