Travis has become enamored of several objects, phrases or events which he frequenly references in the column. Among the most frequent:
'Bama Bangs - a term coined by Travis to refer to southern men's hairstyles that feature prominent bangs for no apparent reason. Brodie Croyle and John Parker Wilson are oft-cited violators of 'Bama Bangs rules.
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When Clay Travis, acclaimed author of Dixieland Delight, decided to spend the 2008 season up close and personal with UT football, he—and every other college football aficionado—thought he was in for a rollicking ride with one of the leading contenders for the national title. After all, when the Vols kicked off the season on September 1, the defending SEC East champions were ranked 18th in the country. As head coach Phillip Fulmer prepared for the game, he reflected upon a coaching career that included an astounding 147 victories, two SEC championships, and a national title. With 34 years at UT under his belt as both a player and coach, the Tennessee native had just signed a contract extension that projected to keep him at the university long enough to become the winningest coach in program history.
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There is no college ball more passionate and competitive than football in the Southeastern Conference, where seven of the twelve schools boast stadiums bigger than any in the NFL and 6.5 million fans hit the road every year to hoot and holler their teams to victory.
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The newly favored man is not really a man at all, but a hairless, effeminate, germ-fearing, non-meat-eating, exfoliating, wristband-wearing woman of the worst order. We as men are told that we must embrace the sacred feminine in ourselves, even if it doesn't actually exist, and become the very quintessence of woman, plus penises. This situation is untenable. This trend must stop.
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Clay Travis is the only former student manager in the history of college athletics to marry an NFL cheerleader. He managed to pull this off despite an irrational affinity for the television shows Dawson's Creek and My Super Sweet 16. While being raised in Nashville, Tenn., Travis developed a healthy obsession with college sports and Alyssa Milano. As a teenager his greatest accomplishment was taking a doo-rag wearing Luke Duke (balling as Tom Wopat) to the hole at the Nashville YMCA.
In the midst of a stellar legal career during which he specialized in rewarding the unjust and punishing the oppressed, Travis began writing for CBS Sports's SPiN section in September 2005...
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Clay, I am about to start reading "Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era". How is this book. Is this a good starting book for learning about the Civil War, or would you recommend another?
Not a bad one. James McPherson is very good. I honestly don't know of a great single volume book that focuses on the entire war. So, yeah, I think that's decent.
Although I encourage anyone to start Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative.
Don't worry about the length, it vanishes in a hurry. Best trilogy I've ever read.
Thanks. I heard about Shelby Foote's trilogy and I saw it at the bookstore, but I was put off by its length and also from what some reviewers called a Southern bias. I was trying to get the most objective book to start out with, but on the other hand, some people also say that McPherson's book has a Northern bias.
Clay, speaking of civil war books, have you ever read "Storm Over the Land" by Sandburg. Despite being a Chicagoan, I'm not endorsing it, but I wanted to see what you thought of it.
I haven't. As for Foote being Southern-biased, I didn't pick up on it. I did think, however, that he chose to follow Jefferson Davis fairly closely, Davis begins and ends the story.
That may lend some credence to the opinion.
As for Nothern biased, I'd always heard that Bruce Catton fell victim to that. I suspect that's probably more hype than reality, although I haven't read Catton either.