Richland Chronicle

Look Smithers, Dabo is coming.

2008-10-16T14:37:00.002-04:00

Throw out the fact that college football is out of control. Throw out the fact that it has become big business. Throw out the fact that intercollegiate athletics at the highest level is as much about student athlete as politics is about public service. Throw out the fact that it is win or go home, that coaches are paid more than the President, and that graduation rates, clean recruiting practices, and minimal off the field problems mean absolutely nothing if you do not meet expectations.

Throwing all of that out, Clemson did the right thing. Not only did they do the right thing, they did the shrewd thing. Now, the shrewd thing is not always the least expensive thing, but it is still the best way to go for all business decisions. And that is what this was, a business decision.

Anyone who watched Clemson play Wake could see very easily that this team was lost. The comments of some players only speak further to the fact that the team was fractured. When that happens, it's time to move on, and move on quickly. (And by the way Cullen Harper, you meant what you said, so don’t try to backpedal. Perhaps you and your dad need to think about the fact that the guy did give you a scholarship to a reputable university and the opportunity to play Division I football. Whatever your opinions are, you should confine them to the locker room and not text them to an ESPN reporter. One of the first rules of team is to keep everything in the locker room. Just as when players are suspended “for violating team policy” and the coach doesn’t come out and say what really happened.)

What Clemson did is allow themselves to be on the market before anyone else is. Interested coaches will now have their agents talk to Clemson. The negotiation process can begin without distraction. Clemson can position themselves with prospective coaches much earlier than other schools in their boat.

By placing Swinney in charge, the recruiting will largely be unaffected. At the most, they will lose a couple kids. Swinney is the recruiting guy anyway and with Scott still around, most of the recruiting contacts will remain intact.

In the meantime, Clemson is in the garden spot. If Swinney does well, they keep him and keep most of the staff in place without losing continuity. If he does poorly, they make use of the networking they build from now until season’s end to find a replacement – who will probably keep Swinney. It’s truly a win win situation.

The only thing that can hurt Clemson is if they go into a total nosedive that affects recruiting. Also, if Tennessee and Auburn are looking for a coach at the end of the year, they may be in danger of getting third pick. But even taking all of that into account, all of those alternatives are better than where they were.

Oh, and if you get the headline reference, you’re a sick person.

Parity and college football

2008-10-14T10:56:00.002-04:00

As college football fans, we see it every week - games that make everyone scratch their heads. “How did they beat them?” Perhaps more importantly, “how did they cover?” Very slowly, college football has turned into the NFL, where any team can truly beat any other team. Case in point: look at all the betting lines for NFL games. Rarely do you see one over 8 points. Just as parity has consumed the NFL, it has crept into the college game as well. For the NFL, the defining moments were free agency and the salary cap. So what gives with the college game? Here’s a few guesses:

1. Talent everywhere – In the NFL, there is not a huge gap between the most talented and least talented football teams. Granted, this is not quite the case in the college game. For instance, there is certainly a tremendous talent gap between Texas and say, Syracuse. However, the gaps between the top level teams and the mid level teams are not that significant. As to why, one could point to the number of good high school players. As football has exploded in popularity, more kids are playing it in school. Other than cross country and swimming, football does not have to compete with any other fall sports. With the pool of good players increasing and scholarship limitations, the midlevel schools have more quality players to choose from.

2. Coaching talent everywhere – This is simple economics. Salaries for football coaches are sky rocketing out of control. With more money to be made, more talented people are staying in the profession. Good coaches plus good players equals good football teams.

3. Cable TV – Thirty years ago, the top level schools could get a lot of talented kids by pointing to the fact that they will get more exposure because their team was on TV all the time. Enter ESPN and the rest of the networks. Football is everywhere. You would almost have to try to not get on TV. Saturday, I watched Wofford play Chattanooga. Thirty years ago, kids wanted to go to Notre Dame and Alabama because they were always on TV. Now, kids are exposed to every team via television. That, and they know the NFL will find them no matter where they are. Listen to those NFL player introductions when guys say where they are from. Division II, I-AA, the Patriot League, etc.

4. The spread offense – Three yards and a cloud of dust is no longer the norm. Having a 220 pound tailback is great, but I watched Oregon State beat USC with a guy shorter than me. Florida plays a back that is less than 170 pounds. Quarterbacks can throw just as well as they can run. A bad day by your defense can equal a lot of points in a hurry.

5. Speed up rule changes – This is simple math. Let’s say Oklahoma plays Indiana. Blowout, right? Well what if you made the game four 3 minute quarters. Now Indiana has a decent shot. If Oklahoma turns the ball over just one time, that might be all Indiana needs. Both teams would get four possessions, max. Now change the game again – eight 15 minute quarters. Indiana has no chance. Oklahoma just wears them down, and depth becomes a huge factor. Bottom line – the shorter the game, the better chance for the underdog.

The next logical question is whether this is good for college football. In my opinion, it is. The “you never know” aspect of the NFL is one reason it has become so popular. Fans of lesser teams will always think they’re one year away from a great season. And then there is the sheer entertainment aspect of the Cinderella upset. (Just look at the NCAA tournament). Everyone loves the underdog.

An APB for a coach from the past

2008-09-30T12:58:00.002-04:00

If you read the message boards (and if you don’t, good for you), Tiger nation is ticked off. Most of Orangeville could have lived with the bad loss to Alabama after they watched the Tide dismantle everyone else on their way to the top ten. But losing to Maryland, at home, being an 11 point favorite, blowing an eleven point lead, and looking like they could score a hundred in the first quarter of the game – that has proven to be too much.

Tommy again finds himself on the hot seat – a familiar spot. Every year Clemson has talent everywhere, and every year no conference title. True, the ACC is still in their grasp, but trips to Wake, FSU, and BC loom in the future. Not to mention a very interesting game against Georgia Tech. So the question remains: is it time for Tommy to go? I say that it is, and Clemson should look in their not too distant past for his replacement.

Let’s be honest - Clemson football needs to go back to its roots. It’s time for Tiger Town to bring back the coach that knew about having a power running game. It’s time to bring in the coach that knew about hard nosed defense and orange jerseys that were too short to tuck in your pants. It’s time to bring in the coach that believed in option football and having a quarterback that could take a hit. It’s time to bring in the coach that wears a hat on the sidelines and looks like he just finished the night shift at the mill. It’s time to bring in a coach that knows how to take Clemson to New Year’s Day bowls, win the ACC, and spit while he calls plays.

So dig him out of retirement, give him an orange hat, and let him call dive option until he’s hoarse. That’s right, it’s time to bring back Ken Hatfield.

Grumble all you want Tiger folk, Clemson hasn’t won the ACC since he left. And I can assure you Davis and Spiller would get the ball every play. Good thing Clemson ran him out of town.

I wonder what Charlie Pell is up to these days?

You know what's a tough play to stop?

2008-09-24T15:08:00.003-04:00

9:00 am – Wake up for second round Ryder Cup action. Cink and Campbell look a bit shaky.

9:30 – Breakfast is contemplated.

10:00 – I think Jimenez misses playing with Sergio.

11:00 – Restate my weekly predictions that Florida State is good, Carolina will blow out Wofford, Auburn will barely score a point against LSU, and Georgia may still have a hangover after last week.

11:30 – Wonder where Lou got his medical degree.

12:00 p.m. – Breakfast remains a pipe dream.

12:30 – For a bad football team, N.C. State sure is on TV a lot.

12:45 – I highly recommend the Piggly Wiggly Deli pork chop – but only if you have the teeth of a mountain lion.

1:00 – Receive first phone call about a ride to the game. Naturally, the time that I’m planning on leaving doesn’t suit. No matter what time you say you’re going to a game, it’s always too late or too early.

2:00 – When does Mississippi State come back on the schedule?

3:00 – I hate it when Ron Morris is right. East Carolina is a bit overrated.

3:30 – Georgia Tech will give Clemson all they want.

3:45 – The Americans are starting to look very American in this Ryder Cup.

4:00 – Florida is good. Tebow is good. Maybe they’ll all get the flu when Carolina has to play them.

4:15 – North Carolina has a huge football team.

4:30 – Despite the fact that I have bought 78 tubes of Chapstick in the past year, I can not find any.

5:00 – Tell all who will listen about my predictions for the night games. I sure know a lot about football.

5:15 – Depart for game. Make a pit stop for Chapstick. I’m officially addicted.

5:30 – Drive by Barnes and Noble where they are handing out Wofford tickets to use as bookmarks.

5:45 – Arrive at game. Someone is parked in my spot. I inquire to the management about how that happened, only to get “Yeah that will happen around here.” I wonder what a cab ride would cost to the game?

6:00 – Take part in the first fourteen person tailgate to not have a TV. Ryder Cup, Florida, North Carolina – I might as well be on the moon.

6:30 – Observe a man on a bicycle start his own personal Game-cocks cheer as he rides through the parking lot.

7:00 – Why is Carolina now late coming out for 2001?

7:10 – Gamecocks are still average at quarterback.

7:20 - Man is quite pleased with himself for his Smelley stinks pun.

7:30 – Seventeen jillion dollars in stadium upgrades and I still can’t get a score from any other game. Why can’t there just be a scroll ticker going constantly?

7:35 – We’re going to lose to Wofford.

7:45 – I listen to a man explain to an 8 year old child what a fair catch is. Don’t they cover this stuff in school?

8:00 – There’s that option again.

8:10 – Pre halftime discussion revolves around how to get from West Club to South Lower. My simple directions fall on deaf ears.

8:20 – Look, I love America as much as the next guy, and fine if you want to do a salute to America halftime, but can we dig up some new props? The flags are so old that they have 48 stars on them.

8:40 – The most important defensive stop of the season occurs in the first part of the second half.

8:45 – The same man explains to the same child what a PSL is.

8:55 – Maddux and Baker look like they have a little wiggle to them.

9:05 – Ayers has lost his mind. Three pass plays – three and out. Did he watch the first half?

9:15 - Literally no one around me is paying any attention to the game. Most people might as well be at a grade school dance recital during the parts that don’t involve their relatives.

9:30 – I finally exhale as Carolina scores to make it 23 – 13. Why do I come to these things?

10:00 – Try to make a mad dash out of the parking lot. Someone gets out of my car to mix a liquor drink from my trunk. I’m buying a smaller car.

10:30 – Get home to watch the last two minutes of LSU-Auburn and UGA-ASU. I sure am smart.

10:45 – Why is there no Pac-10 game on TV? How am I supposed to sleep?

11:00 – How much is that UAB pay-per-view?

They might not be terrible

2008-09-16T14:34:00.001-04:00

First off, let me say that I am not an optimist about anything, especially Carolina. I am quick to criticize fans for running around spouting high expectations every year. And I am always the first to be critical of the football team. So for me to say they’re not terrible is quite a statement. Dare I even suggest that I have a little bit of hope for these guys. Here’s why:

For one, they did just about everything to improve themselves that I suggested last week, with the exception of one thing: they insist on running the damn zone play. Junior was back in the box, Daddy called most of the game, and they tried to play a little Beamer Ball (which can be really tough to do when you can’t run it). Despite the mere seven points, there was some progress. The offensive line did a good job with protection, Smelley looked like he had a clue, and Moe Brown showed up.

Defensively, they held two Heismann candidates to pedestrian numbers and they played with a lot of effort. More importantly, the team looked like they have grown a bit of a backbone. With three and half minutes left (after the offense misfired on fourth and two), Georgia got the ball needing one first down. They didn’t get it. For me, that was evidence of a team that had not thrown in the towel. That’s a good sign. (It will be interesting to see if any other team holds Moreno under 80 yards.)

I gleaned more reasons to be encouraged from Spurrier’s press conference today. For one, he mentioned that they might stop running “that little base play” (code for zone play) and start running it at people. That is wonderful news. Second, he had little complaints about the effort of his football team. Still not the smartest bunch, but they are flying around. Third, Meredith is moving to guard and King will go to tackle (you have no idea how good that news is).

Fourth, someone else will get a look at running back. I have nothing against Mike Davis, but he is hardly a dynamic back. Let some of these young guys that have a little burst get in there. The problem with Davis is that he makes no one miss and he is not that fast. When Carolina does block a play correctly, Davis barrels ahead for four or five yards instead of nine or ten. Go back and look at the first three games on tape. Throw out the zone plays (I know I keep harping on this, but you have no idea how bad they are at blocking it). Look at the sprint draws and isolation plays. There are decent holes there. It is time to get a back that can hit them with a burst and make a guy miss. Instant running game.

But we shall see. If the offense scores in bunches the next couple weeks, get excited. This season may not be over.

Is Clemson any good?

2008-09-15T13:10:00.002-04:00

And I mean that as a serious question. Before the season started, I would have bet even money that the Tigers would walk away with the ACC crown. Now, I’m not sure that they can even win their own division. True enough, they have won two in a row after Alabama made them look like a JV team. But, after three games, it is clear to see that this team has some problems.

Clemson’s mere 27 points against N.C. State is like a neon sign that this offense isn’t quite the sleek scoring machine that everyone thought it would be. Three games have revealed their biggest weakness on offense – up front. Most Tiger fans have complained that Thunder and Lightening don’t get the ball enough. After watching them Saturday, I’m not sure that is the solution. These guys are not exactly stellar blockers at the moment. Against a good defense, just handing the ball off to the backs may not provide enough offense.

On the other side of the ball, Clemson is struggling to stop people. Even if you throw out the Alabama game as a fluke, Clemson gave up 400 yards of offense to the Citadel, and almost 300 to the worst offense in Division I football (the Gamecocks being number 2). And before Tiger fans point out that Citadel was throwing the ball because they were playing from behind, note that the Cadets had 200 yards of passing at halftime.

Meanwhile, Wake has looked pretty good in its two games. Riley Skinner is the best quarterback in the conference. The Wake defense, however, has not shown itself deserving of some of its preseason hype.

Quietly lurking in the weeds are the Florida State Seminoles. You probably have written off their two lopsided wins over Western Carolina and Chattanooga. You shouldn’t. The Noles held both teams to around 150 yards of offense while scoring points by the bucket load. The low profile Noles get their chance to make a statement against the Deacs this Saturday. Perhaps the elder Bowden has gotten his team back on track. From the looks of it, this division is now a three horse race.

Oh, and with the Terps win against Cal, how interesting is Clemson’s game with the Terrapins? This cake walk schedule Clemson had is now starting to reveal some booby traps.

Here's the problem

2008-09-08T11:17:00.003-04:00

Unfortunately, it’s more than one thing. On Thursday, Carolina looked terrible on the offensive side of the football. While much of it is personnel related, there are a few things that the Ball Coach should consider changing:

1. Put Junior back in the box. I did not notice it during the N.C. State game, but young Spurrier has moved from up top to the sidelines. In this age of college football, not having experienced people in the box can be problematic. They are especially important in reading coverages. Having both Spurriers on the sidelines means the two guys in charge of the passing offense are calling plays without a true picture.

2. Pick someone to run the offense and let him go with it. Although nothing has been said publicly, I think Junior and Daddy are a little at odds. In both games, there has been shifts in the play calling in the second half. Spurrier’s comment in the paper today was telling: “We’re not dead set on the way we’ve been doing things around here.” That sounds like code for an offense operating under two directors. It would be hard enough for the Gamecocks to run one offense, let alone two.

3. Quit asking so much of the quarterbacks and offensive line. Spurrier’s system, at its very heart, calls for down field throws from seven step drops and full field reads. That means you have to be very good in two places: quarterback and offensive line. The Gamecocks are average at both. If you have the two Carolina games on tape, go back and watch each offensive play and put yourself in the shoes of the other team’s defensive linemen. On every play, ask yourself: Would I get myself in trouble by just blindly shooting my gap and sprinting up field? The answer, more than 85% of the time I would bet, is no. When the other team knows that your quarterback is going to take a seven step drop straight back, that’s like a green light at a drag race. It is part of the reason the line has struggled in the past. That, and defensive coordinators can draw up some of the craziest blitzes for those guys to pick up because there is little threat of losing contain on the quarterback. A screen here or there or rolling out would certainly help just to keep the other team honest.

4. Go with what you know. Now I’m going to say the exact opposite. Spurrier knows what Spurrier knows. So they might as well run it with the occasional wrinkle. There have been times in the past where Carolina has looked good doing it – even times without Sidney Rice. Now that Meredith is back, the offensive line play will pick up a bit. And there are ten more games left. If USC goes down, they might as well go down with the Ball Coach calling the plays and teaching what he knows how to teach.

5. Just don’t turn it over. Points off turnovers won the game for Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks may just have to play a little Beamer Ball. Figure out some way to run the ball and try to not let the quarterback get them beat. Unfortunately, teams are going to load the box and force them to throw. There will have to be some throw and catch at some point.

Hopefully, no one will get hurt Saturday. Maybe the defense can keep it from getting ugly. It is way too early in the year for this team to get demoralized.

They did it. Now shut up.

2008-09-03T11:16:00.001-04:00

Well they did it, and now no one can complain about it for four years. “They” being the U.S. basketball team, and “it” being win the gold medal in the Olympics. Their performance was dominant under the direction of Coack K. And now NBA haters will have to bite their tongue when they launch into a criticism of the league.

Crushing the NBA has become fashionable for most sports fans. Calling it “unwatchable” and “boring” is now the thing to say so fans can sound like they know something about basketball. In not winning the gold medal in the 2004 Athens games, the NBA gave these folks even more ammo. Now those people will have to tone down their criticism as America’s team accomplished their mission in China.

Except for a brief scare in the gold medal game against Spain (the current world champion), Team USA blasted the international competition game in, game out. And they did primarily with defense. How about that? A bunch of NBA guys playing lights out defense. Further, they did it with guys like Kobe, Carmello, and Lebron playing team offense. The NBA may be a one-on-one league, but the Redeem Team showed us that these guys still understand team basketball.

So, for the next four years, the NBA may still be unwatchable and boring, but it will be gold medal unwatchable and boring, and all the poor mouthers will have one less thing to complain about. Oh, and by the way poor mouthers: I hope you are just as harsh on the United States Ryder Cup team when Europe hands it to them yet again. The Redeem Team could show those guys a thing or two about what it means to represent your country in a team sport.

I hate Thursdays

2008-08-31T00:58:00.005-04:00

2:15 – Everybody that was looking for tickets on Monday now has four they can’t get rid of. As usual, getting in the game is ten times easier than everyone thinks. A small child rides home from school on his bike using an N.C. State ticket in his spokes to make it sound like a motorcycle.

3:15 – I stop to get gas. An overweight man with a “My Cock is Smelley” t-shirt is buying enough ice to house a family of Eskimos.

4:30 – Eight people call me for a ride to the game. They all want me to get them from work.

5:45 – Depart for game. Set Guinness record for most people ever to ride in a Camry.

6:10 – As usual, I coast into my parking spot. Ingoing traffic is one of the great frauds of Carolina games if you leave at the right time.

6:15 – Man on a cell phone seems angered that I am patiently waiting on him to cross in front of me. I marvel that someone could be in a bad mood before the game.

6:30 – I learn that the only tailgate food is corn chips and sweet tea vodka. For the first time ever, I crave a football game hot dog.

6:45 – My new parking spot does not allow you to throw a football. Somehow, prohibitions against blasting some song about “Carolina” from a no name’s demo CD did not make the rules list.

7:00 – Paige arrives with brownies and chicken strips. I nominate her for preseason all SEC.

7:35 – Enter the stadium. White haired man runs around in a blind rage screaming “This is the SEC baby!” Others look as if this is the first they’ve heard of it and that it’s good news.

8:20 – It becomes very obvious after the first drive that the offensive line is struggling. Sadly, it’s the best they have looked in the first game of the year since Spurrier has been here.

8:25 – Wobbling drunk man is escorted out. His companion looks confused as to why.

8:30 – Norwood is good.

8:35 – Beecher looks more uncomfortable than a choir boy at a strip club.

8:45 – N.C. State is the worst offensive football team since the ’99 Gamecocks.

8:55 – Carolina looks to have potential on defense. Brinkley is not 100%. Sapp replaces him on passing downs and looks good in the process.

9:00 – My prediction of a 6-3 half time is looking good.

9:02 – Apparently all that work the offensive line did in the offseason did not involve learning the snap count.

9:05 – Beecher is trying to break his spring game record for interceptions.

9:08 – Ok, it’s time to stop running the zone play. We are not good at it.

9:10 – Erin Andrews walks across the field.

9:15 – Someone will have to actually score to make it 6-3. I lament not loading up on the under.

9:30 – Succop makes it 3-0. I hope we have a good bullpen.

9:31 – I decide to take a walk around the stadium at half time. Contemplate cornering the market on bottled water and charging five dollars a bottle for it.

9:35 - Launching into a profanity laced tirade about why you don’t play out of conference games against halfway decent opponents when you’re in the SEC, I glare at every sweat soaked Gamecock fan who calls into talk shows wanting to know “why we don’t go somewhere like Oklahoma” so we can play “someone good.” As we all know, a schedule filled with Arkansas, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt needs to be beefed up.

9:40 – Apparently one of the offseason stadium changes was to coat it in lead as I cannot get a cell phone signal anywhere. Somewhere Superman announces that he will be using Williams Brice as a place to survive the next Kryponite scare.

9:50 – The kickoff team is good.

10:00 – Gamecocks have a critical fourth down on offense. Crowd stands up and cheers. Everyone apparently wants to see a fourth false start.

10:05 – Erin Andrews walks across the field.

10:10 – Doctor Number Four is summoned to the East Upper deck. Secretly, I hope it’s for that crazed white haired guy I saw on the ramp yelling “SEC baby.”

10:15 – N.C. State is really bad.

10:20 – I realize that I have sweat off ten pounds.

10:35 – Smelley enters the game and looks like Joe Montana.

10:40 – Carolina stops running the zone play and gets back to sprint draw/play action post. I think Daddy took over the play calling.

10:50 – N.C. State’s center snaps the ball to Cocky on the sideline. Tom O’Brien must have really hated Boston.

11:00 – Most knowledgeable fans I’ve ever sat around. I lament that I will never sit in these seats again.

11:15 – Vanderbilt will give us everything we want.

11:30 – Leave stadium. Pass the biggest, fattest man in a t-shirt constructed for your garden variety 12 year old. Maybe sweating through it will stretch it out.

11:45 – I lament the fact that Paige never stays for the whole game. She, and the chicken fingers, are long gone.

12:00 – Observe a man sitting in the cab of his truck watch his 125 pound girlfriend lift a five gallon bucket of sand into the truck bed.

12:01 – The wet blanket in the group reminds us that we all have to go to work tomorrow.

12:05 – Watch eight people take down the biggest Gamecock flag I have ever seen. The bucket of sand now makes more sense.

12:15 – Pile everyone into the car to leave. Someone thought smoking a cigar would be a good way to end the evening. There is talk of McDonald’s.

12:45 – Home in bed. Is the Georgia game on TV?

What you should look for against NC State

2008-08-24T11:24:00.002-04:00

When the Wolfpack roll into town on Thursday, most USC fans are expecting a rout to occur. While this may or may not happen, here are some things you should be looking for other than the numbers on the scoreboard:
1. Left tackle - To quote Lou: this is critical. The coaching staff is hoping that either Jarriel King or Hutch Eckerson can do the job. If so, this is a huge bonus up front. This would free up Meredith (last season’s left tackle) to move to left guard. Most fans know that guard is a position that has plagued the Gamecocks since Spurrier got here.

2. Can Carolina run the ball? – If the Gamecocks can line up and have just an above average night running the football, it will be a step in the right direction. However, the Wolfpack may decide to overload the box and make the first time starter beat them with his arm; which leads us to

3. Beecher – Does he look in control? Does he hit his check down (a magic trick that Gamecock quarterbacks have yet to grasp under Spurrier)? Does he hold the ball too long? Can he complete a corner route (another weakness of Gamecock QB’s under Spurrier)?

4. Can the receivers get open vs. man coverage? – They will probably be manned up until they show they can beat it. Especially against better teams.

5. What new wrinkles do the Gamecocks show on offense? – First and foremost, do they move the pocket every now and then? Immobile quarterbacks have limited their ability to do this in the past. How much one back do they run? How involved are the tight ends?

6. Can they stop the run? – It is an absolute must that Carolina look better against the run on Thursday. The Wolfpack will get their yards (some via their scrambling quarterback), but hopefully the giant chasms that opposing teams ran through last year will be tightened up.

7. Can they get pressure without blitzing? – From an athletic standpoint, the USC defensive line should get back there and cause problems. Fans may not get a true reading on this one because the Wolfpack will probably roll their young quarterback out rather than dropping him back to be a target.

8. What do they do with Norwood? – Johnson has already said that he did not put him there to drop into zone coverage 20 times a game. Look for him to come off the edge a lot. This might mean more man coverage in the USC secondary.

It will all come to light on Thursday. I am not expecting a blow out. New quarterback, new left tackle, no number 2 receiver at the moment, and no breakaway back hardly sound like a lot of points. That, and Tom O’Brien is not exactly a moron. The spread of 11.5 is probably right on the number.

What's the rush?

2008-08-20T10:13:00.002-04:00

College football is in a hurry. Over the past three seasons, there has been a movement in college football to make the games shorter. The idea is for a college football game to fit neatly into a three hour time block for television like NFL games. In 2005, the college game implemented speed-up rules as an experiment. The result was shorter games with less plays. The rules were quickly dropped for the 2006 season.

This season, college football will be using a 40 second play clock like the pros. In the past, the ball was whistled ready for play and a 25 second clock started. Now, a 40 second clock will begin once the previous play has ended. The change is expected to shorten games without losing a lot of plays.

The question is: what’s the rush? Does the average fan really care that a game goes 3 hours and 27 minutes rather than the target 3 hours flat? People that attend college football games are not exactly on a tight schedule. Same goes for the people watching them on TV. The biggest complaint people have about college football on TV is the number of commercials – the very reason televised games last so long to begin with. Your average football fan spends nine months out of the year waiting for football season to start. And when it gets here, the powers that be want to shorten the games. The game is fine. Leave it alone. Stop allowing television to control everything. There are plenty of TV stations that will gladly televise the games no matter how long they last.

If college football really wants to shorten the games, they should look at adopting another NFL rule – twelve minute half times. The length of games would be cut by eight minutes without losing a play. During most college half times, the home and visiting bands make an appearance. Rather than both bands, just have the home band do their thing (except when Carolina plays at home against S.C. State). I have sat through many a half time where only the home band plays. During the rest of the time, I watch the kickers and punters warm up. This is hardly riveting half time entertainment.

Unfortunately, this solution is shouted down because we will lose the “pageantry of college football.” This is nonsense. Exactly how much pageantry is there in watching a guy from the stands attempt a thirty yard field goal? And how much pageantry is there in watching a band perform a “Salute to Hanna Barbara” while marching in amorphous shapes. (For the record, bands should always be spelling something for the crowd, not doing abstract art. But that is another blog.) I am sure most fans would trade some “pageantry” for eight more minutes of football.

Nothing to worry about

2008-08-07T16:34:00.002-04:00

In the last couple of months, there has been an ongoing debate about a new trend that might have started among talented high school basketball players. A player named Brandon Jennings may end up being remembered as the Curt Flood of basketball in that he could change the landscape of college basketball recruiting for years to come.

Jennings’ story starts at Oak Hill Academy where he was a highly recruited basketball player committed to play at the University of Arizona. When he realized that his grades were going to keep him from being admitted, he decided to take his game to the European leagues. He has signed a three year deal with an Italian professional team that features buy out clauses for when the NBA is allowed to come calling.

Jennings’ departure has American hoop-heads crying that college basketball is being deprived of a talented player and that it could lead to future exports of young talent to Europe. Under the current rules, NBA teams are forbidden to draft a player until he turns nineteen. This is what is known as the “one and done” rule. Players like Rose from Memphis and Oden from Ohio State played one year in college until such time that they were eligible to be drafted. Jennings will forgo the year in college in exchange for a year or more in Europe where he will be a professional instead of a student athlete. The question is: why does this bother so many people?

“He is not taking advantage of his chance at a college education.” You mean that one and a half semesters of classes he will attend until basketball season is over? Yeah, we wouldn’t want him to miss out on that. People go to college to create job opportunities. I think this kid has found a pretty good opportunity. If he really wants to go to college, the money he will make overseas will be more than enough for tuition once his career ends.

“He is missing out on the college experience.” Ok, let’s see – frat parties in Tuscon versus living in Italy for three years. Yeah, those are comparable.

“He is taking away from the idea of student-athlete.” Actually, he is doing the exact opposite. Rather that perpetuate the fraud of being a student athlete for eight months and then leaving school for the NBA, he is going off to perfect his skill.

“Other high school players will follow his lead and dilute the talent in college basketball.” This is probably true, but who cares? The average fan would hardly notice the difference. Second, if a player has no real interest in going to college and is just using it as a spring board for a professional career, should he really be going to college? One of the biggest criticisms of Division I college basketball is that it is merely a “minor league” for the NBA and is filled with players that have no real interest in a college diploma. College basketball annually lags behind all other sports in graduation rates. True supporters of the idea of student athletes should applaud Jennings’ decision and encourage others like him to do the same.

“He is too young to have all that money.” And you’re probably right. But he is eighteen years old and this is America. If someone is dumb enough to give an eighteen year old kid millions of dollars to play a sport, then why fault the kid? If coming into that money ruins his character, then so be it. That’s what parents are for.

All in all, I hope that Jennings sets an example for future generations of basketball players in his position. In a perfect world, college basketball would be played by college students who are all seeking a college education. Perhaps this is the start of that very phenomenon.

One curse broken

2008-08-06T15:34:00.002-04:00

You may have missed it back in February but one of those little “curses” that surrounds USC’s football program was quietly snapped. The Gamecocks can say that at least one football coach finally rose from the ashes of the coaches’ graveyard. That coach is Sparky Woods, and he will be leading the VMI football program starting this season.

Gamecock fans remember Sparky as the young coach from App. State with the thick southern accent that led USC from 1989-1993. What they should also remember is a guy that inherited a bit of a mess and left the program in a better place.

Sparky basically started his career in a no win situation. First, he replaced one of the most successful coaches in school history – never a good way to start. Second, he inherited a program that had a public black eye thanks to a steroids scandal. Third, he inherited a team with little depth at quarterback. The quarterback he did inherit went down with a season ending injury in Sparky’s first year. Lastly, and what really hurt Sparky, was that the Gamecocks entered the SEC in his fourth year, which considerably raised the bar for the program.

As for positives, not many people remember that he beat Georgia twice – both times in Athens. He notched a win at Clemson. And in his first two years, the Gamecocks were bowl eligible. (To this day, I maintain that Carolina’s decision to hold those two teams out of bowl competition because of exams was one of the great bonehead decisions in athletic department history. Had USC gone to those two bowls, it would have made four bowl appearances in a row for Carolina.) Lastly, he recruited guys like Taneyhill, Bennett, Pritchett, Cates, Campbell, Dexter, Dinkins, Evans, Richardson, and Rumph – players that were a big part of USC’s first bowl win in 1994.

After USC, Sparky spent time at Virginia, Memphis, Mississippi State, Alabama, and the New York Jets. Unlike most USC coaches, Woods was young enough to get another shot at a head coaching job. Here is hoping that he makes the most of it.

Somewhere over the rainbow

2008-07-31T15:53:00.003-04:00

The great thing about writing a blog is that you can make thousands of ridiculous predictions and if one comes true, you’re a genius. Before the 2007 football season, I told anyone that would listen (basically four people) that 6-2 would probably win the SEC East, and that it would not be completely inconceivable for 5-3 to win it. Tennessee was one recovered fumble away from making that 5-3 prediction a reality. With that in mind, let’s take a walk down the yellow brick road of the 2008 SEC East schedule:

Week 3 – The Dawgs come to the Fairgrounds looking to put their first notch in their championship belt. The Gamecocks lose their brief one week division lead after beating Vanderbilt in yet another slugfest against Gawga.
UGA 1-0 USC 1-1 Vandy 0-1

Weeks 4, 5 and 6 – While the West watches Auburn and LSU determine the frontrunner in their division, Florida and Tennessee has the attention of the East. Tebow begins his Heisman campaign in earnest as Volunteer fans start their annual grumbling when the “new fangled” passing offense gets poor marks. The Vols catch Auburn in a double hangover game the next week and manage to pull off a squeaker. Vandy struggles along as Kentucky plays its first conference game against an Alabama team that is growing up quickly. The Gamecocks win a thriller at Ole Miss as the offense shows its first sign of life in conference play.
UF 3-0 UGA 2-0 USC 2-1 UT 1-1 Vandy 0-3 Kentucky 0-1

Week 7 – Another Saturday of showdowns as Florida and LSU return for another episode of the fourth down game. It takes overtime to do it, but LSU shocks the world with a field goal. Meyer becomes more and more reluctant to run his quarterback as a year and a half of lowering his shoulder is starting to wear on him. Georgia goes to Knoxville and notches another Eastern division victory. Gamecocks take advantage of a rebuilding Kentucky squad.
UF 3-1 UGA 3-0 USC 3-1 UT 1-2 Vandy 0-4 Kentucky 0-2

Week 8 – LSU comes to Columbia after its dramatic victory in Gainesville for a CBS 3:30 game. It is obvious to all that are watching that the Tigers are a bit listless against the Gamecocks. The third quarter is marred by a botched fake field goal by USC as Spurrier seeks revenge for last year. Late TD drive seals it for Les Miles and Company and USC loses another close one. Vandy loses to the Dawgs and becomes mathematically eliminated at 0-5.
UGA 4-0 UF 3-1 USC 3-2 UT 2-2 Kentucky 0-3

Week 9 – LSU continues its ridiculous three week jaunt through the Eastern division, but this time lands a home game against Georgia. The game resembles a heavy weight fight as both teams slug it out back and forth. CBS moving the game to a night time kickoff tips the odds in LSU’s favor. Les Miles gets even more outlandish with his post game comments. Tennessee squeaks by Alabama at home.
UGA 4-1 UF 4-1 USC 3-2 UT 3-2 Kentucky 0-4

Week 10 – Everyone raises a glass in Jacksonville as the Eastern Conference is on the line when Florida takes on the Dawgs. The teams set a series record for most yards of offense in a game. Both quarterbacks make their bid for the Heisman as Florida wins it on a late Tebow quarterback sneak. Meyer refuses to shake Richt’s hand because “he never forgot what Georgia did last year.” Tennessee comes to the bird cage for an ESPN 7:45 kickoff. The week off seems to have done the Gamecocks good as the offense finds some traction. The defense gives up yards, but not points, as another barn burner between these two goes Carolina’s way. The Vols, along with the Wildcats, are mathematically eliminated.
UF 5-1 UGA 4-2 USC 4-2

Week 11- Florida and Georgia shell Vandy and Kentucky. The Gamecocks survive a hangover game to beat an Arkansas team that is struggling to grasp the new offense. USC’s defense plays with a giant chip on their shoulder after last year.
UF 6-1 UGA 5-2 USC 5-2

Week 12 – Georgia goes down to the Plains and finds an Auburn team with a lot of late season fight left in it despite being out of the race for the West. The Dawgs come up empty handed, eliminating them from contention as they just run out of gas down the stretch. The ESPN night game features Spurrier against his old team and, wait a minute, the winner goes to Atlanta? No, can’t be.

Ok, so all this story is missing is a wicked witch, a scarecrow, and an urban legend about a little person hanging himself; but stranger things have happened. In all sincerity, I am giving LSU way too much credit for sweeping that stretch of Florida away, USC away, and Georgia at home. But Georgia struggling with its tough schedule is not that far fetched. Same goes for the Florida and Tennessee scenarios. The sure bet is that the winner of the Georgia-Florida game will determine the East. But you never know, Dorothy’s slippers may actually be garnet and that November 15th game could be for all the lollipops. I wonder if Ted Turner will colorize it.

Time to let it go

2008-07-30T15:06:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, Spurrier had his annual media golf outing. After the tournament was over, Spurrier addressed the media in an informal press conference. Unfortunately, he took the opportunity to criticize a Clemson website for allegedly emailing reports of arrests involving USC football players to high school prospects. Naturally, despite everything else Spurrier said, this comment is the red meat that the local media and everyone else have been devouring over the last twenty four hours. Quite frankly, when it comes to USC’s off the field issues, it needs to be the last time he makes a public comment on the subject.

Before engaging in this discussion, there are a few facts that need to be ironed out:

1. The rest of the world does not care how many football players have been arrested at a certain school unless ESPN does a story on them.

Ok, pop quiz – what do Missouri, West Virginia, Penn State, and Kent State have in common? They are all well ahead of USC in the Fulmer Cup Standings. The Fulmer Cup is a poll that keeps track of criminal charges brought against college athletes. The more serious the crime, the more points the school gets. http://www.sportsargumentwiki.com/index.php?title=Fulmer_Cup The bottom line is the Gamecocks are just like every other school. They have problems. Compared to its SEC brethren, they are on the low end when it comes to criminal charges and convictions. And unless one player from USC gets arrested once a month for the next three years, they are no where near Penn State's struggles over the last few years.

2. Acknowledging internet sites only gives them credibility they do not deserve.

Putting up an internet site to spout facts and opinion does not take a whole lot of effort. Trust me. Any moron can go on a website chat room or message board and start talking about what they heard from somebody’s cousin. You have to take what you see on these sites with a grain of salt. Spurrier acknowledging one of them only gives it credibility. Trust me, there are plenty of sick people out there who let recruits know every time the rival school stubs their toe. Having a website do it is just one more sicko.

3. Saying that you do not have a problem only makes people think that you do have a problem.

Spurrier needs to have a blanket statement that he makes when he is asked a question about an off the field problem. “The athletic department and the university are looking into the matter and we will determine the appropriate course of action.” That’s it. Plain and simple. No public laboring over what happened and what the punishment should be. If he continues to talk about it, especially unprovoked like yesterday, it just sends a signal that there is a problem that he feels needs to be addressed. The more attention Spurrier gives it, the more people watching and listening think, “wow, things must be pretty bad over there.” Keep the public on a need to know basis, and the public pretty much needs to know nothing.

4. In Columbia, everything is given more attention than it deserves.

When it comes to college athletics, this town is sick. It has problems. Columbia is the media capital of the state. There are seven million local sports shows that have nothing to talk about between April and August. The largest newspaper in the state is located in Columbia. There are no pro sports. Not even a Columbia Mets team to talk about. As such, it’s all Gamecocks, all the time. That can be good and bad. Every positive and every negative is blown completely out of proportion. There are enough people in this town that will labor over off the field issues without Spurrier himself doing it. Every time some player is arrested, Columbia works itself into a pointless frenzy. It is completely absurd.

5. If you win, it makes no difference.

Drive about three hours to the west and there is a little town called Athens, Georgia. You know what people in Athens are talking about? Whether or not the Dawgs can run the table and win the SEC. You know what they are not talking about? How Little Johnny got arrested for DUI and carrying a concealed weapon. Winning cures everything. If being a nice guy and having your players not get into trouble meant anything, no coach would ever get fired. In the case of Dave Odom, it may buy you one more year. The bottom line in Division I-A college athletics is how much a coach wins – period. What happens off the field is only held against a coach when he goes 3-9.

Ok, now that we have established some things, let’s get to Spurrier’s comments. He just needs to let this thing go. Mentioning it does more harm than good. Any idiot that follows college athletics knows that USC’s off the field woes are no different than anywhere else. Players get arrested. Thirty years ago, a policeman would call the coach and tell him he needs to come get his player. Those days are over. Now they go to jail and it gets put in the newspaper. The correct course of action when they get arrested is to gather the facts, administer a punishment, and move on. Worrying about what people that support other schools are saying is pointless. College football is one giant neighborhood of glass houses.

Why Tennessee should scare you

2008-07-29T14:29:00.004-04:00

The people that run this blog (corporate types that wear power suits) keep telling me I have to be bolder and make big predictions. With that in mind, I’m going to make two. Starting this season, beware the Tennessee offense. Second, in about three years, the name Dave Clawson is going to start meaning a lot more to fans of the SEC.

Now the obvious question: who is Dave Clawson? Well, he is the first year offensive coordinator for the University of Tennessee. And wherever he goes, teams tend to score points, gain yards, and win football games.

Clawson got his first head coaching job at I-AA Fordham, who had endured 12 straight losing seasons before Clawson got there and took them to the playoffs. His next stop, Richmond, is where he probably did his best work. After a 3-8 record his first year in 2004 where the offense averaged 354 ypg, Clawson took the Spiders to the I-AA playoffs and a 9-4 record the very next year. The Spider offense raised its ypg average to 392 in that same year. Last year, the Spiders made it all the way to the I-AA championship game before losing to Appalachian State. The 2007 Spider offense averaged 413 ypg while compiling a record of 11-3.

Clawson’s offensive philosophy comes from spread principles. (Think more West Virginia than Florida). Anyone who saw the 2007 I-AA championship game could appreciate how much he had accomplished with less than spectacular talent. Richmond’s admission standards are not exactly football conducive. What is scary for the rest of the SEC is that he will be working with some pretty talented football players at Tennessee.

Even scarier for the rest of the conference is that Tennessee is traditionally very successful when their offense is clicking. Before Clawson, there was David Cutcliffe. Cutcliffe was Tennessee’s offensive coordinator when they won the 1998 national title. Following the ’98 title run, Cutcliffe went to Ole Miss to be the Rebels’ head coach. From that season until 2006, Tennessee won a lot of close games with defense, running the football, special teams, and a lackluster offense (which they were pretty good at). That is, until 2005 when the bottom fell out and the team went 5-6. Re-enter David Cutcliffe. The Vols go 9-4 in ’06 and 10-4 in ’07, winning the SEC East in the process.

Tennessee always has a solid defense under John Chavis. Without Cutcliffe, they seemed to struggle at times to find an offense to match. Clawson is just the guy to pick up where Cutcliffe left off, assuming that Fulmer doesn’t reign him in along with his spread offense. Tennessee’s first four games include Florida at home and at Auburn. If the offense struggles in those games, look for Fulmer to get antsy and reel in the offense. If Fulmer and Tennessee fans have patience with the new offense, Clawson could be just the shot in the arm they need. In the coming years, he could be the hot assistant coach on the short list of most athletic directors in the market for a head coach.

Ahh, the SEC East: the most ridiculously tough division in college football. And it just got tougher.

New Coke and Steroids

2008-07-23T18:15:00.004-04:00

Remember New Coke? If you were around in the 1980’s, you do. In 1985, Coca Cola decided that they were going to ruin a good thing and change the time-tested formula for Coke. The result was something that tasted like a flat Pepsi. After the public revolted, Coca Cola decided to change Coke back to what it was – well, kinda. The Coca Cola Classic that was put back on the shelves tasted virtually the same as Old Coke, but was not made using the original Coke formula. Original Coke (pre 1985) was sweetened with sugar. Coca Cola now sweetens Coca Cola Classic with high fructose corn syrup. This syrup is what causes that filmy feeling on your teeth. Apparently, sugar sweetened Coke can still be bought in Mexico. Some stores in America like Costco and Wal-Mart even sell Mexican Coke.

As with most weird things, there is a conspiracy theory behind the Coke to New Coke switch. Theorists believe Coca Cola wanted to change the formula to eliminate sugar because the syrup sweetener was much cheaper. According to the conspiracy theory, the change to New Coke was to distract the customers and get the Old Coke taste out of their mouths (literally). After months of New Coke, Coca Cola Classic would taste the same as Old Coke to consumers despite the different choice in sweetener. The end result is a slightly different tasting Coke that is cheaper to mass produce, but no one is the wiser.

Although it is far fetched, one would have to wonder if the decision makers in horse racing are trying a similar gambit.

In the 1970’s, the sport of horse racing was chugging along just fine. While Secretariat was making history, the powers that be in horse racing decided to introduce steroids into the game. Currently, the United States is the only country to allow the use of anabolic steroids in actively racing horses. Twenty eight of the thirty eight racing states allow for steroid use in horse racing (including Kentucky, Maryland, and New York). In the thirty or more years following the introduction of steroids, American horse racing has steadily declined to the point where it is now. A point where Congress is asking the industry to take a look at itself in the same way Congress asked baseball to take a look at itself. A point where an admitted steroid using, odds on Triple Crown favorite faded on the far turn of the Belmont. A point where a sport that is barely hanging on in mass public appeal faces losing the little bit it has. So why would a sport ruin itself with steroids?

In the 1970’s, the reason was money. The general consensus was that steroids would help horses run through soreness which would allow them to race more often. Racing more often means winning more money. Oddly enough, the statistics show a reverse trend. The average number of starts per year for a horse went from 11.31 in 1960 to 6.37 in 2006. The obvious conclusion is that steroids do not help horses run more often. “But if steroids do not help, then how did Mark McGwire hit all of those home runs and Ben Johnson break all of those world records?” The answer is simple. McGwire and Johnson have good genetics. Today’s horses compared to horses from the 1960’s do not.

In horse racing, just like in human sports, steroids mask true ability. But unlike human athletes, thoroughbreds will be given steroids at a very young age. The result is yearling horses going to auction with the muscle mass and structure of two year olds. Further results are horses whose muscles grow disproportionately to their bones structure – a physiologically unsound horse.

The money in horse racing is in the breeding. For example, Big Brown’s DNA will sell for millions. Although breeding is mostly about the horse’s genetics, looks play a role too. Yearlings without muscle mass, or ones that look just plain frail, do not sell for a high price. Breeders will give young horses steroids to encourage appetite and build muscle mass. There have even been reports about the use of cosmetic surgery to improve the looks of some young horses. Breeding is simple economics. The demand is for young, muscular horses with good genetics. As such, breeders do all they can to give buyers what they want.

“But if they are all on steroids, and steroids are bad for the horses, why would anyone knowingly buy a structurally deficient horse?” For one, structural deficiency is not always obvious. Eight Belles looked pretty good to most people, but there was obviously something not quite right about her. Second, no one really knows for sure about a horse until the horse trains and races. And even then, many horses are through racing before they are five years old. The really good ones, like Big Brown, will be done before they turn four. Why? So they can go out to stud. Good for the horse, bad for racing. Big Brown will father hundreds of horses. With each horse, he passes on potentially poor genetics. Racing fans will recall that Big Brown was not on his usual dose of steroids for the Belmont. This would make one wonder who the real Big Brown really is and how much steroids played a role in his success (and while we are on the subject, whatever happened to Sammy Sosa?)

As the statistics indicate, over thirty years of steroid breeding have given us generations of unsound horses. So the question is: what will American racing look like in the future? Congress has basically told horse racing to shape up or face the consequences. A little law called the Interstate Horse Racing Act is the lifeblood of racing. It allows a bettor in Florida to place a bet on a race in New York. Off track bets account for roughly 80% of a track’s take. Horse racing does not want Congress taking that kind of revenue away from it. Change will occur.

In the coming years without steroids, horse racing could become pretty entertaining for race fans and adventurous for bettors (is there a difference between race fans and bettors?). Horses that looked pretty good this year may flop the next. Because Europe does not allow steroids, look for American money to go towards purchasing foreign horses to breed here in America. Also look for that “average number of starts” statistic cited earlier to begin to rise. Racing may even be able to breed a Triple Crown winner in the not too distant future. (Three races in five weeks used to be difficult, not impossible.) It took thirty plus years to breed racing into this mess, it may take thirty more to breed it out.

Although conspiracy theorists will swear Coca Cola meant to ruin itself, I do not personally believe that horse racing meant to sabotage its own game. But one thing is for sure, they certainly have laid the ground work to sell racing fans a better product – and those fans sure are thirsty.

ACC Player(s) Of The Year

2008-07-23T17:43:00.007-04:00

At the A.C.C. Media Days, Clemson Quarterback Cullen Harper was voted Preseason Player of the Year. (See Article) Who finished second in the voting? James Davis. Who finished third in the voting? C.J. Spilla'. To top it all off, Clemson was picked to win the ACC outright. Will Tommy and the Tigers be able to handle all this hype?!?!

A side note from the A.C.C. gathering. N.C. State was picked to finish DEAD LAST in the Conference. How could the Gamecocks (from the powerful S.E.C.) possibly lose a home game to the worst team in the A.C.C.? (The game is at night and we all know what happens to the Cocks at night.)

Spurrier: "Life is a Beech(er)"

2008-07-18T14:52:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, Spurrier had his summer “State of the Program” address before heading off to the SEC Media Days. The biggest news coming out of this press conference is how confident he sounded about Tommy Beecher. This fact leads many fans to ask the question, “So where has he been?”

The quarterbacking situation since Spurrier’s arrival (and quite frankly since Petty left) has been a study in inconsistency. With the exception of the last few games of 2006, USC quarterbacks have struggled to gain traction. So if Beecher is the man now, why was he not the man for the last couple of years?

Entering his fourth year, Beecher’s on field performance would leave many fans to think that he would end up being nothing more than half of the answer to a Gamecock trivia question – who were the first two Carolina quarterbacks signed by Spurrier? (Cade Thompson being the other). All that anyone ever said about him was that he had a strong arm and he could “run around a little bit” (Spurrier talk for someone that is mobile). Having watched Smelley last year, it could be that these physical attributes have won him the job.

From the stands, it seemed obvious that Smelley had a very good grasp on the offense from a mental standpoint. The offense even had a little rhythm at times. He never seemed to be confused before the snap. Most of his struggles came after the snap. At times, there was hesitation in his throws – not good for a guy with average arm strength. If you are going to play quarterback for Spurrier, you better trust your throws. Spurrier’s philosophy for attacking zone coverage is to throw to windows and trust that your receiver will get there. It’s about timing. (Take a predetermined number of steps, put your foot in the ground and throw it to this spot. But don’t throw it if we don’t get the coverage we thought we were going to get. Oh, and make sure the defense didn’t trick you by lining up in one coverage, but playing another. Yeah, it’s hard.) That can be a difficult adjustment for a quarterback. For many, it is too much of one.

Perhaps Spurrier feels that he knows what he can get out of Smelley so he might as well look at the next guy. He has seen Smelley take plenty of live snaps. Overall, Smelley did OK. Maybe he figures that Beecher’s physical advantages over Smelley need to be explored. After all, he is more mobile than Smelley and has a stronger arm. Spurrier might be thinking that he just needs to be “coached up.” Most of the buzz from spring practice was that Beecher was looking better than Smelley, if only by a small margin.

Listening to Spurrier the past couple of years, most fans are getting the impression that he is having a philosophical epiphany. For years, Spurrier has been able to take smart guys with average physical attributes and turn them into quarterbacks. Remember Danny Wuerrfel throwing passes that seemed to fall like snowflakes? Those days are over. The problem is defenses have gotten faster and more athletic. Those windows that Shane Matthews was throwing into are a lot smaller today. Those slow linebackers that Duke used to pick on in man coverage are a lot more athletic and are just as fast as the running backs they are covering. Translation: it is a lot tougher to find mismatches. Result: Spurrier’s quarterbacks have to be even more gifted from the neck up and the neck down. Before Spurrier left Florida, he had one of those guys – Grossman. Remember how many plays Grossman made with his legs? How he could throw bullets while scrambling around? Yes, I know his pro career has been less than stellar, but the guy is physically talented, and he was mentally talented enough to put up a lot of points at Florida.

Unless Spurrier completely changes his offensive philosophy, he will need more Grossman’s and less Wuerffel’s to be successful. Perhaps knowing this is what has prompted the change to Beecher. Again, maybe the thought is to take the physically talented guy and “coach him up” because he has more upside. We shall see. There is a lot of football between now and N.C. State.

What's Brett Favre doing here?

2008-07-16T13:43:00.002-04:00

They just need to let him go – and soon. The Packers have made a business decision. In the NFL, they call it a football decision or a philosophical decision. Green Bay believes that it is time to move on and let Aaron Rodgers be the quarterback. And, oh by the way, Brian Brohm is also hanging around on the roster. This is the same Brian Brohm that was considered the most NFL ready quarterback in his draft class. McCarthy and Green Bay saw Favre and Rodgers in every practice last year as well as studying them on film. This is what they think is in the best interest of the Green Bay Packers. If they are wrong, they will be held accountable. As such, they need to cut Favre loose - ASAP. Do not shop him around and do not let him come back to be a backup. Here is why:

If the Packers let him come back, you might as well trade Rodgers. Every mistake he makes will be magnified times a million by the Green Bay fans and media. Second, Favre is not going to come back to be a back up. Disgruntled benchwarmers are never good for team morale. The team will fracture and collapse.

If the Packers shop him around as trade bait, this whole ordeal will continue to fester. Green Bay needs to get the spotlight off of itself. Plus, other teams know that if they wait around long enough, Green Bay will release him because they will want to relieve themselves from the daily media scrutiny. Favre is already doing TV interviews and publicizing private conversations.

The solution is just to rip it off like a band aid and let people start forgetting. Remember Andy Pettite being on steroids? Not many people do because he took his medicine and moved on. The public has a short memory. Fans in Green Bay may take some time to forget, but the Packers might as well start the process before practice starts and they have to field all of those same questions every day. It will just be a distraction.

The bottom line is the number of games the Packers win next year and whether they make the playoffs. If they are successful, all is forgiven. If there is but one truism in sports, it is this: winning cures everything, and I mean everything – especially in professional sports. Patriot fans forgot all about Drew Bledsoe. Cowboy fans forgot all about Herschel Walker. Miami Hurricane fans do not remember how much trouble their football players got into in the late 80’s. If you win, bygones are bygones. So that is where the Packers need to focus their energy – on winning. And if that does not involve Brett Favre, release him and move on.

A perfect time to switch

2008-07-14T17:27:00.002-04:00

Now that Packer is gone, it is high time CBS get their act together and give the Final Four to the greatest college basketball announcing duo since the dawn of time. I am talking about none other than Lundquist and Raftery. (What is odd is that the word “Lundquist” does not come up as a misspelled word on Word). Lundquist is the booming voice of CBS’s SEC game of the week as well as operating the tower on Number 16 at Augusta. Raftery is one of THE voices of college basketball who seemingly does every ESPN game that Vitale does not do and then teams up with Verne for the tournament. And they are excellent. They are the best twosome working.

First of all, Raftery understands basketball beyond explaining to you what you just watch happen. He knows what should have happened, tells you what both teams should make happen, and gives you a good idea of what is going to happen. For the average basketball fan, like me, who does not know much more beyond “put ball in basket”, Raftery tells you why things are and are not occurring.

Second, Raftery is entertaining. His New Jersey slang actually adds something to the game. And unlike Vitale and Packer, nobody has anything bad to say about the guy.

With apologies to wikipedia, here’s a few samples:

"Shoulder ... shake ... a little lingerie!"
"A little pirouette, and they said this was a beer town!"
“I wheel the wheel barrel down the street to the tin!”
"Give it to the big fella!"
"Send it in, Jerome!”
"The Big Guy"
"With disdain to the tin!"
"Send it in, Verne!"
"...with the kiss!"
"With the sweet kiss, off the glass..."
"With a little dipsy do"
"Dagger!"
"Onions!"
"Nylon!"
"The vegetable cart"
"Put a little english on it"
"With the teardrop, that'll make you cry"
"Panties on the deck"
"We got a little nickel-dimer here"
"The small change"
"With the blow-by"
"With authority!"
"Send it in, big fella!"
"From the Right Wing!"
"There's a little lingerie on the deck"
"The bounce to ecstasy"
"You might call this Newton's Law!"
"Most unattractive but beneficial"
"With the dribble drive"
"Attacking the tin!"
"Strong... to the goal!"
"Bring your lunch!"
"Elevation!"
"(insert co announcers name), (insert team name) goes man to man!"
"They're playing a (insert zone defense name) zone with man-to-man principles!"
"A little ricochet romance!"
"Get the puppies set!"
"He can do it all; let him into the band!"
"(insert player's name) with some early onions!"
"Fill the lane! Provide the lift!"
"He can make you ask for your mommy."
"Walter at the altar: High Mass!"
"Bottle of blackout!"
"Deployment!"
"Divine intervention!"
"With a little smoocher!"
"Protect the women and children!"
"Chubby Checker Do the Twist!"
Verne Lundquist: "I hope Dwayne Wade likes cajun cooking!" ... (dramatic 5 second pause) ... Bill Raftery: "JAMBALAYA!"
"A Large Edifice!"
"He's got the puppies sent off the bus."
"Why the lefties look so pretty its amazing."

In the late stages of a competitive 2002 NCAA Tournament game between UCLA and Cincinnati, a CBS camera showed the parents of a player who was shooting free throws. Raftery immediately remarked, "Free throws can destroy a family."

In 2007, Raftery along with his broadcast partner, Verne Lundquist, made a classic exchange after Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts made an emphatic jam in Ohio State's regional final victory.

Raftery: "The speed! Done with alacrity! Sitting over there, he was salivating at an opportunity." Lundquist: "I'm still stunned at 'alacrity'." Raftery: "Don't ask me to spell it."

As I write this, Clark Kellogg is getting the job. Well, I guess that is better than splitting up Bill and Verne. Even if they took my suggestion, CBS could still bring in Nantz at the end of the game to say something like “Rock Chalk Championship” or “Win for the ages” or whatever. I like Nantz, but he is the golf guy. Bill and Verne have good basketball energy. And they would be perfect for the job.

(If the unthinkable ever happened and South Carolina won it all, what would Nantz do with Horn? Or Gamecock?)

S.C.'s Leader is the National Punchline...Again

2008-07-13T20:34:00.004-04:00

Once again our fearless leader makes the national press. And again, he will be the butt of many jokes nationwide for days to come. On Wolf Blitzer's Sunday show, Sanford was asked to name one difference between Bush and McCain's economic policies. And lets just say, "uhhhhh", "eh", "ummmm",(finger tap),(gulp), Sanford was speechless.

Any chance San"fraud" had at being McCain's running mate was more than likely squashed after this debacle. However, if McCain wants this clip playing on repeat on every news channel from now until November exploiting the fact that 4 more years of McCain is 4 more years of G-Dub,Sanford is his man.

In all seriousness, if you were about to be questioned on national television and you knew what you were going to be questioned about (I think 'Fraud knew CNN wasn't going to grill him on the Jakie Knotts race), don't you think you would pick up a newspaper, talk to a fellow Republican, phone-a-friend, or DO SOMETHING TO PREPARE?!?!?! I guess a leader as wise and intellectually sound as Sanford doesn't need to prepare.

Why Every Game Should Start at Noon (especially this game)

2008-07-11T16:05:00.016-04:00

In its never ending quest to solidify its position as America’s game, the NFL has been cracking down on abusive fan behavior in NFL stadiums. Much like the League has instituted a player code of conduct, many NFL teams are instituting a fan code of conduct. The latest of these teams is the Kansas City Chiefs. Next year at Arrowhead, fans in the stadium will be able to text message security to notify stadium officials of other fans engaged in inappropriate behavior.

Now, I have not missed a USC home football game since 1991. In that time, I have seen and heard just about everything. Anyone who has ever had to sit beside someone at a football game that has either had too much to drink,

like this GUY,

but never lucky enough to sit to next to THEM,

or HER,

yells indiscriminately during the game, tells all who will listen what play he would have called, or says out loud whatever thought just popped in his head, knows exactly what I am talking about. As such, I have come up with my own code of conduct for Gamecock football fans and stadium officials next year.

1. Enough with this insistence on every game being at night – As Gamecock fans, we hear it all the time – “I love night games.” Further inquiry as to why results in two responses. The first one is, “I’ve got time to get ready.” Now, one has to understand what it means to be “ready.” “Ready” consists of consuming as much alcohol as possible without losing your ability to compute what impact your team kicking a field goal would have on the score of the game. Most people lose the ability to determine if their team should go for the two point conversion sometime around 4 p.m. during a typical tailgate. “Ready” means the ability to blow a .20 on a standard breathalyzer test. “Here lies Tommy Johnson, dead of alcohol poisoning. But he sure was ready.”

The second response to this love of night games is, “We play better at night.” Oh really? Do me a favor and tell me the last time the Gamecocks won a big game on a Saturday night. You will be at it a while. We play the same no matter how dark it is. One solution to this night game problem is to start winning more so we can be the CBS 3:30 game. That might even be enough time for most fans to “get ready.”

2. Stop screaming when we have the ball – This one drives me crazy. And we have all seen the scenario: We have the ball and it’s 3rd down. Immediately, some moron who thinks “noise = good” stands up and starts urging everyone to get up and make noise. These people should be escorted out of the stadium. Everyone should be required to watch a Colts game on TV. When the Colts have the ball, you can hear Peyton Manning’s heartbeat. There is not one drop of noise. I have actually been in the stadium when the offense is at the North end zone and players are motioning for the crowd to be quiet. It truly is unbelievable. We are drowning out our own audibles. Here’s a news flash Gamecock fans – you know how you make fun of LSU fans for being all liquored up and obnoxious? Guess what – even they know to shut up when their team has the ball.

3. Stop yelling “SEC” whenever we play out of conference – Trust me, the whole country knows we are in the SEC. We all get it. We are in the Southeastern Conference. It’s a very good conference. My trip to Virginia a few years ago was truly an embarrassment. Up and down the streets of Charlottesville went every knucklehead Gamecock fan yelling “SEC” and other conference related jabs. Here’s a tip – you may want to wait until victory is in hand before you talk about how great your conference is and how great you are for being in it.

4. More policemen – And I mean everywhere. And I do not care what it costs or what it does to the price of tickets. Last year I watched an actual fist fight in the Lower West stands unfold for a good four minutes before a policeman came. Now I am not blaming the police – they are doing all they can do. There just needs to be more of them – everywhere. All over the place. Every section. Like the president was in town. That many policemen.

5. Put mugshots on the jumbotron – Whenever anyone is hauled off during the game, put their mugshot and name on the scoreboard during a time out. Bloodied face, vomit covered t-shirt and all. Like that Nick Nolte mugshot.

6. Revoke season tickets like they do at the Masters – Ever wonder why they don’t have any problems at the Masters? Because everyone is deathly afraid of having their badges taken away – forever. It is a very simple rule. Get out of line and you’re never coming back. Give your tickets to someone that gets out of line and you’re never coming back. Back to the waiting list. Same goes for people who let their children run around the stadium unsupervised. If they cause a problem, Mom and Dad are done as season ticket holders.

7. Stop insisting that every fourth down be attempted – Punting can be a good thing. Field goals are good things. Have you seen us run the ball in the past three years?

8. Stop telling the quarterback to hurry up before every play – This is partially the team’s fault for the many delay of game penalties. However, when the offense breaks the huddle and the quarterback comes to the line, it is not unusual for him to change the play. If he starts to do this, don’t panic. First, take a look at the play clock. If it is at 10 seconds, just relax for a second. Don’t start yelling for him to hurry up because then we are in the situation where the other players cannot hear. (See Rule #2). Most of the time, it is really going to be OK. Just rest for a minute. You have a long night of questioning play calling ahead of you.

I hope this helps. If anyone else has any suggestions, please put them in the comments. I’d love to hear a Clemson fan code of conduct.

Would Tommy suspend O.J.?

2008-07-07T14:31:00.011-04:00

In college football, there are four seasons. There is the regular season in the fall, recruiting in the winter, spring practice in the spring, and arrest season in the summer. Recently proving that the Gamecocks have not cornered the market on criminal activity, Clemson’s DeAndre McDaniel was recently charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature in Central, South Carolina. The charge stems from an altercation between McDaniel and an alleged girlfriend. Bowden, after speaking with McDaniel, has not yet taken any action. Instead, he wants to wait and let the criminal process take its course.

Usually the controversy with college athletes getting in trouble is what the punishment by the coach should be. Is it enough? Is it not enough? Should they be kicked off? Etc. And usually the player admits guilt in the early going, takes his medicine, and puts it behind him.

McDaniel, on the other hand, just like his teammate Cortney Vincent and Carolina’s Dion Lecorn, maintains his innocence and has asked for a jury trial. Spurrier’s approach with Lecorn was different than Tommy’s. He suspended Lecorn immediately from team activities (granted it was in the off season and not for very long). But he did do something. Tommy, however, has taken the approach that his guys are innocent until guilt is either proven or admitted. Fair enough, but Bowden could be setting himself up for a lot of criticism.

Consider Lecorn’s trial (incidentally, any man that requests a jury trial in Lexington either thinks he has a lock solid defense or is simply a moron). If he is found innocent, then no further punishment is needed. He even garners sympathy for the slap on the wrist he did receive. If Dion is found guilty, Spurrier can consider if the punishment he gave him was enough or he could punish Lecorn further. Either way, Spurrier comes out looking like he did the right thing in suspending Lecorn initially, even if only symbolically.

Bowden, however, is playing a game of roulette. If Vincent and McDaniel are innocent, he wins. If they are found guilty, Bowden loses. Especially when you consider the charges – DUI and ABHAN. Vincent already played in the bowl game last year and both will surely play before their jury trials begin. Now I am not saying Bowden is wrong, I am just saying he is taking a gamble. Even giving both players a slap on the wrist could help him down the line if both players are found guilty.

Now consider this hypothetical. Suppose McDaniel is found innocent by a jury. Now suppose the alleged victim sues him in civil court. After all, that is what happened to O.J. Although he was found innocent of murder, he was found civilly liable for the deaths of the victims. How, you ask? Rather than the criminal standard of “beyond all reasonable doubt”, O.J.’s civil jury needed to only find it “more likely than not” that O.J. caused the victims’ deaths. Now suppose McDaniel’s alleged victim sues him for her emergency room bill and the jury finds him liable. Now what? McDaniel is not guilty, but his hands are not exactly clean. Would Tommy punish the criminally innocent?

Now the last thing I am here to do is to compare murder to an alleged shoving contest. This is all for the sake of argument. But the above hypothetical is not that far fetched. And Tommy’s “no punishment until a verdict of guilt is rendered” stance on these issues would put him in a tough spot. So the real question is: since Clemson already has Thunder and Lightning, is there room for The Juice?

Not as bad as you think

2008-07-02T16:53:00.003-04:00

Lately, I walk around town and hear how depressed Carolina fans are about the football team. (Please note I am not including the fans that think we have a good chance at the SEC championship every year. Just your serious “I’ve seen everything” fans.) I guess going 6 – 6 can have that effect on people. What is surprising is to hear them reminisce. “Morrison sure put out some good teams.” “Carlen was a hell of a coach.” While that may be true, funny thing is, we might be living in the golden age.

Take a look at these stats:
Wins Losses Win %
2000s -- 54 - 42 56.3
1990s -- 41 - 67 37.9
1980s -- 63 - 49 56.3
1970s -- 56 - 55 50.5
1960s -- 37 - 59 38.5
1950s -- 54 - 41 56.8
1940s -- 36-43 45.6
1930s -- 49-49 50.0
1920s -- 55-37 59.8
1910s -- 32 - 41 43.8
1900’s -- 37-26 58.7
1890s -- 6-15 28.6

I have got news for you, Carolina has never had it better. So far, the Gamecocks have had two better decades in terms of win percentage, the 50’s and 20’s. Those glorious 80’s? It is a statistical dead heat with the current decade. (I threw out the ties – who counts those anyway?) While we are on the subject of the 80’s, Carolina is all of 10 wins away from topping that decade’s win mark (yes, I know more games are played now.)

In the 2000’s, Carolina has been to four bowl games, and get this, won three of them. For a team that did not win a bowl game until 1994, that is saying a lot. Although I did not take the time to tally them, I wouldn’t think I was going out on a limb in saying that the 2000’s led the decades in NFL draft picks. If anyone wants to confirm that, knock yourself out.

You may notice the 90’s. Gee, I wonder what happened then? Oh yeah, something about joining college football’s version of the NFC East.

“Well, Spurrier's just not getting it done like we thought he would.” Actually, he is doing pretty well. Spurrier’s three years rank right up there with other three year totals. Have a look:

2005-2007 -- 21-16 56.8
2000-2002 -- 22-14 61.1
1987-1989 -- 22-12 64.7
1983-1985 -- 20-14 58.8
1978-1980 -- 21-13 61.7
1957-1959 -- 18- 12 60.0
1952-1954 -- 18 -12 60.0
1946-1948 -- 14-10 58.3
1932-1934 -- 16-11 59.3
1924-1926 -- 20-10 66.7
1912-1914 -- 14-10 58.3

The one they call Darth Visor is holding his own. (Who knew Carolina was so good in the 20’s?)

So why is this such a good decade? The answer - no debacle seasons. No 0 -11’s or 1-10’s. Not even a 3-6-2. (Can you believe there were two of those?) The worst is a couple of 5 – 7’s.

So why so many grumbling fans? Well when your conference wins the national title almost every other year, garnet turns green. That, and people tend to have short memories. But hang in there Gamecock fans. When this season is over, you may be partying like it’s 1925.