After noon -- Polk and the Box

This e-mail was too good for me not to come here during a break in my project work to share it with you. If you're a big enough LSU baseball fan to come to the blog, you will probably understand the point of view, even if you don't feel it as strongly as the writer does:

I attended Mississippi State and too experienced first-hand the passing of a legend. Back in the '80s when we played our final game in old Dudy Noble Stadium, I think Ron Polk was even surprised by the relationship between the fans and the stadium. Following the final out fans -- not construction workers -- began dismantling the old stadium. They took away sections of bleachers, chair-backs, etc., as mementos.

You have failed to mention in any of your articles that this weekend also marks the last time Ron Polk will ever coach in Alex Box, where he has enjoyed so much success in his legendary battles with Skip Bertman. Ron is retiring the following weekend, in case you didn't know. Winningest coach in the SEC, and the one person I feel kick-started baseball as a major college sport in the conference. In some weird way, at least in my opinion, he deserves some credit for the new LSU stadium and others like it throughout the SEC.

Lewis Morris

Great e-mail, Lewis. Yes, I knew about Polk's retirement, and it will be part of our coverage of the series. I didn't mention it in the column today because I figured it's commonly known among SEC baseball fans, but it couldn't have hurt for me to say it again.

Thanks for writing. Interesting perspective, and I think it explains why Polk will get to change the countdown sign at the Box in the sixth inning Friday night.