It's a shame the US Open course we saw yesterday isn't the one we saw for the full weekend. All the rain made the weekend action unwatchable. Every shot that hit the green stopped almost immediately. Lucas Glover did what was necessary to win, but I wonder if he could have with a full four rounds of normal conditions. NBC's announcers were ridiculous with their cheerleading for Tiger yesterday. At no point was Woods ever making a meaningful run, yet they kept trying to hype his possible charge. If you're watching, you can tell when's a guy's chances are cooked. There's no need to keep trying to convince you otherwise - just show Woods when he hits to placate his fans.
Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News reports Monte Kiffin has been calling USC for help on dealing with college offenses. If you're a Vol fan, the good news is that he's getting help. The bad news is that he has to. I've been asking from the time Monte Kiffin took the job as his son's DC what makes people think he's going to be a huge success. Monte was a great NFL DC, but coaching life with the twenty hour rule is very different than it is in the pros. You can't teach near as much of your scheme because there's not enough time to do so. There will be no Derrick Brooks or Ronde Barber who've been in the system a decade to explain it to newcomers. Many college offenses are radically different from NFL schemes. I'm sure Monte will eventually adjust, but it's going to be a very bumpy ride for him this year.
Bruce Pearl will be getting a lot of exposure on the NBA's website and TV network this week. He's serving as an analyst - here's his top seven players in this year's draft. The SEC will likely have just one player drafted in round one - Nick Calathes, who will go there specifically because he won't have to be offered a contract since he's signed to play in Greece. Pearl hasn't spent time in the NBA and doesn't employ their style of play in his program. So Thursday night, NBA TV will be featuring a coach who's faced very few of the players he's commenting on talking about how they fit in a brand of game he doesn't coach. Pearl's got a great personality for broadcasting, but this is a curious choice.
Yesterday on my show in Columbia, we had a spirited debate about the merits of recruiting ratings on websites like scout.com (of which fightingators.com, the site I write for a dozen times per month on non-recruiting subjects, is an affiliate). A caller was upset with me for saying not to take the recruiting rankings too seriously. The analysis is a tool for fans to learn more about what their teams are doing, but there is simply no way for the evaluators to see every high school kid and know what kind of system he's in and competition he's facing. If a coaching staff evaluates a player and likes him enough to offer early, fans have to trust they know what they're doing even if the kid isn't a "big name" recruit. Ironically, it appears Miami's downfall in recruiting was caused by doing exactly what the upset fan was - believing too much in online evaluations and not enough in their coaches.
If you're a Miami Dolphins fan, this is proving to be a banner year for you. First you get the thrill of having your team's venue name changed again - to Landshark Stadium. Now, you have Gloria Estefan and her husband as part owners. Nothing like a little Rhythm Is Gonna Get You to fire up an NFL crowd. Maybe Luther Campbell or Vanilla Ice can go halfsies on the next deal.
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