First of all, happy new year!
Now, let's talk ball.
When Brian Kelly took the head coaching job at Notre Dame, abandoning his Cincinnati Bearcats in the midst of their Sugar Bowl preparation (They should really either move the national signing date back or mandate a longer dead recruiting period to prevent coaches from jumping ship during the bowl season like this.), we all thought that was the last big move on this year's college football coaching carousel.
Then the wheels came off the bus.
Mark Mangino gets bought out at Kansas. Mike Leach gets canned at Texas Tech. Jim Leavitt finds himself unemployed after being let go by South Florida. Mangino and Leach were the winningest coaches in school history. Leavitt was the only coach South Florida EVER had.
Urban Meyer resigns, comes back, and takes a leave of absence. Pete Carroll, amid the oncoming NCAA investigation, leaves USC and takes his "California Cool" to the Seattle Seahawks. Lane Kiffin, after one mediocre (7-6) year at Tennessee, packs up and takes over for his former boss at USC.
And don't even get me started on the whole Bobby Bowden fiasco at Florida State!
I'm sure by now you've read all the commentary on these departures. So I'm going to look at it from the other side rather than bore you with more analysis, except for some shots on Lane Kiffin, who I still don't like. Let's take a look at the coaches that will be stepping into all these jobs.
I will start with an individual who is slightly detached from all this nonsense: Charlie Strong. Louisville hired one of the most respected defensive minds in the game, in the process making Strong just the fifth African-American head coach at a BCS school. Randy Shannon (Miami), Joker Phillips (Kentucky), Turner Gill (Kansas), and Mike London (Virginia) are the others. Gill and London were just hired this off-season. Strong had been the defensive coordinator at Florida since 2003 with stops at Notre Dame and South Carolina (among others) before that. The 49-year-old Strong is a great hire for Louisville who I believe will clean up the mess left behind by the failed Steve Kragthorpe regime. The Cardinals certainly have the players and the facilities to compete in the Big East and they aren't too far removed from a Big East title and an Orange Bowl appearance in 2007. Strong is also helping his cause by hiring good coaches Mike Sanford (formerly the head coach at UNLV) and Vance Bedford (a Florida colleague) as his coordinators. Strong also took several other Florida assistants with him, taking some of the continuity out Gainesville in the wake of Meyer's leave of absence.
Then there's Kansas, where Turner Gill will step in for Mangino. Gill has spent the last four seasons as the head coach at Buffalo. There, he turned a perennial MAC doormat into a league champion and brought the school its first-ever bowl appearance. While Gill's 20-30 career record is not all that impressive, his work in turning Buffalo into a respectable program is incredible. In the seven seasons before he arrived, the Bulls had won more than two games in a season just once. Gill's second year on the job brought them a share of the MAC Eastern Division title followed the next year by the outright MAC title and a bowl game. Gill brings considerable knowledge of the Big XII to the job, having spent four years as a player at Nebraska and another twelve in Lincoln as an assistant coach. I get the feeling that with some better players in place, Gill can only continue to climb up the ladder. And a little tidbit, Gill is the first African-American coach in Big XII history.
Texas Tech decided to go the established route, hiring former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville as the 14th coach in program history. If you remember, I wrote a column last year defending Tuberville and severely chastising Auburn for dismissing him (Check out that column for more details on Tuberville's resume.). I think this is a dynamite hire for Tech; although, I still believe Tuberville will have a difficult time leaping Texas, Oklahoma, and, perhaps, Oklahoma State. Plus, I think Tuberville would've had more success in South Florida.
Then, there's Skip Holtz at South Florida. Holtz becomes just the second head coach in USF history. Holtz comes in fresh off his second consecutive Conference USA championship at East Carolina. He restored some mid-major luster to an East Carolina program that was 3-22 in its last 25 games before his arrival. It was this stint that has solidified his credibility independent of that of his father Lou. Skip worked under his father at both Notre Dame and South Carolina. I believe Holtz is charismatic enough to take advantage of the vast Florida recruiting pool and with the turmoil at Cincinnati, he easily has a chance to take over the Big East. His biggest challenge will be getting the Bulls to play a full season of ball. This is a team that is notorious for hot starts and meteoric rises in the polls before fizzling out and playing in a second-tier bowl game. I'm not sure if Holtz is the right guy to pull this team out of the doldrums. He has shown great poise at the mid-major level (Remember that UConn was still playing 1-AA ball when he was in charge in Storrs.) but there has been a fair share of bigger jobs his name was in consideration for but never called upon. We shall see how this one develops.
I will sum up the next few moves before moving on to Tennessee. Urban Meyer is a great case study for the dangers that come with this profession. There was a great column in Sports Illustrated about this last week. Brian Kelly has won everywhere he has been but the deck is stacked against him at Notre Dame. They don't have one defensive player who did not look overmatched against bigger foes and their two best offensive players have vanished courtesy of the NFL. The Irish played their softest schedule in years and still couldn't muster a better than .500 finish. Throw in the usually stringent academic requirements along with the lost luster of the ND mystique and Kelly has his work cut out for him. Pete Carroll is an ultra-competitive guy and I have always felt that it was only a matter of time before he went back to the NFL to wash out the sour taste of his previous NFL head-coaching stints in New York and New England.
Then there's Lane Kiffin. I don't know what Kiffin has done to deserve the USC job but he's got it and the fat contract and publicity that go along with it. The Trojan players seem happy for reasons that can't really be denied. Kiffin is a Carroll disciple so there will be a measure of continuity in both the on-field schemes and off-field demeanor. Kiffin is also regarded as an excellent recruiter so bringing in top-flight talent shouldn't be a problem. But this is a guy who won only five games in a season and a half with the Oakland Raiders and then went 7-6 in his one season in Knoxville. His signature "wins" were close losses to Alabama and Florida. Sure, he blew out Georgia and South Carolina but UGA was very down this year and Spurrier's troops in Columbia have never been more than average during his tenure. His top assistants (Ed Orgeron and father Monte) have far more impressive resumes.
The Volunteers will certainly be better off in the long run without Kiffin; however, in the short term, this is a devastating loss. The recruiting period goes live again on Sunday and it's possible the Vols may have lost several of their top commits by then. Jon Gruden preferred to stay with ESPN. Will Muschamp decided he would rather stay at Texas and wait for Mack Brown (who just got a fat new contract) to retire. David Cutcliffe took himself out of the running, saying he would rather finish what he started at Duke. Cutcliffe has done a great job in Durham (and did a good job while at Ole Miss before that and as the offensive coordinator at Tennessee before that). The Blue Devils are 9-15 in his two seasons after winning just 10 games in the previous eight seasons before his hiring. His words may be hollow and well-timed in light of Kiffin's departure but knowing Cutcliffe, I believe these words to be sincere:
"You follow your heart in big decisions. I have a lot of ties and a lot of people that I'm very close to, and a lot of respect for the University of Tennessee, but my heart is here. We've worked very hard these two years to change the culture, to change the team physically. You feel like the job's not done, and in this era, it bothers me, what we do as coaches, moving here and there. This is mid-January. Nothing about that felt right to me as a person."
Former Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley (son of legendary Georgia head coach Vince Dooley) was hired to fill the void in Knoxville. While this may be a good hire and Dooley may be a good football coach, I still find it hard to believe that this is the man Tennessee wanted to fill its head coaching job, a coach who had a sub-.500 record in the WAC. Then again, they rushed into Kiffin last year after a disgraceful dismissal of Phillip Fulmer and then spent the last 14 months defending his absolute idiocy. Only time will tell just how far back the Vols, who have been borderline irrelevant the last few years anyway, have been set back in the ultra-competitive SEC. I don't think it's much of a stretch at this point to say that even the Kentucky Wildcats have leaped over the Vols in the SEC Eastern Division.
See what I mean, just when you thought the coaching carousel was going to be a smooth ride, everything goes topsy-turvy on you.
Some news and notes:
-The New York Mets continue to embarrass themselves as it turns out they had no clue about Carlos Beltran's knee surgery. The back-and-forth between the Mets and Beltran (mostly through agent Scott Boras) is ridiculous. The Mets should just blow up the entire infrastructure of the organization and start over again. We all know manager Jerry Manuel is on borrowed time and general manager Omar Minaya should be too. I don't care how great of a guy he is or how talented of a scout he was. This is still the same guy who traded Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, and Cliff Lee away for Bartolo Colon. Somebody get Bobby Valentine on the phone!
- No comment on the Gilbert Arenas situation.
- Big shoutout to the #5 Syracuse men's basketball team! The Orange moved to 17-1 this weekend with a big win over #9 West Virginia down in Morgantown. Jimmy B's got to be pretty fired up about this squad led by Iowa State transfer and All-America candidate Wes Johnson.
- How loud is the Louisiana Superdome going to be next week??? The New Orleans Saints dispatched the Arizona Cardinals, 45-14, in their NFC Divisional Playoff matchup. Drew Brees and company shook off the rust after Tim Hightower's 70-yard TD run on the first play of the game for Arizona to run roughshod over the Cardinals' defense. And how about Reggie Bush's impressive showing from the 46-yard TD run to the 82-yard punt return TD. He was running with a sense of purpose that I haven't seen since his Heisman Trophy campaign at USC. Bottom line, I don't think there is any city that needs and identifies with its professional sports team more than New Orleans, especially after the Katrina disaster. This will be the Saints' second appearance in the NFC Championship Game in the last four years (and in franchise history). Plus, it will be the first time ever that the Saints have hosted the NFC Title Game. Open up those umbrellas and start dancing, New Orleans, as Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings make their way into town next week.
- And how about Rex Ryan and the New York Jets. The Jets were the only road team to win on Divisional Playoff weekend, sending Norv Turner and the San Diego Chargers home, 17-14. The Jets picked off Philip Rivers twice and scored all their points in the second half. Rookie QB Mark Sanchez minimized his mistakes again and threw a key TD pass to TE Dustin Keller in the fourth quarter to seal the deal. The Jets, with the #1 rushing offense and the #1 overall defense in the league, will be going to Indianapolis to take on the Colts in the AFC Championship Game. Everyone thought Ryan was crazy when he declared the Jets the odds-on favorite and now they are just one win away from the Super Bowl.
- Is anybody besides me really enjoying these "Too Light/Too Heavy" Bud Light commercials?
- Lots of attention has been given to the Chicago Blackhawks as they and their dynamic young core currently sport the NHL's best record. The San Jose Sharks are playing their usually-dominant regular season hockey. But don't overlook the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres lead the Northeast Division and trail the Washington Capitals by just two points for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Goaltender Ryan Miller (the goaltending hope for the Americans in the upcoming Olympics) has been playing lights out with 26 wins (2nd in the league), 2.01 goals against average (2nd), and a .936 save percentage (1st). Keep an eye on this club as the season charges out of the oncoming Olympic break.
- Some big credit to the Florida Marlins for actually spending some money to keep ace Josh Johnson. The 26-year-old right-hander was given a 4-year, $39 million deal. The 6'7" righty went 15-5 with a 3.23 ERA while anchoring the Florida staff last year. Despite the lowest payroll in the league, the Marlins won 87 games and finished just seven games back of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East and five games out of the wild card. Naturally, the contract doesn't have a no-trade clause but you still have to be impressed with Florida spending some money to keep its young core intact for once rather than trading them all away.
- We all know that Kurt Warner is contemplating retirement but how about the news that Ed Reed is doing the same. The 31-year-old Baltimore Ravens safety went through an injury-plagued 2009 and that, coupled with a disappointing 20-3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Divisional Playoffs, has him wondering what's next. Reed has been battling a damaged nerve in his neck among other maladies and says he will seriously re-evalute things in the coming days. Reed possesses the Baltimore franchise record for career interceptions with 46. He is a six-time Pro Bowler and a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Reed is also the only player in NFL history to score a TD by blocking a punt, returning a punt, returning an interception, and returning a fumble.
Until next time.
-Meech
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Sunday, November 29, 2009
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
- 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
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
From one point to another, well, sort of... - 6/3/09
It's been a few weeks now since Greg Paulus formally announced that he would use his final year of eligibility to play football and get his Master's degree at Syracuse. The feedback from many has been less than positive and I just can't understand why. The way I see it, this whole thing is a very low-risk situation for all involved.
Syracuse has been a program in an absolute state of flux for the past four seasons. The Orange's best showing in that span was a 4-8 finish in 2006. Play at the quarterback position has been average at best. Since Donovan McNabb graduated and moved along to the NFL the litany of individuals that has played QB at the 'Cuse reads like a list of "Hey, wait, who is that?" A few samples: Madei Williams, Troy Nunes, Cecil Howard, R.J. Anderson, Perry Patterson, Joe Fields, Matt Hale, Andrew Robinson, Cameron Dantley.
After a spirited first spring under new head coach Doug Marrone, redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib was named the starter. He appears loaded with both a strong arm and plenty of potential but the fact remains that he's still a lightly-regarded redshirt freshman with no experience. Dantley settled in behind him as the #2. Cam may have been the starter last season but save for a few great flashes (i.e. the final three scoring drives at Notre Dame) he is adequate at best. David Legree, the #3, has left school and appears to be headed to Hampton. Cody Catalina & Andrew Robinson are now tight ends. So you could say that depth at the QB position is lacking.
Enter Paulus. The former CBA quarterback was the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2004 before deciding to play basketball at Duke rather than football. Paulus was the favorite son in Central New York and many were heartbroken when he chose the orange basketball over the Orangemen. It seemed so effortless for Paulus, connecting on big pass after big pass with receivers Lavar Lobdell & Bruce Williams, both of whom would go onto rather non-descript careers with the Orange. Now, nearly five years removed from throwing his last meaningful pass, Paulus is looking to revive what certainly looked like a promising football career.
Critics from all over have weighed in on his decision. Most believe both Paulus and Marrone are crazy. Paulus hasn't touched a football in almost five years. Marrone needs to do something good in his first year on the job before he loses the fan base completely. Many simply hail it as a move out of sheer desperation. But hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.
And that's exactly what makes this whole thing acceptable. Syracuse hasn't appeared in a bowl game since it got waxed by Georgia Tech in the 2004 Champs Sports Bowl (I remember that one all too well.). They haven't had an over-.500 season since winning 10 games in 2001, capped by an Insight Bowl victory over Kansas State. They have been stuck in neutral while the rest of the Big East has leaped ahead in victories, facilities, recruiting, and reputation. So, really, what in the world do the Orange have to lose?
If Paulus shows all the rust that has accumulated since his CBA days and falls flat on his face, so what. No one is expecting a miracle and he can't be any worse than what Syracuse fans have seen for the last several years. But what if he doesn't fail? What if he finds his arm to be fresh and full of life? What if he summons that moxie from the court and brings it back to the huddle? What if the move turns out to be a home run?
One thing is for sure, people around the country are talking about Syracuse football. Marrone, the SU alum, has made quite an impact in his first few months on the job. He is bringing back the great traditions that used to be staples of the Orange program. He's changing the attitude surrounding what has become a moribound program. Full contact practices and plenty of competition flowed through the 15 spring practices. Players that don't fit his vision are dropping like flies. And now Paulus joins the fold. There is an undeniable buzz around CNY these days and it's providing hope for a program that once ruled the Big East.
Paulus may not single-handedly lead the Orange past Pitt, West Virginia, South Florida, and the rest of the Big East but he may give the Orange enough buzz to resolidify the foundation of a once-proud and consistent program. And make no mistake about it, Paulus will get every imaginable chance to win the starting job from Nassib in fall practice. The competition should be healthy and encouraging for all. Some will still criticize the move but in my opinion, Syracuse has already won. And any win, no matter how big or small, counts in the Dome.
Some news and notes:
- A couple of crazy games this past weekend in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. Texas & Boston College play the longest game in NCAA history, 25 innings spanning 7 hours & 3 minutes. Texas would win, 3-2, and BC would be sent packing the next day with a 4-3 loss to Army. Florida State then sets NCAA post-season records by racking up an absurd 37 runs, 38 hits, and 66 total bases in a huge victory over Ohio State. Gotta love the unpredictability of college baseball.
- Jon Gruden is replacing Tony Kornheiser on Monday Night Football this upcoming season. It's a win-win situation for everyone. Kornheiser wanted out and can now focus on PTI. Gruden finds work and gets to team up with Ron Jaworski to form an incredible X's and O's duo in the booth that should captivate any and all football fans.
- The Los Angeles Clippers have won the NBA Draft Lottery for the third time in franchise history. All signs point to the Clips taking Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin. Interested to see how this turns out. The Clips hit relatively big in 1988 when they selected Danny Manning but then whiffed big-time 10 years later when they selected Michael Olowokandi with the number one pick.
- New Orleans will host its record-tying 10th Super Bowl in February 2013. It's a capstone moment in the city's recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The city has hosted the Sugar Bowl and the NBA All-Star Game in its recovery efforts and will now get the biggest stage in professional sports to show just how far the Crescent City has come. Congrats to New Orleans on this crowning achievement.
- On the crazy front, it was confirmed that Boston Bruins forward Mark Recchi played in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with kidney stones & broken ribs. The stones were found before Game 4 and not removed until just before Game 7 of Boston's series with Carolina. Gotta love those tough hockey players.
- It's well-known that I've never been a big fan of Tom Brady but after reading his comments in this week's Sports Illustrated, I must say I have a lot more respect for him. Here's a sampling: "Playing ten more years is a big goal of mine...And if I get to that point and still feel good, I'll keep playing. I mean, what the hell else am I going to do? I dno't like anything else...Why would I even think of doing anything else? What would I do instead of run out in front of 80,000 people and command 52 guys and be around guys I consider brothers and be one of the real gladiators?...It's so hard to think of anything that would match what I do: Fly to the moon? Jump out of planes? Bungee-jump off cliffs? None of that s*** matters to me?" How can you not absolutely love that old-school attitude. You don't see enough of that passion in professional sports anymore.
- On the flip side, I have lost some respect for LeBron James after his childish act following the conclusion of the Eastern Conference Finals. After the Orlando Magic ended Cleveland's season and earned their first NBA Finals trip since 1995, LBJ stormed off the court without speaking to anyone or shaking any hands. He then left the locker room silent and left his not-so-great supporting cast to answer all the media inquiries. His excuse was that he's a "competitor" and he shouldn't shake someone's hand after they "beat his brains in." Quite frankly, that's a load of crap. A true competitor is unbowed yet humble in defeat. LeBron was a sore loser who left his teammates hanging, simple as that. He should've been a man, sucked it up, and congratulated Orlando on a well-earned series victory. His defenders will point out that LeBron played incredible ball throughout the series but got zero help from the rest of the Cavs so he had a right to be frustrated. Of course he has the right to be frustrated with the season ending without reaching the ultimate goal and with management refusing to give him any sort of credible help. Look at Carmelo Anthony & the Nuggets after the acquisition of Chauncey Billups. Enough said there. Bottom line, hockey players beat each other up for four, five, six, or seven games in a series yet at the end of the series the two teams line up and go through the traditional handshake line. Even though the dreams of one team are dead, they still show class and humility in defeat, like true competitors. Just another reason the NHL is that much better than the NBA. The only good that may come out of this is that Cavs management will realize that Anderson Varejao, Mo Williams, and Ben Wallace are not the supporting cast LeBron needs to win a title.
- Finally, it's that time...time to announce the 2nd-annual Women's College World Series All-Meech Team, a stellar combination of good looks and great softball players. Oh, and congrats to the Washington Huskies on winning their first NCAA Softball National Championship. Now for this year's All-Meech WCWS Team:
P Danielle Lawrie (Washington)
P Stacey Nelson (Florida) (2nd selection)
P Stacy Delaney (Missouri)
1B Ali Gardiner (Florida)
2B Ashley Charters (Washington)
SS K'Lee Arrendondo (Arizona)
3B Katie Crabb (Arizona State)
C Ashley Holcombe (Alabama)
OF Lauren Schutzler (Arizona) (2nd selection)
OF Brittany Rogers (Alabama) (2nd selection)
OF Francesca Enea (Florida) (2nd selection)
OF Kaitlin Cochran (Arizona State)
OF Jessica Mapes (Arizona State)
UT Megan Gregory (Michigan)
UT Kristin Schnake (Georgia)
UT Krista Donnenwirth (Arizona State)
Until next week.
-Meech
Syracuse has been a program in an absolute state of flux for the past four seasons. The Orange's best showing in that span was a 4-8 finish in 2006. Play at the quarterback position has been average at best. Since Donovan McNabb graduated and moved along to the NFL the litany of individuals that has played QB at the 'Cuse reads like a list of "Hey, wait, who is that?" A few samples: Madei Williams, Troy Nunes, Cecil Howard, R.J. Anderson, Perry Patterson, Joe Fields, Matt Hale, Andrew Robinson, Cameron Dantley.
After a spirited first spring under new head coach Doug Marrone, redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib was named the starter. He appears loaded with both a strong arm and plenty of potential but the fact remains that he's still a lightly-regarded redshirt freshman with no experience. Dantley settled in behind him as the #2. Cam may have been the starter last season but save for a few great flashes (i.e. the final three scoring drives at Notre Dame) he is adequate at best. David Legree, the #3, has left school and appears to be headed to Hampton. Cody Catalina & Andrew Robinson are now tight ends. So you could say that depth at the QB position is lacking.
Enter Paulus. The former CBA quarterback was the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2004 before deciding to play basketball at Duke rather than football. Paulus was the favorite son in Central New York and many were heartbroken when he chose the orange basketball over the Orangemen. It seemed so effortless for Paulus, connecting on big pass after big pass with receivers Lavar Lobdell & Bruce Williams, both of whom would go onto rather non-descript careers with the Orange. Now, nearly five years removed from throwing his last meaningful pass, Paulus is looking to revive what certainly looked like a promising football career.
Critics from all over have weighed in on his decision. Most believe both Paulus and Marrone are crazy. Paulus hasn't touched a football in almost five years. Marrone needs to do something good in his first year on the job before he loses the fan base completely. Many simply hail it as a move out of sheer desperation. But hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.
And that's exactly what makes this whole thing acceptable. Syracuse hasn't appeared in a bowl game since it got waxed by Georgia Tech in the 2004 Champs Sports Bowl (I remember that one all too well.). They haven't had an over-.500 season since winning 10 games in 2001, capped by an Insight Bowl victory over Kansas State. They have been stuck in neutral while the rest of the Big East has leaped ahead in victories, facilities, recruiting, and reputation. So, really, what in the world do the Orange have to lose?
If Paulus shows all the rust that has accumulated since his CBA days and falls flat on his face, so what. No one is expecting a miracle and he can't be any worse than what Syracuse fans have seen for the last several years. But what if he doesn't fail? What if he finds his arm to be fresh and full of life? What if he summons that moxie from the court and brings it back to the huddle? What if the move turns out to be a home run?
One thing is for sure, people around the country are talking about Syracuse football. Marrone, the SU alum, has made quite an impact in his first few months on the job. He is bringing back the great traditions that used to be staples of the Orange program. He's changing the attitude surrounding what has become a moribound program. Full contact practices and plenty of competition flowed through the 15 spring practices. Players that don't fit his vision are dropping like flies. And now Paulus joins the fold. There is an undeniable buzz around CNY these days and it's providing hope for a program that once ruled the Big East.
Paulus may not single-handedly lead the Orange past Pitt, West Virginia, South Florida, and the rest of the Big East but he may give the Orange enough buzz to resolidify the foundation of a once-proud and consistent program. And make no mistake about it, Paulus will get every imaginable chance to win the starting job from Nassib in fall practice. The competition should be healthy and encouraging for all. Some will still criticize the move but in my opinion, Syracuse has already won. And any win, no matter how big or small, counts in the Dome.
Some news and notes:
- A couple of crazy games this past weekend in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. Texas & Boston College play the longest game in NCAA history, 25 innings spanning 7 hours & 3 minutes. Texas would win, 3-2, and BC would be sent packing the next day with a 4-3 loss to Army. Florida State then sets NCAA post-season records by racking up an absurd 37 runs, 38 hits, and 66 total bases in a huge victory over Ohio State. Gotta love the unpredictability of college baseball.
- Jon Gruden is replacing Tony Kornheiser on Monday Night Football this upcoming season. It's a win-win situation for everyone. Kornheiser wanted out and can now focus on PTI. Gruden finds work and gets to team up with Ron Jaworski to form an incredible X's and O's duo in the booth that should captivate any and all football fans.
- The Los Angeles Clippers have won the NBA Draft Lottery for the third time in franchise history. All signs point to the Clips taking Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin. Interested to see how this turns out. The Clips hit relatively big in 1988 when they selected Danny Manning but then whiffed big-time 10 years later when they selected Michael Olowokandi with the number one pick.
- New Orleans will host its record-tying 10th Super Bowl in February 2013. It's a capstone moment in the city's recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The city has hosted the Sugar Bowl and the NBA All-Star Game in its recovery efforts and will now get the biggest stage in professional sports to show just how far the Crescent City has come. Congrats to New Orleans on this crowning achievement.
- On the crazy front, it was confirmed that Boston Bruins forward Mark Recchi played in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with kidney stones & broken ribs. The stones were found before Game 4 and not removed until just before Game 7 of Boston's series with Carolina. Gotta love those tough hockey players.
- It's well-known that I've never been a big fan of Tom Brady but after reading his comments in this week's Sports Illustrated, I must say I have a lot more respect for him. Here's a sampling: "Playing ten more years is a big goal of mine...And if I get to that point and still feel good, I'll keep playing. I mean, what the hell else am I going to do? I dno't like anything else...Why would I even think of doing anything else? What would I do instead of run out in front of 80,000 people and command 52 guys and be around guys I consider brothers and be one of the real gladiators?...It's so hard to think of anything that would match what I do: Fly to the moon? Jump out of planes? Bungee-jump off cliffs? None of that s*** matters to me?" How can you not absolutely love that old-school attitude. You don't see enough of that passion in professional sports anymore.
- On the flip side, I have lost some respect for LeBron James after his childish act following the conclusion of the Eastern Conference Finals. After the Orlando Magic ended Cleveland's season and earned their first NBA Finals trip since 1995, LBJ stormed off the court without speaking to anyone or shaking any hands. He then left the locker room silent and left his not-so-great supporting cast to answer all the media inquiries. His excuse was that he's a "competitor" and he shouldn't shake someone's hand after they "beat his brains in." Quite frankly, that's a load of crap. A true competitor is unbowed yet humble in defeat. LeBron was a sore loser who left his teammates hanging, simple as that. He should've been a man, sucked it up, and congratulated Orlando on a well-earned series victory. His defenders will point out that LeBron played incredible ball throughout the series but got zero help from the rest of the Cavs so he had a right to be frustrated. Of course he has the right to be frustrated with the season ending without reaching the ultimate goal and with management refusing to give him any sort of credible help. Look at Carmelo Anthony & the Nuggets after the acquisition of Chauncey Billups. Enough said there. Bottom line, hockey players beat each other up for four, five, six, or seven games in a series yet at the end of the series the two teams line up and go through the traditional handshake line. Even though the dreams of one team are dead, they still show class and humility in defeat, like true competitors. Just another reason the NHL is that much better than the NBA. The only good that may come out of this is that Cavs management will realize that Anderson Varejao, Mo Williams, and Ben Wallace are not the supporting cast LeBron needs to win a title.
- Finally, it's that time...time to announce the 2nd-annual Women's College World Series All-Meech Team, a stellar combination of good looks and great softball players. Oh, and congrats to the Washington Huskies on winning their first NCAA Softball National Championship. Now for this year's All-Meech WCWS Team:
P Danielle Lawrie (Washington)
P Stacey Nelson (Florida) (2nd selection)
P Stacy Delaney (Missouri)
1B Ali Gardiner (Florida)
2B Ashley Charters (Washington)
SS K'Lee Arrendondo (Arizona)
3B Katie Crabb (Arizona State)
C Ashley Holcombe (Alabama)
OF Lauren Schutzler (Arizona) (2nd selection)
OF Brittany Rogers (Alabama) (2nd selection)
OF Francesca Enea (Florida) (2nd selection)
OF Kaitlin Cochran (Arizona State)
OF Jessica Mapes (Arizona State)
UT Megan Gregory (Michigan)
UT Kristin Schnake (Georgia)
UT Krista Donnenwirth (Arizona State)
Until next week.
-Meech
Monday, May 4, 2009
A three-day affair?... - 5/4/09
Word leaked last week that the National Football League is investigating the possibility of turning the Draft into a three-day event. The first round would be in primetime on Thursday night, with the second and third rounds on Friday night, and rounds four thru seven on Saturday. This is another one of Commissioner Roger Goodell's out-of-the-norm suggestions, right up there with the 17 or 18-game regular season and the moving of both the Pro Bowl & Super Bowl. We'll start with the Draft, though.
I'm not really sure what this possible move is going to do for television ratings. ESPN has been broadcasting the Draft since 1980 with plenty of success. Mel Kiper has given birth to "draftniks" everywhere and millions of people have capitalized on the Draft's exposure, creating a whole business culture around the seminal NFL event of the spring. It seems like everyone who has an opinion about football publishes an annual Draft guide and the NFL Scouting Combine has become a five-day tour-de-force. With all this in mind I really don't know how much higher the ratings will climb as millions of people already faithfully tune in to ESPN on the final Saturday in April to see who ends up where.
Come to think of it, this whole three-day Draft might actually hurt the league. Now, I do agree that the first round can be an event unto itself. With the time between picks shortened from fifteen to ten minutes, this year's first round took just three hours and twenty-three minutes, the fastest first round since 1990 when the league had four less teams. That makes for a perfect 7:30-11:00pm primetime slot for a Thursday night event. Plus, most of the reality programming giants schedule their programming from Monday-Wednesday, giving ESPN & the NFL an entire uncontested evening to showcase their products.
The hurt comes after the first round. I can't imagine common fans being interested after the first round. Most common fans (and that's who this initiative is aimed it) will stay tuned for the second round because it immediately follows the first round on Saturday. And I'm willing to bet that many of those common fans don't even bother turning on the television at 10am Sunday to watch rounds three thru seven. I fear that if the NFL does indeed spread the Draft over three days, it may become all about the Day One headlines while the rest of the Draft becomes nothing more than an afterthought.
Football addicts (like me) already watch the entire Draft from start to finish so this change really doesn't affect us. This whole move actually reminds me of Vince McMahon (and not just because I enjoy the WWE). You see, Vince knows that the die-hard wrestling fans will always watch and invest in his product no matter what he puts out there. So he tries to make changes that will appeal more to the common fan and maybe bring on pieces of a new audience. He does this because no matter how much the die-hard fans may hate what he's doing, we'll still tune in every Monday, Friday, and pay-per-view. I feel like Goodell is doing the exact same thing. He knows that the real football fans will watch anything with the NFL logo slapped onto it. This is a move designed to purely bring in new fans and streamline the product for those still not in love with or aware of the NFL and its products. The first round will be a great event but I just don't think the three-day spread is worthwhile.
As for the draft moving to different cities, I am actually 100% in favor of that. Every city with an NFL team has tremendous passion for the game and fans of all teams make the trek to New York City every year. I think it would be a nice reward (like choosing the site of an All-Star Game) for some of the other fans to be able to host the Draft and really add their own flavor to it. This could definitely change the appearance of the event as the pre-Draft parties and Draft Day itself would take on some traits of the city they are in, like the atmosphere of Super Bowl Week.
I'm not gung-ho on the 17 or 18-game regular season, though. I agree that pre-season games are not worth paying regular-season ticket prices but that doesn't mean we can get rid of them altogether. Coaches still need some of those games to determine who is going to fill those last few roster spots, step up on special teams, or win a fierce position battle. The pre-season isn't about the stars. The solution is just to cut one or two pre-season games while not adding regular-season games. Don't get me wrong, people are going to watch the additional regular-season games no matter what. But now the chances of players getting hurt is even higher and it is very possible that an extra game or two in an already-taxing regular season could hurt the NFL's postseason product, which would be devastating to all involved.
Goodell would be wise to use NASCAR as a cautionary tale. Earlier this decade, NASCAR found a sudden surge of popularity. Their answer to this was to give the people more of what they wanted. So the powers-that-be expanded the race schedule, added new tracks in non-traditional NASCAR locales, and stretched out their drivers to the point of exhaustion. Now NASCAR is considering taking a few races off the schedule and is staring down some serious financial and sponsorship issues. No sport, not even the mighty NFL, is recession-proof.
Oh, one other thing. The Pro Bowl is the most useless of the four major All-Star Games. Football just doesn't translate into a glorified exhibition. Here's an idea. Why not make the Pro Bowl a flag football game? Or just make an All-NFL Team at the end of season, like college football has their All-American selections? Just saying.
Some news & notes:
- Two NBA first-round contests went to a Game 7 and both were in the East. The Atlanta/Miami series was not as close as you would think despite going the distance. Every game was a blowout, a double-digit win for the victorious team. Meanwhile, the Boston/Chicago series was every bit as thrilling as you would expect a 7-game series to be. The teams traded scintillating wins and four of the series' seven contests went to overtime, an NBA playoff record. The four second-round matchups look to be exciting. Keep on eye on those Denver Nuggets. They easily dispatched Dallas in Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinal series and look poised to keep doing big things. Carmelo must really be thanking his lucky stars for bringing him Chauncey Billups.
- Brett Favre should stay retired. Enough said about that one.
- Congratulations to former Syracuse head football coach Dick MacPherson on being selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. MacPherson had a 66-46-4 record during his time on The Hill, from 1981-1990. His best year was the undefeated season of 1987, which ended with a Sugar Bowl tie against Auburn. He also laid the foundation for the program that one of his assistants, Paul Pasqualoni, would take over and then guide to 107 wins, including six bowl victories. I had the pleasure of working with Coach Mac during my four years at Syracuse. He is a great football coach and a great man who absolutely deserves this honor. Congrats again, Coach.
- Mine That Bird, a 51-to-1 longshot took home the win in the Kentucky Derby this past Saturday. Only Donerail in 1913 won the Derby with longer odds. Now, the horse's handlers are saying Mine That Bird is no sure bet to run the Preakness. This would be a huge blow to the sport of thoroughbred racing. It is only truly relevant for one glorious six-week period every year when the Triple Crown races are contested. If Mine That Bird doesn't even try for the Triple Crown and sits out the Preakness, I get the feeling no one will care about Pimlico or Belmont this year.
- I wonder how the Mets must feel as they watch Oliver Perez struggle right now. They refused to pay Derek Lowe an extra $4 million total on top of their initial contract offer. Instead, they gave Perez a 3-year, $36 million deal to fill the rotation behind Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, and John Maine. Well, Lowe is 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA, 28 K's, and just 14 walks in 35 and 2/3 innings. Perez, meanwhile, has allowed 49 baserunners (21 walks & 28 hits) in just 21 and 2/3 innings. His ERA is an abysmal 9.97. He's headed to one of three places: the bullpen, the minors, or the disabled list. Way to go, Omar Minaya, way to go.
- 47-year-old defenceman Chris Chelios became the second-oldest player ever to appear in an NHL postseason game. Chelios dressed for Game 1 of Detroit's Western Conference Semifinal series due to an injury to star defenceman & power-play point man Brian Rafalski. Chelios is a 3-time Norris Trophy winner and has 24 years of postseason experience to his credit. See, experience does go a long way in postseason play.
- Keep an eye on the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Minnesota Twins this month. The Dodgers have raced out to a 10-0 start at home, the best in franchise history, and have an incredible young core of homegrown talent that includes Russell Martin, James Loney, Matt Kemp, & Chad Billingsley. The Twins finally have their heart and soul, catcher Joe Mauer, back in the lineup and healthy again. Minnesota is a very different team with Mauer out there and there is no clear front-runner in the AL Central.
- And pay attention to the Vancouver/Chicago series in the NHL's Western Conference Semifinals. Both of these teams are loaded with young, high-flying talent. This series has the potential to go the distance and will be filled with heavy hitting, fast skating, and lots of goals.
- Finally, Coach Meech actually has two posts today. The post following this one is a venting exercise for me regarding the Devils' Game 7 defeat in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series last Tuesday. If you want to read about my love of Jersey's Team and the sadness accompanying the end of the Devils' season then check it out. But if you're not a hockey fan, I would suggest stopping here until the next post.
Until next time.
-Meech
-
I'm not really sure what this possible move is going to do for television ratings. ESPN has been broadcasting the Draft since 1980 with plenty of success. Mel Kiper has given birth to "draftniks" everywhere and millions of people have capitalized on the Draft's exposure, creating a whole business culture around the seminal NFL event of the spring. It seems like everyone who has an opinion about football publishes an annual Draft guide and the NFL Scouting Combine has become a five-day tour-de-force. With all this in mind I really don't know how much higher the ratings will climb as millions of people already faithfully tune in to ESPN on the final Saturday in April to see who ends up where.
Come to think of it, this whole three-day Draft might actually hurt the league. Now, I do agree that the first round can be an event unto itself. With the time between picks shortened from fifteen to ten minutes, this year's first round took just three hours and twenty-three minutes, the fastest first round since 1990 when the league had four less teams. That makes for a perfect 7:30-11:00pm primetime slot for a Thursday night event. Plus, most of the reality programming giants schedule their programming from Monday-Wednesday, giving ESPN & the NFL an entire uncontested evening to showcase their products.
The hurt comes after the first round. I can't imagine common fans being interested after the first round. Most common fans (and that's who this initiative is aimed it) will stay tuned for the second round because it immediately follows the first round on Saturday. And I'm willing to bet that many of those common fans don't even bother turning on the television at 10am Sunday to watch rounds three thru seven. I fear that if the NFL does indeed spread the Draft over three days, it may become all about the Day One headlines while the rest of the Draft becomes nothing more than an afterthought.
Football addicts (like me) already watch the entire Draft from start to finish so this change really doesn't affect us. This whole move actually reminds me of Vince McMahon (and not just because I enjoy the WWE). You see, Vince knows that the die-hard wrestling fans will always watch and invest in his product no matter what he puts out there. So he tries to make changes that will appeal more to the common fan and maybe bring on pieces of a new audience. He does this because no matter how much the die-hard fans may hate what he's doing, we'll still tune in every Monday, Friday, and pay-per-view. I feel like Goodell is doing the exact same thing. He knows that the real football fans will watch anything with the NFL logo slapped onto it. This is a move designed to purely bring in new fans and streamline the product for those still not in love with or aware of the NFL and its products. The first round will be a great event but I just don't think the three-day spread is worthwhile.
As for the draft moving to different cities, I am actually 100% in favor of that. Every city with an NFL team has tremendous passion for the game and fans of all teams make the trek to New York City every year. I think it would be a nice reward (like choosing the site of an All-Star Game) for some of the other fans to be able to host the Draft and really add their own flavor to it. This could definitely change the appearance of the event as the pre-Draft parties and Draft Day itself would take on some traits of the city they are in, like the atmosphere of Super Bowl Week.
I'm not gung-ho on the 17 or 18-game regular season, though. I agree that pre-season games are not worth paying regular-season ticket prices but that doesn't mean we can get rid of them altogether. Coaches still need some of those games to determine who is going to fill those last few roster spots, step up on special teams, or win a fierce position battle. The pre-season isn't about the stars. The solution is just to cut one or two pre-season games while not adding regular-season games. Don't get me wrong, people are going to watch the additional regular-season games no matter what. But now the chances of players getting hurt is even higher and it is very possible that an extra game or two in an already-taxing regular season could hurt the NFL's postseason product, which would be devastating to all involved.
Goodell would be wise to use NASCAR as a cautionary tale. Earlier this decade, NASCAR found a sudden surge of popularity. Their answer to this was to give the people more of what they wanted. So the powers-that-be expanded the race schedule, added new tracks in non-traditional NASCAR locales, and stretched out their drivers to the point of exhaustion. Now NASCAR is considering taking a few races off the schedule and is staring down some serious financial and sponsorship issues. No sport, not even the mighty NFL, is recession-proof.
Oh, one other thing. The Pro Bowl is the most useless of the four major All-Star Games. Football just doesn't translate into a glorified exhibition. Here's an idea. Why not make the Pro Bowl a flag football game? Or just make an All-NFL Team at the end of season, like college football has their All-American selections? Just saying.
Some news & notes:
- Two NBA first-round contests went to a Game 7 and both were in the East. The Atlanta/Miami series was not as close as you would think despite going the distance. Every game was a blowout, a double-digit win for the victorious team. Meanwhile, the Boston/Chicago series was every bit as thrilling as you would expect a 7-game series to be. The teams traded scintillating wins and four of the series' seven contests went to overtime, an NBA playoff record. The four second-round matchups look to be exciting. Keep on eye on those Denver Nuggets. They easily dispatched Dallas in Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinal series and look poised to keep doing big things. Carmelo must really be thanking his lucky stars for bringing him Chauncey Billups.
- Brett Favre should stay retired. Enough said about that one.
- Congratulations to former Syracuse head football coach Dick MacPherson on being selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. MacPherson had a 66-46-4 record during his time on The Hill, from 1981-1990. His best year was the undefeated season of 1987, which ended with a Sugar Bowl tie against Auburn. He also laid the foundation for the program that one of his assistants, Paul Pasqualoni, would take over and then guide to 107 wins, including six bowl victories. I had the pleasure of working with Coach Mac during my four years at Syracuse. He is a great football coach and a great man who absolutely deserves this honor. Congrats again, Coach.
- Mine That Bird, a 51-to-1 longshot took home the win in the Kentucky Derby this past Saturday. Only Donerail in 1913 won the Derby with longer odds. Now, the horse's handlers are saying Mine That Bird is no sure bet to run the Preakness. This would be a huge blow to the sport of thoroughbred racing. It is only truly relevant for one glorious six-week period every year when the Triple Crown races are contested. If Mine That Bird doesn't even try for the Triple Crown and sits out the Preakness, I get the feeling no one will care about Pimlico or Belmont this year.
- I wonder how the Mets must feel as they watch Oliver Perez struggle right now. They refused to pay Derek Lowe an extra $4 million total on top of their initial contract offer. Instead, they gave Perez a 3-year, $36 million deal to fill the rotation behind Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, and John Maine. Well, Lowe is 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA, 28 K's, and just 14 walks in 35 and 2/3 innings. Perez, meanwhile, has allowed 49 baserunners (21 walks & 28 hits) in just 21 and 2/3 innings. His ERA is an abysmal 9.97. He's headed to one of three places: the bullpen, the minors, or the disabled list. Way to go, Omar Minaya, way to go.
- 47-year-old defenceman Chris Chelios became the second-oldest player ever to appear in an NHL postseason game. Chelios dressed for Game 1 of Detroit's Western Conference Semifinal series due to an injury to star defenceman & power-play point man Brian Rafalski. Chelios is a 3-time Norris Trophy winner and has 24 years of postseason experience to his credit. See, experience does go a long way in postseason play.
- Keep an eye on the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Minnesota Twins this month. The Dodgers have raced out to a 10-0 start at home, the best in franchise history, and have an incredible young core of homegrown talent that includes Russell Martin, James Loney, Matt Kemp, & Chad Billingsley. The Twins finally have their heart and soul, catcher Joe Mauer, back in the lineup and healthy again. Minnesota is a very different team with Mauer out there and there is no clear front-runner in the AL Central.
- And pay attention to the Vancouver/Chicago series in the NHL's Western Conference Semifinals. Both of these teams are loaded with young, high-flying talent. This series has the potential to go the distance and will be filled with heavy hitting, fast skating, and lots of goals.
- Finally, Coach Meech actually has two posts today. The post following this one is a venting exercise for me regarding the Devils' Game 7 defeat in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series last Tuesday. If you want to read about my love of Jersey's Team and the sadness accompanying the end of the Devils' season then check it out. But if you're not a hockey fan, I would suggest stopping here until the next post.
Until next time.
-Meech
-
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