THE LATEST LINE: OVC MEDIA DAY AROUND THE CORNER

The 1998 Ohio Valley Conference Football Media Day will be held Friday morning in Nashville, Tenn.

A breakfast buffet will be served, followed by presentations from each of the eight OVC head football coaches.

Since I work nights and don't often rise early, I'm not much of a breakfast man. And while I've always enjoyed listening to football coaches, most of them are extremely cautious when on the podium, meaning they don't really say a whole lot.

But also Friday, the league's preseason poll will be announced.

Now we're talking!

Sure, preseason polls don't really mean much. They have nothing to do with what is actually going to take place on the field. They're some times not all that accurate, although they often do reflect what eventually transpires.

But accurate or not, what fun they are, particularly for fans and the media. The fans get to talk about the prospects of their favorite teams and the media get to milk a bunch of stories out of it all.

As for the players and coaches? Well, the polls are interesting for them as well.

For the teams picked at the top of the polls, it's great publicity and also a great challenge to back up that projected success on the field. Coaches must guard against overconfidence and complacency. They've got to convince their players that every opponent is dangerous.

For the teams picked at the bottom of the polls, what better motivational tool for a coach than hammering home to his players how they have a chance to prove all the so-called experts wrong.

The OVC Media Day will actually include one of the final polls of the preseason. Most leagues have already released their projected order of finish and all the college football magazines -- featuring national top 25 and conference preseason polls from around the country -- have long been on the shelves.

What does the OVC poll figure to look like? The usual conference powerhouses like Eastern Kentucky, Murray State and Eastern Illinois figure to top the list. That's the way it's been in all the magazines I've seen.

As for SEMO, every magazine I've looked at has the Indians picked for seventh in the eight-team league, with UT-Martin tabbed for eighth. That's the way the bottom of the conference wound up last year and the Indians and Skyhawks are virtual locks to hold down those final spots Friday.

But that's not to say those two teams will hold down those final spots when the season is over. SEMO's and UTM's coaches and players will have ample opportunity to prove the experts wrong.

After all, that's the beauty of preseason polls.

They don't really mean a whole lot.

But I still love 'em.

* A lot of people played a major role in getting Capaha Field ready for the American Legion Zone Tournament that was played over the weekend.

But nobody ever does any more than Truman Smith. He's the Old Mr. Reliable when it comes to trying to get fields in Cape playable after a lot of rain.

No matter what time of the day -- or night -- it is, Truman is always there to take charge.

Here's to you, Truman!

You deserve it.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian