The Boneyard

The Boneyard is Steve Robertson's show about Mississippi State athletics, and the greeting barely changes: as always, he says, he is your good friend and host. Each edition takes the day's name, from a magnificent Monday to a hump day to a Maroon Friday, when he celebrates being a proud Mississippi State Bulldog even when things are not at their best. Diamond Dawgs baseball runs through the titles, which name Samford, UAB, Tennessee, South Carolina and Hofstra. The recaps are about mood as much as results. After the win at Samford, in front of what he was told was the second largest crowd ever there, mostly in maroon and white, Robertson called himself a big body language guy and described a dugout as lively and relaxed as he had seen in weeks. He also saluted the Mississippi State alums around Birmingham and called Joe Lee Griffin Stadium a cozy little ballpark. Bad stretches get the same directness. In one Monday edition he admits he put the show off out of frustration. He then traces the drop from a number three national ranking and a 7-2 SEC start to a record under .500 in league play. He wonders aloud whether State will host a regional or go on the road, calls the approach at the plate lacking, and credits Wes Johnson with calling a master class of pitching when Georgia came to town. Opponents, he argues, simply have too much tape now. By his own account, he hates losing more than he loves winning. He defends the team against its own fans, too. When some shrugged off a win over UAB, he pointed out that UAB sat first in the American Athletic Conference at 22 and 10 and told them to step out of the maroon bubble. A Tennessee series preview promises a breakdown of what Tennessee brings, a look around the SEC and recruiting news, with only four midweek games left. Football gets its turn when he congratulates former Bulldog Charles Cross on a Super Bowl ring. He retells how Cross went from a Florida State commitment to Mississippi State, where Marcus Johnson coached the offensive line and Mason Miller helped make him a pro prospect. Women's basketball transfer news comes up as well. Top ten lists, some taken by request, sit beside the sports, and one reaches Joy Division, with Means to an End at number 10 and some band history attached. Robertson borrows lines from Jay-Z and Curly Bill Brocious and reads his own sponsor spots, calling Bulldog Burger Company longtime sponsors. He also tells stories from his week, like the annual haircut that turned into a two-hour barbershop visit full of sports questions. A good first listen is the episode asking whether the Diamond Dawgs' hosting chances are on life support, which catches him at his most frustrated and most frank.