THE SPORTS SAUSAGE

CAN AUBURN'S "D" DO ENOUGH, LIKE 2nd HALF VS. CRIMSON TIDE?

2010-11-30T19:42:00.001-05:00

Following Auburn's torrid comeback from a 24-point deficit at Alabama last Friday, there is no doubt the Tigers' offense is national championship-worthy. But the question throughout all of the 2010 season has been can Auburn's defense hold up enough to give their offense a chance to win it.
As much as the huge comeback win over Alabama was attributed to the offense putting up 28 points to 'Bama's 3, the defense showed up in the second half, too.
Nick Fairley (#90 above) is a bona fide All-America candidate at defensive tackle. He disrupted things in the middle and ended the day posting two solo sacks and two tackles for loss, for a total of minus-30 yards (15 via sack, 15 via TFLs). The defensive front, which includes the linebackers, too, can be solid overall and they can also pressure the passer. Pass coverage has been the Tigers Achilles Heel, and that's where Alabama made the most of their opportunities in the first half. Fortunately for Auburn, the defense as a whole, and the pass defense in particular, pulled it together in the second half.
Alabama's passing game put up astronomical numbers in the first half en route to a 24-0 lead. QB Greg McElroy was 19 out of 23 for 335 yards. That's a great GAME for most people. In order to do that someone had to catch those passes. All-America WR Julio Jones was outrageous--seven receptions for 174 yards--again, a tremendous game total any receiver would be proud to have. RB Mark Ingram contributed big time in that first half with 91 receiving yards. Despite all of that, Auburn did manage to sack McElroy twice. But, the second half was as different as night and day.
If the first half was a dark time for Auburn's "D", the second half was bright sunshine. The Tigers limited to Alabama to just 67 total yards of offense in the second half compared 379 in the first. The Tide only clicked on 8 of 18 passing for a measly 42 yards in the second half and Auburn's defense came up with three more sacks of Alabama QBs. One was quite significant; McElroy, the outstanding senior, team leader, suffered an injury to his throwing shoulder when he was driven into the ground on a sack late in the fourth quarter. Jones was not blanked in the receiving department in the second half, but his three catches were for only 25 yards.
Cam Newton and the rest of the Auburn offense is exciting to watch and very explosive, but there has not been a team who has won the national championship with a shaky defense. The Tigers are yielding about 25 points per game and 363 yards of total offense (108 rush & 255 pass). That's good enough to beat most people given Auburn's offense. They are not a big INT defense; in fact, Auburn has only picked off opposing QBs eight times out of 441 attempts. As mentioned before, they can get after the QB a fair amount--30 sacks on the year. The key in the very near future will be for Auburn's "D" to play with the sense of urgency, tenacity, and execution they did the last 30 minutes against Alabama.
If Auburn gets past South Carolina in the SEC title game this Saturday, and Oregon takes care of business vs. rival Oregon State in their "Civil War", the bottom line is-- will the Tiger defense be good enough against the Ducks? If both teams hold form, we will have to wait until Jan. 10th to find out. That gives Auburn's defense a good month to get ready for Oregon's electric, scoring machine of an offense...but, it also gives the Ducks time to come up with a couple of new wrinkles, too.

SEC EAST TITLE AT STAKE SATURDAY IN THE SWAMP

2010-11-10T21:42:00.002-05:00

As a former Florida quarterback, Heisman Trophy Award winner, and national champion head coach of the Gators, Steve Spurrier has his name among those in the ring of honor in "The Swamp", Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. But, for about three hours this Saturday night Spurrier and his South Carolina Gamecocks will be the opponent as 90,000-plus Florida fans yell, cheer and scream for their Gators to beat Spurrier and, thus, capture the SEC eastern division crown. The winner of this battle will go on to play for the SEC championship in Atlanta the first week of December. If nothing changes between now and then Auburn would be the opposition, as they currently sit atop the western division.

As much as it makes for endless amounts of mediocre copy for a lot of writers this game isn't about Steve Spurrier and it's not about Gator Coach Urban Meyer. But, IT IS all about the players on both teams who have prepared since last winter's off-season training to play for a shot at the SEC title.

Florida uncharacteristically lost three games in a row before getting a bye week and then righting the ship to beat Georgia in overtime two weeks ago and Vanderbilt in a glorified scrimmage last week. South Carolina is trying to avert another November swoon under Spurrier. Last week they were out-played from the opening kickoff and rolled over by Arkansas, 41-20, at home. They also stumbled a few weeks ago against a mediocre Kentucky team, the very next week after they had upset then #1-ranked Alabama!

Florida's defense, although not as physically dominating as past editions, is still near the top of SEC defensive categories thanks to their overall athletic ability and speed to chase down opposing ball carriers. They started the first half of the year gathering a bushel full of turnovers before slowing down slightly in that department, but they are very capable of taking the ball away, and that will be critical to help set up the Gator offense with good field position. Florida's offense has gone through a re-birth, or maybe just a birth. Despite chalking up four straight wins to start the year the Gator offense never looked smooth. It sputtered along trying to find an identity in a world without Tim Tebow. After losses to heavyweights Alabama and LSU, followed by a 10-7 punch in the gut loss to Miss. St. in Gainesville, it was back to the drawing board for Florida during a bye week. The Gators rolled out an offense that featured three potential QBs all in the game at the same time, keeping defensive coaches guessing as to who would take the snap from center. If it was John Brantley, the regular starter, chances are he would not run the ball, but he was a threat to pass or hand off. If it was Trey Burton, there was slim chance of pass, but a heavy tendency for him to run the ball. Then, add in Jordan Reed, a former QB-turned TE-turned part-time QB. He did both incredibly well last week vs. Vandy, thus further muddying the waters for the opponent's defensive game plan. If you haven't seen it, all three possible QBs are in the game and they shift in and out of the QB position just prior to the snap from center. As gimmicky as it seems, it has worked, and that's all that matters when you are expected to compete for championships at Florida.

South Carolina was motoring along this year because Spurrier added a legitimate run threat in true freshman Marcus Lattimore. That was exactly what the Gamecocks needed to keep people from gearing up to stop Spurrier's passing game. With the threat of run, the ability to play-action off of that, and still use "the old ball coach's" deep passing playbook the Gamecocks had it rolling. The very gifted young Lattimore has been dinged up a bit lately and was held to less than 50 yards a week ago by Arkansas. That puts more pressure on SC QB Stephen Garcia. Garcia has turned it around this year by reducing his turnovers which used to cause Spurrier to fling his visor to the ground way too often. Alshon Jeffery is an outstanding talent at wide receiver and a tough match-up for the Gator secondary. The SC offensive tackles will have their hands full trying to handle Florida's pass rush, so they need to be able to create some running lanes to off-set that situation.

The Gamecocks are struggling in the defensive secondary. Defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson tried to simplify things a bit for Arkansas due to having to play some inexperienced people back there, but they still had issues against such a strong passing attack from Ryan Mallett and his Razorback crew. Florida doesn't have the overall pass attack to worry about like Arkansas, but the multiple quarterback system, threat of option, and QBs who can both run and pass could cause the Gamecock defense to suffer breakdowns simply due to getting the right calls made, communicating it before the snap, then having to adjust on the fly.

This has the makings of an outstanding game and everyone can see it--ESPN 7:15 EST Saturday night. If I were a betting man, and I am not, I have to go with the Gators, especially at home. Enjoy the game.

Idiots Trying to Take Over; Sad State of Sportmanship Growing in Fan Behavior

2010-07-19T20:01:00.002-04:00

I am not trying to conjure up stories passed down from generations ago, but do you remember the days when fans were passionate not just about the team they followed, but also the game itself? The whole package needs to be addressed at some point; I am mostly concerned with sportsmanship, respect for coaches and officials, as well as respect for other fans that happen to be within earshot.
The topic is much too large to be discussed in one writing here, but let’s take a look at parts of it. There were two different incidents that I witnessed within a week’s time that really caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand at attention in regard to sportsmanship and fan behavior.

The first incident was last Tuesday at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Anaheim, CA. The “Mid-Summer Classic”, as it is known, began in 1933. The game brings together the “best of the best.” Through the many years there have been different means by which players were selected for the prestigious honor. All-Stars have been picked by the fans, the coaches, the players, or some combination thereof.

One of the great traditions to open the All-Star Game is the introduction of the respective rosters—first the non-starters for both the American and National League teams, followed by the starting lineups and coaches for each. With the game being hosted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim there was a natural home field American League partisanship in attendance. Second to that was a Southern California bias for teams in the general neighborhood; aside from the Angels, there was a swell of applause heard for LA Dodgers and San Diego Padres players.

What stood out more than the natural and very much expected roar of support for the above teams was the incredible cast of loud boos for the Angels east coast competitors from New York and Boston, and to a lesser degree the Dodgers rival to the north, the SF Giants. The players from those teams who were the targets and victims of such poor sportsmanship don’t deserve treatment like that, yet it is commonly accepted today as a normal means of behavior at a ballgame.

Don’t get me wrong, if an opposing player does something to or against my team that is classless, against the rules, or perceived to be bad sportsmanship I say let the boos rip…in fact, that goes for my team’s players, too. But, to shower All-Stars visiting your stadium just because their team may have beaten yours in recent years play-offs? Grow up. A strange twist on this is the fact that All-Star games now reward the winning team and league with home field advantage for the World Series. So, in effect, the Angels fans were booing their own “home team” members when they were booing the Yankees and Red Sox. Nice job folks. No wonder the AL lost to the NL for the first time since 1997. Congratulations.

I find it amazing that parents who watch their children play various organized youth sports—i.e. baseball, soccer, basketball to name a few—stand, applaud and smile as both youth teams perform the choreographed and mandatory lineup to exchange a shake of hands with the opponent at game’s end. These are the same people yelling profanity and booing with their kids alongside at the college and pro games. Maybe the kids can help straighten out the parents.
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The second incident that gave me a World Wrestling Federation kick to the solar plexus was just last night when the Chicago Cubs were hosting the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday Night Baseball.

The Cubs are struggling through another long season. They are 9.5 games out of first and playing just .452 baseball with a 42-51 mark. They were about to close out a win over the Phillies in the eighth inning when the Phils’ all-star first baseman, and one of top power hitters in the NL, Ryne Howard, lifted a home run into the left-centerfield bleachers. The ESPN cameras tracked the flight of the ball and showed it landing among a group of fans that included a younger middle-aged father and two cute sons, probably between 5-7 years of age, each of whom had their baseball gloves ready for such a lucky opportunity.

It was not clear if one of the youngsters actually caught the ball, but one of them did come up with the ball soon after it splashed down in the crowd. What happened next makes no sense and it is on par with the idiots in the above story.

For reasons that are foreign to me, though I am willing to listen to any sensible, well-grounded individual try to explain it, the youngster was enthusiastically prodded by the throng of Cubs’ fans near him to throw the ball back onto the field of play. As fans were cheering and wildly waving their arms, acting out the verbal message of “throw the ball back”, the little guy eventually fired it back onto the green lawn of the outfield which then sent the bleacher bums into ecstasy. Yes! We persuaded the 5 year old!

Now tell me, isn’t it most fans’ dream to come away from a major league baseball game with a legitimate souvenir? Foul balls are okay, but a home run ball is something special! If not, why is it that there are dozens of kids and young adults who patrol Sheffield and Waveland Avenues outside of Wrigley Field during games just for a chance to chase down a home run ball? Let me get this right, just because the home run was not hit by a Cub we are going to exhort this little kid to throw the ball back, basically saying—“Take that Ryne Howard; we don’t want your stinking home run.”

If that is me and my son there is no way that ball is going anywhere but home to be secured for special exhibitions, like a show and tell for the kid at school. In this case Ryne Howard is well on his way to a terrific career. He just signed the largest contract for a NL player and it is not inconceivable that he could continue to chart a path to the Hall of Fame.

This ridiculous idea of pressuring fans who, through luck or skill, come up with a major league home run to turn around the throw back onto the field is senseless. Did you ever see any old clips of anyone throwing home runs from Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Mickey Mantle back from the bleachers? Absolutely not.

For the poor kid, and even for the father of that youngster who jumped on the band-wagon and endorsed his son’s move, it will be a shame sometime later in life when there is a conversation about the great Ryne Howard of the Phillies. Then they can have an awkward exchange like this, “Oh, yea, we got one of his home runs at Wrigley Field. Really? You have a Ryne Howard home run ball? Well, not exactly; we did have it …but I threw it back. Hey, Dad, why did we throw that ball back?”

PLEASE OFFER YOUR COMMENTS ON THIS TOPIC BY CLICKING BELOW HERE. I'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH EVERYONE ELSE NEXT TIME AROUND. WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING TO HELP TURN THINGS AROUND.

SIGHTS & SOUNDS FROM THE STADIUM

2010-07-07T21:12:00.002-04:00

Main Concourse Inside Stadium

For the second year in a row over the Fourth of July weekend I was able to watch the Yankees play in their new ball park vs. the Toronto Blue Jays. Here are some sights and sounds that you might find interesting, not so interesting, and/or just a little strange, as I did.

1. Last year was the first year for New York in the "new Yankee Stadium". This year I paid HALF the amount for tickets for exactly the same section and row of seats as I did a year ago. Do you think prices for the opening season at the new place was jacked up a bit?
2. I'm not a beer drinker, but would you pay $9.00 for a cold beer?
    3. You know how every stadium, regardless of sport, has some variety of music playing at strategic points in the contest? When Brett Gardner hit a grand slam and the crowd was jazzed up, the Stadium music director started blasting "The Venga Bus" and the 48,500 got even more juiced. Who would have thought that song would do it?
    4. Young kids were selling bottles of water outside the stadium for $1. Stupid me, I didn't buy any and ended up paying $5 for just a little larger bottle inside the big house. I could have had five bottles instead of one.
5. The game we saw was the second in a three-game series with Toronto and the visitors took the opening game. Fortunately, the Yanks won the game we attended plus the final of the three to take the series, 3-2. How badly would a team named the Yankees feel if they lost their big holiday weekend series to a team from another country?  That wouldn't be very patriotic.
6. One of the great things about being at a baseball game in New York is that it brings together so many different types of people. There was a young couple (20s) in front of me and the guy had a big tattoo of "718" the length of his forearm, signifying either Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx or Staten Island, while behind us were two older couples from Canada, cheering for the visitors, and they had strong accents from "across the pond." One lady kept asking the other throughout the game, "Now is this guy a designated hitter?" I think she was trying to act like she was into it. Lady, there is only one DH per team, OK?
7. It seems like the tradition of the Yankees' ground crew stopping their freshening up of the infield to march in rhythm and execute shaping the letters to "YMCA" during the seventh inning stretch has lost its popularity. We need to think of a new routine for them.
8. On the other side of the coin, there is nothing like the original, scratchy recording of Kate Smith singing "God Bless America" to salute those who provide public service to NYC and our country in the middle of the seventh inning.
9. When are we going to stop having idiots pop a surprise marriage proposal to their significant other over the big screen TV during games? I'm waiting for one woman to reach back, slap the guy, and stomp on out.

Folks, as Harry Carey used to say, you just can't beat good old fun at the ballpark.

UGLY LATE JUNE CAUSES TB RAYS TO SLIDE TO THIRD IN AL EAST

2010-06-28T20:30:00.000-04:00

The Tampa Bay Rays were the darlings of baseball for the first two-plus months of the season as they sported the best record in the game. With their thrifty $70 million payroll they were leading the charge for underdogs and little guys everywhere, fighting the battle to take down took the hated, ugly powers in the Northeast, the Yankees and Red Sox. Make no mistake about it, the Rays are a talented team, deep in starting pitching, very solid defensively, but their offense has unexpectedly taken the last half of June off, thus causing a swoon.
Back in April the Rays were ringing up runs like a pin-ball machine. In the last two weeks of that month they posted a sparkling 10-2 record, scored 10 or more runs 4 times, and averaged a beefy 7.75 runs in that span of a dozen games. June is coming to a close, and for the Rays, they look forward to turning the calendar to July because since June 13 Tampa Bay is 4-9. What's worse is that in just 13 games they scored one or no runs in six of those contests. In another, they mustered two scores. So, two or less runs in seven of the last 13 games...whew!

Adding salt to the wound, a Rays' pitching cast-off, Edwin Jackson of the Arizona Diamondbacks, came back to Tropicana field to throw a complete game no-hitter/shutout against his old teammates--he did this while issuing eight walks! How do you not score when someone puts eight of your batters on base for free?

Barring any serious injuries the Rays should still be in the hunt all the way through September. The marathon season has a lot of highs and lows, and it's so long that there is still plenty of time for things to change. Remember when people were writing off the Red Sox because of their horrible April and early May? Guess who is just 1.5 games off the pace of the Yankees now? David Ortiz struggling, washed up? Not any more.

It's been argued that the American League East has the three best teams in baseball. A week or so ago the records supported that opinion. So, we won't be too quick to judge who is in it for good, or out of it for good, until about early September. But those two week benders that often haunt even the best teams is sure hard on the loyal fans, and it seems like all teams go through it.

KEEP THOSE TUMS IN THE DUGOUT

2010-06-17T18:41:00.000-04:00

Try to visualize the television broadcast shots as they pan baseball dugouts--at least the older ones--where the clubhouse man would have the benched stocked with big containers of David Sunflowers Seeds, Bubble Gum, and Tums.

At home, the Yankees have everything they need, and more, in their plush one-year old surroundings. My guess is that they still have all of those necessary game materials, and when AJ Burnett is pitching there is nothing more important than the giant container of Tums. How else would Joe Girardi and staff make it through a game without their insides being overcome with intense stomach acid and heartburn?

Would you rather have Mr. Electric/Nasty Stuff out there causing you to ride the emotional roller-coaster of each pitch, just hoping he can string together a few consistent innings, or someone with decent stuff and from whom you know what to expect when he takes the mound? Forget the fact that he was so mentally in the tank last night vs. the Phillies that he forgot to cover first base on a ball hit to the right side of the infield. As a high-priced hired hand ($16.5 million this year) Burnett needs both a mental and physical adjustment to get to where he should be. In my book he is "Mr. I"--Mr. Inconsistency. Whether it's the manager, the pitching coach, the bullpen coach, the team's sports psychologist, or some combination thereof--Burnett needs correction.

His line last night was 3-1/3 innings, 87 pitches, 4 walks and his obligatory hit batsman, not to mention another adventurous night for the catcher trying to block balls bouncing in the dirt. No matter who the catcher is, the poor guy has little to no chance of throwing out runners with Burnett on the mound. Did I hear that the stealing percentage against Burnett is the highest in baseball? Raul Ibanez, at age 38, stealing? You've got to be kidding.

Yanks manager Girardi is a health freak in terms of workouts and diet, and he has not been around that long for his insides to have a lot of wear and tear. That's why you don't see the drawn face, nor do we feel the severe heartburn pain that Joe Torre wore on his face. When Joe rode the emotional roller-coaster through Yankees’ ups and downs in his day he sucked on his peach pit while staring blankly out on the field. I bet sometimes he may have had a cheek full of Tums instead.

Back to Burnett, if he stays healthy he is due to make about 18 more regulars season starts. For Girardi and staff, keep those Tums handy. It’s a long season.

LONGHORNS BROKER DEAL ALLOWING BIG 12 SHIP TO STAY AFLOAT

2010-06-15T20:07:00.002-04:00

These past two weeks in college athletics have been a super-condensed equivalent of the volatile financial markets and world economy of the last two years—an emotional roller-coaster, rumors of break-ups, takeovers, distress, panic, uncertainty, the potential loss of things held dear for so many years that was earned through hard work, sweat and tears.

When the Big Ten Conference set out to acquire at least one more high profile team to give them an even dozen (despite the misnomer, they had 11 teams) and first pursued Notre Dame, then others, the wheels were set in motion for every other major conference, as well as the conference member schools, to look out for themselves. The dust has now settled and the world of college athletics is just slightly different than it was a short while ago, but not without a lot of anxiety and consternation.

The PAC-10 had hopes of beating others to the punch by creating a super-conference of 16 teams, which would certainly have caused a chain-reaction that would turn the conference world upside-down. In order to do so they poured their efforts into recruiting some heavyweights from the Big 12. AS recent as late last week it looked like that conference was dead man walking as Nebraska accepted the Big Ten’s offer to become their 12th team. Also, Colorado decided to join the PAC-10, giving them 11 schools, while the likes of Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State, were rumored to be headed west, too, with the lure of more money stemming from the prospects of a soon-to-be PAC-10 Conference television network, ala the Big Ten’s. The key to all of this happening was Texas.

Folks, there are a couple of famous sayings in the Lone Star State—“Don’t Mess with Texas” and another, “As Big as Texas.” After developments that leaked out Monday night, as Texas essentially saved the Big 12 Conference, we now have a better appreciation of those two expressions.

Texas spurned the PAC-10’s offer and pledged their support to maintaining the remaining Big 12 because the PAC-10 would not allow Texas to keep their local television rights (Don’t mess with Texas). The Longhorns are now planning to have their own network (As Big as Texas), as well as share in what is promised to be more conference television revenue based upon the Big 12 negotiating a new lucrative contract among several suitors. The ‘Horns felt the Big 12 gave them a chance to have their cake and eat it, too. For that, the schools who were about to be orphaned—Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Missouri and Baylor—are thankful. Yet, they and the other member schools fully realize who calls the shots in the conference, and who will be poised to be the boss for years to come, on and off the field.

So, as it stands now, with Nebraska joining ranks the Big Ten has 12 teams. Minus the Cornhuskers and Colorado the Big 12 is down to 10. The PAC-10 has 11 and needs to recruit one more (hello, Utah) to get their twelfth, thus providing a conference championship game. OK now, anyone want to play the “Name That Conference Name Game”?

What had the potential to be, and was feared to be, a period in our lives that would bring total restructuring of the college football landscape—all because of the need to grow bigger conferences for TV revenues—has now passed, at least for the short term. Stay tuned, fans.

YANKS NEED SLUGGER IN THE 3-HOLE

2010-06-07T19:18:00.003-04:00

A-Rod is obviously stumped by Tex's troubles, too.
Photo by Stephanie Quartaro

The Yankees need a slugger in the three-hole. I am a Mark Teixeira fan, and want nothing more than for him to find his stroke. But, until someone invents a GPS to track down such a thing, or hitting coach Kevin Long and Tex combine to find a solution, it's increasingly harder to watch what is happening with The Bronx Bombers’ third-place hitter.

I'm fully aware stats can be spun any way you like to make them work in support of an argument you are trying to make. Extreme example--if NY wanted to put their top two batting average guys in the lineup, strictly based on stats, they'd have pitcher CC Sabathia, who is hitting .500, and minor league/temp fill-in Greg Golson at .400. Of course, that's ridiculous. So, please hang with me.

Shouldn't sluggers have a decent slugging percentage? Slugging percentage is a simple, yet meaningful stat, which takes the total numbers of bases and divides it by the number of official at-bats—in other words, how productive a hitter is per plate appearance. As you might expect, Robinson Cano, who is 4th in the AL in slugging percentage, is leading the Yankees with a lofty .611 mark. Citing stats for just the regular players, all of whom have 100+ at-bats, the following in order are: Jorge Posada (.542), Nick Swisher (.532), Alex Rodriguez (.491), Derek Jeter (.433), Brett Gardner (.421) and Curtis Granderson is at .420 before we finally get to Tex.

In putting a yellow highlighter through his .363 slugging percentage, Tex is just .013 ahead of Francisco Cervelli's .350....and Cervi has a bagel in the HR column! How's that for a slugger? You know what I am getting at. In all fairness, despite the extremely low batting average (.212), Tex has still managed to drive in 34 runs, which tie him with Yankee lead-off hitter, Derek Jeter. Feel free to interpret that as you like...your lead-off man and #3 hitter with the same amount of RBI.

In the super long marathon of a baseball season there are still 95 games to go. But for those residents of Pinstripe Land, the sooner the three-hole hitter gets those slugging and batting average numbers up, the better they’ll sleep at night.

WHERE IS WALDO? WHAT ABOUT UBALDO?

2010-06-03T18:23:00.001-04:00

Everyone knows Waldo from the "Where Is" fame. But, what about Ubaldo?

Ubaldo Jimenez is a 26-year old right-handed pitcher for the Colorado Rockies. Maybe that's why he doesn't sound familiar. Well, start taking note because the talented hurler is putting up the most impressive pitching stats this side of Bob Gibson in the late 60's. Early this season, in just his second start, Jimenez fired the first no-hitter of the 2010 season vs. Atlanta. But that achievement just fits in nicely with the rest of the staggering numbers, evidence of his total dominance.

Coming into this season Ubaldo's career win-loss mark was a respectable 36-28. Pitching in hitter friendly Denver can be most pitchers' nightmare, but this season the Dominican Republic product isn't buying that theory at all. He has yielded only one home run.

Just like you should act when you are served your favorite delicious meal--take your time, chew slowly, enjoy and digest these delicious stats. Games Started: 11. Record; 10-1. Earned Run Average: 0.78. Innings Pitched: 80.1 Hits: 46. Opponent Batting Avg: .172. Strikeouts: 70. Walks: 26. His WHIP, average of how many base-runners reach via walk or hit per inning, is a paltry 0.90. Unheard of in this modern age.

If you don't know Ubaldo, get to know him. He is one of the greatest stories of 2010. Where is Ubaldo? He's on the mound in Denver, CO.

YANKEE CAPTAIN INSPIRED BY SPORTS SAUSAGE

2010-06-03T17:55:00.001-04:00

Derek Jeter was uncharacteristically bumbling around about 3 weeks ago and looked nothing like “The Captain” we had come to expect. Obviously, Jeter was inspired by the blog post below (Is Father Time Catching Up With Yankee Captain, May 13th) and has returned to form.

Jeter was striking out, dribbling weak ground balls to the infield, and hitting soft fly balls as he saw his average plummet from a healthy .330 at the end of April. As of May 13, after completing a very mediocre series at Detroit, Jeter was in the .260’s. But, the last three weeks Jeter has returned to driving the ball in the gaps, hitting it hard up the middle, and through the right side at about a .500 clip to raise his average back up and over the .300 mark.

We’re glad to know that the Sports Sausage is so widely read and that it helped serve as a catalyst to Jeter’s resurgence. If anyone else needs a kick-start out there, let us know and we’ll get it done.

NO TRIPLE CROWN WINNER THIS YEAR; COSTAS RELATES TO JOCKEYS BY HEIGHT

2010-05-16T18:45:00.001-04:00

Horse Racing, aka “the sport of kings”, was on center stage on Saturday with the second leg of the famed Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, being run at Pimlico Racetrack in Baltimore.

Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver just didn’t have it, while the Derby favorite two weeks ago, Lookin’ At Lucky, rebounded at the Belmont to win by two heads. The most significant note coming out of this race is the fact that for the 33rd straight year there will not be a Triple Crown winner. For those of us old enough to remember (yes, I do), the last super horse to sweep all three races was Affirmed in 1978.

Aside from the exciting, highly competitive horse race which was run in ideal conditions in Baltimore, another note became apparent to me. It was during the lead up to post-time, when NBC was running several different feature stories and interviews. In the area near the jockeys’ quarters NBC’s Bob Costas was interviewing jockey Kent Desormeaux. Jockeys are not big people. In fact, they are rather diminutive. I really like Bob Costas and have always enjoyed his work. I also know that he isn’t a man of large physical stature. But, unless jockey Desormeaux was wearing lifts in his riding boots, or 1970’s disco platform-style shoes, he and Costas were looking at each other eye to eye. You could have balanced a 2 x 4 level across their heads. I couldn’t believe it!

All 12 Belmont Stakes jockeys weighed in around 126 pounds. Not that Costas is heavy, by any means, and even though he may have jockey height, he doesn’t appear to tip the scales as low as 126. So, Bob will have to stick to announcing, which he does exceptionally well, and for which he is very well-compensated. But, he doesn't get to wear those cool, colorful silky jockey uniforms.

Is Father Time Catching Up With The Yankee Captain?

2010-05-13T22:04:00.003-04:00

The New York Yankees' captain, Derek Jeter, is looking his age. Turning age 36 in June, he is looking like all of that and maybe more. Just 34 games into the 2010 season Jeter has seen his performance slide in the month of May. He finished April hitting a healthy .330 and was leading the team in RBI. Now, after a brutally quiet four-game series in Detroit, where New York was hardly the Bronx Bombers while being shutout twice, Jeter's average stood at a pedestrian .269. There is no greater representative for who and what the Yankee pinstripes are all about. But, it's obvious Jeter is slipping. Despite a rigid, disciplined off-season training regiment and Jeter possessing the mental focus and will to be the best he can be, Father Time just might be closing in on the Captain.

Patriots' Brady Telling It Like It Is, Players Need to Listen to Belichick

2010-05-11T17:55:00.002-04:00

In the first half of the new decade of the 2000s, the New England Patriots were the kings of the NFL. With Bill Belichick captaining the ship and all-pro QB Tom Brady at the controls the Patriots won three of four Super Bowls from 2001- 2004.

In 2007 they rattled off 16 straight regular season wins, then added a pair of play-off wins, but were eventually upset in their quest for another Lombardi Trophy by the surging New York Giants as they finished the season 18-1.

The last two years have not been, as we have come to expect, very Patriot-like. 2008 brought a bit of history, albeit negative. New England became the first 11-win team to not make the play-offs. They sat at home as Miami won the automatic post-season bid as the AFC East champs, and the Pats were eliminated from a possible wild card berth by a confusing league formula which determines such things. Last year New England posted another double-digit win season, 10-6 (going 8-0 at home, but just 2-6 on the road). Unfortunately, the home field comfort of Gillette Stadium ran out in the first round of the play-offs as the Baltimore Ravens jumped out to a 24-0 lead and never looked back on their way to a 33-14 victory.

Narrowly missing the play-offs two years ago, and then being bounced in the first round while playing in their own building last year, brings some interesting quotes from Brady. In an article published on Sporting News’ , “The Trenches”, Brady is quoted as saying, "We've got to start listening more to coach Belichick," Brady told Sports Illustrated. "We've got young kids who are good players. We've got the best football coach of all time. He's got the answers. We as a team have to take the teaching and the coaching we're being given.

"Teams change in this league every year, and ours is no exception. Last year was pretty disappointing in a lot of ways, obviously. Losing to Baltimore the way we lost in the playoffs, losing leads late, losing on the road. Every year is so different, and the way we approach this year will be extremely important. We need to see the toughness. We need to see the commitment. Can we take the coaching?"

There is a lot to ponder when reviewing Brady’s quotes. When the Pats were rolling along so merrily they had a great blend of veterans who set the proper example, as well as expectations, and they were at the top of their game. The Pats also had young guys who would learn from these vets. New England also had a good amount of continuity in their coaching and front office staffs. But, the great success of their organization spawned new opportunities for some of these staff members to leave for more responsibility elsewhere. That’s natural. They held the blue-print for New England’s success. The veteran players who helped carry the Patriots through their hay-day began getting a little long in the tooth. Some remained and were less productive than what they were before, while others were dealt for new acquisitions.

The nugget I mined when reading into Brady’s quotes is that this roster of players might be talented, but they may not be ready and willing to do what it takes. They may not have the intrinsic values, the make-up, that those ultimate winners had. It starts with belief and trust in the coaching staff and the offensive, defensive and special teams systems they have in place. Even at the NFL level players need coaching; they need reminding and they need motivation. They aren’t robots who can just go out and play at a high level play after play, game after game. Just as soon as they think they know it all, have seen it all, and they stop listening to coaches, they run the risk of getting exposed and embarrassed.

There’s a lot that goes into winning. Talent is one key ingredient. Great character is another. As Brady pointed out, toughness and commitment are critical. In reading Brady’s quotes it sounds like the Pats of not so long ago, the ones who won Super Bowls three out of four straight years, and then went 18-1 in 2007, had the stuff of which winners were made. It sounds like the most recent rosters may have the necessary physical talent, but it’s what is in their mind and in their heart that will determine their true fate. Football is a complicated game. Over the course of a 16-game regular season every player on the 53-man active roster has to be on the same page and pulling together in the same direction—as a lot of coaches often say, “…playing with one heartbeat.” Let’s see if Brady’s comments are taken to heart by teammates as they begin their preparation for the 2010 campaign and where it might lead by season’s end.

Baseball World Suffers Loss of Two Hall of Famers

2010-05-07T19:57:00.001-04:00

Baseball lost two Hall of Famers this past week with the passing of legendary radio announcer Ernie Harwell and the dominant pitcher of the early 50’s, Robin Roberts. Harwell was 92 and Roberts 83.

Harwell was the only non-player to ever be part of a baseball trade when in 1948 Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey engineered a deal involving a Dodger catcher going to the minor league Atlanta Crackers for Harwell. At the microphone he had a soothing, folksy, down-home type of delivery and he made everyone feel like they were a part of his game. Like so many other legendary broadcasters of the “pre-baseball on TV era” Harwell could paint the word picture and make you feel like you were at the ballpark seeing , feeling and smelling everything he was experiencing. As voice of the Tigers for 42 of his 55 years in the business, one of the many great characteristics of Harwell’s play-by-play was him congratulating fans in Tiger Stadium when they came up with a foul ball. “Hey, that’s a great catch down their along the right field line. I think that's Bill from Dearborn. Way to go.” Of course, it wasn’t Bill from Dearborn—just Harwell’s way of making the game more personal and connecting with his legion of loyal listeners. He was ushered into baseball’s hall in 1981 as winner of the Ford C. Frick Award.

Roberts, inducted into Cooperstown in 1976, strung together six consecutive 20+ winning seasons in the early-mid 50’s for the Phillies. On his way to 286 career wins he was the ultimate workhorse. The most astounding statistic, which points special attention to how the game has changed today with specialty relief pitchers and lack of strong starting pitching, is Roberts’ complete games numbers. He started 609 games and finished 305. In fact, Roberts had more complete games in his entire career than the Phillies organization has had in the last 25 years! Roberts was a control freak. Hurling huge numbers of innings as he did, Roberts issued an average of just 1.3 walks per game over his 19-year career. Incredible.

This did come back to bite him a bit. Because he was always around the plate, and the fact he was on the mound eating up innings like an Over-eaters Anonymous member on a binge, Roberts yielded an all-time record 505 career home runs. Ironically, current Phillie Jamie Moyer, 47 years young, is next in line when it comes to career gopher balls. He is less than 10 behind.

It was just a few years ago that former NBC newsman Tom Brokaw authored a best-selling biography about "The Greatest Generation." If you took the sports version of that same era in American history you'd find Ernie Harwell and Robin Roberts.

HOW ABOUT A LITTLE CHIN MUSIC?

2010-05-03T17:16:00.000-04:00

Here’s an item that pretty much flew under the radar recently. Last Thursday night as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated Oakland, their catcher John Buck, as his manager Cito Gaston said, “… had a night that you can only dream of as a kid: three home runs in a ballgame.”

For someone with Bucks’ career numbers, Gaston’s comment could easily be called a gross understatement. Buck is a prime example that catching, like a lot of other specialty assignments (i.e. left-handed relief pitching), is always looking for good help. He is 6’3, 210 playing in his seventh season in the big leagues, but has always been just a guy, nothing special—decent defensively, probably below average offensively.

Prior to joining Toronto this year Buck toiled in Kansas City. Over the course of six previous seasons his best home run output was 18 in 2007. For his career to this point he only averages one home run every 26.67 times at bat. A threat to any kind of home run record he is not.

When I first heard of this outstanding feat by Buck, three homers in one game, my first questions was, “How about a little chin music?” The oddity is that Buck hit his round-trippers off of three different pitchers! Maybe I am a little old-school in thinking, but if I am the third pitcher coming into the game and this career .234 avg. hitter, who only hits a home run every 27 at the plate has already hit two home runs, I’m thinking about buzzing the tower, providing a little chin music, or brushing him back off the plate (insert your favorite choice here). There’s no way John Buck gets to settle into the batter’s box and be so comfortable that he has even the slimmest of chances to smack his third home run in this game.

It’s 2010 and the game of baseball has not changed terribly much from how we all knew it was played decades ago. But, to some degree it is a kinder, gentler game—as evidenced by Oakland letting John Buck have a shot at his third home run in one game. Buck’s batting average after that game, by virtue of a 3-4 night, rose to a “lofty” .194 and his season’s HR total from 1 to 4.

Some Former Yankees Celebrate Facial Hair Freedom

2010-04-25T22:00:00.002-04:00

As traditional as the pinstripes are to the New York Yankee uniform and their identity, so is the policy on facial hair. Mustaches are allowed, but anything that begins to resemble a beard, goatee, or anything in between--those are just not allowed. When players join the Yankees, either by working their way up in the farm system or being acquired via free agency or trade, they all know the policy is just part of the tradition and the way it is done in New York.

It was just last fall that the Yankees captured their 27th World Series championship. As is common in today's game, the winter, or off-season, brought about a little re-tooling and shuffling of that winning roster. The former Yankee with the longest tenure, Hideki Matsui, went to the California Angels. Regular contributors in the outfield, Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera, now play for Detroit and Atlanta, respectively. While valuable back-up catcher and great defensive player, Jose Molina, now is with the Blue Jays.

It's interesting to observe former Yankees when they leave the Bronx Bombers and have the freedom to express themselves, not being restricted by other teams when it comes to facial hair. The most curious is Damon. Before coming to New York Damon played for the Yanks arch-rival, Boston. There, he caught national baseball attention by wearing long hair and growing a full beard, hence garnering a new nickname--"the cave man"--similar to those Geiko commercials. Of course, Damon cleaned up in New York and so far, is still clean-shaven in Detroit.

Matsui, who is as humble and unassuming as anyone to ever play for New York, looks exactly the same, albeit strange in that Angels uniform with "double nickels" on the back.

The two who have busted out and are enjoying facial hair freedom are Molina and Cabrera. Molina has the well-trimmed full beard working as a Blue Jay, while Melky has opted for the latest baseball rage, the minimalist style of goatee, which is akin to the shell of a chocolate dipped ice cream cone on his chin.

You wonder if that was something they always wanted to do, but were too restricted in New York, or was it just such a surge of independence that they felt they had to express themselves now that they were no longer Yankees? It's kind of analogous to a teenager who transfers from a private school to public school and can shed the uniform for whatever is stylish and cool with his new schoolmates.

Facial hair isn't a bad thing, unless you have a graying old mustache with a wild variety of hairs in it, like me. But, for Molina and Cabrera, whatever version of a beard or goatee they wear isn't bad either. It just signifies that they are no longer New York Yankees.

Turning Back the Clock on D-backs Manager and Yours Truly

2010-04-23T19:53:00.001-04:00

One of the emotional challenges of advancing through middle age is trying to steer clear of things that make you feel old, or at least avoid the elements that cause you to ask, “Was it really that long ago?”

Something happened this past week that caused me to pause and ponder. The major league baseball season is well-underway. Reality hit me in the face when I was channel-surfing through the MLB Extra Innings package and I saw the young manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks on the top step of the team dugout focused on the ineffectiveness of his starting pitcher.

Last May Arizona fired then manager Bob Melvin and replaced him with A.J. Hinch. At that time Hinch became the major’s youngest manager ever at age 34 and 357 days.

Flashing back, it was the spring of 1991, and then again in the fall and winter of the same year, when I was recruiting for the Kansas State Wildcats football program in the greater Oklahoma City area. There was an intelligent, hard-nosed, athletic quarterback with a strong arm at Midwest City High School. The head coach told me he thought he could play Division I football, but he was also a heck of a catcher in baseball. But, depending on where he might project in the baseball draft, he might still consider football. I carried on the recruiting process and when the prospect and I spoke personally about how much we would like to have him in our program, yada-yada-yada, it was hard to avoid talking baseball because we were both as passionate about that as we were football.

A.J. Hinch went on to play baseball at Stanford, he earned a degree in psychology, got drafted in the third round by Oakland, and won a bronze medal playing for the U.S. Olympic team. His professional career lasted eight years before he opted to move into minor league operations and eventually director of player development for the Diamondbacks. Then came his quick ascent into the manager’s position.

It’s hard to believe the personable, dark-haired two-sport star I began to know 18 years ago is the skipper of a major league baseball team. I can still vividly remember sitting in the high school coach’s office with my gray V-neck Wildcat coaches’ sweater, admittedly with a lot more dark hair on my head and in my mustache, engaged in great conversation with A.J. Hinch.

I guess I am getting old when I have former athletes, or recruiting prospects, running a professional team. I wonder how he would have worked out as our quarterback? Good luck to A.J.; the D-backs are off to a bit of a slow start.

PLENTY OF ROOM FOR FANS TO NEST AT ORIOLES PARK

2010-04-15T21:00:00.000-04:00

I know it’s early in the baseball season and MLB ballparks are not as full on a spring weeknight as they will be on a weekend, or even more so, once summer is in full swing. But, is there any reason that the wonderful setting for baseball in Baltimore, Orioles Park at Camden Yards, had just 9,129 people in attendance for a Monday night game this week against Eastern Division rival Tampa Bay?

Folks, there were 9,129 people rattling around in a stadium that holds 48,262. Elementary math tells me that’s 39,133 empty seats for a game that was played on a comfortable 60-degree spring evening. Is that an indictment of the Orioles, the lack of a draw in the person of the opposing Rays, or both? That's awfully sad for a baseball-rich city like Baltimore to have less than a 5-digit attendance figure for any game.

20-Year Look of Griffey, Jr. Fading Away

2010-04-15T20:54:00.001-04:00

Ken Griffey, Jr. was the first pick in the 1987 amateur baseball draft. He broke into major league baseball with the Seattle Mariners in 1989 as a 19-year old star in the making. He, of course, has gone on to a laundry list of great accomplishments, among them: 13-time All-Star, 10-time Golden Glove winner, 7-time Silver Slugger Award winner, named to MLB All-Century team, and he is fifth all-time on the career home run list. But, perhaps the most unsung aspect of Griffey’s legend is influencing an entire generation to wear their baseball caps, and any other type of ball-cap for that matter, backwards. As Griffey was building his reputation, stats, and celebrity, the more he was seen hanging out prior to games along with doing thousands of interviews with his hat turned around, whether he knew it or not, he was becoming a model for the youth of America and around the world.

Griffey had his name and, more importantly, his smiling face on baseball video games, the Wheaties box, and he starred in Nike commercials promoting his signature line of shoes—all very much deserved for the performance and highlights he generated while wreaking havoc on the American League in the 1990’s. With Griffey as its poster boy, the turned-around hat flourished throughout the 90’s and first decade of the 2000's. But, as a keen observer of a lot of meaningless things, I really believe this trend and style is finally fading away.

Perhaps it's running a course parallel to Junior's career as he winds it down. As I carefully eye Little League kids, high school youth and young men on college campuses, the hat-on-backwards is losing its popularity. Personally, I never liked it on anyone except Griffey, but if kids were doing it to emulate him, I was OK with that. As for the middle-aged guy with a tank top, beer gut, and high-top sneakers--uh,not so much.

Baseball fashion ebbs and flows in changes through the years in terms of the length of the pants, how the brim of the hat is worn, baggy vs. snug-fitting, etc. But, when it comes to an athlete influencing the social fashion of a generation of people who were not even playing the game of baseball, no one had more effect than Ken Griffey, Jr.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION, TALK ABOUT THE QB--TALK ABOUT GATOR'S BRANTLEY

2010-04-12T20:34:00.004-04:00

With college spring football coming to a close and the NFL draft around the corner, chatter about the upcoming seasons is growing each day. Regardless of the level of play, there is always one subject that gets more than its fair share of attention—the quarterback.

Are the guys that play this position worthy of all the attention they receive? In some cases the answer is yes. For quite a few it’s a maybe, and for a lot of others, absolutely not. Not all QBs are created equal, therefore, not all QBs truly carry the full burden of the team’s wins and losses on their shoulders. By nature of the offensive system and team philosophy some quarterbacks are just facilitators—they manage the game, take care of the football and provide on the field leadership. Others are called upon to routinely audibilize (check their offense in and out of plays at the line of scrimmage), pass the ball efficiently, often more than 40 times/game, and create plays by making good things happen when tucking the ball away and running.

When casual sports fans want to be a part of a football conversation all they need is a half-way reasonable comment about the QB; that’s their ticket in. Even if they don’t know anything else, by chiming in with a sensible statement referencing the QB, casual fan gets his/her card punched and they are accepted.

The guy receiving the snap from center has been romanticized throughout time. Wasn’t it the cute cheerleader who was the envy of all girls when she ended up with the studly QB to end a fictional story or movie? Odds are the two might even show up as king and queen at Homecoming ceremonies. Well, now there is a new quarterback on the scene who will inherently draw a full, steady flow of attention, and he’s ready for it.

John Brantley is a 6’3, 218 pound red-shirt junior at the University of Florida. For the most part he has sat behind, or more realistically, has been prepping for his turn to take control of the Gator offense from recently departed local legend Tim Tebow. Everyone knows Tim Tebow, an almost larger than life figure during his college career in Gainesville. In the face of the stiffest of challenges Tebow had the uncanny ability to make a play or will his teammates to doing something special. Combine Tebow’s infectious personality with incredible leadership skills, God-given size and talent, and a passion to win…well, that’s a lot to replace. It allowed Tebow to attain All-America status, win a Heisman Trophy and two national football championships in his four years while playing in The Swamp.

Now, John Brantley is fully prepared to make sure that the Gator offense doesn't miss a beat. Upon arriving in Gainesville three falls ago Brantley brought with him an impressive resume’ of work from his prep days at Trinity High School in Ocala, FL. He was chosen as a U.S. Army All-American and the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2006. He owned a 27-1 record as a starter and broke the state record for career touchdown passes with 99, topping the total of 98 shared by UF quarterback Tim Tebow and Florida State signal-caller Xavier Lee. Scout.com named him a 5-star passer and he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp.

Brantley had been patiently working as the #2 guy the previous two years and, when combining his red-shirt year as a true freshman, he has three years of quarterback meetings and classroom tutorials to serve as a sturdy foundation of knowledge. He also experienced live game action over the last two years when he enjoyed more than just a little bit of success. Completing 54 out of 76 passes for 645 yards and 10 touchdowns versus one interception is not too shabby.

I had the good fortune of being able to get up close and personal by being around the Gators in meetings and on the practice field a week prior to this past Saturday’s spring game. My impression is that JB, as he is known to those around him, is an intelligent guy who knows the offensive system inside-out. He conducts himself with a quiet confidence and is working to become more vocal, although all of the Gators will tell you he is the man in charge on the field. As vocal as Tebow, neither he nor anyone else will ever be. He has a quick, effective release, good arm strength, and is extremely accurate. He is certainly a passer rather than a runner, but he is athletic enough to help himself get out of trouble. The real key is that the offense rallies around him and they believe in him.

Brantley closed out his first spring as the top Gator QB with an impressive performance, 15 out of 19 for 201 yards and 2 TDs in the Blue & Orange spring game.

Keep an eye on Brantley as the Gators work to keep their program among the nation’s elite. As the Gator offensive system continues to evolve and be tweaked to fit this year's talent, the UF faithful should feel good that their fortunes for 2010 are in good hands with Brantley.

So, there you go. If you need fuel for your pre-season football conversation, feel free to borrow some of this when the topic is, “Who is that guy replacing Tebow at Florida?”

LET’S TAKE 5: BRIEF BUT LUCID THOUGHTS ON 5 TOPICS

2010-04-05T17:27:00.002-04:00

Please review and consider this actual, unaltered photograph caption that I saw in the local newspaper today—“Tiger Woods walks with swing coach Hank Haney during a practice round prior to the Masters Monday in Augusta, Ga.” Given Tiger’s reported infidelity and sexual indiscretions should we not put some of the blame on the guy who teaches him how to “swing”? How does he get off the hook? If Haney gets credit when Tiger swings successfully he must also be taken to task when the swinging takes Tiger out of bounds.

Regardless of what happens tonight in the NCAA men's basketball title game the Butler Bulldog basketball program is a wonderful story. What really strikes a chord for me is the fact when Butler’s home court, Hinkle Fieldhouse, was built in 1928 it had a capacity of 15,000 and was the largest college facility in the nation for 20 years. Heck, the private school’s enrollment is just over 4,000. What does that tell you about the state of Indiana and their feelings toward the sport of basketball? They love it. As football is to Texas, basketball is to Indiana. You may know that the much-acclaimed 1987 sports movie “Hoosiers”, starring Gene Hackman, was filmed in Hinkle Fieldhouse because the historic game upon which the movie was written was actually played there in 1954. The Indiana state high school championships were held there for decades. The Hoosier state is steeped in tradition and great history and so, too, is Butler.

After enjoying the hoops action of March Madness on the court, yet having to endure mind-numbing, copy-cat announcing, let’s have a contest to solicit a replacement for the now very tired basketball expression “he knocks down the trey.” Basketball aficionados know the five-word phrase translates to “he makes the three-point shot.” From where “knocks down” ever came, and how it became the standard description for such a play over the last decade, I don’t know. But, it’s time to move on. Also, is “trey” really that much more cool than the three? For some reason every play-by-play announcer and game analyst uses the same line. What happened to individuality and style? Suggestions?

I love baseball. Aside from having made a living working for 30 years in football, baseball always was and still is my first love (apologies to my wife). That being said, I was disappointed that in a “made for TV maneuver”, the New York Yankees played at Boston Sunday night on ESPN2. Why? For decades the Cincinnati Reds hosted and played the first game of the season, usually on a sunny but chilly weekday afternoon along the banks of the Ohio River. It’s silly to argue against MLB & ESPN’s agreement to put the best rivalry in baseball out there as the lone game on Sunday night to kickoff the season.

But, what is silly and easy to argue is why those same two ball clubs had to sit around Monday with an off-day, not playing the second game of their three-game series as we would all expect, and then having to resume play Tuesday and Wednesday. Does that make any sense? Later in the season, when the teams have been trudging on through their marathon season and could really use an off-day, they’ll be thinking back to that second day of the season when they sat around the clubhouse or hotel playing cards instead of baseball.

If you have a couple of extra bucks and want to play a long-shot to win the World Series in 2010 you can cash in big with one of these choices—Washington Nationals 150-1, Pittsburgh Pirates 125-1, Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles both 100-1. The Yankees are 3-1 while both Boston and Philadelphia are 6-1. Despite it being 102 years since the Cubs pulled off this feat, the Northsiders are a respectable 18-1 shot, pretty good when you have that much history stacked up against you. Certainly not a reach in my opinion, it’s worth tossing a little spare change on the Tampa Bay Rays at 22-1.

You heard it here first.

Pitchers Impressive For Both Teams in Yanks-Phils Spring Tilt

2010-03-27T09:30:00.008-04:00

Counting the remaining spring training games and the regular season schedule to come there are "only" about 170 games until the first round of American and National League playoffs. At that point we will not have even gotten to the World Series. But, last night's spring match-up of the reigning world champion Yankees and their foe from just south on I-95, the Phillies, gave a glimpse of what could be, again.

Pitching was the name of the game. MLB bio says Phillies veteran lefty Jamie Moyer was born 11/18/62. You do the math. To say Moyer has been around a long time is a bit understated. Moyer is the definition of a crafty southpaw. His fastball, if he really muscles up and tries extra hard, might crack 82 mph. But, his ability to change speeds with his off-speed pitches, then spot an occasional "fast ball" (relative terms) with impeccable precision keeps betters off-balance. That's the name of the game.

To see him in-person is even more impressive. The Yankees lineup facing him was legitimate. The only non-starter hitting against Moyer was back-up catcher Francisco Cervelli. Other than that, Moyer stared down the 27-time World Champions and set them down quietly. He twirled 6-2/3 innings, grudgingly giving up just a first inning single,issued no walks while striking out six. If the Yankees did get a piece of he ball the southpaw's finesse induced soft fly balls from power hitters Mark Teixeirea and Alex Rodriguez and routine infield grounders from everyone else.

Just a day prior to this ballgame the Yanks announced that young righty Phil Hughes would fill the last remaining starting pitching slot which was hotly contested throughout spring among four NY hopefuls, including Job Chamberlain. Hughes came out strong throwing all hard stuff, moving it in and out while doing a good job of keeping it down in the strike-zone. In just three innings of work Hughes struck out five. In addition to whiffing Rollins a second time, Hughes also mowed down all-stars Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jason Werth. He gave up one earned run and yielded two hits. The only stat to mar a good performance was his four bases on balls. Strangely, Hughes wasn't wild; he was just missing and the Phillies exhibited good patience and plate discipline. The fact Hughes only gave up one run in spite of four bases on balls showed he pitched aggressively and got a strikeout or key ground ball when he needed it.

The oddity of spring training baseball is that for both the manager and the players these games are still basically a practice. Evidence was Yankee closer supreme, Mariano Rivera, who came in to work the sixth inning. Usually Rivera is still in the bullpen spitting sunflower seeds until warming up in the eighth inning. But, Girardi wanted to let Mo get some good work in against the middle of the Phils lineup while their starters were still in the game. Rivera responded with a perfect inning including one strikeout while throwing just 10 pitches. Efficient and sharp was Rivera.

All in all, for a spring training game, it was a great game to watch. We had the two starting pitchers, with 20-some years difference between their ages, pitching with completely different styles, and doing so very well. Then we see one of the game's greatest relief pitchers on display doing his thing and doing so against the best possible competition, the heart of the NL champions line-up, and he just did his job as we have come to expect.

You can't beat fun at the old ballpark.

When I watched the Yankee infield toss the ball around and get it back to the pitcher in-between innings I couldn't help but think how many times Cano, Jeter and A-Rod will do this over and over again as the marathon of the baseball season plays out. Only 170 games until the post-season.

NCAA Hoops: We Should All Believe Enough to Practice What We Preach

2010-03-21T21:18:00.005-04:00

The most exciting long weekend in the college basketball season just wrapped up as the NCAA Men's National Tournament quickly whittled its field of 65 hopefuls down to the "Sweet Sixteen."

I don't want to say I told you so, but...I told you so. If you scroll down about three posts before this, or click the link for archives on the right, "Knockin' On Hoops Heaven Door" you'll see the advice that was offered on this blog way back on March 9th. In a nutshell it said that this year's NCAA tournament was not as strong overall, aside from a few of the #1 seeded teams it lacked the great depth and quality of teams, and for these reasons there really wasn't any surprise win that would be considered a major upset amongst all of the teams seeded between 3 and 14.

So, where do we stand now? Beginning last Thursday and finishing up on Sunday night we were treated to great athletic entertainment thanks to CBS' wall to wall coverage. The end result has four teams that were seeded 9th or higher among the 16 teams still dancing. The four vying for permanent ownership of Cinderella's slipper are #9 Northern Iowa, #10 St. Mary's of California, #11 Washington, and #12 Cornell University. The Ivy League Big Red handled Temple in round one and Big Ten rough-houser Wisconsin in the second round to advance.

Members in the count of heavy casualties are #1 seeded Kansas, #2 Villanova, and three #3 seeds--New Mexico, Georgetown and Pittsburgh. The KU Jayhawks fell to Northern Iowa in the second round, Villanova tumbled to St. Mary's also in round two, as did New Mexico drop at the hands of Washington while Georgetown was ousted in the opening round by Ohio.

In all honesty, I had Kansas going all the way and Georgetown and Villanova getting to the Elite Eight. So much for me believing what I put our here in public. Maybe I need to listen to myself and practice what I preached. Any chance we can begin new brackets starting with the Sweet Sixteen?

Oregon Ducks' Promise for 2010 FB Season Headed South

2010-03-16T17:37:00.007-04:00

There’s an old English proverb that says, “An idle brain is the devil’s workshop.” For University of Oregon star quarterback Jeremiah Mesoli his brain could not have even been idling recently. Maybe the ignition was completely turned off.

Last season Mesoli led the Ducks to their first Rose Bowl appearance since 1995. As a celebrated dual-threat QB he passed for 2,147 yards and 15 touchdowns while also rushing for 668 yards and 13 touchdowns. There was even some talk of Mesoli being part of the Heisman Trophy conversation based on the promise of a great 2010 season. If you take Mesoli out of Oregon’s prolific “Quack Attack” offense it can barely chirp.

But, now the Ducks will be looking for a new man to take the helm for 2010 despite Mesoli still having another year of eligibility. Last Friday Oregon head coach Chip Kelly suspended his top signal-caller for the entire 2010 season after Mesoli pleaded guilty to second- degree burglary in the theft of a pair of laptop computers and a guitar from a campus fraternity. Masoli pleaded guilty as part of a deal that reduced his charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. His partner-in-crime, literally, was receiver Garrett Embry, who pleaded to the same charge. Both will serve 12 months of probation, 140 hours of community service and pay $5,000 in restitution. Was it really worth it for Mesoli to throw away everything that he had going for him to illegally acquire a couple of laptops and a guitar?

It’s no secret that the off-season, that part of a college athlete’s school year when he is not going through a full regiment of practices and/or games, most lends itself to players finding their way into trouble. Oregon may be on pace to set a new record for players being sentenced to some degree of probation, or being suspended, or dismissed from the team.

From personal experience I can attest to the fact that assistant football coaches and head coaches are much more sensitive to getting phone calls at odd hours during the winter and summer months because their players have much more free time. If someone had the time and resources to compile stats on the number of scrapes with a the law that occur during the fall season, or even during spring ball, compared to true off-seasons like winter and summer, the number would shock you. You are all familiar with the “police blotter” report in local newspapers—drunk driving, assault, burglary. Well, you’ll find the same thing permeating sports pages thanks to the off-season adventures of a small percentage of college players.

Masoli and the rest of the out of bounds Ducks prove a great point that some kids, or whatever name you want to hang on these 18-22 year olds, need structure. Yes, they need to mature, handle responsibility and do all of the things that should happen when living their own lives away from their homes. But, for those who argue that some college football coaches are too demanding, too structured, too over-bearing on their players, just Google recent news stories on Oregon football and be prepared to spend some time there. It is certainly not a quick-read. Given the tremendous amount of notoriety at stake when players misrepresent their college athletic program and university, it’s no wonder coaches work incessantly to drive home important values and discipline. Coaches can’t be 24/7 baby-sitters.

Great Player, Even Better Person--Fearsome Foursome's Olsen Passes On

2010-03-12T16:35:00.004-05:00

I was really saddened when I learned of the news of Merlin Olsen’s death on Thursday, March 11th. Olsen died from a cancer of the lung, mesothelioma, which is traced to his exposure to asbestos while he worked as a youth and young adult on construction sites.

Olsen, 69, was one of the players I most enjoyed watching back in the day when there were just two networks televising NFL games. There weren’t many regionally broadcast games, just an Eastern Time zone game and one later for the west coast. So, when the Rams were on it was a treat to watch him and his fellow “Fearsome Foursome” defensive linemen.

My basis for writing this, I really believe if Merlin Olsen played in this era of “24/7 sports” his popularity and legend would be off the charts. Because of the incredibly vast amount of video highlights, analysis, sports talk radio--you name it; today’s NFL players are often over-hyped relative to their actual abilities. After all, we have to have some “wow” factor, even if it is a little inflated in order to help keep highlights reels rolling and people tuning in throughout the day.

Merlin Olsen was as highly a decorated defensive lineman as there was when he played collegiately at Utah State and then in his 15-year NFL career with the Rams. Friends who knew him best often referred to him as being “larger than life” because his personality and character off the field was as admired and respected as his intensity and skill on the field. Olsen was a consensus All-American at Utah State and he won the 1961 Outland Trophy, awarded to the nation's best interior lineman. That’s no small feat coming out of a school like Utah State. The Rams drafted him third overall in 1962 and he spent the next 15 years with the team. He is still the franchise's career leader in tackles with 915. He was selected to an amazing string of 14 straight Pro Bowls, a streak that began with his rookie year.

The storied "Fearsome Foursome" Rams defensive line, Olsen along with Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy and Rosey Grier, was known for either stopping or turning back most offenses it faced. The Rams set an NFL record for the fewest yards ever allowed during a 14-game season in 1968.

Olsen’s laundry list of accolades is too long to mention in entirety, but some of the highlights of accomplishments and individual recognition he earned are: being voted NFC defensive lineman of the year in 1973, MVP of the entire league in 1974, and being voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982. Another remarkable achievement for a big man who played in the trenches every single snap of the football game, Olsen missed just two, yes two, games in his entire career.

A bright guy who graduated Utah State summa cum laude, Olsen’s post-football career was unlike any other star defensive lineman. He did color commentary for NFL games on NBC and was teamed with their #1 broadcast team. He went into acting and played alongside Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert in “Little House on the Prairie” and then his own show, “Father Murphy.” But, the thing I remember most—and it is a testament to his terrific mass appeal—Olsen was the main pitchman for FTD florists for years. How many defensive linemen today do you see promoting a florist for your Mother’s Day needs? Olsen did because he was a big, believable, sincere man.

Combine Merlin Olsen’s superior ability as a professional football player, his high level of intelligence and the ability to verbalize effectively as a broadcaster and actor, and team that with his gentle giant persona in his personal life—he was one of a kind. I’ll never forget #74 of the Rams.

Knockin' On Hoops Heaven Door & Theater of Absurd Comes to NYC

2010-03-09T18:46:00.006-05:00

With the playing of this week’s conference championship tournaments, leading up to the NCAA basketball's “Selection Sunday”, the next few weeks is often termed one of the greatest segments in the yearly sports calendar. By Sunday night we will know which teams’ names will be plotted on the millions of NCAA Tournament brackets posted on kitchen refrigerators, office walls, cubicle bulletin boards and college dorm room walls.

The consistent message from college hoop insiders and analysts is that this year’s tournament field is not nearly as deep and strong as some in the past. To that point, when addressing the top of the ladder Dick Vitale, Jay Bilas, Bob Knight and others who study this for a living all seem to agree that Kansas, Syracuse and Kentucky will nail down three of the four #1 seeds. The fourth top spot is still to be determined this weekend. Barring an unfortunate stumble Duke appears to be the leader for that slot.

Several experts believe that once you get past the top two seeds in the four regions, there is great parity among the rest. This leads to the thinking that when Casual Fan fills out his/her brackets for their pool entries they can no longer just rely on picking the higher seeded team and feeling as though they have a real good chance of being right. The insiders believe that from seeds 3 through 14 there may not be anything that would truly fall into the major upset category because of the lack of overall strength and depth throughout the field. So, you are fore-warned. Maybe take a shot at some of those seeds with bigger numbers next to their name. After all, that’s what eventually determines different bracket point totals. Someone has to pick a surprise winner or two to shake things up.

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When you think of great theater in New York you think of Broadway, “The Great White Way.” But, from the theater of the absurd New York’s Yankee Stadium brings you its inaugural Pinstripe Bowl, a college football bowl game to be played this Dec. 30 and televised by ESPN.

The game will match the No. 3 team in the Big East and the No. 6 school in the Big 12, excluding Bowl Championship Series participants.

Why is this absurd? Let’s remember, people, that bowl games were born as a means of providing a post-season get-away for teams and their fans to go somewhere warm to play a game in the dead of winter. Weather stats tell us that the average temperature for late December in New York is just above freezing at 35 degrees. I bet those Big 12 Conference schools are fired up for this one. How about all of you Texas schools...interested? About the only schools that might see NYC as being warmer than their home climate would be Nebraska (who is not destined to finish low enough to qualify for this bowl) and Iowa State (whose fans would probably show up in short sleeves compared to their normal dress for the near zero wind chills of central Iowa).

There is no doubt that the week leading up to the bowl game would be enjoyable. Holiday time in NYC for those who haven’t experience it is magical. But, keep in mind, if you attend the game at Yankee Stadium you won’t be able to pop into any one of the thousands of coffee shops, restaurants, or department stores to warm-up like you can when strolling and shopping the avenues of the Big Apple. You’ll be in the Bronx, baby, and there’s nothing for you to do but sit bundled up in your baseball stadium seat clutching a lukewarm cup of previously hot chocolate.

The only bowl games played in such a northern climate are indoors in Detroit and Toronto. When I attended a baseball game in the "new" Yankee Stadium last year I don't remember seeing a roof, nor did I hear rumors of one being added. Hmmm.

Shorts Shots On: Super Bowl Winner, Curse of Billy Goat & Tebow's Challenge

2010-03-06T07:24:00.002-05:00

Here it is only about a month after the Super Bowl and, for me, the short-lived glow of a very good game has been long gone. It really jarred me when I was on the SI.com website (one of my favorite sports news/features sites) and I saw their promo ad for all of the Super Bowl winning team souvenir stuff they pedal if you sign-up for a new magazine subscription. You know, the team’s Super Bowl DVD, a painted up football, and the commemorative hardbound book. I did a double-take because it was all New Orleans Saints.

Then, after taking brief pause it occurred to me that, yes, it was the Saints who toppled the Indianapolis Colts and brought the Vince Lombardi Trophy home to their beloved “Crescent City.” (I like that moniker a lot better than “the Big Easy”…something just a little disturbing about that term)

The Saints had a great year, no question. But aside from the loyal fans down on the bayou, once the Super Bowl was over their flame on a national level went from blazing, to flicker, to out in a hurry. It’s no one’s fault. Coach Sean Payton, Drew Brees and everyone tied to the Saints are to be given every accolade we can bestow on them. The fact that the Saints were not so long ago the “Aints” should make their story one for the ages. It was just that in December, January and early February. Now, for whatever reason, I had to be reminded that they actually reached the summit that every NFL employee strives to achieve. Sorry, Saints. I still applaud you. Great season—great job.

Baseball spring training camps are in full swing. OK Chicago Cubs fans, this is your year! I have been hearing that for about 50 years, less than half of the total years since your last World Series title which was over a century ago in 1908. How about last World Series appearance? 1945, you say? Correct.

*In Game 4 of the 1945 Series, the “Curse of the Billy Goat” was allegedly laid upon the Cubs when owner P.K. Wrigley ejected Billy Sianis, who had come to Game 4 with two box seat tickets, one for him and one for his goat. They paraded around for a few innings, but Wrigley demanded the goat leave the park due to its unpleasant odor. Upon his ejection, Mr. Sianis uttered, "The Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more." The Cubs lost Game 4, lost the Series, and have not been back since. (*Thanks to Wikipedia).

As QB at the University of Florida, Tim Tebow led his Gators to unparalleled success in his four years at the helm. He accounted for 88 touchdowns, threw only 16 career interceptions and completed 66% of his passes. He earned a Heisman Trophy as a sophomore and the led the Gators to their 2008 national championship.

Now he is facing incredible scrutiny by the NFL personnel offices as they evaluate his once less-than classic throwing motion, and even more his commitment to re-make his motion with the help of many recognized former NFL coaches. Every coach with whom Tebow has worked to develop a more consistent, quicker, efficient delivery has remarked how greatly impressed they are by Tebow’s passion, coach-ability, work ethic, and willingness to do whatever it takes to improve. Just as the former Gator signal-caller provided the intangibles for him and his teammates to raise their individual and collective performances, the ex-pro coaches all believe Tebow will overcome this new challenge, too. For an ultimate competitor like Tebow, who also possesses a great deal of natural athletic ability, telling him he can’t do something, or can’t be something is all he needs to step up, meet and defeat the challenge.

See What You Haven't Seen Before at Winter Olympics

2010-02-24T21:51:00.002-05:00

2/24/10--The end to the 2010 Winter Olympics is beginning to come into view and I'm curious if some of my observations sync up with yours.

Who knew that skater dudes had such an impact on the world, and the world of sports? It's amazing that what once began innocently on residential neighborhood sidewalks and driveways, then grew in popularity such that community rec departments built skate parks, has now crept its way into an Olympic version of the sport which is played out in an icy "half-pipe". Are these kids, who perform incredible acrobatic moves 20-feet above the side of the half-pipe while their feet remain attached to their board, talented? Absolutely! Are they courageous thrill-seekers risking serious injury while attempting these death defying acrobatics? Indeed. Are they traditional athletes, like the various competitors from around the world who train for four years to chase an Olympic medal in other sports...cardio training, strength training, long hours in the gym, diet...? Uh, not that I am not impressed, but no, I don't think so. Admit it though; they are entertaining.

On the surface, what might be sillier than the winter biathlon? In America, when we hear of triathlon we conjure up warriors who torture themselves while competing in a continuous chain of events--swimming, biking and running, all in warmer temps. The Winter Olympics biathlon is composed of cross-country skiing and riflery! Why do we want cross country skiers running around the the snowy, wooded mountain areas with weapons strapped on their backs? When you boil it down, seriously, this event is brutally tough. Skiers navigate their way on a cross-country course up and down challenging inclines only to settle at one of several shooting stations along the way where they step up to fire five shots at a target about the size of a grapefruit at 50 yards. The ability to aim a gun steadily, while their body's muscles are crying out with burning fatigue, cannot be appreciated until you see them. It's not just who is the master of the course as a cross-country skier. It's a strange combination of being an incredibly well-conditioned athlete with exceptional technique on skis, who can focus his attention attempting to steady his shaking body, and fire five accurate shots at the target before hitting the trail again. I have new-found respect for these guys just like I do the skater dudes, although in a much different way.

The classic ice skating/ice dancing competition has always been revered as a top winter attraction. Even in non-Olympic years our TV networks offer various world competitions to whet our appetite for the next edition of the Winter Olympics. Can I stay glued to all of the skating--men's, women's, pairs...short, long, free-style, etc.? No, but I do try to catch the finals, the best of the best.

Although it may not be totally strange, one thing that I did find a little hard to watch was the pairs competition when two Scottish skaters representing Great Britain skated through their routines. They are good, very good skaters who sell their character portrayal better than most others. I think we all agree that, to a large degree, pairs skating inherently projects some kind of a male-female relationship. I understand that not all skating pairs are actually "a pair", but some are and the others project that relationship as they skate, hoping to dance their way into the judges' hearts. Back to the Scotties. Their last name is Kerr, and as I said, they are very good. They are so good that unless you pay attention to wealth of background info on all of these skaters you would never sense that they are brother and sister. But, when you are educated to this fact, and you watch them work together as if they were not siblings, though fully knowing that they are...it's a little weird. They have to be very good skaters and even better thespians to pull that off, and for the most part, they do.

Tiger's Media Inferno Firing Up Again

2010-02-18T19:32:00.005-05:00

2/18/10--Everyone get ready. The Tiger Woods media inferno, after calming down just a bit in the last couple of weeks, will be burning full blast again as we head into his “gathering” Friday, Feb. 19. It will burn well beyond that date with the extensive media over-play of whatever he chooses to communicate.

This is not a press conference. His agent, Mark Steinberg , and other PR handlers have crafted a way for Woods to tell us some things, hold back a whole lot more, and to make it a one-way communication. There will be no questions. The only attendees will be Woods and few close associates. A very small, select group of media members will be there just to take notes as Woods speaks publicly for the first time in months. A “pool” TV camera will provide a feed to outlets choosing to air this appearance.

The buzz in the media and around water coolers seems to be centering on speculation of Woods issuing an apology. Who said he is apologizing? If he does, to whom does he owe an apology and why? In this writer’s opinion the only people owed an apology are Tiger’s family members, who have been shamed, and business associates that have contributed to his bank account throughout his career. I don’t know Tiger; we don’t have any kind of relationship. Therefore, he owes me nothing. If some people feel they have been cheated because he encouraged them to buy products he has endorsed, then they are silly for making the purchase based on the idea some popular athlete thought it was a good idea for them to do so.

The Tiger saga began a couple of months ago. But, it struck me recently, and the light bulb really illuminated, when I heard of this public statement occurring Friday. Where have Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, Jr. been all this time? Don’t they always pop up in front of TV cameras when there is some fabulous story about someone being wronged or a crusade to which they would like to attach themselves?

I got it. If Tiger’s handlers really wanted to begin the road to public image recovery they should have hooked up with Lionel Ritchie and Quincy Jones. That way the world’s best golfer could be seen belting out a few lines in the newly re-made version of “We Are the World” music video benefitting the victims in Haiti. Can’t you see Tiger, golf cap crunched on top because of the recording studio head-phones, laying down a couple of solo lines of the ballad alongside Celine Dion, Barbara Streisand and Wyclef Jean?

Too bad. He missed a great opportunity.

Quick Hits From Early Days of Winter Olympics

2010-02-14T21:34:00.008-05:00

The 2010 Winter Olympics began this past Friday night with the pageantry of opening ceremonies in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. Here are a few quick hit observations which I noted while watching it in vivid, crystal clear HD.

THE BROADCAST--Is NBC's Lester Holt the hardest working man in TV journalism? The poor guy usually gets morning Today Show weekend host duties, then doubles back to host the evening news. Now they have him in Vancouver providing whatever is needed, including live morning reports as part of Today, which clocks in at 4 AM Pacific Time (7 AM EST). I know TV is a visual medium and looks are important, but Bob Costas looks younger now than he did 10 years ago thanks to some touch up work. The much darker than natural hair color he is using is just not believable. It doesn't take away from his quality work, but it certainly is distracting.

ALMOST "OH NO!" FOR OHNO--Saturday night short track speed skater Apolo Ohno was the beneficiary of some over-aggressive Koreans as he picked up a silver medal in the 1500 meter event, thus putting him in position to be the most decorated US winter Olympian ever if he earns one more medal. Heading into the final curve/home stretch Korea owned the first three places. But, the two battling for the second and third spots got their skates tangled and both went sailing into the protective padding as Ohno and fellow American, 19-year old JR Celski, crossed the finish line in those silver and bronze places.

MOGULS ANYONE?--This downhill skiing event, which combines speeding over almost 900 yards of bumps (moguls), two big aerial jumps, and subjective grades on technical execution from the judges, is growing on me. If you have seen it, you might agree how shocking it is to see the athletes navigate their way through the middle of this downhill speed-bump course, trying to safely kiss off the small, back-side of each mogul while not sacrificing time or speed. Their upper bodies must remain relaxed, yet still locked into the proper upright position, while the tremendous strength in the ankles, knees, hips and lower back absorb the shock of each mogul. The fury takes less than 30 seconds, but the entire journey is hair-raising. Count me as a new mogul fan. By the way, Hanna Kearney from Norwich, VT won gold for the US, defeating the favored Jen Heil of Canada.

PAIRS FIGURE SKATING--I just couldn't help but think of Chris Farley and his classic Saturday Night Live routine when I began watching this on Sunday night. There was the great orchestral music accompaniment blaring over the PA, the three-person broadcast team at rink side providing information and commentary, and the roar of the crowd. All we needed was Farley in his sparkly, sequin shirt--unbuttoned to show his chest hair--flashing a passionate smile while tossing his partner across the ice. We all know the real darlings of the ice skating world are the ladies in the women's competition, and that is usually saved until much later in the games' schedule. So, until then we have to be patient.

METEOROLOGY--While a good portion of the United States was suffering through cold temperatures that reached into the far south, the meteorological tidbit for the day was that the relatively mild temperature in Olympic host city Vancouver was 2 degrees higher than what we woke up to in the Tampa Bay area of Florida on Sunday.

BEST SUNDAY OF NFL SEASON THIS WEEKEND

2010-01-22T19:03:00.007-05:00

The best Sunday of the entire National Football League season, which features the AFC and NFC championship games, will be played this weekend with the two conference champions advancing to play for the ultimate prize—the Vince Lombardi Trophy, signifying Super Bowl champions. Here’s an inside look at the two match-ups.

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME—Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints, site Super Dome

KEYS FOR MINNESOTA—The Vikings need to be able to run the ball effectively to off-set the tremendous crowd noise that heavily impacts pass audibles at the line of scrimmage by the QB. If the Vikes can go to the line, get set quickly, snap the ball and get RB Adrian Peterson rolling it will take the crowd out of the game. It will also allow Bret Favre to have the entire play-action pass playbook open for use.

The Viking defense is pretty salty up front. They have great size and strength in the middle with their defensive tackles and they have excellent athleticism and speed to rush the pass off the edge. The LBs are solid and run well. If the Vikings can dominate up front and make the Saints more one-dimensional, meaning pass only, the advantage goes to them. Drew Brees is good, but not nearly as good if he has a run game to complement his passing game. Look for the Saints to have to throw quick, shorter or play-action passes early to keep the heat off Brees.

KEYS FOR NEW ORLEANS—The Saints are improved defensively over the last couple of years, but they are still a distance from being a dominating unit. Facing a balanced attack like Minnesota, they are going to have to find a way to get off the field by either creating turnovers or making the Vikes punt without achieving first downs to help create decent field position for Brees and the offense.

Offensively, the Saints will need to really mix it up. They will throw quick passes and screens to keep Brees safe, and then take some deep, downfield shots to Marcus Colston vs. an average Viking secondary. Reggie Bush is an X-factor. If Coach Sean Payton can find a way to get Busch on the perimeter to stretch the defense, just like Minnesota does with Percy Harvin, that will loosen things up a bit.

LAST WORD—This is a great match-up and special teams will have a huge impact. Saints have Busch to make potential big plays and the Vikings have Harvin. The difference could be the kickers and Minnesota’s Ryan Longwell had a fabulous year hitting 26-28 FGs, including 2-2 over 50 yards.

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME—New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts, site Lucas Oil Field (dome)

KEYS FOR NEW YORK—This team has won with strong defense and a punishing run game. The Jets offensive line boasts four former first round picks among the five starters. Rookie QB Mark Sanchez cannot carry the load, so the O-line and RBs Shon Green and Thomas Jones have to keep slamming away to eat some clock and move the chains. Rex Ryan’s defense is a headache for any opposing offense and if the Jets are to pull the upset on the road they need to hit Peyton Manning early and often, trying to off-set his rhythm as well as seeking turnovers. The Jets are content to win ugly. That means dictating tempo on “D”, eating clock while putting up enough points so that the defense can cover, and not turning the ball over.

KEYS FOR INDY—There is no one better adjusting to, and being productive, vs. the blitz than QB Peyton Manning. That being said, he will have to connect on quickies and find the best one-on-one match-up with the little time he’ll be afforded. Indy was 32nd in the league in run offense. There is no way they run the ball effectively, but they need to pop a few in there to take advantage of the hard-charging Gang Green defense to keep them honest. If Manning can stay upright and not be pressured into throwing into impossible coverage, the Colts will be OK. But, that is a big if. Defensively the Colts are like the Saints, improved over the last two years, but still not a unit strikes fear into their opponent. The Colts have gotten good play in stopping the run out of their safeties, which they will do again vs. the Jets. But, they can’t give up the deep play-action ball for a home run due to their over-aggressive run defense mind-set. The strength of the Colts defense, their quick, agile pass-rushing DEs, are really not a factor against this type of Jets offense.

LAST WORD—Jets QB Sanchez threw 20 INTs vs. 12 TDs this season. He completed only 53% of his passes. If the Jets defense gets Manning off of his game early and New York can muster any kind of points because of it, thus, not saddling Sanchez with the heavy responsibility of having to win the game himself-- the underdog could conceivably steal this one. On the other hand, you live by the sword, you die by the sword. If the Jets pressure package gives up a couple of big plays with their sell-out style of defense, it'll be uphill for their offense. I still like Indy, but I am not betting lunch on this one.

Big Ten Arrow Up, Pac-10 Arrow Down, ACC Up Slightly in Bowl Action

2010-01-02T10:15:00.007-05:00

There are still a number of big bowl games to come today and in this coming week, but at this point it's easy to draw some conclusions about what certain conferences did or didn't do with their post-season opportunities.

The arrow is pointing up for the Big Ten with Ohio State's big win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Penn State's topping LSU in the Capitol One, and Wisconsin stopping Miami 20-14 on the Champs' Bowl. As a point of comparison, last year the Big Ten struggled with a 1-6 bowl mark, the lone victory turned in by Iowa. The conference stubbed their collective toes in two games decided by a total of three points this past week. Northwestern lost to Auburn by two and Minnesota finished the year 6-7 by losing to Iowa State. The Midwesterners still have two games to go--in tonight's Alamo Bowl Michigan State tangles with Mike Leach-less Texas Tech and on the Orange Bowl stage Iowa takes on Georgia Tech this Tuesday night.

The arrow is pointing down on the Pac-10. The west coast conference schools finished the bowl season a disappointing 2-5. Their lone wins were UCLA having to furiously comeback to beat Temple (believe that?), 30-21, and USC bested Boston College 24-13. In a very entertaining Rose Bowl Oregon's point-a-minute offense was kept in check and fell to Ohio State 26-17 . From the bad news department, the conference took two real solid body shots delivered by the Mountain West Conference, a non-BCS league, but, nevertheless, one that should be. Cal was popped by Utah 37-27, and BYU ripped Oregon State 44-20. One of the better bowl games featured Stanford vs. Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl. The Big 12 Sooners beat the Cardinal, 31-27. But, the game that took a big swipe at the Pac 10's power ranking was another Big 12 team, Nebraska, totally dominating Arizona 33-0 in the Holiday Bowl.

The ACC arrow is slightly up, but their final game pitting their GT Yellowjackets against Iowa in the Orange will determine the conference's finish. They are 4-3 right now, but the only game that was a mild upset was Florida State sending venerable head coach Bobby Bowden out with class in a 33-21 win over West Virginia. Other wins for the conference were Auburn edging Northwestern in overtime, Clemson topping Kentucky 21-13, and Virginia Tech handling Tennessee impressively, 37-14. The ACC didn't get any help from North Carolina who lost to Pitt 19-17, and the previously mentioned games with Miami losing to Wisconsin and BC dropping their contest to USC.

By the end of next week we'll have a new national champion and the final wrap-up on other conferences like the Big East, Big 12 and SEC. Stay tuned.

HOW MANY HEAD COACHES DOES IT TAKE TO COACH A FOOTBALL GAME?

2009-12-31T15:40:00.005-05:00

Throughout the history of college football bowl games, there cannot be another scenario that matches the strangeness surrounding the Sugar Bowl between Florida and Cincinnati when it comes to the coaching arrangement.

You have to sharpen your pencil and be ready to connect the dots. Ready? On New Year’s Day there will be no less than six, yes six, head coaches connected to just these two teams.

Most of you are aware that head Gator Urban Meyer resigned on Saturday, Dec. 26th only to change that decision to making that a leave of absence for health reasons. To quote Urban, “it’s full speed ahead” for him to coach through the Sugar Bowl. Once the game ends Florida’s offensive coordinator, Steve Addazio, takes over for Meyer as interim head coach for an undetermined amount of time. Gator defensive coordinator Charlie Strong accepted the head coaching job at Louisville the week after the SEC title game but the agreement included Srong prepping and coaching the defense in the Sugar Bowl. So, that's three for the Gators.

Flipping over to Cincinnati, Brian Kelly led the Bearcats to unprecedented success over the last three years and parlayed that into becoming the new head coach at Notre Dame. Because Kelly accepted the job at the Golden Dome in the second week of December and he needed to move on to assemble a staff, get a handle on recruiting, and further organize his new program the Bearcats placed Cincy’s offensive coordinator, Jeff Quinn, in charge as interim head coach for the bowl game. Now we are up to five head coaches.

Lastly, as Kelly departed the Queen City for South Bend the Bearcats carried out their search for a permanent head coach. Enter Butch Jones, who coincidentally succeeded Kelly three years ago as head coach at Central Michigan upon Kelly’s leaving for Cincy. Jones will be watching his new team with a keen eye as they go about tangling with the Gators while being coached by other people than his own.

I am not sure if this has any effect on the game itself, but it certainly is unusual. So, there you have it. Connect the dots. Six versions of head coaches all tied to two teams in just one bowl game.

Christmas Gift Comes Early for Some Bowl Teams

2009-12-16T22:14:00.002-05:00

Christmas gifts came early for several college football teams when they were selected to play in a post season bowl game. With the long-play version of the bowl season kicking off this weekend it is worth noting (or maybe not) the background on some of the recipients of these gifts.

Sat. Dec. 19 New Mexico Bowl Wyoming (6-6) vs. Fresno St. (8-4)
Wyoming staggers into this game winning just two of their last six games and they struggled to beat a poor Colorado St. team, who lost their last nine in a row, 17-16 in the finale.

Sat. Dec. 26 Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl Marshall (6-6) vs. Ohio (9-4)
For those of you who thought the Pizza Bowl was Laverne DeFazio’s father’s bowling alley/pizza shop on that goofy 70’s TV show, you are right, but they are not the title sponsor of this bowl game in Detroit. Marshall (not Penny) fired their head coach at the end of the season and will play this game with a lame duck staff unless the interim head coach actually gets named head coach. To get the minimum of six wins for bowl eligibility Marshall defeated Southern Illinois, Tulane, Bowling Green, Memphis, Tulane, Alabama-Birmingham and SMU. Impressed? They lost to a 4-8 UTEP team 52-21.

Mon. Dec. 28 Independence Bowl Texas A&M (6-6) vs. Georgia (7-5)
A&M started off 3-0 and then went 3-6 the rest of the way, including 3-5 in a softer Big 12 conference this season. The Aggies were a roller-coaster team evidenced by their 62-14 loss to Kansas State, who didn’t have enough Division I wins to be bowl eligible.

Tues. Dec. 29 Eagle Bank Bowl UCLA(6-6) vs. Temple (9-3)
This would make for a good basketball match-up, but not necessarily on the gridiron. UCLA backed into this game. If Army had beaten Navy in the season’s wrap-up game last weekend then Army would play Temple. Thanks to Navy, UCLA will play in the nation’s capitol against the Owls. The Bruins started 3-0, then lost five in a row before closing with three wins in their last four outings. UCLA was 3-6 in the PAC 10.

Thurs. Dec. 31 Insight Bowl Iowa St. (6-6) vs. Minnesota (6-6)
Glancing at this match-up you might think what lure does this game have? A winning season! It’s obvious that the winner of this game can say they had a winning season, which they can’t say just yet, whereas the loser has a losing season…pretty simple. Each team had a not quite, but near-signature win. ISU was granted eight turnovers by Nebraska in barely edging the Huskers, 9-7. Three of their other five wins were over North Dakota St., Kent State and Army. The Goophers, or excuse me…Gophers, beat Northwestern. Both teams finished 3-5 in their league play.

Fri. Jan 1 Gator Bowl Florida St. (6-6) vs. West Virginia (9-3)
The bowl committee decided to let Coach Bobby Bowden go out on a high note by taking the Seminoles over much more-deserving, higher ranked teams for this traditional New Year’s Day bowl. After 34 years as a head coach and being ranked second all-time in career wins he deserves the benefit of the doubt . FSU was the model of inconsistency. Early in the year they barely got by Division I-AA Jacksonville State, 19-9, they then headed out to Provo, UT to pound BYU, 54-28, only to return home to lose to South Florida who had a red-shirt freshmen starting his first game at QB. FSU finished 4-4 in the ACC.

As a thank you to the bowls who selected them it will be interesting to see which teams cease the opportunity presented to them. By making the most out their post-season practices and putting their best product on the field they can quiet the nay-sayers who may have thought they weren’t bowl worthy.

A Tale of Two Mark Ingrams

2009-12-14T18:57:00.005-05:00

Whether you watched the 2009 Heisman Trophy Award presentation live Saturday night, or maybe saw a short video report, or even read about it in your Sunday sports section, the story was as much about Mark Ingram’s acceptance speech as it was his winning the award.

Mark Ingram, Jr. became the first player in the storied history of Alabama football to win the coveted award. He did this in just his sophomore season of competition while leading the nation in rushing yardage totals and helping drive his Crimson Tide team to the national championship game on January 7th versus Texas.

A very solid, conscientious student, Ingram gave an emotional speech where he thanked all of the right people in his life from family members right down to the individual staff members at Alabama who have helped him develop his abilities. He noted his love and appreciation for his mother and grandfather who were in attendance. He did the same for his father who was such a strong factor in him becoming who is today.

Ingram, Sr. was not present at the nationally broadcast ceremony in New York City because he is in a Queen’s, NY correctional facility. The only good thing about the settings being within close proximity is that the two Mark Ingrams had a chance to spend a little time together when the son visited his father.

Turning back the clock, I was just a young 27 year-old college coach at Northwestern University, under head coach Dennis Green, when in the winter of 1982-83 I was dispatched to Flint, MI to recruit a talented wide receiver at Flint Southwestern High School. Because Coach Green was known for his offensive mind, especially the passing game, there was a strong mutual interest between Mark Ingram, Sr. and us. After flying aboard a small regional turbo prop plane into Flint, I visited with Mark at school and then at home with his family. He wanted to come to Northwestern in the worst way. As it turned out his college board scores were not as high as required for admission to NU, so he took Michigan State’s offer and went on to a great college career for the Spartans. Mark’s career blossomed and he became a late first-round pick of the NY Giants where he played from 1987-92 (including winning Super Bowl XXV) and finished his 10 year career in 1996 after playing for four different teams.

What happened after that time is a whole lot of bad decisions and just plain no good for Ingram, Sr. Possession of counterfeit cash, breaking and entering while stealing credit cards, as well as money-laundering are some of the reasons he has had to pay, and will continue to pay even more of a debt to society. In the Queen’s correctional facility he is awaiting sentencing for skipping bail late last year on charges of bank fraud and money laundering, for which he was originally sentenced to more than seven years in prison. While serving time Mark Sr. has kept regular communication between he and his son as they speak three to four times per week by phone and he has seen most of his son’s games this year on television.

When interviewed exclusively on the CBS Evening News last Friday he said this about his son, “He'll tell you. He'll say, 'My dad made a mistake, and he's paying for it and he's moving on and we're moving on,' and that's it," Ingram Sr. said. "You can't do anything else about it, and he can't let it affect him. What I'm going through, he can't let it affect him. He has to be his own person, be his own man, take and learn from what I've done, the mistakes that I've made, the experience that I had off the field, the experience I've had off the field and take it and use it to his advantage."

Mark Jr. acknowledged how his father, in a good way, was tough on him in his younger years and instilled in him the values of mental toughness, competitiveness, and the ability to stay focused on achieving through hard work. All of that combined with a great blend of speed, agility and power helped him win college football’s most prestigious award.

Such is the story for two Mark Ingrams. For Sr. we hope that the love, values and attitude which he used as a father to help raise a terrific son will help him through this rough patch in his life. For Jr. we hope that he continues to stay as well-grounded, focused and hungry to do the right things as he has shown to this point in his young life. If he does so, there will be more nights for him to humbly celebrate his outstanding successes.

CURTAIN DROPS THIS WEEKEND ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL REGULAR SEASON

2009-12-03T18:27:00.005-05:00

The curtain will drop this weekend on college football’s regular season. There are some awfully good match-ups that are either legitimate conference championships, or games that are disguised as essentially the same thing. It kicks off tonight, Thursday for those of you who don't open your email promptly.

Due to having to work a real job for a living I apologize for not getting this out sooner in order to add some much-deserved hype to tonight's big-time PAC-10 intra-state battle in the great Northwest--Oregon vs. Oregon State. Oregon has gotten a lot more publicity, in large part for their stumble out of the gate at Boise, and then their complete dominance of USC about a month ago. But, OSU Coach Mike Reilly has another rough and tumble group and he has his black and orange clad Beavers playing with an attitude. You didn't hear it here, but the Ducks of Oregon could go waddling home unless they bring their "A Game" in all areas of tonight's game. Also know as the Civil War, this game is also the War of the Roses in terms of bowl implications.

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh—This is not a conference championship game like the others, but it is going to determine the league champion. Cinderella Cincy has been rolling along undefeated (#5 ranking) whether it be with their #1 QB Tony Pike or #2 man Zach Collaros. They can score quickly and in bunches, plus they have a special teams return game that can help out, too. Unfortunately, the Bearcat defense is not on the same level as their offense. They are solid, have some good athletes and play hard, but they are by no means a physical, “shut-down the run” type of defense that matches up well with Pitt. The Panthers, #14, stubbed their toe last week in the Backyard Brawl at West Virginia, but by knocking off UC they can still win the Big East. Dion Lewis is a pleasure to watch as a freshman running back sensation and Jonathan Baldwin gives the Panthers a big, downfield threat. Pitt’s defense plays a lot of man-to-man coverage and will match-up pretty well vs. UC, but all it takes is a half-step by any Bearcat receiver against such coverage and it usually will result in six points. Pitt’s defensive line has great “sack-ability”, but knowing how quickly Cincy’s QBs get rid of the ball, the rush may not be as big of a factor as one would think. Be aware of poor weather and field conditions with the game being played at Heinz Field.

Nebraska at Texas—The Longhorns are essentially playing a home game at Jerry Jones’ palatial stadium home to the Cowboys. As the #3 ranked team in the land the ‘Horns are prohibitive favorites, and rightly so with Heisman hopeful Colt McCoy leading a potent offense. Mack Brown's defense is no slouch either. Texas is the only team in the land to be ranked in the Top 10 in both total offense and total defense. Although Nebraska’s strength is their gritty defense, they can’t afford to be on the field all night. I am doubtful that the Huskers aerial-challenged offense can run it consistently enough all night and produce enough points to outlast Texas. With a win Texas will vault itself into the national championship vs. the SEC winner.

Florida vs. Alabama—This is pretty much a national championship game in itself, similar to last year, with the top two ranked teams going head to head for a conference crown.. The defending champion Gators will have to rely on their stellar defense to slow down ‘Bama’s powerful running game. Due to the Tide’s own salty defensive unit Gator defenders will be asked to get a turnover or two in order to help provide the Gator offense with a short field. This is a classic match-up—two outstanding defenses and two solid, but not great offenses. So where is it decided? Kicking game. Florida’s punter can change field position and their punt block and kickoff return units are very solid. The kickers cancel each other out. Special teams, if everything else holds true, tilts this toward Florida. With the game at the Georgia Dome, weather and wind is no factor.

Clemson vs. Ga Tech—The ACC championship game is at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa (why, I’m not sure, but let’s see if it’s more than half-full). The 12th ranked Yellowjackets and #25 Tigers hooked up once earlier this year with Tech kicking a late field goal to win. We all know Tech features Coach Paul Johnson's option-oriented offense and the key is being able to stop their fullback and not give up deep play-action passes off of their heavy basic run passes. A second time around for the Tiger defense should prove to be an advantage in defensing that tricky offensive scheme. Clemson has more overall skill and speed at their RB/WR positions, but their QB, also a baseball player, still hasn't shown the consistency week in and week out to give the Tigers a clear edge in this one. With the first meeting way back in the early portion of the season, and with another shot this time around, a minor upset could be brewing in Tampa.

New Year's Day Football Just Ain't What It Used To Be

2009-11-25T17:02:00.004-05:00

Now that we are heading into the final week of the regular season for most college football teams, attention turns to the jockeying for post-season bowl slots. While stirring up my own memories of watching bowl games as a kid, it prompted me to do some homework. The research unearthed some very interesting facts. The following bullet points were found on Wikipedia. So I really didn’t have to dig too far, nor too hard. Nonetheless, from a historical perspective, I think you’ll find some of this pretty amazing.

 The first bowl game was the Rose Bowl game. The Tournament of Roses sponsored a game in 1916, but it wasn’t until 1923 that the game bearing the title we all have come to know was born. Thus, “the Grand-daddy of them all.”
 By 1930 the Rose Bowl was still the only post-season college bowl game
 By 1940 there were four games—Rose, Sugar, Orange and Cotton
 1950 saw a growth to eight bowl games and that held true through 1960
 By 1970 the bowl count increased to just 11 games
 1980 shows 15 bowl games and by 1990 the bowls expanded to 19
 The new millennium began with a major bump to 25 bowl games
 Today there are 34 post-season bowl games (yes, not a misprint)

As legend goes, bowl games surrounding New Year’s Day were brought about in areas of the country to promote tourism in warm weather climates. Due to long distance travel for many cold weather fans that followed their teams, building the games around holiday time made sense. Until some time in the 1950’s all games were, in fact, on January 1st.

Today, with 68 teams needed to fill the 34 bowl slots, the prestige of going to a bowl isn’t quite what it used to be. After all, there are 120 Division I college football teams, with over half of them going to a bowl. Bowl teams were a very exclusive group in the old days. As the number began to climb, there was still a very strong feeling of achievement and prestige associated with earning a bowl berth. Even as recent as 1990 only 38 teams advanced to fill the 19 bowl games. Now, the whole concept is a bit watered down. Whereas it once required being a conference champion, or a strong runner-up or third place finisher to play in a bowl game, we now have minimum qualifiers with a 6-6 overall record and bottom half of the league finish.

I guess it depends on what you call “near the holiday”, but I am not quite sure how the model of building bowl games around holiday travel fits the very early start of this year’s bowl season. Both the New Mexico and St. Petersburg bowls play on Dec. 19th. Does “made for TV” ring a bell for you here? Of course it does. ESPN owns both of these bowl games along with several others which are played prior to Christmas. ESPN plugs these games into their programming schedule helping whet the appetite for upcoming bowls that carry a little more cachet.

The bowl schedule stretches all the way to the BCS title game on Jan. 7th. Of the original four bowls, only the Rose and Sugar will be played on their traditional New Year’s Day. The Orange Bowl is Jan. 5th. On Jan. 6th, guess who fills the void between the Orange and the BCS title game two days later; come on, take a shot…the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, of course!

As many a player and coach will tell you, there is no bad bowl game because it beats the alternative of not going at all. The post-season game provides another 12-20 practice opportunities to develop younger players, it gives alumni and fans one more game to anticipate and enjoy, and it is important for coaches to be able to speak of bowl games and national TV appearances to potential recruits.

Through the 1970s and even up into the early '90s there were a whole lot more teams sitting at home watching the smaller select group who got to play on or about New Year’s Day. Today, if you are one of the 52 Division I schools not going to a bowl game, there’s a lot of pain sitting at home watching more than half of your associates still playing ball.

SIGHTS & SOUNDS OF COLLEGE FB WEEK #11

2009-11-16T18:34:00.004-05:00

After this past college football weekend there was no change within the top eight Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings. Florida continues to lead fellow unbeatens Alabama, Texas, Cincinnati, TCU, and Boise St. One loss Georgia Tech and two-loss LSU are seventh and eighth, respectively.

As noted here before, despite not posting pinball game-like offensive numbers, the Gators just continue to win. Being the defending national champ and going 10-0 to this point is no small feat. Florida must subscribe to the old mantra made famous by the eccentric owner/general manager of the Oakland Raiders, Al Davis. Back in their 60’s & 70’s hay-days--“Just Win Baby” was the battle cry echoed by Davis and others among the Black & Silver. A side note, also forever part of their official logo is the tagline “Commitment to Excellence.” Unfortunately, the Raiders have not fulfilled that commitment in recent years.

SIGHTS It was great to see the Stanford Cardinal continue their magical ascent (see last week’s posting below) literally bowling over USC, 55-21 in the LA Coliseum. In doing so, Stanford scored the most points EVER recorded against a Trojan team. The Cardinal has come out of no-where to achieve a #14 BCS ranking. But, Oregon, who has two losses and was a victim of the Cardinal just a week ago, is ranked #11...make sense? Uh, no.

SIGHTS Purple-clad TCU Horned Frogs faithful armed with one of those long telephone pole-like timbers we used to see in the ancient history movies, as they storm the door to the BCS castle. The Horny Toads dismantled their nearest competition, the Utah Utes 55-28, and made them look more like "the two Utes" from the movie, "My Cousin Vinnie". TCU is doing all they can to impress voters and overcome their non-BCS conference handicap.

SOUNDS A loud collective, “Aw, darn it”, from the salt of the earth Iowa fans. Their magical quest for a Big Ten title was still alive late in their game at Ohio State’s famous “Horse Shoe.” The Hawkeyes had already written multiple feel-good chapters in their nine-win season heading into Columbus. Now, with their starting quarterback sidelined with an injury, and a red-shirt freshman from Radar O’Reilly’s fictitious hometown of Keokuk, Iowa at the helm, Iowa trailed the Buckeyes by seven in the waning minutes. Then Lady Luck made another appearance. On their game-tying drive James Vandenberg, the rookie signal-caller, threw a screen pass right into the hands of a Buckeye linebacker who promptly scooted 20+ yards for what looked like the deal-sealer. But, an off-sides penalty against OSU negated the play. Fast forward just a few plays in the same drive—Vandenberg throws a pass intended for star tight end Tony Moeaki deep along the right sideline. Ohio State’s cornerback makes a perfect play defending, goes up to catch the ball, and the gift-wrapped deflection falls into the welcome hands of Moeaki for a startling big play. Iowa, by virtue of these two breaks, goes on to tie the score, only to lose a heart-breaker in overtime. Whew, and we thought having to block two consecutive field goal attempts to beat D-I-AA Northern Iowa was lucky. This one would have topped that.

SOUNDS The grinding process of our brains. Just like the thought process that tells us there is not a truly dominant football team this year, the same is true for the Heisman Trophy race. The early front-runners—QBs Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy are still alive. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford has been driven to the sidelines with upcoming shoulder surgery. Alabama’s RB Mark Ingram began making a move in October and lately Clemson’s talented C.J. Spiller, who has caused a few opponents’ hearts to skip a beat with his big play ability as a runner and return man, is making a recent charge. Houston QB Case Keenum is putting up ridiculous numbers, but his Cougars have been upset twice—by UTEP and UCF. It’s hard to get enough Heisman votes losing to those schools. Then we have the surging Toby Gerhart, face of the Stanford power running game, who has helped lift the Cardinal onto the national stage.

I can’t honestly make a decision until all regular season games are completed. In recent years, because of wide-open passing attacks and spread offenses that allow the QB to produce eye-popping numbers, it has become a quarterback-dominated award. On some level I would like to see another position get it, but only if deserving, of course. Seeing incredible offensive production numbers by QBs has become almost all too common. I get the same feeling as when watching MLB’s Home Run Derby. Maybe you are like me in finding yourself ooing and ahhing for the first few long blasts, then after a while it’s a little more ho-hum. It’s the same thing with routine QB total yardage numbers.

IN OTHER SPORTING NEWS—It’s becoming increasingly clear that some of our talking heads on football broadcasts, especially a few of the “analysts”, are wannabees. Wannabee what you ask? I am not sure, perhaps corporate execs. Over this past weekend I heard three different broadcasters refer to a certain player’s “skill set.” Wait a minute, are we talking about a football player or about the next administrative assistant you need to hire? There’s no need to bring lingo better suited for a Fortune 500 company’s Human Resources department into football. The old coaching acronym—KISS—Keep It Simple Stupid—applies here. Let’s not try to be something we are not.

Lastly, has anyone noticed the terrible hair color/dye job Pat Sajak is sporting on Wheel of Fortune? Come on, keep it real, Pat.

College FB Radar Picks Up Stanford

2009-11-11T19:23:00.008-05:00

It's really a shame that our great country is so vast that it spans three time zones. For the most part, people east of the Mississippi River aren't aware of what is happening in the PAC-10 Conference. The school that is home to some of the brightest minds on any college campus, and has football lore that includes Coach Bill Walsh and great QBs like John Elway and Jim Plunkett to name just two, has now shown up on the national college football radar.

Do you remember two weeks ago when Oregon humiliated USC, 47-20? Oregon rose to #7 in the national rankings...until they ran into the new bully on the block, the Stanford Cardinal. Stanford rolled to an impressive 51-42 win last Saturday, thus becoming bowl eligible and bumping them into the national rankings for the first time since 2001. Some of you unfamiliar with the nickname might ask, "isn't it cardinals, like the bird?" No, it's the color. It's a long story, but years ago they were the Indians. Then came the sensitivity issue and they went from Indians to the color of their jerseys--AND their mascot is now a tree. So, they've got that going for them.

Seriously, what they really have going for them is a rising star for a head coach, the nation's toughest running back, and a rookie QB who could rank with the all-time Stanford bests when he is all finished. Stanford's athletics director, Bob Bowlsby, did a little outside the box thinking when he hired Jim Harbaugh as head coach three years ago. Harbaugh is, in fact, that same guy who starred at Michigan as a quarterback for Bo Schembechler, finished third in the Heisman after being Player of the Year in the Big Ten, and was taken in the first round of the NFL draft by the Bears. Harbaugh built a name for himself over his 15-year pro career as a fiery competitor, great leader, and someone who found a way to win. He's doing exactly that in Palo Alto.

The Cardinal boss cut his head coaching teeth at a non-scholarship Division I-AA school--the University of San Diego--for three years. He posted a shiny 29-6 mark and then was offered the chance to rebuild the Cardinal program. In his first year, 2007, Stanford knocked off USC in the LA Coliseum and also defeated co-conference champ Cal. The solid foundation continued to be built last year as the Cardinal played a better brand of football and came up just shy of a bowl opportunity. This year Stanford has taken on even more of their coach's personality and are playing great football, proven by last week's upset of previously ranked #7 Oregon.

Given a rich history in throwing the football, it's a wonder what Harbaugh is doing with his offense. Running back Toby Gerhart is #2 in the nation with 1,217 yards and a 135 yds/game average. He's a 6'1, 235 combination of power and agility. Who knew a school known for academics also could get big, tough kids up front to block for him? Gerhart is such a good athlete that he is a starter in the outfield for the Stanford baseball team that went to last year's College World Series and he was 12-12 in stolen bases.

Harbaugh's offense is extremely well-balanced rushing for 211 yds/game and passing for 232. They have produced over 500 total yards in each of their last three games. The person passing the football so well is a young guy. Andrew Luck, a red-shirt freshman and son of former University of West Virginia star and Houston Oiler quarterback Oliver Luck, is playing like a poised veteran. With Luck's talent and Harbaugh's coaching, young Mr. Luck is #1 in the PAC-10 in passing efficiency and #9 in the nation. Luck has thrown only three INTs all year versus his 11 TD passes. He's mobile enough to carry the ball, too, boasting a 5.2 yard rushing average on 44 attempts.

The Cardinal now sits at 6-3 overall and 5-2 in the conference. This weekend they have another opportunity to provide for great Monday morning coffee shop talk when they travel to USC. Sure, the Trojans will remember what took place two years ago when the upstart Cardinal shocked them in the game's waning seconds. But this is a more mature, more physical, and far mentally tougher group than what Harbaugh had in his inaugural season "on The Farm."

Playing with the confidence, energy and swagger of their head coach, let's see if the Cardinal can prove last week's pinball scoring shootout with Oregon wasn't a fluke.

Two Big Gripes Surrounding World Series

2009-11-05T19:21:00.009-05:00

The NY Yankees' Robinson Cano had just made the easy throw to first baseman Mark Teixeira for the final out, thus sewing up the 2009 World Series Championship. Yankee players and coaches emptied the bench in a sprint to rejoice with their teammates on the infield. But, as the FOX TV cameras tried to capture the joy of the human spirit and celebration, did you see something strange? I did.

Literally, less than 10 seconds into the start of the traditional team jumping up and down and piling on one another, here comes some non-athlete in a business suit. He rushes toward the players with an extended arm's length full of t-shirts. You know the t-shirts, the ones that you can buy so you, too, can wear the post-game celebratory shirt just like the pros? Right in the middle of congratulatory hugs between Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada comes this bozo trying to toss the official garb for the players to display. Then you see another logo-pushing, entry level marketing character distributing the official championship hats. Lastly, and not nearly as prominent, was someone else with the faux newspaper, complete with headlines proclaiming the Yankees' 27th World Series title.

Can't we give these guys just a little bit of space to enjoy the moment, something they had worked towards since spring training in February. After 162 regular season games and a total of nine more post-season games, do they have to have their party crashed by people wanting to hawk MLB promotional material? What would happen if they waited for the team members to settle down just a little bit before presenting them with these things for the post-game press conference and trophy presentation...they wouldn't sell as many t-shirts and caps? Come on people. It's sad that genuine spontaneity and emotions have to yield to someone trying to make money off of such cherished moments.

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Having spent most of my life around athletics, it makes me sick to hear the vulgar chants that have become so commonplace at a lot of stadiums and basketball arenas around the country. Why do we have to have organized cheers by so-called fans that are strictly directed at demeaning the opponents? Weren't we taught some kind of sportsmanship at a younger, more impressionable age? Weren't we taught to cheer for our own team, support our team, and let the opponent's fans have the same opportunity? What happened to all of this shaking hands after youth sports competition...doesn't it carry through to adolescence, the teens, then adulthood?

You know the chant to which I am referring; you heard it in Philadelphia in each of the three WS games there..."Yankees Suc__...Yankees Suc__". Yankee fans are not saints, but they know baseball and they know how to best support their team. You didn't hear "Phillies Suc__...Phillies Suc__" in Yankee Stadium.

Most younger people who enjoy yelling this stuff have no idea from where the "S" word originated. Suffice it to say it that the term has sexual overtones--not exactly what we want to have our young people promoting in public, especially among other fellow numbskulls that they don't know.

It's senseless, classless, and shows absolutely no kind of support for their own team.

Along the same line of thinking, if we can get the young college basketball fans on campuses around the country to give up on their infamous chant of "Bullshi__, Bullshi__, Bullshi__" when they disagree with a referee's call, we'll be moving in the right direction.

If we don't get this corrected we can look forward to more generations of idiot fans. What do you say parents, school teachers, principals, and civic leaders...can we get that done? I hope so.

DUCKS' QUACK ATTACK VAULTS OREGON INTO TITLE TALK

2009-11-03T19:57:00.004-05:00

Oregon's thrashing of USC 47-20 Saturday night proved that the Ducks are playing as good a brand of football as anyone in the country, thus further stoking the fire leading up to the Bowl Championship Series. The "Quack Attack" is much improved on defense and their offense made the Trojan defense look like a rag-tag group of non-scholarship players rather than the traditionally dominant defense on the west coast.

This leads to a very natural question--if Oregon runs the table and finishes 11-1, and Boise State, the yearly non-BCS Cinderella story, who topped the Ducks 19-8 in the season opener, finishes undefeated, will the Broncos be able to hold off Oregon in the BCS rankings and bowl game selections? Oregon is the highest ranked one-loss team in the Top Ten and they are climbing faster than a popular smash hit on Casey Kasem's 1970's top 40 countdown

This week's rankings have Boise State just .021 ahead of Oregon (.786 to .765). The Top 10 is: 1. Florida 2. Texas 3. Alabama 4. Iowa 5. Cincinnati 6. TCU 7. Boise St. 8. Oregon 9. LSU 10. Ga Tech.

There are four games remaining in the regular season for most teams. Some of the super conferences have a championship game, such as the Big 12, SEC, and ACC. But, neither Oregon nor Boise St. have to worry about that. The Ducks travel to Stanford, host Arizona St., go to Arizona and are home to Oregon St. The Broncos go to La Tech, play host to Idaho, head to Utah State and finish at home with Nevada.

With all of the wild ranking calculations and formulas in action, there is no doubt that strength of schedule helps Oregon. There is no clear-thinking, non-partisan college football person who can say that Boise State's schedule is anything close to Oregon. Oh, but wait...what about head to head? Boise proved they are the better team in the season opening game, 19-8, right? That's where I believe Oregon can be given "a mulligan", a do-over if you will, will you?

Oregon at Boise State the first weekend of September was, in essence, the Broncos bowl game. Yet, for Oregon it was just an opening game on the road with a brand new coaching staff. Because Boise just doesn't get BCS conference schools to take a road trip to Idaho, it was THE biggest game on the Bronco's schedule. It consumed everyone even remotely tied to the football program, the city of Boise, or anyone who had even passed through the state of Idaho.

Give them their due, Boise State played well enough to win that night. The Ducks' head coach, Chip Kelly, was taking the reins from long-time successful coach Mike Belotti, for the very first time. He had his new, hand-picked staff which was operating under game conditions together for the first time. Sure, the opening game was a big deal for them, too. After all every game is a big deal. But, for Kelly's program it was first time doing things his way. Everything from how they traveled, to what they ate on the plane, to what hotel they stayed in, what routine they had with meetings, meals and walk-throughs at the team's hotel leading up until kickoff. It may seem trite, but when a bunch of new coaches, and players who are getting used to new coaches, get together for a season opener on the road, there is more to winning than just playing the game. It's about knowing what to expect. Football coaches and players are creatures of habit. It's a game built on repetition after repetition. This trip was not routine; it was all new.

Unfortunately, there is no pre-season or exhibition game in college football. When you tee it up for the first game, it counts. This is especially tough for programs who have new staffs. The old adage that football teams make the most improvement between game one and game two is especially true for teams with new staffs. Oregon, rolling off seven straight wins in rebounding from that flat opening night, has done nothing but get better and better and better.

Just ask Pete Carroll and USC. They were never in the game. Oregon put the biggest whooping on the Trojans in the Carroll era. A defensive guru, Carroll's troops were completely overwhelmed as they yielded...get ready for this...613 yards!

Who knows where this all will lead; only the computer rankings know. One thing is for certain, all of this makes for great conversation as we head into the final one- third of the season.

Hughes Important Bridge to Yankees' Title Hopes

2009-10-31T11:33:00.003-04:00

The 2009 edition of the World Series is now knotted at one game apiece after the Yankees disposed of the Phillies, 3-1 Thursday night in New York. The series moved down I-95 about 90 miles for the next three games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The first two games have been dominated by starting pitching. Cliff Lee operated with surgeon-like precision in the Phillies opening game, 6-1 win. His counter-part, CC Sabathia, pitched well enough to win, but his offense couldn't’ solve Lee and once he departed the back end of the bullpen allowed the Phils to extend their 2-0 lead.. In game two, AJ Burnett, more volatile than the 2008 stock market, rose to the occasion for NY by striking out nine and allowing just one run in seven strong innings. For the Phils, love’em or hate’em Pedro Martinez kept Yankee hitters off-balance with his effective mix of change-ups, curve balls, and tailing fastballs before getting the hook in the sixth inning.

A most revealing move for the Yankees was when manager Joe Girardi, desperately needing a win so as to not head to Philly down two games to none, decided to bring in the most trusted name in post-season relief, Mariano Rivera, to pitch both the eight and ninth innings. Rivera, the most heralded closer in baseball post-season history, usually specializes in getting just the last three outs. There have been occasions when he was asked to pitch part of the eighth and perhaps close it out with the last four or five outs. But, usually managers give the ball to their “set-up man”, an eighth inning guy, who then turns the game’s fortunes over to the closer in hopes of wrapping up the win.

The set-up man is commonly called a bridge to the closer. Girardi must have felt that by risking having to wait for Rivera to pitch the ninth, the bridge for the eighth might prove to be a bridge over troubled waters—why else would he by-pass set-up man Phil Hughes, or even Joba Chamberlain? This was a must win, plain and simple.

In Game 1 the previous night, Hughes continued his pattern of poor post-season pitching by walking the only two batters he faced. Hughes was very solid the second half of the season showing the way to Rivera to the tune of a 3.04 ERA. But, this post-season Hughes looks like a bad impersonation of himself. He has retired only 14 of the 27 hitters he has faced.

According to a recent story on the official Yankees MLB website, Hughes' five post-season runs allowed over just 4-2/3 innings are more than he allowed in 38 eighth-inning appearances during the season. It's also the equivalent to his combined earned run total in June, July and August -- a stretch of 30 games. In seven postseason appearances Hughes has allowed nine hits and four walks, leading to a bloated 9.64 ERA. Troubled waters indeed.

The Yankees’ faithful hope that Hughes’ post-season jitters have worked their way out of his system. With more close ballgames sure to come on three consecutive days in Philly, Girardi will certainly not be able to spend two innings of Rivera relief in one game again. In order for the Yankees to win their 27^th world championship Hughes needs to be able to recapture the form that allowed him to be that very solid bridge to Rivera. If not, the water that lies beneath the bridge could be troubled again.

TELEVISED GAMES STRETCH TO NEW, RECORD LENGTHS

2009-10-22T18:13:00.003-04:00

Long before there were a zillion cable TV stations and pure movie channels, three networks existed. They would occasionally run a movie which was categorized as a “made for TV movie.”

That was the beginning. That was when TV executives sensed that, to a large degree, they could manufacture and control something that was originally intended for a certain live audience and display it over the airwaves.

Obviously, that spilled into our world of sports. For the most part, the way it started off was good. It got even better throughout the years with advanced technology and more outlets to show the games. But, like lessons learned from ancient wealthy societies--over-doing it, greed, gluttony, you name it—can ruin a good thing.

How many of us can actually we enjoy watching all that goes into a modern day baseball play-off game or big-time college football game on TV? Broadcasts have gotten w-a-a-a-a-y too long, bordering on 3:30 – 4 hours. Though I don’t have even a touch of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), I do have HD (high definition). Yet, even that can’t always keep me fully engaged. In no particular order, here are some things that make me want to just fire a 90 m.p.h. fastball at the TV with my remote control.

Officials/Umpire Reviews—again, what started out as a good idea now stinks. In college football, unfortunately every play is reviewable. What it has done is take away far too much of the human element and added a whole lot of commercials to be run while “the previous play is under review.” It’s sad that the officials on the field have lost their self-confidence and are now running scared. They will often not make a call because they figure the replay official will cover for them. What are they getting paid for anyway, to be second guessed by the booth? The time factor is absurd and completely takes away from any flow of the game. Baseball has only a limited number of situations that allow for official replay/review to intervene. Let’s keep it that way. Lord knows we don’t need to slow baseball down any more than it’s already chilled-out, natural mosey-along pace.

Too Much Production—because we have such great technology in TV studios, production people have to show their stuff. That adds more time to the games. No matter what sport it is, as the sleep-inducing run of commercials end, now we have to endure some kind of rock or rap music playing over the top of highlights from earlier in the broadcast. The music & sports industries are in bed together. You notice that they are promoting these “artists” by having their name and the name of the song on the lower left of the screen, like a rock video. What happened to end of a commercial, a live shot of next play, and the announcer saying, “Welcome back. 1^st and 10 for the Bombers at their own 20 yard line” and the play begins. We don’t need to waste another minute promoting music sales. Let’s remember, it’s supposed to be about the game, what’s happening on the field, not what has been created in the production studio.

Everything is Sponsored—I always chuckle remembering the original “Rocky” movie when Sylvester Stallone’s title character entered the ring wearing his robe which proudly carried his sponsor, “Shamrock Meats”, on his back. I used to laugh at race car drivers, who despite spending hours cooped up in their cars, once out of the vehicle they are walking billboards for sponsors. Ah…everyone has their price. Well, we have all of that and more today in the so-called traditional sports on TV.

In both football and baseball there are major sponsors’ logos super-imposed on the viewers’ TV screen to make it look like it’s actually on the field. The yellow first-down line that TV produces on the football field for viewers is sponsored. The time-outs are sponsored. The net behind the goalpost that catches every field goal or extra point is sponsored. The paper cups that players drink out of on the sidelines are sponsored. There is more, but my time is not sponsored, so I won’t go any farther. You get the idea. Again, what is important is the game itself. But we have so much other stuff going on during the game that you can easily get lost and begin to question if you do, in fact, have a touch of A.D.D.

Commercials, Commercials, Commercials—we all understand that commercials are necessary to pay the bills (and make money, too). But, can we do something to NOT take away from the momentum and flow of a game, in particular a game as emotional as football? This is situation is not uncommon. A team is driving for a score and one of the two teams calls a timeout. Commercial break. A play is run, then “officials’ review of previous play.” Commercials. The offense scores and kicks the extra point. Commercial break. Ensuing kickoff and return. Commercial break. Finally, we get the start of next offensive series. Unbelievable.

Injury. Hey, a chance for MORE commercials. It used to be when a player was injured the medical training staff hustled out, administered to the fallen player, propped him up on the shoulders of two assistant trainers and the idea was to escort him to the bench as quickly as possible—game continues. Now, every player that goes down, for whatever reason, must be getting instruction to just lie there so the networks can break for commercial. I have never seen so many players flat on their backs for multiple minutes, then a commercial break, then we come back to see them walking off under their own power! Are you kidding me? Did they bring in one of those Sunday morning faith healers? As they used to say back in the day—“tape an aspirin to it and keep moving.” This is not to slight those who are legitimately hurt, but we are way too cautious and treat every injury as though these players are (cue the eerie angelic music) going toward the light. It’s football, people. Keep the broadcast on the field. This is not an automatic commercial break. Get the player off and get his sub in the game. Sheesh!

As stated earlier, once the “made for TV movie” was born it led to a whole new world of TV execs manufacturing and controlling shows. For us sports devotees, at times it seems like we have sold our souls to the devil. We will put up with whatever they want to throw at us. For the teams playing in the game, as well as the viewers, TV says, “You will all play by OUR rules.” We all pay some kind of price for free TV.

Plenty of Football Yet To Be Played Before Settling Who Is No. 1

2009-10-18T16:56:00.008-04:00

One thing is apparent after this past week's college football games. No matter what the polls say, there is no apparent, lead pipe lock for a #1 team. There are several really good teams that have a chance to be national champs, there are some teams that often look good but are not terribly impressive in doing so, and there are some who put up wins and good stats, but the perception of their overall body of work is jaded because they lack strong weekly competition.

What makes college football so much fun is its unpredictability each weekend. What makes college football so maddening is attempting to interpret the value placed on wins and losses, and the effect that value has on rankings.

The first BCS rankings of '09 came out today and the top five are Florida, Alabama, Texas, Boise St., and Cincinnati. The defending national champion Florida Gators were afforded the top spot in all polls all the way from pre-season right through this weekend while SEC counter-part Alabama continued to gain ground in votes for the top spot.

By virtue of a late fourth quarter FG Saturday afternoon, Florida narrowly escaped defeat, 23-20 at home against an improving Arkansas team. A week ago the Gators went into the hostile environment of LSU to pass their biggest test of the season vs. the Tigers. But, sloppy turnovers in the red zone by their offense and an uncustomary yielding of a couple of big plays with their defense, the Gators provided a shadow of a doubt for BCS voters to allow Alabama to be within shouting distance. Over the last two years Florida's offensive production looked like video game numbers. With two key skilled offensive players (Louis Murphy & Percy Harvin) from last year's team now playing for pay in the NFL, the Gators offense has not had that "point a minute" potential like last year. The defense returns everyone from last year and expectations are extremely high for that unit.

'Bama does not have a player who already owns a Heisman Trophy like the Gators' Tim Tebow, but they do have a running back who is beginning to get enough national attention to enter the conversation for this year's award. Mark Ingram rambled for 246 yards against South Carolina last night. Ingram, his offensive line, and a talented defensive unit helped lift their team to a 20-6 win. The Crimson Tide overcame four turnovers and 10 penalties against the #22 ranked Gamecocks. An oddity is that in this age of inflated passing stats and the game geared to offenses throwing the ball, the Tide passed for just 90 yards on a beautiful, dry night against South Carolina. The question is, can Alabama throw it effectively if they are forced to do it? There's nothing wrong with winning with a strong running game, a stingy defense and a solid kicking game, it just doesn't get you those style points--it just allows you to win! But, if needed, can the Tide move it through the air?

Third-ranked Texas managed to get by a depleted Oklahoma team in the Red River Rivalry, 16-13. The 2008 Heisman Award winner, OU QB Sam Bradford, was knocked out of the game with another throwing shoulder injury, leaving after just eight plays. Longhorns QB Colt McCoy, who was a Heisman finalist last year, is having a good, but not great year, to date. Can the Longhorns continue their quest for an undefeated season and a Big 12 title? Only time will tell. But, if the 'Horns don't pick it up right away, it won't be a shock if they stub their toe with so much conference football yet to be played.

The general concensus is that #4 Boise St., because of their weak confernce schedule, would not be granted a ride in Cinderella's coach to the championship game. Cincinnati, also on a magic carpet ride of their own, still has a couple of challenges in the not-so-intimidating Big East. Unless they pour on a ton of style points and some teams above the Bearcats get toppled, Cincinnati's place in the top five is just a nice story like Boise's.

Iowa appears to be the best in the Big Ten at this point, but what does that mean when pre-season favorite Ohio State loses to a 1-5 Purdue team? Even though they suffered an upset on the road at Washington, USC is still lurking at #7 . By beating a solid Notre Dame team in South Bend Saturday, USC showed that if they finish strong and someone above them takes a hit, they could step right into the championship picture.

One thing to keep in mind is that some of the bigger "super conferences" have a 13th game which pits their two divisional champs against each other for the outright conference title--i.e. the ACC, the Big 12 and the SEC. Teams like USC of the PAC 10 and undefeated Iowa of the Big Ten would not have to prove themselves in a 13th game like a Florida, Alabama or Texas.

Whereas last year Florida was the wire to wire winner, the excitement this year is really just beginning to simmer. There are clearly some very good teams, but there is not a great deal of separation between those teams and some of their better conference rivals. The top teams all wear a big target on their back each week. Every one of their opponents zeroes in on their preparation in order to give their best effort and performance when they play the top-ranked teams. A lesser school from within the same conference as these top schools can make their entire season with a big upset victory. Let's stay tuned the next 5-6 weeks and see how it all develops.

The Term"Professional" Can Be a Stretch for Some NFL Teams

2009-10-12T16:57:00.006-04:00

There’s an old saying that “even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.”

The Cleveland Browns, the blind squirrel of the NFL, went into Buffalo over the weekend and managed to find just six points. As it turned out, it was three more than the home-standing Bills, thus providing loyal, suffering fans of the Pumpkin Heads their first win of the year. The Browns are now 1-4 under Eric Mangini, who is in his first year on the shores of Lake Erie after being relieved of similar duties the previous three seasons with the NY Jets.

A couple of interesting notes: the Blind Squirrels or, excuse me, the Browns have failed to score a touchdown in three of their five games this season. Clevelanders know that with their baseball Indians having packed up their belongings a couple of weeks ago, it had to have been the Browns who won Sunday’s game 6-3. Mangini was hired by the Jets in 2006 and, at age 35, became the youngest head coach in the NFL. He wowed them in that rookie season with a 10-6 record and was tabbed “Mangenius” for his work. But, the Jets flight path took a 180-degree turn in 2007 to a 4-12 mark. Last season “Gang Green” started off 8-3, but suffered a late season swoon to the tune of 9-7, which kept them out of the play-offs. Mangenius was dismissed. But, Cleveland said, ‘Hey, we want that guy.” Well, now you’ve got him.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 0-5 and often times look even worse than that. They are a great example of having people within their organization empowered with decision-making responsibilities, but they don’t know how to do just that—make good decisions. Here are just some samplings from the Bucs sad song book.

At the end of last season long-time defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin left to join his son who had become the head coach at the University of Tennessee. Early thirty-something defensive backfield coach Raheem Morris was elevated to defensive coordinator replacing Kiffin. About a month later Bucs ownership fired Jon Gruden and decided to give Morris an elevator ride all the way to the top by naming him head coach. Keep in mind his only significant coaching assignment with any degree of advanced responsibility was one season (2006) as defensive coordinator at Kansas State University.

So, the Bucs handed the keys to the car to their kid, who was just 32 at the time of the promotion. The Bucs head coach and administration proceeded to hire a new offensive coordinator last winter, former successful Boston College head coach Jeff Jagodzinski. But, later, much later, they decided that wasn’t going to work and they fired him one week before the season’s first game! Was it case of being hood-winked by Coach Jags in the thorough interview process conducted by the Bucs, or was there a philosophical difference? It doesn’t matter. This doesn’t happen to well-run organizations. What’s even funnier is that Tampa Bay replaced him with a guy who was on staff with Gruden, Morris, and the Bucs last year, and he interviewed for the very same job Jagodzinski was given. Huh? Why wasn't he hired the first time around? Did he become smarter or more qualified between his February interview and the start of the season in September?

After releasing last year’s starting QB Jeff Garcia, the Bucs brought in veteran free agent Byron Leftwich to compete with back-up QB Luke McCown for the top job. They also drafted Josh Freeman with their valuable first-round pick, paid him millions in signing bonuses, and tabbed him as their “future of the franchise player." Succession planning was that either Leftwich or McCown would keep the seat warm until Freeman is ready.

Pay close attention now. McCown was traded to Jacksonville right at the end of the pre-season and Leftwich was given the starting job. With little talent among his supporting cast, and Leftwich having even less pocket mobility to go along with his slow passing delivery, he was benched after three games. Your guess is that first-round pick Josh Freeman will get the ball, right? No. The Bucs named another Josh (Johnson), who was a rookie on the practice squad a year ago, as their starting QB. With Leftwich, McCown and Freeman around all of the pre-season Johnson got very little work in the practices. How could he when he was the fourth-string QB? And, he got minimal playing time in late fourth-quarter mop-up duty.

Further demonstrating their business acumen, the Bucs are still paying off both Gruden and their former general manager Bruce Allen. They added to that debit list the fallen Jagodzinski, who never made it to his first regular season game. The latest decision with financial repercussions was cutting place-kicker Mike Nugent. Nugent had been signed away from the Jets in the off-season to come in and compete with veteran Matt Bryant and, hopefully, provide a stronger, longer leg when it came to kickoffs and field goals. Nugent won the job by default because Bryant never got to kick in the pre-season, as he nursed a muscle pull in his kicking leg. Nugent, in the Bucs’s eyes, was ineffective enough in four games to warrant dismissal, yet still be paid his $2 million salary. It’s not hard to see the calculator totals lighting up.

The Bucs are 0-5. Do you wonder why? If this real-life drama continues, don't be surprised if the Glazer family, owners of the team, begin entertaining offers from reality TV show producers.

Please Tell Me--Why Go Wild Over the Wildcat?

2009-09-15T19:46:00.006-04:00

Is it because we have grown tired of talking about and cheering for the exciting and effective one-back, shotgun formation, spread offense? Or is it because we don't know any better and something new to us just has to be the buzz?

I am talking, actually don't want to be talking about, the Wildcat offense--the latest gadget/innovation that has risen to popularity amongst fans and sports pundits faster than you can say West Coast Offense. There is some uncertainty as to who really gets credit for its modern day origin (or re-birth). When current Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams was tearing it up collegiately at Memphis a few years ago he said they started it. At about the same time when Darren McFadden was brutalizing SEC defenses at Arkansas, before heading onto the Raiders, they brought a lot of attention to their version, the Wild Hog. In the NFL, supposedly the Dolphins want to claim the innovation title by having used Ronnie Brown in this attack.

So what's this all about? Folks, it's really much ado about nothing. I'll tell you why.

Way back, pre-WWII days, when football was a much simpler game and played without face-masks there was an offense where the ball was snapped directly to the running back. Heck, even in 1967, when I was a chubby 12 year old playing tackle football for my team, the Geneva Packers, our QB got hurt and couldn't take a direct snap from the center, who happened to be me. Our coach decided we would just snap it directly to the backs and off they went. I certainly didn't think that was a big deal. Was I a party to pioneering the Wildcat offense in 1967? Maybe. Who knew?

Decades later, in an effort to help the quarterback read his receivers and the defensive pass coverage better, along with pre-aligning him for a drop-back pass, the Shotgun formation permeated the game. Today it is a part of every offensive playbook on the college and pro level, and most high schools use it to some degree.

So WHY ARE people going wild over the Wildcat? It is primarily a run formation where someone besides the QB lines up in the shotgun formation and takes the snap from center and runs the ball. Big deal. Some offenses try to deceive the opponents by lining the QB up as a wide receiver and use the WR or RB as the QB to execute this "wild, exotic formation".

Bottom line, the Wildcat formation is nothing more than a shotgun formation that has someone besides the QB getting the ball and running it. Yes, that's it--there is no more. When Houston Nutt was head coach at Arkansas he found that McFadden could also pass the ball pretty well. So, run and pass he did. That was something different. That was something effective as well as exciting. That was something that kept defensive coaches up at night wondering how to defend it.

We are only two weeks into the college football season and one week into the NFL season. Yet, in pre-game shows, during the game broadcasts themselves, and throughout the week, chatter surrounding the game is bound to bring up some reference to the Wildcat. Please, find something worthwhile to talk about.

Growing up, I remember young kids would get a little scared at some of the Sci-Fi movies and they would be comforted by an adult or older sibling saying, "Don't worry, it's just a movie." For opposing defenses, unless the offense proves they can, and will, pass the ball effectively out of the Wildcat formation, I send similar words of comfort your way--"Don't worry, it's just another run play."

NOW WAIT JUST A PIGSKIN PICKIN' MINUTE

2009-09-12T19:00:00.000-04:00

As we head into the second week of the college football season there are some games that pose interesting match-ups and cause for concern for the betting line favorites.

Wake Forest is a field goal favorite at home against Stanford. I believe Stanford is a certainly a program on the rise. The only thing keeping me from jumping in with both feet for this one is the fact that as a team on the rise, they have to be early risers for this game! The Demon Deacons showed their smarts by scheduling this as a Noon (EDT) kickoff, translating to a 9 a.m. kickoff for the west coast-based Cardinal. If the Cardinal can get up and get moving on such an early schedule I still like them to upset the Deacs.

The Iowa Hawkeyes and are almost a touchdown favorite as they travel to face their in-state rival Iowa State Cyclones. Coach Kirk Ferentz is firmly implanted for the foreseeable near future as Iowa’s coach, but had he not recently signed a new contract this game would be exerting great pressure on him and his team. The Cyclones have won 4 of the last 7 in the series, but they are coming off of a dreadful 2-10 season last year. Iowa stumbled around last week and had to block two consecutive field goal attempts on the game’s last plays to avoid the biggest of upsets against Division I-AA Northern Iowa. In a lot of pre-season picks they are a sleeper for the Big Ten title race. My thoughts are this is a must for Iowa to show what they have in preparation for Arizona and Penn State in the upcoming weeks and I look for them to do so.

Notre Dame travels to the Big House in Ann Arbor as a field goal favorite. Even though Michigan’s win over Western Michigan last week deflected some of the negative press surrounding Wolverines coach Rich Rodriguez, only wins over big-time programs will earn him the good graces of M Go Blue loyalists. My hunch is that ND’s defense will come after the young Michigan quarterbacks early and try to unnerve them—kind of like Mike Tyson throwing a bunch of bombs against a heavyweight opponent right from the opening bell, as opposed to the proverbial “feeling each other out” first round. ND’s offense can throw it deep and accurately, as well as run it efficiently enough to be respectable. Golden Domers should leave Ann Arbor happy.

Army is a slim one point favorite at home vs. Duke. On the surface, this game certainly doesn’t draw any national attention. But, if the Black Knights of the Hudson can defeat Duke in this battle of have-nots, they will move to 2-0 and be well on their way to a winning season. Optimism is running high at West Point, not because of the new option attack being employed—although that plays a role—but, (don’t tell anyone) due to their super-soft schedule. Army opened with a terrible Eastern Michigan, they have a mediocre Duke team this week, and have such other traditionally below average teams like Iowa State, Tulane, Temple, VMI and North Texas further down the road. Legendary West Point gridiron figures that have passed on must be turning in their graves looking at this cream-puff schedule. Let’s go with Duke in a big upset!

JUST FOR FUN--In the blowout city games of the weekend, who will score more points and have a bigger spread in their victory...Texas at Wyoming, Alabama hosting Florida International, Florida hosting Troy, or Boise State welcoming Miami of Ohio? The Longhorns and Tide are favored by 34, the Gators by 36, and Boise State by 37!

Think of it; we are talking about a five (5) touchdown difference here.

College Football Season Openers Not What They Used To Be

2009-09-07T10:45:00.008-04:00

It's really kind of sad that the start of the college football just ain't what it used to be. With the NCAA adding a 12th game to the schedules back in 2006 athletic administrators were scrambling to fill that extra date, and with little time to do so. Thanks to that, the much-anticipated season kickoff just doesn't measure up to expectations.

Division I schools need every win they can get to keep their post-season hopes alive. Why would they want to schedule a potential loss when there is little reward for doing so? A win is a win, right?

When the scheduling race kicked in there was a tremendous "supply & demand" issue. D-I schools needed a game, and a win, and smaller schools were happy to deliver--at a price. Division I-AA (aka Football Championship Series) and smaller D-I schools (whose conference champ does not get an automatic slot in the post-season Bowl Championship Series) pocket a minimum of $400,000 for filling those dates. That's why we see names roll across the scoreboard that seem pretty foreign to a lot of football fans.

A sampling from I-AA would be the likes of Charleston Southern, Wofford, Liberty, and a whole bunch of directional schools. Just some of the D-I schools supplementing their budgets with the scheduling bonanza are Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Troy, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe and more directional schools. These are not household names, but with the pressure on coaches and administrators to deliver a winner, schools like these will continue to dot the early pre-conference schedule for the major schools.

Seeing these "match-ups" (using the term loosely) makes me remember when there were many less bowl games and the bowls were tied to conference champions and a handful of at-large teams with great records. If you didn't win the Big Ten or Pac-8 you didn't go to the Rose Bowl or just about any other bowl. If you didn't win the old Southwest Conference and go to the Cotton Bowl chances were you would be staying home for the holidays. The same goes for the Big 8 and the Orange Bowl.

Unfortunately, at the risk of not getting to a bowl, or not reaching an upper tier/bigger name bowl that will provide for larger pay day and more exposure for their programs, or possibly even playing for the national title, the early season weekends with a full slate of great inter-sectional games has passed. This past weekend there were a handful of head to head early conference clashes and a couple of border or intra-state rivalry games that sparked some interest. But, aside from that all we had was Oklahoma St.-Georgia, Oklahoma-BYU, Alabama-Va Tech, and LSU-Washington with Florida State-Miami yet to come, as of this writing.

Let's take a look at some high profile football programs' schedules over the years--this year and then 5, 10, 20 & 30 years ago. Penn St. has only been in a conference since 1993, so they drop out as the years go further back. See for yourself how the scheduling philosophy, based upon degree of difficulty, has changed (or not) for these teams.

2009

FLORIDA--Charleston Southern, Troy, Florida International, Florida St.

MICHIGAN--W. Michigan, Notre Dame, E. Michigan, Delaware State

PENN ST.--Akron, Syracuse, Temple, E. Illinois

TEXAS--Louisiana-Monroe, Wyoming, UTEP, Central Florida

LSU--Washington, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana Tech, Tulane

USC--San Jose St., Ohio State, Notre Dame

2004

FLORIDA--E. Michigan, Middle Tennessee, Florida St.

MICHIGAN--Miami (OH), Notre Dame, San Diego St.

PENN ST.--Akron, Boston College, Central Florida

TEXAS--North Texas, Rice, Arkansas

LSU--Oregon St., Arkansas State, Troy

USC--Virginia Tech, Colorado St., BYU, Notre Dame

1999

FLORIDA--Western Michigan, Central Florida, Florida St.

MICHIGAN--Notre Dame, Rice, Syracuse

PENN ST.--Arizona, Akron, Pitt, Miami

TEXAS--N.C. State, Stanford, Rutgers, Rice

LSU--San Jose St., North Texas, Houston

USC--Hawaii, San Diego St., Notre Dame, Louisiana Tech

1989

FLORIDA--Louisiana Tech, Memphis, New Mexico, Florida St.

MICHIGAN--Notre Dame, UCLA, Maryland

TEXAS--Colorado, SMU, Penn St.

LSU--Texas A&M, Florida St., Ohio U.

USC--Illinois, Utah St., Ohio St., Notre Dame

1979

FLORIDA--Houston, Ga Tech, Tulsa, Miami

MICHIGAN--Notre Dame, Kansas, California

TEXAS--Iowa St., Missouri, Rice

LSU--Colorado, Rice, USC

USC--Texas Tech, Minnesota, LSU, Notre Dame

How Lucky White Sox Fans Are To Have Ozzie Guillen

2009-09-01T19:24:00.002-04:00

In our present world of sports journalism coaches and athletes are prepped on how to avoid making controversial or inflammatory public statements. They calculate their choice of words like a skilled liar on the witness stand. But, shining through all of that dull, lifeless, gray blah-blah-blah is a beacon of light.

Ladies and gentlemen, for your enjoyment let me present Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. Whether you follow major league baseball closely or not, you have to love the entertainment Guillen provides. He’s certainly not like Casey Stengel, who for decades was the lovable “Old Professor” of baseball, known for his cock-eyed views on life as well as his quotes. Casey often left listeners with their heads tilted and brows wrinkled in their effort to comprehend what he had just said.

You may know that Guillen concluded his playing career in 2000 after having played 12 of his 16-years as a shortstop for the White Sox. In 2004 he got his shot to manage in the majors by being named skipper of his beloved Pale Hose. Just one year later Guillen became the first Latin-born manager to lead his team to a World Series title.

A native of Venezuela, Guillen has a passion for the game, his Latin blood runs hot, and he is not afraid to speak his mind. That’s what makes Guillen both entertaining and refreshing at the same time.

Unlike Stengel, there is nothing left to interpretation with Guillen. It’s all pretty plain and clear. For example, in early August, after Guillen’s team had three of their batters hit by opposing pitchers in one game, he went on a rant. He put the rest of the American League on notice. You hit one of his guys, you’ll pay. Not only will it be an eye for an eye, but it might be a two for one proposition! Guillen went so far as to say that he doesn’t care if the league fines him for ordering his pitchers to retaliate for his players being hit. He was essentially taunting future opposing teams, as well as the league office. When I saw the video clip of this it reminded me of one scene in the silly comedy movie classic, “STRIPES”--when Francis “Psycho” Soyer repeatedly threatened Bill Murray, John Candy, and the other military goofs in the barracks, “If you touch me or my stuff…I’ll kill ya.” As for Guillen, if you throw at him or his team, you’re going down!

Last weekend the Yankees swept the ChiSox in a 3-game set at Yankee Stadium and each of the games provided opportunity for Guillen to sound off. When the Sox were limited to just one hit and committed three errors in a 3-0 loss to the Bronx Bombers Guillen offered this summary:

"I'm embarrassed,'' Guillen said. ''And everybody in that room should be embarrassed. If they're not embarrassed, they got the wrong job or they're stealing money from baseball. I feel like I'm stealing the money from [board chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf]. And that's a shame. When you got more errors than hits, you better look yourself in the mirror and start second-guessing yourself.

''I was looking at the Little League game this morning, and they were playing better than we did. It was more fun ... this is not major-league baseball. Sorry.''

''If we had a B Game against us, we might tie,'' Guillen said. ''Nobody is going to win. I feel that way, and I hope my players and coaches feel the same way.”

After another loss to the Yankees, where Chicago suffered from poor base-running, Guillen said, ''We had an opportunity to score some runs, we're not scoring runs. I never in my life, I don't remember someone getting thrown out at the plate 3-2 [count] with two outs. If you're a manager, you wonder what's going to be next. But when you see that [stuff], you're shaking your head like wow.

''We got picked off at third base once to lose a game, we got picked off at second base then we got thrown out on 3-2 with two out at the plate by 20 feet. Well, I don't give a [darn] who is managing this ballclub, they better check their [butt]. What are we going to do next? What should we do?''

The most gut-wrenching loss was when New York’s Robinson Cano delivered a devastating blow to Guillen’s club with a game-winning 3-run homer with two outs in the 10^th inning. The Sox skipper brought in lefty Randy Williams to pitch the 10^th. Williams was able to get both of the first two hitters, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez, out but back-to-back walks brought up Cano. Guillen lamented, ''What did he do, walked the next two on eight pitches, got behind Cano, game's over,'' Guillen said. ''That's the way we roll right now.''

The White Sox are fading from the Central Division pennant race, trailing the Detroit Tigers. They do have six remaining games going head to head with the Tigers, but Guillen is far from positive in his attitude of making the most of those six opportunities to catch Detroit. “What, they think we are going to sweep Detroit? They are full of (crap),” Guillen said in a Chicago Sun-Times story. “Don’t think Detroit is going to come in and say ‘Here it is.’ They are playing well, better than we do. It’s not going to be easy. If we continue to play like that, I don’t care how many games we play against Detroit, we can play 20 games against them, it’s not going to help.”

These are mere snippets of what goes on regularly for those who follow the Chicago South Siders. How lucky the people of Chicago are to be treated to this after each and every of the 162 games on the schedule.

In recent years it has become very unbecoming for coaches and players to air their dirty laundry in public, to throw someone else under the bus, or to throw gasoline on a small campfire. But, for those of us who enjoy a good rant, who appreciate people that wear emotions on their sleeve, for those of us who need a refreshing change from all the political correctness and “play nice together in the sand box” public people, Ozzie Guillen gives us all of that and more.

Where Are All The Good Arms?

2009-08-26T19:47:00.005-04:00

Where are all of the quality arms? With the home stretch of the baseball season being played out daily and the approach of the football season picking up steam, has it occurred to you that there are a shortage of quality arms in the two major pro sports that require them?

Baseball aficionados will tell you that most teams don’t have enough quality starting pitchers. In this day of the 5-man rotation, most teams can muster a number one, a two and sometimes a three. But, most teams struggle to fill the fourth and fifth spots with someone who can give them a decent chance to win a game.

MLB teams are always looking to upgrade their starting rotation. Due to the lack of durable, strong starting pitching, there is a great premium put on pitchers to “set-up” (8^th inning) and “close” (9^th inning) at the back end of games. We all know that great closers make the same millions of dollars for their 1-inning appearance as the great starting pitchers who throw about four-times the amount of total innings over the course of a full season.

When you think of it, professional baseball in America draws talent from a global pool. There are guys from Mexico, South America, Asia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Canada and Australia-- and the 30 MLB teams still can’t find enough quality arms!

Moving to the gridiron…if there were enough quality arms in the NFL, not just average arms, we wouldn’t be hearing of the never-ending saga of everyone’s favorite (kidding) gray-beard, Brett Favre, returning to play. The Minnesota Vikings must feel strongly that the three quarterbacks on their roster were just not good enough to play winning football. Being on the threshold of the regular season, more than a handful of teams are still struggling to declare a starting quarterback. At this stage of the pre-season all teams want to have starting positions locked up so they can fine-tune preparation for the games that really count, the regular season.

Due to their relative lack of productivity and efficiency to this point, the 49-ers played “Eenie, Meanie, Miney, Moe” and settled on Shaun Hill over Alex Smith. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are holding off until after their third pre-season game to choose the man that will take the helm. Byron Leftwich and Luke McCown are currently leading rookie Josh Freeman in that QB derby.

In Detroit, where the Lions matched the Motor City automobile industry for having an incredibly bad 2008, rookie Matt Stafford, despite being the #1 pick in the entire draft, is not quite ready to take over for a recycled Duante Culpepper. Because of philosophical differences in Denver between Jay Cutler and the Broncos new 30-something head coach Josh McDaniels, the Broncos traded away one of the game’s strongest young arms in Cutler to the Bears for a very average Kyle Orton. To illustrate the level of mediocrity, Orton is in a battle with Chris Simms, who was once a promising 2^nd round pick in Tampa Bay. Simms has thrown only 494 passes in seven years in the league. You can do the math based on a 16-game schedule over that span. He was an emergency back-up in Tennessee for just part of last season.

The NY Jets have had a neck and neck race between first round pick Mark Sanchez and fourth-year man Kellen Clemens. It looks like Sanchez at the wire by a nose. Regardless of who gets the nod, the Jets are looking up at the rest of the AFC East when it comes to who is lining up under center. Lastly, in Cleveland the Pumpkin Head loyalists are still waiting to see if it’s going to be the former Golden Domer, Brady Quinn, or the less-acclaimed Derek Anderson. As goes an old silly saying, "same difference."

To sum it up, it seems that we have too many pro teams in both baseball and football to effectively stock the rosters with quality arms who can win games. If that is not the case, why do we keep hearing the same stories each year about not enough good pitching and not enough quality quarterbacks?

If your team happens to have a quality player regularly throwing the ball, consider yourself fortunate. There are many fans who are envious.

When a Coach Goes From First Name to Last Name

2009-08-22T19:34:00.007-04:00

It’s very interesting to observe how, over the course of time, football coaches are addressed in the media, as well as in water cooler talks among fans, and on sports talk radio. There’s a potential evolution that could take place depending on the success factor.

Case in point is in Tampa Bay where a 32-year old rookie head coach is just a couple of pre-season games away from coaching his first NFL game that really counts. Raheem Morris had coaching responsibility for the Buccaneers defensive backs solely by himself for just two years. He was a defensive quality control coach and an assistant to the secondary coach for a few of years prior to that. In between he did run the defense at Kansas State University for just one year. Following the departure of the Bucs long-time defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, immediately following the 2008 season, Morris was named to succeed him as the lead defensive coach for the 2009 season.

Then in a very surprising move, Tampa Bay ownership canned Jon Gruden as head coach in February and all of the sudden Morris went from not having coached a down as the defensive coordinator in the NFL to being the new head coach.

As an assistant coach, those around the Bucs practice fields knew him as Raheem or Rah. Media types also knew him by Raheem or Rah. He looks as young, or younger, and is as young or younger, than those with whom he is charged to lead as their head coach.

A question in my mind is when does Raheem become Coach Morris, and when does he become just Morris?

Right now it’s honeymoon time. The Bucs have not yet lost a game that counts on their 2009 record. He can be personable, quotable, and project an attitude of having fun while also being demanding. The players swear by him, love playing for him.

That’s all well and good. Right now there’s a buzz in Buccaneer Land that people like to hear. That’s because Morris is the “anti-Gruden.” Gruden, who has been scooped up by ESPN to serve as their Monday Night Football analyst and has looked good doing so, was often a little surly and curt with the media. He didn’t have the same music on his IPod as the players, like Morris, nor did he chest bump and celebrate big plays like Morris did with his defensive backs.

Despite winning a Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2002-03, his first year as their 39-year old head coach, Gruden never fulfilled the fans’ and ownership’s dreams of regularly making future play-off or Super Bowl runs. In the next six years they made the play-offs twice, losing in the first round each time. Therefore, he was let go for that reason and also so the Bucs could make a 180-degree turn in leadership.

If you were tuned into media talk and street banter the last couple of years, it was always “Gruden this” and “Gruden that.” This is my take on how coaches are addressed publicly. For such a long time it was common to refer to the head coach with some degree of respect by either “Coach Last Name”, or simply by using his first and last name. When things start to go sour, then it turns to last name only—kind of the way an old gym teacher talks down to a goofy kid reminding him to tie his sneakers.

Well, Morris actually is a step ahead of everyone. He has three possible levels to work through. He is already talked about like everyone’s buddy—Rah or Raheem. When it begins to slide a bit and people need to start being critical of him, they will get a little more serious and evolve to Coach Morris. Then, when they are really upset and frustrated he will just be referred to as Morris.

This is not a slam on Morris; it’s a slam on all those who create images for the average fan by the way they portray people in the media. Sadly, most average fans don’t have enough information to make their own judgment or create their own educated view, so they latch on to one they may have read on the internet or heard over the AM sports talk shows, which was created by some other person with hardly anymore insight than Joe Fan.

Buc fans and followers, let’s not speculate, get too high or too low as to how great or not so great the new 32-year old coach is. In just a few weeks you will begin to see for yourself. Make believe you live in Missouri, “the Show Me state”, and let things play out. Then you can form your own opinion.

No Pressure on Gators for Championship Repeat?

2009-08-22T09:49:00.003-04:00

Pressure to perform at a very high level while fulfilling lofty expectations can weigh extremely heavy. Pressure itself cannot be seen. It’s intangible. Though we can’t touch it, it’s there.

If you have any role in the Florida Gators football program you would have a hard time not feeling the bulky burden of pressure placed upon the team this fall. Coming off of a national championship last year, their second in three years, the Gators are prohibitive favorites to repeat this year. Pressure is having to fulfill the expectations of so-called media experts, college football pollsters, a fanatical base of alumni and boosters, as well as the casual Saturday afternoon couch potato fan—and to do so on a national stage.

Week in and week out, beginning Sept. 5^th, Florida will play with a giant target on their back. Gator opponents will play David going against the Goliath Gators. In order for the Gators to satisfy all of the above, anything short of another BCS title will be construed as a failure.

There’s a commonly employed response that pops out when athletes or coaches are asked about dealing with pressure, regardless of the source or nature. “There’s no greater pressure than that which we put on ourselves to be successful.” That’s a standard line from the class, “Intro on How to Speak to the Media.”

But if you are a Gator, given Tim Tebow, a senior quarterback who was the 2007 Heisman Trophy Award winner, and a defense that returns intact from last year’s national championship team, the assumption in the college football atmosphere for a Gator repeat is as thick as hot, humid July afternoon in Gainesville.

After an extremely brief respite last January the Gators were hard back at it in the weight room and early morning conditioning workouts. The other Division I programs were, too. But the other 116 teams were not carrying around the already established weight that Florida had on their collective shoulders—another championship.

The athletic calendar moved into spring and the Gators worked their way through their 15 allowed spring practices. They adjusted to two new offensive coaches and a returning coach got acclimated to being the offensive coordinator/play-caller, not just the line coach. Soon spring became summer. Strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti was charged with continuing to keep the hammer down and demand more than the Gators had ever given. With great veteran team leaders showing the way, the summer was deemed successful.

In an article published in the New York Times, Coach Urban Meyer was asked to comment on the mood around the football offices. He was quoted as saying, “There’s more urgency and paranoia around here now. Everyone knows it. This is a good team.”

Whether it’s a player or a coach—when there is that kind of pressure, it is ubiquitous. It is all around, all the time, and it cannot be escaped. It’s at the grocery store while they stand in line to check out. It’s at the gas station as they try to just look at the numbers rolling along on the pump rather than make eye contact with on-lookers. It’s at the local casual dining restaurant when all they want to do is enjoy a peaceful meal with family or friends.

You can be assured that now, with just about two weeks until kickoff, Florida players and coaches are anxious to explode onto the field and begin to pursue another dream season. It’s been a long off-season, approximately eight months, between their last game when they hoisted the national title trophy in Miami and when they will soon kick it off against Charleston Southern.

Woe poor Charleston Southern. You have no idea how much pent up energy and excitement will be unleashed—not due to anything you have ever done to deserve this, but simply because you are the first step along another possible special journey for Florida. Pressure, what pressure? As coach/athlete-speak says, “There’s no greater pressure than that which we put on ourselves.”

Don’t believe it.

No Place Like Home, Except For Phillies

2009-08-18T19:44:00.004-04:00

There’s no place like home. That was true for Dorothy and Toto, but not so much for the defending world champion Philadelphia Phillies.

Heading into action tonight the National League East leading Phils have a record of 66–49 for a .574 winning percentage, which ranks them fourth overall in Major League Baseball. But the Phils might want to trade a few remaining home series for road trips to finish out the regular season.

Incredibly, the Phillies have just a .500 (29 – 29) record at home, worst of all MLB division leading teams, and an outstanding 37 – 20 record (.649 winning pct.) on the road!

Either the City of Brotherly Love must be getting soft when hosting opposing teams, or the Phillies are not eating the prescribed amount of cheese-steaks for pre-game meals—maybe a little of both. Where’s the crudeness, the raucous crowd, the only city that ever booed Santa Claus, for God’s sake? You folks have to pick it up and make it tougher for visiting teams coming in to play at Citizens Bank Park.

The talk of road records is a sore subject for two teams contending in the AL East. While the first-place Yankees are a respectable 6 games over .500 on the road, the second-place Red Sox and third-place Rays are struggling, and it may lead to one or both of their undoing as a Wild Card entry. Boston is 5 games under water while Tampa Bay could be drowning in their 10 games under road record.

The only MLB division leading team with a losing road record is Detroit. The Tigers have managed to stay atop the AL Central with the lowest winning percentage overall (.530) and very pedestrian 24 – 36 record away from Comerica Park.

With a precious 40 games to go, as pennant chasing teams come around the clubhouse turn and begin to head for home, the wins will count just as big whether they come at home or away.

PGA Championship Was Great, But...

2009-08-16T21:07:00.007-04:00

The final major golf championship of the year was decided on Sunday afternoon in Chaska, MN as Y.E. Yang of South Korea captured the PGA's Wanamaker Trophy. Yang shot a 2-under, 70, to wrestle the trophy away from Tiger Woods, who had won all 14 of the previous tournaments when he led going into the final round as he did this one.

This is a huge story for the golf world--Yang being the first Asian to ever win a major tournament and Tiger blowing his first tournament in this fashion. But, as a sports fan who would like to enjoy as much of this major golf event as possible, I have to say that I struggle to make it all the way through CBS' broadcast.

It's not just CBS, but they are the main player in this issue. Why is it that we have to have so many commentators working the broadcast who bring their British, Irish, and Australian accents to the airwaves? I know golf is a global sport and England, Ireland and Australia do supply competitive golfers that factor into most tournaments, but this is a network based out of New York, in the United States. These quirky little phrases that squirt out of the non-American broadcasters are cute for a few minutes, then they become tedious. They add no more to the broadcast than former professional golfers-turned golf analysts from right here in the U.S.

Do you think there are any commentators from our country working the World Cup (soccer) broadcasts over the BBC? I rest my case.

There is nothing more sappy than how broadcast TV treats the major golf events, especially The Masters and The Open (aka British Open). I appreciate tradition and history as much as anyone, but let's not get carried away. What gets me is the very drippy, mushy piano music that sends us off to commercial and also welcomes us back. If you didn't know what you were watching, by listening you might think you just tuned into a biography of a recent fallen world leader, or the passing of someone like Walter Cronkite just a few weeks ago. If you have not noticed or paid much attention to it, please do so next time you see a professional golf tournament on TV.

This past weekend the site was 100 % Midwest, USA (not that there is anything wrong with that). It wasn't Augusta National Golf Club, it wasn't Royal Troon in Scotland, but we still got a touch of that soppy music even though it didn't match the view or mood of Chaska, MN. How about matching the music to the setting, not trying to make the setting fit your music. There is nothing sappy about the Midwest.

Finally, who was the idiot that started screaming, "Get in the hole" so many years ago at golf tournaments that it has now become expected background noise after a golfer tees off on any Par 3? It's absurd. How many times over the last decade have other idiot wannabees joined in the "get in the hole" outburst on every Par 3 tee-shot, or on a lengthy putt on the green. The real question should be how many times has the ball actually gone in the hole when these yo-yos scream "get in the hole". What prompts someone to do that? Is it just so they can say "I yelled, 'get in the hole', and he knocked it in!"

I get my kick out of hearing the crowd turn loose with that sophmoric yell and then seeing a tee shot plop in the sand bunker well off the green, or a watching a long putt come up dreadfully short. What do you have to say now for your "get in the hole" cheer? Listen you people, no one gets it in the hole just because you screamed for it to do so, so get over it.

By the way, what happened to "you the man!", and the rainbow wig-wearing guy with the John 3:16 sign? It's time for the "get in the hole" people to go the same way as these.

YOU'D BETTER COVER YOUR MOUTH

2009-08-12T18:29:00.007-04:00

We have all heard that line from a mother to her children when they sneeze or cough in hopes of preventing the spread of germs, “You’d better cover your mouth.”

Being a baseball watchaholic I can’t help but "cover my mouth" to prevent blurting out expletives. I am really weary of seeing grown men on a baseball field use their big leather gloves for something besides a tool of the trade to catch baseballs. I have no idea when it started, but there are two scenarios that have become increasingly more common, and to a larger degree increasingly more ridiculous, with players shielding their mouths with their gloves.

The first is when a pitcher covers his face when in a strategic conversation with his catcher in front of the mound. We can see part of the pitcher’s face move with the obvious mouthing of words through his leather shield, but we can’t read his lips. Has baseball become so advanced in their scouting, and also so paranoid in their psyche, that pitchers fear the opponents will read their lips and communicate this info to the hitter before the next pitch? Correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t remember Sandy Koufax, Whitey Ford, or Bob Gibson speaking to their catcher with glove-in-face.

It must be pitchers have a lot more to say these days. Back in the day the catchers ran the show. They did most of the talking and the pitcher nodded, shook his head, or just listened with no response. If it was a star pitcher he just told the catcher to get back behind the plate and catch whatever was thrown. At some point in recent history pitchers must have been spewing so much valuable information that opponents evidently employed lip readers, thus forcing them to shield their face, right?

To illustrate how young kids want to mimic the pros without even knowing what they are doing, read on. While coaching a 13-14 year old baseball team this spring I had a 14 year-old who pitched and played infield. When he talked to his catcher on the mound he did the glove shield thing. OK, I let it go. I didn't want to show my age. But, when I had to use the youngster once as a catcher… he goes out to speak to his pitcher in front of the mound, he's still wearing his catcher’s helmet and mask and, you guessed it, he puts his catcher’s mitt up in front of his face. I burst out laughing, partly because it was a first in my life and I found it hilarious, and partly out of embarrassment. Hey…you have a helmet and mask on…you need a glove to block your face, too? Amazing.

The second reason you see pitchers put their glove up is to disguise a fit of Tourette’s syndrome. You see them uncontrollably barking out a string of "bleeps" while exiting the mound, heading to the dugout, in favor of a relief pitcher.

I don’t want to see a grown man try to fool us by attempting to camouflage his personal disgust. Who are they kidding? I can still see their slumped-shoulders, head down with eyes to the ground, which then leads to the flying of F-bombs and profanity that would make a gangster rap artist proud.

What happened to holding your breath for a few seconds as you work your way from the mound to the dugout, and then explode in a fit of rage by throwing your glove against the dugout wall, or knocking over the containers of David’s Sunflower Seeds and Double Bubble? That's how frustrated baseball players used to vent.

I guess Mom was right; you’d better cover your mouth kids. While you continue to shield your face and fire off swear words like an automatic weapon, I’ll try to not do the same. I know what you are doing behind that glove.

With Tiger There's Just One Golf Stat That Really Matters

2009-08-05T20:01:00.006-04:00

In the game of golf the only meaningful statistic, when you get right down to it, is getting the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible. The PGA Tour published their most recent statistics following play on the weekend of August 2^nd and there are some really great talking points when you look at these names and numbers.

Tiger Woods, by any kind of ranking methods, is the #1 player in the world. Not many golf devotees will take issue with that. But, now take note and digest the following PGA stats:

Driving Average—1. Robert Garrigus & Bubba Watson (tie) 310. Tiger not in the top 10.

Driving Accuracy %--1. David Thoms, 75.9. Tiger not in the top 10.

Greens in Regulations—1. John Senden, 71.26. Tiger not in the top 10.

Total Driving—1. Lucas Glover 70.2. Tiger not in the top 10.

Putting Average—1. Anthony Kim, 1.713. Tiger not in the top 10.

Eagles (per holes played)—1. Bubba Watson 64.1. Tiger not in the top 10.

Sand Save %--1. Luke Donald, 67.71. Tiger not in the top 10.

Birdie Average—1. Dustin Johnson, 4.38. Tiger, 4.26 (4^th).

Scoring Average—1. Tiger Woods, 68.37. 2. Steve Stricker, 69.33. 3. David Thoms, 69.38.

All-Around Ranking—1. Tiger Woods 2. Steve Stricker

PGA Tour Money Earnings—1. Tiger Woods 2. Steve Stricker

Surprising? My guess is that a majority of us would have had Tiger in there somewhere in the Driving categories, or maybe Eagles, or Sand Saves.

What do we make of all this? First, the old adage that “you drive for show, but putt for dough” still rings true to a large degree. Just because you can whack it off the tee doesn’t guarantee low scoring. In Tiger’s case, by not being in the top 10 in any of the first seven statistical categories, yet ranking fourth in birdie average, and the very best in scoring average, shows that he has an incredible skill to recover from a bad shot and still score birdies, or save par, and ultimately score overall.

Does he rank in the top five or even top 10 in all or most of the categories shown above? Obviously not. Where he does rank the best is getting the little while ball in the hole in less strokes than everyone else, regardless of the means he takes to accomplish that task.

Automatic, a machine, super-human--not quite. Just the best, even if he doesn't dominate statistical categories.

Flash of Personal Revenge While at Roman Colosseum

2009-08-02T11:22:00.017-04:00

When I planned a trip to Rome to celebrate my wife's and my 30th wedding anniversary I knew that we would see a week's worth of amazing sites, sculptures, and paintings. As it turned out, it was essentially a fantastic week-long history lesson.

Just like in the old Rocky & Bowinkle show, turning Mr. Peabody's "Wayback Machine" to 1974-75-76, our Iowa Hawkeye football team was subjected to one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules. Our head coach, the late Bob Commings, a former starting guard on the Hawk's 1959 Rose bowl team, dubbed us "The Chosen Children" because of the brutal schedule. In 1974 we played USC, UCLA, and Penn State. All three had legendary great college coaches--John McKay, Terry Donahue, and, of course, Joe Paterno, just a middle-aged guy then. We actually upset UCLA in Iowa City that year, lost in a competitive game to the Nittany Lions, but got whacked in L.A. by the Trojans, 41-3.

USC came to us in 1975, and we hung tough, even had a shot to win before falling 23-16. Then in 1976, after upsetting Penn St. in Beaver Stadium 7-6, we traveled west again only to be throttled again by the Trojans, 55-0. The total score of the two games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was a combined 96-3. USC was "Tailback U." at the time, continuing the incredible tradition started by O.J. Simpson and Mike Garrett just a few years earlier. During this three-year span defenses were trying to find a way to stop Anthony Davis and Ricky Bell, and were having little to no luck. Ask Notre Dame, who saw Davis reach pay-dirt five times in one game against the Irish.

Aside from being embarrassed some 35 years ago, I didn't think that those two visits to the L.A. Coliseum bothered me that much. I do remember the 55-0 shellacking was on my birthday in '76, so not much celebrating on the flight home. But other than that, life went on.

Until I got to Rome.

Unbeknown to me, for the last three and a-half decades there must have been a very slow but steady simmer in the deep recesses of my mind and soul which continued to develop into a violent rolling boil. The end result of me being quietly perturbed for such a long period of my adult life because of the embarrassment suffered at the hands and feet of the USC Trojans, culminated in the complete loss of control during my trip to THE COLOSSEUM--the original structure in Rome which was completed in the year 80 AD under Emperor Titus.

You can see in the action photo above, I have over-taken one of the soldiers who was clothed in an outfit similar to the USC band outside The Colosseum. I was waiting for the crowd to signal either thumbs down or throat slash, just like crowds did in Ancient Roman times, so I could put an end to my personal rage and this soldier's life, too. But, as she has for 30 years, my wife settled my emotions, which allowed me to gather myself and put together a few lucid thoughts. Thus, the life of the solider actor, who poses with tourists from around the globe daily outside what was known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, lives another day to take more photos with more tourists.

In total, 96-3 for two visits to LA's Coliseum...I can still see vivid images of the USC Trojan solider on that big white horse, Traveler, gently galloping around the track in the Coliseum with sword held high. Now in mid-life all I can do to put some of the demons to rest is take this silly picture with a fake Roman solider, in a Trojan look-alike suit, and try to laugh it off.

Tiny Tim Should Show Up Big in All-Star Game; Historical All-Star Seasons of Note

2009-07-11T22:26:00.013-04:00

Everyone has their own favorite team that they follow day in and day out, but seldom do we get to see the best against the best. Tuesday night at Busch Stadium in St. Louis we will get to do that as the 80th Major League Baseball mid-summer classic, the All-Star game, is set to be played.

Personally, I am beginning to feel, albeit totally unintentional, a little bit like those journalists who get get pinned with the tag of "east coast bias" when it comes to spreading the good word about any athlete or team west of the eastern time zone. Despite my passion for baseball and being able to sit and watch game after game on TV, it is simply too hard to follow west coast teams. Sure, you can catch some highlights on the various sports re-cap shows. But, trying to really follow and learn about a certain player or his team by watching a handful of highlight clips is like hearing a 30-second sound bite from a politician and trying to fully understand their solution on how to fix the economy. They are just snippets--they catch your eye or ear for a few seconds then it's on to something else.

I wish I could see more of some of the better west coast players on a regular basis, but a 3-hour time difference is brutal when if you, like me, require 7-8 hours of sleep to function effectively.

That's why I am particularly excited about the chance to see the San Francisco Giants "Tiny Tim", 25-year old right handed starting pitcher Tim Lincecum, take on the big bats of the American League. Lincecum, who is just 5'11 (in cleats) and weighs only a buck-70, won the NL Cy Young Award last year and is well on his way to another. Tiny Tim found his groove in June as he dominated opponents by remarkably turning in three complete games, including two shutouts. He heads to St. Louis boasting a 10-2 record and a sparkling 2.33 earned run average.

For the season, opponents are hitting a paltry .215 off of him. He leads the league in strikeouts with 149 in 127 innings of work. He tames opposing lineups that feature a host of multi-million dollar hitters, yet Lincecum is a bargain, for the time-being, with his original contract paying just $650,000 this year. A Washington state native, Lincecum pitched collegiately for the UW Huskies.

There is some talk that Lincecum may have to take a backseat to Arizona's Dan Haren for the starting nod on Tuesday. I hope not. America deserves to see an average size guy, to whom many can relate, do extraordinary things.

THOUGHT-PROVOKING ALL-STAR YEARS IN HISTORY

Sports Illustrated did a nice piece trying to pick all-time all-star teams for both leagues and to have at least one player from every team that has ever fielded a major league team. In doing so, they tried to select a player based on what they felt was that player's best season, and it be a year in which he was chosen for the all-star game. I picked up a few interesting things that you, too, might enjoy.

1941 was the year that two of the most amazing feats in baseball were achieved. Joe DiMaggio hit safely in his amazing 56-game streak, and Ted Williams finished the year with a .406 batting average--the last man to finish above the seemingly unattainable .400 mark. How did Williams feel when Joe D. ended up getting the league's MVP award? I don't know how you don't have co-MVPs. 1941, what a year, huh?

One of my favorite pitchers of all time was Baltimore Oriole Jim Palmer. In 1990 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Keep in mind, this was just prior to the designated hitter becoming part of the American League, but Palmer's 1975 season showed the tremendous disparity between the load that pitcher's used to bear before the pitch-count crazy, pitcher coddling era came in recently.

Palmer started 39 games (today's best may get 30-32), he completed 25 of the 39--all nine innings! Of those 25 complete game, 10 were shutouts. His overall record was 23-11, so two of those complete games were in a losing effort--probably one of those low-scoring 1-0, or 2-1 duals. He yielded way less than a hit per inning (just 253 in 323 innings) and pitched to a glistening 2.09 ERA.

In 1978, "Louisiana Lightnin'", Ron Guidry of the Yankees, put up the best ERA of the DH-era in the American League. It was tied 22 years later by Pedro Martinez, but Pedro's total innings, number of decisions, and overall numbers fell short of Guidry's overall stats. The lefty with a wicked slider, who was also nicknamed "Gator", Guidry posted a lofty 25-3 record in 1978. He started 35 games, completed 16, and fired 9 shutouts. His ERA was a minuscule 1.75 over 273 innings of work. That was all done with nine legitimate hitters in the lineup, as we have come to know American league baseball for about 30 years now.

Tuesday night the 80th All-Star game will be played. Who will we see in that game and still be talking about in another 30 years or so?

SPORTS FIGURES CAN K.I.S.S. & AVOID PARALYSIS

2009-07-10T14:35:00.002-04:00

The Tampa Bay Rays had to beat one of baseball’s best pitchers, Toronto’s Roy Halladay, to complete a three-game sweep of the Blue Jays yesterday. Rays rookie left-hander David Price, making just his ninth start of the year, would be on the hill for TB.

The problem was Price, who showed flashes of brilliance when TB brought him up for last year’s post-season run, started this season in Triple-A to refine some pitches. To this point, anyway, Price had not really reached the same level of effectiveness that he showed the baseball world in his few post-season performances. The St. Pete Times offered the following summary of Price’s approach to his head-to-head battle with Halladay.

After watching the prized prospect pitch poorly on Saturday, Rays manager Joe Maddon told Price, and then pitching coach Jim Hickey, they would skip the usual planning sessions and just have him go to the mound, rear back and fire. The plan was, well, simple: Trust his instincts, don’t think too much about what he was doing.

In doing just that Price cured some of the ills that had been haunting him. He pitched six strong innings, giving up just one run on six hits, while walking only one Blue Jay. He got ahead of hitters by throwing first-pitch strikes to 18 of 25 batters. The Rays offense provided just enough and the bullpen supported him for the last three innings as they went on to close out Toronto, 3-2.

Price’s simplified approach-- less pitch-scheming versus certain hitters, throwing what he throws best and has most confidence in, and just rearing back and throwing—these elements produced great results. Coming into the game Price was pedestrian. He pitched 38 innings, gave up 35 hits and issued an unacceptable 30 walks en route to a 5.21 ERA. Following the winning outing yesterday his ERA tumbled to 4.71.

All of this brings to mind an acronym that is popular in coaching—K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple Stupid.

Coaches and players are often guilty of thinking that more is better. In football, especially, you see coaches making the offensive or defensive call from the sideline or press box with these huge laminated cards which often carry well over 100 different calls. There’s paranoia about not having enough, killing themselves with, “what about this, or what if they do that?”—what-iffing themselves to death.

When it comes down to it, they end up using a fraction of that, especially once they sense what is actually working and what is not. We have all heard players and coaches talk about “getting back to basics”, or “we really tried to simplify things.” I can’t remember the last time someone explained the reason for winning was by being more complicated or doing more than they felt they needed to do.

No matter what sport you are in, it’s all about execution. You can only execute what you understand. There is another coaching phrase that runs along a parallel track to the KISS approach and that is, “Paralysis through Analysis.” If someone is thinking too much, they can’t possibly play or execute to the best of their ability.

As you follow your favorite athlete or team, see if they are better off with KISS, or are they trying to do too much and suffering from Paralysis through Analysis.

FOURTH OF JULY JUST PART OF HISTORICAL VIBE AT NEW YANKEE STADIUM EXPERIENCE

2009-07-06T20:24:00.016-04:00

Photos--Top-A shot of the front of Yankee Stadium from the subway platform on the opposite track. Middle-The "Great Hall" where banners of former greats like Mantle, Howard & Rizzuto hang throughout the concourse. Bottom-The Stadium from behind home plate in the upper deck prior to pre-game festivities.

Taking the NYC subway 4 Train up to the Bronx from Manhattan, I couldn't help but look out of the right side of the train like a grade-schooler with great anticipation as we neared the stop at 161st Street. Literally just hundreds of feet away from the historic original site, baseball's most expensive new stadium appeared to be living up to its billing. As I had repeatedly heard from all of the baseball pundits who have weighed in on their impressions of Yankee Stadium, the structure itself is just huge, intimidating to some degree. If you are only building a new stadium every 85 years or so, you need to get it right, right?

As advertised, the concourses are amazingly wide, allowing for reasonably good flow of foot-traffic from one point to the next. The stadium is as much of a museum as it is a sports venue. When you first walk in "The Great Hall" has long, rectangular banners (see photo above) with Yankee greats adorning the walkway throughout the ground level concourse. Of course, the Yankees recreated Monument Park behind the centerfield fence, just like it was in the original stadium, and they host tours prior to each game for thousands of fans. Yankee logos for each of the 26 World Series Championships with the respective year underneath them are painted on a large wall that serves as the back-drop for the right-center bleachers. There is a Cooperstown-like atmosphere throughout with classic photos of old Yankees wherever you go on any of the four stadium levels. All that being said, the signature visual that confirms you are in Yankee Stadium is the uniquely famous white facade that trims the front of the roof's edge.

It being the Fourth of July, there was no better way to spend it than in the Yankees' new home in the South Bronx and to share the excitement with about 53,000 others like myself. Not only were we celebrating the most important day in our country's history, this day also marked the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's famous "luckiest man" speech as he announced his retirement from baseball due to ALS (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's disease). All of Major League Baseball participated in an awareness campaign over the weekend to promote research for this still incurable debilitating disease. Being in the stadium, and seeing the entire crackly, old black & white news-reel footage of Gehrig's speech displayed on the 100' HD jumbo screen in centerfield was particularly moving.

Prior to first pitch the sell-out crowd stood in applause as P.A. announcer Paul Olden introduced four local military veterans in attendance who had recently returned home after being injured in military activity in Iraq. The U.S. Marine band then marched in from centerfield to home plate to play our National Anthem while their brothers from the Navy presented the colors. Ever since 9/11/2001 Yankee Stadium has had some rendition of "God Bless America" played or sung during the 7th Inning Stretch. This day it was famous Irish tenor, Ronan Tynan, in-person performing his passionate version of the song that is usually a 60-year old Kate Smith recording.

Adding it all up--the Fourth of July, injured military heroes being saluted, the Marine Corps Band and Navy teaming up for the National Anthem with vocals from 53,000 amateurs, Lou Gehrig's speech, God Bless America, and a Yankee win...maybe I'm getting just a bit sappy as I get older, but it was one very historic day for a lot of different reasons. One I probably won't forget.

CAN'T FIGHT THE FEELING

Because I could not miss being a part of one more historic experience, I joined a couple of million others along the west side of NYC watching the ultimate fireworks display that commemorated 400 years since Henry Hudson mistakenly found his way onto this river while searching for a northern route to Asia. Although the television broadcast of this event probably provided a wonderful visual treat, especially in HD, it couldn't effectively portray the faces of young and old, representing essentially a United Nations collection of people, that I witnessed that night. One older man who spoke broken-English stood behind me, along with his family, with his portable radio tuned into an all-news station. The station was doing a play by play of the fireworks with some patriotic music playing behind their commentary. Once the fireworks started, his conversation with his family stopped as he took in the pageantry

Standing amongst a diverse mass of some million-plus people, all of whom had their own story, that were assembled to honor America in a very calm and organized manner as tons of fireworks were launched from three barges on the Hudson, was certainly a lot different than the basic backyard barbecue followed by some personal firecrackers that a family member smuggled in from out of state.

Sabathia Fun to Watch; Could Be One of Best Big Men in Sports

2009-06-27T14:34:00.008-04:00

Throughout the course of time in sports history the athletic big man has always been a favorite. People just like to see big guys perform at the highest level of competition.

In basketball, who has been bigger, in terms of attention garnered in their day and for decades beyond, than Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?

Modern day football has so many, but turn the clock back to the 60’s in the AFL, a pre-cursor to the AFC. They boasted 6’9 Ernie “the Big Cat” Ladd, a giant defensive lineman, before Ernie turned to the world of professional wrestling. The Cowboys dynasty of the 70’s featured defensive end Ed “Too Tall” Jones, another 6’9 athlete who could rush the passer as well as chase down running backs. In the 80’s Coach Mike Ditka turned a heavy, sloppy looking, run-stuffing defensive tackle named William “the Refrigerator” Perry into an American hero by allowing him to touch the football for the Bears as a running back.

Heck, where would the wrestling entertainment industry be today had it not been blessed with the late, great Andre The Giant?

Long ago baseball was dubbed “America’s Pastime”. Many think it was because it was a unique game played from coast to coast on the amateur and professional levels, but it was not common around the world; it was America’s game. I have a different thought.

Just like America opened itself up in the early 20th century to all comers seeking an opportunity, the game of baseball has always done the same by welcoming anyone possessing the requisite ability, regardless of size.

It is not uncommon to see scrappy baseball players who stand just 5’8, yet have the necessary hitting, fielding, throwing, and base-running skills to make a living professionally. On the other hand, there have not been a great number of big men who have had enduring baseball careers. Some big guys have flirted with better than average careers, but very few have dominated, or at least had good success over their entire career. One big man who is close to wrapping up his career is Randy Johnson, the 6’10 lefty pitcher, now throwing for the Giants. Just a couple of weeks ago he reached a magical milestone by earning his 300^th career win.

Today baseball has a big man who, assuming he can stay healthy, should rise to the highest level of fame. CC Sabathia is not just tall as a 6’9 southpaw hurler with the NY Yankees, but he is big—easily carrying 290 pounds on his large frame.

What makes Sabathia an attraction is not just his 95 mph fastball, his darting slider, or his deft change-up, but his overall athletic ability. Last year Sabathia was traded from the Indians to the National League Brewers and got to show his skills at the plate. As a pitcher with limited time in the batting cage CC proudly owns a .263 batting average. Playing for the Yankees, CC only gets to bat during inter-league games, like this weekend as the Yanks go against the cross-town rival Mets. Friday night while limiting the Mets to three hits over seven innings, Sabathia hit two bullets up the middle, one producing a run and was robbed of another by the shortstop who was cheating the middle. CC can also bounce off the mound to field his position with great hand-eye coordination and reactionary skills. The big man is a complete player.

Last week Sabathia had to leave a game with just one out in the second inning due to muscle tightness in his left bicep. Fortunately, some therapy in the training room and a throwing schedule on his off days allowed him to step right back into the rotation and tame the Mets.

If Sabathia were to ever lose his ability to pitch, I am sure he would make a great power-hitting first baseman while providing infielders a sizeable target. Or, if he really wanted to try something different, NFL teams could line him up at left tackle and let him protect the blind side of their franchise quarterback. Sabathia is known as a big hoops fan and also played that in his younger days. I imagine him displaying that same combination of power and finesse that he shows on the mound.

At 29, Sabathia is in his first season playing on the world’s biggest stage with the Yankees. If he continues to do the things that he has shown the last couple of years he should go down as the top big man baseball has seen in a long, long time.

STEINBRENNER, MARTIN MADE HISTORY 21 YEARS AGO TODAY

2009-06-23T17:52:00.013-04:00

It was June 23, 1988 when one of the most telling episodes occurred in the history of the Bronx Zoo, also known as the NY Yankees during the 70's, 80's & 90's, under owner George Steinbrenner's rule. I stumbled across an archive photo and story from the Sports Illustrated July 4, 1988 edition while browsing their website www.si.com.

The story was authored by one of baseball's premier journalists, Peter Gammons, well-before his career blossomed throughout sports TV via ESPN. I have copied the most important 80% of the story here for your reading enjoyment.

This day in baseball history saw the Yankees fire manager Billy Martin for the FIFTH TIME. That's not a typo. The Boss (Steinbrenner) hired and fired the same manager in the person of Billy Martin FIVE TIMES. For Yankee fans out there who know their Pinstripe folklore, this particular year the Bronx Bombers every day lineup featured Don Mattingly, Willie Randolph, Ricky Henderson, Dave Winfield and Mike Pagilarulo. Arming the mound was an aging Ron Guidry, an aged Tommy John, terrific lefty Dave Righetti, and the Candy Man, John Candelaria. At the time of Billy's fifth dismissal the Yankees had just fallen out of first place. Over the course of the next 90+ games they slipped to fifth place out of seven in the old AL East.

As a loyal Yankee fan and baseball aficionado, I am still amazed to this day. It goes to show that time can cloud memory. How in the world could I not have readily recalled how many times Billy Martin skippered the Yanks. That, my friends, is an historical feat that will never be challenged by any other sports franchise. I guess we have to take that along with the 26 World Series titles. By the way, when is that 27th coming? I am trying to be patient.

July 4, 1988 Sports Illustrated

by Peter Gammons

Billy V Turned into what Animal House V would probably be like. Billy I and Billy II worked. They were funny. Even Billy III got two stars. By Billy V, it was neither funny nor meaningful. Who wanted to watch an ashen, trembling man get thrown out of a Texas topless bar or toss dirt at an umpire? "I find this boring by now," says Yankee pitcher Ron Guidry, who has seen Billy I-V and survived 14 Yankee managerial changes since 1975, of which last week's sacking of Billy Martin—he was replaced by Lou Piniella, who had also preceded him—was only the latest.

Contrast the New York Mets and the Yankees: The Mets don't have people laughing at them. They finished second in 1987 and acquired 10 young players to restock their farm system. The Yankees finished fourth, rehired Martin and added some $4 million to their payroll. Davey Johnson is in his fifth season as the Mets' manager. In that time the Yankees have had Yogi Berra II, Billy IV, Lou Piniella I, Billy V and Lou II. Oh, yes. Billy I lasted 471 games; Billy II, III, IV and V a total of 471.

George Steinbrenner never has figured out that a baseball season is not a high-speed car chase. He also hasn't learned that making headlines doesn't get a team to the World Series. So his wild, emotional swerves continue, with 15 managerial and 22 pitching-coach changes since he became the team's owner in 1973. Steinbrenner was cunning in his most recent ousting of Martin, using his latest office boy (also known, in the Yankee scheme of things, as the general manager), Bob Quinn, to carry out his orders and take Martin's heat.

Despite a rash of injuries and a recent 2-7 road trip culminating in a three-game sweep by Detroit that knocked the Yankees out of first place, Martin's team was still in the race. However, Steinbrenner felt that the pitching staff was being blown out and that, with 94 games left, Piniella would have enough time to save a very talented team.

BAD NEWS WEEK IN SPORTS WORLD; NEED SUN TO SHINE ON U.S. OPEN

2009-06-18T14:03:00.004-04:00

The last week or so around the world of sports has become increasingly depressing.

From our country’s land of wheat comes this sad news. Last weekend former Kansas director of athletics, Bob Frederick, died from injuries suffered in a bicycling accident the previous day. What makes this more tragic is that “Dr. Bob” was returning from a ride, wearing a helmet, and upon hitting a pot-hole, flipped over the handle-bars and sustained the fatal injuries. Dr. Frederick earned three degrees from KU, served as AD for 14 years, and most recently was teaching at the university in the College of Education. Under his watch, the Jayhawks reached their peek in 1992-93 when they won a basketball Final Four, a football bowl game, and made the school’s only appearance in the College World Series. People that I know and trust, who knew this man very well, say that he was known as a person who loved people, was a model of integrity in sports, and stood for what was right in college athletics, he was 69.

Also in the college arena, Alabama, no stranger to dancing outside the NCAA guidelines and time serving time on probation, was slapped with stiff penalties for a text book scandal. The end-result, as it stands now, is that the football team will have 21 victories earned over a span of three years (2005-2007) stripped from their record. There were 15 other sports involved, too. Crimson Tide athletes were caught using their scholarship to get free text books and other supplies for other students. ‘Bama is appealing the ruling.

Shifting to the professional level, in a case that makes you just shudder, especially if you have raised a daughter, former major league baseball outfielder Mel Hall, who finished his 13-year career in 1996, was found guilty this week of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl he coached on an elite basketball team a decade ago.

I remember Mel Hall because he grew up in Auburn, NY, which is only about 25 miles from my hometown.

A Tarrant County, Texas jury took about 90 minutes to convict the 48-year-old Hall on three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child. He received a 45-year sentence, and must serve at least 22-1/2 year of that term.

Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver Donte Stallworth took full responsibility for killing a pedestrian while driving drunk in Florida and began serving a 30-day jail sentence Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter. Stallworth helped himself by reporting the accident immediately, showing contrition, and cooperating with the investigation from the very beginning.

Stallworth reached a confidential financial settlement to avoid a potential lawsuit from the family of 59-year-old Mario Reyes, according to Stallworth's attorney, Christopher Lyons. Reyes was struck and killed March 14 by Stallworth, who was driving his black 2005 Bentley after a night drinking at a swanky hotel bar.

"I accept full responsibility for this horrible tragedy," said Stallworth, who was accompanied at the hearing by his parents, siblings and other supporters. "I will bear this burden for the rest of my life."

According to an ESPN report, Stallworth was covered by two insurance policies: a car insurance policy and a $5 million umbrella policy. Stallworth, 28, told Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy that he hopes to get involved in drunken-driving education programs. Stallworth had faced 15 years in prison. According to the plea agreement, Stallworth needs to serve only 24 days of his 30-day sentence. After his release from jail, Stallworth must serve two years of house arrest and spend eight years on probation.

Ryan Leaf, the tragic character who was a first-round NFL pick out of Washington State the same year that Peyton Manning came out, but ended up being the poster child for “bust” draft picks, posted a $45,000 bond Wednesday in Washington state for drug and burglary charges out of Texas after being arrested by customs agents as he returned to the United States from Canada.

He is charged with burglary to a habitation, a second-degree felony. Leaf was also indicted on seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance. This allegedly took place while Leaf was trying to carve out a career as a college football assistant coach at West Texas A & M, a Division II school in Canyon, TX.

Finally, in a news story that has all baseball fans trying to catch their breath in shock (just kidding) a congressional committee will look into former baseball slugger Sammy Sosa’s denial that he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs in light of a report that he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003.

In 2005, Sosa told Congress that he had never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Sosa tested positive two years before his appearance at a House hearing. Sosa’s name supposedly leaked out from a confidential report that listed 103 players who tested positive in 2003, before MLB had testing and banned drug policies in place. Alex Rodriguez was the first big name that leaked out a few months ago. This story will continue to drip, and drip, and drip

That’s enough bad news for quite a while. It’s now time to turn the page…as in Bethpage! Let’s hope for an exciting 109th U.S. Open Golf Championship this weekend being played on the Bethpage State Park’s Black Course on Long Island, in Farmingdale, NY. Given the fact that the opening round was delayed by rain, and for a whole lot of reasons like those above, we need Mother Nature to bring us some sunshine and cooperate.

By the way, who do you have…Tiger or the field?

FOOTBALL PLAYERS HEAD INTO NEXT SEASON--SUMMER

2009-06-05T21:12:00.004-04:00

Spring sports seasons have wrapped up on the high school and college level. The number of states that do allow high school programs some type of spring football practice, as well as the older guys playing college football, are now gearing up for their next season. Most fans are not as in-tune with the football players’ next season, but it is very critical to their team’s success. The next season is summer.

No sooner than the high school year ends, most competitive programs will have their players trying to get an edge on their opponents by getting right into their summer training program, which always consists of strength-training/conditioning, and often position skill development.

Unless restricted by their state’s rules, most high schools usually run their own camp at some point in the summer, and/or go away to a college campus for some type of camp. “Skill position players” (everyone who is not a lineman) also compete in 7 on 7 passing leagues and camps. Even the big guys, the offensive and defensive linemen, have position drill work and camps that are geared to them improving their fundamentals and techniques. Where at one time in history guys who played other sports didn’t start worrying about football until August rolled around, today’s high school athlete is asked to commit much more time to just one sport. If lucky, he may find time to play two sports.

College football players get about a two week hiatus between the end of their spring semester classes and post-spring ball training workouts before the start of “voluntary” summer workouts. These workouts are called voluntary because, according to NCAA rules, they cannot be mandatory. But, when the athletic department is footing the bill for the cost of summer school tuition, and room/board, there is a real strong understanding that players will "voluntarily"partake in these workouts.

Just as the winter off-season training program fits into the college player’s yearly cycle between the regular fall season and spring practice season, summer training fits between spring practice and fall.

This training is usually built around four hard days of strength-training (M-T-TH-F), with Wednesday used as a recovery day. Combined with strength work, athletes also get a mix of speed, quickness, agility and position-specific training under the hot summer sun. To that, mix in 3-4 nights of competitive 7 on 7 passing drill competition (for skilled players) and pass protection/pass rush drills (for linemen) with competition between the team’s own offensive and defensive players. Team leaders on each side of the ball step-up to organize these workouts which are done without the benefit of their coaches being present. Not done yet, players also usually spend a couple of hours or more on opponent film study at the football office.

Throw in a couple of summer school courses, and tutoring or study hall for those classes, and your average Division I football player has put in quite a week’s worth of work--not as relaxing as people would like to think.

Summer workouts are all coordinated and supervised by the strength coach and his staff. The regular football coaching staff is not allowed to work with players on the field in the summer. Therefore, the strength & conditioning coaches take the responsibility for, and are held accountable for, each player’s development of physical traits, as well as their mental discipline and toughness. Has each player gotten stronger, more powerful, attained ideal body weight, improved his agility/quickness? After toiling in the heat all summer, is he mentally tougher, more disciplined?

These questions all need to be answered in the affirmative for the summer training to be deemed successful. The ultimate test is in seeing how the rigorous training translates to actual performance on the field in September.

THESE GUYS MAKE PHILS GO: A.L. SPEED RUNNING AWAY FROM N.L.

2009-06-05T18:34:00.009-04:00

There is no secret to Philadelphia’s offensive success. It’s painfully obvious to opposing pitchers as to who you have to try to slow down. The Phils have three players in the top seven of the NL in runs scored—Raul Ibanez (44), Chase Utley (39) and Shane Victorino (38) and two of the top five RBI men in Ibanez (53) and Ryan Howard (46). The defending champions are the only team to have more than one player listed among the leaders in what should be the most important categories—production.

It used to be that there was a significant difference between AL and NL baseball strategy. With the AL having the designated hitter, perception has been that teams move station to station and employ the Earl Weaver strategy of waiting for the 3-run bomb, whereas the NL employed more of a running game and small-ball approach, less dependent on the long ball.

Where are the wheels in the NL?

Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford is literally running away with the MLB stolen base lead with 34. Along with C.C. in the AL, Jacoby Ellsbury of Boston is second with 22 and the Angels’ Chone Figgins has 20. These three are all ahead of the top NL base thief, Michael Bourn of the Astros, who has just 18. The next closest NL base-stealer is the Mets’ David Wright (13). Just for good measure, let’s round out the AL’s top five with TB’s B.J. Upton (17) and Angels’ Bobby Abreu (15)—all better than the NL’s second-best.

These stats offer several talking points, one of which has to be the fact that catchers in the NL must sleep a lot better than their counter-parts in the AL.

UPTON BROTHERS A LONG WAY APART

2009-06-02T17:40:00.007-04:00

Justin Upton plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks while his brother, B.J., plays for the Tampa Bay Rays. Even those who slipped through US Geography with a D will tell you that the two talented brothers are miles and miles apart.

Looking at the statistical side of the 2009 MLB season the brothers are also miles and miles apart. Justin, 21, just concluded a monster month of May by hitting for a .402 average, which included seven HRs and 21 runners knocked in. Those numbers boosted his season totals to a healthy .322 average, with 9 round-trippers and 29 RBI. Justin inflated his slugging percentage to a whopping .592.

While the Upton family has been enjoying Justin's season, they most likely are spending more energy supporting older brother B.J., 24, in his quest to get on track. After a terrific post-season performance that helped spur the Rays through the AL Championship Series and into the World Series, B.J. has struggled mightily. His totals to date--.204 average, 2 HR, 9 RBI and a meager .290 slugging percentage. Yes, B.J. did have some work done on his shoulder in the off-season and he missed the first week of the season, but having played 45 games to date he hasn't come close to looking like the same offensive player of a year ago.

They are miles apart on the map right now, and miles apart in their peformance on the field.

DL IS PLACE TO BE FOR MLB PITCHERS

2009-06-02T15:55:00.009-04:00

Reading a piece that was in a recent Sporting News Today publication, it's astounding to see the number of MLB players who are on the Disabled List (DL) at this point in the season. Sure, some of these roster moves stemmed from injuries coming out of spring training, but the vast majority of these have been come about since the start of the season. Yet, we have not even completed one-third of the 162-game season.

As of May 28th, there were a total of 141 players on the DL, 87 of which are pitchers (62%). There is incredible likeness between the American League and National League's DL numbers.. The AL total number was 70 with 44 pitchers (63%), while the senior circuit listed 71, including 43 pitchers (61%).

That's a lot of bad arms.

In the AL, the White Sox did not have a single player on the DL as of May 28th. That was also true in the NL for the defending world champions in Philadelphia. At the other end of the spectrum, the team orthopaedic staffs in San Diego and Tampa Bay have hung a sign on their doors, "Not Accepting Any New Patients." The Padres had 10 players (7 hurlers), and the AL defending champion Rays boasted 9 on the DL, with "just 4" pitchers among that group. Most teams overall had somewhere between 4 & 7 disabled bodies inactive by the end of May.

ROYALS' GREINKE BEST ARM YOU HAVEN'T SEEN

Coming off of those depressing stats, let's talk about some real positive pitching numbers. Zack Greinke has the misfortune of laboring in anonymity as a Kansas City Royal. But, the 25 year-old righty is off to a major league-leading 8-1 start. His ERA was a miniscule 0.88 until his last start this past weekend and now it has swollen ever so slightly to 1.10.

It's a shame most of America doesn't get to see Greinke. He battled through some personal and emtoional issues about 3 years ago, even heading home for some rest and down time during the early part of the season. He has now grown into arguably one of the top hurlers in the game. It's just that hardly anyone sees him. When he started his last game on a sunny 81-degree Sunday afternoon at home in Kaufman Stadium, there were plenty of good seats remaining considering the 18,000 and change who cared enough to show up. Sad isn't it. Because of the Royals' month of May free-fall from atop the AL Central to now barely holding down fourth place, we certainly aren't going to see Greinke any time soon on some version of a national telecast via ESPN, FOX, or TBS.

Could Big Unit Be Last 300-Game Winner?

2009-05-28T12:22:00.000-04:00

SF Giant Randy Johnson’s 299th career win last night against the Atlanta Braves put him on the door-step of the exclusive 300 Win Club. At age 45, and after 22 seasons in the big leagues, The Big Unit has worked long and hard to put himself in this position by over-coming back and knee surgeries along the way. Johnson can put himself into the history books with his next start, which should be next Wednesday at Washington. Facing the Nationals should provide Johnson a great chance of garnering the prized 300th win, thus becoming the 24th pitcher in MLB history to attain that level.

With 300 being within Johnson's grasp, the question is often asked, “who else has a chance to make that club, has the age of the 300-game winner come to an end?”

The top active pitchers in the game are Tom Glavine, Braves (305), Johnson (299), Jamie Moyer, Phillies (249), and Andy Pettitte, Yankees (219).

At age 46, the sun is setting on Moyer’s career. With 249 wins spread over 22 years he has little chance of picking up another 51 Ws. Pettitte, 36, signed a one-year deal at a smaller salary than he used to command, primarily to return to the Yankees this year to help them break in their new stadium in the Bronx. A family man of strong faith, he could be content to retire to Texas sometime soon and enjoy life with his wife and kids. He is 4-1 this year with a respectable 4.30 ERA, but can he, or will he, stay around long enough to earn another 81 wins?

The reason for the door to the 300 Club possibly closing forever is simple numbers. With today’s game being played with a 5-man starting pitching rotation, basic math tells us that 162 games divided by 5 starting pitchers = a max of 32.4 starting opportunities per pitcher. Keep in mind, even the best of arms miss at least a start of two for a variety of reasons, reducing the actual start number to 30 or less per season.

Before baseball started babying pitchers with pitch counts and reducing the overall workload throughout a season with a 5-man starting staff, a 4-man pitching rotation was the norm. Even a journalism major can figure out that 162 games divided among 4 pitchers provides a max of 40 starting opportunities per pitcher. 32 starts versus 40? Even if a pitcher goes .500 with those additional starts he would pick up another 4 wins per year. Stretch that over, let’s just say, a 15 year-career and you have another 60 career wins.

Given the fact that Johnson will become the 24th all-time 300-game winner possibly as soon as next week, and the next active pitcher with any legitimate chance is Pettitte, who needs to average 21 wins over the next four years (or 17 over five years, etc.), the exclusivity of the 300 Club could remain undisturbed for quite some time.

NFL COLTS' TRANSITION BECOMES MORE CHALLENGING

2009-05-22T13:41:00.000-04:00

When Tony Dungy announced his retirement earlier this year as head coach of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, the team's accomplished general manager, Bill Polian, already had a plan in place and everyone kept marching on without missing a step. Jim Caldwell, an old Iowa Hawkeye teammate of mine, with whom I also had the pleasure of coaching with for a year on the college level, was taking the reins. Jim had been Peyton Manning's quarterback coach since 2002 and assistant head coach in recent years for Dungy.

But, a week or so ago the offensive staff took a big hit, two in fact, when offensive coordinator Tom Moore and offensive line coach Howard Mudd, both critical factors in the Colts incredible offensive production since 1998, tendered their resignation because of a very recent, abrupt change in the NFL coaches pension arrangement. Moore, 70, and Mudd, 67, would both have risked losing part of their hard-earned retirement money due to a change in policy. Evidently, the league owners voted to make the teams' contributions to the pension plan non-mandatory. Larry Kennan, who represents NFL assistants, said no one saw this coming and his group was not kept in the loop at all.

So, along with a new head coach, who also served as QB coach, the Colts offense will also have a new play-caller/coordinator replacing Moore and a new OL coach stepping up for Mudd. That's three major position changes. The Colts did the wise thing and stayed inside by elevating former WR coach Clyde Christensen to coordinator and former offensive quality control/OL assistant Pete Metzelaars to the lead OL post. There is no learning curve for either coach, just an exponential increase in the amount of responsibility.

Just as Tony Dungy set the mood and tempo for the Colts going about their business being a very successful team for most of the 21st century, Jim Caldwell will follow that lead in many ways by keeping the ship steady, worrying about taking care of business right now and not worrying about the past or future things that can't be controlled. He'll keep the team focused and motivated. That's why Indy put a plan in place for him to become their head coach rather than having to dodge offers each of the last three years from other NFL teams looking for a new boss.

Do not underestimate the profound effect Bill Polian has had on the two NFL teams where he has served as general manager--the Buffalo Bills and the Colts. Prior to his keen eye for talent, and his ability to effectively draft, trade, and structure contracts showed up at either front office, neither organization experienced the consistency and success that they enjoyed while on his watch.

Aside from Manning's long-time favorite target, WR Marvin Harrison, moving on, the Colts should not look very different when they line up offensively this fall. What remains to be seen is how well the OL protects the passer and opens holes for the running backs, along with the play-selection in critical down and distance situations. The good news for Colts fans who might be a bit concerned is that Manning is, in fact, the ultimate "maestro" running the offense and handling adjustments once the team breaks the huddle and goes to the line of scrimmage.

DUKE BB's PAULUS TO PLAY FOOTBALL AT SU

2009-05-17T17:11:00.000-04:00

It was sometime in the winter of 2003-04 when I received a phone call in my football coach's office at the University of Kansas. It was from a guy named Dave Paulus from Syracuse, NY. He wanted to tell me about his son, a quarterback at Christian Brothers Academy (CBA). Greg Paulus was in his junior year and starting to narrow his scope on potential colleges where he might continue his career.

We did not actively recruit the Northeast at Kansas at that time, but we followed up on all leads, and I got this one because Syracuse is just 35 miles from my hometown. I heard the proud father talk about his son's two-sport achievements and how he was only going to look at schools that had nationally competitive basketball programs and a chance to play football, if that's what he ultimately decided to do. Having had a lot of conversations with fathers who often tried to act as agents, I asked if I could talk to the high school coach and if he could send some tape for us to evaluate right away. Not a problem.

What I learned was the Paulus family was as legitimate as could be. Greg's high school football tape showed why he was a three-time all-state selection at that point (a fourth to come) and his coach raved about his intelligence, character and certainly his football ability, too. Greg Paulus went on to be the 2004 Gatorade National Player of the Year and was 2nd Team All-USA Today as a QB. It's no secret that he went on to Duke where he was a two-time captain, earned several academic recognitions along the way, and was a key player in one of the nation's premier basketball programs.

Having exhausted his four years of basketball eligibility by not red-shirting, and by graduating from Duke about a week ago, Paulus set himself up for a very unique situation. He could petition the NCAA to use his fifth year of eligibility to play another sport--football, at another school. After doing his homework and talking to several different schools Paulus has decided to go home and pursue a master's degree at Syracuse University and try to make it as a QB on new Coach Doug Marrone's team.

What are the odds that a very good athlete, who played nothing but basketball over the last four years, can pick up a football and compete for playing time in a Division I program? The odds seems somewhat steep, but then again, maybe not. SU's coaching change in the winter means that competition among players at all positions is pretty bunched up because no one has a great knowledge of the new systems, nor have they had a lot of one-on-one coaching from the new staff to help cement spots on the depth chart. Paulus was not part of the Orange for spring ball, so he missed 15 practices and at least that many meetings watching tape and learning the system. But, he is incredibly savvy, has intelligence and play-making ability on the field, and he is a mature, tested-under-fire, competitor.

Sure it's been a while since he last called a play in a huddle or engineered a winning scoring drive on the gridiron, but don't think for a minute that Greg Paulus hasn't had this possible transition to football on his mind for quite some time. The Orange is a good situation for Paulus to compete. They do not have a proven, solid #1 QB, and their offense can get a shot in the arm from Paulus, who was equally adept at CBA throwing or running the football.

The NCAA should allow the move. Paulus represents exactly what college student-athletes should do--give everything they have to their university in terms of effort in the classroom, on the field of competition, as well as in the community. He earned his degree and he has earned the opportunity to use that fifth year of eligibility as he chooses.

If nothing else, the Greg Paulus story will give people who follow ACC basketball and those who follow Big East football something to track as the '09 football season unfolds a little later this year. If anyone can make such a move and make it work, Paulus' combination of physical talent, and the intangibles that are characteristic of winner, will give him a chance to beat the odds.

TAMPA BAY RAYS STILL LOOKING FOR MAGIC

2009-05-15T16:51:00.000-04:00

Last year's Tampa Bay Rays were the Cinderellas of Major League Baseball as they reversed a decade long tradition of being bottom-feeders in the American League East. They wore the glass slipper all the way through the AL Championship en route to the World Series before the clock struck 12:00 in the form of the Philadelphia Phillies.

This year's version of the Rays was celebrated for three straight night's at Tropicana Field as they opened their home season vs. the Evil Empire (a.k.a. New York Yankees). One night it's the raising of the AL title banner, another night it's the handing out of World Series rings, all 37,000 fans getting a replica ring, and more, and more.

With some off-season tinkering of their roster, baseball pundits joined the Rays' faithful in projecting this team to be as good or better than last year's Rays. Right now, there is no joy in Mudville. Tampa Bay is 16-20 and have a meager 4-7 mark against the teams who occupy last place in their divisions.

Could a hangover last from fall of '08 all the way into spring of '09? Can an organization that went from "worst to first" and provided a feel-good story for all of baseball slip back into their old form so quickly...and with essentially the same team? There is no doubting the old adage that says, "baseball is a marathon, not a sprint." With just about 25% of the season in the books there is still plenty of time for the Rays to re-kindle the fire, find their mojo, or do whatever it was they did to play like a bona-fide champion last year.

Seeing the Rays struggle in the first quarter of the season makes you better appreciate the great teams throughout all of sports who built dynasties, sustained a high level of success over time, and were able to handle the notoriety, pressure and expectations that was thrust upon them because of that success.