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

The Ledger-Enquirer is looking to hear from Auburn fans from the Columbus/Phenix City/Smiths Station area who are traveling to Glendale, Ariz., for the Bowl Championship Series national title game.

If you'd like to be part of a story, e-mail sports editor Kevin Price.

I had a great holiday break in Richmond, Va., complete with about six inches of snow. It was the perfect kind. Looks good on Christmas; off the roads two days later when I had to drive back. I hope everyone else's time off was just as enjoyable.

Auburn is on a break until Dec. 28 and so am I, getting some vacation time in with my fiancee's family in Richmond, Va. Here's hoping the projected snowstorm on Christmas day isn't too bad.

Auburn’s coaches wanted to see how their young players would react to a game situation when the team scrimmaged for the first time Wednesday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Two freshmen receivers seized the moment.

Antonio Goodwin and Shaun Kitchens both shined in a closed scrimmage, highlighting a strong day for the offense that featured a number of explosive plays.

“Just trying to find out who are some of the younger guys that can step up and help us,” Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said. “I thought both of those guys ... showed up tonight.”

Goodwin, 6-foot-1, 173-pound freshman from Atlanta, had two touchdowns and over 100 yards receiving, running back Mario Fannin said.

“Most of the time freshmen come in and are overwhelmed by everything, but he came in and he just tried to calm himself down and made some big plays,” Fannin said.

“The guy is phenomenal,” wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor said. “He can go get the football. He’s not afraid.”

Kitchens, a 6-foot-3, 217-pound freshman from College Park, Ga., made a one-handed catch diving toward the sideline.

“It got the whole offense geeked up and jumping up and down,” Taylor said.

Kitchens also stood out as a blocker, de-cleating a player on a kick return, according to Taylor. That physical style has set the part-time receiver, part-time H-back apart in the early going.

“The guy is phenomenal athlete,” Taylor said. “I know this much: we’re going to be glad that we signed that one.”

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Some other notes and quotes:

• Sounds like there is another scrimmage Saturday. I'd assume it would be the late session of the two practices.
  

• Senior safety Zac Etheridge, who is easing back into full contact following last year’s serious neck injury, did not scrimmage live.

• Senior wideout Kodi Burns also made several plays, a positive sign for an offense that needs its passing game to step up. "A lot of people look at Kodi and say he's just a blocker, but you watch and see how many times Kodi tackles Kodi," Taylor said. "The first guy that gets to him, he's going to make that guys miss or he's going to break the tackle. That's the kind of kid you want."

• Taylor thinks the passing game really needs to step up this year. Of course, he's the wide receivers coach, so what else is he going to say? “We’re not going to line it up and run at anybody 80 plays in a row,” he said. “We have to be able to back those safeties up and back them out of the box and make some plays. If they can put eight, nine guys in the box, it’s going to be a long season for us.”

• Linebacker Craig Stevens explaining all the plays the receivers made: "You never know where the ball's going to go. Especially with our offense, they like to run you sideline to sideline to get you fatigued. Once that fatigue factor sets in, you have to focus and some of the big play receivers ... you've got to find a way to light it up and get a stop."

• WR Trovon Reed took some reps, despite dealing with an undisclosed injury. "My whole deal was just to give him a few plays to ease him back into it," Taylor said.

• Auburn rotated all of its quarterbacks in, with redshirt freshman Clint Moseley getting a good number of reps. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was not ready to list a pecking order behind frontrunner Cam Newton.

• Although the offense had the upper hand, it wasn’t all good. While the Tigers minimized turnovers, Malzahn couldn’t look past a number of penalties and missed assignments. “I don’t think until you get those things corrected you can be too pleased,” he said. Newton agreed, adding, "We’re nowhere near where we’re supposed to be."

• Fannin assessed Newton's night: "Cam looked good. He's a guy that's going to work hard for us and do everything he can to help us win. He looked great out there, he made some good throws and made some good decisions and he's going to get better as the season goes along."

• So did Malzahn: "It was good for him to get the reps. He made some good plays and he made some things that I know he wished he could do better. That's part of the process. He needs reps. So each scrimmage he'll continue to get a lot of reps."

• So did Newton: "I did OK. I always feel like I can always get better." (So ... good things, bad things, not perfect, but not bad. Glad to clear that up.)

• Fannin thought running back Michael Dyer was solid. "He's a quick guy and he's low to the ground and he can make some people miss too," he said. "He looked really good. He's got to basically keep learning the offense and he'll get better as the year goes along too."

• Defensively, Chizik again praised freshman end Corey Lemonier, as well as tackle Jeffrey Whitaker. “Those guys have to keep working,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “They’re in the grind now.” (I assume "grind" translate roughly to "in the mix to play.")

• Stevens and fellow linebacker Josh Bynes said a trio of young defensive backs, safeties Demetruce McNeal and Ryan Smith and cornerback Jonathon Mincy, had a solid night. “To be freshmen doing what they’re doing is great,” Bynes said. “And it’s well-needed for the defense.”

• Sounds like the defense did a good job containing the run. "We tackled better in the open field," Roof said. "We're really working hard on pursuit angles and open-field tackling technique. From that standpoint, it was a step in the right direction."

• But the big plays left an impression. “We just have to continue to work on those plays that rip your heart out,” he said.

One quick programming note: I'll be out of town tending to a family matter the next couple days, so I will not be at either of Thursday's two practice sessions. I'll be back for Saturday, however.

The doldrums of summer are finally over as Auburn's players finally report to practice today, which means news, honest to god actual news, will be filling these pages for the foreseeable future. The Tigers report at 5 p.m. ET, so expect news later in the evening.

To kick things off, I wrote an article asking five questions — the industry standard, it seems — surrounding the team as it begins practice. They are:

1. Is junior college transfer Cam Newton the real deal at quarterback?
2. Is there hope that a defense that ranked 11th in the SEC last year has improved?
3. What are the major position battles heading into fall practice?
4. Will a pair of freshmen — RB Michael Dyer and WR Trovon Reed — have roles in the offense right away?
5. With three experienced safeties returning from injuries, how will the secondary shape up?

Read the whole article here. And feel free to post some questions of your own in the comments section. I'm curious what people think are the biggest question marks heading into August practice.

I'd also like to take this time to promote a new section of the blog, the "Recent newspaper articles" box on the right. I'll try to keep a weeks worth of articles in the box, updated daily. That way, I won't have to do a specific post to inform you about a new article. It'll be right there in the box for your daily consumption.

I'll also promote both my Twitter page and Facebook page. Both are excellent ways to keep up with what's going on now that practice is set to begin.

We here at the blog like to think we're forward thinking when it comes to disseminating information. That's why we started a Twitter feed last year. It's been a great success, with 758 followers and counting. (Hey, why not follow the blog on Twitter if you're not already?)

Now we're expanding to Facebook (yes, only six and a half years after it was founded). I've created a War Eagle Extra fan page to make it easier to see when new blog posts and videos are up. I'm also going to use the page to directly link to articles that I run in the newspaper. Basically, I'm trying to make it a one-stop shop for readers to find my Auburn work.

Admittedly, I'm still in the tinkering phase, so I might switch things around in comings days and weeks as I see stuff that works and stuff that doesn't. Regardless, you can become a fan of the page by logging into your Facebook account and going to www.facebook.com/wareagleextra. From there you click the "like" button and you'll receive updates every time I post something.

I urge you to recommend the blog's fan page to anybody who you think might be interested. And I encourage you to provide feedback. Easier reader interaction is one of the best things Facebook has going for it.

I'm sure people use Facebook a lot more during their day than I do, although I'm adept enough not to call it "Face mask" like Bobby Petrino. What would you like to see or not like to see? How can the site improve my coverage for the newspaper? What applications would work best? I'll consider any recommendations people might have and we'll see how this experiment works.

There are no shortage of countdowns going on these days. The blog has been counting down the Most Integral Players for Auburn in 2010 on a daily basis and will continue to do so in the upcoming week. Read all about the first three entries here, here and here. The fourth will be up a little later today.

As far as the sports season goes, it doesn't get any quieter than this time of year. It's certainly the calm before the football storm, which will go into full effect when the SEC media days begin July 21 in Birmingham.

But we at the blog will try to build up to that momentous moment when coaches stand at a dais for an hour trying not to say anything too substantive with a few different things. Let's count them off, shall we:

• For the newspaper, I'll be counting down 10 games to watch in the SEC this year (to clarify, those are only games involving two SEC teams, not non-conference games). This will start Sunday, doing one a day up until the start of media days.

• For the blog, I'll be counting down Auburn's 10 most integral players for this season, factoring in several things: how important their success is to Auburn's, how important their health is to Auburn's (meaning, if that player goes down with an injury, are the Tigers in a tough spot) and how good the player is overall. I believe I'll start this tomorrow, doing one a day (except Sundays) leading up to SEC media days. And while I'm doing it, I ask you, the reader, to chime in with your thoughts of who Auburn's MIP (Most Integral Player) is this season. Count them down or simply opine if you'd like. That's why we have a comments section.

• I've been quite happy with the number of responses I've gotten with questions for athletics director Jay Jacobs. My interview with the man in charge is July 15, so there's still time to submit a question. Don't be shy and don't hold back. That's what this is for.

• As you might have noticed, the blog has a slightly different look. I'm tinkering with the design template. I think the current one is easier to read than before and is a bit tighter in its design. For the time being, I stretched the flag logo at the top, but it's quite pixelated and I'm working to replace it. I've enlisted the help of a graphics buddy of mine, who you might know from such Twitter background designs as this one. (Hey, you should follow the blog on there and try to bump me up over 700 followers!) I won't put up any orange cones on the site, but be advised that it's under construction.

• Next week, I plan to revive the daily links, which seemed to go over pretty well last fall. Any suggestions of how you'd like me to do them this year? Stuff you'd like to see more of? Less of? Frank comments are welcome.
  

• And lastly, I'm trying to make the blog more interactive this year, so I'm encouraging readers to write in with any questions, comments, etc., that you might have about Auburn athletics. What I'd like to do is lead off the daily links with a Q&A portion throughout the season. I realize it might be slow going early in the process, but hopefully things will pick up as readers realize this is an option. And hey, it's a good way to get recognized on the blog. I'll certainly put the proper attribution for any questions/insightful comments. So send e-mails to abitter@ledger-enquirer.com (this e-mail will be in the upper right-hand corner of the blog from now on) with any questions you might have.

After a brief return, I'll be heading out again for this holiday weekend, jetting up to Minnesota to see the family. Golf, poker and a game at the new Twins stadium are all on the docket. It should be a good time.

Now that baseball is over, summer, even if it's not officially here, is here. And that for a sportswriter means a little down time before the SEC media days starts in -- how long is it? -- a little over a month. So the blog regrets to inform you that I'll be on vacation this week.

Auburn doesn't practice again until Wednesday. As such, I'm taking Tuesday to walk the grounds at Augusta National. My good friend from Virginia got practice round passes for The Masters and quite honestly, I'd be a fool not to take him up on it.

It's a rare occasion when I can enjoy a sporting event as a fan. And, although I've been to golf tournaments before, I am confident it will be an experience like no other. (Read that last sentence over running piano music in a hushed Jim Nantz voice for full effect.)

So I urge you today to get by on yesterday's practice updates if you have not yet read/watched/listened to them. Here's my full practice report. It's heavy on Cam Newton. And here's a video from yesterday's interviews. It too is heavy on Cam Newton. What can I say? The kid is intriguing and was one of only two players to show up for interviews Monday.

From what I've been told, cell phones are banned at Augusta but cameras are not, so I hope to take a few pictures on my trip and get them up on the blog just for fun.

It's been a week. My furlough is officially over. I am no longer unemployed, sitting on my front step listening to Biz Markie's "Just a Friend" on a continuous loop. (And if you don't get that reference, I started Netflixing "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" this week. It's phenomenal. Makes me wonder why I never watched it earlier.)

ANYWAY, not a whole lot happened while I was gone. That is a complete lie. LOTS happened. And quite honestly, it makes me feel good that it did. It justifies my existence as a sports reporter. So let's get caught up, shall we?

• For starters, Auburn somehow finagled its way to the top of a 7-5 heap in the SEC into the Outback Bowl, much to the chagrin of a bunch of SEC Eastern Division teams who traditionally go to Tampa. My take? Why not Auburn? It's not like Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia were jumping off the page as can't-miss invitees. And the SEC is such a jumble that taking a team that went 3-5 over a bunch of teams that went 4-4 is not that ridiculous. And Auburn looks that much better after the way Alabama punked Florida on Saturday. Only Tennessee can say it played Alabama as well. And the Vols never led that game. That should count for something.

• About Northwestern, that should be an interesting matchup. Full disclosure: I'm a Wisconsin graduate and would have been very interested in seeing a Badgers-Tigers matchup in the Outback (even if nobody is really fond of Wisconsin's three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-tire-bits offense). But Northwestern is an interesting team. Pat Fitzgerald has that program doing good things. It's not as conventional of a Big Ten team in that the Wildcats like to pass the ball (266.1 ypg, 29th nationally). And they're not afraid to spread things out to level the playing field in terms of athleticism, since they can't recruit the kind of athletes that Ohio State and Penn State get on a regular basis. It's tough to tell what you're going to get when Northwestern takes the field. This is a team that lost to Syracuse and Minnesota earlier this year but finished with wins against then-No. 4 Iowa and then-No. 16 Wisconsin. Like Kevin Garnett says, anything is possible.

• There was finally some resolution on the long-awaited punishments from the ill-conceived "Big Cat" recruiting weekend at the end of May. Some colleagues of mine have great recaps here, here, here and here (scroll down a little). The most interesting development was that the SEC added some additional penalties beyond what Auburn had suggested (most notably keeping Trooper Taylor off the road until the end of November). So maybe the conference takes those "secondary violations" seriously after all. Also interesting, there were six recruits Auburn was not allowed to contact until the middle of September (about six weeks). Two of them -- Jessel Curry and Trovon Reed -- are Auburn commits. And the Tigers remain the picture to varying degrees with a few others. So maybe it wasn't the worst idea ever.

• Freshman Tyrik Rollison, the presumed quarterback of the future at Auburn, is currently serving a team-imposed suspension. Weird timing on this. It comes at a time when we reporters have virtually no access to Gene Chizik and we can't watch practice anyway (whereas suspensions to Eric Smith and Byron Isom were obvious because one was not at practice and the other was not active during a few games). So I'm curious if this news would have gotten out if not for the press release Auburn issued. Makes me think Chizik is trying to send a message to Rollison to get his head on straight. That seems to me to be the only reason for going public with it right now.

• Auburn hoops has not looked so hot. It's not an auspicious start if you lose to Troy at home. I'll be interested in Monday's game against Virginia, since I covered the Cavaliers for 4 1/2 years before coming down to Auburn. Tony Bennett is a brand new coach there but some of the players remain that I covered during my time there. The cupboard's not bare there, but the Cavs have some work to do to right the ship. That said, Auburn ain't exactly a world beater right now. Should be a close game.

• Watched a ton of football this week in between playing more video games than a grown-up should legally be allowed to play (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and NHL '10 on the PS3 kept me busy for most of the week). Some quick thoughts:

• Alabama looked dominant. There's no question who is the No. 1 team in the country. It makes Auburn's performance against the Tide look all the better.

• Am I a bad person if I took some delight in watching Tim Tebow cry after the game? Not a whole lot of delight, but some.

• Best game of the weekend was Cincinnati beating Pittsburgh. Back and forth, up and down the field. Snow. Missed extra points. Last-second touchdowns. Dave Wannstedt's mustache. It had everything.

• Best performance of the weekend: Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska. Simply dominating. 12 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss and 4.5 sacks to nearly help the 'Huskers upset Texas. I don't think I've seen as dominating of a defensive performance in a while.

• Worst performance of the weekend: Nebraska's offense. Seriously, JV high school teams look more competent with the ball. The Cornhuskers would have been better off quick-kicking on first down and hoping their defense could score points or force a turnover close enough that they could kick a quick field goal. Embarrassing.

• Biggest travesty of the weekend: That Texas, following a narrow win in which a second was put back on the clock so it could kick a field goal, was just assumed to be in the national championship after beating Nebraska. TCU and Cincinnati have just as legitimate arguments of being in the national title game. The Big 12 flat out stunk this year. Nobody seems to be saying this. Nebraska and Oklahoma had no offenses. Oklahoma State was mediocre. Nobody else was any good. I'd put TCU's wins against Clemson, BYU and Utah and Cincinnati's wins against Oregon State, West Virginia and Pittsburgh up against anything the Longhorns have accomplished this year. And what does Boise State have to do to ever get some respect? What a joke of a postseason setup. This would be the perfect year for an eight-team playoff. Perfect! But alas, we're stuck with a bowl system that will, bare minimum, leave us with two undefeated teams (possibly three) at the end of the year. It's the only sport that does this and there's no rational reason for not having a playoff. It's stupid and college football fans like myself are cheated of a legitimate conclusion to the season. [end of rant]

• As mentioned before, I have a Heisman vote. It's due tomorrow, so I'll have to pore over the candidates one last time before submitting it. I have a pretty good idea of who I'll be voting for but that could still change. I'll post my reasoning for who I selected tomorrow.

• While I was out, I went over 300 Twitter followers. I'd like to thank everyone who has decided to do so. And I'd like to encourage anyone who is not to follow the blog on Twitter by clicking here. The march to 400 begins!

It's a rough time for newspapers these days. As a result, I'll be taking a weeklong furlough starting today and lasting through next Sunday. It's discouraging, but it's the reality of the business.

Unfortunately, that means I won't be able to ruminate on Auburn's possible bowl destinations for the next seven days. I assume things will be decided pretty quickly after Saturday's SEC championship game. Regardless, I can't work again until 12:01 a.m. ET next Monday.

In the meantime, think of my furlough as a weeklong party loosely resembling the video above by The Trammps, only with brighter colors, bigger lapels, wider bell-bottoms and funkier dance moves. (And plenty of video games. Oh, the video games.)

So I beg you not to abandon the blog in the next week. I'll be back soon.