Randomness Rules the Day... - 11/29/09

Hello, my good friends! I know it's been quite a while since my last post...and I apologize...profusely. Football season takes over and Coach Meech goes to work. Anyway, I figured now would be a great time to return to cyberspace, especially with the Thanksgiving holiday now behind us. My next post will be sure to return to the usual format of one big subject rant followed by those infamous sidebars. But today's column will be sidebars everywhere (Hence the title). Enjoy.

- The New Jersey Nets finally made a formal announcement earlier today, officially firing head coach Lawrence Frank after ten seasons with the club, the last six and a half as head coach. Frank took over for Byron Scott (Ironically, he was the first coaching casualty of this NBA season.) during the 2003-2004 season and promptly won his first 13 games. In a cruel twist of fate, Frank's tenure ends with a 16-game losing streak. He will not get the chance to help the team avoid tying the NBA record for most losses to start a season when the Nets take on the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Frank really didn't have much of a chance this season. Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Yi Jianlian, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Jarvis Hayes, Keyon Dooling, Tony Battie, and Eduardo Najera have all missed significant stretches of time to injury so far this season. It's hard to believe that this team actually represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals in 2002 & 2003. Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, Kenyon Martin, and Vince Carter have all found their way to greener pastures and the Nets have gotten next to nothing in return. The Nets are now in the midst of a financial freeze as Bruce Ratner (maybe the worst sports owner in recent memory) is in the process of selling the club and are trying to convince their fans (just like every other moribund NBA franchise) that they're bracing to be players in the Summer of 2010 free agent bonanza.

Frank leaves with a career record of 225-241, both (wins and losses) Nets NBA franchise records. To Frank's credit, he didn't whine, complain, or make excuses. This quote in The Bergen Record is a great microcosm into his feelings on the matter and his passion for the job:

"I know I've got to produce. I take full responsibility. I'm not hiding anywhere. I say bring it on. Put it on me...We're here to serve our guys. They're working their tails off. We just need to continue to get better. I'm not absolving myself from anything. Right now that record is indicative of where we're at and how I'm coaching. We need to do better."

- Congrats to Jimmie Johnson on capturing his fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. He's certainly staking his claim to the title of best driver of our generation. Naturally, his reign is being met with great skepticism. People are using every excuse they can come up with, ranging from the financial backing of Hendrick Motorsports to the Chase format. Maybe someday people will recognize just how great of a driver and competitor Johnson is; however, for now, the NASCAR garage will be entertaining its finest shade of green.

- Hopefully the BCS sorts itself out next week with the SEC and Big XII Championship Games. The SEC Title Game is essentially a play-in to the BCS National Championship Game as the winner (either Alabama or Florida) will walk out undefeated. And if Texas can get by Nebraska in the Big XII Title Game, we will have a national title matchup of two undefeated teams. Now this sounds just great until you realize that there may be two, or even three, more undefeated teams in the country that will be left out of the national title picture. TCU has already concluded its regular season undefeated while Boise State and Cincinnati each have defacto conference title games remaining between them and an undefeated regular season. So we may very well end the regular season with five undefeated teams! This may be the greatest shot anybody who wants a playoff will ever get to make a convincing argument. Personally, I will only support a plus one system, no national playoff. But we'll save that rant for another column, maybe the next one...

- I don't remember the last time there were this many downright awful teams in the NFL. I'm not quite sure what the problem is but it looks like parity is backfiring big time. The Browns, Lions, Raiders, Chiefs, Rams, Seahawks, and Buccaneers are just pitiful football teams. The franchises (with the exception of Seattle) are in absolute disarray and show no signs of getting things fixed any time soon. Eric Mangini is an awful fit in Cleveland, or anywhere else for that matter. Al Davis will always run the show in Oakland. Detroit is showing signs of life but has a long way to go. Steve Spagnuolo looks overmatched in St. Louis. Kansas City is having all sorts of issues. Tampa Bay hires Raheem Morris, who has never even been a coordinator at the NFL level let alone a head coach. I really want to know just what has brought us to this point. I never thought the NFL would get like the NBA or MLB where there were just a handful of teams that you would never want to watch because they are an embarrassment to the game. But this is where the NFL is at these days. There are a few marquee matchups each week, a few decent games, and then a few absolute clunkers. Hopefully some of these front offices pick up the pieces and get right soon.

- No comment on the whole Tiger Woods car accident situation.

- Congrats to the Indianapolis Colts, who at 11-0, have already clinched the AFC South Division Title. They are the first NFL team to secure a playoff berth this season. The Colts will now focus on the push for homefield advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs. Indy has a 3-game lead over both Cincinnati and San Diego (both 8-3) for the top seed in the AFC.

- Al Groh has become the latest coaching casualty in college football. After completing a 3-9 season, Groh has been relieved of his head coaching duties at Virginia. He was 59-53 in nine seasons at UVA (his alma mater), including a 36-36 record in ACC play. Groh took the Cavaliers to five bowl games and was ACC Coach of the Year twice, in 2002 and 2007. But Groh was just 1-8 against arch-rival Virginia Tech and hasn't beaten the Hokies since they joined the ACC in 2004. Groh has two years left on his contract and will receive a buyout of over $4 million. Naturally, one now has to ask, will this start the annual coaching carousel? And will Charlie Weis be next at Notre Dame?

- On the flip side, Memphis hired LSU's Larry Porter as its new head coach, replacing the recently-fired Tommy West. Porter had been both the running backs coach and assistant head coach at LSU under Les Miles; Porter also worked under Miles at Oklahoma State. Porter is a former Memphis running back who is widely regarded as one of the best recruiters in the country. It should be interesting to see how he leads the Tigers as they try to restore respectability to their program while trying to find a way into the Big East and the BCS.

- Gotta be excited about Syracuse basketball! The Orange have taken down #12 Cal and #3 North Carolina thus far in this young season and now find themselves up fifteen spots to #9 in the national polls. The team suffered some heavy losses heading into this season but Iowa State transfer Wes Johnson and freshman point guard Brandon Triche have eased those wounds a bit. Looks like Coach Boeheim's got another contender on his hands.

- Baseball's annual Winter Meetings are around the corner. Hopefully this will get the hot stove going after a very slow start to the MLB offseason. It seems that we should expect more trades as opposed to free agent moves this offseason and, of course, Roy Halladay will be the star of the show this winter. Will the Blue Jays finally find a suitable trade partner?

- I know all the NBA focus is on the usual suspects: Cleveland, Boston, San Antonio, Orlando, and the defending champion Lakers. But keep an eye on the Atlanta Hawks, currently at sitting at 12-5, trailing Orlando in the Southeast Division by a game and a half. The Hawks have an exciting and athletic young core including Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Al Horford. Add in the veteran leadership of point guard Mike Bibby and you have what I believe to be a legitimate contender. Perhaps the East is finally catching up the West.

Until next time.

-Meech