* East Carolina has about 7,000 fans coming to Memphis for their team's second consecutive Liberty Bowl appearance as Conference USA champions. The unofficial gathering spot for the contingent will be venerable Beale Street haunt Silky O'Sullivans, where owner Silky Sullivan has a special place in his heart for the Purple Pirates:
"I am known as the international meeting place of anyone purple and gold," said Sullivan. Sullivan is a graduate of Louisiana State University, but said he became an instant Pirate fan after a one-time trip to the city some 20 years ago.
"There are three things in the world I respect: Jesus Christ, Roebuck Catalogue and Fifth Street," he said. "... Not only is it the spirit of the school (ECU), it's the people. You just feel like they're family."
So this year he's getting ready to welcome back his Pirate brethren with the usual shag music, gossip and his Purple Haze drink -- and he might even share one of the Pirate Sweet Potatoes (purple potatoes from Stokes County) he received as a "thank you" gift this Christmas.
* Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino is keeping his team on a short leash this week. The Razorbacks, who are staying at The Peabody, will be "locked down" on New Year's Eve:
Movies will be ordered in-room as the Razorbacks try to block out what's going on around them.
"New Year's we'll lock them down," Petrino said. "We have to. There are so many functions in the hotel. There's going to be so many people down there, so much going on that night they have to be in early."
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